A moment later, Lu Sheng was brought in by the bailiffs, hobbling painfully. All his usual arrogance had vanished; now he looked utterly panicked.
Upon learning that his case had reached the Emperor's ears, who had even dispatched three departments—the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate—to jointly investigate, he knew things had taken a dire turn.
With such a huge commotion, could he really still smooth-talk his way out? Anxious and puzzled, he wondered: What was Prince Cheng playing at? Couldn't he even suppress such a minor matter?
Meng Shuping watched Lu Sheng with schadenfreude. "Well, well, well! Didn't he say the Minister of Justice cowered before him like a grandson? Now that the Minister is right in front of him, why isn't he strutting anymore?"
"Hah! I knew he was all talk. Look at him now—scared shitless!"
Minister of Justice Cao Jie puffed up his chest. Ridiculous! If just anyone could throw their weight around in front of him, what was the point of holding such a high office?
Lu Sheng boiled with rage. It was all his fault! If he hadn't meddled and refused to let me off, how could I have ended up in this state?
Noticing Lu Sheng's hateful glare, Meng Shuping was baffled. "Hey! Why's he glaring at me? Does he think I'm the reason he's in this mess? If he's got a screw loose, he should get it fixed! Why blame others? Did I put him in jail? He's getting what he deserves!"
"And he still dares to act tough even in my hands? Does he want me to have the jailers give him some extra-legal discipline?"
Cao Jie shot Meng Shuping a surprised look. You'd dare to openly use private punishment? He coughed, cutting off Meng Shuping's unspoken thoughts, then struck the gavel. "Plaintiff Yu Lianhong, state your grievance truthfully."
Yu Lianhong stepped forward, filled with grief and anger. "Your Honor, you must uphold justice for this humble citizen…"
He quickly recounted his family's ordeal. It turned out Yu Lianhong was a local gentryman. One day, Lu Sheng took a fancy to a plot of their family's land and tried to force a sale. Yu Lianhong refused—this land had been passed down through generations; how could he sell it lightly? But Lu Sheng, the local bully, wouldn't take no for an answer. He sent people to burn the crops on Yu Lianhong's land.
One of Yu Lianhong's sons, furious, went to confront Lu Sheng. During the altercation, he was beaten to death by Lu Sheng.
After hearing Yu Lianhong's account, Meng Shuping was nearly moved to tears. "Oh no, they've suffered so much! If they'd run into a corrupt official, wouldn't they have had to grin and bear it? Good thing they met me!"
Halfway through his lament, Meng Shuping suddenly realized something. "Wait, I get it now!"
"No wonder they've been ignoring me for days and suddenly handed me this case. Were they trying to make me the fall guy?"
Jiang Cihe gave Meng Shuping a puzzled look. Scapegoat?
Cao Jie had been about to continue the questioning but found himself curious about what Meng Shuping would say next. Meng Shuping went on, "Prince Cheng must have tipped off the Ministry of Justice, telling them to sweep this under the rug! They didn't dare offend Prince Cheng but were also afraid of being exposed, so they pushed it onto me!"
"That way, if I let Lu Sheng off, they'd have fulfilled their duty to Prince Cheng. Even if the truth came out someday, I'd be the one to take the fall—what would it have to do with them?"
"But if I didn't let Lu Sheng off, they could still claim I deliberately disrespected Prince Cheng! Then I'd still be finished!"
"Tsk tsk, how sneaky! Are all you officials this corrupt to the core? Ah, someone as naive as me—could I survive your schemes?"
Jiang Cihe scrutinized Cao Jie. Was it really like that? It wasn't that he believed Meng Shuping for no reason, but the speculation was just too plausible.
Cao Jie: "..."
No, although I dislike Meng Shuping and even want to mess with him, I haven't actually done anything! Why are you looking at me like that, Prince Zhao?
Don't wrongfully accuse an innocent person!
And how dare Meng Shuping call himself guileless? If he's guileless, then who was it that tricked me last time? And who's messing with Prince Cheng this time? There's no need for such fake humility!
Once he figured it out, Meng Shuping's gaze toward Cao Jie turned suspicious. "No wonder, no wonder! I knew he looked detestable at first sight—it must be true that the face reveals the heart!"
Cao Jie's face darkened. Who's detestable? Let's not resort to personal attacks, alright?
After suspecting Cao Jie, Meng Shuping suddenly noticed, "Huh? Why has Cao stopped questioning?"
"Yikes…"
"Is he thinking of how to clear Lu Sheng's name? No way, no way! Is he still planning to protect Lu Sheng? I knew there was a reason Lu Sheng dared to say those things! Look, even after all this humiliation, he's still willing to lick someone's boots—how low can you get!"
Cao Jie flew into a rage. Brat, stop with the baseless accusations! I may be accused of favoritism, but you can't call me despicable!
Today, I'll show you how impartial I can be!
He turned a stern gaze toward Lu Sheng. Now, where were we?
Lu Sheng looked at Cao Jie excitedly. Lord Cao is such a good man! I thought I was done for today, but there's still hope!
With that, he immediately puffed up with pride. "Your Honor! I've been wronged! When did I ever send people to burn their crops? Do they have evidence? Without evidence, it's slander!"
Meng Shuping couldn't help but mock him. "Slander? Just look at his face—it's obvious he did it! Does he think nobody can tell?"
"First, he tries to force a land sale; then, when they refuse, their crops get burned. Who wouldn't suspect him?"
A slight smirk appeared on Lu Sheng's face. So what if they suspect? Convictions require evidence. Without evidence, even the Emperor might not be able to condemn him!
Imperial Censor Li asked Yu Lianhong, "You claim he burned your crops—did anyone witness it?"
Yu Lianhong said angrily, "Although no one saw it directly, Lu Sheng said it himself to our faces!"
Lu Sheng immediately retorted, "When did I ever say that? Don't pin every crime on me!"
Putting on an angry act, he said, "I could ask the same of you! Though I wanted to buy your land, I gave up after you refused! Who knew your son would suddenly show up and try to assault me? I only fought back in self-defense—was I supposed to just let him beat me?"
Yu Lianhong fumed, "Don't twist the truth! It was my son confronting you, and you deliberately beat him to death! And I heard those words with my own ears!"
Lu Sheng sneered, "Then your son trying to assault me—my servants saw it too! They can testify it was self-defense!"
As the two argued, Cao Jie struck the gavel. "Order! Order in the court!"
The two fell silent again. Cao Jie asked Yu Lianhong, "When he said those words in front of you, did anyone else hear?"
Yu Lianhong said indignantly, "Everyone in my family heard!"
Meng Shuping was furious. "How shameless! Turning the tables and thinking we can't do anything about it?"
Cao Jie perked up his ears. What method? But just as he waited to hear, Meng Shuping fell silent. Annoyed, Cao Jie thought: You talk when you should be quiet and stay silent when you should speak!
He coldly asked Lu Sheng, "You claim his son assaulted you—do you have any injuries?"
Lu Sheng paused, then quickly thought of an excuse. Guiltily, he said, "It's been so many days—even if there were injuries, they've healed by now."
Meng Shuping couldn't help but scoff, "Then the injuries couldn't have been serious! Too minor to even call it an assault!"
Cao Jie pressed further, "Did you see a doctor? What medicine was prescribed?"
Aside from the recent beating by Meng Shuping, Lu Sheng had no injuries. He fabricated, "I didn't see a doctor, but I had some bruise medicine at home and applied it myself."
Hearing this, Cao Jie, the Chief of the Dali Temple, and Imperial Censor Li exchanged glances. Did this Lu Sheng take them for fools? Could they possibly believe such a transparent lie?
Meng Shuping scoffed. "So that's a no? Who doesn't see a doctor after a serious injury?"
Cao Jie snorted coldly. "Audacious criminal! Dare to spout nonsense in court? Guards, give him ten strokes of the whip!"
Lu Sheng gaped in disbelief. Weren't you supposed to help clear my name? Not helping is one thing, but now you're having me whipped?
Seeing the bailiffs from both sides actually coming to drag him away, he snapped in panic and anger, "Lord Cao! How could you do this? His Highness never gave you such orders—"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone immediately turned their eyes to Cao Jie. No wonder the Emperor had ordered a joint trial by the three judicial departments—what a shady deal behind this! Lord Cao, oh Lord Cao, how could you be so foolish? How could you even think of shielding someone like this?
Cao Jie's face darkened, and he angrily retorted, "I did not!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Meng Shuping's voice rang out, "No such thing? I knew it—he's colluding with Prince Cheng! Now the criminal has admitted it, and he still wants to deny it? Impeach him! We must impeach him!"
Realizing that Lu Sheng's words had made it impossible for him to clear his name, Cao Jie furiously ordered the bailiffs, "Beat him! Beat him hard! I've said it already—I have nothing to do with him!"
Meng Shuping couldn't help but speculate further, "Hahahaha! It's not the god-like opponent you need to fear, but the idiotic ally! Now this Cao fellow is going to be done in by Lu Sheng!"
"Hahahaha! Lord Cao! Stop explaining—explaining is just covering up. Do you think cutting ties with the criminal now will clear your name? So many people are here as witnesses! Just wait to be impeached!"
The two bailiffs hesitated and looked at Cao Jie, "Sir, should we really beat him?"
Were they supposed to put on a show or actually carry it out? Ah, why did they have to be put in such a difficult position at a time like this?
Cao Jie barked furiously, "Didn't you hear me? Beat him! What are you waiting for? If there's no blood, I'll hold you responsible!"
Seeing that Cao Jie had spoken so decisively, the bailiffs had no choice but to act. Lu Sheng was both panicked and shocked, "Lord Cao! Aren't you afraid of His Highness's wrath? Or did you take bribes from them?"
Everyone stared at Cao Jie in disbelief. Meng Shuping gloated, "Oh ho, so Lord Cao took silver as well?"