The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 156 - 137, Obtain the Truth

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In the back house, after Xue Xuan calmly uttered these words, all three "investigators" present were stunned, not expecting her to be so direct and without any preamble.

Zhao Douan examined her with interest:

"Do you know that’s what we’re asking about?"

Dressed in a female Confucian robe, with black hair tied behind her head, Xue Xuan, full of scholarly aura, calmly said:

"I have thought it over and concluded that the only reason worthy of your visit would be my father’s wrongful case from years past. If a case that has long been settled is being revisited by Mr. Zhao, it must be to hear a different account."

Her narrative was clear and well-organized, even though she had just been threatened and lost her composure not long ago, she had now calmed down.

"It seems Xue Lin must have taught you well in the past."

Zhao Douan exclaimed in admiration, as expected of a woman who almost married into the Dong family.

Haitang asked curiously:

"You’re saying Master Xue was wrongfully killed?"

Zhang Han’s usually expressionless face also lit up:

"Sit down and tell us carefully!"

This answer held an enormous amount of information; even Zhao Douan sat up straighter.

This clue really had substance!

Xue Xuan complied and sat down, but instead of immediately telling her story, she looked toward Haitang, who was the easiest to talk to:

"I don’t know what you know or what you want to hear."

We want to hear the part that disappeared from the case files... The three of them thought to themselves but could not reveal it outright.

Zhao Douan spoke up first:

"Just tell us the complete story of the case as you know it."

"Yes," Xue Xuan responded, not daring to defy, paused momentarily as if organizing her thoughts, then said:

"The matter began with a complaint received by the government office, concerning the death of Centurion Yang An..."

The first part of Xue Xuan’s narrative wasn’t much different from what Zhao Douan had seen in the dossier.

The cause was the same: Yang An’s colleagues claimed that the deceased had been harmed unto death by his wife, Mrs. Yue, in conspiracy with her brother, their neighbor Mr. Hao, and a low-ranking priest from the Heavenly Master Mansion.

The difference was in the details, such as the full name of the magician, which was "Shen Rong."

After the government office made its judgment, the case was sent to the Three Agencies for review, passed by the Imperial Court of Supervision and the Ministry of Justice, but got held up at the Ministry of Justice.

"At the time, the one responsible for the review of this case was my father, Xue Lin," Xue Xuan recounted:

"My father, who enjoyed hands-on involvement in his work, found inconsistencies in Mrs. Yue’s testimony, as well as discrepancies with the other parties involved, while examining the government office files. Based on his years of experience solving cases, he determined there had been coerced confessions.

He thus sent the case back to the Ministry of Justice for reassessment, but they still maintained the original verdict. My father then rejected it once more, leading to a back-and-forth several times."

Yes, this is it!

Zhao Douan was invigorated, realizing that the dossier had an abrupt ending here.

He suddenly felt the excitement of a novel’s new update:

"What happened next?"

Xue Xuan calmly continued:

"After several back-and-forths, the current Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Zhou Cheng, who was then the Chief Imperial Censor of the Imperial Court of Supervision, personally visited my father to argue over the case.

He claimed that the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Court of Supervision had determined the outcome, and my father was undermining it, which suggested that the other two agencies had been negligent in their duties.

Zhou Cheng made several visits, even losing his temper, but my father did not give in and continued to insist on reversing the decision for a reexamination."

So steadfast? Zhao Douan was surprised.

He soon recalled the records that indeed described Xue Lin’s career.

In his youth, he had studied under Grandmaster Dong and was quite renowned among the scholarly circles. After entering officialdom, he solved several major cases and was known for his "integrity," with a high evaluation from his contemporaries.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

An official with strong backing, his own competence, and integrity, it made sense that he would not give face to Zhou Cheng.

Zhang Han asked puzzledly:

"Logically, with the case being pulled between the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Justice, why would Zhou Cheng be the first to act so urgently?"

Xue Xuan glanced at him, then suddenly said:

"Since you are from the Imperial Court, you should know who was the last Lord of the Imperial Court, right?"

The last Lord of the Imperial Court?

The three exchanged looks.

Haitang nodded first, opening her mouth to say:

"Of course, the last Lord was Chief Eunuch Wang Zhen from the palace, who controlled the Imperial Court for over ten years. At the time of your father’s imprisonment, Wang Zhen was in charge of the Imperial Court."

Wang Zhen?

Zhao Douan mentally strained, finally recalling the figure.

This man was a favored eunuch during the late years of the Old Emperor, reputedly at the height of his power, shouldering over twenty duties, a man with great power, influential in court affairs.

He was indeed a eunuch of great influence in his time.

However, he accompanied the Old Emperor during the Xuan Sect’s coup and was silently killed amidst the chaos...

After the Empress ascended, Ma Yan was promoted to succeed Wang Zhen as the new Lord, roughly around this timeline.

Xue Xuan nodded and said calmly:

"Back then, Wang Zhen wielded considerable power, and when my father was appointed as Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Wang Zhen sent gifts to win him over. My father, having studied under Grandmaster Dong and traditionally having frictions with the palace eunuchs, declined and uttered some harsh words, thereby offending Wang Zhen."

"At that time, Zhou Cheng headed the Imperial Court of Supervision and was close to Mr. Wang... Perhaps Zhou Cheng was acting to please Mr. Wang, at least that’s what my father believed."

Faction struggle... Zhao Douan shook his head, understanding the reason:

"Then what?"

Xue Xuan recounted:

"Seeing that my father wouldn’t budge, Zhou Cheng then went to join forces with the Ministry of Justice to pressure the Ministry of Justice. After a long period, my father struggled to withstand it. Therefore, one of his subordinate Judges suggested, if it really came to it, the case could be presented to the late Emperor, for his decision."

The plot came together!

The three perked up their ears, for the dossier had briefly mentioned this, albeit vaguely.

Xue Xuan went on:

"But after the case was presented, due to conflicting statements from the Three Agencies, the late Emperor was also uncertain how to rule and sought an old Imperial Censor named Pan from the Imperial Court of Supervision, ordering him to reinvestigate this murder case."

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