The main hall of the Ministry of Penalty was very spacious. Many criminals had been tried here before. Not regardless of the size of the incident or the identity of the criminals, it could not be mentioned in the same breath with the Court of Judicial Review. But this was the Ministry of Penalty after all, so when the Minister of Penalty had no choice but to sit behind the table on the left, he was not in a good mood.
He glanced at the Minister of Censors opposite. The latter was a thin civil servant who was over half a century years old. His eyes narrowed slightly after he was seated as if he began to doze off.
This attitude showed that he would not be too attentive to the trial afterward.
Actually, this was the case too. The Three Judicial Chief Ministries trying a single case, there had to be a primary and secondary. Since the Court of Judicial Review was presiding over the case, then the two of them had better not supplant the host. But, the Minster of Penalty had received other news long before this and did not think so.
Han Pu who was dressed in large red official robes walked in from outside the main hall and seated in the main seat. Today, he was not as scary as in the past. Unexpectedly, the large red official robes had some brightness.
The middle-aged daoist nun trio walked in from outside the main hall. The Three Judicial Chief Ministries' three people all stood up to show some respect. No matter how their relationship with the foreign cultivators was, the respect at this moment was due. Although this was the Divine Capital, the logic was the same as these three people having no choice but to enter the palace to meet with the Emperor.
Only after those three people were seated, did these three people sit down again.
A small number of civilians were permitted to enter the compound. They were some distance away from the main hall, but they were able to clearly hear the voices coming from the main hall.
Everything was ready.
The Minister of Penalty said softly, "Lord Han, you can bring in the criminal."
Han Pu said calmly, "Bring the criminal in."
The sound of shackles being dragged across the ground sounded out. A youth who was dressed in black and had an unkempt appearance was brought in from outside by two feudal troops. He walked extremely slowly like he had suffered some kind of harsh torture in the Court of Judicial Review. Coupled with his current appearance, it clearly gave people a particularly wretched feeling.
The middle-aged daoist nun laughed coldly, looking somewhat delighted.
The two feudal troops withdrew at this moment, leaving Chen Chao alone.
The Minister of Penalty could not help but say, "Why aren't you kneeling?!"
The moment he asked this, the middle-aged daoist nun nodded her head, while Xu Yu frowned.
The Court of Judicial Review's Han Pu had an ugly expression. He gave the Minister of Penalty a deep look. It was just that he did not speak.
Chen Chao sneaked a glance at that daoist nun who was seated by the side and used his eyes to provoke her, making that middle-aged daoist nun who had just calmed down become extremely furious again. But she could not flare up at this time, so she felt even more uncomfortable instead.
"According to Great Liang's laws, I'm still Tianqing County's warden before being convicted. I'm the same as Your Excellency, an official of the imperial court too! Why should I kneel?"
Chen Chao looked at the Minister of Penalty and narrowed his eyes.
When the civilians in the courtyard heard this, they started discussing one after another. There were even some of them who could not help but shower a few praises.
The Minister of Penalty said angrily, "Your unauthorized murder of cultivators has become a fact, what else do you have to say? At this point, you're still not repenting?!"
He wanted to completely set the tone for today's matter as soon as he opened his mouth.
But this time, without waiting for Chen Chao to speak, Han Pu said expressionlessly, "What he said is Great Liang's law too. No matter what, there is indeed no conviction at this moment."
The Minister of Penalty was taken aback. Glancing at Han Pu, he stopped talking.
As for that Court of Censors' Minister of Censor, his eyes seemed to be shut again. Who knew whether or not he really fell asleep?
"Three Streams Manor, South Heaven Sect, and Liu Shui Mountain, the three sects are accusing you of killing the cultivators of their sects without authorization. Is there such a thing?"
Han Pu looked at Chen Chao, his lips moving slightly. But, he was thinking about whether this boy had any way to resolve this issue or not.
Chen Chao was silent for a moment and said with a nod, "There's indeed such a thing."
Han Pu let out a sigh in his heart and asked, "How many people were there and why did you kill them?"
"Replying Your Excellency, there was that person called Guo Xi from the Three Streams Manor, Yan Ruoshui of South Heaven Sect; they called her Fairy Yan. There's also a pair of apprentice brother and sister left, I don't remember their names..."
Chen Chao slowly opened his mouth. It was just that when he said that he did not remember the names of that pair of apprentice brother and sister, Yu Ke's expression was a little ugly.
"Commandery Qingshan's warden came to the county to look for me, saying that there was a mine collapse in the mine and wanted me to investigate it. But, he also said that there was no rush and he wanted me to wait for a few people. As for who, he did not explain, but..."
Chen Chao talked about the sequence of events. It was just that the Minister of Penalty interrupted right after he started, "That person is now dead, there's no witness no matter what you say. Stop implicating people for no reason."
Chen Chao glanced at Han Pu, the latter was completely unresponsive. Then, he set his eyes on the Minister of Penalty and asked, "May I ask Your Excellency, do you also try cases like this normally? You jump to conclusions before the prisoner can explain things clearly?"
Chen Chao's eyes were scorching. At this moment, he was staring at the Minister of Penalty in front of him with an imposing aura. How did he still look miserable?
"You..."
The Minister of Penalty was rendered speechless for a moment. He held a high position in the Ministry of Penalty. If not for the fact that today's case was so important, how could he come and try this case in person?
"The former magistrate of Tianqing County, who is presently Wanshan County's magistrate, Mi Ke, knows about this matter too. How can you say that this lowly official is implicating people for no reason? Rather, it seems like Your Excellency has never studied Great Liang's laws in detail despite being in charge of Great Liang's laws!"
Chen Chao laughed coldly, his face full of mockery.
The Minister of Penalty's face turned pale. How could he have imagined that this boy who had already become a prison now, would actually still dare to be so rampant? He pointed at Chen Chao and said angrily, "You're impudent!"
"Impudent?"
"I can be even more impudent!"
Chen Chao sneered and said, "Lord Han, according to Great Liang's law, if this Minister of Penalty has ties with foreign land cultivators, will he lose the right to participate in the trial today?"
Han Pu was taken aback and promptly said, "There's indeed this rule in Great Liang's laws."
"What a razor-tongued brat. Lord Han, why aren't you implementing punishment?"
A voice suddenly sounded out, but it was not that middle-aged daoist nun, but Xu Yu who had always been calm. He stared at Han Pu and said expressionlessly, "Things are very clear; we have proof, but he can only implicate people for no reason. Why don't I use my sect's secret art to interrogate him properly? I believe that it will be a little faster than Lord Han."
The middle-aged daoist nun originally wanted to speak. But hearing Xu Yu speak up at this moment, she nodded slightly. Although she still did not have a favorable impression of this South Heaven Sect cultivator, it became different from before in the end.
Without waiting for Han Pu to speak, Chen Chao suddenly said, "At this moment, you're in our Divine Capital, not in foreign lands! Do you all still want to kill me without asking like in Tianqing County?!"
"After killing people, I knew that you all will take revenge. But as the warden, I had to protect the land and keep the people safe, so I never left and still guarded the area!"
This sentence was so loud that the common people in the courtyard could hear it clearly.
After a brief silence in the courtyard, there was an uproar.
The common people instantly started to discuss. These were details that they did not know before. After learning about it now, they began to sympathize with Chen Chao very naturally. Especially that part about protecting the land and keeping the people safe. Even when he knew that a calamity would be befalling him, he still refused to leave. It made people's blood boil with indignation. That was our Great Liang Dynasty's warden, even if he killed people, you guys actually ignored Great Liang Dynasty's laws. When it was in Tianqing County, fine. Now, you were still acting like this in the Divine Capital?!
That was our Great Liang Dynasty's Divine Capital. Was Great Liang's laws useless in our Great Liang Dynasty's Divine Capital too?
This was the idea that sprang into everyone's mind almost instantly. Everyone opened their eyes extremely wide at this moment, their voices clamoring, virtually stirring up the entire Ministry of Penalty.
Extremely loud voices also erupted on the streets outside of the Ministry of Penalty at this moment.
Although they could not enter the compound, the information still transmitted out.
"Your Excellencies, please uphold justice for Warden Chen!"
"Warden Chen is a good man! He's innocent!"
That sentence about how he wanted to protect the land and people as the warden made the crowd go wild. Their fear of foreign cultivators was already tossed to the back of their minds at this moment. Currently, they only wanted to uphold justice for Chen Chao.
Hearing the voices coming from outside, the Minister of Penalty's expression was extremely ugly. But, he could not say anything at this moment, because Chen Chao had been acting in accordance with Great Liang's laws from the beginning until now. He actually could not find any fault at all. If he kept defending foreign cultivators at this time, he would probably incur public wrath.
Xu Yu's expression was livid and he did not speak, while the middle-aged daoist nun had a face full of killing intent, wishing to kill Chen Chao at this moment.
While Han Pu looked as usual. It was just that the appreciation in his eyes was very apparent.
The minister of the Court of Censors still looked half-dead. No matter how loud the voices, it could not seem to affect him.
Chen Chao pointed at the Minister of Penalty and placed emphasis on each word, "Since that's the case, then this lowly official requests for this Lord Minister to leave. He isn't qualified to try this case."
……
……
It was very quiet in the Imperial Study. The Great Liang Dynasty's emperor was currently approving a booklet sent from the South to prevent floods by water control. He did not speak, all the way until a servant quietly walked into the Imperial Study. After kneeling down, he began to whisper about what was happening in the Ministry of Penalty's hall at this very moment. The emperor picked up a red writing brush and did not delay in approving the booklet. After the servant finished talking, the emperor began to laugh.
"Your Majesty, that boy counter-sued the Minister of Penalty for being unqualified during his trial. This is something unheard of. If it was buying time, so be it. But he brought out evidence. Who knows where he got it from."
The Great Liang emperor said coolly, "There are so many spies in my Great Liang Dynasty, it's also not a surprising thing that he's one of them. Before that boy came to the Divine Capital, he had plenty of means, how can he be an ordinary youth? Today's trial is destined to not be so simple. As for evidence, with the Xie Family's help behind him, even if they couldn't find conclusive proof of betraying the imperial court, how difficult is it to find some evidence tying him to foreign land cultivators?"
"Lord Han is still waiting for Your Majesty's decree."
Seeing that His Majesty began to keep silent after finished saying this, the servant hurriedly reminded him softly.
"We have already given him our decree long ago. Why is he still asking for our decree?"
He had already issued his decree when the Three Judicial Chief Ministries entered the palace previously; to judge with impartiality. Judging impartially was not referring to Chen Chao alone.
The Great Liang emperor put the red brush down and rubbed his brows. Picking up his teacup and drinking a mouthful of tea, he suddenly said, "Go and fetch that boy's files, we want to see just whose family's child he is."
