The Regent Keeps Flirting With Me - Chapter 33

So, Shen Lingyan recounted, word for word, the things she had discovered in the past few days and the things she had noticed before, which drove Li Xiuxian deeper into despair the more he listened.

Currently, Zhou Jin had retreated behind the screen at the back of the main hall, and no one noticed her, but she was observing the entire situation.

Li Xiuxian was merely lying prone on the floor, neither raising his head nor speaking, nor would he sign the list of charges that Shen Lingyan had ordered someone to bring, relying solely on his own refusal to consume everyone’s time. However, this delay actually suited Shen Lingyan’s intentions.

Dai Junwu, standing by, was truly perplexed. He walked over to stand beside Shen Lingyan and quietly asked, “Your Majesty, even if this man refuses to admit to the crimes of embezzlement and forced abduction of civilian women, the single act of imprisoning you and the Regent is enough for him to die a thousand times. What exactly makes you so apprehensive…”

Apprehensive? As soon as this word came out, Shen Lingyan was somewhat confused. Was she being apprehensive about something? But at the same time, Shen Lingyan realized something was amiss.

If this Prefect Li Xiuxian was truly as simple as she saw, then how could his attempts to submit memorials step by step not have been noticed before? This was Liangzhou, the region with the most rainfall.

Thinking this way, Shen Lingyan also felt a chill. She slightly turned her head, looked at Dai Junwu, and then looked at Zhou Jin behind the screen. Clearly, that person did not intend to tell Shen Lingyan.

“I want to use this matter… to let all the officials in the court see my strength. And it is precisely because of this that I asked you to call over other high-ranking officials as well. I don’t want to do things without anyone noticing,” Shen Lingyan’s words sounded a bit childish, but Dai Junwu grasped the underlying meaning and nodded in great agreement.

Suddenly, the door of the Prefectural Hall was violently pushed open. Shen Lingyan initially thought it was Yun Zhu and Su Zhaozhao bringing the girls from Chunxing Courtyard, but who knew it turned out to be… an official with a shiny face who looked very much like Li Xiuxian.

The only difference was that Shen Lingyan found this official very familiar; he was the one who was closest to Zhou Jin during the court sessions.

Dai Junwu also widened his eyes: “Song Kangan! Why are you here?” He sounded a little nervous as he spoke. Song Kangan walked in with an air of arrogance, offered a perfunctory bow that was even more dismissive than Zhou Jin’s was at first sight, and then began to speak sarcastically: “Your Majesty… what major event is taking place here that has troubled you to come? And you want to execute my cousin?”

Shen Lingyan intensely disliked this tone. She stood on the main seat, looked down at Song Kangan, knew the person’s intentions were hostile, and did not give Song Kangan any good face: “Embezzlement, forced abduction of civilian women, and even imprisoning me in jail. Which one of these charges does not warrant a death sentence?”

Song Kangan smiled without cause, looking quite chilling: “What embezzlement, what forced abduction of civilian women—Your Majesty must provide concrete evidence for these. As for the matter of imprisoning the two of you, it was simply his short-sightedness; you didn’t have your identity token. For the sake of fairness and justice, he had no choice but to lock the two of you up. If this matter must be pursued, then this official will present the secret decree of the founding minister to request a pardon for my cousin.”

Shen Lingyan was nearly laughed into a rage. She took the memorial that Li Xiuxian had submitted for disaster relief funds from Dai Junwu’s hands; the handwriting on it was indeed his.

“In that case, is there anything else you need to argue about…” Shen Lingyan explained to Song Kangan, using the very last bit of her patience. Unfortunately, Song Kangan, relying on his seniority, the fact that his ancestors and father were founding ministers, and his possession of the founding emperor’s secret decree granting exemption from all punishment, began to play dirty, repeatedly emphasizing that Shen Lingyan was simply seeking private revenge for public means. With many citizens watching, Song Kangan believed Shen Lingyan would not dare to refute him.

Just then, the door of the Prefectural Hall was pushed open again. This time, the people she had long been expecting finally arrived. Yun Zhu and Su Zhaozhao led a group of people, and the real show was just beginning…

………..

“Reporting to Your Majesty, the people have been brought,” Yun Zhu said as she entered, immediately noticing the malevolent-looking Song Kangan standing there, which naturally made her expression sour.

Shen Lingyan curved her lips into a slight smile. She was finally no longer anxious. She slowly sat down, her eyes fixed on Song Kang’an: “Is this not the evidence you demanded?”

Song Kangan’s face was dark. He slowly turned his head to look at the graceful girls from the Chunxing Courtyard, cursing Li Xiuxian silently for courting death, but still trying to argue: “Your Majesty is perhaps going too far, isn’t she? Finding a few courtesans and trying to falsely accuse an official of our court? This is to say, you would rather believe courtesans than believe the Provincial Governor Li Xiuxian. Where is the justice in that?”

Song Kangan was truly brainless. His utter disregard for his own reputation and status when speaking to Shen Lingyan was only because his ancestors had the Iron Scroll of Merit as Founding Fathers, which gave him an inflated sense of importance.

As he spoke those words, the atmosphere in the great hall became even more solidified. Dai Junwu even felt a headache on his behalf.

“I am the justice,” Shen Lingyan crossed her legs, one hand supporting her chin, the other idly playing with the phoenix hairpin in her hair. Her voice seemed casual but carried across the entire hall. Dai Junwu watched with slight awe. Now that the other important court officials, led by Song Kangan, were also present, this was truly the best time for Shen Lingyan to establish her authority.

Zhao Yinan, seeing the kneeling Li Xiuxian trembling all over with anger, knelt before Shen Lingyan and, along with the other girls, exposed the scars beneath their right earlobes. The sight was chilling.