Who put the yellow robe on me?

Jiang Chen continued, "Yesterday, when my father was in court, he said that the prisoner would be taken to the Ministry of Justice. That night, the prisoner was killed by the men in black."

Zheng Jiangcheng, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, immediately retorted, "There were so many people in the court yesterday, why do you say I was the one who killed him? Have you caught the man in black? I am willing to confront him face to face!"

Jiang Chen replied calmly, "Master Zheng, we didn't try to capture the man in black. We deliberately let him go because the criminal that Master Shi from the Imperial Hospital accompanied me to examine the day before yesterday was a death row inmate, not a traitor from the Western Regions."

Everyone looked at Jiang Chen in confusion, not knowing what he was up to.

Minister of Justice Bai Binggong then said, "If the man in black is not caught, it will be difficult to convince the public."

Jiang Chen smiled and continued, "The key point here isn't the personnel, but the location. Because even if we catch the man in black, we can find someone else to convict him and then commit suicide."

Bai Binggong asked doubtfully, "I'd like to hear the details."

Jiang Chen explained, "Actually, when I was in court yesterday, I didn't know whether the traitor was the Minister of Works, the Left Vice Minister of Works, or the Right Vice Minister of Works. So I revealed the location of the death row prisoner to each of them."

He looked at the three officials from the Ministry of Works and continued, "General Zhong and I revealed the hiding place to the Minister of Works as No. 81 in the capital, to the Left Vice Minister as No. 51 in the capital, and to the Right Vice Minister as No. 31 in the capital."

Jiang Chen stared at Zheng Jiangcheng sharply and said coldly, "Last night, the prisoner on death row at No. 51 in Beijing was killed, while the prisoners on death row at the other two locations were found intact. Lord Zheng, can you tell me what happened?"

There was an uproar in the court, and everyone was talking about it.

Zheng Jiangcheng's mentality has been unbalanced: "Nonsense, how should I know what is No. 51 in Beijing? Do you have any evidence?"

Jiang Chen calmly replied, "Of course. Yesterday, I sprinkled the death row inmate's room with powdered luminous stone soaked in sulfonic acid."

"Once your men in black have entered, they will have stepped on a lot of luminous stone powder. This powder is specially formulated by me, and it doesn't glow during the day or at night. However, when it comes into contact with 'fermented wine vats', it will turn pink."

He turned to Emperor Liang and said, "Father, before I went to court, I informed the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Xiong Zhiheng, to spread the 'liquid from the wine vats' near the home of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works."

"I believe the result has been determined by now. Lord Xuanxiong will know once he goes to the palace and asks."

Emperor Liang made a gesture to Eunuch Zhao, who then called out, "Summon the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Xiong Zhiheng, to the palace."

After Xiong Zhiheng entered the palace, he kowtowed to the emperor.

Emperor Liang asked dignifiedly, "Xiong Zhiheng, tell me exactly what you discovered this morning."

Xiong Zhiheng replied respectfully, "Yes, this morning I went to the doorstep of the Left Vice Minister of Works and, in accordance with the Sixteenth Prince's instructions, sprinkled the 'liquid from the wine vat'."

"Furthermore, I not only went to the doorstep of the Left Vice Minister of Works, but also to the doorsteps of the Minister of Works and the Right Vice Minister of Works, and sprinkled the 'liquid from the wine vat' there."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at the three officials from the Ministry of Works.

Emperor Liang said in a cold tone, "Go on."

Xiong Zhiheng continued, "Only at the doorstep of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works did a large number of pink footprints appear."

Emperor Liang stared at Zheng Jiangcheng with sharp eyes and said in a deep voice, "If this evidence is true, Zheng Jiangcheng, what else do you have to say?"

Zheng Jiangcheng's face turned pale, his legs gave way, and he almost fell to his knees. He trembled and said, "Your Majesty, I...I am innocent!"

Emperor Liang was furious, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Where are the Imperial Guards? Throw Zheng Jiangcheng into the Sky Prison and investigate this matter thoroughly!"

Following the order from Emperor Liang, Zheng Jiangcheng's face turned pale as death, and he collapsed to the ground, his eyes filled with despair.

Lin Shigong led the Imperial Guards to appear quickly and took control of Zheng Jiangcheng, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

In the court, all the ministers looked at each other, each thinking in their own minds.

Seeing this, the Ninth Prince Jiang Yu took the opportunity to step forward and said, "Father, the matter is clear. Zheng Jiangcheng, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, is guilty of treason, and Xu Jingzhu, the Minister of Works, has failed to supervise him properly. I recommend that Zheng Jiangcheng be executed immediately and his entire clan exterminated, and that Xu Jingzhu be dismissed from office."

He glanced at Jiang Chen and said coldly, "Although the Sixteenth Prince has made contributions, he lied in court yesterday about catching a traitor, which is deceiving the emperor. I suggest that the Sixteenth Prince be thrown into the Heavenly Prison."

Upon seeing this, the twelfth prince, Jiang Zhan, immediately stepped forward to plead, "Father, although the Left Vice Minister of Works has colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, his entire clan should not be executed. The Minister of Works has always been diligent and hardworking. If he is directly implicated and dismissed for this matter, I am afraid that the people of the world will be dissatisfied."

However, Jiang Zhan did not plead for Jiang Chen, obviously he had other plans in mind.

Xiong Zhiheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, opened his mouth but did not speak.

After seeing this, Emperor Liang asked in a deep voice, "Lord Xiong is well-versed in the laws of our dynasty. What is your opinion on this matter?"

Xiong Zhiheng replied respectfully, "According to the laws of our dynasty, the Left Vice Minister of Works has committed treason and betrayal. Whether to execute his entire clan will depend on a joint trial by the three courts."

"The Minister of Works failed to supervise properly, but his crime does not warrant dismissal. Similar cases in previous dynasties resulted in demotion and salary reduction."

"As for the Sixteenth Prince, although he lied in court about catching a traitor, he did indeed deceive the emperor. However, Emperor Taizu also stated in the law that ordinary methods can be used when solving cases. I believe that this action can be considered an extraordinary method."

Jiang Yu said unwillingly, "Father, if deceiving the emperor is considered an extraordinary act, then where is the dignity of the royal family?"

Emperor Liang pondered for a moment. "Minister of Works Xu Jingzhu was demoted to Left Vice Minister of Works and fined six months for failing to discipline his children. Following Lord Xiong's suggestion, Left Vice Minister of Works Zheng Jiangcheng will be tried by the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate."

Minister of Works Xu Jingzhu immediately knelt down and kowtowed to thank the emperor for his grace: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate immediately took the order and left.

Emperor Liang looked at Jiang Chen, then turned to Prime Minister He and asked, "As for the Sixteenth Prince, what do you think, Prime Minister He?"

Prime Minister He stepped forward and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, if you are accused of deceiving the emperor for diligently solving a case, there will be even more unsolved cases in the future. Since the Sixteenth Prince has solved the case of the traitor in the Western Regions, I believe that not only should he not be punished, but he should be rewarded."

Emperor Liang nodded and said, "Prime Minister He is absolutely right. Chen'er, what reward do you want?"

Jiang Chen bowed and humbly said, "I have no desires or requests. It is my duty to share your father's worries."

"However, during the process of solving the traitor case in the Western Regions and investigating the Autumn Examination, I was saved many times by Deputy General Dian, which is why I was able to escape death."

Emperor Liang looked puzzled. "Oh? Where's the golden soft armor that Lao Jiu lost to you?"

Jiang Chen replied with a slight smile, "Your Majesty, I understand. Thirteenth Sister saw my golden silk soft armor and liked it very much, so I gave it to her directly."

Emperor Liang laughed heartily. When he mentioned the Thirteenth Princess, his eyes were filled with fondness. "Haha, Jingyi just likes little things like this. Dianzhang has been promoted to the rank of General of the Right Guard of the Imperial Guard for his meritorious service in handling the case."

Then, he turned to Jiang Chen and continued, "Chen'er has made great contributions to the investigation. I have appointed four personal guards, the Imperial Guards, and the Ministry of Personnel to handle this matter."

The commander of the Imperial Guards, Lin Shigong, and the Minister of Personnel, Wu Gongjin, immediately accepted the order: "I obey your command."

Prime Minister He suddenly asked, "Sixteenth Prince, what did you mean by investigating the Autumn Examination? Is there something wrong with this Autumn Examination?"