Proud Feather

Chapter 90 Not Afraid
The case is solved? How could it possibly be solved!
Chu He was sitting perfectly fine in the Prince Xin's mansion, and the Marquis of Jingping's mansion was completely unharmed. Where has the real culprit been found?

A surge of anger rose in Chu Ling's chest as she coldly stared at Lin Wenyu before her.

"Minister Lin, are you sure the real culprit has been caught?" she asked, enunciating each word clearly.

"Of course." Lin Wenyu still had that obsequious smile, but a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes as he stared at her fearlessly. "If the princess doesn't believe me, we can confront him before His Majesty."

This old thing...

“Princess,” Jiang Shijun’s voice came from behind, “Look.”

Chu Ling turned her head and saw the people being escorted over by officers from the Ministry of Justice.

"Fang Wu!"

This person was none other than Fang Wu, who claimed to have joined them!

Fang Wu's clothes were in disarray, and he had neither a headscarf nor a crown on his head, clearly indicating that he had been dragged from the bed.

He looked terrified and cried out, "Princess! Princess, save me! I didn't mean to hide it, I..."

Jiang Shijun shouted, "What are you hiding?"

"I……"

"Princess, don't be hasty," Lin Wenyu interrupted them with a smile. "When the confrontation takes place, I will naturally present witnesses and evidence, and explain everything in detail. At that time, with His Majesty presiding and the Prime Minister as witness, if I were to disregard human life, I may simply have my official hat removed on the spot and be exiled to Lingnan!"

He even mentioned exile to Lingnan; this old man is truly confident.

“Princess,” Gao Mian stepped forward and said in a low voice, “Since Minister Lin has made a breakthrough, why don’t you listen to what he has to say? We’re all working together to solve the case, so there’s no need for that…”

He was advising Chu Ling to back down, say a few soft words, and then proceed cautiously. While this would certainly be a loss of face, and all her previous efforts might be in vain, as a princess, she would always have a way out.

To be fair, Gao Mian's words made a lot of sense, but...

"Very well!" Chu Ling said in a deep voice, "I was ordered to supervise the investigation. Now that Minister Lin has solved the case, let's go and report back to the Emperor!"

After saying that, she flicked her sleeve and turned to leave.

"Princess!" Gao Mian exclaimed anxiously.

What's the point? Fighting for pride might push things out of control. What if Minister Lin produces evidence they know nothing about, creating an ironclad case? Overturning it then would be incredibly difficult!

Chu Ling stopped in front of the car and said softly, "Can't you see? He's made thorough preparations. Even if I give in, he'll have other tricks up his sleeve!"

In reality, she didn't have many choices. The princess was a ruler, but her status came from the emperor's favor and she held no real power. The ministers of the Six Ministries, however, were truly important officials of the court, and Lin Wenyu's stubbornness left her helpless.

We can't exactly let the guards arrest the Minister of Justice, can we? That would cause a huge uproar in the imperial court. Now, it's the same thing—going to see the Emperor. What's the difference?
Since he wants to meet the Emperor, then let him meet the Emperor! Without knowing what cards the other side holds, this game is unwinnable. Although it's highly likely our side will be at a disadvantage, she has witnesses like Jinghui, Wei Qi, and Zhang Qianyi; perhaps she can turn the tide and find a way out.

Most importantly, she was confident she could persuade her father that if anything was amiss, the case could be postponed. As long as her father was on her side, she wouldn't lose no matter what!
Jiang Shijun walked over and asked in a low voice, "Princess, how should we deal with this?"

"When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it," Chu Ling said. "Proceed according to the original plan."

Jiang Shijun understood, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, and led his men away.

Chu Ling boarded the carriage.

"My lord," a clerk from the Court of Judicial Review approached, "what should we do?" Gao Mian gritted his teeth: "Go with me! You return to the yamen immediately, bring all relevant case files and evidence to the palace gate, and await your summons!"

The subordinate responded and left.

Gao Mian took a deep breath, looked up and met Chu Ling's resolute gaze, and his heart suddenly calmed down.

What's there to be afraid of? If the real culprit is caught, that's a good thing. If there are any doubts in the case, with all his research these past few days, surely he can see them? Then he'll use his decades of investigative skills to debate with Minister Lin!
The imperial carriage started moving and headed towards the palace gate.

At the same time, Lin Wenyu also got into the sedan chair, followed closely behind by his subordinates and witnesses.

This scene attracted a lot of attention, and officials from the surrounding government offices gathered together and whispered among themselves.

Chu Ling entered the Ministry of Justice without trying to hide it from anyone, and Lin Wenyu didn't try to conceal it either. They even greeted each other when they encountered acquaintances, so the news spread quickly.

……

"Young Master! Young Master!" Gongsun Hong rushed into the guest courtyard.

The courtyard was a mess, with people packing their luggage to move into the city—they apologized to the princess last night, and thankfully the Imperial Guards stopped searching.

Xiao Yu had just finished changing the dressing and was talking to Daoist Lingxu when he heard this and laughed, "Sir, you're so old, why are you still so clumsy?"

"Oh dear, I'm in a panic!" Gongsun Hong slapped his thigh. "I went out to gather information, and guess what? I ran into the princess!"

Xiao Yu's heart tightened: "What's wrong with her?"

"They say the Crown Prince's case has been solved, and she's led the Minister of Justice and the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review to report back!"

At first glance, this sounded like good news, but Xiao Yu knew a little about the inside story and immediately sensed that something was wrong.

"The princess was interrogating witnesses all night last night, how come the case was solved this morning?"

“Yes! No matter how urgent it is, it will take a few days to sort out the clues.” Gongsun Hong continued, “Moreover, I heard that the witness was intercepted by the Ministry of Justice last night, and the princess went to question him early this morning, and it seems that she had a conflict with the Minister of Justice.”

Xiao Yu frowned even more, sensing that something was wrong.

"Lin Wenyu, the Minister of Justice? He intercepted the witness? That doesn't make sense."

"Who says otherwise? He wasn't doing anything before, and the cases were all investigated by the Court of Judicial Review. But now we hear that the Ministry of Justice solved it first. Isn't that strange?"

Of course it's strange. They've been watching for so long, they know Chu Ling doesn't like Lin Wenyu much, and even publicly humiliated him last time. Besides, this case is clearly mainly being investigated by the Court of Judicial Review, so why is the Ministry of Justice suddenly involved?
"The princess is in trouble," Master Lingxu suddenly blurted out.

Xiao Yu turned around: "Senior brother, what do you know?"

Master Lingxu said, "Lin Wenyu is shrewd and opportunistic. For him to openly oppose the princess, he must have a huge benefit to gain. I suspect that as she investigates this case more and more deeply, someone is getting restless."

Xiao Yu slowly said, "The Crown Prince's poisoning concerns the nation's reputation and must be investigated. However, the person behind it doesn't want her to investigate too deeply, so there's only one way. Produce the evidence first and close the case!"

“That’s right.” As the head of the royal Taoist temple, Master Lingxu not only knew the direction of the court, but also some secrets. “Judging by the time, they must have already met with the emperor by now, right? It’s too late! We can no longer intervene.”

Xiao Yu pondered for a long time before saying, "Not necessarily. Senior brother, can you enter the palace? I have a request..."

This chapter was so difficult to write. I have a meeting tomorrow morning.