Su Yuan, hearing Chu Fei Yang's analysis, could only tremble his lips in reply. His steely gaze fixed on Chu Fei Yang, feeling that his timely arrival was too much of a coincidence!
However, Qu Zhang Qing's case was personally handed over to the three legal officials present for the trial. Despite Chu Fei Yang's position as the head of a hundred officials, he himself did not have the authority to meddle in this matter.
Thinking so, Su Yuan felt like he regained some of his footing. He realized that Chu Fei Yang was trying to bully him and evoke fear. If he really was able to drag Su Yuan down from the seat of Minister of Justice, he would be holding a royal decree from Emperor Yu Qian, and not standing in the great hall of the Ministry of Justice opposing him with words.
Su Yuan began to calm down, and with a level voice, he said, “Xiaguan knows in his heart that Chu xiang dedicates his mind and heart to the court, and loves and protects all officials! However, this case was personally handed to xiaguan by the Emperor himself. Without yet reaching a conclusion, Chu xiang, although being the head of a hundred officials, does not have the right to get involved with this trial. I have to kindly invite Chu xiang to take his leave of the Ministry of Justice, so as not to waste time of xiaguan in questioning the criminal.”
Su Yuan had thought that this would be enough to repel Chu Fei Yang, but Chu Fei Yang was no ordinary man. Beyond his unpredictability, he was also careful in his consideration. That today, he was standing in the Ministry of Justice's great hall, it was quite obvious that he had left a back route for himself. Chu Fei Yang merely spared a cold glance at Su Yuan, before saying, “Qu Zhang Qing is benxiang's former Division General. If he is truly without the mind and heart of a loyal subject, then benxiang himself will shoulder the crime of being an incompetent supervisor. My arrival here today has obviously been approved by the Emperor first. Qu Zhang Qing's body has been seriously injured, to try him at this moment seems to be somewhat unjust. Secondly, I would like to ask for the compassion of the daren to delay the trial for a few more days. Benxiang will talk with Qu Zhang Qing, to find out the mistake that has occurred within this matter.”
Saying so, Chu Fei Yang looked at Jiao Da, who was following closely behind. Jiao Da extracted a saber and broke open the iron chains on Qu Zhang Qing's arms, legs, and neck.
“Chu xiang, what are you doing? Qu Zhang Qing is the court's criminal. This is not something that you can just happen to interfere with as you please! Could it be that Qu Zhang Qing's betrayal of the country has something to do with Chu xiang? Then xiaguan will bear the risk of losing his official post and ask the Emperor to consider this possibility!” Su Yuan, seeing that Chu Fei Yang was about to bring Qu Zhang Qing away, quickly shouted, simultaneously ordering his men to surround Chu Fei Yang and the other two men. Let's see how they plan to walk out of the Ministry of Justice!
And yet, Su Yuan's mind was clear in its thoughts. Chu Fei Yang's martial arts skills were almost unparallelled. Jiao Da was the most capable person Chu wang kept by his side at all times. Even though the men under his command had the advantage of the many, if they truly began fighting, he knew that the opponent would win.
But this was exactly what Su Yuan wanted. He wanted his own people to stop Chu Fei Yang from taking away the convict, but because they were too weak, they would allow Chu Fei Yang to walk free but with the title of someone who broke into prison to break a convict free. Should the other officials know about this, Chu Fei Yang's Prime Minister position would be gone in a flash, and not even Chu wang would be able to help his grandson.
And even though defending a suspect was of great importance, he had, after all, tried his best to stop them. When it was time for the Emperor to look for someone to blame, he would not be too harshly punished. And if he could remove Chu Fei Yang in the process, he would have accomplished a great goal in the eyes of Chen wang, who would defend him in front of Emperor Yu Qian.
Su Yuan's threats fell on deaf ears. For Chu Fei Yang, Su Yuan was a mere dancing clown, someone not even worth his attention. This type of clown was not one who jumped out to perform for a bit before retreating, it was one of those persistent clowns who were determined to give other people headaches. Chu Fei Yang smiled coldly, reversing the question back to him in a flat voice, “I wonder who Su daren is suspecting of lying? Benxiang, or Chu wang fu? There are some words Su daren needs to carefully mull over before blurting out. Or if calamities rise because of his careless mouth, then I'm afraid Su daren will not be able to bear responsibility for it.”
“Actually, Benwang wants to know what is wrong with Su daren prohibiting Chu Xiang from stealing away a convict of the court. Does his position as Minister of Justice not give him the authority to manage his convicts? Or is it that Chu xiang enjoys meddling in other people's business that he has no authority in?” A disdainful voice rang out from the main door. Everyone turned to look in time to see Chen wang being followed by bodyguards as he walked into the hall.
Chu Fei Yang, upon seeing Jiang Mu Chen walk in, had a cool smile on his lips. He raised his eyebrow slightly, his two eyes almost squinting at Jiang Mu Chen, before saying with a voice that contained unspeakable relief and joy, “Wangye is so idle today to have the time to come over. It seems like wangye is also very interested in Qu Zhang Qing!”
Chu Fei Yang had a way of speaking that seemed friendly on the surface, but his words had an effect of igniting people's tempers in the blink of an eye. Jiang Mu Chen's previously calm expression suddenly turned ugly, upon hearing the phrase “also very interested in Qu Zhang Qing”.
“Isn't Chu xiang's little visit also because of him?” Jiang Mu Chen was not Su Yuan, even though he was slightly afraid of Chu Fei Yang's military authority and his backer in Chu wang fu, Jiang Mu Chen was still someone with a good background, a prince of the previous Emperor. Now he was Chen wang, someone with a position above many and below little. He was not any less powerful in terms of status when compared alongside Chu Fei Yang.
And so, when facing Chu Fei Yang, Jiang Mu Chen did not have Su Yuan's over-cautious manner of speaking. He had the right to be haughty, and was not afraid of Chu Fei Yang's intimidating speeches either.
“Wangye is right, of course. Qu Zhang Qing is one of benxiang's former subordinates, and is also a loyal and dedicated servant of the nation. Today, he's being accused of a false crime, how can benxiang just sit idly by? What I wish to know is, with what authority and what position wangye assumes to come forth today in this scene?” Chu Fei Yang's words had the added benefit of removing Qu Zhang Qing's crime of being a traitor to the nation, which caused Su Yuan to furrow his brows in annoyance. But taking his status into consideration, he could only silently listen in on Chu Fei Yang' and Chen wang's conversation.
Against the questioning of Chu Fei Yang, Chen wang assumed an indifferent expression, but those hawk-like eyes of his were targeted at Jiao Da, who was supporting Qu Zhang Qing. He noticed at once that his hair was disheveled, he was left with only one pair of trousers to cover his body, his face wan and lifeless; even his bearing seemed to lack energy, as he was leaning completely against Jiao Da for support. He must have been undergone torture while injured.
Su Yuan, seeing that Jiang Mu Chen's gaze stopped on Qu Zhang Qing's body, began to fear that Chu Fei Yang would use this opportunity to drive a wedge between them, and immediately explained, “Wangye, please inspect. Xiaguan, Qin daren, and Zheng daren were all only asking Qu Zhang Qing some questions, we never used any form of torture. Xiaguan can be the most stupid person on earth, but would still know that Qu Zhang Qing is one of the key witnesses in this matter, xiaguan will keep him alive as long as he hasn't admitted to his guilt.”
Hearing these words, Jiang Mu Chen waved a hand to let Su Yuan retreat. He looked atChu Fei Yang and said in a cold voice, “Su daren has already said everything so clearly. What does Chu xiang have left to worry about? This was originally a Three Department Hearing, if Chu xiang stays here too long, it will inconvenience the whole matter. It would be better if you left of your own accord.”
“Benxiang naturally has no qualms about leaving this kind of filthy place! However, benxiang came to retrieve Qu Zhang Qing.” Jiang Mu Chen's cold expression and voice could scare away everyone else, but not Chu Fei Yang, who did not even look the slightest bit perturbed.
At this moment, his face still wore a shallow smile, the perfect arc of his mouth allowed no one to find fault with him. Even in the hall of the Ministry of Justice that reeked of the pungent smell of blood that would force even officials to have inner tremors, Chu Fei Yang was calm and smiling, his twinkling eyes radiating with a bright playfulness, as dazzling as a heavenly body in the pitch black night, a perfect simile for the juxtaposition of his fresh attitude against this dismal and gory justice hall.
Hearing this, Chen wang smiled frostily, as if mocking Chu Fei Yang's wishful thinking.
“Does Chu wang think his joke is funny? Qu Zhang Qing is a traitor to Xi Chu. Never mind Chu xiang, even the Emperor himself can't release him from the custody of the Ministry of Justice. Chu xiang and Chu wang fu have long been negligent of the situations of the Imperial Court. That you are wasting your efforts and time today, could it be because of a certain someone?” Jiang Mu Chen was reminding Chu Fei Yang that he should act according to his status, and not push himself to a state of no return because of a certain someone.
But Chu Fei Yang was not one to be easily defeated with a few jabbing words that would have made thinner-skinned men retreat at once. He merely shrugged, and flashed an insipid smile at Chen wang, calmly replying with a question, “Is it not true then that Wangye's actions are all products of jealousy regarding benxiang's relationship with that certain someone?”
Chu Fei Yang's voice had not died down yet, but the temperature in the hall still filled with steam immediately dropped down several degrees. Chen wang's gaze was frostier than ice, and his entire posture had a glacial stiffness to it. Those cold eyes were fixed on Chu Fei Yang, and it would not be surprising if they could shoot out icicles that froze him on the spot!
“Jiao Da, give the three daren the Imperial Decree from the Emperor. Let them read it carefully! Benxiang is not someone who randomly interferes as he pleases. If not for the Emperor's Imperial Decree, benxiang would not even dare to have the gall to come here to take away a convict, much less contend against Su daren's just words.” He originally wanted to bring away Qu Zhang Qing without having to show his ace card, but it looked like Chen wang would die before he allowed them to leave. Thank goodness that Emperor Yu Qian still had the previous Emperor in mind and issued this Imperial Decree.
Jiao Da immediately took out a bright golden scroll from within his sleeves and handed it to Chen wang before quickly turning back to Qu Zhang Qing to hoist his slumping body up.
Jiang Mu Chen received the decree and swept a few icy glances through it. His expression soured, and he handed the scroll to Qin daren and the others to see for themselves.
“Since wangye has nothing to say, then benxiang will bring Qu Zhang Qing back to Fu Guo Gong Fu for him to heal and strengthen before the Three Department Trial resumes. Otherwise, I'm afraid that if left at the Ministry of Justice, Su daren's torture weapons would have been used on this man even before the trial has begun.” Chu Fei Yang looked over to Su daren before turning on his heel to leave with Jiao Da and Qu Zhang Qing.
“Wangye, when did this Chu xiang manage to ask the Emperor to change his mind? Being a traitor to the country is a crime that is punishable by killing the entire clan; the Emperor can't think about his affections and let the tiger return to the mountains! How can you let them go?” Su Yuan was regretting that he did not take this opportunity upon himself and take Qu Zhang Qing down after seeing Chen wang, who just allowed Chu Fei Yang to bring Qu Zhan Qing away.
Jiang Mu Chen glanced at Su Yuan with anger after hearing him speak and furiously asked, “Su daren, do you want benguan to defy the Emperor's decree?”
“Xiaguan does not dare.” Su Yuan denied, immediately sensing the anger in Jiang Mu Chen's words. Afterwards, he kept quiet to prevent Chen wang from venting his anger on him.
“Although the Emperor appointed Wu daren, who lead the imperial guards, to surround Fu Guo Gong Fu, each one of you should also be aware what is happening. Once Qu Zhang Qing is on the mend, you should start examining this case to avoid the chances of things going wrong and allow the Northern Qi take advantage of us!” Jiang Mu Chen coldly ordered, then left the Ministry of Justice with heavy steps.
“Xiangye, I have troubled you.” Inside the carriage, Qu Zhang Qing was so touched by the acts of Chu Fei Yang, who was never one for participating in political fights, to compete with Chen wang. Despite the burning pain he felt in his chest, he had to speak up.
“Since you are afraid of getting me into trouble, you should take good care of yourself and heal your injury.” Chu Fei Yang sat across from him in the carriage and gave Jiao Da a glance, seeing that Qu Zhang Qing had suffered a lot this time.
Jiao Da immediately took Qu Zhang Qing's pulse, after which he carefully examined the wounds on his back. Even if Jiao Da was always expressionless, after seeing the wounds, he unconsciously frowned. “Xiangye, the methods of the Ministry of Justice is really clever. Although they said that they did not make use of any torture, putting leeches on the wounds of Qu daren is like silently killing him. In the meantime, I cannot be sure whether or not the leeches have entered Qu Zhang Qing's body. I can only check the wounds again carefully when we reach Fu Guo Gong Fu.”
Jiao Da carefully put a soft inner shirt on Qu Zhang Qing to avoid showing others his haggardness.
Suddenly, the carriage stopped. Chu Fei Yang left Jiao Da inside to take care of Qu Zhang Qing, and left the carriage by himself. After a while, his voice could be heard through the carriage, “Send him back to have his body examined carefully.”
After that, Jiao Da and Qu Zhang Qing heard the sounds of horse galloping. Chu Fei Yang probably had other important matters to take care of.
Translated by:
Proofread by: Chocolate Morn