Chapter 117: A Sudden Plot Twist

Among the crowd of onlookers stood a young person dressed in white, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, a short sword at their waist, and leather boots. They had a delicate oval face, clear almond-shaped eyes, and fair skin. This was Bai Tingting, the daughter of Bai Qiulian, who had disguised herself as a man to slip into the crowd and listen to the proceedings.

Bai Qiulian was tall, but even so, she still lacked the height of some of the taller men around her. Looking around, Bai Tingting spotted the eaves of a nearby restaurant. With a light tap of her foot, she leaped onto the shoulders of those standing nearby and vaulted up onto the roof. From this vantage point, she finally caught sight of the "dead eunuch" her mother kept talking about.

"Not bad looking, a pity he's a eunuch." Bai Tingting disliked Bai Qiulian, so she had a favorable impression of Long Chen.

In the plaza, under the gaze of everyone, the Empress nodded and gave her consent to disclose the autopsy results from the Censorate. Bai Qiulian was overjoyed and urged, "Censor Bai, announce it now!"

Bai Anning turned around helplessly, and the crowd fell silent. "Yesterday, upon opening the coffin for examination, we found that General Shui Han's jawbone had been shattered by a heavy blow, and there were puncture marks from a sharp weapon on his sternum. No other recent wounds from combat were found on the body."

"Therefore, the Censorate concludes that General Shui Han was killed by a blow to the head while simultaneously being pierced through the heart by a sharp blade."

As Bai Anning finished speaking, the officials and the commoners remained in stunned silence. They had all read the Censorate’s inquiry documents; according to Di Luoxi and Long Chen, Shui Han had died in battle against Shangguan Wei. If it had been a battle, there would surely have been other injuries, but the autopsy results indicated the exact opposite. Thus, Di Luoxi and Long Chen had lied.

Bai Qiulian pressed further, "Censor Bai, did you leave anything out?"

Bai Anning lowered his head in silence. Bai Qiulian shouted, "There is one more thing! According to the autopsy, General Shui Han’s hands and feet were bound at the time of his death!"

A roar erupted—the quiet plaza suddenly exploded! This news was sensational. Being bound hand and foot meant that Shui Han had not died in battle, but had been executed.

"Bound hand and foot? By whom?"
"General Shui Han’s cultivation was not low; how could he have been bound?"
"Could it be that General Shui Han was captured by Shangguan Wei?"
"Impossible, Shangguan Wei was defeated, we won, and we even captured Caishi City."
"That would mean..."

All eyes turned toward Di Luoxi and Long Chen; they already had their suspicions, or rather, the answer. At this moment, Jing Tianlie stood up from his seat and walked to the center of the plaza. Outside, soldiers clad in crimson armor dragged a coffin into the arena.

*Bang!*

The coffin hit the ground with a dull, heavy thud. The Empress frowned, and Ying Feng stepped forward, asking, "Great General, what is the meaning of this?"

Jing Tianlie bowed to the Empress. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I brought General Shui Han’s coffin so that he may hear today’s judgment!"

The court fell into a deathly silence again. The Empress’s expression was solemn, but she said nothing more. Jing Tianlie walked to the side of the coffin and said to Di Luoxi and Long Chen, "You two, come out and explain yourselves!"

Jing Heng looked at Long Chen with schadenfreude and said, "Minister Long, please!"

Di Luoxi and Long Chen remained in their seats, looking at each other from a distance; neither spoke. The officials and commoners below began to buzz with speculation, all claiming the two of them were guilty.

Seeing that the moment had arrived, Jing Tianlie added, "On that day in Linjiang City, someone saw Shui Han being led into a room by Long Cheng'en, then the Fourth Princess entered as well, and shortly after, Shui Han died suddenly!"

"Therefore, Shui Han was murdered by the Fourth Princess and Long Cheng'en! He did not die in battle!"

*Boom...*

The officials and commoners were incensed; the news was too explosive. Di Luoxi slowly rose from her seat, and Long Chen stood up as well, walking toward the coffin. Everyone waited for their explanation.

"You speak?"
"Let me handle it."

Long Chen signaled for Di Luoxi to return to her seat, and she complied. Long Chen stood beside Jing Tianlie, a look of helplessness in his eyes. He whispered, "Great General, I did this for your own good, and for the sake of Great Zhou, but you forced my hand."

Jing Tianlie’s cold, arrogant expression flickered as he asked in a low voice, "What do you mean?"

Long Chen ignored him, bowed to the Empress, and turned to the officials and the people. "Everyone, the Censorate’s autopsy is completely accurate!"

The crowd was shocked, but remained still, watching Long Chen intently.

"Shui Han did not die from wounds sustained in battle; he was executed!"

When Long Chen finished, the officials and the people finally erupted.

"Executed? That means Shui Han was guilty—and it was a capital offense!"
"Why would this be? Shui Han was clearly a hero."
"What is going on? What is happening?"

The crowd became chaotic. The Empress stood up and demanded, "Long Cheng'en, explain yourself clearly! Why was he executed? Why did I not know of this?"

Di Yuwei and Di Xingwan both looked toward Di Luoxi.

Bai Qiulian jumped up and shouted, "What execution? This was a lynching, the murder of a great general! I beg Your Majesty to execute this rogue!"

Long Chen bowed. "The Minister of Revenue, Jing Heng, knows this best! Let him speak!"

The officials and the people were bewildered. Why had the focus shifted to Jing Heng? The Empress looked at him, and beads of cold sweat broke out on Jing Tianlie’s back; he sensed danger.

Jing Heng trembled, his legs turning to jelly, and he shrieked in terror, "How would I know? Don't you dare try to frame me!"

The Empress turned back to Long Chen. "What is going on? Stop playing games!"

Long Chen walked to the front of the Empress, pulled a scorched secret letter from his sleeve, and presented it to her.

"Because Shui Han was colluding with the enemy, and the one who incited him was Jing Heng!"

"This is a secret letter written by Jing Heng to Shui Han, ordering him to leak the defense plans of Linjiang City to Shangguan Wei."

"Because of Shui Han’s betrayal, Shangguan Wei broke through the West Gate, and 40,000 of our Great Zhou soldiers were killed!"

Long Chen’s voice boomed like a clap of spring thunder. Everyone looked at Jing Heng with utter disbelief. The events of the day had turned so many times that heads were spinning. Shui Han had gone from martyr to traitor; Long Cheng'en from murderer to justice-seeker; and Jing Tianlie from judge to the accused.

Jing Tianlie was dumbfounded. Instinctively, he roared, "Nonsense!" and launched a punch directly at Long Chen.

Long Chen had been prepared. As the fist flew toward him, he put all his strength into blocking the strike.

*Bang!*

Long Chen’s sleeve burst apart, leaving his bare arm exposed. His left arm split open, and blood dripped down. He was injured, but he had successfully blocked Jing Tianlie’s punch.

High atop the Half-Moon Tower, Ji Ba’s eyes narrowed in surprise. "He blocked it? A miracle!"

Jing Tianlie was a peak Martial Emperor, the second most powerful cultivator in Great Zhou. Long Chen was merely a eunuch who had appeared out of nowhere, yet he had actually withstood a blow from Jing Tianlie.

"Jing Tianlie!" Di Luoxi shouted in a rage, flashing in front of Long Chen. Zhang Qian and the others drew their swords simultaneously, surrounding Long Chen.

The Empress barked harshly, "Jing Tianlie, what do you think you are doing!"