Outside the palace gates, Deputy Minister Yu waited anxiously in place, looking toward the palace gates one moment and toward the main road into the palace the next, feeling his heart about to jump into his throat.

His father had already been inside for the time it takes to burn an incense stick. He estimated the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review should arrive soon.

Just as he was feeling apprehensive—

He saw a carriage approaching from the distance!

At a glance, he knew it was the carriage the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was riding in.

Deputy Minister Yu’s heart immediately tightened!

That carriage stopped outside the palace gates. The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review lifted the curtain and got out, holding the prepared memorial in his hands, about to enter the palace to see the Emperor.

“My lord!”

Hmm?

He turned his head to look and saw Deputy Minister Yu walking over from the side, his face wearing a warm and ingratiating smile.

“Deputy Minister Yu? What are you doing here?”

Logically speaking, shouldn’t he be at the Court of Judicial Review right now? When did he come here?

Deputy Minister Yu walked to his side, trying his best to maintain a calm expression. He bowed low. “Linzhou just finished handling a case, so this subordinate official entered the palace to report to His Majesty. I just came out now. But I wonder what urgent matter brings my lord hastily into the palace at this time?”

“A small matter!” the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review said casually.

Deliberately not saying!

But Deputy Minister Yu looked at the memorial he held in his hands, and his expression settled for a moment.

And this look was just captured by the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, who quickly hid that memorial behind himself, waving his sleeve. “Since you’ve already finished reporting, then hurry back to the Court of Judicial Review. Recently, various prefectures and provinces have sent quite a few cases. As deputy minister, you should naturally review more cases and not delay.”

“Yes!”

Very respectful!

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review didn’t linger any longer and planned to stride into the palace. He had only walked two steps when he was called back again.

“My lord, please wait.”

Minister of the Court of Judicial Review: “Deputy Minister Yu, is there something else?”

He glanced into the palace gates, thinking why hasn’t he come out yet? His heart also grew guilty. He had never done this sort of thing before. Moreover, the person he had to block this time was the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, his direct superior.

“It’s like this—earlier this subordinate official went to find you, wanting to discuss with you the case submitted by Gushui County. The plaintiff is a woman who accused Merchant Lin for attempting to seize her family’s land and ancestral home, and when he failed, he beat her parents to death. But because there was no evidence, the case was hastily closed. This case seems uncomplicated and can be retried, but that person surnamed Lin frequently provides relief to the poor locally. So the common people of Gushui County all say he’s a good person. So this matter…”

He didn’t finish, dragging out a long tone, then secretly observed the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review’s expression.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review only gave an “Hmm,” then said, “This matter, we’ll discuss it slowly after we return. Right now I have urgent business requiring me to enter the palace immediately.”

“But my lord…”

“Don’t say any more. You go back first.”

Saying this, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review headed toward the palace gates.

But Deputy Minister Yu had a mission and couldn’t let it end like this. He quickly stepped forward and forcefully blocked him once again.

At this time, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was already somewhat displeased, furrowing his brows and glaring at him.

“Deputy Minister Yu, what else do you want?”

He said, “When this subordinate official just came out, His Majesty said he was somewhat tired and wanted to rest. So, my lord entering the palace at this time is probably inappropriate. If it’s not something urgent, why not… go tomorrow instead.”

“It’s about the assassin committing suicide in the prison. Do you think it’s urgent or not?”

Urgent!

More urgent than your wife giving birth!

And the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review used “suicide”! Not the “murder” that Minister Yu had mentioned!

It was clear he had already prepared to conceal the truth.

Deputy Minister Yu deliberately showed a shocked expression, then lowered his head slightly. “Urgent, naturally urgent.”

“Then if you have nothing else, we’ll talk when we return to the Court of Judicial Review. If His Majesty is resting, I’ll wait outside.”

Saying this, he directly pushed past Deputy Minister Yu and strode forward.

But—

That sticky piece of taffy still clung to him.

“My lord!”

In short, Deputy Minister Yu was going all in. Things had already reached this point, so he might as well gather his courage and fight.

Thus, he blocked the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review for the third time.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was thoroughly enraged. “Deputy Minister Yu, you’ve blocked me from entering the palace three times. What exactly do you mean?”

Deputy Minister Yu kept his head lowered. “This subordinate official only wants to know—regarding the assassin matter, how does my lord plan to report it to His Majesty?”

“When is it your turn to question my affairs? You’re merely a deputy minister. Just do your own job well. Now you’re blocking me again and again. If you delay important matters, I will hold you accountable. Step aside.”

Angry rebuke!

Deputy Minister Yu’s ten fingers trembled. Knowing he could no longer block him no matter what, he could only step aside, then watch helplessly as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review entered the palace.

He broke out in a cold sweat on the spot, not knowing whether his father had come out by now.

Just as he was extremely worried, he saw Minister Yu emerge from the palace.

“Father, how did it go?” He quickly went to greet him.

Minister Yu’s expression was very relaxed. He smiled. “Don’t worry.”

“Just now your son tried desperately to block the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. I’m worried he’s suspicious.”

“No harm. Let’s return first.”

Minister Yu didn’t care in the slightest.

After the two boarded the carriage and returned to the Court of Judicial Review, Minister Yu sent Deputy Minister Yu away. He himself went to the Court of Judicial Review’s council hall to wait, having someone brew a pot of tea, drinking it slowly.

As if waiting for someone!

After about an hour, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review returned from the palace, brows tightly furrowed, carrying anger and frustration. His entire face had darkened to black.

As soon as he got off the carriage, he headed toward the council hall.

Just as he reached the doorway, he violently pushed the originally open door.

“Bang!”

Hearing the sound, Minister Yu, who was drinking tea, remained very calm. From the corner of his eye, he glanced toward the doorway and saw the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review with a fierce face striding in and standing beside him.

Then—

He violently threw that memorial onto the table.

“Minister Yu, how do you explain this?”

Demanding!

But he played dumb. “What does my lord want me to explain?”

“You arranged it all in advance? Deliberately tangled my carriage wheel with rope so I couldn’t get in, while you, the mantis stalking the cicada with the oriole behind, took your memorial to the audience.”

“Oh, so it’s this matter!” Minister Yu exclaimed with sudden realization, but spoke extremely casually. He put down his teacup and said, “My lord misunderstands. What rope? This subordinate official knows nothing. This subordinate official only felt that since the assassin died in the Court of Judicial Review’s prison, the matter was serious, so I planned to enter the palace together with my lord. Therefore I caught up. On the way, there was a carriage stopped on the road, but I never imagined it was my lord’s carriage. Only after entering the palace to see His Majesty did I realize it.”

They say Minister Yu is smooth and skilled at distorting truth from falsehood. Indeed it was true. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been promoted so rapidly in such a short time, to the point where even the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review sometimes had to give him some face.

And the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review wasn’t stupid either. He knew he was clearly lying. If it were normal times, he would definitely turn a blind eye and let it go. But this matter involved Prince Yi, and even involved his own career prospects, so he couldn’t just let it go.

“You reported to His Majesty that the assassin was silenced by someone else. Do you know that saying this will make His Majesty think our Court of Judicial Review’s prison security is inadequate? When the time comes, both you and I will be implicated. Moreover, when His Majesty saw the memorial I submitted saying the assassin committed suicide, he immediately threw the book and blamed me for concealing the truth and distorting facts, even suspecting I was colluding with the murderer. He almost had me dragged to the Meridian Gate for beheading.”

So what?

Is it my fault?