Martial Cultivator

“This official is the Deputy Commander of the Left Guard, personally appointed by the Lord Warden Commander. Now that the Lord Warden Commander is absent, this official is only under the jurisdiction of the Left Guard and His Majesty. Since His Majesty has not declared this official guilty, this official is still the Deputy Commander of the Left Guard. As for the accusation of assaulting a court official, it’s indeed true, but it wasn’t this official who assaulted this so-called General Pei. It was General Pei who assaulted this official. If not for the fact that this official still considers him a fellow official, this official would have had no fault even if this official killed him on the spot.”

Chen Chao looked at the officials with an air of indifference.

The plaza fell into a dead silence.

“What a razor-tongued boy, but no matter how eloquently you speak today, Marquis Huainan was still killed by you. I presume Lord Han has long gathered the evidence in his investigation these past days!”

As an official spoke, all eyes turned to a certain spot in the room.

That was supposed to be the seat of the Chief Judicial Officer, but people soon realized that Han Pu, the Chief Judicial Officer, was absent.

Seeing so many eyes on them, an official from the Court of Judicial Review stood up, bracing himself as he said, “Lord Han is still investigating the case and will likely be late in attending the banquet.”

Hearing this, many people’s expressions turned ugly.

One official shouted, “Even if Han Pu isn’t here, has the Court of Judicial Review reached any conclusions from these days of investigation?”

The official from the Court of Judicial Review had already been instructed by Han Pu before entering the palace, so when questioned at this moment, he could only smile bitterly and say, ”Although the Court of Judicial Review has made some progress in recent days, Commander Chen is merely a suspect. No conclusion has been reached, and he cannot truly be called the murderer.”

Hearing this vague response, many officials were dissatisfied, but they could not blow up. After all, without Han Pu present, whatever this official said could not be counted as final.

In fact, even if the Court of Judicial Review uncovered something, they still could not convict Chen Chao. This was because Chen Chao was an official of the warden faction, and according to Great Liang law, officials in this faction were outside the purview of ordinary court officials. They were only subject to the authority of the Lord Warden Commander. In other words, if a regular official was found guilty, the Court of Judicial Review could convict and arrest them. But an official from the warden faction, even if guilty, would have their punishment decided by the Lord Warden Commander.

Now, with the Lord Warden Commander having been reassigned as Great General of the Northern Frontier, the position of Lord Warden Commander was vacant. There were only two people who could oversee Chen Chao - Song Lian and His Majesty the Emperor.

For a serious case like the killing of Marquis Huainan, even if the Court of Judicial Review uncovered the truth, they would still have to report it to His Majesty for a final decision.

Without an imperial decree, Chen Chao would always remain a suspect and nothing more.

And as for Pei Ji’s earlier assault, if one were to seriously investigate it, it was indeed an attempt to kill a court official. Even if Chen Chao had not just severely injured Pei Ji but killed him outright, it would still have been justified.

However, if His Majesty the Emperor later convicts him, Chen Chao would not only be bearing the murder charge of killing Marquis Huainan.

”Since you claim not to have killed Marquis Huainan, where have you been all these days? Why have you not shown yourself? Could it be you have a guilty conscience? Fleeing in fear of punishment?”

The officials present were not ready to let Chen Chao go. The events of that night were now clearly working against him.

After all, it was almost certain that Marquis Huainan had died at Chen Chao’s hands. As long as this fact remained unchanged, they intended to establish Chen Chao’s crime!

”Your Excellency, have you studied before?”

Chen Chao looked curiously at the unfamiliar official.

The man’s face turned livid, and he said angrily, ”This official is a graduate of the academy! Who knows how many more books by the sages I’ve read compared to you!”

Hearing this, Chen Chao nodded thoughtfully and said, ”Then it doesn’t seem to be Your Excellency’s fault. Rather, it’s the academy’s fault for being so careless in admitting students these days.”

Hearing this, many people sneered inwardly, and some even glanced toward the distant academy dean. Chen Chao’s words had clearly included the Dean in his insult as well.

However, the dean did not seem to mind. He simply raised his cup and took a sip of wine.

”Stop trying to change the subject! If you had nothing to hide, you wouldn’t have gone into hiding.”

That official had a livid expression, though he still suppressed his rage as he spoke.

”This lord claims that my absence means this official has a guilty conscience, that this official was fleeing punishment out of fear. But if this official truly had a guilty conscience, why would this official appear at today’s banquet? It’s been so long since that night, if this official was truly guilty, this official would have long escaped to the ends of the earth. Why would this official boldly show up in front of all of you? Wouldn’t that be seeking my own death?”

Chen Chao let out a cold laugh. ”Has this lord studied so hard that you’ve become a fool, unable to grasp such a simple logic?”

”You...”

The official was taken aback, unable to find any words to refute Chen Chao.

Hearing this, many other officials revealed embarrassment, unsure of how to argue with him. The Dean, on the other hand, smiled faintly, thinking to himself that this young man’s way of speaking was still as amusing as ever.

Meanwhile, the group of officials from the Ministry of Works exchanged glances, showing no interest in the ongoing dispute. Their attention was instead focused on the damaged area of the plaza, thinking about how long it would take to repair it afterward.

Nonetheless, despite everything, most of the Ministry of Works officials did not harbor much ill will toward Chen Chao. After all, it was his efforts that brought about the success of the Sword Qi Mountain collaboration.

”You didn’t escape from the Divine Capital because it’s heavily guarded, and you couldn’t leave. As for why you are here today, it’s probably to use that sharp tongue of yours to clear yourself of suspicion. But as the saying goes, ’Heaven watches what man does.’ Do you really think your deeds could remain hidden from everyone?”

An official spoke in a cold voice, ”Someone like you serving in our Great Liang as an official is a disgrace to our dynasty!”

”Disgrace? What is disgrace?”

Chen Chao stared at the official and said, ”This official brought glory to the imperial court at the Myriad Willow Convention. Even earlier, this official protected the land and its people in Tianqing County, standing up to outsiders for the sake of safeguarding the dragon vein. This official ventured out into the desolate north to slay demons for the Northern Frontier. Who can deny any of these deeds?”

”If this official’s absolute loyalty, my willingness to die for the Great Liang, is considered a disgrace to this dynasty, then what have you all done that gives you the right to slander this official so?”

Narrowing his eyes, Chen Chao coldly glanced at the officials who were attacking him. He sneered, ”Accusing this official of killing Marquis Huainan? Wait until you have evidence and a conviction before you speak. Your baseless speculations are nothing but slander. For all we know, some of you might have been involved in the assassination attempt on this official that very night.”

From the start, these officials had never questioned the problem with Chen Chao’s identity. Instead, they focused entirely on the matter of him killing Marquis Huainan.

Now that Chen Chao had brought up the events of that night, many officials felt a sudden chill in their hearts but still angrily rebuked him, accusing him of slander.

Chen Chao merely let out a cold laugh and said no more.

Just as the situation seemed like it was about to escalate further, the Second Prince glanced at the First Prince and finally stood up, saying calmly, ”My lords, this matter cannot be resolved through words alone. When Lord Han arrives, the truth will naturally be determined. For now, let’s settle down, as the banquet is about to begin. What kind of decorum would it be if His Majesty arrived and saw Your Excellencies behaving like this?”

The moment the Second Prince spoke, the noisy hall quieted down. Although many officials were still simmering with anger, they suppressed it and began to take their seats.

Chen Chao remained silent, merely casting a glance at the Second Prince before sitting down next to Xie Nandu.

Xie Nandu, who had not spoken throughout the commotion, handed Chen Chao a cup of wine and said, ”Watching you argue is actually quite entertaining.”

Chen Chao accepted the cup and sighed, ”If it were just arguing, it would be easy. The real trouble comes later.”

Xie Nandu asked, ”Did you handle the matter of killing Song Ting cleanly?”

Chen Chao shook his head, ”Quite the opposite. It was very sloppy.”

”That night, I was really in a bad mood.”

Chen Chao rubbed his face and took a sip of wine.

……

……

The small interlude soon passed, but everyone knew this was only the beginning, so no one was in a hurry.

Pei Ji was carried away, and it was clear that this general of Qingshan Prefecture would not be able to attend today’s banquet.

However, after the crowd had calmed down, they quickly realized an issue - Chen Chao would not have been able to enter the imperial city without an invitation.

In other words, His Majesty had still sent him an invitation.

Why did His Majesty do this?

Many people were lost in thought.

As time passed, the bells of the imperial city rang, signaling that the hour had arrived.

Hi Majesty the Emperor appeared in the distance.

The court officials and family heads all rose at this moment, even the academy’s dean followed suit and stood up.

The Great Liang Emperor walked slowly over to the banquet area and then took his seat.

As His Majesty sat down, all the officials followed suit, and a procession of palace maids began to file out.

The proceedings followed the same format as previous years’ banquets, with nothing noticeably different. The Emperor sat in his elevated position, saying nothing, and his expression revealed no changes.

Yet, the atmosphere in the hall felt somewhat different from that of previous years.

The court officials were all silent.

It was so quiet that it became a little strange.

Like the calm before the storm.

As the palace maidens finished their dance, the Premier stepped forward and began recounting the major events of the past year in the court.

The biggest issue last year in the Great Liang Dynasty was the matter of the Northern Frontier, but once the Northern Frontier was mentioned, it was impossible to avoid the name Chen Chao.

The Premier’s expression remained unchanged, but the court officials felt uneasy.

Fortunately, after he finished, the Emperor said nothing, and did not issue any rewards or honors like usual.

The Premier slowly returned to his seat.

Someone entered from afar.

Han Pu, Chief Judicial Officer of the Court of Judicial Review, finally entered the palace.

”Your Majesty, your subject Han Pu, Chief Judicial Officer, has investigated the case and now has a conclusion.”

Han Pu arrived at the banquet, slowly kneeling.

The Great Liang Emperor looked at this Chief Judicial Officer and said, ”Speak.”

”After my investigation, it has been determined that Marquis Huainan was indeed killed by Deputy Commander of the Left Guard, Chen Chao. The evidence is conclusive!”

Han Pu’s words were like a thunderclap!