The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 168 - 148, the evidence I’ve been waiting for has arrived.

Accompanying the chief judicial officer Zhou Cheng’s announcement of the opening of the court, the "majestic" striking of the water and fire batons around him ceased, and the drumming also quieted down.

Outside the open grand hall of the public court, the government officials from various offices who had been invited to watch the spectacle swarmed in anticipation.

A solemn and dignified atmosphere instantly permeated the entire venue.

Even Zhao Douan couldn’t help but feel his shoulders weigh down as he sensed an invisible pressure descending upon him. Looking toward the source of the pressure, it came from the plaque hanging above the public court inscribed with the words "Bright Mirror Suspended."

Was this a Magic Artifact? Suppressing Object?

It seemed to serve the purpose of deterring the criminal minds... Zhao Douan still had the leisure to ponder these matters.

"Bang!"

Upon the high platform, Zhou Cheng, dressed in a scarlet official robe and wearing a black hat, his eyebrows furrowed into a "川" character, slammed down the warning gavel:

"Zhao Douan, today the Three Agencies will hear your case. Do you dare show contempt for the public court? Officers, remove the seat of the accused and escort him to kneel!"

Zhao Douan raised his eyebrows.

So hasty? Right from the start, it was an impatient show of authority...

Had there not been so much attention on him, he wouldn’t have doubted that:

Zhou Cheng would have drawn from the four tallies marked with "Execution," "Legal," "Severe," and "Clear" on the public court, pulling out the harshest red tally to administer ten strikes with the Execution Stick right away.

"Hold on!"

On the co-judge’s seat, Ma Yan, with a stern countenance, raised his eyelids and spoke in a deep voice:

"Master Zhou, the case has not yet reached a verdict; at the very least, at this moment, Zhao Douan is still an officer of the Imperial Decree Department and also the envoy from White Horse Hall."

Zhou Cheng, still holding a grudge from last time, faced Ma Yan with a cold and sideways glance, and retorted in a cold voice:

"Lord Ma, as the chief judge of today’s hearing, it isn’t the Imperial Court’s turn to instruct our Ministry of Justice on how to conduct trials."

Even before court had properly begun, a sense of tension was already emanating from the two offices.

Amidst the unwillingness to concede from either side, Yuann Li, seated also on the high platform, spoke faintly:

"The trial is of utmost importance. Both sides might as well take a step back; just remove the chair, and as for kneeling, let’s dispense with that."

The Chief of Staff from the Ministry of Justice chimed in:

"Mr. Yuan speaks sense."

Zhou Cheng frowned; today’s trial meant that he could disregard Ma Yan, but he could not afford to slight the other two from the Three Legal Departments.

Immediately, an officer stepped forward to remove the chair.

Zhao Douan stood up, somewhat reluctantly; he had barely even warmed the seat...

Outside the hall.

The spectators of the trial exchanged glances; the officers of Lihua Hall, standing behind, could barely conceal their concern—Zhou Cheng’s opening move was already aggressive.

...

The trial continued.

Zhou Cheng stated coldly:

"Today, the Three Agencies will jointly hear the case of military officer Zhao Douan accused of the treacherous murder of the civilian girl Su Hongyu. Now, the details of the case will be read."

On the left side of the co-judge’s seat, What’s-her-face the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice rose to his feet, reading from the case file:

"Previously, Su Hongyu’s uncle and aunt beat the drums to lodge their complaint…"

Su Hongyu? Hearing this name, Zhao Douan vaguely recalled a female figure.

At a banquet held by the Wang family in the past, she had presented a dance. His impression was faint; he only remembered that the girl was young with a graceful dance, clearly having practiced arduously.

When he was drunkenly pushed into a room, she had tried to seduce him but ended up being tied up by his own sycophantic "self" and thrown aside.

After leaving the Wang Mansion, he no longer paid attention, let alone knew, that this skillful dancer was subject to Wang Shan’s wrath for not being touched by "himself", resulting not only in violent assault but also being banished from the Wang household and dying soon after.

One year after her death, to further target himself, Zhou Cheng had brought up her case again, using it as a tool.

Human life was valued as little as weeds...

At this moment, Hee Zheng finished reading, and Zhou Cheng commanded:

"Summon the plaintiff!"

Outside the hall, a government officer led a middle-aged couple onto the platform; the man dressed as a merchant, the woman with a harsh countenance.

The couple were so frightened upon entering the court that they fell to their knees with a "thud." Zhou Cheng, with a pleasant expression, said:

"You may recount the full details of the matter."

The man complied, as if he had rehearsed his lines thoroughly:

"I am Hong Yu’s uncle. When Hong Yu was young, her parents passed away, and we took her in. Later, we sent her to learn singing and dancing, and she became a performer... She was then taken in by the wealthy Wang Shan as a concubine..."

Outside the court, many people slightly furrowed their brows upon hearing this statement.

In Great Yu, performers were not "prostitutes," but truly talented females.

Nevertheless, it was still considered a lower profession, and looking at this couple’s attire, they did not seem impoverished yet had sent their niece to be a performer... this highlighted the extreme indifference of their familial bond.

The man continued:

"Last August, Hong Yu was suddenly sent back by the Wang family’s servants, saying that she had been divorced by Master Wang Shan.

At that time, she had many injuries on her body, clearly having been defiled and looked haggard… My wife and I sought treatment for her, and she had already started to recover but unexpectedly died a mysterious death later."

As he spoke, Zhao Douan noticed, perhaps due to the pressure of the plaque, that the man seemed slightly guilty.

In truth, when Su Hongyu was sent back, she was indeed covered in bruises, but the couple, fearing that she had offended Master Wang Shan, did not seek treatment, hardly even bothering to provide her with food or drink.

Suffering from injuries and hunger, that’s how Su Hongyu met her untimely demise.

After interrogating for a couple more questions, Zhou Cheng ordered:

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"Summon the physician and the coroner."

Another two individuals were led into the court by the officer, one claiming to be the physician who had diagnosed Su Hongyu initially, and the other being the coroner who had exhumed and examined Su Hongyu’s body recently.

The former attested that Su Hongyu’s illness was not severe and her death was suspicious, the latter suggested that her cause of death might have been asphyxiation.

Both, in between the lines, hinted at the possibility of Su Hongyu being silenced.

"Summon Qin Qiu," Zhou Cheng said next.

Then, a short figure with wrinkled silk clothes, still unable to conceal the bruises from beatings, Qin Qiu was brought forward.

As soon as he entered the court, his small eyes full of bewilderment and fear, and upon seeing Zhao Douan, he let out a wail and attempted to rush over but was restrained by an officer, tears streaming down his face:

"Big brother, save me..."

Zhao Douan was somewhat moved; he had not expected his loyal henchman to end up in such a state.

"Qin Qiu! I ask you, were you and Zhao Douan together at the Wang Mansion, drinking and seeing him and Wang Shan going to the bedroom?" Zhou Cheng asked coldly.

Kneeling on the ground, Qin Qiu trembled, squinting his eyes to scan the high-ranking officials and stammered fearfully:

"Yes... but I didn’t see Lord Zhao..."

Zhou Cheng interrupted sternly: "You only need to answer yes or no."

"Yes..."

"The court asks you again, did Zhao Douan spend the night at the Wang family’s residence?"

"Yes... but Lord Zhao didn’t..."

"Take him away!" Zhou Cheng waved his hand.

Qin Qiu’s eyes bulged as if he had just come to his senses, wanting to say something, but a government officer surreptitiously punched him, immediately rendering him speechless with pain.

At this time, with three rounds of witness testimonies already presented, the crowd outside of the hall was starting to get restless.

Clearly, these overlapping pieces of evidence were greatly to Zhao Douan’s disadvantage.

Many turned to look at Zhao Douan and noticed that he, the accused, had remained calm from start to finish with no discernible change in emotion.

"Bring Wang Shan!" Zhou Cheng called again, striking the woodblock to command attention.

This time, a man with an unhealthy plumpness, reddish eyes, and an albinism-like appearance, Wang Shan, walked into the hall.

He had originally been locked in the Imperial Prison, but after the joint trial by the Three Agencies, Zhou Cheng, under the pretext that Wang Shan was a key witness, had him taken away; even Ma Yan could not prevent it.

Now, Wang Shan, entirely lacking the terror he had in the Imperial Prison, was composed and at ease. When he glanced at Zhao Douan with a slight upward curl of his lips, he said:

"Mr. Zhao, I didn’t expect us to meet here."

Zhao Douan looked back at him with an odd expression, thinking to himself that he hoped Wang Shan would still be able to smile after what was to come.

"Wang Shan, regarding the death of Su Hongyu, what do you have to say?" Zhou Cheng inquired.

Wang Shan immediately pointed the finger, claiming that he had hosted a banquet that day and Zhao Douan, upon seeing the woman, had impure intentions and insinuated that Wang Shan should offer his concubine for his service.

Out of fear, Wang Shan had his concubine accompany Zhao Douan for one night, but to his surprise, Su Hongyu was found battered and behaving as if she had lost her mind.

"The humble one saw the state she was in and did not wish to keep her. So I had someone send her back to the Su family, only to find out later that she had died," Wang Shan said.

The circle closed.

At this moment, the testimonies of the witnesses, combined with the "evidence" read prior to the opening of the court, corroborated each other like nails intended to pin Zhao Douan to the pillar of a murderer.

The commotion under the hall grew louder, and in the crowd at Lihua Hall, Zheng, squinting his eyes, said in a low voice:

"They came prepared, didn’t they? If the dead can’t counter the accusations and the living unanimously accuse, it’s tough for the official."

The young secretary, Qian Kerou, was biting her lip:

"They’re definitely framing the official!"

She idealized Zhao Douan with a filter of admiration, yet was unaware of it.

Hou Renmeng and Shen Juan remained silent; emotionally, they did not want to believe it.

But rationally... well, considering their master’s style, even if Zhao Douan had done such a thing, it would not seem entirely surprising...

Even Ma Yan slightly furrowed his brow.

He was uncertain whether Zhou Cheng was fabricating charges or if Zhao Douan really had done such a thing...

He turned to look at Sun Lianying and found her, as always, expressionless.

"Bang! Silence!"

Zhou Cheng struck the woodblock sharply and commanded with stern words, looking down at Zhao Douan:

"Prisoner at the base of the hall, do you have anything to say against the accusations made above?"

In an instant, countless eyes converged on him.

Yet, to everyone’s surprise, facing such an unfavorable situation, Zhao Douan remained silent, uttering not a word.

"Do you have anything to say?" the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Justice also shouted.

Zhao Douan continued as if deaf to the world.

Zhou Cheng laughed, "So, you have nothing to say?"

Zhao Douan stayed silent.

The commotion reached unprecedented levels, and the expressions of the people changed.

In their eyes, considering the circumstances—though very unfavorable—one should still argue a few points.

What did his silence imply?

The crowd began to murmur, their expressions odd, all sharing the same thought:

Could it be that the case is true?

Not a frame-up but that he actually did it?

Is that why he’s speechless and unable to rebut the allegations now?

Or is it that, even if he hadn’t done it, he knew all too well that he couldn’t provide compelling evidence, so he resigned himself to fate?

"Why isn’t the official speaking? Could he be under some kind of control that prevents him from speaking out?" Qian Kerou’s small face flushed with urgency.

"Perhaps the official is pondering over the evidence," Shen Juan suggested, though his tone was filled with uncertainty.

"Speak up, at least give an explanation, at the very least there is a chance to convey your voice to Your Majesty in the palace..."

The Jinyi (Imperial Guard) around Lihua Hall also grew anxious.

If it weren’t for the circumstances, they would have wanted to shout out loud, reminding Zhao Douan to refute the charges.

And many of the onlooking officials were shaking their heads, thinking that Zhao Douan had given up the struggle.

"Alas, still too green... Did he really think the Master Zhou was that easy to provoke?"

"He must know very well that Your Majesty has lost trust in him, else there wouldn’t be this trial."

"But there is still a chance if he fights, though since he gave up himself, there is no suspense now."

The crowd buzzed with discussion.

Ma Yan appeared anxious; he wanted to remind Zhao Douan that there was still much room for debate in the case.

For instance, why report the death after so long?

Or demand another autopsy...

Even Yuann Li, who was also one of the chief judges, showed a look of doubt, not understanding Zhao Douan’s intentions.

But Zhao Douan seemed to ignore everyone’s gaze, his face revealing little emotion, simply staring at the plaque above the hall lost in thought.

On the stand, Zhou Cheng could no longer conceal his joy. Although he also had his doubts, he knew clearer than anyone that once the case was sealed, whatever means Zhao Douan had would be useless.

He raised the woodblock, prepared to pronounce the sentence:

"Since the prisoner offers no rebuttal, it is equivalent to confession. Now, this court proclaims that Zhao Douan in the case of the lecherous murder of Su Hongyun..."

Suddenly, just as the atmosphere was heavy with solemnity, a slightly ethereal girl’s voice echoed throughout the hall.

"Wait."

Inside the hall, a burst of starlight rushed from the distance, swirling rapidly like a tornado, condensing into a diminutive figure:

A priest robe with a black base outlined in gold threads, boots of the same color, slightly curled long hair at the ends, delicate features with a touch of pallor, and eyes that looked slightly off-focus.

The direct disciple of the Old Heavenly Master, Priest Zhu Dian, Jin Jian!

The man who had been staring silently at the plaque snapped back to attention, a subtle smile forming on his lips.

He announced to the three chief judges in the court:

"The evidence we’ve been waiting for has arrived."