General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

It's hard to believe that Shen Luo didn't do this on purpose, given how crucial the evidence is.

But as long as it exists, that's fine.

Chen Chengwu stood up and threw the two notebooks directly at the Minister of Justice's face.

"Take a good look at this evidence, then tell me, Your Highness, how you intend to rule on this case!"

He's getting better! Chen Chengwu has finally stood up again!

Chen Chengfeng's face turned ashen. Although he wasn't mentioned in the evidence, it did confirm Wang Liang's charge that Cui Zhi had instigated embezzlement.

Furthermore, there were other things he instructed Cui Zhi to do, all of which were recorded in great detail.

There was even a clause that Wang Liang demanded they execute a high-ranking official of the imperial court.

Chen Chengfeng closed his eyes; his heart was dead.

At this moment, both of them realized that the General Who Protects the Nation was clearly on Chen Chengwu's side.

He wanted to convict Wang Liang!

The Minister of Justice reluctantly picked up the notebook, trying his best to ignore the murderous glare the Third Prince was giving him.

"Your Highness, this single booklet, without any supporting evidence, cannot be considered proof," he tried to salvage the situation. "However..."

Before Chen Chengwu drew his sword to strike him, he quickly made a U-turn.

“However, now that new evidence has emerged, I will certainly have to re-examine it,” he said, almost forcing himself to speak.

“Minister of Justice,” Shen Luo suddenly spoke, “in my opinion, this case can be closed.”

The other three were all taken aback.

"What do you mean by that, General?" Chen Chengwu asked, as he also felt that Shen Luo was on his side.

But I don't care what you think, I care what I think.

"Although there are witnesses and physical evidence, since Cui Zhi has changed his story and said that he planned everything, let him take the blame if he wants to."

Just moments ago, Shen Luo had clearly favored the Second Prince, but now she turned her charming gaze towards the Third Prince.

"Yes, yes, yes." Chen Chengfeng nodded quickly.

Shen Luo finally realized who he should follow.

Chen Chengfeng said smugly, "Second brother, in my opinion, this case is getting more and more complicated as it is investigated. Since someone is willing to take the blame, let him take full responsibility."

"Minister of Justice, according to the law, what crime should Cui Zhi be convicted of?"

"Your Highness, according to the laws of our dynasty, Cui Zhi is suspected of embezzling disaster relief funds in a huge amount. He should be sentenced to immediate execution, and the rest of his family should be exiled."

Shen Luo spoke up: "Didn't he also kill a court official? I think his name was Zheng Yanshu? I remember a county magistrate died last year."

"...It seems there is such a thing. In your opinion, General, how should it be judged?"

In a short while, the Minister of Justice had figured out the temperaments of these powerful figures. They all used the pretext of asking him questions, but in reality, each of them had their own opinions.

Shen Luo pretended to ponder for a moment: "He murdered an official of the imperial court and embezzled disaster relief funds. The impact was terrible. In my opinion, his entire family should be executed."

"Huh?" The Minister of Justice was shocked. "Isn't executing nine generations of one's family a bit too harsh?"

Yesterday he promised Cui Zhi that he would protect his family.

"After all, he did all this by himself, so executing his entire family wouldn't be excessive," Shen Luo said slowly. "Third Prince, what do you think?"

Shen Luo has clearly made concessions, only demanding the execution of Cui Zhi's entire clan to vent his anger.

Since that's the case, Chen Chengfeng will do him this favor.

"Yes, Your Highness also thinks this person is vicious and deserves to die. Let's do as General Zhenguo says."

“And…” Shen Luo pointed to the box of letters that had just been moved to the Ministry of Justice this morning.

"There are several letters in there from Cui Zhi's mistress. The letters mention that he has two illegitimate children outside. Don't forget to catch them as well."

Shen Luo glanced at Chen Chengfeng.

Chen Chengfeng was taken aback; he had indeed seen those things yesterday.

He waved his hand dismissively: "Yes, do as the General Zhenguo said. Since we're going to exterminate nine generations of a family, we can't let anyone go."

However, they overlooked one thing: Cui Zhi, who was lying on the ground, had heard the whole thing.

Originally, he only intended to exterminate nine generations of his family, but he still harbored a glimmer of hope, thinking that since he still had illegitimate children, his family line would not be broken.

When he heard Shen Luo say that he wanted to exterminate them all, even his illegitimate children, he was shocked.

He finally couldn't take it anymore and yelled.

"Liars, you bunch of liars!" he screamed helplessly, lying on the ground, cursing wildly, "You'll all die a horrible death!"

Shen Luo looked at him with interest: "Liar, when have I ever lied to you about anything?"

"You! You lied to me, saying that as long as I took all the blame, my family would be spared. But now you not only want to exterminate my entire clan, but also wipe us out! Liars!"

These words shocked everyone present.

Chen Chengwu's sharp eyes swept around the room before he stepped down from the platform and stood beside him.

"Who told you that? When did they say that?"

“Last night at midnight, in the prison, a man in black saw me and said that as long as I insisted in court today that I did everything myself, my family would not be implicated.”

The Minister of Justice was utterly desperate.

"Hmph." Chen Chengwu chuckled. "So that's how it is."

He stared intently at the Minister of Justice, who kept looking away from his gaze.

He said sarcastically, "The prison of my Ministry of Justice is indeed heavily guarded. Someone can actually meet with and bribe important criminals at will."

"Your Highness!" The Minister of Justice knelt down. "Your Highness, I have failed in my duties. Please forgive me."

"I'll settle the score with you later." Although Chen Chengwu was furious, he still needed the Minister of Justice to continue the trial.

The three of them were only supervisors; they did not have the authority to adjudicate cases.

The Minister of Justice returned to his throne, which seemed to be covered in thorns and made people uneasy.

"Cui Zhi, is what you just said true? If you're not the mastermind behind all this, then who instructed you to do these things?"

This time, Cui Zhi made no attempt to hide anything, revealing the whole truth through a mix of words and curses.

"Everything was forced upon me by that bastard Wang Liang. He demanded money from me, he was insatiable, and if I didn't give it to him, he threatened to dismiss me from my post..."

……

"Cui Zhi, is everything you said this time entirely true?" the Minister of Justice asked.

"If I have uttered a single lie, I, Cui Zhi, am willing to be struck by lightning and never be reincarnated!"

Chen Chengwu leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, satisfied.

"Ministry of Justice, in my opinion, this case can truly be closed."

"My lord, Your Highness! I have something to say!" Wang Liang, who had been stunned since he was brought in, shouted.

"speak."

“I accept Cui Zhi’s accusation of embezzlement, but I do not accept his claim that I ordered him to murder an official of the court.”

He knew that Cui Zhi had no substantial evidence in this matter.

He also knew that if there was no murder case and it was just embezzlement, even the biggest operation would only result in killing him.

The Third Prince smiled smugly. "Chen Chengwu, do you think having evidence to arrest Wang Liang is enough? Wang Liang, you won't betray me. You can't find fault with me."

"Where did you gamble? How could you lose so much?" Chen Chengwu asked.

"Xingye Casino".

Xingye Casino was a casino that rapidly developed in Beijing within a few years, becoming the largest casino in the city in just three to five years.

His boss has always been very mysterious and has never appeared in public.

For some reason, no one in the capital dared to touch this casino.

Normally it would be one thing, but now that it involves finding clues, Chen Chengwu can't care about anything else.

"Okay, then let's go to Xingye Casino and find out the truth."

“Your Highness,” the Minister of Justice cautioned, “this Xingye Casino has developed extremely rapidly in recent years, and we don’t know who is behind it.”

"Hmph, no matter who it is, how could they possibly be bigger than this prince? Unless it's a casino personally run by Father."

He shook off the Minister of Justice's hand and walked out.

Originally, there was no plan to finish the trial in one go today. Seeing this, Shen Luo said, "Keep Wang Liang in custody for now. If there are any new leads, we will naturally investigate them."

“The general is right. I will take my men and go with Your Highness to the Xingye Casino right now.”

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Lu Shuyi recounted in detail everything she knew about the Third Prince.

"The Third Prince was very weak when he was young, but he loved to go out and play. When he was eight years old, he had an accident and fell into a pool and almost drowned. He was rescued but barely survived."

"Later, the Empress asked a Taoist priest to make a talisman for the Third Prince, which he wore on his person. Strangely enough, after the Third Prince started wearing the talisman, he gradually stopped getting sick and became stronger."

Although he was her fiancé, Lü Shuyi didn't really know much about the Third Prince. Most of what she knew came from rumors or what her father had told her.

"Have you set a wedding date yet?" Jiang Qiqi asked.

"It's already arranged. It will be in three months, on September 15th. My family is already preparing my wedding dress."

Lü Shuyi lowered her head, looking dejected.

She didn't want to get married, at least not to the Third Prince.

"May I ask why you want to annul the engagement?"

Lu Shuyi twisted her handkerchief with her fingers, biting her lip as if she was having some difficulty speaking.

Jiang Qiqi tentatively asked, "Do you have someone you like?"

Lü Shuyi paused, then nodded slightly.