
The sun had already risen as the trial room was filled with ministers and royal dignitaries. Under the Emperor's throne, there was a woman sitting on her knees with her hands tied. On his right and left were a middle-aged man and a middle-aged woman.
At first glance, the atmosphere of the trial felt very stressful.
The emperor sat leaning with a hard-to-understand look.
"Your Majesty, are you punishing her just because she's a little bit of a hindrance to your time?" ask the middle-aged man.
"just? So my queen's life doesn't matter?" ZiXuan laughed softly as he tapped on the table in front of him.
"No, Your Grace. It's not like that. The point of the servant is that His Majesty has known Ying'er for a long time. He was just too spoiled and worried about you that he already considered a brother. Yesterday, this girl was just too worried because you and the empress disappeared one full day. He made a mistake" said the middle-aged man trying to explain.
"Actually that's not all. Miss Ying, will you want to admit it yourself or will I help you?" ZiXuan looked at the girl who had lowered her head with those trembling shoulders.
"My daughter, what have you done?"
Qiu Ying raised her teary face as she grabbed her father's hand. "Dad—dad, Ying'er did nothing. What Ying'er did before was purely because Ying'er was too worried about Brother Xuan. Ying'er never intended to harm Empress Xuan. Ying'er also did not expect Brother Xuan to be this angry," he explained.
"Oh? Then you tell me, when Empress Xuan was taken hostage, why didn't you do anything? If it's because you can't fight, then why not tell me immediately or our soldiers?" tanya ZiXuan cornered her.
"Brother—"
"Call me Your Majesty!" cut it with emphasis.
"Yang—Your Majesty, Ying'er really has no ill intentions on Empress Xuan. Back then, Ying'er felt afraid that she could not make any effort to prevent the bandit from bringing Empress Xuan along."
Qiu's family mistress, Leiya, immediately hugged her daughter who looked extremely shaken. "Your Majesty, I'm sorry if I cut off your conversation, but it is natural that in a confused and depressed condition, someone be it a man or a woman must not be able to make a quick move, even just talking about it will be difficult. My Ying'er grew up in a family that loved her too much. Whatever he wants, we give it to him. It was our fault as parents that it made her grow up as a girl who was too spoiled."
"Mrs Qiu, I understand your point, but that reason you can't use on everyone. Also, you yourself say, this is the omission of her parents, but your daughter is no longer a child. He should be able to distinguish between good and bad. He can decide his own path. Parents who always cover up their children's mistakes are also not good. It will make the child have no sense of responsibility and become a burden for others. You should also be aware of who you are talking to right now."
"Your Majesty, please forgive my wife and please forgive my daughter this time only. I will discipline him more, this will not happen again in the future," Qiu Lang pleaded. He knelt down and bowed beside his daughter.
"I wanted to let go, but from the beginning your daughter didn't say honesty at all. I gave him a chance, but he wasted it. Really disappointed me." ZiXuan let out a long breath. He opened a box and threw the contents at Qiu Lang. It fell right in front of the middle-aged man's knee. "Then, try saying what is it?" continue with a flat expression.
With trembling hands, Qiu Lang took it. "This—what does this mean, Your Majesty? What does this have to do with this thing?"
ZiXuan smiled obliquely and said, "Try asking your daughter, where she was when the initial incident started. I think you've heard it. In addition to the incident of being held hostage, before that there was someone who intended to hurt him. The arrow you hold is coated with poison. It was also the same arrow that injured Empress Xuan. You know him, right?"
Hearing that, the people who were at the trial started to steal glances at the arrows that Prime Minister Qiu Lang was holding, but did not find anything strange there.
"That belongs to your daughter. There's a carving of his name there. You can't possibly not recognize him, right?"
The next sentence ZiXuan uttered made the ministers present, start whispering.
Looking at the arrow, Qiu Ying's face suddenly pias. "Your Majesty, it's—it's mine, but I lost that arrow a week ago."
"Your Majesty, this must be a misunderstanding. Someone must have deliberately wanted to take down our family."
"Prime Minister Qiu Ying, this evidence is already very clear. Your daughter has committed an unforgivable crime, tried to kill Empress Xuan. His Majesty the Emperor, we all know the Prime Minister Qiu family has a lot of contributions, as well as the loyalty of the previous generations. But if the succeeding generations tried to harm the imperial family, there was no reason to let go! Please uphold justice for Empress Xuan!" The voice came from a man who looked more senior than everyone there.
Qiu Lang turned his head, looking at the man who looked older than him with a look of dislike.
Most people agreed to what the old man said. They were whispering to guess what conspiracy was going on. The small part chooses to be neutral.
"Mr Du, there's no need to worry. I know what I'm going to do. Of course, a guilty person will still be punished."
"Your Majesty, I beg your mercy on my family. Ying'er is my only daughter. Using the loyalty of our family all this time, please Your Majesty forgive Qiu Ying just this once," Qiu Lang kneeled down pleading.
The atmosphere of the trial momentarily became silent until a servant, unwittingly approached towards Li Wei. He whispered something after that lowered his head and left from there.
Li Wei who was standing in the corner of the room immediately drew closer to the throne where Emperor Xuan was seated.
ZiXuan raised his eyebrows as if asking 'What's wrong?' to his personal bodyguard.
Li Wei lowered his head and whispered something that made ZiXuan glance at him. The man immediately got up and walked away from the trial room without saying anything.
Everyone was shocked, but of course no one dared to stop him.
"Trial adjourned. Please return the ministers first," Li Wei said. He also left from alone.
Seeing ZiXuan who had already disappeared from behind the door, Qiu Lang took the initiative to chase after him. After all, Qiu Ying's fate was still not exactly safe.
"Your Majesty," called out to him who had been behind ZiXuan.
"Isn't the trial adjourned? What are you chasing me for?"
"Your Majesty, I beg you very much to release Qiu Ying this time alone. The servant can guarantee in the future, the child will not make this kind of mistake again. He is my only descendant. How am I going to explain to my ancestor up there if I fail to protect him? After all, before Qiu BingDing died in his sacrifice, Qiu Ying was his beloved grandson. To my father, Qiu BingDing, can't you let go this time?"
ZiXuan snorted softly. The old man behind him perfectly understood how to use his last hole card. "Just watch your daughter. Don't let him make any more mistakes."
Qiu Lang nodded in spirit and said, "Alright. The servant will do it. Your Majesty don't worry, something like this won't happen again. For that found arrow, I will look for the real culprit who has harmed Her Majesty Empress Xuan."
"If there's nothing else, you go. Don't follow!"
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