Chapter 33: The Rotten Trial

Chapter Warning: excessive/gratuitous violence, physical abuse, torture.

"Jian Li... Jian Li.. Jian Li.. Why?" A tall man wearing a matte red royal mantle stood in front of Jian Li, asking questions as his head twitched in a very unsightly manner.

"Father? Father!" The familiar face of Hongwu stares to his son in a cold gaze, yet Jian Li would advance to his father in relief, happily sighing. "You're alive! Deverus said you're—"

"Why? Why? Why?" The man would repeat his words in each of the steps he takes to advance nearer to his son. His actions and his cold gaze intensifies the skin crawling creeps Jian Li feels.

"Huh?-" he started to back down. "Father!"

A small crimson dot began spreading on the King's chest as if they were branches of the trees. Jian Li's vision was starting to be colored purple and his eyes shrank at the sight of overflowing blood gushing out from his father's feet. Hongwu looked at him intensely: "Murderer."

"—murderer!" Jian Li's consciousness was awoken. His stomach wasn't stinging anymore, but the first person he saw when he woke up gasping was the very soldier who punched him on the guts. And by seeing his unpleasant face, Jian Li would immediately forget the nightmare that just occured.

"He's the one who killed King Hongwu! Be careful on picking him up! Lord Deverus said that he is a conjurer, something strange and evil so just carefully tie him—"

Jian Li snapped his eyes open. "Where are you bringing me to?" The sudden action nearly initiated a heart attack towards the approaching soldier, in result, he screamed in surprise.

'What the heck.' His Majesty's subconscious was confused.

He spoke to them, leaning his back on the cold brick wall. "Where is Deverus?"

"He is not here sir, but he will be in the venue of the trial." The kind soldier walked forward him and knelt down in respect, not wanting to be rude with the height difference.

His brows twitched. "Trial?.."

"Let us go sir, please wear your shoes and let's get going." Asked the soldier when the rude one stepped up and unsheathed his silver sword, swinging it around. "Tch! Why are you being so gentle with that conjurer?! Let's go!"

A swing of a sword was heard whistling on the wind. "Be disrespectful once again and your head will roll."

The rude soldier trembled after their leader's blade focused on his neck. "Moran- man- i was just joking around—" he chuckled at the thought of him being decapitated, peacefully bringing the sword back on his waist.

"Pick the right jokes. You are in front of the King. Be him guilty or not, His Majesty also has the authority to execute us. Do quit your rudeness and quietly do your job." Moran's brown eyes gawks as sharp as a hawk's, glinting to his junior's feared eyes.

"Yes sir." The soldier stepped away in the fright of his bleeding neck.

The leader faced his soldiers and brought the sword back his waist. "I will not allow anymore insults to the King. One more sound of mock and i will personally make you pay for it."

Soldiers chorused. "Y-yes sir!"

Jian Li was thankful for his kindness. He made sure to remember his name as Moran, a good man.

Locked underground for a day, the soldiers in-charge of guarding the prisoner has finally dragged him out of the cell. His wrists were tied behind his back and both his ankles were fastened by chains making a long dragging sound as they walked out of the dusk of the night.

"Where are you taking His Majesty?!" With a sack covering Jian Li's face to block his vision and from the voice that he recognized, he understood that it was from one of his close servants.

They stopped walking while Moran calmly spoke to them; "Lord Deverus has ordered us to bring him to the trial."

"What?! The Prince!- i mean the King couldn't do that to his father!" Judging from how their voices was raised, Jian Li created fuming faces inside his head.

The soldier respectfully bowed, grabbing the King by the arm. "We will see at the trial."

Just before they can drag him away, Jian Li heard multiple draws of swords, and thumps to the ground. "Hey!" Yelled one of the soldiers; Jian Li only stood still at the spot in curiosity of what was happening outside.

Then he heard someone whisper in front of him. "My Majesty. Please do not fret." It was the voice of the servant that visited him at his cell and the one who revealed Deverus' scheme.

Jian Li was relieved that the servant managed to be alive after a day of being a traitor to Deverus. Unable to say anything long because of the soldiers that was dragging both of them away, he could only think of someone to help him get out of the situation. "Bring me Aren." Commanded him.

"As you wish, I will find him."

The moon started to appear at the sky and the dusk ended when the carriage that was carrying the prisoner halted.

Jian Li's sack was removed and his eyes was a bit blurry when he saw where they were. He was confused.

'At the coronation site?'

In the middle of the streets, his face was open to the public. He was wearing a white sleeping gown and his hair was ravaged this and that. The only item that proves him royalty was his coronation boots and his ruby colored neck jewelry.

While Moran and the others were dragging him to the center of the street where nobles gathered, the common folk who have spread and heard the news of the death of their former King had went to the royal capital to see the trial. They murmured lowly with suspicious eyes that followed Jian Li.

"That's him?" Said one of them.

One gasped. "It's the King."

"Shh! He's no King anymore! He'll be stripped off from the position after the trial!!" Jian Li heard it from a man in brown leather clothes.

"Is a trial even needed?" Said another man that was dressed in a vendor's apron, adding: "The noblemen have witnessed that abnormal phenomenon! There's no way to defend himself! He's gonna get executed!"

One pointed at Jian Li. "He's guilty for the murder of the king!!"

They nodded. "How frightening! Kill him already!"

"Yeah!"

In all honesty, Jian Li doesn't know how he will react to this. What does he have to do? Should he be enraged and lecture them? Would being angry make them think that he really is guilty? He doesn't even know himself if he really killed his own father. He's confused, he's angry, he wants to mourn for his father's death, he wants to rest.. he is tired.

But all must be faced. One must be strong.

He knows Deverus planned to assassinate the King, himself, and Morfran too. He has his proofs, the servant and the soldiers can help him prove it. He has cards to play. He shouldn't be scared. But how should he do this without Aren by his side?

Being alone in war is frightening.

Moran and the others stopped walking. They were faced by countless of nobles, with hundreds of torches and lamps that was lit around the streets, coloring the whole venue orange.

Deverus appeared gleaming in authority, the nobles felt at ease on his strong lead. With the elite knight's leader by his side, he commanded Moran that was clutching the poor King. "Strap him in." As Deverus said his order, what was in front of Jian Li sucked his strength away. It was clearly a torture device.

"Yes, sir." Moran quickly obeyed and lifted up Jian Li to sit on the wooden table. Both of his legs were stretched to the end of the table and his feet and thighs were tightly bound to the table, making sure he cannot move. His wrists were still tied infront of him, and the rope was starting to make red marks but he didn't care, what's more is their people seeing their King at this state.

Jian Li's eyes fought with Deverus. As calmly as he could, he looks at his grinning face. "Why are you acting all high?"

Deverus' face made a small smile, only for Jian Li to see. "Is there any more officials wanting to face a monster like you?" He chuckled, Jian Li's head snapped up, looking at all of the nobles's faces. Jian Li jolted at how they were all wearing terrified faces for him.

Deverus' face suddenly changed to a pitiful one, one filled with rage and red puffy eyes. "You killed your father. You killed my best friend. I am the best candidate worthy to be the one in-charge."

The people aggressively clamoured. "He's right!"

"Lord Deverus is right!"

Jian Li grew even more angry, growling: "He also tried to kill—" then Deverus' voice reminded him:

"Try talking about exposing me and I will kill Morfran in a flash you wont even know when."

Jian Li gritted his teeth, glancing at his little brother that was smirking at him.

Another brother. He will lose his family again. The only one left that was sharing his blood.

He was too much of a coward to speak. What should he do?

Deverus leaned to him. "This is the place where you received your crown. And this is also the place where you'll lose it."

"After learning that this boy was no royal blood, i have kept my voice for nineteen years." Deverus spoke in a shaky voice to the people who went silent in confusion.

"Yes. The present King in front of all of you is no royal blood. Nineteen years ago, just after the great endemic, the King was fooled that if he adopted this boy, peace would be restored." Then he pointed his finger to Jian Li. "But this evil! He made things worse for the King! In exchange for the land's recovery, he poisoned the King's mind to kill his wife, Queen Dana and silenced his innocent son to death, Mordecai! All so that this evil would be the son first in line to the throne."

Nothing made sense to them. Murmurs only said: "What?.."

"That's right! After the Queen knew of the true reason of her son's death, the King killed her even before she could speak! Everyone inside the palace was restricted to speak the name of Mordecai, and eventually the people had forgotten the Prince that was known to die because of the endemic." Everyone gasped, finally understanding and connecting all the dots.

Deverus continued to tell and prolong the story, exaggerating every part of it each second.

"Knowing that he's no royal blood is enough reason to strip him from the position!" Deverus angrily shouted. "But no! Now that he also have killed the King for his greed of power, no punishment awaits him but execution!"

"Yeah!!!" The common people bellowed loudly, they were enraged by the story that Deverus told them which made Deverus laugh inside, too much entertained with their reaction.

The evil boy forced their beloved King who saved them from disaster and sacrificed his family for it.

"Even though he was treated like a true Prince all his life, he was so greedy that he even killed the King right after the coronation! How ungrateful he is to the suffering King!" Deverus' eyes watered. "How it might've been for my friend! All the guilt he bore all those years! I pity him!" He lowered his head, the people was in shock to see a nobleman cry in front of them. He must've really cared for his friend to show him in this state.

Everyone sympathized with him. "The kind King!"

"Oh His Majesty..." The people cried in shame. They couldn't protect their King.

One sniffed, transferring the sadness to everyone. "He did it for the people..."

The men was enraged. "And yet this brat!!!"

Then they began to throw hurtful words to Jian Li's face. "You demon!"

"Monster!"

"He shall be punished!"

Deverus was satisfied deep inside. "Not just he is a monster! He is a spoiled boy! A naughty boy who had broken the law of the Crown Princes!" Once he had exposed Jian Li, the crowd went silent. Disobeying that law would mean to punish the royal blood to be removed from the family and be isolated far away. But since he is no royal blood, what will happen to him?

"What?.." Jian Li's head seemed to hurt. He might've heard these lines before. Yes, at the night of the celebration. Morfran revealed this to him. His memory seemed to be in a fog that even this big information was not present in his bubble. He gulped, was it really true?

The man in black snapped his fingers, a servant automatically placed a book in his hand. "We have confiscated this old diary of yours dating from six years ago." He waved the book for everyone to see. Jian Li's eyes shrunk, how could things get even worse for him.

Deverus opened a page and tossed it to the people to read. "It says you have met a boy, a thief in fact, and both of you broke in and out of the palace." He explained to everyone of them shortly, the King grew tense.

One of them acknowledged by reading its page. "A thief?!"

"He did?!"

"What impudence!"

"Whoever disregards the law of Jian doesn't have the right to be here!"

"Why do we have to serve you if you, the King, cannot even follow your Kingdom's law!"

"Yeah!"

Jian Li felt cornered. 'If i confess, the thief will be executed as well.' his breath trembled but his face stayed stoned.

"That is not true!" He defends himself.

Deverus walks to him as he yells. "It is the truth! We found this inside your room! It is your handwriting!"

'Fear is man's greatest weakness. Pain is something that greatly triggers it.' Deverus said inside his head while he stares at the boy bound on the table. 'And torture is the way to instill it.'

'You will suffer, boy.'

To make him confess, Deverus motions to the soldiers. "Do it." The soldiers salutes and grabs him in place, his fingers was inserted through the thumbscrews. This device is used to torture prisoners in ways of their thumb's bone and flesh being slowly crushed until he confesses to his crime.

Both his thumb felt an insane pain piercing his nail beds. He saw that there were sharp metal points lined on the upper and bellow of his thumb's skin. "What- stop! Stop! No!" As the screw was getting tighter and tighter, the more it pained him, the pointy metals had started to puncture the bottom of his thumbs. He trembled.

He wanted to take them off but four soldiers was holding him in place. His fingertips started to turn red and purple, his nails felt an incredible pain. Later on as the soldier would twist the screw tighter to pierce his nail beds, the blood had started to trickle down. "I didn't do it- AAAAAHH!!"

Jian Li started wriggling his feet, wanting the pain to stop. "Stop it!!" His cries disturbed the people, they wore a very concerned and uncomfortable face while only Deverus smiled.

"Admit your sin, devil." He said, trying to push the people to chant with him.

Jian Li couldn't get out of the situation. Only thing left was verbal conversation. "No! This is a frame up!" As soon as he said this, the soldier stopped and looked at Deverus who looked as heated as ever.

"Admit it Jian Li! Or whomever you are!" He shouted to him.

"That diary is not mine!" Stated the King loudly. "I did not break any law! You have no proof besides that!" He sniffed his snot from crying from the pain.

Then Jian Li shouts again, "How talented you are to even find a man to forge my handwritings! You cannot accuse me as simple as that!"

Then the people murmurs lowly. "That's true.. it might've been forged.."

"Yeah.."

Their signs of doubts destroyed Deverus' plan. But it's okay, he can still back the situation. He sighs the anger. "Fine then. I will bring you proof first thing in the morning." His cape flapped as he leaned to Jian Li's ears.

"Hear me," he said.

"This is the place where you gained everything. And this is also the place where you'll lose it all." He lowly mumbles to his head. "Your name, your title, your crown, your throne, your family, and your sanity."

He stands properly and turns his heels. "Be prepared."

Then Deverus shouts at the soldiers. "Lock him on the pillory!"

The pillory is a hinged wooden board, it is where prisoners or street thieves are hung standing to present to the pedestrians. It is a form of public shaming for the ones who committed crime. And as cruel as he could expect his punishments are, this is just the start.

The metal that was stimulating his flesh tightly was unscrewed, the red in his fingertips came back again and he felt like he could once more breathe. Jian Li's legs was untied and his weak body was brought to the strange, large, wooden standing board.

The soldiers quietly placed Jian Li's neck and both of his wrists through the holes of the hinged wooden board and the top board was fastened not too tightly to fit his neck and hold him in place.

Jian Li hissed, his thumbs are still bleeding and pulsing now he had to bear this numbing pain of standing all night. He felt so disheartened and small.

A man who looked like a commoner walked up to the King and stopped infront of him, wearing a pitied face. Jian Li only looked at him.

Then he suddenly smiled creepily, bringing a crown of thorns from his back, forcefully pushing it down of Jian Li's head while laughing hard. "Here, ya go, King." When the long and shiny thorns pierced his scalp, some of the sharp points felt like it reached through his skull, he felt such excruciating pain inside him, he screamed and yelled so much that his eyes ran out of tears. The nobles around him watched him with grins and soft chuckles until they left the venue.

Jian Li felt so afraid. He felt extremely terrified.