Seeing his son run away faster than a rabbit, Zhen Shicheng’s beard quivered with anger.
Why couldn’t this boy understand? His father had such good taste, how could the girl he approved of be anything less than exceptional?
Zhen Shicheng recalled the day his son asked him what merits the girl he admired had. Without hesitation, he replied, “She has a natural talent for solving cases.”
Such a great quality and his damned son couldn’t appreciate it?
Zhen Shicheng remembered Zhen Heng’s expression after hearing this, and his anger flared again. He stroked his beard forcefully.
Did he need to mention trivial merits like the girl’s beauty? How shallow!
“Sir, someone has come to file a complaint!” A yamen runner came running to report.
Zhen Shicheng regained his composure and strode out.
In the courtroom, before Zhen Shicheng arrived, the yamen runners whispered among themselves, eyeing the young man standing in the center.
It wasn’t that they were inexperienced, but they had never seen someone directly dragging a corpse to file a complaint.
“The magistrate has arrived!”
The courtroom immediately fell silent.
Zhen Shicheng sat behind the bench and looked out, startled to see the young man standing below.
This young man was one of the young friends he had encountered at Lingwu Temple.
Considering that Miss Jiang knew this young man, Zhen Shicheng understood that his identity must be either wealthy or noble.
Of course, such an identity wasn’t uncommon in the capital, and Zhen Shicheng was used to it. He was only surprised by the coincidence of their previous encounter.
Zhen Shicheng quickly regained his composure and struck the gavel: “Court is in session.”
The yamen runners immediately began striking their intimidation sticks: “Silence—”
Yu Jin stood calmly, waiting for the courtroom to quiet down.
A yamen runner shouted: “How dare you! Not kneeling in the courtroom!”
Yu Jin smiled faintly and said to Zhen Shicheng: “Please forgive me, Your Honor. It’s not convenient for me to kneel.”
Zhen Shicheng didn’t mind this, but put on a stern face: “That’s fine. Please state who you are and the reason for your complaint.”
The Great Zhou treated scholars well. Even those with a xiucai degree didn’t need to kneel before a county magistrate. It wasn’t surprising for a young master from a noble family not to kneel before him.
However, at this moment, Zhen Shicheng was quite curious about the other’s identity. Generally, even when wealthy families filed complaints, the masters wouldn’t personally appear in court. This young man was interesting.
“Uh, someone tried to assassinate me,” Yu Jin said calmly.
Zhen Shicheng suddenly sat up straight, his expression becoming serious: “Assassinate?”
“Yes, the dagger used to stab me was also poisoned.”
Zhen Shicheng became even more attentive: “Has the person escaped?”
Assassination, poison – these were enough to indicate that the young man before him wasn’t simple, and this case was even more complex.
Yu Jin pointed at the male corpse on the ground: “It’s this person.”
Zhen Shicheng was silent for a moment, then frowned: “In that case, you’ve taken the law into your own hands.”
If a killer was killed in return, as long as there were witnesses, the victim wouldn’t be punished. But if you’ve already dealt out punishment yourself and killed the person, why bring them to court?
Zhen Shicheng felt a sense of being toyed with, his expression darkening slightly.
Yu Jin smiled slightly: “Your Honor misunderstands. I didn’t kill this person. He bit into a poison tooth and committed suicide when my guards captured him.”
“Who exactly are you?” Zhen Shicheng couldn’t help but ask.
“My surname is Yu, given name Jin. I’m the seventh son in my family. My father is… the current Emperor.”
One of the yamen runners dropped his intimidation stick, which clattered loudly on the ground.
Zhen Shicheng gripped the gavel tightly, his voice rising slightly: “Can you repeat your identity!”
Yu Jin remained calm: “I am the Emperor’s seventh son. You may call me Yu Seven, Your Honor.”
Zhen Shicheng stood up involuntarily: “Do you know—”
Impersonating a prince was a capital offense!
Yu Jin raised his eyes to meet Zhen Shicheng’s gaze: “Your Honor, I’m not foolish.”
Zhen Shicheng was silent for a moment, then said: “This official needs to see your waist token.”
Yu Jin took off his waist token and handed it to a nearby yamen runner to present.
The runner’s hands shook as he held the token, presenting it to Zhen Shicheng as if it were a hot potato.
Zhen Shicheng took the token and examined it carefully, then cupped his hands in respect: “So it’s Your Highness. This official pays his respects.”
“Your Honor need not be so polite. Today, you are the presiding judge, and I am the victim. I’m here to ask for your justice.”
Although the formal investiture ceremony hadn’t been held, the imperial edict conferring the title of prince had been issued, so others naturally addressed Yu Jin as “Your Highness.”
“Your Highness is a member of the royal family, so this case cannot be handled solely by the Shuntian Prefecture. Please wait a moment, Your Highness.” Zhen Shicheng, not lacking the smoothness common to high officials, naturally didn’t want to give anyone a chance to accuse him of overstepping his authority. He immediately ordered someone to notify the Three Judicial Offices for a joint trial.
The assassination attempt on Yu Jin is currently an unsolved case. The Three Judicial Offices knew it would be difficult to find any leads, but they had to put on a show of thorough investigation. Inwardly, they had already cursed the unconventional Seventh Prince half a dozen times.
This Seventh Prince knew how to cause trouble. Someone of his status should investigate such attacks secretly. Who files a complaint at the Shuntian Prefecture?
Now, thanks to old Zhen Shicheng passing the buck, they were all in a predicament.
What made the high officials of the Three Judicial Offices even more upset was that this matter was no small affair and had to be reported to the Emperor.
Emperor Jingming had been in a foul mood these days.
The weather was hot, making people easily irritable, and the concubines in the harem were still not settling down.
It wasn’t just about punishing a few sons with confinement for self-reflection. Wherever he went in the palace, he was met with tearful faces from the concubines. Who wouldn’t be annoyed? Not to mention that his recently favored Consort Yang had been throwing tantrums over her brother’s death.
Emperor Jingming prided himself on being an enlightened ruler. At his age, he had no intention of selecting new concubines, but he couldn’t suppress the frustration in his heart, with no outlet for his nameless anger.
“Your Majesty, the three heads of the Three Judicial Offices have come to the palace seeking an audience,” Pan Hai came to report.
Emperor Jingming threw aside the half-read memorial, his authority naturally imposing: “Let them in.”
He had experience with such untimely audiences – they never brought good news.
Soon, the Minister of Justice, the Left Censor-in-Chief, and the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review entered the Imperial Study one after another.
“What do you three have to report?”
The three exchanged glances, and the Minister of Justice stated their purpose.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Jingming became furious. But scolding his son in front of others would be losing face, so he said to Pan Hai: “Summon Prince Yan to the palace!”
Yu Jin received the imperial summons without surprise and calmly followed Pan Hai into the palace.
He had taken a roundabout way, but his ultimate goal was to complain to his father. This father, whom he had only met once, hadn’t disappointed him.
Along the way, Pan Hai saw that this newly appointed prince remained calm, showing none of the nervousness others usually displayed before an imperial audience. He couldn’t help but feel some sympathy and tried to extract some inside information. Finally, he reminded, “Your Highness, His Majesty has been feeling irritable lately.”
This was a hint that the Emperor was in a bad mood, suggesting Yu Jin should be cautious.
Yu Jin was surprised that a strange eunuch would show him goodwill. After a brief pause, he smiled and said, “Thank you for the advice, sir.”
Seeing the young man’s sincere smile, Pan Hai suddenly felt that his impulsive reminder was worthwhile.