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

Bai Lu was taken to the inner hall by the jailers for interrogation.

It took all night to finally finish recording the statements for this case.

Cao Yuan and the others dozed off right there in Chu Yan's study.

Chu Yan entered from outside the door.

"Young master, I'll go and wake the princess."

Xuanfeng was about to call Cao Yuan when Chu Yan stopped him, "Never mind, you go ahead and do your work, I'll get my things myself."

After saying that, Xuanfeng went out.

Chu Yan wheeled himself to the desk and reached for the drafted confession on it.

The paper was pressed tightly under Cao Yuan's arm.

Chu Yan moved forward in his wheelchair, pulled the documents under Cao Yuan out, and unconsciously moved closer to her, as if afraid that he would tear the paper.

Suddenly Cao Yuan opened her eyes, "What are you doing?!"

Chu Yan looked up and met her eyes, but quickly looked away and stepped back.

"Princess, you've misunderstood! I was just taking the documents from under your arm, I absolutely... I definitely didn't mean anything to you..."

"Did I say anything? Why are you stuttering because you're so nervous?" Cao Yuan smiled and moved her whole body closer to him, almost touching Chu Yan.

"Stop! Stop!" Chu Yan grabbed her shoulders with both hands, preventing her from getting closer.

Cao Yuan lowered her head and her gaze fell on her shoulder.

Chu Yan let go of the confession on the table and tried to wheel himself out, but when he got to the door, the wheelchair wouldn't move. He looked back and saw Cao Yuan standing behind him, pulling his wheelchair.

"I haven't finished speaking yet! Lord Chu, are you afraid of me or are you feeling guilty?"

Chu Yan pursed his lips and said, "The statements from Bai Lu and the dancer have been recorded. I'll close the case quickly and report to His Majesty shortly!"

"Oh, what do you say?"

"When Bai Lu went in to stop him, the envoy and Bai Lu got into a fight. Bai Lu drew his sword, but he lost his balance and fell on the sword."

Cao Yuan pondered deeply, but something still felt off.

Yesterday's White Dew clearly indicated that it had nothing to do with me.

She wanted to test whether Cao Yuan would come to her rescue, so she took the blame so that Cao Yuan would come to her aid.

Why is today so different from yesterday?

Cao Yuan looked at Chu Yan and asked tentatively, "I also want to see Bai Lu."

Chu Yan frowned slightly. "Bai Lu is determined to die, saying she doesn't want to see anyone!"

He then left the study.

Cao Yuan watched Chu Yan's departing figure and thought to herself, "He doesn't even dare to look at me. This is so unusual. It seems that Chu Yan is hiding something from me. I have to find out for myself!"

No, Chu Yan just said he was going to the morning court session!

He wants Bailu to take the blame!

What exactly happened?

The time for the morning court session is almost here.

When Cao Yuan arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the court officials had already entered the hall.

The eunuch stopped Cao Yuan, "Princess Huayang, His Majesty is currently in court. If you have something to attend to, please wait a little longer!"

Cao Yuan thought about it again and decided to listen to Chu Yan's report before entering the hall.

"Your Majesty! I have something to report!" said Minister Fan.

"Yesterday, the envoy from Chen was murdered at the translation office! The murderer is a newly appointed female official from the Ministry of Rites. Your Majesty, please bring the culprit to justice as soon as possible to avoid endangering the peace between our two countries."

"Fan Qing, are you referring to Bai Lu, who came first in the imperial examination?" The emperor still remembered her.

"Indeed! I entrusted her with receiving the envoys from the State of Chen, but I never expected that she would be so disgusted by the envoys killing someone in public!"

"Where is the Dali Temple?!"

"Your Majesty, I am here! This is Bailu's confession! The case is closed."

Eunuch Wang presented the confession, which the emperor examined carefully. "Was it really Bailu who killed him?"

"Bai Lu confesses without hesitation!"

Chu Yan said.

"In that case, let the State of Chen handle it!"

"Father! Please hear what your son has to say!" Cao Yuan pulled aside the eunuch beside him and entered the main hall.

"Father! There are doubts in this case, and it needs to be investigated again! Father is..."

Before Cao Yuan could continue, Minister Fan interjected, "Princess Huayang, I know that the promotion of the Assistant Minister of Rites was due to your request! But this matter concerns the peace between our two countries, and we cannot show favoritism!"

"Your Excellency, you flatter me! There are still some doubts in this case. Only one night has passed since the incident occurred. One night is simply not enough to uncover the truth!"

Minister Fan began to sow discord between Cao Yuan and Chu Yan, saying, "Lord Chu, it seems Princess Huayang doesn't trust your ability to solve cases!"

"Lord Fan, I didn't mean that! I heard that you used to receive the envoys from Chen, and each time you would bring several women. This time, Bai Lu was in charge, and you only brought dancers. For the envoy to take advantage of my Wei dancers under the influence of alcohol is disrespectful to my Great Wei!"

"It's so true!"

"Princess, what are you joking about? How is a mere dancer disrespectful to our Great Wei? Besides, what's wrong with hiring a few women to serve the envoy? To go to such lengths and kill people would be a laughing stock if word got out!"

“Father! Chen is merely a defeated nation, and it is only natural for our Great Wei to treat it with courtesy. However, Chen's arbitrary abduction of women is a blatant disrespect to our Great Wei! Moreover, this case should be investigated again regardless of who the culprit is! If Bai Lu's confession is undoubtedly true, then I have nothing to say.”

"I know your intentions! The State of Chen is a defeated nation, and in the past two years, their tribute has been decreasing. It is indeed time to dampen their arrogance! The Court of Judicial Review can put this case aside for now!"

"The minister obeys the order!"

They went outside the palace.

Cao Yuan and Chu Yan exchanged a glance, and Cao Yuan walked straight out.

"Does the princess distrust me so much? She even went to the main hall to complain about me!" Chu Yan followed behind her.

Cao Yuan stopped. "Then, Lord Chu, do you dare to tell me the truth?"

Chu Yan hesitated for a moment, "There are some things I have no choice in doing!"

"So you're admitting you had ulterior motives in this matter!"

"Lord Chu, I know you are not one to blur the lines between public and private matters. I hope that your conclusion of the case in three days will be worthy of your position as Minister of the Court of Judicial Review."

Chu Yan rubbed his temples wearily.

The words Bai Lu said during my statement last night came to mind.

"You must be Bailu. Explain what happened last night!"

Bai Lu looked Chu Yan up and down. "I'm only telling you this!"

Chu Yan dismissed the people around him, leaving only the two of them in the room.

"You can say it."

"You must uphold justice when I reveal the murderer, Your Highness, the Crown Prince of Shu!"

Chu Yan's heart skipped a beat, his expression froze, but not wanting Bai Lu to notice, he looked away.

"What's wrong? Have you forgotten who you are after serving as a subject in Wei for so long? I really didn't expect that a future crown prince would give up the Shu kingdom and travel thousands of miles to lie low as a lowly subject just to find his younger brother. I am moved by the rare brotherly affection in your royal family." Bai Lu continued when he didn't agree.

"This is none of your business! You should talk about your own affairs!"

“I asked Xiao Hanjing to kill him for me! I’ve known him for so long, and he’s done something decent! That envoy deserves to die!” Bai Lu said, biting her back teeth hard as she said the word “deserves to die.”

"If it were Lord Chu, he would surely kill him too!"

"It seems you are not very familiar with Xiao Hanjing, whom you mentioned."

"He said he wanted to see if you would uphold the law impartially," Bai Lu said bluffingly.

Chu Yan sneered, "Since that's how it is! Then you can die in his place!"

Bai Lu said confidently, "Ha! The princess will not let me die! If you kill me now, I'll respect you as a man! But do you dare?"

"So you've already decided to get the princess to exonerate you, the criminal? She did save you once, after all. Is this how your master teaches you to repay kindness with enmity?"

"I wanted her to plead for me and be scorned by all the officials! You didn't even uncover the truth for the Grand Tutor, you deserve to die too!"

"It's a Pyrrhic victory. How about we make a bet and see if Princess Huayang will be scorned by all the officials because of you!"