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

Everyone in the courtroom was startled by the sound and hurriedly straightened their clothes and knelt down to receive the imperial decree.

Yuan Kai was sweating profusely, his heart filled with unease, wondering what this sudden imperial edict was about.

The imperial eunuch cleared his throat, unfolded the imperial edict, and read aloud: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Regarding the case of Zhou Yu, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, who died in Qirong, and the fact that someone identified Lin Simiao as the murderer, due to insufficient evidence, Lin Simiao is hereby found not guilty and reinstated to his original position."

Furthermore, considering that Zhou Yu, an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, had served the country with utmost loyalty and made outstanding contributions, he is hereby granted the posthumous title "Wenzhong" and given a grand funeral to comfort his spirit in heaven. So be it!

Upon hearing the contents of the imperial edict, the courtroom erupted in chaos and uproar.

Shen Man stared wide-eyed, her face full of disbelief. She had put so much effort into this case, and the evidence was crystal clear. How could it suddenly turn out like this?

She subconsciously looked at Chu Zhiyi, her eyes filled with grievance and resentment.

Chu Zhiyi's eyebrows furrowed, his eyes burning with anger. He stepped forward and bowed to the eunuch who delivered the decree, saying, "Your Excellency, we have thoroughly investigated this case and have both witnesses and physical evidence. How can there be insufficient evidence? I hope Your Excellency will return to the palace and report the truth to my father, and earnestly request a retrial of this case."

The eunuch delivering the imperial decree looked troubled and bowed slightly: "Your Highness, I am only following orders to deliver the decree. I do not know the details. The Emperor's decree has been issued. Please do not make things difficult for me."

Yuan Kai had recovered from his initial shock. Although he was filled with resentment, he knew that the emperor's will was difficult to disobey, so he kowtowed and thanked the emperor: "Your subject obeys the decree!"

He clenched his fists, veins bulging, clearly suppressing immense anger.

Having served as an official for many years, Yuan Kai had never seen such a blatant distortion of the truth, but now that he held the official hat, he had no choice but to comply.

Lin Simiao, who had been hanging her head and looking dejected, suddenly had a flash of wild joy in her eyes when she heard the imperial edict.

He stood up impatiently, straightened his clothes, and kowtowed towards the direction of the palace: "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your great favor!"

Then he glanced at Shen Man sideways, his eyes full of smugness and provocation, as if to say, "What can you do to me?"

The Lin family members hugged each other tightly with joy, weeping with happiness.

On the other hand, Zhou Yu's wife, though filled with resentment at the outcome, had to suppress her anger and kowtow to the imperial edict in gratitude.

Each time she kowtowed, it was like a sharp blade cutting into her heart, making her pain even more profound.

Duke Xingguo stood aside, watching all of this unfold, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips as he secretly gloated.

All of this was naturally the result of his behind-the-scenes manipulation. It was he who had Master Wuyang slander the emperor, which enabled this absurd imperial edict to be issued.

His face beamed with undisguised smugness as he swaggered forward and said to Lin Simiao, "Lord Lin, you've suffered these past few days. Fortunately, the truth has finally come to light. Congratulations! Hahahaha..."

After saying that, he deliberately let out a hearty and exaggerated laugh.

The prime minister, Xiao Kuo, sitting at the head of the table, had a somber expression and his eyes were full of doubt. He clearly couldn't understand why the emperor had suddenly issued this imperial edict.

After the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree returned to the palace to report, the atmosphere in the courtroom was so oppressive that it was suffocating.

Chu Zhiyi looked around and said loudly, "Everyone, anyone with eyes can see that there is something fishy about what happened today. Lin Simiao, don't think that you can escape punishment just because you have this imperial edict. Justice will prevail and sooner or later, Lord Zhou will be given justice."

Lin Simiao curled her lip, her face full of disdain: "Your Highness, this is the Emperor's decree. Are you not going to disobey it?"

Chu Zhiyi looked at him with icy coldness: "I will report the truth to my father. You can be smug for now."

"Your Highness, then I will go home and wait!" After saying this, Lin Simiao left the courtroom arrogantly, surrounded by his family.

Seeing Lin Simiao's reaction, Chu Zhiyi's eyes flashed with anger, but he was powerless to change the outcome.

Seeing the disappointment on Shen Man's face, he felt extremely sad. He walked slowly to her side and comforted her in a low voice, "Man'er, Father must have been misled by a villain to make such a decision. I will go back to the palace now and ask him for clarification."

Shen Man took a deep breath, suppressing her anger and grievances, and nodded slightly: "Your Highness, let's talk this out. Please don't act impulsively!"

"I understand!" Chu Zhiyi said, then hurried back to the palace.

After Chu Zhiyi left, Shen Man also walked out of the courtroom with Su Yao's help.

The sunlight shone on her, but it couldn't dispel the gloom in her heart.

It must be said that today's unjust imperial decree has once again shattered her beautiful illusions about this world.

The people at the entrance of the yamen pointed and whispered at her, seeing her distraught appearance.

Seeing this, Su Yao glared angrily at the people pointing and whispering, and shouted at them, "What do you know! My young lady has put so much effort into this case, and all you do is gossip. Instead of wasting your time, why don't you think about what justice is!"

Shen Man gently tugged at Su Yao's sleeve and said softly, "Forget it, don't bother with them."

Although she was filled with sorrow, she also knew that acting on impulse was utterly useless in the face of absolute power.

After being scolded by Su Yao, everyone shut up sheepishly, and seeing that there was no more excitement to watch, they left one after another.

Standing at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice, Shen Man recalled her original intention in studying medicine: to help people and reduce the suffering of illness in the world.

But now, faced with the darkness of the court and the infighting among the powerful, an unprecedented sense of powerlessness surged into her heart like a tide, enveloping her completely.

She once firmly believed that with her wisdom and courage, she could uncover the hidden conspiracies and schemes and restore peace to the world.

However, all that carefully collected evidence became a pile of useless scraps of paper in the face of that imperial edict.

Thinking of this, endless grievances and anger welled up in her heart, causing her eyes to redden.

"Man'er..."

Suddenly, a call, like a gentle breeze brushing past Shen Man's ear, instantly pulled her wandering thoughts back to reality.

Shen Man was slightly taken aback and subconsciously turned her head away.

The first thing you see is a man standing there quietly.

The man had a fair complexion, like a piece of fine jade, and wore a dark blue official robe. He was tall and slender, standing upright between heaven and earth like a green bamboo.

Seeing Shen Man turn around, he smiled slightly, revealing a gentle smile as warm as the spring sun.

However, when his gaze fell upon Shen Man's slightly reddened eyes, a hint of heartache flickered in his smile, as if he had seen something he cherished being harmed.

Shen Man stared wide-eyed at the person in front of her, her face full of surprise: "Zhu Jing, what are you doing here?"