Da Ming: I told you to die for your cause, why are you actually going to die?

Chapter 15 "Ode to Limestone" [New book, please add to your collection]

"Three adults!"

Zhang Biao slightly raised his chin and said to the three pale-faced presiding judges in an almost pitying tone, "If you feel that my case is difficult to judge, the evidence is hard to find, or it involves too many people and you dare not investigate further, that's alright."

He paused, and amidst everyone's astonished gazes, revealed an extremely bright and infuriating smile: "Take me directly to the Fengtian Hall, I want to see the Emperor!"

"Let me explain to the Emperor myself, and by the way, ask him whether he thinks I should be beheaded for spouting nonsense, or whether he should thoroughly investigate the people and events I've been spouting nonsense about?"

"I believe that His Majesty will give the three of you a clear instruction!"

boom!
Zhang Biao's words were like a boulder thrown into a stagnant pool!
Should we take him to see the emperor?
Should we let him spout nonsense in front of the Emperor again? And provoke the Emperor's fury once more?!

Are you out of your mind?! The Crown Prince has already been buried!

The faces of the three presiding judges changed from red to white in an instant, and then from white to green, a truly fascinating scene.

Cold sweat finally began to trickle uncontrollably down their foreheads.

This is hardly a trial.

This is clearly like inviting back an ancestor!
He's also a living ancestor who's obsessed with dying, has explosive fighting power, and can cause chaos at any time!
The air in the interrogation room seemed to freeze completely.

The three presiding judges looked at each other, each seeing a deep sense of powerlessness and a hint of fear in the other's eyes.

Just then, Chen Ying suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "Imperial Censor Zhang, didn't you list those charges yourself? Why are you denying them now that you're being interrogated? Do you perhaps have some other motive?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in and out of the hall was taken aback.

Wu Yong reacted instantly and shouted, "Zhang Biao! Since you have admitted to the crimes of sowing discord between the emperor and his ministers and disrupting the court, then confess immediately! What is your intention in doing this? Who instructed you? Who are your accomplices?!"

Zhan Hui, his face grim, slammed his hand on the table and chimed in, "Deliberately concealing the truth is a grave crime of disrespect! According to the law, it should be severely punished! Why don't you confess the mastermind behind this?!"

Zhang Biao looked at their righteous and indignant expressions, as if they had finally caught him red-handed, and suddenly laughed.

There was no fear or panic in that smile, only a mocking smile that bordered on pity.

"Instigated? Accomplices?"

He shook his head, as if looking at a group of incomprehensible people: "Lord Wu, Lord Zhan, is this the only way you know how to handle cases?"

After speaking, he paused, leaned forward slightly, his gaze sharp as lightning, piercing the three presiding judges. His voice suddenly rose, carrying a penetrating sharpness: "Sowing discord between the emperor and his ministers? Whom did I sow discord between? Where is the evidence?! Did the emperor listen to my words and execute Lü Ping, Qi Tai, and Zhao Qian? No!"

"The Emperor threw them and me into the imperial prison together. What does that mean? It means that the Emperor is of absolute authority and has not been swayed by me at all!"

"You accuse me of successfully sowing discord because you think the Emperor is easily swayed by us lowly officials?! You are questioning the Emperor's wisdom!"

boom!
Wu Yong, Zhan Hui, and Chen Ying turned deathly pale instantly!
Zhang Biao's words were so venomous!
They directly shifted the blame for their successful attempt to sow discord onto those who questioned imperial authority!

"As for disrupting the imperial court?"

Zhang Biao gave his opponent no chance to breathe, speaking even faster and with even greater force: "What is the imperial court? It is the rules set by the Emperor! It is the court assemblies presided over by the Emperor!"

"I spoke at the court assembly with the Emperor's permission! My words angered the Emperor, and he arrested me and imprisoned me according to the rules for trial. This is simply the proper functioning of the court! How did I disrupt things?!"

"You say I disrupted the court's order. Do you think the Emperor handled the situation improperly? Or do you think the Emperor's court order is so fragile that it was disrupted by just a few words from me? You are questioning the laws of the court! You are questioning the Emperor's authority!"

"You! You're spouting nonsense! You're making false accusations!"

Wu Yong was so angry that he trembled all over. He pointed at Zhang Biao, his finger shaking, but he couldn't utter a single powerful rebuttal.

Zhan Hui and Chen Ying also had ashen faces and were covered in cold sweat.

Zhang Biao's counterattacks were all scathing, hitting their weak points in upholding imperial power and the rule of law.

"Soliciting excuses?" Zhang Biao sneered, his gaze sweeping over the three presiding judges who were cornered and furious, with a condescending pity: "I think you're just at a loss for words and have become angry out of embarrassment."

He suddenly took another step forward, ignoring the intimidating presence of the constables on either side, his eyes blazing, his voice resounding and powerful, carrying an aura of unassailable authority:

"You keep accusing me of sowing discord between the emperor and his ministers and disrupting the court, but all you want is to quickly convict me, behead me, and report back to the emperor to make your joint trial seem effective! But have you ever thought about this?"

Zhang Biao's voice suddenly rose to its highest point, like a thunderclap exploding in the deathly silent hall:

"What was the purpose of all those words I, Zhang Biao, uttered in court, and all those crimes I confessed to?! It was to seek death! But why did I seek death?!"

As he spoke, he suddenly flicked his sleeve, as if to shake off the filthy shackles, and began to recite to himself: "Hammered and chiseled from the deep mountains, it faces the raging fire as if it were nothing. It fears not being ground to powder or shattered body, but only to leave its purity in the world!"

Wow!
The whole place was in an uproar!

After the four lines of poetry were recited, the entire Ministry of Justice hall fell into a deathly silence!
You can hear the needle drop!

The fierceness, determination, and ultimate pursuit of innocence contained in those verses were like an invisible giant hammer, shattering the hypocrisy of the fabricated charges in the courtroom!

Zhang Biao's gaze swept over the three presiding judges, who were stunned by the poem, a mocking smile playing on his lips. He said, word by word, "Now, do you understand?"

"I can list my own sins! I can ask for my own death!"

"My bones can break, my body can turn to ash!"

"But Zhang Biao's innocence—you can't possibly tarnish it!"

"You want to convict me based on the crimes I confessed to? Fine!"

Zhang Biao spread his arms wide, a smile that was both tragic and defiant on his face: "Then it's settled! Let my blood stain your official robes!"

"Use my crimes to glorify your three judicial departments!"

"Behold the iron will of history's pen, and how it will be written in the future regarding this trial presided over by the three judicial authorities! Behold how posterity will judge how you nailed a censor seeking justice to the very grounds of your fabricated charges!"

"Come! Judge me! Judge me for sowing discord between the ruler and his ministers! Judge me for disrupting the court! Let me be crushed to pieces! Let me be burned by flames!"

Zhang Biao's voice was like a resounding bell, carrying a resolute determination to destroy everything: "But I want to see how you can silence the public opinion of the world! How you can erase the little bit of innocence I left in this world!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Wu Yong, Zhan Hui, and Chen Ying sat stiffly on the large rosewood chair, their faces ashen, as if all their strength had been drained away.

Looking down at the young censor below, who stood tall and proud, with eyes as clear and sharp as burning flames, they felt a chill run from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads.

Zhang Biao used his poem "Ode to Limestone" to drive them into a corner.

Should he be convicted?

Based on his own confession? Then the three judicial departments would become a laughing stock for all time, and irrefutable evidence of framing a loyal and upright official!

Not convicted? How to explain this to the enraged emperor? How to end this?
In the midst of this suffocating stalemate, the curtain of the side door of the lobby was suddenly ripped open!

The tall, imposing figure of Jiang Huan, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, strode in, bringing with him the chill of the imperial prison. His sharp gaze swept over the chaotic interrogation scene before finally landing on Zhang Biao. His voice was icy, yet as powerful as thunder.

"Zhang Biao! The Emperor's decree: You are summoned to an audience immediately!"

(End of this chapter)