When she accepted Mochou’s case in front of all the people, Suzhen had this realization—but now losing face to such an extent, with Li Zhaoting present and Agu also there, well, everyone who could be there was there. After the shock and pain, she really wanted to find a hole to crawl into. Her hatred for Lian Yu intensified even more. At this moment, she heard him say indifferently, “Well, now that everyone is finally here, who wants to speak about this matter first?”

Suzhen was startled and quickly pricked up her ears, only hearing Quan Feitong say softly, “Your Majesty, since Master Li accepted the case, why not have Master Li speak first?”

A San, you bastard! Suzhen gritted her teeth, but Lian Yu’s question was artfully phrased. What should she say? Discuss how to try and solve the case, or should she self-criticize that this was truly a national case and she was foolish to accept it?

“Prime Minister Quan, let Minister Gu speak first. If the Hanlin Academy hadn’t proposed the procession initially, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Lian Jie saved her.

This Prince Qi suddenly questioned someone in the assembly.

A middle-aged official with a lean appearance stood up. His face was bright and intelligent, but at this moment he smiled anxiously, “Your subject deserves death. It’s just… I truly didn’t expect such trouble would arise. If Your Majesty wishes to blame and punish, your subject will accept it.”

Suzhen thought, yes, old man, you indeed deserve to die. Why did your Hanlin Academy have to propose this procession?

She raised her head slightly and saw Agu’s gaze move slightly, glancing at Scholar Gu. Then she heard Lian Yu say, “The Hanlin Academy also had good intentions. Their starting point was good. Minister He, you were the first to receive this case report. As Capital Prefect, please begin and let me and all ministers review the ins and outs of this case.”

Suzhen didn’t know Agu’s relationship with that Minister Gu just now, but others saw it clearly and began their own calculations.

Why was this?

This Agu was originally Quan Feitong’s fiancée, daughter of Hanlin Academy Director Gu Nanguang, with the given name Shuangcheng. The Minister Gu that Lian Jie had just questioned was Gu Nanguang, but Lian Yu had stopped him.

Originally, seeing Gu Shuangcheng serving tea and grinding ink here when they entered was already surprising. Though Shuangcheng had been adopted as a daughter by the Empress Dowager and was known for her literary talent, this was still the imperial study. Could it be that His Majesty toward her… Keeping her here this time was intentionally letting everyone see their opinions—this young lady would be made a consort sooner or later?

Many people thought this silently, including many of Quan Feitong’s followers. Quan Feitong’s face also still wore a slight smile.

The Capital Prefect Minister He whom the emperor had named, He Sai, glanced at Quan Feitong and stood up with a bitter smile, “Your Majesty’s discernment: after investigation, your subject learned that Great Wei’s Prince Zhennan’s heir Pei Fengji came on orders this time leading Great Wei’s merchant caravan to our Great Zhou for trade. In his leisure time, he went to a pleasure house called Guixiang House for entertainment. That Mochou was the star courtesan there. On the night of the incident, Guixiang House’s madam and two girls were killed, dying in the madam’s private residence.”

“Everyone knows that previously, Mochou’s lover Scholar Xie had a violent argument with this madam. If it wasn’t him who did it, could it have been Prince Fengji who came seeking pleasure?”

“That Scholar Xie’s ancestral jade bracelet was taken by the madam, so he snuck into the madam’s mansion at night to retrieve the bracelet. When discovered by the madam and two girls living there, in the struggle, he had evil thoughts and killed them all.”

“But that Mochou said the killer wasn’t Scholar Xie, that there were other circumstances to this case. She also said when Prince Fengji killed people and raped her, that Scholar Xie had already fled in shock. But Mochou was already a courtesan—what rape could there be? Isn’t this all to exonerate her lover?”

“On that dark, dew-heavy night, Scholar Xie killed three people in succession, blood staining all the silk lanterns and screens in the room—truly heinous crimes. Therefore, your subject handed Scholar Xie over to the Ministry of Justice to await execution, and beat Mochou with several boards to punish her false accusation before releasing her.”

Lian Yu’s gaze lazily and indifferently swept across everyone’s faces, “Then what? Li Huaisu took leave for several days. Before he took over, someone else should have received Mochou’s petition, right?”

Justice Minister Xiao Yue quickly stood up, reporting, “Afterward, that Mochou indeed came to your subject’s office again, committing the crime of disturbance once more. Your subject punished her with rods and drove her away.”

After hearing this, Lian Yu didn’t speak, only curling his lips in a smile, his gaze somewhat dark. Lian Qin looked at everyone and sneered coldly, “Oh, the Ministry of Justice released the person, and that was the end of it?”

At this time, Suzhen saw clearly that it was Li Zhaoting who stood up to answer, “Later this Miss Mochou came to the Personnel Department office. Since Minister He had already judged the case with evidence presented in court, and this didn’t fall under the Personnel Department’s jurisdiction, at the time both Minister Gao and I were present. We also didn’t disturb Minister Xia and simply sent her out.”

Gao Chaoyi nodded beside him, while Personnel Minister Xia Yida said nothing, just smiled, seemingly indicating this was indeed the case.

Unexpectedly, the next person to stand up was actually Si Lanfeng. He looked at Lian Yu and Lian Jie, respectfully replying, “That woman then came to the War Department. After discussing with the Grand Tutor, your subject immediately reported this matter to Prime Ministers Yan and Quan.”

Grand Tutor… Hearing this, Suzhen was somewhat puzzled. Why would Si Lanfeng discuss this with Wei Chenghui?

It turned out that Wei Wuyan’s father, Grand Tutor Wei, had been appointed by the former emperor as tutor to the princes in their youth. He controlled the War Department and was originally the War Minister. The title of Grand Tutor was bestowed by Lian Yu after taking Wei Wuyan as consort, to show favor to this imperial teacher and father-in-law.

Wei Chenghui sighed softly, “After some consideration, your subject simply had this woman transferred back to the Ministry of Justice, and discussed with Minister Xiao to finally detain her on charges of repeatedly disturbing court offices, awaiting word from the two Prime Ministers before proceeding.”

“The Grand Tutor considered this thoroughly.” Yan Da frowned, looking at Lian Yu, “Your Majesty, when this matter reached this old subject, I knew it was no light matter and immediately reported to Your Majesty.”

“Unfortunately, the Ministry of Justice had another problem then,” Marquis Murong Jing sneered coldly, “I heard that Mochou seduced a jailer, who actually snuck her out for pleasure, during which she attacked him and escaped.”

“Yes, this was indeed your subject’s poor management!” Xiao Yue was startled and immediately knelt before Lian Yu to beg forgiveness, “Your Majesty, your subject has already imprisoned that jailer for questioning.”

At this point, Suzhen was increasingly shocked to hear that so many officials had been involved. In these accounts, there was an indescribable strangeness throughout, yet she couldn’t pinpoint exactly where.