After being reborn, I went on a killing spree in the imperial court.

Both Chu Xiang and Cao Yuan turned their gazes toward Cao Ji, their eyes filled with disbelief and anger.

They couldn't understand how Cao Ji could come up with such an absurd idea. In the Great Wei Dynasty, the dead were always treated with utmost respect. Even when the government conducted autopsies, opening the coffin for an autopsy after burial was highly controversial. Yet Cao Ji had just said it so openly in the main hall.

"Your Majesty, my son has been gone for a long time. He deserves to rest in peace. We cannot open his coffin and examine his body simply because of a few words from others!" Prime Minister Chu said excitedly, his voice trembling.

Cao Yuan couldn't help but interject, "Yes, Father! Lord Liu and my second brother have absolutely no evidence to prove that the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review faked his death. To open the coffin so arbitrarily based on such unfounded accusations would only make us a laughingstock among the people!"

Cao Ji glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, seemingly not taking their argument seriously at all.

"Imperial sister, are you feeling guilty?"

“I have done nothing wrong. Why would Chu Yan give up a perfectly good position as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review just to become my advisor? Does that make sense?” Cao Yuan stared straight at Cao Ji.

"Perhaps it's because he can no longer hold that position?"

Cao Yuan frowned. Wasn't he just trying to say that Chu Yan was from Shu?

Since the dead cannot testify, who can prove it?

“Your Majesty, although I do not know what connection the Anzhou incident has with His Highness Prince Shuo’s staff, I do not agree with His Highness’s proposal,” said the Vice Minister of Rites.

"We also second that proposal."

The Vice Minister of Rites was a protégé of the Prime Minister of Chu, so the other officials who disagreed with the Prime Minister of Chu could only follow suit!

"Father, we are merely offering a suggestion; the final decision rests with you. However, you see that neither Prime Minister Chu nor Fourth Princess is willing to open the coffin! It seems there is indeed something fishy going on!"

The emperor listened to their argument, his brow furrowing slightly, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

He tapped lightly on the armrest of the dragon throne, as if he were thinking about something.

After a moment, the emperor muttered to himself, "I remember Chu Yan died of illness, didn't he? But it seems he did die quite suddenly..."

The emperor's voice carried a hint of uncertainty and doubt.

At this moment, the Second Prince, who was standing to the side, was overjoyed. He immediately stepped forward and said respectfully, "Father, I am willing to go with the people from the Ministry of Justice to investigate and find out the truth."

The emperor did not respond, but Chu Xiangxiang knew he could not escape, so he took the initiative to say, "Your Majesty, since the Second Prince insists that my son is not dead, then let's open the coffin."

"Xiang Chu!"

This statement also greatly surprised Cao Yuan.

"This old minister also hopes that Your Highness can confirm that my son is not dead! In this way, this old minister will not have to suffer the pain of a parent outliving their child." The Prime Minister's tone was tinged with sorrow, which made the emperor feel a little sorry for him.

"Second brother! Do you know the consequences if you fail to prove anything?"

"The two ministers will apologize to the Prime Minister of Chu."

The emperor waved his hand, signaling the second prince to act quickly.

As the Second Prince and the officials from the Ministry of Justice left the court, people began to discuss the matter.

"They really opened the coffin like that."

"Isn't this a bit too childish!"

As everyone knows, this matter has already attracted the emperor's attention, and if a reasonable explanation cannot be given, it may cause an even bigger uproar.

Soon, Cao Ji led the people from the Ministry of Justice into the main hall.

Cao Yuan looked behind Cao Ji and was surprised to find two familiar faces behind him: Luo Jiulan and the coroner.

She suddenly remembered that Luo Jiulan was the newly appointed head of the Ministry of Justice.

Immediately afterwards, several eunuchs carried in a stretcher, and a body was covered with a clean white cloth.

When Cao Yuan saw the corpse under the white sheet, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It turned out that Chu Yan had already made thorough preparations.

Otherwise, the Prime Minister of Chu wouldn't have been so confident in opening the coffin.

"Your Majesty, there is indeed a skeleton in the tomb of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review!"

Luo Jiulan walked up to Cao Ji.

"Second brother, the imperial court should be a place for discussing important national affairs and displaying the majesty of the royal family. How can you so rashly bring in a corpse? Isn't that a great disrespect to our father?"

“Father, in order to prevent any mistakes, I believe that the coroner should examine the body on the spot to ensure impartiality.”

The emperor agreed with Cao Ji's words.

"Yes, the second brother is right! Let's begin the autopsy then!"

Luo Jiulan glanced at Cao Yuan, signaling her to relax.

"Check immediately, this person is definitely not the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review!"

Cao Ji was quite confident in the corpse.

"Yes! We'll have the coroner examine it right away," Luo Jiulan said.

The junior coroner followed behind the coroner, helping to examine the body.

"I wonder, Your Highness, how much do you know about the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review? After all, this is just a skeleton. If there were any special external injuries, it would be easier to identify the body!" the coroner said.

"You should ask Prime Minister Chu; he would surely know the answer better!"

“My son has been disabled in both legs since childhood, a year before he turned twenty.”

After examining the body, the coroner came over and reported, "Your Majesty, this body should be Chu Yan, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review!"

"Can you see clearly? This corpse has two crippled legs?"

"Exactly! The disability in both legs must have been present for a long time, and it was indeed a male corpse, not even twenty years old! He had been dead for only a few months! Everything matches!"

Cao Yuan and the Prime Minister of Chu breathed a sigh of relief.

"How is this possible!" Cao Ji also found it unbelievable. "Father, this must be a scapegoat found by the Prime Minister of Chu!"

"Your Majesty, this old minister does not know why you would slander my son like this, but now that there is no other evidence to prove that my son is not dead, can we let him be laid to rest?"

The Prime Minister of Chu knelt down and kowtowed.

"Yes! We'll do as Prime Minister Chu says!"

"Father..."

Cao Ji wanted to say something more, but was stopped by the emperor.

"After all this commotion, they even dug up Chu Yan's body! Aren't they ashamed?!"

"Second brother, why don't you hurry up and apologize to Prime Minister Chu?" Cao Yuan said.

Cao Ji lowered his head unwillingly, "Prime Minister Chu, I have offended you. I apologize to you and Lord Chu, please accept my condolences!"

Chu Xiang turned to the side, ignoring him.

"Alright! Since the Censorate has no other evidence, let's proceed according to the evidence presented by Yuan'er!"

"Liu Qing!"

"Your subject is here!" Lord Liu knelt on the ground.

The emperor looked coldly at the kneeling minister, a hint of contempt flashing in his eyes. "I will spare your head for now, but remember, if you dare to try to fool me with these trivial things again, you can forget about keeping your head on your neck."

Upon hearing the emperor's words, Lord Liu felt as if he had been granted a pardon and hurriedly kowtowed to express his gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing my life! Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing my life!"

His forehead slammed heavily against the ground with a crisp sound.

Wang, the eunuch standing to the side, shouted loudly, "Court adjourned!"

The court officials rose one by one and walked out of the hall in an orderly fashion. Their steps seemed somewhat heavy, as if they were all pondering what had just happened.

Lord Liu secretly rejoiced that he had escaped a disaster, but at the same time felt a lingering fear.

Cao Yuan watched as the people from the Ministry of Justice left together.

Cao Yuan wanted to step forward and speak, but Luo Jiulan gave her a wink and looked at Cao Ji.

"Fourth Princess, you're really lucky. You managed to escape."

"It's just that my second brother was too unlucky; he tried to curry favor with Marquis Ping Le but failed!"

Cao Yuan spoke so casually, which infuriated Cao Ji.