Chapter 136: The Two Princes Judge the Case (Part Two)

"Your Highness, is this—is this truly proper?"

Upon hearing that Li Xian intended to keep Yan He behind, Chen Renhao’s face turned instantly ashen, and he stammered out his objection.

"Not proper? What is improper about it? Hmph, Chief Magistrate Cui, what is your view on this, hmm?"

Li Xian’s expression grew stern; with a cold, severe huff, he shifted his gaze toward the thoroughly restrained Cui Jing.

"Well, ah, this... Since Your Highness has matters to inquire about, it is only fitting that the person remain. This official has no objections."

To have attained the rank of a third-grade senior official, Cui Jing was naturally no absolute fool. Seeing Li Xian’s aggressive posture, how could he not realize that keeping Yan He carried ulterior motives? Fearing that the trouble might eventually implicate him, Cui Jing inwardly wished nothing more than to chase Yan He away. Yet, he dared even less to openly offend Li Xian, an imperial prince whose power and prestige were growing day by day. Weighing the options, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.

"My Lord Magistrate, how can you—"

Hearing Cui Jing’s words clearly amount to turning his coat and helping outsiders, Chen Renhao panicked. Disregarding the proper hierarchy between superior and subordinate, he opened his mouth to object.

"Impudent! Is there any place for the likes of you to speak in front of His Highness? Step back at once!"

Cui Jing had agreed to let the man stay precisely out of fear of incurring Li Xian's displeasure. Seeing that Chen Renhao still dared to argue back, Cui Jing flared up instantly. Assuming the majestic air of a chief official, he shouted to cut off Chen Renhao's words.

"Understood, this official withdraws."

Chen Renhao’s complexion shifted through several shades. In the end, he still did not dare to forcefully push himself forward, and could only retreat to the back with a sullen, bowed face.

"Your Highness, now that the matters here are concluded, please permit this official to take his leave. If Your Highness has any further need of Cui, just send someone to summon me, and this official shall render full cooperation."

Seeing that the Court of Judicial Review was about to become a nest of trouble, Cui Jing did not wish to linger for even a single second longer. The moment Chen Renhao stepped back, he eagerly tendered his farewells.

"Safe journey, Chief Magistrate Cui. This prince will not see you out."

Li Xian had come solely to force Chen Renhao into handing over the suspect. As for an old fox like Cui Jing, Li Xian had never intended to exchange pleasantries with him anyway. Now that the immediate business was done, he naturally had no desire to keep him. Smiling, Li Xian waved his hand, signaling that Cui Jing was free to depart as he pleased.

"Please stay your steps, Your Highness; this official takes his leave."

Hearing Li Xian grant permission, Cui Jing exhaled a sigh of relief as if granted a great amnesty. Without a moment’s delay, he offered a bow and fled with his Capital Garrison troops in a continuous stream. The swiftness of their movement was practically comparable to a panicked escape.

"Warrior Yan, please wait here for a moment. Later on, this prince shall have a detailed talk with you."

Li Xian stood frozen in place for a moment, seemingly watching the Capital Garrison troops depart, though in reality, he was observing the shifting expressions of Yan He out of the corner of his eye. He immediately noticed that the man maintained an expressionless, composed demeanor from beginning to and. This only heightened Li Xian's suspicions further. However, Li Xian possessed a deep and unfathomable temperament, and he certainly did not let it show on his face, merely giving the instruction in an easygoing manner.

"This humble one obeys."

Yan He neither grew nervous at being detained by Li Xian nor stirred by Li Xian’s amiable tone. He simply bowed without a trace of expression and replied indifferently.

"Very well, then it is settled."

Li Xian said nothing more, nodded with a smile in return for the bow, and then turned to walk toward the main administrative hall of the Court of Judicial Review. When he reached a spot not far from the entrance, Li Xian slowed his pace, glanced sideways at Gao Miao who was closely following by his side, and instructed in a low voice: "Gao Miao, return to the estate immediately. Have Daoist Master Yuji come here at once to keep an eye on Yan He. There must be no mistakes."

"Understood, this servant shall go at once."

Hearing Li Xian speak with such solemnity, Gao Miao did not dare to delay, nor did he dare to probe for deeper reasons. He hastily acknowledged the command and hurriedly led several personal guards on horseback galloping back toward the Prince of Zhou’s estate...

*I only hope I am overthinking this. Otherwise, the trouble ahead is going to be massive!* Li Xian stood blankly, watching Gao Miao gallop away, then cast a glance at Yan He, who was quietly surrounded by Ling Zhong and other estate guards. He shook his head with a bitter smile, turned on his heel, and stepped into the entrance of the Court of Judicial Review. Just as he passed the spirit wall, a great wave of clamor rushed over him. Hearing this, Li Xian’s expression instantly turned icy and cold. He quickened his pace, striding briskly into the main hall.

"Your Highness, we are all officials serving the imperial court. The imperial edict contains no word commanding our detention; isn't Your Highness's action an overreach of authority?"

"May we ask Your Highness, what crime have we committed, that we must suffer the penalty of detention?"

"With Your Highness acting in this manner, we refuse to submit!"

"This is the Court of Judicial Review, not Your Highness’s personal manor. By what right do you arbitrarily detain ministers? What kind of decency is this?"

...

Inside the main hall, a crowd of officials from the Court of Judicial Review was arguing and shouting endlessly, completely disregarding the fact that Li Xian—the chief presiding judge—was shaking with anger. The situation had clearly slipped entirely out of control.

*A pack of scumbags!* After hearing just a few sentences, Li Xian understood exactly what was going on. It was nothing more than a bunch of old foxes relying on Empress Wu as their backing, refusing to yield to him. The anger in his heart flared up instantly. Cursing inwardly, he strode up the steps of the hall. Instead of entering immediately, he stood darkly at the threshold, casting an ice-cold gaze over the chattering officials.

Silence is sometimes far more powerful than words, and such was clearly the case now. Even though Li Xian entered the hall without uttering a single syllable, that bone-chilling glance alone caused a wave of involuntary coldness to rise within the hearts of all the officials. The raucous shouting gradually died down of its own accord, and within moments, complete silence fell.

When the others stopped shouting, Li Xian did not speak either. He merely fixed a knife-sharp stare directly upon Hou Shanye, glaring until Hou Shanye felt profoundly uncomfortable and was forced to step forward with an awkward smile.

"This official pays his respects to Your Highness, the Prince of Zhou."

"Hmm." Li Xian had no intention whatsoever of returning the courtesy, not even offering a polite smile. He merely grunted a single syllable from his nostrils by way of acknowledgment. At the same time, his fixed gaze upon Hou Shanye showed no sign of softening, remaining profoundly cold.

"Your Highness, this, this—haha, the intention of the Prince of Lu was to detain all officials of our Court of Judicial Review. I fear this matter does not accord with the imperial edict. We officials were merely addressing the matter strictly according to the facts."

Hou Shanye had served in the Court of Judicial Review for many years and possessed an abundance of experience in trying cases; his ability to withstand pressure was naturally high. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, upon meeting Li Xian’s gaze, Hou Shanye felt entirely unable to hold his ground. Not daring to meet Li Xian's eyes, he lowered his head and offered an explanation with a grievance-swallowing demeanor.

"Indeed! May the Prince of Zhou examine this clearly. We are dignified officials of the imperial court; how can we be illegally detained? This runs contrary to legal principles, and we refuse to submit!"

No sooner had Hou Shanye's voice fallen than someone from amidst the crowd chimed in with a strange, discordant tone.

"That's right, exactly! How can such a thing be done? We refuse to submit!"

"Indeed, let us go together to see His Majesty and ask the Emperor to uphold justice!"

"Correct, let's go, go, go—to see the Emperor!"

...

The officials of the Court of Judicial Review had initially been suppressed by Li Xian's imposing aura, daring not to speak recklessly. But once someone took the lead, the entire crowd erupted into chaos again, and the situation instantly pushed toward the brink of loss of control.

*A bunch of ungrateful wretches courting death!*

Provoked to real anger by this band of brazen officials, Li Xian raised his voice in a stern shout: "Where is the personal guard unit?"

"These subordinates are here!"

Most of Li Xian's personal guards were busy deploying defenses outside the administrative office, but a good number of his men were concentrated right below the hall. Hearing Li Xian’s wrathful roar, Wang Mingyuan—recently transferred to serve as the commander of the Prince of Zhou's guards—did not dare to hesitate. Leading a group of guards, he rushed straight to the front of the hall.

"Commander Wang, heed my command! Anyone who dares to cross this line and step out of the hall without permission is to be executed without mercy!"

In his towering rage, Li Xian reached out, pulled a saber from the waist of a nearby guard, and drew a deep slash across the floor right before him. With absolute finality, he issued an order of summary execution. The moment those words fell, the entire hall of officials was struck dumb. The previously raucous scene instantly turned deathly quiet.

"This—this subordinate obeys the command!"

Not only were the Court of Judicial Review officials shaken to the core by Li Xian's murderous aura, but even Wang Mingyuan was thoroughly startled. Hesitating for a brief moment, he was pierced by Li Xian's sinister glare and shivered involuntarily. Daring not to delay any further, he hastily bowed in acceptance of the order, commanding the Prince of Zhou’s guards to establish an immediate defense. They tightly blocked the modest-sized entrance of the hall, and such an air of strict preparedness immediately reduced every official in the hall to trembling silence.

"You, step forward!"

When the officials stopped making a peep, Li Xian had no intention of letting the matter rest there. Raising a hand, he pointed straight at the official who had first let out the strange cry from within the crowd, and rebuked him unceremoniously.

"Your Highness, this official, this official..."

The official singled out by Li Xian was none other than Qiu Shenfu. He had originally intended to dodge sideways to evade Li Xian's wrathful glare, but to his dismay, the officials standing beside him moved far faster than he did. The moment they saw Li Xian's finger pointing their way, they all leaped to either side, leaving Qiu Shenfu starkly and solitarily exposed. Pitifully having nowhere to hide, Qiu Shenfu had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward, stammering without knowing what to say.

"You have a lot of nerve! Insulting a superior is already an unpardonable crime; clamoring in the public hall and openly defying an imperial edict are capital offenses that cannot escape death. As an official of the Court of Judicial Review, you knowingly break the law, which doubles your crime! How could this prince ever tolerate such rampant audacity in you? Come, drag him away! Give him thirty heavy strokes of the cane first, and this prince shall immediately memorialize the throne to impeach this villain!"

Well aware that Qiu Shenfu was one of Empress Wu's confidants, Li Xian deliberately refrained from asking his name. He piled several heavy charges upon him and unceremoniously lowered the hammer of severe punishment.

"Understood!"

The guards standing at the threshold belonged to Li Xian's personal unit. Hearing his command, they dared not slacken in the slightest. Responding with a thunderous roar, several guards swarmed forward, grabbed Qiu Shenfu regardless of his protests, and forcefully dragged him down from the hall.

"Your Highness, stay your hand!"

Yuan Gongyu, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, saw that the situation was turning critical and could no longer remain steady. Rushing out from the side, he blocked Qiu Shenfu's path and shouted aloud.

*Old thing, you've finally stopped hiding in your turtle shell! Heh, I was just waiting for you to jump out!*

The moment he saw that the person stepping forward was Yuan Gongyu, a trace of a cold, nearly imperceptible smile curved the corners of Li Xian's mouth...