Chapter 127 Retrial
King Cheng looked at Ji Heng with an uncertain expression.

Ji Heng and the Jiang family had no relationship. King Cheng's spies had not found any clues about this. But at this critical moment, Ji Heng spoke for Jiang Li, and the relationship between them became particularly intriguing.

After a while, King Cheng laughed and said, "Duke Su is really kind to women."

Ji Heng raised her eyebrows: "Of course."

He was not afraid of King Cheng. In fact, King Cheng did not dare to do anything to him. Even if he was unhappy, he would only say a few words and could not go too far. Duke Su was cruel and sinister. He must not let him bear a grudge against him and do something behind his back, which would bring him unnecessary trouble.

"In that case, I can't do anything to Miss Jiang Li." Although he didn't dare to do anything to Ji Heng, King Cheng still dared to threaten Jiang Li blatantly. He said, "I just don't know what the final result of today's case will be. Miss Jiang Li is now confident. I hope she can smile in the end." He said this meaningfully, glanced at Ji Heng, turned around and left.

Ji Heng kept smiling, and whether he was talking to Jiang Li or to himself, he said, "It seems that he came prepared."

Jiang Li came back to her senses and saluted Ji Heng: "Thank you again, Duke, for rescuing me today."

"I've never seen you so polite before." Ji Heng said it in an ambiguous tone, causing Ye Shijie on the side to unable to help but linger on the two of them.

"I was forced by circumstances in the past." Jiang Li also smiled, "I will thank you one by one if I have the chance in the future."

"Well, your mouth is as sweet as ever." He blinked calmly and asked, "What are you going to do now? Don't say I didn't tell you. King Cheng will definitely make some moves on the Xue family case. It's easy to find out Feng Yutang's crime today, but it's hard to get rid of Xue Huaiyuan's crime." He stared at Jiang Li, seemingly speaking unintentionally, "What you value most is not getting Xue Huaiyuan off the hook, right?"

Jiang Li paused. Indeed, it was not difficult to convict Feng Yutang. Feng Yutang himself was a scoundrel covered in stains. Speaking of Feng Yutang alone, this case was not enough for the emperor to supervise personally. Even if Princess Yongning was implicated, at most she would be accused of a bad appointment. If you want to uncover the conspiracy of the Xue family case, you have to point out that Princess Yongning deliberately framed Xue Huaiyuan and put him in jail. The dirty water has been poured on the Xue family, and the "evidence" is also solid. Under such circumstances, it is really difficult to clear Xue Huaiyuan of the evidence.

However, she still has a chance. Today's trial is not so much a trial led by Zhou Dezhao as it is a "court discussion" controlled by her. Emperor Hong Xiao wants to use her as a knife to weaken King Cheng, and he has given her this opportunity, so she will make good use of it. As long as the final goal is the same, what does it matter if she is used as a knife?
"He came prepared, and we have also prepared a lot." Jiang Li smiled and said, "I am honored that the Duke is concerned about my affairs."

Ji Heng said, "You don't have to flatter me. I can't say a word during today's interrogation. But from your look, you have a way to deal with it. That's good." He said slowly, "Your life is still in my hands. I don't want you to die before I can collect the debt. Although I don't like doing business, I never do business at a loss."

Jiang Li burst out laughing.

Sometimes she felt that Ji Heng was moody, like someone who stayed in the dark abyss every day, unpredictable, but sometimes she felt that although Ji Heng's words were annoying, he was also quite interesting. Most importantly, he was a smart man, smart enough to see a corner of her secrets, but never presumptuously delved into it.

This is probably his pride, but it also makes him look gentlemanly.

Although Jiang Li also knew that the words "gentleman" and "Ji Heng" were originally unrelated.

Ye Shijie watched Jiang Li and Ji Heng talking to each other in a familiar way, and listened silently without looking at their mouths. Ji Heng did not avoid him, and it was unknown whether it was because she did not take him seriously or because she trusted him because he was Jiang Li's cousin. But Ye Shijie was very suspicious about the relationship between Ji Heng and Jiang Li.

A duke and the daughter of a prime minister. Ji Heng had never had any dealings with the Jiang family, so how could he have such a close relationship with Ji Heng?

Jiang Li said, "It's getting late. If you want to chat, we can do it another day. We have some business to attend to today. Let's go into the hall first."

Ji Heng made a "please" gesture.

Jiang Li walked towards the hall with Ye Shijie.

Even if he had many questions in his mind, now was not the time to ask them. Ye Shijie just had to suppress his thoughts and go into the hall first.

Many ministers have come to the palace, all of them are ministers who come to the "court discussion" today. Many years ago, when the late emperor was alive, whenever there were many uncertain cases in the court, and the matters were of great importance, the ministers would be summoned to the "court discussion". At that time, most of the "court discussions" were from the royal family. In the years after the late emperor's reign, the royal family declined, and the "court discussions" became more open, and ordinary ministers could also participate.

Today was supposed to be a trial, so there was no need to mobilize so many troops. However, after reading the memorial, Emperor Hong Xiao chose to "discuss in court" and let Jiang Li take the lead. The meaning behind this is thought-provoking. It was just a case of a county official, so it was not considered "significant". With it being turned into this, some smart people began to speculate whether there was another hidden story.

Ye Mingyu was relieved when he saw Jiang Li and Ye Shijie coming in together. He was afraid that King Cheng would cause trouble for Jiang Li, and he was relieved to see that Jiang Li was safe and sound.

Jiang Yuanbo also saw Jiang Li and nodded slightly to her. He was already busy with his own affairs. This case was personally stirred up by his own daughter. Many colleagues looked at him meaningfully, and then at Jiang Li, with deep meaning.

King Cheng stood at one end, looking coldly at Jiang Li and his group. His expression was extremely cold and cruel, which was frightening. Even though Jiang Yuanbai and Ye Mingyu were here, he refused to restrain himself at all.

There were many familiar faces, such as Liu Xu's father, Lord Liu Yuanfeng, Ji Shuran's father, Ji Yanlin, and Jiang Li also saw Shen Yurong.

Shen Yurong arrived a little late, but as soon as he entered the palace, many court officials rushed up to him and greeted him warmly, with a sense of trying to curry favor. Shen Yurong had a kind smile on his face. He was handsome and gentle, like a clear stream in the court, attracting attention.

Ye Mingyu also stared and said, "Who is that boy? He is so young, I think he holds a high position. He is quite handsome. Ali, if you are with him..." Ye Mingyu glanced at Ye Shijie's eyes and swallowed the three words "together".

Despite this, Jiang Li could guess what Ye Mingyu was going to say next, and couldn't help but sneer in her heart.

Shen Yurong is indeed very good at intimidating people with his appearance. You know, when he was just a scholar, many rich ladies rushed to marry him. Now that he is an official, he wears luxurious clothes and has an even more outstanding temperament. He is more popular than before. No wonder Princess Yongning was willing to murder her own wife to marry into the Shen family. But to Jiang Li, Shen Yurong is even more unfamiliar, more disgusting, and more despised.

Shen Yurong noticed that someone was looking at her. She followed the gaze and saw a petite girl standing next to a man with a scar on his face not far away.

The girl had a beautiful face and a slender figure. She was in her prime, about fifteen or sixteen years old, like a newly blossomed pear blossom on a tree, fresh and lovely. Although she was not considered a beauty, her eyes had a charming and elegant air, and were frank and open. For a moment, it was hard to look away, and it seemed that her eyes looked familiar, as if I had seen them somewhere before.

Shen Yurong stared at Jiang Li in a trance.

Ye Shijie frowned. He knew Shen Yurong, the secretary of the imperial court. He had met her a few times during court sessions. Shen Yurong treated him kindly and had a very good temper. People in the imperial court were willing to befriend him. But for some reason, Ye Shijie didn't like this young Lord Shen very much. He always felt that he was too tactful. How could he have achieved the position of secretary of the imperial court in such a short time without any enemies?
After Ye Shijie became an official himself, he realized how dark the officialdom was. Someone like Shen Yurong, who thrived in the officialdom, was naturally not very clean. It was a bit of a reputation-seeking move to pretend to be clean when one was clearly not clean.

Ye Shijie moved sideways to block Jiang Li, bowed to Shen Yurong, and said, "Master Shen."

Shen Yurong came back to her senses and returned the greeting to Ye Shijie, but her eyes were fixed on Jiang Li.

He had seen Jiang Li. He had seen Jiang Li at the Mingyi Hall examination when Princess Yongning was injured. He vaguely remembered that Jiang Li played the zither very well, comparable to Fangfei. She was the eldest daughter of Jiang Yuanbo. He also knew a little about Jiang Li's past. She was sent to a temple for murdering her stepmother, but after returning, she was able to gain a foothold in the Prime Minister's Mansion in just a few months. It can be seen that she is not a brainless person.

Speaking of the relationship with Jiang Li, Zhou Yanbang, whom Shen Ruyun is going to marry now, was originally arranged to marry Jiang Li. Now Jiang Li has intervened in Xue Huaiyuan's case, and Shen Yurong has a strange feeling. Jiang Li and he have nothing to do with each other, but it seems that there is a rope that ties them together, so Jiang Li's shadow can be seen in everything.

He looked at Jiang Li, and Jiang Li also looked at him. It was very bold for a woman to look directly at a strange man like this. But Shen Yurong could clearly feel that there was no trace of admiration in Jiang Li's eyes when she looked at him. There was only indifference towards strangers, and it seemed that there was something else hidden, but when he looked again, he could not see it.

When Shen Yurong was still hesitating whether to say hello to Jiang Li, Jiang Li had already looked away, as if he was just an insignificant person who was not worth her extra attention. Shen Yurong was stunned for a moment, then laughed at herself.

Yes, Jiang Li is not Fang Fei, nor is she Princess Yongning. To her, she is an insignificant stranger, so this is the right reaction. But for some reason, Shen Yurong couldn't help but glance at Jiang Li who was talking to Ye Shijie, and always felt that... something was wrong.

But I can't explain why.

As he was speaking, the eunuch Su Gonggong came from behind the hall with his men, and Emperor Hong Xiao had arrived.

The court rules of this dynasty are loose, and even the rules for attending court are not as strict as those of the previous emperor. Some people say that this is because Emperor Hong Xiao is weak and others are not afraid of him. It is unknown how long he can stay in the position of emperor, so they are fearless.

In the past, Jiang Li also thought that although Emperor Hong Xiao was not as moderate as he seemed, he was not a rare wise ruler. But since he knew Ji Heng's plan, Jiang Li knew that his judgment of Emperor Hong Xiao was probably wrong. Although Ji Heng controlled the government and played tricks, he was arrogant. It would be impossible for him to bow down to a useless person. Among the three forces, he chose Emperor Hong Xiao, naturally because Emperor Hong Xiao was worthy of his support. If Ji Heng was aiming for the highest position, Emperor Hong Xiao would be his opponent in the future. If Emperor Hong Xiao was not capable of being of great use, choosing such an opponent would be an insult to him.

If Ji Heng was not aiming for the throne but had other plans, then Emperor Hong Xiao would be nothing to him, whether he was a knife to be used or an ally standing on the same boat.

This emperor has been pretending to be a pig and eating the tiger, which may not be a simple thing.

Emperor Hong Xiao sat down on the high throne, and the other ministers lined up. The silence in the Golden Throne Hall seemed to be just a moment.

At Zhou Dezhao's request, hundreds of people from Tongxiang jointly convened a court meeting to re-examine the Xue family case.

Jiang Li's heart was excited. As the civil and military officials bowed down to thank the emperor for his grace, her fingers in her sleeves were clenched into fists.

Success or failure depends on this one move. Today's battle is the key to the Xue family clearing their grievances and uncovering a corner of the truth. She will definitely go all out. Even if King Cheng tries to stop her, she will fight to the death!
The palace was majestic and magnificent. The civil and military officials standing in the court were some unfamiliar to Jiang Li, and some were familiar to Jiang Li. Some were once bedmates, but now they were mortal enemies, and some were once strangers, but now they were blood relatives. Emperor Hong Xiao looked at Zhou Dezhao from above and said, "Lord Zhou, let's start."

Zhou Dezhao stood up and said yes respectfully. He gave instructions to the people behind him, and a moment later, Feng Yutang in prison clothes was brought up.

"The guilty minister Feng Yutang, while serving as the county magistrate in Tongxiang, abused his power for personal gain, bullied men and women, and committed all kinds of evil. He once framed the former county magistrate Xue Huaiyuan and put him in jail. His intention is deserving of death, and his name has been recorded in the book." He looked at Feng Yutang, "Feng Yutang, do you know your crime?"

Compared with Feng Yutang, who was previously the county magistrate of Tongxiang, the current Feng Yutang is like a lost dog. Needless to say, he was disheveled and sneered, saying, "I know my crime. When I was the county magistrate, I did abuse my power for personal gain, but the framing of Xue Huaiyuan is nonsense. Xue Huaiyuan was imprisoned for embezzling disaster relief funds, and the evidence is irrefutable, but this matter has nothing to do with me. It can be said that there is no shortage of excuses for accusing someone of a crime. I do not admit to the unfounded accusation."

"How dare you!" Zhou Dezhao shouted angrily, "How can we tolerate your clever words and eloquence in the Golden Palace!"

Feng Yutang quickly knelt down and said he dared not.

Jiang Li looked at him coldly, and understood. Feng Yutang knew that he could not escape death, so he insisted that it was all his fault, and he could die more comfortably. If he gave up Princess Yongning, he would not only die miserably, but all the concubines and descendants in his house would die.

Feng Yutang was certainly not a person with great love in his heart. He would rather sacrifice his own interests for the benefit of everyone. It was simply that in Feng Yutang's view, the fear of Princess Yongning's power was greater than the fear of the emperor, which made him willing to make such a move.

"Sir Zhou," Prince Cheng said leisurely, "It's all recorded in the files. Feng Yutang's guilt is irrefutable and the evidence is solid. But Xue Huaiyuan's guilt has been tried before. In Xue Huaiyuan's corruption case, the silver is in the mansion, and there are also account books and witnesses to testify. It is not possible to prove Xue Huaiyuan's innocence just because Feng Yutang is guilty. Everything must be based on evidence. You can't force him to confess in front of the emperor. Please don't waste your time."

This was said in front of Emperor Hong Xiao, which was very impolite. Although all the ministers could speak on matters discussed in the court, the attitude of King Cheng was clearly biased towards Feng Yutang.

The other ministers did not understand, they just thought that King Cheng was just here to watch the fun, or because he disliked the Jiang family, and the one who brought up the Xue family case happened to be the daughter of the Jiang family, so he was aggressive. To Emperor Hong Xiao, these words had a different meaning.

In the memorial submitted by Ye Shijie, the case involved Yongning. If King Cheng had not acted today, Emperor Hong Xiao would still suspect that there might be some misunderstanding. But since King Cheng did so, Emperor Hong Xiao could immediately conclude that the matter was related to Yongning and it was definitely not false. Even King Cheng's attitude clearly showed that he knew the inside story of the matter.

But Emperor Hong Xiao said nothing. He sat there in a mysterious manner, watching his ministers speak.

Before Zhou Dezhao could speak, King Cheng turned his attention to Jiang Li and said with a fake smile, "This case was brought up by Second Miss Jiang. Second Miss Jiang went to Tongxiang in person. It seems that she knows a lot of inside information that others don't know, and she knows a lot of evidence that others don't know. Since you want to exonerate Xue Huaiyuan, please show us the evidence."

"That's right." This time, it was the Right Prime Minister Li Zhongnan who spoke. Li Zhongnan cupped his hands and said, "Miss Jiang is a woman who is as brave as a man. She has a clear mind and has brought the people of Tongxiang to Chang'an Gate to protest against her injustice. I think she must have been wronged. A great injustice is not so simple. All of you present here are willing to hear it, just like Your Majesty. Please tell us as soon as possible."

The Li family actually took advantage of Jiang Yuanbai's misfortune at this time. Jiang Yuanbai frowned. No matter how brave and smart Jiang Li was, she was only a 15-year-old girl. The court was not like her own backyard. She didn't have to worry about what she said. If she said something wrong, it would not only make the emperor suspicious, but also offend many people. It was obvious that King Cheng and the right prime minister wanted to lure Jiang Li into talking because she was young and ignorant, and fall into their trap. Jiang Yuanbai was about to speak for Jiang Li, but at this moment, Jiang Li spoke instead. And what she said made everyone in the palace stunned.

She said, "Your Majesty, I have traveled a long way to bring the people of Tongxiang to Chang'an Gate to complain about the evil official Feng Yutang. And... please convict the former Tongxiang official Xue Huaiyuan!"

"Convict?" Emperor Hong Xiao paused and asked, "What do you mean by convict?"

"As everyone knows, Xue Huaiyuan, the county magistrate of Tongxiang, embezzled disaster relief funds. The evidence is irrefutable. He is a parasite in the court. Your Majesty advocates reduction of expenditures, but a small county magistrate of Tongxiang can be so audacious. This is disrespectful to the royal family. It is not worth mentioning that he is merely imprisoned and beheaded. In my opinion, he should be cut into pieces!"

Ye Shijie was stunned. Feng Yutang, who was kneeling, even forgot to bow his head and looked straight at Jiang Li. Everyone knew that Jiang Li had been running for Xue Huaiyuan and was standing on Xue Huaiyuan's side. But now she actually said that beheading Xue Huaiyuan was not enough and that he should be cut into pieces. Was she crazy? Or was she not on Xue Huaiyuan's side from the beginning? !
Ye Mingyu was also shocked. He never expected Jiang Li to say this. He had seen with his own eyes how Jiang Li took care of Xue Huaiyuan along the way. She was much closer to him than to his biological father Jiang Yuanbai. Why did she say this at this moment? Ye Mingyu almost suspected that the Jiang Li in front of him was not his niece, but someone in disguise.

King Cheng and Emperor Hong Xiao were also very confused. The former was puzzled, and the latter was suspicious.

Only Shen Yurong and Ji Heng had expressions that were completely different from those of the other officials.

Shen Yurong looked strange, and looked at Jiang Li with deep thought, as if she was meeting Jiang Li for the first time. Ji Heng, however, did not seem to be worried about Jiang Li at all, nor was he surprised, as if Jiang Li's reaction was within his expectations, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Go on." said Emperor Hong Xiao.

Jiang Li bowed and saluted, and continued to speak softly: "Xue Huaiyuan, the county magistrate of Tongxiang, has a low position, but he represents the officials of the Northern Yan court. From the small to the big, the impact caused is not insignificant. Xue Huaiyuan has been an official for decades, but he was found to be corrupt only last year. I think he has also embezzled money in the past ten years. Where did the money go and why did it disappear? There is no record in the files. There are many doubts. Maybe he is engaged in the business of selling military horses, and he is suspected of treason. He must be investigated and killed."

"Investigate." Emperor Hong Xiao moved his fingers, "But the evidence is all in the files, that's all."

Jiang Li bowed again: "That is why I brought the people of Tongxiang to the capital. Please call for witnesses."

"Send the heir's certificate." Emperor Hong Xiao waved his hand.

Zhou Dezhao hurriedly ordered his servants to bring up the witness.

Soon, the witnesses were brought up. They were all from Tongxiang, including Dai Yun, Ping An, Mo Wenxuan, Zhang the Butcher, Aunt Chunfang, etc. These Tongxiang people were also entering Beijing for the first time, entering the palace for the first time, and seeing the emperor for the first time. Facing the civil and military officials, they were already pale with fear, their legs trembling, and they were kneeling on the ground and could hardly get up.

Jiang Li said, "Please tell me about the witness, regarding the corruption of County Magistrate Xue Huaiyuan."

These witnesses were originally the people who had received favors from Xue Huaiyuan. They came to Beijing this time to vindicate their county magistrate. How could they say anything wrong about Xue Huaiyuan? They told all the things that happened to Xue Huaiyuan in the past. Xue Huaiyuan loved the people like his own children, was kind-hearted, fair and just, and sympathetic to his subordinates. When he took office in Tongxiang, he built water conservancy projects and taught farmers how to irrigate. He knew everything and could do everything. In just a few decades, he made Tongxiang develop from a place where no one could afford shoes to a place where people can live and work in peace and contentment.

These didn't seem to be accusing Xue Huaiyuan of his crimes, but rather praising him. Li Zhongnan and King Cheng both frowned, realizing that things were going in a direction they didn't want to go.

Jiang Li could not completely exonerate Xue Huaiyuan based on the evidence alone. In the court discussion, the final decision was made by the emperor himself. However, in such a court discussion, the balance of public opinion had clearly tilted towards Xue Huaiyuan, and these civil and military officials gradually began to sympathize with Xue Huaiyuan.

Jiang Li was unmoved. She did not follow the people's words to speak out for Xue Huaiyuan's injustice. Instead, she shook her head and said, "How can a corrupt person do such a dedicated and practical thing for the people? These people are full of lies. Don't pay any attention to them."

Witnesses were taken away one by one, and new people from Tongxiang came forward, and none of them said that Xue Huaiyuan was not the one.

Seeing that the situation was not good, King Cheng sneered: "This Tongxiang County Magistrate is used to cheating. He can embezzle so much money. He must not be underestimated. That's why he uses such small favors to win people's hearts. Even if the evidence is solid, there will be people speaking for him."

"Your Highness, Prince Cheng is right." Jiang Li said, "It's just that this county magistrate must have embezzled disaster relief money more than once. Feng Yutang has been in office for half a year and has already embezzled a lot. Half a year ago, Xue Huaiyuan was imprisoned and his property was confiscated. I asked the Imperial Censor to announce the confiscated property of the Xue and Feng families. Let everyone see how ugly Xue Huaiyuan is compared to Feng Yutang!"

When Feng Yutang heard this, he immediately trembled like a sieve.

Who is Xue Huaiyuan? The accusation of corruption is fabricated. Xue Huaiyuan's own assets are not much, but he has been in office for half a year, but he has already plundered the people's wealth to the extreme. With such a comparison, it is natural to see something strange!

Sure enough, when the Imperial Censor came to announce the two families' assets, the results were beyond everyone's expectations. Xue Huaiyuan's assets were almost nothing except for the money he had embezzled, which was not much better than being penniless. Even the only salary he had was often lost because of helping the people. Feng Yutang was different. In just half a year, he had earned dozens of times more than Xue Huaiyuan had in more than ten years.

Everyone was silent.

Jiang Li said: "Don't you think it's strange, my Lords, that a criminal like Xue Huaiyuan has been more honest than many officials in Yanjing City in the past ten years. If other corrupt officials can be like Xue Huaiyuan, our Northern Yan will not have to worry about not being prosperous."

"Sweet words and flattering appearance," Li Zhongnan snorted coldly, "Then he must be greedy!"

Jiang Li smiled: "The heir's testimony."

This time, the witnesses were Xue Huaiyuan's former subordinates, Peng Xiao, He Jun, Gu Da and Gu Er. They had been eager to redress Xue Huaiyuan in their lifetime, and finally waited for the opportunity now. Without waiting for Jiang Li to speak, they immediately knelt down and told in detail about Xue Huaiyuan's hardships over the past ten years.

No one knew Xue Huaiyuan better than them. Because they had been together for decades, their words were particularly relatable. When they talked about Xue Huaiyuan being framed and imprisoned, and how they, the officials, were thrown into the mine and cruelly tortured by Feng Yutang's men, the seven-foot-tall men couldn't help but shed tears.

It's all blood and tears.

Emperor Hong Xiao seemed to be moved. Prince Cheng secretly thought that it was not good and made a prompt decision: "No matter what, Xue Huaiyuan's corruption is a fact. Just as Miss Jiang Er said, let Xue Huaiyuan be executed by a thousand cuts." Jiang Li could not be allowed to continue speaking.

"Slow down." said Emperor Hong Xiao.

　In this chapter, Ali's strategy of saying the opposite of what he meant had a prototype in history, which was the defense method used by Qin Prime Minister Li Si to rescue Zheng Guo in the Zheng Guo case.

　　Interested babies can take a look~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)