"As expected, they came with ill intentions!"
Lai Junchen's heart tightened and he forced a smile. "Your Majesty is too kind. If Your Majesty wants to hear the trial, then … this subject will go and make arrangements to see which case is currently being tried … "
Wu Zetian interrupted him and asked, "Left General Yang Fan's case of rebellion, who is in charge of the trial?"
Lai Junchen was shocked and quickly bowed. "Lai Zixun is in charge of this case."
Wu Zetian sighed softly and said, "This Yang Fan has betrayed our trust. We feel pain every time we think about it. Then … let's interrogate him. Let Lai Zixun interrogate Yang Fan, Pei Xuanli, and Li Youdao! We will listen carefully in the back hall and see how that Yang Fan will quibble! "
Lai Junchen wanted to blurt out, "The case has already been concluded and there is no way to try the criminal," but he forcefully swallowed the words when they were at the tip of his tongue. The Emperor personally came to the censorate and specifically wanted to hear a case. This was unprecedented, and there must be a great reason behind it.
His censorate didn't just enforce the law crudely. It was practically breaking the law and had no rules. Yang Fan's case was handled too hastily. Although this empress had never studied the law and didn't understand the details of the judicial process, with her shrewdness, it was hard to guarantee that she wouldn't see any clues.
Lai Junchen still didn't know what had happened. It was best not to make any moves at this time. The more he moved, the more flaws there would be. Thinking of this, Lai Junchen respectfully agreed and pretended to be calm. "Please wait a moment, Your Majesty. This subject will go and make arrangements right now!"
Shanghai Wan 'er suddenly stepped forward and said loudly, "Deputy Minister Lai, wait a moment!"
Lai Junchen stopped and said, "What orders does Shangguan Wan 'er have?"
Shanghai Wan 'er lightly smiled and said, "I don't dare to give orders. Wan-er only feels that the Deputy Prime Minister only needs to send someone to inform Lai Zixun. If His Majesty wants to listen to the trial, it naturally has to be done in a situation where Lai Zixun doesn't know about it. If not, Lai Zixun would surely feel restrained when he questions the case since His Majesty knows that His Majesty is in the rear hall. If that's the case, Lai Zixun would surely feel restrained. That would go against His Majesty's original intention of investigating officials. "
Wu Zetian glanced at Shanghai Wan'er. She felt that it was strange for her to act on her own initiative. However, after thinking about it, she understood. Wan'er and Taiping had always been on good terms. It was likely that her daughter had entrusted her with something before leaving. Wu Zetian sighed inwardly and said, "Wan'er's words are reasonable. Lai Qing, you should stay and accompany us!"
Lai Junchen silently lamented. He initially wanted to sneak out to warn Lai Zixun, but now, it was impossible for him to do so. In front of Wu Zetian and Shangguan Wan'er, these two excessively shrewd women, even if he wanted to hint at something, he couldn't. Lai Junchen had no choice but to return to the main seat and sit down. Only then did he raise his voice and call out, "Come!"
Ever since Lai Junchen invited Wu Zetian into the room, he chased all the odd-job servants out. Only a twelve or thirteen year old manservant waited outside in the side room. He only heard Lai Junchen after he called out three times. He hurriedly walked in and bowed. "Deputy Minister."
Lai Junchen cleared his throat and said, "Go tell Lai Zixun to put aside all the cases on hand. Immediately start the trial of Yang Fan's case. Bring Li Youdao and Pei Xuanli to court as well."
The manservant agreed and disappeared like a wisp of smoke.
According to the law of Zhou, three people were required to confess. As long as there were three people as witnesses, one person's crime could be proven. Di Renjie and the others had already pleaded guilty when they were sent to prison, so their case was even more flawless. Only Wei Yuanzhong, the old man, was adamantly refusing to plead guilty. Lai Junchen focused all his firepower on him, so it was much easier to handle the case.
What kind of person was Wei Yuanzhong? He was the Right Deputy Minister of the Imperial Censor. He was in charge of supervising local officials and had offended many people. It was fine if he refused to confess. Lai Junchen not only tortured a few officials who were implicated and forced them to confess, but also mobilized officials from all over the country to provide a lot of 'evidence' of Wei Yuanzhong's evil intentions. It could be said that the case was irrefutable.
On the other hand, Yang Fan's case was a little tricky. First, Lai Junchen wanted to pin him down as an important accomplice of the rebellion, so he wanted to make it impossible for him to refute. Therefore, he fabricated this part of Yang Fan's case more carefully, and there were fewer ministers who were connected to him. In the end, he was caught in his own trap. Now, even if he wanted to find more people to prove Yang Fan's guilt, it would be impossible.
On the other hand, Yang Fan's social relations were relatively simple. He was only close to Xue Huaiyi, Wu Sansi, and Princess Taiping. Lai Junchen did not want to involve these people. If that happened, the political situation might really go out of control. At that time, it would not be something that he could control.
Hence, from a procedural point of view, Yang Fan's case was still lacking a necessary witness.
Zhu Bin had already confessed, Pei Xuanli had also confessed. Li Youdao was from the Guanlong Aristocrat Clan and was also the Minister of Works, the highest-ranking official in the imperial court. It would be more strenuous for Lai Zixun to interrogate him with his identity. If a bureau level official were to interrogate a department head, would he be able to control the situation? If he wanted to interrogate a department head like Li Youdao, Lai Junchen would at least be the vice-minister level official.
Hence, Lai Zixun had not interrogated Li Youdao. He planned to throw this tough bone to Lai Junchen to handle. He didn't expect that Lai Junchen would send someone to urge him, telling him to interrogate Li Youdao, Pei Xuanli, and Yang Fan immediately. Lai Zixun was helpless and could only agree. He ordered the people who were being interrogated to be escorted away, bringing Li Youdao and Yang Fan to the court.
There was no need to mention Pei Xuanli. He was already in the court. Pei Xuanli had already been beaten into submission by Lai Junchen's torture. He would bite whoever Lai Junchen told him to, only hoping that he would suffer less torture before he died. Hence, he became a witness for several important criminals. Right now, he was in the court, testifying for a member of the Ministry of Rites who was being interrogated.
After Lai Zixun gave the order, he immediately sent someone to bring the criminals to the court. At the same time, Lai Junchen silently chanted 'Amitabha' and accompanied Wu Zetian to the back hall.
In the court, there was a 'Bright Mirror Hanging High' plaque above the chief judge's head. Behind him, there was a 'Red Sun, Seawater, and Auspicious Clouds Diagram'. However, although this wall was connected to the ceiling, it wasn't a dead wall. There were small doors on the two sides that could lead to the back. There was another door at the back, and there were also a few chairs, calligraphy, paintings, and flower vases. It was like a small study.
The chief judge would walk out from the back to question the cases. Sometimes, when he encountered some difficult cases, he would also summon some judges and experienced old officials to the back to discuss countermeasures. At this moment, Wu Zetian was sitting at the seat of honor. Lai Junchen, Wan 'er, Wu Youyi, and the others were also given seats below.
After a while, the Minister of Works, Li Youdao, was brought over. According to the rules, even if it was a criminal who had been interrogated countless times, there would be a roll call and a verification of their identities before they were brought to the court. However, even if a minister like Li Youdao was brought to the court, Lai Zixun didn't do a verification.
When Lai Junchen heard the commotion in front, he couldn't help but feel as though he was sitting on pins and needles. He snuck a glance, and it seemed that other than Wu Zetian, no one understood this procedure. They didn't have any special expressions. Only then did Lai Junchen set his heart at ease.
"Where's Yang Fan? Why is he so slow?"
Lai Zixun waited for a long time but still didn't see Yang Fan. She couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
"Reporting! Bring Yang Fan here! "
Just when Lai Zixun finished grumbling, a shout rang out from outside. Lai Zixun sat down on the chair and spoke in a heavy voice, "Come! Bring people to arrest Yang Fan! "
The sound of handcuffs and shackles could be heard. Wan 'er tilted her head to listen and felt a wave of sourness in her heart. Looking at the handcuffs and shackles, she really didn't know how much her husband had suffered in prison. The princess said that she had a brilliant plan, but she didn't know how she arranged it. Whether or not this case could be overturned and whether her husband could be saved, it all depended on this. Today, even the emperor had come to listen to the trial. If they still couldn't solve this case, then her husband...
Upon thinking of this, Wan 'er felt as though her heart was being fried in oil.
Yang Fan's hair was disheveled and his clothes were tattered. He dragged the shackles and walked up to the main hall. Behind him, there were four bailiffs with water and fire cudgels in their hands. There were also four armed guards who stopped in front of the main hall. In front of Yang Fan, there was a supervisor who was holding a prisoner warrant in his hand. He was dressed in green and had a pair of boots. When he walked up to the main hall, he bowed to Lai Zixun and said, "Reporting to the imperial censor, the criminal Yang Fan has been brought here!"
When Lai Zixun saw that this supervisor wasn't the bailiffs he had sent out earlier, he felt a little puzzled. However, he really couldn't recognize all the bailiffs in the imperial censor. He just didn't know why this supervisor had taken over his duties. In any case, since the criminal had been brought here, he couldn't be bothered with this matter. Hence, he waved his hand and said, "Step aside!"
This supervisor had been walking in front of Yang Fan. Yang Fan's hair was disheveled, so Lai Zixun didn't get a clear look at Yang Fan's appearance. Moreover, this wasn't the first time Yang Fan had been brought to court. Lai Zixun didn't pay too much attention to him.
But when Yang Fan was brought to the court, he vigilantly looked around through the gaps in his messy hair. There were two other prisoners in the main hall. Just by looking at their appearance, bearing, and the severity of their punishment, Yang Fan knew who was Li Youdao and who was Pei Xuanli.
Yang Fan suddenly parted his hair, revealing his face. He let out a loud roar and pounced forward to grab Pei Xuanli's collar, shouting, "Pei Xuanli! I, Yang Fan, have no grudge with you. Why did you harm me? Why did you harm me?! "
Pei Xuanli was in a sorry state after being grabbed by Yang Fan. He hurriedly struggled and said, "I didn't harm you! I didn't harm you! You... you really conspired with me to rebel. The evidence is conclusive! I was the one who pulled the strings. You accepted Li Youdao's bribe... "
Li Youdao immediately shouted, "Bullshit! When did this old man bribe Yang Fan with a large sum of money? This old man has never rebelled! This old man has never bribed him either. Pei Xuanli, you falsely accuse others. Be careful of retribution... "
"Pei Xuanli! Why did you harm me? What grudge did I, Yang Fan, have with you? "
"Let me go! Let me go! Come, imperial censor, come, save me! "
"Separate them! Separate them! "
Lai Zixun grabbed the gavel and slammed it on the table. The bailiffs on both sides didn't move at first because there were four bailiffs who had just escorted the prisoners to the main hall. But they seemed to be stunned and stood there in a daze. They basically didn't move at all. Only then did the bailiffs on duty move forward to forcibly separate Yang Fan and Pei Xuanli.
In the back hall, Shanghai Wan 'er's eyes widened. She could clearly hear the voices coming from the front hall. This voice... this voice wasn't Langjun's?
...
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