Chapter 123: The court is reversed, the swordsman blocks the way

Chapter 123: The court is reversed, the swordsman blocks the way

There was a sudden noise in the Golden Palace.

Admit it!
Faced with Zhou Cheng's trap question, Ma Yan did not dodge or avoid it, but directly admitted it!
In the crowd, the Imperial Censor Yuan Li, dressed in a blue shirt, watched quietly, his eyes slowly narrowed, and his gaze quietly glanced at the empress.

As if he had guessed something, a barely perceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

In contrast, the prime minister, who was the "party leader", frowned and looked vaguely uneasy.

Everyone should know that Zhou Cheng's words set the tone. He discarded all the messy clues and only grasped the core.

From the moment Ma Yan nodded in agreement, the imperial court fell into an extremely passive situation.

"Did the governor admit it?"

Zhou Cheng was stunned for a moment, and the "chuan" wrinkles on his brow became deeper.

Ma Yan looked at him coldly and said sarcastically:

"I am different from Zhou Tingwei. There is nothing wrong with admitting what I have done."

Zhou Cheng didn't care about the sting in his words, and immediately turned around and said to the empress:
"Your Majesty, you have heard that Ma Yan has admitted to the crime. I beg you to follow the laws of Dayu and severely punish Ma Yan and his subordinates, including Zhao Duan and all the officials of Lihuatang!"

After he finished speaking, the other officials of the Dali Temple who followed him to the palace and were above the fifth rank came out one after another and said in unison:
"I ask your Majesty to punish severely and enforce the law!"

Among the hundreds of officials, a secretary stood up and echoed loudly:
"The imperial court is unscrupulous and the people are complaining. This is due to long-standing problems..."

Another official jumped out to support the Dali Temple and criticize Ma Yan.

Not all of them were Zhou Cheng's followers. Some of them were simply trying to take advantage of the situation. For a time, there was an endless stream of requests for help.

"Snapped!"

The eunuch beside the throne room raised his whip and lashed at the ground fiercely:
"quiet--"

The ministers finally quieted down. Xu Zhenguan, who sat high on the throne, remained calm, but her eyes became much colder. Her cold voice spread throughout the hall:
"Finished?"

No one answered.

Xu Zhenguan said calmly: "Now that we have finished speaking, it is your turn to tell them."

What do you mean?
Zhou Cheng keenly noticed the weirdness of these words.

"Yes." Ma Yan spoke calmly and looked around at the ministers:

"What Zhou Tingwei said is indeed true, but I have never violated the law in my imperial court."

Zhou Cheng was stunned, and many people were also confused.

However, the next second, Ma Yan explained to them:
"According to Dayu law, if it is an ordinary case, the Dali Temple has already arrested the criminal, and the imperial court cannot fight for it. But... there is an exception, which is the imperial power to grant special permission and issue an imperial decree to arrest the criminal!"

Zhou Cheng's expression changed slightly, and he understood what the other party meant.

Sure enough, Ma Yan took out another thick stack of documents from his sleeve, pulled out the top few, and showed them to the gentlemen:
"As early as the day before yesterday, His Majesty had already ordered the Imperial Court to investigate the crimes of Marquis Xia Jiang and arrest him if necessary. The relevant procedures have official approval documents for review. According to the laws of Dayu, the Imperial Court can exercise its authority to arrest cases authorized by the Emperor, and the three judicial departments cannot obstruct it.

So! Last night, Zhao Duan took my imperial edict and arrested Xia Jianghou. He was acting on the emperor's orders. Dali Temple Secretary He Zheng obstructed him because of personal grudges, but was repelled by Zhao Jisi. It was not against the law!
What's going on! The emperor ordered the arrest first, and the Dali Temple arrested the person later. And from what I saw, when the arrest was made, Xia Jianghou and Zhou Tingwei were having tea together. When facing interrogation, they resolutely defended him.

I also want to ask, how much benefit did Xia Jianghou give you to make Lord Zhou willing to come forward? ! "

After saying that, he threw the files in his hand towards Zhou Cheng.

"Wow--"

Papers flew and scattered all over the floor.

The whole place was silent.

The officials from the Dali Temple stood there in a daze. They had never expected that Ma Yan would come up with this answer.

His Majesty has already ordered an investigation into Marquis Xia Jiang...isn't it because of his scandal with Zhao Duan?

This greatly exceeded their expectations.

As for whether the files on the ground are real or fake, did they really happen, or did the empress rush to work overnight to protect the imperial court and add them afterwards?
Even if someone has doubts, no one would be stupid enough to raise them on the spot.

The truth doesn't matter.

The important thing is that Ma Yan came up with legal reasons, so Zhou Cheng’s impeachment was untenable.

"Your Majesty...this matter..."

The face of Dali Temple Minister Zhou Cheng turned from rosy to pale, and then gradually to iron blue. He turned and looked at the throne.

The empress nodded expressionlessly:

"Zhou Qing misunderstood."

Misunderstanding... Zhou Cheng opened his mouth, trying to make a final struggle:

"But when Zhao Duan entered the palace, he never said that he was acting on the emperor's orders..."

Ma Yan glanced at him and said calmly:
"Which of your Majesty's subjects is not acting on your Majesty's orders?"

The implication is that since Zhao Duan did it, it must be legal.

You are wrong to question his violation of the law.

Zhou Cheng was speechless.

Those who had just jumped out to support him also fell silent.

In the crowd, Yuan Li had an undisguised smile on his face. He looked at his old rival Li Yanfu, but saw that the prime minister had already closed his eyes and seemed not to intend to intervene.

This made Yuan Li, who was sharpening her knife, feel a little regretful.

Ma Yan spoke again at this time. He shook the remaining thick files in his hand and said:

"Since Lord Zhou is silent, it is my turn to ask questions. Since the Dali Temple claims to be investigating Marquis Xiajiang, what have they found?"

Zhou Cheng said with a gloomy face, "It's just a suspicion, but it's not confirmed yet."

Ma Yan nodded: "That means I don't have it anymore. It doesn't matter. I have it."

He took out a piece of paper and read:
"According to our investigation, Xia Jianghou had large amounts of gold and silver transactions with the Red Flower Society, a gang in the capital. He used the Red Flower Society to secretly open four gambling houses and two underground money houses..."

"In order to collect debts, the Red Flower Society secretly killed 39 people..."

"Last September, he indirectly controlled the Human Tooth Organization through the Red Flower Society and trafficked 14 girls from decent families into Beijing, presumably to bribe them. He also hid three girls in his private residence, and tortured them to death in January this year, then threw their bodies into the river to destroy the evidence..."

"And the latest case, he kidnapped Feng Lianlian, the daughter of the head of the Ministry of Personnel. Fortunately, Zhao Duan rescued her in time. The evidence for the above cases is complete and can be verified."

The throne room was quiet.

Behind the crimson official robe of Dali Temple Minister Zhou Cheng, cold sweat quietly seeped out of his back.

He didn't expect that the imperial court had quietly obtained so much evidence of Xia Jianghou's crimes.

Although some of the most fatal ones, such as some transactions with him, did not happen due to lack of evidence.

But these existing charges alone were enough to send this hereditary marquis to execution in autumn.

But if Xia Jianghou was imprisoned, would he betray them? Zhou Cheng quickly went over it in his mind and confirmed that he had gained a lot of benefits from the other party.

But every time he was very cautious and left no evidence.

Moreover, as long as Xia Jianghou is imprisoned, the number of people who want him to shut up will probably be several times greater than those who would try to rescue him.

"This man is so evil that if the governor hadn't pointed it out, I would have been deceived by him!"

Zhou Cheng's expression changed as fast as turning over a book, and he said indignantly.

Those ministers who had just stood up seemed to have just woken up from their dream.

They turned their guns on Marquis Xia Jiang and asked the empress to punish him severely.

This impeachment against Zhao Duan and Ma Yan seemed to be forgotten by everyone and became the trial of Xia Jianghou.

……

……

Just when the court trial was in full swing.

Zhao Duan also left his home and walked towards the palace for a long time.

After the sun rose, the sunlight was scorching hot, so he hid in the carriage to cool off.

Without a mobile phone, the bumpy carriage is not suitable for reading...

Especially in the vernacular stories of this era, either a talented man marries a beautiful woman, or a talented man marries a female ghost, or a talented man marries a princess...

Zhao Duan said that authors of this era are too timid and don't even dare to fantasize about writing about a empress, and he despises them.

I can only look at the scenery outside the window boredly.

However, at first the scene on the street outside seemed normal, but gradually, he began to feel uneasy.

"Little Prince, haven't we arrived at the palace yet?" Zhao Duan suddenly asked.

The driver Xiao Wang was also surprised:

"My Lord, something seems amiss. I have walked this road more than once, but somehow this street feels so unfamiliar."

As he spoke, he also slowed down the carriage.

Zhao Duan stood up, subconsciously grasped his sword and lifted the curtain.

I didn't know when the two of them turned into a quiet street.

There were shops on both sides, but they were all empty and there was not a single pedestrian.

The shops were open, too.

Including a noodle shop on the side of the road, there were even noodles bubbling in the pot and wafting hot steam.

But there was no one in sight.

"Stop the car." Zhao Duan said in a deep voice.

The driver also realized the danger, and hurriedly tightened the reins, held the weapon at his waist, and looked around vigilantly.

The master and servant got out of the car and looked back first.

However, the street in the direction they came from was very long and seemed to have no end.

Looking forward again, it looks the same.

"Sir, how can this be..."

The young official surnamed Wang turned pale:
"We won't run into a wall of ghosts, will we?"

Zhao Duan raised his hand and shaved his scalp, cursing:

"Where did the ghost come from in broad daylight?"

He said with a grim expression: "But we are indeed in trouble."

At this moment, he thought of the warning from the "Sanguan" in the Tianshi Mansion:

The bloody disaster lingering above his head!
Zhao Duan initially thought that the disaster should befall Xia Jianghou, but it did not happen yesterday.

But I didn't expect it to come at this moment.

"Sir, you mean someone..." The coachman Xiao Wang was stunned.

Zhao Duan interrupted him, suddenly looked into the distance, his expression changed slightly:
"what is that?"

Xiao Wang subconsciously turned his head to look, and then felt a sharp pain at the back of his head, his eyes went dark, and he passed out.

Zhao Duan retracted his palm knife and raised his hand to grab the unconscious subordinate.

After learning the lesson from Zhu Kui, he inevitably became more cautious about the people around him.

Although he couldn't be sure whether the driver had anything to do with the turn into this strange street, there was no need for him to take any risks.

Besides, facing an enemy capable of threatening his life, having one more follower would be of little use.

"I'm sorry, if it has nothing to do with you, I'll take you out after I've dealt with the enemy."

Zhao Duan threw his subordinates into the carriage, then raised his hand to calm the restless horse.

With a clang, he drew out his sword and walked forward.

Quiet streets and densely packed buildings.

A cloud quietly floated across the sky, blocking the scorching sun and casting a shadow.

Zhao Duan walked with a knife in hand, and after taking a few hundred steps, he suddenly stopped.

There is a tea stall in front of the street, leaning against a gray brick wall. There are only two tables under the awning of the tea stall.

At one of the tables, a person was sitting on a bench.

He was wearing a grey robe and a bamboo hat, and underneath the robe was a white swordsman's robe.

He lowered his head, sipping tea quietly. On the table, besides a teapot, a tea bowl, and a sword lying horizontally.

An unsheathed long sword.

A... swordsman?
Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows, a little surprised: "Are you waiting for me?"

The swordsman slowly raised his head. Under his bamboo hat, a laugh came from behind the indigo ghost mask:
"I've long heard of your name, Zhao Duan."

Zhao Duan stared at the ghost face, sighed softly, and thought to himself, Xiao Wang, you guessed right.

In broad daylight, there really are ghosts running rampant.

……

Correct typos first and then correct them
(End of this chapter)