All Heavens: From Joy of Life to The Great Feng Night Watchman

Liu Ruyu opened her mouth awkwardly; she had originally intended to comfort Fan Ruoruo.

"Oh, I see. Now that you say so, Auntie isn't so nervous anymore, hehe..."

……

The joint trial by the three judicial departments proceeded as scheduled, with the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, the Minister of Justice, and the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate sitting high in the hall.

Although the Minister of Justice held the highest official rank, the joint trial of the three judicial departments was presided over by the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review.

Han Zhiwei, the Minister of Justice, is a man of the Crown Prince, and the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review will also be a man of the Crown Prince in the future.

Lai Mingcheng, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, was a tough guy who dared to criticize the emperor and was loyal to no one.

The joint trial by the three judicial departments is the highest judicial body in Daqing, and this trial was not conducted in public.

Besides the three chief officials, the rest were officials scattered on both sides, as well as yamen runners from the Dali Temple.

There were some guards and eunuchs standing in the corner by the door, all of whom had considerable intelligence capabilities.

Li Chang'an stood calmly in the main hall of the Dali Temple. "My lords, where is my seat?"

If officials of the third rank or above can remain seated during trial, how much more so a prince?

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review hurriedly ordered someone to bring over a chair, and Lai Mingcheng walked down from the platform with a cold face.

"Your Highness Prince Yong, you have been a literary talent since childhood and are a pillar of the literary world in Daqing."

"How can you be so shameless, frequenting brothels at such a young age and getting involved in such a morally reprehensible thing?"

"Your Highness, as a member of the royal family, should uphold the dignity of the imperial family and share His Majesty's burdens!"

"Your Highness..."

At this moment, a yamen runner brought over a chair.

Lai Mingcheng took the chair, placed it behind Li Chang'an, and continued rambling.

"Your Highness, please sit down and listen to this old minister. Your Highness is now quite old..."

Upon hearing this, Li Chang'an, who had just sat down, revealed an arrogant smile.

"Lai Mingcheng, are you trying to teach me how to do things?"

Lai Mingcheng sighed deeply, "This old minister cannot teach, nor should this old minister teach!"

"Regardless of the outcome of today's trial, this old minister will certainly submit a memorial to Your Highness!"

The three courts jointly tried the case and determined the guilt, with the final verdict to be decided by Emperor Qing.

Li Chang'an remembered that in the original drama, the second prince had a life on his hands, but he was only confined to his quarters for half a year.

How serious can the matter of taking advantage of women in brothels really be?

Lai Mingcheng shook his head and sat back down in the hall. Si Lili and Yuan Meng were also brought up.

Yuan Meng trembled with fear at the sight of Li Chang'an, wanting to run away but daring not to.

Si Lili looked at Li Chang'an with a complicated expression, a mixture of doubt, resentment, and a hint of shyness.

Yuan Meng fell to her knees with a thud and cried out loudly.

"My lord! It was all of my own free will. His Highness Prince Yong hit me, but it was not to humiliate me!"

"This humble woman has a peculiar fetish; it was this humble woman who forced Your Highness to hit me!"

"This humble woman is willing to serve His Highness Prince Yong. I hope Your Excellency will consider this matter!"

Upon hearing this, the old men in the hall were stunned, and their mouths began to twitch.

Only Lai Mingcheng, who was always serious, suddenly let out a loud shout.

"nonsense!"

"There's no such thing as a special fetish for liking to be beaten!"

"Don't be afraid, tell me your grievances, and I will help you!"

PS: These two pictures combined are Yuan Meng's current appearance. Could someone please help me combine them?

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Chapter 44 The Lawless Prince Yong! The Alpaca Called a Stupid Pig!

As soon as Yuan Meng spoke, Zhu Ge from the Supervisory Commission, who was co-chairing the trial, stared wide-eyed, wanting to laugh but unable to.

The Minister of Justice, Han, and the Minister of Justice, who were sitting in the hall, both twitched at the corners of their mouths, but dared not stop Lai Mingcheng from getting angry.

Si Lili didn't dare to slack off and immediately knelt down, wailing, "My lord, please do justice for me!"

"Although I work in a brothel, I am a pure courtesan who sells her art but not her body. Your Highness Prince Yong has forcibly taken my body; this is truly an outrage against heaven and earth!"

"He also said that his brother is the emperor, and no one in Daqing can do anything to him. I can shout until I'm hoarse, but it's no use. Waaah..."

Si Lili cried her heart out, tears streaming down her face, a truly heart-wrenching accusation!

She had completed the task Li Chang'an had assigned her, and what happened next was beyond her control.

The joint trial of the three judicial departments in response to a petition to the emperor is different from the joint trial of the three courts in ordinary major cases.

Because knocking on the gate to lodge a complaint with the emperor was essentially filing a complaint with the emperor, the three judicial departments were merely acting on behalf of the emperor to hear the case.

Ultimately, the determination of guilt or punishment rests with the emperor himself.

Therefore, what Li Chang'an needs to do now is to simply confess his guilt, since Emperor Qing is unlikely to give him a severe sentence anyway.

Because in Daqing, members of the royal family could not be punished the same as commoners if they broke the law.

In the original drama, the second prince had a life on his hands, but Emperor Qing only confined him to his quarters and reduced his salary.

Li Chang'an has only taken a prostitute by force, so this case is destined to be all bark and no bite.

However, such a commotion will surely prompt officials from the Academy of Education, the Censorate, and even the Ministry of Rites to submit memorials suggesting that Consort Liu be allowed to leave the palace to discipline Li Chang'an.

After all, Li Chang'an's status in the literary world is undeniable, and his influence is crucial to the fate of the literary world in Nanqing.

Moreover, Prince Jing and Fan Jian will both help with this matter; those two paintings and calligraphies are not free gifts.

Therefore, Li Chang'an not only has to confess his crimes, but also has to act lawless and even arrogant.

After Si Lili finished speaking, Li Chang'an immediately said, "Miss Lili, what I said is correct."

"Look, you want to complain, but no one dares to take your word for it. Even if you come here, what can you do to me?"

Upon hearing Li Chang'an's words, Lai Mingcheng's face immediately darkened.

"Your Highness, the joint trial by the three judicial departments is a matter of the highest judicial dignity of Daqing. We hope Your Highness will treat it with reverence!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the Minister of Justice said, "His Highness Prince Yong has countless beauties by his side, and the Twelve Beauties of Jin are renowned for their beauty. How could he possibly force himself on courtesans!"

"There must be something fishy going on here. Si Lili must be up to no good. Guards, use torture!"

Lai Mingcheng exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't this kind of torture too hasty?"

However, both the Minister of Justice and the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review insisted on using torture.

Two constables had already brought the clamps, and it looked like Si Lili's hands, which were used to play the zither and flute, were about to be crippled.

With her hands gripping the clamps, Si Lili glared resentfully at Li Chang'an, thinking, "You're going to kill me!"

“Prince Yong is lawless. Even if he uses torture, I will still file a complaint!”

Just then, Li Chang'an clapped his hands and said, "Thank you, gentlemen, for upholding justice for me. This woman actually dared to file lawsuits against me all over the capital. She deserves to be tortured!"

Upon hearing Li Chang'an's words, Si Lili readily joined in with a string of curses, "Li Chang'an, you're not human!"

Li Chang'an sneered upon hearing this, "Little beauty, cursing is so exciting, much more so than your screams of resistance last night when you were being pleasured."

Minister Han of the Ministry of Justice said nervously, "Your Highness! This is the courtroom for criminal trials. Everything you say will be used as evidence in court!"

Lai Mingcheng said with some reluctance, "Your Highness's words are tantamount to admitting guilt. You should think this through carefully!"

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review widened his eyes and said almost pleadingly, "Your Highness, please reconsider."

As long as Li Chang'an stubbornly denies it, they have plenty of ways to make Si Lili change her story. But if Li Chang'an confesses directly, there's nothing they can do.

Li Chang'an revealed an innocent expression, "What are you considering? I'll take it."

"My brother is the emperor, you can't convict me!"

"The entire Great Qing Kingdom belongs to my Li family. It's no big deal for me to sleep with a courtesan."

"Aren't all courtesans women just people who want to sleep with you? Last night, I just couldn't agree on a price."

Si Lili cooperated perfectly, crying even more miserably, "I just don't want to, no amount of money will do!"

Li Chang'an said arrogantly, "What can you do if you don't want to? The die is cast. What can you do to me?"

"What is the law? The law is the tool by which our royal family rules the world."

"Our royal family is above the law. You think you can use the law to sue me? Dream on!"

Li Chang'an's outrageous words left the three officials speechless.

The scribes on both sides stopped writing at the same time, and the entire hall suddenly fell silent!