Wan Chong looked around at the crowd. Then, he shook his head.
He casually spent some money to bribe a few people and then let them testify for him.
This was indeed possible, but Wan Chong rejected the possibility. After all, a witness wasn't something that could be easily found.
In order to be a witness, one must have credibility.
That was the first requirement for a case.
For example, if you were a criminal and you found your wife or son to be your witness? Was that possible?
No one would believe you.
Similarly, if you found a few villagers to be your witnesses, the credibility would also be very small. It could be said that the bigger the case, the higher the requirements for witnesses.
For trivial matters, villagers could be witnesses, but when it came to murder, robbery, and other major crimes, the villagers' testimonies were not very useful.
For someone like Fang Zhengzhi, even if a rich businessman or a descendant of an aristocratic family were to testify, it would not be of much use.
Wan Chong looked around Fang Zhengzhi.
The four black-clothed men wearing bamboo hats?
No way!
Those people were following Fang Zhengzhi's orders. As such, the only possibility left was Yan Xiu, who was standing beside Fang Zhengzhi.
In terms of status, Yan Xiu was a direct descendant of the Yan Family. In the future, he might even inherit the title of King Yan and rule over Western Liang.
As such...
In terms of status, it was about the same.
However, everyone in the capital knew about the relationship between Yan Xiu and Fang Zhengzhi. Asking Yan Xiu to testify for him was a joke.
"Fang Zhengzhi, I know of your friendship with Young Master Yan. However, you should know that family and friends cannot be witnesses!" Wan Chong smirked. He had to strike first.
"Of course I know that." Fang Zhengzhi nodded.
"Oh? Then tell me, who is your witness? "Wan Chong was a little confused when he saw Fang Zhengzhi nod.
Not Yan Xiu?
Could it be that someone from a prestigious family could testify for him?
Wan Chong could not understand who would be so stupid.
When Chi Hou heard this, he also frowned. When Fang Zhengzhi mentioned witnesses, he naturally thought of Yan Xiu.
But …
From what Fang Zhengzhi said, it was obvious that the witness was not Yan Xiu.
Not Yan Xiu?
Could it be Princess Ping Yang?
It was possible!
However, Princess Ping Yang and Fang Zhengzhi were acquainted before, and …
Chi Hou looked at the crowd around him, then at the street in the distance. His brows furrowed even more, because Ping Qiu did not appear.
Then, who was this witness?
Who would tell such a huge lie in front of everyone just to be a witness for Fang Zhengzhi? Who would lie through their teeth and treat everyone in the world as fools?
Chi Hou looked at Fang Zhengzhi in confusion.
Beside Fang Zhengzhi, Yan Xiu was also staring at Fang Zhengzhi. However, Yan Xiu did not open his mouth and waited for Fang Zhengzhi to speak.
As for Fang Zhengzhi...
He smiled and looked at Chi Hou.
Chi Hou was taken aback. He did not understand why Fang Zhengzhi was looking at him at this moment. Shouldn't he be looking at the witness?
Just as he was thinking about this, he saw Fang Zhengzhi raise his hand and point it at him.
"My witness is Chi Hou from the Divine Constabulary!"
"My witness is the Divine Constabulary..."
"Chi Hou from the Divine Constabulary!"
"..."
At this moment, this was the only sound left in the world. It reverberated and reverberated...
The onlookers were dumbfounded.
They did not expect Chi Hou from the Divine Constabulary to be Fang Zhengzhi's witness. Furthermore, to be able to prove such a thing?
Fang Zhengzheng!
How could that be?
Would Chi Hou from the Divine Constabulary make such a fake witness for Fang Zhengzhi?
"He actually said... Chi Hou is his witness?"
"Yes, Chi Hou?! Is that possible? "
"How can that be? The Divine Constabulary is the one who escorted him to the capital. Why would they make a fake witness? Furthermore, to prove that he is Fang Zhengzheng? "
The crowd looked at each other. In the end, their gazes focused on Chi Hou's face. They did not believe that Chi Hou would give such a testimony.
Wan Chong did not understand either. Chi Hou was Fang Zhengzhi's witness? To prove that he was not Fang Zhengzhi, but Fang Zhengzheng?
This...
How was that possible?
Wan Chong looked at Chi Hou. Then, he realized that Chi Hou's expression was a little dark. It was the kind of dark that could cause a storm.
In fact, Chi Hou's emotions were not something that could be described with just one word.
He really wanted to scold someone.
He really wanted to scold someone. He wanted to curse all of Fang Zhengzhi's ancestors. However, after he thought about it...
He realized that it was not worth it.
After all, the few generations before him were all aristocratic families. However, compared to Fang Zhengzhi's few generations, they were all peasants.
Alright...
The real reason was that Chi Hou could not bring himself to scold Fang Zhengzhi. Furthermore, he had to do it in front of so many people. It was a disgrace to him.
He looked at Fang Zhengzhi. When he saw Fang Zhengzhi's innocent and harmless face, he finally understood what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking.
As the Divine Lord of the Northern Lands, if he still could not guess what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking, then he would have been a fool.
This was a trap! This was a trap!
Three days ago, he had looked for Fang Zhengzhi and told him to keep a low profile when he entered the city. He even hinted that King Duan would help and that Fang Zhengzhi had to follow his plan.
The purpose of this was for Fang Zhengzhi to follow the path he had planned. As long as Fang Zhengzhi followed the path he had planned, the final destination would be to obey King Duan.
It was a perfect plan.
Chi Hou thought about it many times, but he could not think of any problems with it.
This was because, with Fang Zhengzhi's current status, if he were to enter the Flame Capital City without relying on him and King Duan, he would not be able to do anything. In fact, he might not even be able to survive.
But now...
This plan was completely destroyed by Fang Zhengzhi's simple "My witness is Chi Hou of the Divine Constabulary!". Not a single drop of water was left.
Right now, Chi Hou only had two choices.
One was to help Fang Zhengzhi make up a false witness. The other was to remain an outsider and not testify.
Fight to the death!
Chi Hou gritted his teeth and was just about to say, "I'm not your witness," when the words reached his mouth, he forcefully swallowed them back down.
Because, his gaze landed on the four men in black standing around Fang Zhengzhi, as well as the hundred or so constables surrounding him, and the blood that spilled on the ground.
If he said that he would not testify...
One could almost imagine what would happen next.
If it had been anyone else, Chi Hou was sure that they would have been able to stop it and prevent the tragedy from happening.
But, this person was Fang Zhengzhi...
He hesitated.
Resisting arrest? This was a piece of cake for Fang Zhengzhi.
Chi Hou could ignore Fang Zhengzhi's actions. However, he was the one who brought Fang Zhengzhi into the capital. If things got out of hand, it would not benefit him.
Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had the Shadow Sect behind him.
Not many people knew about this. However, Chi Hou was definitely one of them. What if the Shadow Sect tried their best to save Fang Zhengzhi?
How would the situation develop?
Chaos in the capital!
Of course, there was something else he had to consider. If Fang Zhengzhi really caused chaos in the capital, then the Crown Prince would have to make a name for himself.
As the "sinner" who brought Fang Zhengzhi into the capital, he would not be of much use if he continued to stay in the capital. Then...
Would King Duan's plan succeed?
Without Fang Zhengzhi, there would be one less nail to pierce into the Crown Prince's heart. With the Crown Prince's current power, it would be too difficult to take down the Crown Prince!
"You are too much!"
Chi Hou had been in charge of the Northern Lands Five Constabularies for so many years. He had never imagined that he would be forced into such a state by a "powerless" person!
This was simply bullying.
Chi Hou had brought Fang Zhengzhi to the capital to lure Fang Zhengzhi into a trap. However, once he became Fang Zhengzhi's witness, it was equivalent to being pulled into another trap by Fang Zhengzhi.
A trap where he had no choice but to grit his teeth and lie to the world!
"I... I can testify, he... he is indeed called Fang Zhengzheng!" Chi Hou did not know how he managed to say that.
However, when he finished his sentence, one could clearly feel a sense of exhaustion, as though he was riding on the clouds and riding on the mist.
"He is indeed called Fang Zhengzheng!"
"Fang Zhengzheng!"
"..."
Chi Hou's voice reverberated across the skies of Flame Capital City.
The crowd was completely dumbfounded. They couldn't believe that Chi Hou of the Divine Constabulary of the Northern Lands would call this person Fang Zhengzheng.
In that instant, everyone felt like they were hallucinating.
Could it be...
Was this person really called Fang Zhengzheng and not Fang Zhengzhi? If that was not the case, why would the Divine Constabulary's Chi Hou lie like that?
Was he lying through his teeth?
However, he was the Divine Constabulary's Chi Hou, one of the 13 Constabularies! He was the governor of the Northern Lands Five Constabularies! How could he lie through his teeth in front of everyone?
Wan Chong's eyes widened in shock. His eyeballs were about to fall out of their sockets.
Chi Hou...
Was he really testifying on his behalf?
No one knew better than Wan Chong how important this testimony was. As the Minister of Law, he knew the consequences of giving false testimony.
However, Chi Hou did it. Moreover, he did it in front of so many onlookers.
Who would believe this?
Wan Chong rubbed his eyes. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He did not know what to say.
Should he say that Chi Hou had given false testimony?
How was that possible? Would the Divine Constabulary's Chi Hou give false testimony?
Wan Chong was someone who understood the law. All laws were based on evidence. He didn't have any evidence to prove that Chi Hou's testimony was false.
As such, how could he say anything?
"My lord... do you know what you're saying?" Wan Chong could hear it clearly, but he still couldn't believe it.
Could it be that, in order to testify for Fang Zhengzhi, Chi Hou would actually be like this, shamelessly giving false testimony that everyone in the world knew about?
"Of course I know. Official Wan, do you think that I am spouting nonsense?" Chi Hou grit his teeth. His heart was bleeding.
However, on the surface, he had to calm down.
He had already said what he wanted to say.
There was no way out. All he could do was insist that this person was Fang Zhengzheng. There was no other way.
"My Lord, are you really willing to be his witness? To prove that he is not Fang Zhengzhi, but Fang Zhengzheng? "Wan Chong asked as he stared at Chi Hou.
"That's right!" Chi Hou nodded.
Wan Chong did not ask any further. He knew that he would not be able to change anything. Why would Chi Hou give false testimony for Fang Zhengzhi?
Such a thing was something he had never thought of.
However...
He knew that he had to resolve this. Capturing Fang Zhengzhi was the Crown Prince's plan. Furthermore, it was a plan that he could not afford to fail.
Right now, he had no other choice.
Either Fang Zhengzhi would die, or he would die.
"Even if you testify for Fang Zhengzhi, I will not believe you. If you don't mind, please move aside. I am going to arrest him!" Wan Chong grit his teeth.
"How dare you, Wan Chong. Even if you're the Minister of Justice, I'm still a Rank 1 Military Marquis. I'm a man of my word. How dare you doubt my testimony?" Chi Hou was enraged when he heard this.
"My Lord, this is not the Northern Lands. This is the capital!"
"So what?"
"Under the feet of the Emperor, everything is about the law. As the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, I have the right to arrest criminals. If the Marquis is dissatisfied, you can confront me in court tomorrow!"
"I have already testified that he is not the criminal you are looking for."
"But I trust my eyes. If I catch the wrong person today, I am willing to gouge out my eyeballs as an apology to the Marquis!" Wan Chong's face was filled with viciousness.
"Wan Chong, you..." Chi Hou was stunned. He had never expected Wan Chong to be so determined to capture Fang Zhengzhi.
He didn't hesitate to bet his own eyes to publicly oppose him. Such behavior had clearly exceeded the scope of normal official duties.
"Arrest him!"
"How dare you!"
"Take my official seal to the Ministry of Law. Then, inform the city guards and ask them to help me arrest this criminal. I want to see who dares to stop me!" Wan Chong's gaze froze as he waved his right hand. A black official seal appeared in his hand.
Such a scene was undoubtedly shocking in the eyes of the onlookers.
Even in the capital, it was rare to see a Minister of a Ministry and a Rank 1 Marquis fight openly on the streets.
After all, both Chi Hou and Wan Chong were of high status.
One was a Rank One Marquis and the other was a Rank Two Minister. Even in the capital, where there were many Rank Four and above officials, these two men were of high status.
But now...
Both of them were helping Fang Zhengzhi. One of them had given a false testimony, while the other had even produced his official seal.
One could imagine the commotion in the teahouse the next day.
Chi Hou's expression darkened. In fact, ever since he entered the capital, his face had never paled. He was the Divine Lord of the Northern Lands.
When had anyone ever doubted his words?
The Minister of Law?
A mere Second Rank Minister dares to openly oppose this Marquis!
Chi Hou clenched his fists tightly. If this wasn't the capital and there weren't so many onlookers, he was certain that Wan Chong would not be standing there.
Yan Xiu's hand moved. He could guess what was going to happen next.
Just at that moment, a hand pressed down on his shoulder. At the same time, an impatient voice rang out.
"Official Wan, why are you doing this? It's just arresting someone. My Lord, please step aside. Come, I will not move. If Official Wan can put the Law Shackles on my head, I will follow you to the Ministry of Law prison. How about that? "
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