After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

Ah, Baili Ming smiled slightly.

I was originally going to give these good-for-nothings some face, but it seems I don't need to now.

"Zhou, the magistrate, has not even glanced at the woman's witnesses or evidence before concluding that she is absurd. Isn't that even more absurd?"

"you!"

With his head held high and chest puffed out, he immediately retorted, "According to Chapter 8, Article 14 of the Great Wei Criminal Law, if the defendant provides clues, the government office must do its best to collect evidence."

"Or is it that the Kyoto government no longer needs evidence to solve cases?"

"This..." The people in the hall were all stunned.

The onlookers outside the government office also chimed in with murmurs, "Yes, yes."

"Isn't this government office a place where evidence matters?"

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze and had no choice but to shout, "Stop talking nonsense!"

Under the gaze of the crowd, he stood up, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect to the sky, exuding righteousness.

"Under the emperor's nose, the administration is clean and efficient, and cases are naturally judged based on solid evidence!"

Baili Ming quickly bowed respectfully, his face full of reverence. "Very well then, Your Excellency, please summon the witnesses and witnesses from both sides according to the law, so that they may face each other in court."

"..." The official from the Ministry of Justice immediately gave him a look.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review looked embarrassed, but could only feign solemnity and agree, "Of course."

It takes time to gather witness testimonies and physical evidence.

In situations like this, the time limit is usually one hour.

During this period, officials could rest, and on this basis, they could also go to the back office to discuss the case.

Following this, Zhou Sicheng, Dali Siqing, Xingbu Langzhong, and the other three officials went to the back hall for a frank and open discussion.

Ultimately, based on information from all parties, it was unanimously agreed that Baili Ming was bluffing to buy time.

In front of the hall—

"You are... the eldest daughter of the Baili family?" The censor, who had not spoken or gone to the back hall, suddenly asked.

Baili Ming gave a slight bow and said, "Yes."

Actually, she had been observing him as well.

The censor's lips twitched indifferently, but he said nothing more.

Seeing his reaction, Baili Ming suppressed her curiosity, closed her eyes to rest, and waited patiently.

"Court is now in session—"

An hour later, the officials returned to their seats in the hall, looking radiant.

The Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review slammed his gavel on the table, "Bring forth the witnesses and evidence from both sides!"

On Baili Ming's side, witness testimonies and physical evidence were quickly presented.

There were a dozen or so girls who were obviously not worldly but were quite good-looking, each holding accessories such as jade pendants and sachets.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review felt a jolt in his heart; he seemed to vaguely recognize one of the hairpins.

Looking at Zhou Sicheng, he noticed that the other man's gaze was also somewhat evasive.

Looking at the Ministry of Justice official, he still maintained the demeanor of a virtuous gentleman, much more composed than the others.

The Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review then composed himself and announced, "Summon Li Debao and Chen Shi..."

He read out a bunch of names, which were probably all commoners who had filed lawsuits against the Baili clan.

Can......

They announced it three times, but no one came forward to testify.

"What's going on? Why haven't the witnesses arrived yet?" Even the official in charge of the Ministry of Justice couldn't hold back any longer.

The constable in charge of guarding the witnesses, realizing he could no longer hide the truth, knelt down with a thud, pleading, "I...I didn't know either!"

"Suddenly, it was gone...like, like it was..."

The Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat jumped up in alarm, shouting, "Shut up! Don't spout nonsense in court!"

The official in charge of the Ministry of Justice didn't care about anything else and hurriedly looked at the two constables beside him, "Quickly drag him away!"

The constables immediately came up and dragged away the unfortunate man who was begging for mercy.

Outside the hall, the nosy crowd started jeering, "Wow, there aren't even any witnesses left!"

"There can't be none at all, right?"

"How could that be? The officials in the Dali Temple are all honest and upright."

"Can an honest official judge a case without evidence?"

"Definitely not."

"Then why arrest people without evidence?"

"Could this be a deliberate attempt to target aristocratic families?"

"No."

"Why not?!"

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review slammed his gavel several times, shouting, "Bang! Bang! Bang! Silence! Silence, everyone!!"

His complexion grew worse with each passing day, but it didn't help.

And it's even noisier now.

"I think it's possible."

"Bang bang bang..." The prefect patted the door several more times.

Zhou, the magistrate, also ordered the constables to drive away the people.

However, under the emperor's nose, there are too many powerful and influential people. If you're not careful, you might offend someone you can't afford to offend. The constables can only push and shove them casually and threaten them a little.

"..."

So the people stepped back two steps, then squeezed back three steps.

"How could this be? What have our noble family done to deserve this!"

"you do not say."

"If this is how they treat powerful families, how can ordinary people like us have a good life?"

"No wonder there have been so many wrongful convictions lately!"

"That's it!"

"How can this happen under the very nose of the Emperor!"

"Let go!"

"Yes! Release them without evidence!"

"Release them!!!"

"Release them!!!"

......

Amidst the public outrage, the words of the Dali Temple Minister, such as "There is evidence, quiet down," were completely drowned out.

As a figurehead censor, watching his colleagues shout until their voices cracked but unable to actually order the killing of these people, he silently put away his notes and withdrew from this farce ahead of time.

Before long, because he had lost a witness and felt increasingly guilty looking at the hairpin in the girl's hand, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review simply had Baili Ming make a record and released the person.

The eunuch, who was in cahoots with him, was confused and started arguing with him as soon as they entered the back hall.

"Didn't they say His Majesty intended to severely punish the Baili family, and that we only needed to go through the motions and arrest her? Why did you release her?!"

"Get my ass!"

"You saw what happened just now, so tell me how to take it?!"

Don't give me that!

"Those country women can just use anything as evidence?!"

The Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat had long been dissatisfied with the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review for doing nothing yet receiving such a large share of money every month. Now that he had the opportunity, he was not about to let it slip by easily.

We absolutely have to make that old scoundrel explain it to him!

"Tell me, what does this have to do with the bandits in the three cities?"

"Hmph~" The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was so angry that he blew his beard and glared at him. "It's alright."

"It's okay! Then you..."

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review gritted his teeth and pointed at the head of the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, "Use your useless brain to think this through!"

"How many gifts did your uncles and cousins ​​give away when they went out to play?"

When it comes to men's affairs, sometimes when they're having fun or meet a girl they like and want to flirt with her, it's common for them to give her a few personal items. But he never expected that the Baili family could be so cunning!

"Do you think Baili Ming can't see what we're up to?"

"The sachets and jade pendants those women carried were unique in style and made of exquisite materials. If we find out that even one of them is related to one of our people, we can uncover a whole host of other connections!"

"Bai Liming didn't say it explicitly today, but she was warning us to keep to ourselves and not interfere with each other."

"What? You want to die with me if you don't take this opportunity to release her?!"

Now that Baili Ming has been released, he can gain a good reputation for conforming to public opinion and enforcing the law impartially.

If we continue to entangle ourselves as these bastards suggest, who knows what the consequences might be.

The Imperial Attendant was rendered speechless, and after a long pause, he stammered, "I...I...should we try to find a way..."

"Let it go," Zhou Sicheng advised, "The situation has been so tense lately, and those women have all made their appearances in front of the hall today."

"If something happens at this time, His Majesty will inevitably suspect us."

The Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat looked worried. "What should we do then?"

He himself was not a womanizer, but as the Minister of Justice said, his uncles and brothers had a whole host of ways to have fun.

Moreover, his large family's daily expenses are like water flowing away; if their source of income is cut off, how will they survive?

"..." The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was so angry that he had no desire to speak to the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.

Zhou Sicheng said helplessly, "What other options are there? We can only wait and see."

"Hopefully things will be resolved in Shucheng soon."

The official in charge of the Ministry of Justice paused for a moment... then calmly said, "That's not entirely true."

"Hmm?" The Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat looked at the Ministry of Justice official who was clearly plotting something. "What good ideas do you have?"

The latter glanced meaningfully at the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and said, "Then it depends on the two of you."

......