Within the Ministry of Justice, as the Three Agencies jointly interrogated Zhao Douan, elsewhere.
Great Yu Capital.
Atop the West City Gate, the city guards were changing shifts as usual. As the new guards ascended the walls, gripping their weapons while standing over this majestic city, they looked westward.
The line of commoners waiting to enter the city looked like a string of ink dots scattered upon the earth.
"Yawn."
A soldier couldn't help but yawn and rub his eyes, his gaze unconsciously drifting into the distance, hoping to find clarity in the far views.
Then he blinked, noticing at the edge of his sight on the horizon, a black dot speeding toward them rapidly.
At first, it was indistinct, but as it entered the range of the city's bows and crossbows, he finally saw clearly—a lone horse was galloping fiercely.
The horse's hooves kicked up dust, almost gliding across the ground, trailing a cloud of dust behind.
Upon the horse was a "female general," travel-worn!
She rode hard, her valiant and spirited figure accentuated by her hair tied into a ponytail at the back of her head, a teardrop-shaped mole by the corner of her eye.
Seven days ago, the rider, the Daffodil Hall Master who had left the Capital, shouted at the people queuing at the city gate:
"Imperial Decree Departnt returning to the city, clear the way!"
...
North City Gate.
A travel-stained Zhang Han reined in her horse at the gate, looking down she asked:
"Has anything changed in the Capital these days?"
The gatekeeping officer knew Zhang Han and said with a strange expression:
"You've returned at the right ti. Hurry to the Ministry of Justice, there might still be a spectacle to witness. Today the Three Agencies are trying Zhao Douan. Your Lihua Hall Master is likely not far from death."
Zhang Han's expression changed dramatically.
...
"The evidence I've been waiting for has arrived."
In the courtroom, as Zhao Douan declared this, there was a mont of silence in the air.
Then, those who thought the dust had settled were startled.
Eyes involuntarily fell upon the young priestess who had suddenly burst into the courtroom.
So were unfamiliar with her, but many recognized this Heavenly Master's disciple, who conducted herself so differently from ordinary people.
mories of Zhao Douan's words echoed in their minds, yet they were increasingly perplexed.
"Evidence?"
Ma Yan's eyes brightened, and without reason, his lifted heart suddenly cald.
In that mont, as he saw the smile at the corner of Zhao Douan's mouth, he rembered the day they caught the spy. The young man had the sa look then.
It was the smile of soone in total control, fully confident in the situation.
"Master has finally spoken!"
Qian Kerou, amidst the crowd, excited with agitation, stood on tiptoes and said:
"So the master wasn't confessing guilt or remaining silent, but waiting for the evidence to be delivered!"
Shen Juan, Hou Renng, and Zheng the old man also perked up, their eyes gleaming, realizing that a turning point might have arrived.
"Evidence?"
Up high on the bench, Yuann Li revealed an interested gaze, glancing toward Zhou Cheng.
He still held the mallet in his hand, but his sentence had abruptly stopped, and a mont of unease showed on his deeply wrinkled face.
"Priest Jin Jian?"
The usually inconspicuous Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Justice expressed surprise at the young girl's identity, then turned to Zhao Douan:
"You say you have evidence?"
After the crowd's commotion had sowhat subsided, Zhao Douan smiled and nodded, stating:
"Indeed. Just now Mr. Zhou repeatedly interrogated the human witnesses and presented physical evidence, accusing of murdering Su Hongyu, and then asked if I had anything to say."
His tone was light and he remained calm and composed.
Despite wearing prisoner's garb and shackles, standing in this grand and stern hall, he showed no signs of nervousness.
He walked leisurely, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding faces, his voice suddenly rising:
"Of course, I have sothing to say!"
His eyes turned to Wang Shan, the coroner, and the other witnesses, Su Hongyu's uncle, and aunt, with a sense of lant:
"So many witnesses, their testimonies, and the detailed, ticulous, interlocking evidence behind them. All arranged so neatly—I suppose it must have been hard work for Mr. Zhou, hasn't it?"
The gavel in Zhou Cheng's hand finally fell with a "bang." Without expression, he sharply rebuked:
"Prisoner below the bench, how dare you defy and slander this official? What is your ulterior motive?"
"Slander?" Zhao Douan laughed lightly, his tone full of aning:
"Mr. Zhou, don't you feel guilty saying these words?"
Then, without waiting for Zhou Cheng to react, he continued:
"Fortunately, when I learned of Qin Qiu's disappearance, suspecting that you had kidnapped him, I realized that you might take action against . So, for my own protection, I reluctantly had to make so preparations and arrangents."
That day, he had seen Qin Qiu in the prison through a mirror and guessed that Zhou Cheng would make a move against him.
He decisively summoned Jin Jian, requesting her help to secretly follow Zhou Cheng, and it indeed paid off.
This was also why he went to apprehend the culprits at such a convenient ti, precisely after their secret eting had ended—waiting for evidence gathering to be complete!
Preparations? Arrangents?
At this mont, everyone in the Ministry of Justice showed clearly altered expressions.
And even among the crowd outside the hall, many were paying close attention.
"Feigning mystery!"
From the jury bench, Hee Zheng scoffed, but the slight tension in his brows revealed his inner unrest.
The arrival of Jin Jian alone signaled sothing.
But would a re act of feigning mystery prompt a Heavenly Master's disciple to appear?
"Priest Jin Jian, since I'm not free to move, I'll have to trouble you to take out the evidence I entrusted to you and present it for everyone here to see today."
Zhao Douan took in everyone's expressions, a trace of coldness appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"Alright." Jin Jian looked as if she hadn't slept well, extrely tired.
She disliked such occasions but still obligingly reached out, pulling a palm-sized scroll from the pouch at her waist.
The mont the scroll was produced, many faces shifted, recognizing the object.
Recording Scroll!
When Zhao Douan first traveled through ti and t the son of Ning'an County, his "rival" Zhang Changshuo had bled profusely, expending a Recording Scroll to record the process of their eting.
In the Great Yu Dynasty's court, officials who had reached a certain grade were all familiar with this artifact.
Like Feng Ju, who had t Zhao Douan on the boat and repeatedly spoke in riddles—it was all to avoid being recorded and leaving evidence behind.
What was inside this scroll?
What was recorded?
No one knew, but it sparked limitless imagination.
At the high platform, Zhou Cheng narrowed his eyes, still managing to keep his composure, for at his position, he was naturally not unprepared for such Magic Artifacts.
The fire-red, pigeon-egg-sized jade ring on his finger was a treasure that could sense Mana fluctuations.
Once spied upon by magic, it would automatically alert him.
He subconsciously thought that there had been a mistake in the tasks assigned to his subordinates.
Or perhaps Wang Shan, during his days in the Imperial Prison, had been tricked into revealing sothing.
However, the next second, when Priest Jin Jian unfurled the scroll, infused Mana into it, and projected the recorded images and sounds onto the air in the form of a "light screen,"
Zhou Cheng's complexion changed dramatically, no longer composed.
In the light screen, what erged was the very day he had invited Wang Shan to et at the Hele Building.
It was the scene just before Zhao Douan arrived.
In the picture.
Wang Shan's face was plastered with a smile, "You summoned today, sir, and I doubt it was to reminisce about the old days with this peasant?"
Zhou Cheng said, "…I seek you not for anything else but for one person."
"Who?"
"Zhao Douan!"
As soon as this scene began, and the voices were heard, the expressions of those present subtly changed.
And the conversation that followed was the real sting.
"How was the woman I sent?"
"Speaking of that, I too rember vividly… In the end, that Zhao Douan tied up the concubine and left her aside, sleeping soundly through the night all by himself! ...claiming that there was only the Saint in his heart, may heaven and earth bear witness."
"How can you be sure? Explain in detail!"
"That is a good reminder from you, sir…"
"Where is that woman? I wish to et her."
"Your discerning eye sees all, sir. That Zhao Douan murders to silence his victims, disregarding imperial law!"
In the picture, Zhou Cheng burst into laughter, raising his wine glass to clink with him:
"Today, I finally understand how you have won Mr. Wang's favor…"
At this point, the image abruptly ended, and the light screen vanished, with Priest Jin Jian silently rolling up the scroll, his face innocent.
Silence.
Inside and outside the hall, suddenly fell into a deathly stillness.
The next second, sothing dropped from soone's hand, making a noise.
The crowd buzzed, and an uproar ensued!
It was as if the water in a pot had boiled over; many Ministry of Justice officials who were serving as jurors even stood up in shock, with Hee Zheng scattering docunts all over the floor, his face as pale as paper.
Instinctively looking toward Zhou Cheng on the platform, they saw this one of the nine ministers, the Minister charged with guardianship, equally stunned.
In his mind, only three words echoed "impossible."
He had been wearing the ring that day, so why…
When he caught a glimpse of Priest Jin Jian looking as if he had nothing to do with it, he suddenly realized.
Yes, a Magic Artifact could prevent common spying, but what if the one secretly recording was a Direct Disciple of the Old Heavenly Master?
It suddenly made sense that he hadn't noticed.
He almost lost his composure, his vision darkening.
And the expressions of Chief of Staff Yuann Li and the Ministry of Justice officials next to him suddenly beca very sympathetic.
In the jury seats.
A smile appeared on Ma Yan's stern face.
Sun Lianying, pretending to be asleep, already knew the whole story and was completely unaffected, even finding it a bit humorous.
The group of witnesses also went pale, especially Wang Shan, whose legs gave way and he fell to the ground, his arrogance completely gone!
Outside the hall, the mbers of Lihua Hall could hardly conceal their joy.
"I always said the lord was innocent!"
Qian Kerou's round face was flushed red with excitent.
"The lord… no wonder, on the day he took us to capture soone, he was not in a hurry at all, and even let us eat first," Hou Renng slowly comprehended.
"It should be so, I said the day the lord was taken away, he was unusually calm."
Shen Juan clicked his tongue in amazent, "So it was all prearranged."
Zheng, the old man, was all smiles and completely relaxed.
And the surrounding onlookers were ecstatic.
No one expected that the "evidence" Zhao Douan brought out was this.
He did not explain the death of Su Hongyu.
He did not respond to the ticulously fabricated charges poised against him.
His response was simple, like a knife slicing through fog, pointing straight to the core.
With the release of this Recording, just the words of Wang Shan in the picture were enough to overturn the charges in this case.
And Zhou Cheng's insinuated "hints" in his words were pushing him, the presiding official, into the eye of the storm.
"So it is… Master Zhao's loyalty to Your Majesty is evident… Admirable!"
"Such audacity from Wang Shan and these so-called witnesses, brazenly slandering Lord Zhao!"
"Master Zhou had already t Wang Shan… This…"
The opinions were nurous, and the tide of sentint swiftly turned.
With only this piece of evidence, Zhao Douan was safe today, and not only that, his favor with the Saint might even deepen.
Who could resist the words "Only the Saint in my heart, heaven and earth bear witness"?
But then again, licking to such an extent, refusing a beauty sent to his doorstep, seed a bit... much. They admired yet despised him.
They felt Zhao Douan was truly ill…
"Mr. Zhou, how do you explain this?" At the high platform, Yuann Li looked toward him with a smile that wasn't a smile.
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