Tangli Fried Snow

Chu Beitang looked at Jiang Qimo. He was of noble birth, handsome, and exuded an indescribable masculine charm. His tiger-like eyes were fixed intently on her. His gaze was clear and upright, showing no trace of the affection a man might have for a woman, only a carefree expression as if he were admiring flowers in a garden. This contrasted sharply with the group of infatuated men standing in front of the car.

Her beautiful eyes flickered, and she smiled slightly at Jiang Qimo, saying, "If I go to the government office with Lord Jiang and explain things clearly, will Lord Jiang allow our singing and dancing troupe to leave the city?"

Jiang Qimo's eyes gleamed. The Crown Prince's crime could be serious or minor, and the variable entirely depended on this beautiful woman. Now, she could turn the world upside down with a single word and decide the Crown Prince's life or death.

How could I possibly have the right to let her go?

Jiang Qimo didn't want to lie to her, nor did he want his words to cause an imminent battle at the city gates.

In a flash, he replied to her, "I will definitely protect you, Miss."

This answer neither agreed nor denied; it was completely ambiguous.

Chu Beitang stared at him for a while, then lowered the curtain and stopped answering.

After a long while, her heavenly voice finally rang out.

"Guo Jun".

"Yes, miss."

"Go with Lord Jiang to take a look."

"Yes, ma'am."

With a wave of his hand, Guo Jun led a troupe of two to three hundred singers and dancers to the Ministry of Justice in the capital.

Lord Lu did not personally receive this stunningly beautiful woman. He simply sent one of his men to inform her. The man was an officer, and he came out arrogantly and said a few words: "Lord Lu said that Chu Beitang should return to his previous villa for the time being."

"Seven days later, the Empress and the Empress Dowager will conduct a serious and solemn trial of the Crown Prince in the inner court."

"At that time, Miss Chu Beitang must be present in person to provide her testimony."

After saying that, he waved his hand.

Before Guo Jun, the commander of Chu Beitang's guards, could lash out, several thousand Jinling Guards emerged from the government office and surrounded them completely.

Under the "escort" of heavily armed soldiers, everyone in the dance troupe returned to their previous residence.

. . . . . .

Seven days later, before the crown prince was put on trial, Duan Yuanshan, the Prince of Wei, who had been imprisoned for more than a year, was brought out to face his first trial by the court officials.

The Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and high-ranking officials were all in the government office early in the morning preparing for the trial.

The area was surrounded by a circle of officials of various ranks dressed in red and purple robes.

Duan Yuanshan, of noble status, was seated in the central presiding position, a position that should have been occupied by the emperor. However, with the emperor now deceased and a new emperor yet to ascend the throne, the position was naturally vacant.

Since there was no emperor present, the case should have been presided over by Prime Minister Li and the renowned Confucian scholar Wen Fengzhang. However, since they were both in prison, the case naturally had to be handed over to someone else as the presiding judge.

Lu Tingwei, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Zhao Zhiliang, the Prefect of Kyoto, stood on one side of the main seat to preside over the trial. On the other side stood a large number of imperial physicians, palace servants, and other witnesses, along with prepared "evidence."

The Empress and the Empress Dowager both sat behind the curtain, one on each side with the curtain drawn.

Duan Yuanshan was brought up by several guards. The Prince of Wei was treated well; his face was clean, he wore a cotton-padded jacket, and he was in good health. Apart from being somewhat pale due to never seeing the sun, he still had a lot of energy and a handsome, dashing air about him.

As soon as he entered the main hall, seeing the three factions setting up a joint trial, he first snorted coldly and said loudly, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, how have you been? May you be in good health!"

The Empress Dowager smiled slightly and said to him, "Your Highness is too kind."

Imperial Censor Yuan Qingshan stepped forward and said, “Empress Dowager, Empress, Your Excellencies, I have a memorial to impeach Prince Wei, Duan Yuanshan.”

Lu Tingwei said, "Please speak, Lord Yuan."

Yuan Qingshan, holding the memorial, said, "In the spring of the thirteenth year of Yuan Kang, Duan Yuanshan petitioned His Majesty to arrange a marriage between his daughter, Princess Yaoguang, Duan Xueyao, and Crown Prince Zhao Hehua. His Majesty was delighted and specially dispatched imperial guards and palace servants to negotiate with him. Three months later, Duan Yuanshan arrived in Shengdu with Princess Yaoguang and her dowry. His Majesty ordered a grand court banquet to be prepared to receive him, and he even tasted the tribute wine brought by Prince Duan on the spot."

"Who knew that His Majesty would drink the wine brought by Prince Duan, suffer from vomiting and diarrhea, be bedridden for a year, and finally pass away. This is clearly a case of Duan Yuanshan poisoning His Majesty."

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that Duan Yuanshan be punished for treason and plotting against His Majesty, and beheaded as a warning to the public."

Duan Yuanshan didn't say anything, assuming he was just talking nonsense.

After saying those few acceptable words, he went on and on about how ruthless Duan Yuanshan was, how tolerant and kind His Majesty was, how rebellious and cunning Duan Jingyu was, and how wise the Empress and Empress Dowager were.

This fart was both smelly and long; it was absolutely stinky.

Lu Tingwei was the first to lose his temper and said, "Lord Yuan, why don't we bring up the witnesses for questioning?"

Lord Yuan then withdrew his supernatural powers.

Shen Shibai no longer had the same hostile attitude towards Lord Lu as before; today, he was actually working with Lord Lu to summon witnesses.

Lu Tingwei said, "The witness shall come forward and answer questions!"

Several palace maids, eunuchs, and imperial physicians stepped forward one by one, and he and Shen Shibai questioned them about some details of the emperor's poisoning at the palace banquet.

The imperial physician also emphasized the three stages of the emperor's illness.

Lu Tingwei asked, "Is it certain that His Majesty's health was damaged because he drank the wine brought by the Prince of Wei?"

The imperial physician affirmed, "Yes, there is no doubt about it."

Shen Shibai added, "Is the poisoned wine still there?"

The imperial physician replied respectfully, "They have all been preserved."

Everyone nodded, and Lu Tingwei dismissed the witnesses.

The people who answered just now were very detailed, and all of them pointed the finger at Prince Duan.

Yuan Qingshan glared at Duan Yuanshan and shouted, "Do you have anything else to say?"

Duan Yuanshan snorted coldly again in response: "Hmph, I wonder if Lord Yuan has a family?"

Everyone was astonished. Lord Yuan was already over thirty years old; of course he would have a wife and children. Yuan Qingshan couldn't help but chime in, "Of course he does."

Duan Yuanshan said seriously, "If your wife cheated on you, making Lord Yuan a cuckold, and you were furious when you found out, wanting to kill the adulterous couple, would you kill them with a single blow or poison them?"

The crowd erupted in uproar. Yuan Daren was so angry that he couldn't speak, and could only point at him, trembling like a leaf.

To everyone's surprise, Duan Yuanshan looked at him with a half-smile, his eyes chilling, like the ancient ice on a mountain peak. He continued, "Seeing that you're so weak you can't even kill a chicken, you must have used poison, right?"

"Would you give that adulterous couple a poison that causes vomiting and diarrhea, and then make them die a year later?"

Yuan Qingshan, enraged, blurted out, "You! You're outrageous! You're utterly despicable and shameless!"

Duan Yuanshan said bluntly, "If someone like you doesn't want to be cuckolded, then of course I don't want to be cuckolded."

"A man's life depends entirely on his reputation! You can take my life, but you can dream on taking away my honor!"

"If I, Duan Yuanshan, truly wanted this world, I would naturally lead my three armies in rebellion and seize the throne with my own sword! Why would I use the pretense of a marriage alliance to send myself and my daughter into your hands, to be at your mercy?"

"I'll say it again: I came to this capital with my daughter and dowry truly for the great cause of the Song Dynasty, for the unification of the North and South, and for the peace and prosperity of the nation. The wine His Majesty drank was indeed brought by me, but I did not poison it; I have been framed. I beg the Empress Dowager and the Empress to see the truth!"

After saying that, he knelt down before the Empress Dowager.

Yuan Qingshan had never lost face in public like this before. It took him a while to recover. He stood in the center, staring intently at Duan Yuanshan, who remained unmoved, coldly watching him in return. Yuan Qingshan opened his mouth twice before finally organizing his thoughts, then launched into a tirade of vulgarities. Duan Yuanshan didn't back down, seizing every opportunity to exchange insults. Lu Tingwei and Shen Shibai also joined the fray, trying to break up the fight. The hall erupted in chaos and commotion.

The Empress Dowager glanced at the Empress on her left. The Empress Jin's phoenix face was frosty as she watched the commotion without saying a word. Although she was sitting right there, she seemed inexplicably hazy and distant, making her difficult to see clearly. Only the occasional glint of shrewdness in her eyes reminded the Empress Dowager that she truly desired a great deal.

If Jin Yuyan were a man, the world would have changed its surname long ago. Luckily, she was born a woman and even gave birth to a son with the surname Zhao. Otherwise, my old bones would have long since died in her hands.

It seems that this good daughter-in-law wants to definitively convict Duan Yuanshan of murdering the emperor today.

Did she only want to kill Duan Yuanshan to avenge the emperor? To vent her anger? Or for the sake of justice?

No, none of those are true.

The Empress Dowager knew perfectly well what she wanted.

The Empress Dowager has not been doing well lately either. Her only son has died, and of her three grandsons, one has become a criminal, another has become a homeless dog, and the third is bedridden and it is unknown whether he will live to inherit the throne.

At this critical juncture, with her son's body barely cold, her daughter-in-law actually wants to kill the King of Wei as a warning to others. This daughter-in-law is truly shrewd.

What's most infuriating is that she even hypocritically dragged her old bones into the mess and made herself look bad. If this continues, she'll really lose all face.

She whispered to the Empress, "Yu Yan, why don't we let Prince Wei go, let Duan Xueyao go back as well, and let Duan Jingyu withdraw his troops? That would make Xi'an's throne more secure, wouldn't it?"

Empress Jin's expression softened slightly. All this elaborate charade was just to get the old woman to agree to her son becoming emperor. Now that the old woman had spoken, her goal had been achieved. What else could she possibly refuse?

She smiled slightly and said, "Is there no need for an interrogation?" It would be best if Duan Yuanshan confessed, but it doesn't matter if he doesn't. We can just keep him locked up.

The Empress Dowager said with difficulty, "There's no need for further investigation."

Empress Jin gave Shen Shibai a wink.

Shen Shibai understood and stepped forward. Several people stepped forward and separated the two sides who were arguing. Shen Shibai smiled slightly and said to Lu Tingwei, "Lord Lu, this matter is complicated and unbelievable. It is impossible to finish the trial in one day. Why don't we take Prince Duan away first and wait until we have solid evidence before trying him?"

Lu Tingwei glanced at the two women behind him. Since neither the Empress nor the Empress Dowager spoke, he naturally seized the opportunity and said, "Send Duan Yuanshan back first, and we'll hold the trial another day!"

This farcical trial began and ended hastily.