Mingzhe's speech left the court in stunned silence.
Even Counsel Margrave couldn't quite hide her surprise. No doubt she'd expected him to take the chance to beg for leniency.
Who wouldn't?
His family would be furious when his mother inevitably discovered the truth.
And she would discover the truth eventually.
Zhao Linlin always found out the truth. What she did with it was often far harder to predict, and Mingzhe was terrified she would discover he'd lied before his sentencing could come out.
If she derailed everything and she would to save him, it would ruin any chance of convicting the Yangs.
He'd never been more thankful that family members were barred from attending High Court trials. That would at least leave his mother a day or two behind.
He couldn't bear to look at Chenzhou or Eirian after his speech. Afraid to see their disappointment and rage as much as he was afraid to see their disbelief, the realization that he was leaving them through a lie.
He glanced at Lord Yin, recalling briefly how close he was to Lady Yang, and was surprised to see the distraught devastation on his face. Deep lines that had aged him decades overnight. He wasn't the only one. Much of the court looked to have undergone similar transformations. Some of them because they were connected to the Yangs in some way, in the know or not. Others simply because two noble families coming under the attention of the High Court guaranteed the rest of them would soon be under the same attention. Anyone with even a weak sense of self-preservation would be nervous. Let alone nobles who often skirted the rules of what was legal and what wasn't.
Mingzhe's choice would end up carving out even more poison than he'd first thought.
He left with his head down and an aching silence behind him.
***
Kai Low was unwillingly impressed by Lord Zhao's speech. Even among the tribes, it was rare for someone caught breaking the law to embrace it quite so completely. All humans feared death, and even the bravest usually faltered once it was right in front of them.
Lord Zhao seemed to be taking the opposite approach. And he was clearly determined to take down as many as possible with him. Kai Low could admire that level of spite. The determination to protect the people he was leaving behind with his death.
It explained why Yuze was so upset about losing him. Why he was so worried about Lord Ye and his Princess. Kai Low remembered the devastation he'd felt when Kai Apa died. The betrayal he'd felt finding out Kai San had a hand in it. Even when he hadn't felt that close to them at the time, in the years that had followed, their bond had become cemented in his mind as something deep and life-altering.
Grief could convince you of anything it wanted.
And a decade or more later, Kai Low still wasn't ready to face it.
Counsel Margrave retook her place in the center of the room, but Kai Low got the sense she was also surprised by Mingzhe's choice of words.
She took a moment to gather herself before turning to Lord Ye. "Lord Zhao's statement concludes the High Court's investigation into the ambush at the northern outposts and the subsequent rumors. Several concerns have been identified during the course of this investigation that require further review, and we have written a thorough report that details our steps moving forward, as well as what we suggest for the Camelia."
Chenzhou gave her a jerky nod.
"We will also be continuing our investigation into the Yang family and the court of the Camelia, and expect that the trial against them can begin in the next week." Her gaze swept the room. Took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, to truly conclude the trial against Lord Zhao, we must give our recommendation for punishment. Lord Zhao did choose to come forward on his own, and the information he has provided has alerted us to a much greater threat and given us the evidence needed to stop them. Yet the fact remains that Lord Zhao himself was part of that threat. The High Court has no choice but to recommend Lord Zhao be executed for his own crimes."
More than one person flinched at her words.
Kai Low watched Yuze and his complete lack of reaction. More telling than any physical reaction. Especially for Yuze.
"I will take your recommendation under advisement." Lord Ye said, voice surprisingly steady, if defeated.
From what little Kai Low understood about this system, that was pretty much all he was allowed to say.
But Kai Low wasn't part of this system, and they all thought he was an ignorant barbarian. They didn't even acknowledge him when he walked into rooms. Only Yuze, Lord Ye, Princess Soliel, and the common folk actually spoke to him.
Kai Low normally didn't care, but it seemed he'd found a time where that might actually work for him.
Maybe he should just be an ignorant barbarian.
"Do you kill one another so easily here?"
~ tbc