Proud Feather

Chapter 96 Confession
Confession.

In the small garden behind the government office, Chu Ling sat alone under a tree and sighed softly.

Gao Mian walked over and called out softly, "Princess."

Chu Ling didn't even look up, continuing to toy with the teacup in her hand: "Any results yet?"

"Not yet," Gao Mian said. "But based on my experience, it should be Zhu Fan's handwriting."

Chu Ling nodded. This was irrefutable proof that the attack would be fatal; the opponent wouldn't make a mistake here.

Her calm demeanor only made Gao Mian feel more distressed, and he couldn't help but say, "Princess, I am utterly useless. If I had been more vigilant, perhaps Miss Zhu wouldn't have died."

“It has nothing to do with you,” Chu Ling said. “This pit was dug a long time ago, just waiting for us to jump in.”

Minister Lin's method of fabricating evidence was truly crude, and he had already shown his weakness under Gao Mian's questioning. She only needed to give him a little push to get her father to send the case back for retrial. Who knew that such deadly evidence would appear, rendering all her and Gao Mian's hard work futile?

A confession! A confession written by Zhu Fan himself. No matter how far-fetched the previous inferences were, or how many loopholes there were in the witnesses and physical evidence, this confession directly plugged all the loopholes.

"Princess," Qingcha said, bringing over some pastries, "the meal isn't finished yet, please have something to eat first."

Chu Ling took a piece and said, "Lord Gao, are you hungry too? Eat a couple of bites first. You won't have the energy to use your brain on an empty stomach."

Gao Mian was about to refuse, but upon hearing the last sentence, he changed his mind and agreed: "Thank you for the princess's gift."

"You should have some green tea too."

"Thank you princess."

The pastries were so delicious that the three of them finished them without even realizing it.

Gao Mian patted his stomach; sure enough, he felt full and his mind was working faster, which also lessened his pessimistic mood.

He thought for a moment and said, “Princess, there’s no need to worry too much. Even with a confession, it’s not without its problems. When was this confession written? Wasn’t it said that Zhu Fan was being watched all along? Why didn’t anyone notice? Doesn’t the Ministry of Justice bear any responsibility for letting such an important prisoner die in prison? Such a major case as the Crown Prince’s murder needs to be thoroughly investigated before it can be closed, which will take time…”

"Besides, the witnesses and evidence presented by Minister Lin are so weak, do you gentlemen not see it? They will not agree to close the case vaguely, even if they have to make it up, they will make it solid. Otherwise, if it is recorded in history, their reputation will also be damaged."

Chu Ling nodded. To be frank, Lin Wenyu's case was handled terribly. Even with decisive evidence, there were still a lot of details to fill in, and that was their opportunity.

However, she still had a worry in her heart.

Who instructed Lin Wenyu to do this? Does this mean she has been exposed? If so, it won't be so easy for her to cause trouble for the Marquis of Jingping's mansion or even the Prince of Xin's mansion.

—No, she can't give up. Once the truth is covered up, it will be difficult to uncover it again!

After finishing the last bit of tea, Chu Ling stood up and patted her skirt: "Let's go! Let's wait inside."

Inside the room, the emperor was talking to his ministers. Chu Ling quickly walked over and said, "Father."

The emperor smiled at her: "A-Ling, have you had your pastries? They were made by the new chef in the Imperial Kitchen, and Consort Shu specially had them delivered."

"It's delicious, thank you, Consort Shu." Chu Ling smiled on the surface, but she was even more annoyed inside.

Consort Shu has indeed regained favor through the child. It's really strange. Where did this child come from?
She sat quietly to one side, listening to the emperor and his ministers discuss state affairs.

Before long, several scholars who had been specially summoned came out of the private room, bowed and reported: "Your Majesty, we have compared the handwriting of the blood letter with that of the painting, and it should be from the same person without a doubt." This result was not surprising, and the emperor and his ministers remained calm.

Then, several coroners following behind them stepped forward: "Your Majesty, we have examined the body and confirmed that the deceased did indeed die from poisoning, without any external coercion. There are several wounds on his fingers and wrists, which should have been caused by biting while writing the blood letter."

The emperor nodded: "Therefore, this confession was indeed written by Zhu Fan before his death."

"You can think so."

The emperor, losing interest, waved for the scholars and coroner to leave and turned to his ministers: "Tell me your opinions!"

Gao Mian was the first to step forward. He said, “Your Majesty, while a confession is certainly a powerful piece of evidence, a case cannot be settled solely based on a confession. The Crown Prince, as the heir apparent, has unfortunately been murdered. For the sake of the nation's prestige, every aspect must be clearly understood. I am willing to assist Minister Lin in supplementing and perfecting the details of this case to comfort the Crown Prince's spirit in heaven.”

Lin Wenyu was in the midst of his triumph and could not accept being questioned. He immediately retorted, "Does Lord Gao think there are still doubts about this case? In your eyes, the confession is not conclusive evidence. Do you still want to overturn it at this point?"

Gao Mian did not back down: "I only believe that the so-called 'one piece of evidence is not enough' requires a large amount of circumstantial evidence to make the confession irrefutable. At present, the evidence in this case is still too weak. The victim is the Crown Prince. It would be too frivolous to close the case like this."

"you……"

The two started arguing again.

The emperor frowned deeply, his gaze sweeping around before settling on his daughter. He asked, "A-Ling, what do you think?"

Chu Ling thought for a moment and said, "Your subject thinks that Minister Lin's words make sense, and the case can indeed be closed."

"Oh?" The emperor was surprised, Lin Wenyu was stunned for a moment, and several ministers looked over.

The emperor was puzzled: "Didn't you say that Minister Lin's evidence was too vague?"

“Yes! There was no confession before! Father, the most important thing in this matter is to find the murderer, so that my elder brother won’t die with regret. Now that the murderer has been found, nothing else matters.”

The emperor's gaze softened, and he said, "The world is full of complex people, yet you always keep your true feelings in mind. I assume you don't like Minister Lin and won't speak up for him."

Chu Ling shook her head: "I don't like him because he never did any work before and didn't take my brother's case to heart. Now that he has found the real culprit, it means he has done his work, so why should I criticize him?"

The emperor was pleased, and Lin Wenyu also breathed a sigh of relief, his goodwill towards the princess greatly increased. Alas, he had truly misunderstood the princess; the little girl was simple-minded, she didn't have so many hidden thoughts. If anyone was to blame, it was Gao Mian, that rascal, for being too good at flattering!
However, now that Chu Ling had relented, the emperor became more concerned.

“Your intentions are good, but the case really cannot be handled this way. The Crown Prince is my son, kind-hearted and pure in nature. I am heartbroken by his murder, and I cannot close the case carelessly, allowing him to be tainted after his death. Here’s what we’ll do, Minister Lin, although you have found the murderer, the investigation process was really rough, and it must be improved before the case is closed.”

The emperor's meaning was clear. He could accept the crown prince being poisoned, but not for that reason. It would be best if there were no illicit affair, but if there were, it had to be cleared up.

Lin Wenyu understood. He didn't care about personal feelings anyway, and loudly replied, "Yes."

The emperor then said, "Minister Gao, you are an experienced criminal and a thoughtful person. You will assist Minister Lin and provide him with guidance."

Gao Mian replied respectfully, "Yes."

The emperor continued, "I have entrusted this case to the Three Judicial Offices, so that it will be handled properly from beginning to end. Minister Zhang, please keep a close eye on it."

Zhang Ji replied, "Your subject obeys."

With that, the matter was considered closed. The emperor returned to the palace, and the officials went about their business.

Chu Ling followed her father onto the imperial carriage, only to see Sun Shouquan come over and whisper, "Your Majesty, the Abbot of Lingxu Temple has arrived."