Chapter 41: The Trial
The next day, Zhao Yi woke up unusually early.
A sound night's sleep left him refreshed and full of vigor. At the breakfast table, he engaged in another silent duel with his old man, Zhao Zhao, which ultimately concluded with an arrogant, booming burp from Zhao Yi and a liver-colored, suffocating expression on Zhao Zhao's face.
The morning assembly in the Golden Luan Palace passed as quickly as a mere formality. Wu Mingkong's imperial body had "just recovered," so she still did not show her face. Instead, Grand Eunuch Gui relayed a few oral edicts before hastily dismissing the court.
Zhao Yi had just prepared to slip away when Eunuch Gui's ghostly figure drifted right in front of him.
"Lord Zhao, the Emperor has issued an edict commanding you to proceed to the Ministry of Punishments to observe the trial in the case of Wang Defa."
Zhao Yi curled his lips in a reluctant grimace.
Did he still have to go watch that old hound's final act?
Fine.
***
The main hall of the Ministry of Punishments.
It was already packed with a bustling crowd, the atmosphere so oppressive it made it difficult to breathe. The outside of the hall was surrounded by curious commoners looking on, while the interior was filled with officials of various ranks attending as observers.
Wang Defa, guarded by two fierce jailers like wolves or tigers, knelt in the center of the hall.
In merely a single night, this former chancellor who had once wielded immense power over the court had become gaunt and haggard, his hair turned completely gray and his gaze turbid—leaving not a shred of his former majesty.
The joint tribunal of the Three Judicial Offices.
Li Zheng, Minister of Punishments; Chen Ziang, President of the Court of Judicial Review; and Xiao Guan, Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, sat abreast on the elevated seats of honor.
"Clack!"
Li Zheng struck the gavel, his voice booming like a great bell.
"Bring in the witness!"
As soon as his voice fell, a weeping, wailing old woman was half-carried and half-dragged up by two bailiffs.
The moment the old woman entered, she collapsed onto the floor, kowtowing repeatedly toward the dais with loud, echoing thuds, weeping so hysterically that she was completely out of breath.
"O upright and honorable judges! You must seek justice for this old bag of bones!"
The entire hall of officials stared in utter bewilderment.
What kind of play was this?
Wang Defa also raised his clouded eyes, a look of profound confusion on his face.
Li Zheng asked in a deep voice, "Who stands below, and what is your grievance? Speak quickly!"
Pointing a trembling finger at Wang Defa, tears and snot streaming down her face, the old woman wailed in a piercing shriek.
"I accuse him! It's this old bastard! Half a month ago at night, he... he broke into a private residence and... and committed outrages against me!"
Boom!
The entire hall of the Ministry of Punishments fell instantly dead silent.
Everyone was petrified, jaws dropping to the floor, eyes bulging out like copper bells.
Wang Defa felt as though he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. He jerked his head up, his ashen face instantly turning a bruised, liverish purple as veins bulged out one by one.
"You... you utter nonsense!"
"You're shifting blame with malicious lies! When on earth has this old man... when has this old man ever set eyes on you?!"
He trembled so violently with agitation that he wished he could rush up and tear that old woman's mouth apart.
The old woman wept even more bitterly.
"Of course you won't admit it! You beast wearing human skin, you pull up your pants and refuse to acknowledge your deeds! I... an old woman of over sixty years, what reputation do I have left to speak of?! Sob, sob, sob..."
Wang Defa was so furious that his vision darkened; missing a breath, he almost passed out on the spot.
"Slander! This is monstrous slander!"
Li Zheng looked at him expressionlessly and spoke slowly.
"Wang Defa, you claim she is slandering you. Do you have evidence?"
Wang Defa was dumbfounded on the spot.
"How... how am I supposed to prove this? I was sleeping at home that night! My wife and children can all testify to it!"
Li Zheng sneered coldly.
"Can testimony from family members count? That's called shielding a criminal!"
"Since you cannot produce evidence that you were not there, it means you were there!"
Wang Defa hung his jaw open, his mind blank.
How the hell was he supposed to prove this?
How was he supposed to prove he *hadn't* done something?!
Before he could recover from this logic that turned black into white, Li Zheng tossed out a second heavy bombshell.
"Wang Defa, that glazed cup you presented to the Emperor is worth one hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver. This official asks you, where did such a huge sum of money come from?"
Wang Defa's heart skipped a beat, and the words slipped out before he could think.
"That was... was given by my father-in-law's family!"
"Good!" Li Zheng slammed the gavel down fiercely, pointing at Wang Defa and proclaiming to the assembled officials in a ringing voice, "Everyone has heard it!"
"He has confessed with his own mouth to accepting massive bribes from his wife's family!"
Wang Defa was completely stupefied.
He felt as though his brain was no longer functioning. Had this world gone completely mad?!
"I did not! That was—"
"Silence!" Li Zheng gave him no chance to explain whatsoever. He picked up a thick stack of case files from the desk and smashed them heavily onto the ground.
"Wang Defa! You have broken the law for personal gain, formed cliques for private interests, and treated human lives like grass! Here are the confessions pressed in the personal thumbprints of your own accomplices! Every single item and case is backed by ironclad evidence! What further defense do you have to offer?!"
Those case files scattered all over the floor, the bright red thumbprints upon them stinging Wang Defa's eyes with pain.
Those were all real.
It was over.
Chen Ziang, President of the Court of Judicial Review, could finally no longer sit still. He abruptly stood up.
"Lord Li! The crime of witchcraft is heinous, but corruption and bribery do not merit death! I implore you..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Zhao Yi, who had been standing quietly in the corner watching the show, finally made a move.
Zhao Yi strolled forward leisurely, eyeing him sideways.
"Hearing Lord Chen's words, I really don't understand."
"Does your meaning imply that as chancellor, pocketing a bit of money and harming a few people is no great matter?"
"Or perhaps, corruption and bribery among the officials of our Great Zhou are matters of course?"
"For you to plead so hard for Wang Defa, could it be that you belong to his faction as well?"
A rapid-fire series of interrogations struck like heavy hammers, draining the color from Chen Ziang's face and forcing him back step by step until he was utterly speechless.
The joint trial, under such "conclusive evidence," rapidly reached its verdict.
"Wang Defa, for deceiving the sovereign, plotting treason, and corrupting the law, with multiple crimes compounded, the sentence is execution by decapitation, carried out immediately!"
***
When the affair concluded, Zhao Yi was summoned once again into the imperial palace.
It was the same familiar bedchamber.
Wu Mingkong reclined languidly on a soft couch, a trace of indolent amusement playing across her face.
"My beloved official, you have rendered distinguished service through hard work. What reward do you desire?"
Zhao Yi rubbed his hands together, a somewhat bashful and sheepish smile appearing on his face.
"Your Majesty is too gracious. This is merely this official's bounden duty."
"Sharing burdens for Your Majesty and ridding the court of pests is an obligation this official ought to fulfill!"
He paused slightly, shifting the tone, and that shy expression became even more earnest.
"However, since Your Majesty has brought it up, this official cannot well decline."
"Just casually reward me with one or two hundred thousand taels of silver will do. It doesn't have to be too much, really."
Wu Mingkong's hand, holding her teacup, paused mid-air.
The indolent smile on her face froze bit by bit.
A chilling murderous intent began to pervade the hall.
She truly wanted to smash a teacup into the face of this scoundrel.
Just as Zhao Yi began to feel a chilling draft at the back of his neck, the murderous intent on Wu Mingkong's face suddenly vanished like smoke.
She slowly lowered her teacup and curled a finger at Zhao Yi, signaling him to draw closer.
Her voice turned soft, tinged with playfulness and an ineffable allure.
"Is that so?"
"My beloved official... do you only want money?"