“No, no, no, this humble subject did not!” Nie Shen’s eyes widened round as bronze bells as he vehemently denied it. “This humble subject would never possibly harm my own elder brother!”
As soon as his words fell.
Yun Ze stepped forward, clamped down on his wrist, and directly tore off the clothes on his body.
Beneath his outer robe, there was actually another outer robe, identical to the deceased Nie Zhou’s clothing.
“This, this…” Nie Shen stammered. “I’ve always worn the same clothing as my elder brother, there’s nothing strange about that…”
Yun Ze suddenly exerted force, and Nie Shen’s wrist snapped directly, producing a miserable scream.
Only then did Yun Ze roll up his sleeve.
Several fresh scratch marks were quite eye-catching.
“These, these were scratched by my concubine this morning…” Nie Shen endured the pain as he defended himself.
But his defense seemed so feeble.
Everyone present had already understood what had happened.
“This Second Master Nie is too ruthless and merciless, he actually killed his own blood brother.”
“Lord Nie single-handedly supported the Nie family. With Lord Nie dead, the Nie family is basically finished. What was Second Master Nie after?”
“Lord Nie was loyal to the Empress Dowager. Second Master Nie killing Lord Nie was probably…”
The voices of the crowd discussing gradually quieted down.
Yun Chu looked toward Chu Rui: “I wonder, what does the Prince Regent think of this matter?”
A modest smile appeared on Chu Rui’s face: “Indeed, this subject was careless. I didn’t expect such a thing as fratricide to occur. This can be handed over to the Court of Judicial Review for a thorough reinvestigation to give the deceased justice!”
“The Court of Judicial Review?” Yun Chu also smiled. “This case occurred right under Minister Chang’s nose, and Minister Chang personally examined the corpse. When I questioned him repeatedly, Minister Chang kept saying it was a fall to death… May I ask, is such a person worthy of the important responsibility of Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review?”
Minister Chang hurriedly stepped forward, bowing at the waist: “This humble subject momentarily misjudged. Please calm your anger, Empress Dowager. This humble subject will definitely investigate this case thoroughly next…”
“Convey My decree!” Chu Hongyu spoke coldly. “Chang Yuanshan has been negligent in his duties and treated human life with contempt. Remove him from his position as Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review and detain him for further trial!”
Minister Chang fell to the ground with a thud: “Your Majesty, please show mercy, Your Majesty…”
Chu Hongyu kicked him away with one foot.
He could only turn to Chu Rui for help.
Chu Rui indifferently averted his gaze.
With Chang Yuanshan failing so publicly in front of everyone, even he had no way to protect him.
“Drag him away!”
At Yun Chu’s command, those Imperial Guards no longer dared to be negligent and dragged Chang Yuanshan out.
He had only been Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review for just over two months. Before his seat had even warmed up, he was dismissed just like that.
Yun Chu looked again at that coroner Zhen: “Unable even to determine the basic cause of death correctly, you shame the title of Great Jin’s foremost coroner. From today onward, you are not permitted to engage in the coroner profession. Someone, take him down and imprison him for three years.”
Coroner Zhen collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
Last night, someone had found him and given him ten thousand taels of silver, simply asking him to say it was a fall to death when he was summoned to the palace the next day.
One sentence could earn him ten thousand taels of silver—why not do it?
He thought it was a very simple matter. He never expected it would end his coroner career.
“Of course, if Coroner Zhen can reveal the person behind this, I can spare you from imprisonment.” Yun Chu coaxed.
Coroner Zhen kept his head lowered.
Last night he had only received five thousand taels of silver as a deposit. He hadn’t even seen who gave him the money, let alone who was behind it.
Seeing him remain silent, Yun Chu had someone drag him away directly.
She looked coldly at Nie Shen: “Speak! Why did you murder your own blood brother?”
“This subject…” Nie Shen trembled all over. “This subject did not…”
A few days ago, Prince Regent Chu Rui had found him, promising that as long as he killed his elder brother, he would make him the head of the Nie family.
He would also promote him to his brother’s position and grant the Nie family a large mansion.
All these years, the Nie family had more and more people, but the mansion was only so large—a small three-courtyard compound that couldn’t even compare to ordinary merchant households, despite his brother being a second-rank minister of the current dynasty.
His brother’s family lived in the main courtyard, while his family lived in the side courtyard. Because the house was too small, he could only take two concubines, as there was no place to house them.
He didn’t understand why, when the Nie family had a second-rank official, they still lived so precariously.
For this, he had quarreled and fought with his brother, but it was useless—his brother just had a stubborn temperament.
Until the Prince Regent came offering various conditions, he was inevitably moved. He followed the Prince Regent’s scheme and killed his own elder brother.
But the moment his brother died, he regretted it.
Now, his regret was so deep his intestines had turned green.
But he had no choice. He had no way to reveal the mastermind behind it.
Otherwise, his wife and children would die too.
Nie Shen raised his eyes to look at the Prince Regent in the crowd.
He saw intimidation in those eyes.
“I was jealous of my elder brother, jealous of his smooth ascent, jealous that he gained the Empress Dowager’s favor!” Nie Shen closed his eyes. “I regret it. I’m willing to pay with my life for my brother’s death!”
He rose and crashed straight into the ornamental rock in the Zhaigyue Pavilion courtyard, dying instantly.
The entire venue erupted.
Yun Chu closed her eyes.
Unless the struggle between her and Chu Rui ended, people would continue to die.
Dying on the battlefield—that was dying for a worthy cause.
Dying in internal strife—what did that count as?
She said slowly: “The Emperor’s birthday banquet ends here. Everyone may leave.”
The officials departed with their female relatives.
The palace maids cleaned Zhaigyue Pavilion spotlessly, as if nothing had ever happened.
The Nie family soon arrived as well. It was Old Master Nie who came to claim the bodies of his two legitimate sons.
The old man had just experienced the pain of losing his wife this morning. In less than half a day, his two legitimate sons had also died. In one day, he had lost three close relatives.
“My sons…” Old Master Nie’s heart broke. “Empress Dowager, this old subject’s second son caused trouble. This old subject is willing to suffer in his place…”
Yun Chu’s eyes reddened slightly: “I failed to protect Nie Zhou. It’s my fault… Old Master, please rest assured, I will spare no effort to avenge Nie Zhou. Please trust me.”
Old Master Nie’s voice choked: “Compared to revenge, the stability of the realm is more important. Empress Dowager must not let this fraternal conflict affect the greater plan.”
“First, properly conduct Nie Zhou’s funeral rites.” Yun Chu said softly. “I will have the Yun family assist in finding an auspicious burial site, so Lord Nie may rest in eternal peace.”
The Nie family was poor. They probably couldn’t even find a burial site and would end up burying him casually on some hillside.
Old Master Nie thanked her repeatedly and left with his two sons.
Watching the old man’s hunched figure, Yun Chu’s nose suddenly stung. She quickly used her handkerchief to wipe the corners of her eyes.
“The Empress Dowager is more clever than I imagined.”
A voice sounded behind her.
Yun Chu turned around and saw Chu Rui.
Chu Rui walked forward: “I kill one of the Empress Dowager’s generals, the Empress Dowager breaks one of my arms. This back and forth—ultimately, it’s the court that suffers losses. Clearly it doesn’t have to be this way. Tell me, why add to the killing needlessly?”