The crescent moon smiled merrily, its faint light illuminating the gates of the government office.
Zhang Ting sat strictly and majestically before his tribunal table, while the members of the Ye family stood in the middle of the hall.
“Lord Zhang, I have suffered a monumental grievance. I beg you, Lord Zhang, to uphold justice for me.”
“You must apprehend this shameless woman and cold-blooded murderer, bring her to justice, cleanse the grievance of my Ye family, and bring solace to the souls of the departed…”
Ye Changlin clasped his hands in salutation, his voice heavy with sorrow, old tears streaming down his face.
High up on the bench, Lord Zhang, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, saw that the plaintiff was none other than the Minister of Rites, Ye Changlin. His eyes widened, his mouth fell open, and he looked exactly as if he had seen a ghost.
“Lord Zhang, we beg you to make decisions on behalf of our Ye family and bring the person who murdered my mother to justice.”
Ye Jinmo also clasped his hands in salutation, his cold face radiating profound grief.
Zhang Ting sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.
Isn’t this Young General Ye, who just returned to the capital after achieving grand military merits?
Tomorrow in the Imperial Garden, the Emperor has even prepared a victory feast for him!
In the dead of night, what kind of farce is the Ye family playing at?
A third-rank official coming to file a complaint before him, a lower fourth-rank official?
And demanding that he uphold justice for him?
This joke has truly gone too far!
Why didn’t he go straight to His Majesty to demand justice instead?
Zhang Ting suddenly detected a faint scent of conspiracy.
However, since they had struck the grievance-drum of the Court of Judicial Review, and there were ten times more commoners outside than usual watching the spectacle, Zhang Ting could only brace himself and speak up.
“Oh, Lord Ye, Young General Ye, what are you doing?”
“What exactly happened that has driven you, Lord Ye, and Young General Ye to cry grievance at the Court of Judicial Review?”
“Rest assured, this official will certainly uphold justice for you and bring whoever bullied the Ye family to justice!”
Ye Changlin wiped away his old tears, “Many thanks, Lord Zhang!”
“If it weren’t out of absolute desperation, I, Ye Changlin, would not have caused such a scene at the Court of Judicial Review today.”
Zhang Ting nodded, wearing a look that said I understand.
To drive Lord Ye to this point, it must indeed be a monumental grievance.
Ye Changlin glared furiously at Chen-shi, who was pinned to her knees by the servants, “Lord Zhang, today I, Ye Changlin, accuse Chen-shi of hiding adulterers in her courtyard, of rampant debauchery, and furthermore, of hiring assassins to commit murder and burn down the home of my virtuous late wife!”
“I request Lord Zhang to sentence Chen-shi to death!”
Hearing this, Zhang Ting’s fury flared up. He slammed the gavel down fiercely, “Chen-shi, how dare you! Hiding adulterers in your courtyard, engaging in rampant debauchery, hiring assassins to commit murder, and killing Lord Ye’s virtuous wife! You must have eaten a bear’s heart and a leopard’s gall to dare rebel against the heavens!”
Lord Ye is so pitiful!
Zhang Ting declared angrily, “Come! Throw Chen-shi into the condemned…”
Before the word “cell” could leave his mouth, Zhang Miaomiao, the Director of the Court of Judicial Review standing beside him, gently reminded him in a low voice.
“My Lord, this Chen-shi is Lord Ye’s second wife, the legitimate second daughter of Grand Tutor Chen!”
Zhang Ting let out a sharp hiss, his eyes widening even further.
Chen-shi hid adulterers in her courtyard and engaged in rampant debauchery?
Everyone in the Court of Judicial Review turned to look at Ye Changlin.
Lord Ye was cuckolded, yet he made such a massive public uproar about it?
Was he afraid that others wouldn’t know he had been given a green hat?
The expressions on everyone’s faces looked as if they had seen a ghost.
Wouldn’t a normal family cover up this kind of matter as tightly as possible?
The crowd outside, which had been bustling and noisy just a moment ago, suddenly went dead silent.
This was simply too bizarre and unimaginable!
Zhazha: 【Little Chuchu, your father cried grievance along the street, and someone went to the Grand Tutor’s Residence to inform Grand Tutor Chen!】
Ye Chuchu: 【So Grand Tutor Chen is rushing over here right now?】
Zhazha: 【Mm-hmm! Just a moment ago, Grand Tutor Chen was painting an oil painting on a maid’s body.】
Ye Chuchu: 【Wow, what refined tastes! To actually paint an oil painting on a maid’s body. Hehe, is it the completely naked kind?】
Zhazha: 【Yes, yes!】
【When he learned that something happened to Chen-shi, he was so anxious that he dashed over here without even putting on his underpants.】
Ye Chuchu: 【Ah… in such a rush!】
【Hehe, what if Grand Tutor Chen’s pants fall down in front of the crowd? Wouldn’t that…】
Zhazha: 【Little Chuchu, according to the data… it’s very small, nothing much to look at.】
Ye Chuchu: 【Zhazha, what are you thinking? Even if it’s small, he is still the Grand Tutor! It won’t stop him from dying of embarrassment!】
Ye Changlin’s eyes widened, and he nearly fainted from suffocation.
Rebellious daughter, do you have any sense of shame at all?
They can’t hear it, these people can’t hear this rebellious daughter’s inner thoughts.
Ye Jinmo tugged at Ye Chuchu, a faint blush appearing on his cold face.
Little Sister, I beg of you, stop talking!
Failing to understand why, Ye Chuchu smiled at Ye Jinmo: 【Zhazha, why do you think my eldest brother is tugging at me?】
Zhazha: 【I don’t know either. Little Chuchu, your eldest brother might be trying to protect you.】
Ye Chuchu: 【Ah? Protect me?】
Zhazha: 【Because that old geezer sitting up there has been staring straight at you. Could this old geezer have developed feelings for you?】
Ye Chuchu looked at Zhang Ting sitting up front. A pair of small eyes was indeed staring dead at her, bulging so much that the eyeballs looked ready to pop out.
Ye Chuchu blinked her eyes: 【Zhazha, why do I feel like this old geezer looks like he’s seen a ghost instead?】
【I don’t see any lustful look in his eyes at all.】
Zhang Ting felt that he had truly seen a ghost!
Just as he was about to berate Ye Chuchu, he suddenly felt as though his neck was being throttled by a ghost, making it completely impossible to produce any sound.
Up ahead, his late great-grandmother even seemed to be waving at him.
Only after Zhang Ting abandoned the thought of berating Ye Chuchu did his late great-grandmother vanish from his sight.
As if he had seen a ghost, Zhang Ting tightly grabbed the hand of Zhang Miaomiao, the Director of the Court of Judicial Review beside him.
Looking at Zhang Miaomiao’s expression, it was evident that he, too, had heard that young girl’s inner thoughts.
Ye Changlin and Ye Jinmo secretly observed the expressions of everyone around them.
Right, half of the people could hear Chuchu’s inner thoughts, while the other half could not.
Zhang Ting looked at Ye Changlin, his eyes filled with silent inquiry.
Ye Changlin first nodded at Zhang Ting, and then shook his head.
In order to prevent his younger sister’s inner thoughts from continuing, Ye Jinmo cupped his hands and said, “Lord Zhang, I beg you to uphold justice for my Ye family.”
“Chen-shi is my father’s second wife, yet she purchased male actors from the Xiongfeng Pavilion, made them dress in women’s clothing as maids, and had them serve her in her courtyard. They sang and made merry every night in rampant debauchery.”
“Pity my father, who was so swamped with official duties, to be treated in such a manner by Chen-shi.”
Ye Jinmo pointed at the four male actors kneeling at the back, “These are all the male actors Chen-shi bought from the Xiongfeng Pavilion.”
The four male actors hurriedly nodded, “Lord, we were also left with no choice.”
“It was all forced upon us by Chen-shi!”
“Wuuu…”
Among them, the male actor who had picked up the princess even began to cry sorrowfully.
The crowd instantly erupted into chaos!
“This Chen-shi really knows how to play wild. Just how insatiable must she be to raise four male actors in her courtyard?”
“Oh my good mother, Lord Ye is truly too miserable!”
“What an immoral, unchaste woman!”
“…”
Looking at the panicked Chen-shi, Ye Jinmo continued, “Not only that, fifteen years ago, when my father passed the imperial examination as the top scholar, Chen-shi fell in love with my father at first sight.”
“Upon learning that my father already had a wife and children, she hired assassins to go to the countryside, set fire to our thatched cottage, and murdered my mother!”
Ye Jinmo’s eyes turned crimson: “To save me, my second younger sister, and my third younger sister, my mother fought with the thugs and was burned to death inside the thatched cottage!”
With a swoosh, Ye Jinmo dropped to his knees: “Lord Zhang, my mother has suffered a tragic death for over a decade while the killer has lived so comfortably, escaping the net of justice. I beg Lord Zhang to sentence Chen-shi to death!”