Chapter Five: Silicon Dioxide
Page (1/3)
“Li Yunjie!” Su Qingmeng could bear it no longer and snapped, “What kind of madness is this?!”
After speaking, she turned back and addressed Zhao Heng with respect, “Your Highness, the Crown Prince, Young Lord Li is somewhat confused today. I beg your Highness not to take offense.”
A bead of fragrant sweat slid down Su Qingmeng’s forehead as her throat tightened. Her hands, clasped in salute, were so tense they trembled.
“Qingmeng, my dear,” Zhao Heng approached her slowly, a wicked smile on his lips. Leaning close to her ear, he murmured,
“If only you had chosen me in the beginning—”
“Your Su family would not have fallen into the hands of that good-for-nothing Li Yunjie today.”
“But it isn’t too late to turn back now.”
“I am willing to give you this chance.”
As he spoke, Zhao Heng twirled a lock of her hair around his fingertip and brought it to his nose, inhaling deeply with an infatuated expression and half-closed, intoxicated eyes. The look on his face was utterly depraved.
“Tsk—” Li Yunjie’s features scrunched together in revulsion. Her husband was right here—what kind of shameless display was this...
He drew the kitchen knife from Eleven’s waist in a flash.
With a swift motion, he severed the strand of hair in Zhao Heng’s hand.
“Your Highness, please conduct yourself with dignity.” Li Yunjie wrapped his arm around Su Qingmeng’s delicate shoulders as he spoke, exuding the air of an imperious magnate.
Though Su Qingmeng was a renowned general of the capital, she was still an inexperienced young woman. It was the first time a man had held her like this; her slender body trembled, and her little ears turned scarlet.
“How dare you be so insolent to the Crown Prince!”
Bai Xue, seeing Zhao Heng insulted, was about to draw her sword in fury, but Zhao Heng stopped her.
“Why bother with a man who is as good as dead?” Zhao Heng glanced contemptuously at the severed lock of hair in his hand.
With that, he strode away under the escort of the Xuanwu Guards.
“Call for a joint session of the Three Judicial Offices!”
“I will see this spectacle with my own eyes!”
His voice echoed in the great hall long after he had gone.
“Father!” Su Qingmeng shook off Li Yunjie’s hand from her shoulder. “What do we do now?!”
Su Ming, as always, remained calm. He cast a sidelong glance at Li Yunjie. “It was not I who caused this trouble, so why ask me?”
With a faint smile at the corners of his lips, he turned and left without concern.
“Li Yunjie.”
Su Qingmeng furrowed her brows. Her tone had lost its earlier sharpness, now tinged with worry.
She sighed deeply, turned her back to him, and said in a low voice, “I wrongly accused you before.”
“The evidence against Taihu Academy is irrefutable now.”
“Do you really think your petty cleverness will get you out of this before the Three Judicial Offices?!”
“Though your conduct is reckless, it is not worth a death sentence.”
“We may not have a true husband and wife’s bond, but we are married in name.”
Page (2/3)
“Take my waist token and leave the city at once!”
With that, Su Qingmeng removed the jade token from her waist and held it out behind her.
~
No one responded. Su Qingmeng turned around in confusion.
“Where did he go?!”
......
Ministry of Justice.
In the courtroom.
Zhao Heng was seated at the head, with Su Ming by his side.
Minister He Xumin presided, with officials from the Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate assisting.
“Bang!”
The wooden block struck the desk with a sharp crack.
He Xumin nodded slightly to Zhao Heng, affecting a solemn manner. “Young Lord Li, what brings you to the Ministry of Justice today?”
“Playing dumb when you know the truth,” Li Yunjie cursed inwardly.
He had caught the meaningful glances exchanged between He Xumin and Zhao Heng earlier and was none too pleased.
“I’ve come today to help you solve the case,” Li Yunjie stepped forward.
“Whether it is the Prime Minister’s residence or the Prince of Qiyang’s estate—”
“In both cases, someone is framing Taihu Academy!”
At those words, the hall erupted in murmurs.
“Young Lord Li,” He Xumin coughed lightly to steady himself, “forgive me for speaking bluntly.”
“The evidence that Taihu Academy entered the capital and caused trouble is overwhelming—why do you say otherwise?”
Li Yunjie smiled slightly. “Indeed.”
“Whether it is the academy’s talisman found on the Qiyang Prince’s guards—”
“The Xingyi Talisman discovered in the Prime Minister’s residence—”
“Or the academy’s swordsmanship used by the assassins—”
“All the evidence currently points to Taihu Academy.”
He Xumin sneered, “If that is so, what more is there to say?”
Li Yunjie remained unhurried. He clapped his hands and exchanged a glance with Eleven.
Immediately, a woman in purple was brought to the center of the hall.
“This woman’s name is Zilan, a dancing girl from Drunken Moon Pavilion.”
“She was performing at the wedding feast in the Prime Minister’s residence on the night of the crime.”
Li Yunjie’s voice was firm and clear.
This courtesan had never witnessed such a scene before; her legs gave way and she collapsed to her knees with a thud.
“Your humble servant greets the honored officials!”
The officials exchanged puzzled glances, uncertain of Li Yunjie’s intentions.
“Young Lord, what is the meaning of this?”
“She is a witness.” Li Yunjie lifted a corner of his mouth. “Repeat to the officials what you told me yesterday.”
Zilan swallowed hard and stammered, “A-a few days ago—”
Page (3/3)
“A man who claimed to be a student of Taihu Academy came to me.”
“He gave me a yellow talisman and said that if I placed it on the young master, I would receive fifty taels of silver.”
“My mother at home is gravely ill. That silver would save her life, so I lost my senses...”
The officials looked at one another, bewildered.
“Is Young Lord Li confused?” He Xumin sneered, “Setting aside whether a courtesan’s testimony is reliable—”
“Even if I believe her, her words only prove Taihu Academy is the true culprit.”
“How is this a frame-up?!”
Zilan’s testimony did indeed incriminate Taihu Academy.
Now, with both physical and testimonial evidence, the case seemed closed.
“Are you stupid?!” Li Yunjie suddenly pointed at He Xumin’s nose and cursed, “If you were framing someone, would you reveal your identity?!”
Enlightenment struck!
He Xumin’s face darkened; clearly, they had all overlooked this detail.
The culprit’s actions were far too blatant.
It was as if the clues had been left deliberately, which made no sense at all!
At the front of the hall, Zhao Heng seemed to sense a trace of danger and frowned slightly.
“But this alone does not absolve Taihu Academy,” He Xumin interjected.
“The talisman, the academy’s swordplay—”
“How do you explain these methods unique to Taihu Academy?!”
Li Yunjie smiled calmly.
He drew from his sleeve half of a broken talisman.
“This is physical evidence!”
Li Yunjie declared with confidence, “A high-level talisman of Taihu Academy—the Xingyi Talisman!”
Upon seeing it, He Xumin’s expression brightened.
Such good fortune?
He had been lamenting the lack of physical evidence to convict Taihu Academy, and here Li Yunjie offered it up himself.
The bailiff presented the yellow talisman, and He Xumin scrutinized it carefully for a long time.
“Minister He, do you not see anything amiss?” Li Yunjie hinted.
He Xumin frowned, examined the half-talisman over and over, and passed it to the others for inspection.
Both the texture of the paper and the cinnabar marks were indeed from Taihu Academy.
“There is nothing wrong with it,” He Xumin declared, “It is undoubtedly a talisman from Taihu Academy.”
“Blind old fool!” Li Yunjie snapped.
He strode to the table, snatched the talisman from He Xumin’s hand, and waved it back and forth in the sunlight.
“Do you see it?”
The officials followed where he pointed.
The intense light rendered the talisman translucent, and as the angle shifted, faint glimmers appeared in certain spots.
“This reflective material is called silicon dioxide...”