She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

As soon as the Duke of Xingguo uttered these words, the atmosphere in the courtroom instantly became tense.

Shen Man raised her eyebrows slightly, looking directly at the Duke of Xingguo with neither humility nor arrogance, a cold glint flashing in her eyes: "Duke of Xingguo, if you want to frame someone, you can always find a pretext. Everything I have said from beginning to end is what I saw with my own eyes and investigated with my own body. The physical evidence is conclusive, and the witnesses are all here in court. How can you say I'm a spy? Are you so eager to exonerate Lord Lin because you have something to hide?"

Her words were so blunt and sharp that they left the Duke of Xingguo blushing.

Prime Minister Xiao Kuo's gaze swept over the two men, and he frowned slightly. He coughed lightly and said, "Neither of you should act rashly. The court will make a fair judgment. Although Miss Ding has presented a lot of evidence, there are still many doubts about the Qi Rong Greatsword that Lord Lin mentioned. It needs to be carefully examined."

After saying that, he looked at Yuan Kai, the Minister of Justice.

Yuan Kai understood immediately and asked Shen Man, "Miss Ding, did you bring back that Qi Rong Greatsword?"

Shen Man bowed and replied, "Your Excellency, the Qi Rong Greatsword has been brought back; it was in the carriage I was just riding in."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Kai immediately ordered his constables to fetch it.

Upon receiving the order, the constables quickly retrieved the Qi Rong broadsword from the carriage and placed it on the table for Yuan Kai and the others to examine.

Yuan Kai picked up the broadsword and examined it repeatedly. He saw that the broadsword gleamed with a cold light, and the patterns on the blade revealed a ruggedness from a foreign land.

After looking at it for a long time, he still couldn't figure it out, so he summoned several experts who were familiar with weapons to discuss it together.

Taking this opportunity, Shen Man glanced at Lin Simiao and Shen Qing.

Shen Qing was covered in tears and continued to sob, while Lin Simiao's eyes darted around and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, making him appear increasingly guilty.

After the experts finished their examination, they stepped forward and reported: "Sir, this knife is indeed a Qi Rong artifact, but the blade is not stained with blood, and the patterns indicate that there has been no sign of a violent fight in the past month. The bloodstains on the blade appear to have been deliberately smeared on, so it should not be a murder weapon."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Kai's expression turned cold and stern as he looked at Lin Simiao: "Lord Lin, what else do you have to say now?"

Lin Simiao slammed his head heavily on the ground with a thud, his voice trembling: "My lord, I am truly innocent! Someone must have framed me. I have a deep friendship with Lord Zhou, how could I possibly do such a thing? I beg you to investigate thoroughly."

Shen Qing also cried out, "My lord, my husband has always been upright and kind. Please, give us a way to live!"

Seeing this, Duke Xingguo spoke again: "Even so, we cannot convict Lord Lin based solely on a handkerchief and a trace of sedative residue."

I've heard that Ding Man, a mere woman, moves in and out of the border military camp as if it were her own territory. It's hard to say whether someone is behind this, plotting to disrupt our dynasty's justice system.

Shen Man sneered inwardly, knowing that the Duke of Xingguo wanted to stir up more trouble. Just as she was about to retort, she heard a loud shout from outside the hall: "His Highness the First Prince has arrived!"

Everyone turned to look, and saw Chu Zhiyi, dressed in a black brocade robe, stride into the courtroom, his posture upright like a pine tree, exuding an air of nobility and majesty.

He walked straight to Shen Man and stood there, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally landing on the Duke of Xingguo: "Duke of Xingguo, why are you in such a hurry to convict someone? Are you afraid that the truth will be revealed to the world?"

"I, the Prince, have been investigating this case with Miss Ding for many days. I know her character and medical skills better than anyone; she could never be a spy. As for Lord Lin, now that the evidence is irrefutable, how do you intend to deny it?"

The Duke of Xingguo was startled, but he still tried to remain calm: "Your Highness, this old minister is only thinking of the court and is worried that you will be deceived by treacherous people."

Chu Zhiyi snorted coldly: "What a fine excuse for thinking about the court. I, the prince, would like to see how this case will end today."

After saying that, he looked at Yuan Kai and said, "Lord Yuan, let's continue the trial. Don't let irrelevant people interfere."

Yuan Kai quickly agreed and picked up the file again to carefully review it.

After a moment, he looked sharply at Lin Simiao: "Lord Lin, according to the case file, the night before the incident, you had a long private conversation with Lord Zhou in your room, and the next morning news spread that Lord Zhou had been murdered. What did you two talk about? Tell us the truth!"

Lin Simiao's face was deathly pale, her lips trembled, and her eyes were filled with despair. After a long while, she stammered, "My lord, this humble official... this humble official cannot speak..."

The atmosphere in the courtroom grew increasingly tense, with everyone's gaze fixed on Lin Simiao like nails, as if trying to see right through him.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the Duke of Xingguo rolled his eyes and suddenly launched an attack.

He stood up, stepped forward, and cupped his hands to Chu Zhiyi, saying, "Your Highness, this old minister has a question and hopes Your Highness will enlighten me."

Ding Man is a woman with no official position, yet she can freely enter and leave the military camp and stay by Your Highness's side for many days while investigating the case together. This is unreasonable!

I have heard rumors circulating in the streets that her relationship with His Highness is ambiguous and unclear. Could it be that she is abusing His Highness's favor and attempting to use His Highness's power to distort the truth and seek personal gain?

These words were like a heavy stone thrown into a calm lake, causing an uproar in the courtroom.

The people looked at Shen Man and Chu Zhiyi with surprise and speculation.

Two red blushes instantly rose on Shen Man's cheeks. This embarrassment and anger were not due to a guilty conscience, but rather to being angered by this unfounded slander.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she glared at the Duke of Xingguo: "Duke of Xingguo, don't make false accusations! The Crown Prince and I are only here to find out the truth and give Lord Zhou justice, but you are making trouble and maliciously slandering me. What are your intentions?"

Chu Zhiyi's face was so gloomy it could drip water. He exuded a chilling aura. He took a step forward, and his innate majesty made those around him subconsciously take a step back.

"Duke Xingguo, how dare you! You dare to spout nonsense in court and slander the reputation of this prince and Miss Ding."

"I, the prince, respect you as a senior official in the court and have been tolerant of you in the past, but you have not shown any restraint and have attempted to confuse the public and interfere with the investigation."

Chu Zhiyi's voice was low and cold, each word sounding as if squeezed out from between his teeth, resounding on the ground.

The Duke of Xingguo felt a shiver run down his spine, but he still maintained his composure and said with a stiff neck, "Your Highness, please calm down. This old minister is only thinking of the fairness of the court. If such rumors are not clarified, they may cause trouble in the future. I hope Your Highness will consider the overall situation."

He said this aloud, but in his heart he was secretly calculating that as long as he could plant the seeds of doubt in people's hearts and make Chu Zhiyi and Shen Man fall into the vortex of public opinion, there might still be a turning point in the case, and he could get out of it.

Chu Zhiyi laughed angrily: "Fine, fine, what a great idea to prioritize the big picture. Since the Duke of Xingguo is so concerned about the relationship between this prince and Miss Ding, then this prince will make things clear today."

Miss Ding possesses a strong sense of justice and superb medical skills. I invited her to join me in investigating the case because I value her abilities and hope to find the true culprit as soon as possible, restoring order to the court. There is nothing improper between us; there has been no illicit affair.

"But you, Duke of Xingguo, you've been blatantly protecting Lin Simiao, ignoring the irrefutable evidence, and rushing to smear Miss Ding. Could it be that you're the mastermind behind this, feeling guilty?"