Confess?
Zhu Ziyu stared at Jiang Si as if she were a vicious beast.
Everything had been so carefully planned. How did it come to this?
Jiang Si’s lips curled into a cold smile as she fixed her gaze on Zhu Ziyu. A faint light emanated from her palm, silently drifting towards the man on the verge of emotional collapse.
“Zhu Ziyu, you’re the first man I’ve seen so eager to cuckold himself by plotting against his wife. I’m sure everyone else here is seeing this for the first time too, right?”
The spectators laughed in agreement: “Indeed, we’ve never heard of such a thing!”
The laughter assaulted Zhu Ziyu’s eardrums, making his head spin as if he had lost control like an unbridled wild horse.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this!
Why didn’t Lady Jiang die in the horse incident? If she had died then, there would have been no need for the Qing’er gambit!
Zhu Ziyu screamed internally, driven mad by his extreme misfortune.
But he soon realized that everyone around him had fallen silent, staring at him in disbelief.
A forceful blow landed on him.
“You beast! Do you even know what you’re saying?” In just two or three days, Lord Zhu’s hair had turned mostly white. He now looked old and haggard. His son’s sudden outburst dealt him another heavy blow, and he couldn’t help but slap Zhu Ziyu.
Zhu Ziyu’s eyes gradually regained clarity, and he instinctively covered his mouth.
Had he just spoken his thoughts aloud?
The horse incident on the way back from White Cloud Temple was indeed his arrangement.
His mother was strict, and opportunities for Lady Jiang to travel far were rare, so he had prepared a two-pronged plan.
First was the horse incident. If Lady Jiang had died then, it would have been ideal. He would only need to endure for a year before remarrying.
However, such accidents were difficult to control. If Lady Jiang had emerged unscathed, he would have tied a colorful ribbon to the horse’s reins. Qing’er, who had been waiting halfway, would have seen the fluttering ribbon and rushed out to perform her act.
Knowing Lady Jiang as he did, she would have surely rescued Qing’er and brought her back to the manor, allowing him to implement his alternate plan.
As long as Lady Jiang was sent back to her maiden home bearing the shame of an illicit affair, she would take her own life without him having to lift a finger. Then no one would trouble him anymore.
This plan required patience but seemed foolproof.
Yet, this supposedly flawless plan had such a major flaw. How did it all go wrong?
Jiang Si, tired of watching Zhu Ziyu’s half-dead appearance, turned and bowed to Zhen Shicheng.
The young woman’s voice, higher and clearer than a man’s, rang out distinctly in everyone’s ears.
“Your Honor, you just heard Zhu Ziyu admit that he hoped for my elder sister’s death in that horse incident. Combined with the long needle found in the horse’s hindquarters, the implausible reason given by the suicidal carriage driver, and Zhu Ziyu’s admission about the Qing’er sisters’ ploy… This humble girl has reason to believe that Zhu Ziyu was undoubtedly the mastermind behind that horse incident!”
Zhen Shicheng listened patiently to Jiang Si’s statement, idly stroking his beard.
The spectators, however, could no longer contain themselves.
“That’s right, it must be that Zhu fellow trying to harm his wife!”
“Heavens, to think there are men with such vicious hearts. This is truly an eye-opener.”
“What’s so surprising? Remember Zhang Dalang from the south? His wife had an affair, and she even poisoned Zhang Dalang to death. People, regardless of gender, are capable of anything once their hearts stray!”
…
These discussions poured into Zhu Ziyu’s ears like a swarm of buzzing bees, driving him to distraction.
“Silence!” Zhu Ziyu shouted, his face contorted in an ugly, hysterical expression.
The crowd fell suddenly silent.
Zhu Ziyu glared fiercely at Jiang Si, his voice sinister: “Fourth Miss Jiang, you keep accusing me of trying to harm your sister. So tell me, how is your sister now?”
Jiang Si raised an eyebrow slightly.
Her elder sister was now in the Eastern Peace Earl’s manor, of course, safe and sound.
Not just Jiang Si, but everyone quickly understood Zhu Ziyu’s implication.
In Great Zhou, there was no crime of attempted murder.
Zhu Ziyu’s wife was currently unharmed, and there was no conclusive evidence of the horse incident. Even if Zhu Ziyu admitted to planning to use a pair of twin sisters to set up his wife, since it hadn’t happened, he couldn’t be convicted. At most, he would face public condemnation.
Jiang Si sighed softly: “Being educated certainly helps one keep their composure.”
How absurd were the laws of this world, that one could escape punishment just because their attempt failed?
While her elder sister might not have been physically harmed, her heart had been shattered by Zhu Ziyu, never to fully recover.
Zhu Ziyu, like a lone wolf driven into a corner, silently watched Jiang Si.
Jiang Si suddenly smiled: “Zhu Ziyu, you seem to have forgotten the purpose of our visit to the court today.”
“Purpose?” Zhu Ziyu muttered these words.
The spectators all curiously awaited Jiang Si’s answer.
Jiang Si found it somewhat amusing.
In this world, rules are eternal, but the human heart is unpredictable.
Just because of Zhu Ziyu’s shocking words, so many people had forgotten the Eastern Peace Earl’s initial purpose in coming to the court.
This was fine. The unpredictability of human hearts made them easier to sway, becoming the support she needed.
“Yes, have you forgotten? Today, our Earl’s household came to court to request that the officials grant my elder sister a divorce from you!”
Who said they were accusing Zhu Ziyu of murder? From the beginning, what the Earl’s household wanted was a divorce, and to rightfully bring Yan’er back from the Zhu family.
So what if Zhu Ziyu didn’t go to prison? This pampered young master, who had lived his whole life in the spotlight, would now face the world’s disdain. Let him experience what it’s like to live a life worse than death.
Jiang Si bowed solemnly to Zhen Shicheng and spoke loudly: “Your Honor, Zhu Ziyu harbored intentions to harm his lawful wife, failing as a husband; he disregarded his young daughter’s pain of losing her mother, failing as a father. As a scholar of the Imperial Academy and a member of the Hanlin Academy, he has betrayed the Emperor’s expectations, showing disloyalty; his attempt to harm his wedded wife and break their lifelong vow shows a lack of righteousness; bringing shame and mockery upon his parents and clan shows a lack of filial piety. For such a man who lacks loyalty, righteousness, and filial piety, this humble girl implores Your Honor to make a wise judgment: grant my elder sister a divorce from Zhu Ziyu, and allow her to raise their daughter, Yan’er.”
Jiang Si’s speech was passionate and stirring, like a spark igniting the hearts of everyone present, kindling their enthusiasm and indignation.
The crowd began to shout: “Divorce! Divorce! We ask the wise and just official to grant the Jiang family a divorce from the Zhu family!”
Amidst this overwhelming outcry, Zhen Shicheng solemnly delivered his verdict: “Zhu Ziyu harbored intentions to harm his lawful wife. Their marriage is hereby dissolved. Their daughter, Yan’er, shall be raised by the mother’s side. Court adjourned!”
Cheers erupted inside and outside the courtroom.
Hearing this verdict, Zhu Ziyu stumbled back, his soul seemingly crushed.
People near him quickly moved away as if avoiding a plague, followed by a barrage of rotten cabbage leaves and rotten eggs thrown at him.
Amidst this commotion, Jiang Si smiled slightly at Jiang Ancheng: “Father, let’s go bring Yan’er home.”