"Did you see it? Did you see it? The young man who got off the carriage was Yan Liqiang..."
"That man is so young, and I heard he is just a dragon and tiger warrior. How could he kill several great warriors at once? He must have been wrongly accused..."
"Yes, he must have been wrongly accused..."
"That young man named Yan Liqiang is quite remarkable. He is very famous in Ganzhou. I heard that Zhang Yourong, the world's number one master of mechanical devices, came all the way from Ganzhou to the Imperial Capital just to meet him..."
“This is a talent…”
"Wow… "
When seeing Yan Liqiang getting off Eunuch Liu's carriage, the crowd watching outside the Dali Temple began to make a noise. All Yan Liqiang could hear was a chorus of discussions about him. The scene before him reminded Yan Liqiang of the stars he had seen walking on the red carpet in his previous life. This was also the first time that he was "watched" by people in the imperial capital.
Yan Liqiang saw several familiar faces in the crowd, they were Fang Beidou, Hu Haihe, and Xu Enda. These people were squeezed in the crowd, and they also saw Yan Liqiang, but at this time, they had no way to talk to Yan Liqiang. Only Hu Haihe winked at Yan Liqiang. After listening to the discussions in the crowd around him, Yan Liqiang suddenly understood where the public opinions that were favorable to him came from.
Yan Liqiang nodded slightly and gave Xu Enda a reassuring look.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way, don't push, don't push..." The soldiers who escorted Yan Liqiang and others turned into bodyguards at this time, and immediately formed a circle around Yan Liqiang and Eunuch Liu to separate the surging crowd.
Eunuch Liu glanced at the surging crowd outside the Dali Temple and was slightly stunned. But in the blink of an eye, a smile appeared on his face. "From today on, Li Qiang, you are famous in the Imperial Capital. When my family was your age, we were not as famous as you!"
"It's really not my intention to gain such a reputation. I don't know what the final result will be today." Yan Liqiang shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"Don't worry, Li Qiang. I will give you justice today. Come on, let's go in together. The adults should have already arrived at the Dali Temple!"
"Please come in, eunuch!" Feeling the slight strange emotion in Eunuch Liu's heart, Yan Liqiang deliberately let Eunuch Liu walk in front, and he lagged behind Eunuch Liu one step, walking behind him very politely, and walked into the Dali Temple together.
Seeing Yan Liqiang being so "rule-aware", Eunuch Liu, who felt extremely satisfied in front of the crowd, instantly lost all the strange emotions in his heart and became even more satisfied with Yan Liqiang.
Above the solemn gate were inscribed the three characters "Dali Temple". Not everyone could come to this Dali Temple, but it was a place specifically responsible for trying court officials and important cases approved by the emperor. It was equivalent to the highest judicial organ of the Han Empire. The atmosphere of the entire Dali Temple was very solemn. After entering the gate, there was a large screen wall, and on both sides of the gate were officials and runners of the Dali Temple dressed in black robes.
Just after turning around the screen wall, a fifty-something bureaucrat from the Dali Temple with a pale and serious face came over. It seemed that he had been waiting for Yan Liqiang and Eunuch Liu for a long time. "Are you Eunuch Liu and Captain Yan?"
Eunuch Liu nodded.
"I am Gu Tianzheng, the chief clerk of the Dali Temple. I am waiting for you here on the orders of Lord Xu. Please follow me!"
Eunuch Liu gave Yan Liqiang a look, and then the two of them followed the chief clerk of the Valley and walked inside.
"Have the gentlemen arrived?" Eunuch Liu asked as he walked.
"Several adults have arrived. The trial can be held on time today!"
"good!"
"Eunuch Liu may sit in as an observer, but if you do not have the approval of the others, please do not speak, lest you embarrass us and cause trouble for us, or you may be charged with the crime of disrupting the court!"
"Don't worry, we know the rules!" Eunuch Liu hummed coldly, "I don't believe anyone here would dare to cheat for personal gain!"
"With several adults present here, naturally no one would dare to play any tricks!" the valley master also said calmly.
After just a few words, the three men came to a spacious and majestic hall. At this time, both sides of the hall were already filled with two rows of yamen runners from the Dali Temple. Half of those runners had knives on their waists, and the other half held big sticks with black middles and red ends. They stood like sculptures, while in the main seat of the hall, there were three tables placed side by side, and there was no one behind the tables at this time.
When they arrived here, Eunuch Liu separated from Yan Liqiang. Eunuch Liu's seat for the audience was next to the three tables in front of the hall, where there was a chair. At the signal of Gu Zhubo, four yamen runners with sticks came up and took Yan Liqiang to a position on the left side of the hall door, and asked Yan Liqiang to stand there and wait.
Eunuch Liu, who was sitting in front of the hall, gave Yan Liqiang a reassuring look. Yan Liqiang nodded at Eunuch Liu, indicating that he was not nervous.
After settling the two people, the chief clerk of the valley went directly into the hall from the side door next to the three main tables, probably to inform the adults inside.
Yan Liqiang was really not nervous. He stood in the hall, waiting quietly, his eyes scanning the yamen runners and the arrangements in the hall. At this moment, his head could not help but ring with the familiar melody he had heard in his previous life - dangdangdang... In Kaifeng there was a Bao Qingtian, who was impartial and could distinguish between loyalty and treachery. Heroes from all walks of life came to help him, and Wang Chao and Ma Han were by his side...
It’s a pity that there are no dragon-head guillotine, tiger-head guillotine or dog-head guillotine in this hall, otherwise the scene would be too similar.
If there weren't so many people here and there weren't four burly yamen runners standing next to him staring at him with a fierce look, Yan Liqiang might have started humming.
Yan Liqiang did not stand there for too long. After more than ten minutes, at the third quarter of an hour, a drum sounded in the hall. Eunuch Liu, who was originally sitting in the audience, stood up. Then three court officials came out from behind the screens of the three main tables in the hall. After nodding to Eunuch Liu, they sat behind the three main tables. Other officials of the Dali Temple, including the Chief Clerk Gu, also entered from the small doors on both sides of the hall and took their seats.
Sitting in the middle of the three tables in the hall, wearing the second-rank official robe with a Xiezhi mythical beast embroidered on it, is a high-ranking official in his sixties with two long snow-white eyebrows. He is none other than Xu Taiyi, the Minister of the Dali Temple.
On Xu Taiyi's left, there was a senior official with a beautiful long beard, a gloomy hooked nose, a dark face from beginning to end, and a slightly fat body. After coming in, he frowned and glanced at Yan Liqiang. He was the Minister of Justice of the Han Empire, Gu Chunyi. On Xu Taiyi's right, there was a man in his fifties, dressed in a literary manner, with a smile on his face. He was Pei Daoyuan, the Inspector Censor of the court.
Yan Liqiang only took one look at the three people and immediately understood their identities.
—That good-for-nothing named Chen, he made such a mess that I have to suffer the consequences—Gu Chunyi, the Minister of Justice, cursed in his heart with a serious face.
-Oh, I didn’t expect that Yan Liqiang is so young and has chosen a side so early. I don’t know whether it will be a blessing or a curse in the future. Although young people are sharp, they are still too impatient. - A thought flashed through the mind of Xu Taiyi, the Dali Temple Minister who was sitting in the middle.
—Tonight I can enjoy Xiu Dajia's piano skills again. After leaving the Dali Temple, I will go home to change clothes and then enjoy a feast for my ears—At this time, the Inspector Pei Daoyuan's mind was not even thinking about the case to be heard today, but his mind was already flying away, thinking about the performance of the four famous prostitutes in the imperial capital tonight.
Seeing three serious court officials sitting at the main table in the lobby, Yan Liqiang had a calm expression on his face, but he had already completely grasped the thoughts of the three people. Judging from the thoughts of the three people, Yan Liqiang had roughly understood which side the three court officials stood on. The Minister of Justice Gu Chunyi was undoubtedly on the side of Prime Minister Lin Qingtian, while Xu Taiyi and Pei Daoyuan seemed to be centrists, not leaning towards Lin Qingtian, but not completely on the side of the emperor. Especially Pei Daoyuan, he was just like a rich man who retired in the Imperial Capital, very smooth, without the sharp edge of the Inspector Censor. It was estimated that in his position, he would either offend the emperor or the prime minister when he did something. This Inspector Censor simply didn't offend anyone and didn't do much...
The three high officials exchanged looks. Since they were the host, Xu Taiyi, who was sitting in the middle, looked at Yan Liqiang and spoke first, "Are you Yan Liqiang, the Eagle Captain of the Imperial Horse and Infantry Division?"
"I'm Yan Liqiang, nice to meet you three gentlemen!" Yan Liqiang bowed and confessed to the three people in the hall. His voice was loud and he didn't seem nervous at all.
"Do you know why you are here today?"
"Know!"
"What do you have to say before the trial?"
"I came here today because I believe that the three gentlemen will clear my name and put an end to this farce!"
Xu Taiyi paused for a moment, looked at Yan Liqiang carefully, and then said calmly, "Whether he is innocent or not, we have to wait until the trial to tell. We can't just rely on your own opinion!"
"I will definitely answer any question I have and will not hide anything!"
"I wonder if the two adults have anything to ask?" Xu Taiyi retracted his gaze and looked around.
"Let Lord Gu come first, and I will listen on the side. When I want to ask something, I will speak naturally!" Pei Daoyuan smiled.
"Cough... cough..." Gu Chunyi coughed twice, and then her narrowed eyes, with a hint of coldness, fell on Yan Liqiang, "Have you known Xu Lang before?"
"I know him!" Yan Liqiang nodded.
"A few days before Xu Lang's accident, did you have a conflict with Xu Lang on the street?"
Yan Liqiang smiled, "If Lord Gu insists on saying that I was bullied and provoked by Xu Lang and others and was forced to defend myself as a conflict with Xu Lang and others, then I have nothing to say. However, I believe that people know right from wrong. In addition to the two patrolmen, there were also many people in the capital and many neighbors who witnessed what happened on the street that day. Everyone can prove that Xu Lang and others happened to meet me after they came out of the tavern. I ignored them, and Xu Lang and others provoked a dispute on the street. I was the first to start a fight, which is a crime of causing trouble. I am the victim. Lord Gu, as the Minister of Justice, has already confused right from wrong by asking that question just now. Don't you even understand the most basic rule of keeping to the middle when interrogating people?"
After Yan Liqiang said this, the entire Dali Temple hall suddenly fell silent. The face of Gu Chunyi, the Minister of Justice who had just started to ask questions, turned as dark as charcoal in an instant. Yan Liqiang caught the tail of his words and choked him to the point of not being able to say a word...
Eunuch Liu looked at Yan Liqiang with a smile, almost laughing out loud, while Xu Taiyi and Pei Daoyuan were slightly cheered up, looked at each other, and then perked up all at once.
"What Lord Gu asked just now was only whether you and Xu Lang knew each other and had any conflicts. No matter which side started the fight first that day, the conflict did happen after all. There is nothing wrong with what Lord Gu asked. We also want to know the whole story. You don't need to be too excited!" At this time, it was Xu Taiyi who came out to ease the situation and gave Gu Chunyi a way out, and then the situation eased a little.
"It's not that I'm judging others by my own standards, but a senior official from the Ministry of Justice has personally demonstrated to me what it means to break the law knowingly, so I have to be careful to avoid being accused of some unfounded crime again!"
"Ahem, my lords, since Yan Liqiang is here, I think why don't we call the witness who accused Yan Liqiang, let the two of them confront each other in court, and then we interrogate them together? This way it will be easier to tell who is right and who is wrong!" Pei Daoyuan added.
The other two looked at each other and nodded.
"Bring the plaintiff to court..." Xu Taiyi picked up a token on the table and gave direct instructions to his subordinates beside him.
An official from the Dali Temple in the hall took the token, bowed, and walked away...
Yan Liqiang just waited quietly in the classroom. In fact, it didn't matter to him whether that person came or not, because he knew what that person would say here, and those things were not new at all. The only thing that was new to Yan Liqiang was perhaps just that person's face.
Just a few minutes later, the official who had just received the token rushed to the hall in a sweat, "Sir, it's bad, the plaintiff died in prison..."
Hearing this, Xu Taiyi was furious and stood up all of a sudden. "What's going on? Wasn't that person still fine a few hours ago? How come he is dead now?"
"Just as I was about to take that person out of the cell, he heard that he was going to court and shouted in the room that Yan Liqiang was a murderer. Then he bled from all seven orifices and died instantly. Everyone was caught off guard..."
"My lords, the person who falsely accused Captain Yan happened at your hands. You don't want to leave him without any evidence now, do you?" Eunuch Liu said coldly.
“If he’s alive, we must see the person. If he’s dead, we must see the body. Bring up the body, and then call the coroner and the prison warden…” Xu Taiyi had a gloomy face and slammed the table heavily.
(End of this chapter)