Chapter 88 Trouble's Brewing

For the reward of a Spirit Beast Egg from the south, an additional update (5.7)

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Seeing Lord Tang sitting on the ground, the soldier supporting him curled his lips in disdain.

These cultured bureaucrats really are useless, acting all menacing ordinarily, but get scared to this extent at the sight of a startled horse or a dead body.

The soldier turned his head and called to his comrade, then another soldier came over, and together they dragged and carried Lord Tang away.

No one came here to pry around; this place seemed to have become dreaded by everyone.

Yet that did not prevent the news from spreading throughout the capital like the wind.

A high-ranking official, after a guilty official's assassination, trampled to death by a startled horse—such a theatrical event was something even storytellers couldn't make up.

The case of Wan Dahai three years ago was once again brought into the public eye.

Was it a malicious act of revenge by the descendants of the guilty official, or a seeking of justice filled with grievances?

Was the Duke of Chengguo's heir's public beheading of the horse a coincidence or an intentional act, and does Lord Huang really intend to impeach the Duke of Chengguo?

All sorts of rumors set the entire capital abuzz.

"It's just too thrilling."

Seventh Chen paced back and forth in Jiuling Hall, his expression animated.

"The girls from the Wan Family are really formidable!"

"Don't talk nonsense," Fang Jinxiu said, "We still don't know what happened."

"What else could have happened, the eyes of the people are clear," Seventh Chen said, "That's why I say there is justice in this world."

He sighed again.

"It's just unfortunate that the Wan Family's justice came at the cost of a life."

So what if it was bought with a life, it's still luckier than not being able to buy it with a life, Fang Jinxiu thought silently, then she looked up.

"Was that startled horse really just a coincidence?" she asked.

Miss Jun, who had been silent since she came back and reported everything, looked at her upon hearing the question.

"Whether it's a coincidence or not, that's for the emperor to decide," she said.

Lord Huang died, and coincidentally, Zhu Zan was also present at the scene.

Nowadays, the civil servants in the court are quite displeased with the Duke of Chengguo, and this time it also involved the death of Lord Huang, I'm afraid...

Seventh Chen stopped pacing, his expression grave.

Even though he was not a man of the court, he knew that this affair meant big trouble for the Duke of Chengguo.

"Why did it have to be the Duke of Chengguo's heir," Seventh Chen said.

He had a good impression of the Duke of Chengguo's heir; after all, he had helped Jiuling Hall several times, and Seventh Chen considered him one of their own.

Hmm, even more so than Ning Yunzhao.

Seventh Chen weighed the two in his mind.

"I'll go find out what's happening," he said.

Miss Jun did not stop him.

"Go to Manager Liu; De Sheng Chang has a wide network," she said.

She was also eager to know the outcome.

Seventh Chen left in a hurry in response.

The news did not take long to arrive; by dusk, word had gotten out, given the magnitude of the incident and its connection to a three-year-old case.

After this group proceeded to the imperial palace, it was reported that the typically kindhearted and gentle emperor couldn't bear the sight of an elder mourning the loss of a young life, sobbing outside the palace with Boss Huang until Boss Huang fainted from grief, and the emperor was fed medicine by the eunuchs against his chest, fearing any harm to his dragon physique.

The culprit was questioned on the spot; although the culprit was dead, his body was still flogged and then ordered to be hung at the city gates for public display.

As for the Duke of Chengguo's heir.

"The Duke of Chengguo's heir insisted on his innocence, saying he saw the horse get startled, and he just happened to pass by and watch the excitement, and that's when he acted to stop it."

"The horse's fright has nothing to do with him; he also doesn't know why the horse was startled."

"It's better to investigate the matter of the horse."

"The horses from the Five Cities Military Department have never acted like this before, so why did the horses newly delivered by the Pasture Supervision Bureau behave in such a manner?"

Seventh Chen mocked Zhu Zan's tone exaggeratedly, glanced at the people in the room as he spoke.

"Do you know who the boss of the Pasture Supervision Bureau is?" he said, winking and grimacing.

"You're not here to perform a storytelling," Fang Jinxiu said coldly.

Seventh Chen faltered.

"It's Wang Ziyang, Judge Wang." He initially wanted to add, "Do you know who Wang Ziyang is?" but seeing Fang Jinxiu's cold face, he swallowed his words and spoke gravely, "He is Lord Huang's godson."

It sounds indisputable, but would the emperor believe it?

Miss Jun and Fang Jinxiu were both looking at him; no one was clapping or showing excitement.

Seventh Chen drooped his head and spread his hands.

"Well, then the emperor ordered the Imperial Guard to give Zhu Zan fifty lashes, stripped him of his role as Suppression Force Envoy, and jailed him in the imperial prison to await sentencing," he said with a sigh, "The news from inside the imperial palace says the beating was ruthless. The emperor himself took the iron mallet from the Imperial Guard and struck Zhu Zan. Due to the emperor's intervention, the subsequent punishment was extremely harsh, and Zhu Zan fainted on the spot."

Fang Jinxiu also clenched her hands and looked towards Miss Jun, although she didn't know why she looked to her—rationally speaking, the Princely Heir wasn't very familiar to them.

Miss Jun's usually calm face now had knitted brows, her hands clasped in front of her.

However, the flogging was the lesser concern—the location of the imprisonment was the imperial prison.

"What about the imperial prison?" Fang Jinxiu, not understanding these matters, asked.

"The imperial prison is under the control of the Northern Administrative Court," Manager Liu said from the side.

Jinyiwei.

"At the beginning when Duke of Chengguo's heir came to the capital, it seemed the emperor was very angry but allowed a joint trial by the three judicial offices, which was clearly favoritism. Otherwise, he would have directly handed him over to the Northern Administrative Court for interrogation," Manager Liu continued, "But now the emperor has ordered him to be handed over to the Northern Administrative Court."

Jinyiwei had a vendetta against Zhu Zan, and now he had fallen into their hands.

Furthermore, he had been flogged to the point of fainting. If someone desired it, they could kill him with more than just a brutal flogging; even a small cut on a finger could be fatal.

In the prison cells swarming with Jinyiwei, would someone provide him with medical treatment for his injuries?

Miss Jun's grip tightened even more.

This truly was a big problem.

............…

In the dark and sunless imperial prison, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed, followed by the scent of herbs.

But the overpowering stench of decay here quickly absorbed the medicinal smell.

"I'm quite stressed here too."

A dull, low voice rose in the dimness.

"I could only barely arrange this single cell for you. It's a bit small, please forgive me, Lord Heir."

Although the voice was monotone, it somehow conveyed a sense of genuine apology.

The footsteps stopped, and the voice halted.

A torch was lit, its flickering light dispelling the suffocating darkness, but the space it lit was even more disconcerting.

The ink-black walls were smeared with crimson bloodstains, and various torture instruments hung upon them. At the side stood two gaunt Jinyiwei guards, appearing like specters where light and shadow intersected.

"Let's medicate the Princely Heir."

The dull male voice sounded again.

The two Jinyiwei guards stepped towards the other side, where a wooden plank bed was placed, with a man lying face down on it, apparently unconscious.

The Jinyiwei guards efficiently started to remove the man's clothes, mainly the lower garments.

A torch was also lit on this side, revealing bloodstained clothing on the man.

The fabric had adhered to flesh and blood; others might be at a loss when faced with this, but the Jinyiwei guards showed no hesitation, raising their hands to strip the clothing away.

There seemed to be a ripping sound in the room, as if a layer of human skin had been peeled off.