The atmosphere in the palace felt extremely tense. It was difficult to tell if it was because of what Shan Yu said, or because of her rage.
Fang Zhengzhi didn’t look at Lin Tianrong. He smiled at Shan Yu, “What if I told you it was?”
“What?!”
The crowd was in uproar.
Why would Fang Zhengzhi say that? Even if he talked in hypotheticals, this was also equivalent to pushing the blame to the Crown Prince.
Such audacity…
“Is he really trying to push this to the Crown Prince?”
“He could be executed for this!”
“Well… he would be executed anyways… right?”
The crowd looked at each other, eyes on the verge of popping out of their sockets.
The officials standing behind the Crown Prince were equally shocked. They were not shocked by Fang Zhengzhi’s audacity…
They were shocked that Fang Zhengzhi would say such a thing with no evidence on hand.
However, they did not say anything. They simply looked at Shan Yu and waited for her reply.
“You bloody b*stard, how dare you accuse the Crown Prince?” Shan Yu replied in fury.
“This isn’t a false accusation. You will find out the truth if you investigate it but would you dare to?” Fang Zhengzhi replied calmly.
“Why won’t I?”
“Okay then, what if you find out that the Crown Prince was guilty?”
“If what you said is true, I will fight for justice till my very last breath! But if you lie to me, I will kill you where you stand!” Shan Yu replied ferociously.
“Good! We will do as you say!” Fang Zhengzhi nodded and turned to look at the Crown Prince, “Your Highness, what do you say?”
“Rubbish! Fang Zhengzhi, how dare you slander me? It is a heinous crime to sabotage relations with our valuable allies!” Crown Prince Lin Tianrong couldn’t take it any longer.
He bellowed when he heard Fang Zhengzhi’s question.
He didn’t even wait for the officials behind him to speak.
“Your Highness, do you have a guilty conscience?” Fang Zhengzhi smirked and asked when he saw the Crown Prince lose his cool.
“Your Highness…”
“Your Highness, don’t let him get to you!”
“Yes, he is just spouting rubbish, why bother with him?”
The officials were slightly anxious when they saw the Crown Prince confront Fang Zhengzhi.
“Humph, I know that I am innocent. This case was closed over a year ago! You killed Shan Ling. Why would I falsely accuse you?” Crown Prince Lin Tianrong peeked at Emperor Lin Mubai and he clenched his fists.
“Your Highness, what evidence do you have?” Fang Zhengzhi asked.
“Evidence?” Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was stunned. The case had been closed over a year ago.
Fang Zhengzhi should be the one to provide evidence to reopen the case. The burden of proof was not on him.
However, he still grit his teeth.
“Official Su was the only one who was there. Furthermore, I was stabbed by you! There is a witness and physical evidence. What more can you say for yourself?” Crown Prince Lin Tianrong added.
“I’m afraid not. Your Highness, you are now a suspect as well. According to the law, you cannot testify against me. What physical evidence do you have?” Fang Zhengzhi replied.
“Are you trying to wiggle your way out of this?” Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was furious.
“The law clearly states that a judgment cannot be passed based solely on a human witness. Am I wrong?” Fang Zhengzhi added.
The expressions of all the officials changed at that moment.
They couldn’t possibly stop the confrontation between Crown Prince Lin Tianrong and Fang Zhengzhi. Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi was right. If Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was a suspect, there was only one witness to the crime.
Under such circumstances…
A judgment could not be passed.
That being said, who would have suspected that the Crown Prince would kill Shan Ling?
Things were changing much too quickly.
The officials remained silent and the Crown Prince grit his teeth. He couldn’t tolerate being questioned by a peasant.
This was a direct challenge to his authority.
“Fang Zhengzhi, you claim that the Crown Prince killed Shan Ling. What motive would he have? If he did not have a motive, why would he murder Shan Ling?” One of the officials stepped forward when he saw the look the Crown Prince shot at him.
The other officials recovered quickly when they heard this. Their eyes brightened up instantly.
“Exactly, why would the Crown Prince kill Shan Ling? That is a ridiculous accusation!”
“Official Li is right!”
“He can’t be a suspect if he doesn’t have any reasonable motive. Fang Zhengzhi, don’t try to fool us!”
The officials began to step forward and berate Fang Zhengzhi.
Crown Prince Lin Tianrong heaved a sigh of relief. If not for the fact that the official had stepped forward, he would have completely forgotten about this.
By law, he couldn’t be a suspect if he didn’t have anything to gain from the murder.
“Well done, Fang Zhengzhi! You nearly made me fall into your trap!” Crown Prince Lin Tianrong smirked. He did have a motive for killing Shan Ling.
However…
No one would dare to say it.
Shan Ling wanted to be an Emperor.
Crown Prince Lin Tianrong would never let him live. He would only cause more trouble if he took over the leadership of the Southern Region one day. The Crown Prince had decided to kill him the moment he met Shan Ling in the Iron Hill Settlement.
However, this was a huge crime! He needed a valid reason or a good scapegoat.
Fang Zhengzhi provided him with both.
Violating the Princess!
Then, having gained Shan Ling’s trust, he would kill him and pin it on Fang Zhengzhi. He would gain so much in this one maneuver.
However, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong never expected that Shan Ling would release Fang Zhengzhi before his death.
This…
Was what resulted in today’s stalemate.
“Fang Zhengzhi, you are the one with the motive to kill Shan Ling!” The official who had stepped forward first spoke up once again.
The crowd and the surrounding officials nodded their agreement.
Fang Zhengzhi had violated the Princess.
This gave him a reason to kill Shan Ling. Furthermore, Lin Tianrong had no reason to kill Shan Ling. Fang Zhengzhi was the clear suspect here.
“Fang Zhengzhi, what do you have to say for yourself?”
“You claimed to be Fang Zhengzheng at the city gates. Now, you are admitting to both the crime and your identity. You can’t run anymore!”
“Men! Arrest this criminal!”
The officials began shouting when they saw that Fang Zhengzhi was silent.
“Who dares?!” Ping Yang’s voice rang out, her red and golden dress dancing in the wind. She looked at all the officials.
“Your Highness, this case is clear as day…”
“Yes, why are you protecting him, your highness?”
“Let the law do its thing.”
The officials knew that Ping Yang was domineering and that she was a bully. However, they were not prepared to let Fang Zhengzhi off.
Over the past 10 days…
Wan Chong had been incarcerated…
Then, the trail of letters had sent many of them into panic. Afterward, Left Prime Minister Yu Yiping and two Assistant Ministers of Law had been arrested. Minister of War Shen Ming was also kneeling at the Ten Mile Lake.
This told them one thing…
Fang Zhengzhi had prepared for his return to the capital.
No one knew who his next target was, but they knew that they would feel safer without him around.
“Your Highness, please move aside. Young Master Yan… I am sure Prince Yan doesn’t know about what you did today!” The officials closed in.
Crown Prince Lin Tianrong smirked.
The courts.
This was not a place for the peasants. He had already solidified his position in the courts over the past year.
Fang Zhengzhi would not be able to topple him so easily.
“Naive!” Crown Prince Lin Tianrong chuckled. He could already foresee Fang Zhengzhi’s fate.
Once Fang Zhengzhi was in jail, he had 101 ways to kill him.
Even if the Minister of Law was Wen Chuan and not Wan Chong…
He would still be able to make things happen.
As long as he was still the Crown Prince, he would be able to ensure that Wan Chong and Yu Yiping would not be convicted.
Princess Shan Yu turned to look at Fang Zhengzhi, her eyes filled with panic. She could guess what Fang Zhengzhi was planning.
She had tried her best to follow his plan.
However, just as they were about to succeed…
This had happened. This was something that she did not expect and could not have predicted.
“What do I do now?” Princess Shan Yu began to weigh her options. Could she call for his arrest?
Yan Xiu’s body was surrounded by a red aura.
A red light began flickering at his fingertips. He could see the position Fang Zhengzhi was in. In fact, Fang Zhengzhi had excluded him from this plan.
Fang Zhengzhi didn’t even greet him when he walked out of the crowd.
Yan Xiu had no way of knowing what Fang Zhengzhi’s trump card was. He also had no idea if Fang Zhengzhi had a way to get himself out of this.
“Yes, I did have a motive to and the Crown Prince didn’t!” Fang Zhengzhi turned to look at the officials.
“Since you admit to it, why aren’t you surrendering?!”
“Do you really want to see the Princess and Young Master Yan commit a crime because of you?”
“This case is closed. There is nothing more that you can say.”
The officials smirked as they said this. Fang Zhengzhi was a dead man walking.
At that moment, a figure stepped forward from the line of officials. His eyes were glittering.
This was Chi Hou of the Divine Constabulary.
“Fang Zhengzhi, everyone knows that you were a key factor in the victory in the Southern Region. You may have killed Shan Ling in a moment of impulse, but if you surrender now and ask for forgiveness, you may still live!” Chi Hou’s voice reverberated throughout the palace.
The crowd fell silent when they heard this. They all knew how important Fang Zhengzhi was in the battle.
Even if Fang Zhengzhi had killed the Crown Prince of the Southern Region by accident, one couldn’t ignore all of his contributions.
Furthermore…
Shan Yu had said so herself.
She did not strike Fang Zhengzhi down where he stood because of what he did. Shan Yu did not plan on executing Fang Zhengzhi.
Crown Prince Lin Tianrong’s eyes glowed icily when he heard this. Chi Hou sounded as though he was asking Fang Zhengzhi to stand down.
However, he was effectively throwing Fang Zhengzhi a lifeline.
“Yes, Fang Zhengzhi did contribute much to our victory in the Southern Region. However, the law is impartial! He will have to die for his crimes! He killed the Crown Prince of the Southern Region! That is a heinous crime!” The Crown Prince had no intention of letting Fang Zhengzhi live.
“The Crown Prince is right! The country must be governed by law and order! We will reward him for his contributions but he must be punished for his crimes! They cannot cancel each other out.”
“Yes, they must be treated separately!”
“A murderer must die for his crimes. Even if the Queen of the Southern Region is merciful, we cannot let a murderer run free in our lands!”
Countless officials stood forward to push the Crown Prince’s arguments.
Chi Hou frowned. Just as he was about to step forward and say something else, he noticed that Fang Zhengzhi was smiling radiantly.
“Why is this guy smiling when he is staring death in the face?” Chi Hou couldn’t understand it. Even though he wasn’t close to Fang Zhengzhi, he did not want to see Fang Zhengzhi die this way.
At that moment, Fang Zhengzhi’s voice rang out.
“Yes, the murderer should die for his crimes. A country must be anchored in law and order. This man should be executed even if the Queen of the Southern Region decides to be merciful!” Fang Zhengzhi smiled.
However…
Chi Hou was stunned.
“Has this guy lost his mind?”