Chapter 54: Confrontation in the Hall of Supreme Harmony II
Chen Zi’ang’s pupils suddenly contracted; like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he immediately leapt out of the ranks.
“Your Majesty! This woman speaks nothing but nonsense!” He pointed sharply at Qin, who was reclining on the soft couch, his voice sharp and full of offended anger.
“She herself said she waited anxiously for an entire month! One whole month!”
“A merchant’s wife, whose husband has been gone without a word for a month, and she immediately assumes he’s dead? What an absurd logic! I believe she’s just eager for her husband’s early death so she can remarry!”
His words were venomous and ruthless, directly smearing Qin’s character.
“Preposterous!”
Zhao Yi stepped forward, hands tucked into his sleeves, wearing the demeanor of a street thug.
“Minister Chen, by your logic, when a husband is away, the wife should just burn incense and pray every day that he’s out having an affair rather than having met with an accident?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Is that what your wife thinks too?”
“You—!”
Chen Zi’ang’s face flushed with anger at Zhao Yi’s crude words.
“Zhao Yi! This is the Golden Dragon Throne! How dare you spout nonsense here!”
“How am I spouting nonsense?” Zhao Yi rolled his eyes. “I just think that a frail woman, whose husband has disappeared and who has no one to rely on, would naturally be worried and assume something bad happened. How does that become malicious intent, hoping her husband is dead in your eyes, Minister Chen?”
He paused, a teasing expression crossing his face.
“Or perhaps, Minister Chen, you have secrets in your heart, so you see ghosts everywhere?”
“Enough!”
Wu Mingkong’s cold voice cut through their quarrel.
She paid no mind to the two bickering ministers, instead turning her gaze back to Qin.
In those phoenix-like eyes was a flicker of curiosity even she had not realized she possessed.
“Qin, tell me.”
“How did you come to believe your husband met with misfortune?”
Qin’s body trembled slightly.
She lifted her head, and in those hollow eyes, something seemed to stir.
She parted her lips, voice barely more than a whisper.
“Because… I had a dream.”
Boom!
The entire Golden Dragon Throne erupted into chaos.
A dream?
Just because of a dream?
“Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous!”
Li Buqing, the Minister of Rites who had somehow slipped out again, was the first to leap forward.
He trembled with rage, pointing at Qin’s nose, spitting as he shouted.
“Your Majesty! This woman spreads devilish lies! How dare she use words from a dream to mock the court! To mock Your Majesty!”
“This is a trampling of the law! A contempt for Your Majesty!”
He spun around and bowed deeply to Wu Mingkong.
“I beseech Your Majesty to have this unruly woman dragged out at once to set an example!”
“Minister Li is mistaken.”
Li Zheng, the Minister of Justice who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke.
His stern face showed no emotion.
“This woman came here banging the drum of grievance.”
“The truth of her words rests with Your Majesty’s wise judgment. When did it become your place to interfere?”
Li Buqing was silenced by this, his face turning a deep purple.
Wu Mingkong’s fingertips tapped lightly against the armrest of the Dragon Throne.
She had never believed in ghosts or spirits.
“One dream proves nothing.”
Her voice was unreadable, neither angry nor pleased.
“Qin, I ask you once more: do you have any concrete evidence?”
“Yes!”
Qin struggled to sit upright on the soft couch.
She stretched out her bloodied, mangled hand, pointing toward the black earthenware pot at the center of the hall.
“I have proof!”
“My husband’s bones were made into this black pot!”
She seemed to summon all her remaining strength to shout this out.
“I sold all my family’s possessions and came to Luoyang with my daughter. Within and beyond the city, I searched hundreds of kilns, going door to door, questioning everyone! Finally, I found this black pot at a dilapidated kiln in the western part of the city!”
“The owner of that kiln was none other than Chen Yong and his wife!”
“When I sought them out, they denied everything! But near the kiln, I found a woodcutter who told me in person that during the days my husband disappeared, he saw a wealthy merchant resembling my husband enter the Chen family courtyard — and never come out again!”
“I took this evidence to the Ministry of Justice to report the case! But the official who received me was none other than Liu Biao!”
“He not only refused to accept my complaint, but said I was mad! He even tortured me, saying… that Chen Yong was Minister Chen’s elder cousin, and Chen Zi’ang was his brother-in-law! He warned me that if I dared speak nonsense again, my daughter and I would not live to see the next sunrise!”
Qin finished her testimony, utterly drained.
Yet her words struck like daggers into the hearts of everyone present.
Time, place, people, motive—
Everything aligned perfectly!
The entire case’s thread was so clear it was outrageous!
Though the origin was bizarre, the process was logical and reasonable!
Wu Mingkong slowly rose from the Dragon Throne.
She descended the steps, walking steadily to the black pot.
Silent, she merely gazed at it.
After a long while, she turned, her exquisitely beautiful face radiating the majesty and decisiveness of a sovereign ruler.
“I decree!”
“Immediately bring the Ministry of Justice’s Liu Biao and Chen Yong and his wife to the Golden Dragon Throne!”
…
At the same time, in the Ministry of Justice’s back hall.
Liu Biao paced anxiously like an ant on a hot pan.
“Useless! A bunch of useless fools!”
He kicked over the nearby tea table; fine porcelain shattered across the floor.
“You can’t even watch over a madwoman! What good are you all?”
At that moment, the back hall door was suddenly pushed open from outside.
A corpulent man and a sharp-faced woman came tumbling in.
It was Chen Yong and his wife.
“M-Master! Bad news! Terrible news!”
Chen Yong immediately fell to his knees with a thud, clutching Liu Biao’s leg, bawling with tears and snot.
“That madwoman… she’s banging the grievance drum! She’s currently accusing us at the Golden Dragon Throne!”
“Calm down!”
Liu Biao composed himself and shouted with feigned composure.
“What evidence does she have? Just a dream? A broken pot?”
He yanked Chen Yong up from the floor and lowered his voice, a cruel expression crossing his face.
“Listen carefully! When you get to the Golden Dragon Throne, no matter what His Majesty asks, you must deny everything!”
“Don’t know anyone named Qin San! Never met any wealthy merchant!”
“That pot is just a defective piece you burned! Who knows from which trash heap she dragged it!”
He patted Chen Yong’s plump face, speaking deliberately.
“Remember! No witnesses, no proof!”
“As long as you don’t admit it, she can do nothing!”
Chen Yong and his wife, comforted by these words, quickly nodded and kowtowed.
“Yes, yes! We’ll follow Brother-in-law’s orders!”
Liu Biao felt somewhat reassured looking at these two fools.
Just then—
Creak—
The back hall door was kicked open.
Nan Gong Yue, clad in silver armor, appeared at the entrance, flanked by several fierce imperial guards.
Her eternally icy face showed no expression.
“Liu Biao of the Ministry of Justice.”
“Chen Yong, Chen Li.”
“By imperial decree, you are summoned to appear before the Golden Dragon Throne.”