Every word Wei Xun spoke was full of gems, leaving Bai Xu speechless.
It took nearly half a month from identifying the body to determining the cause of death and transferring it from the Jingzhao Yin Mansion to the Ministry of Justice. The case has not been concluded yet, which is indeed due to negligence.
"Precisely because this case is special, we need to treat it with greater caution. The deceased was a commander under General Shen, and he had a deep grudge against General Shen. He died tragically for no reason. No matter what the Seventh Prince says, General Shen is currently the biggest suspect." Bai Xu organized his thoughts a little, then straightened up and continued to confront Wei Xun.
"Don't worry, Seventh Prince. General Shen has great achievements and is highly respected in the court. The Ministry of Justice will certainly not treat him unfairly. Although he is said to be in custody, he will only stay in the Ministry of Justice for a few days. When the case is solved and it is found that the truth has nothing to do with General Shen, I will release him immediately without any delay."
After saying so much, Bai Xu still didn't want to let him go.
The hall was filled with a tense atmosphere, with Wei Xun and Bai Xu at loggerheads, neither willing to give in. All the ministers around them remained silent, waiting for the outcome of the argument between the two.
"You also know that General Shen has made great achievements." Wei Xun snorted disdainfully. "Back then, Northern Yan invaded for years, causing great suffering to the people on the border of Dai Viet. It was General Shen who led his soldiers and wiped out more than one million Northern Yan people with a force of 100,000. This left a mark of prestige in the hearts of Northern Yan. If Northern Yan knew that General Shen had been captured and the Shen family army was leaderless, would it be possible for them to take advantage of the situation and reoccupy Dai Viet's land?"
Wei Xun raised the matter to the level of national justice. Everyone present held their breath, curious about how Bai Xu would respond.
Bai Xu was a minister of the Ministry of Justice, and his status was lower than Wei Xun, who was notoriously difficult to mess with. Today, Bai Xu was willing to confront Wei Xun in front of everyone, which was already jaw-dropping.
"The territory of Dai Viet is safe, and the border areas are heavily guarded. The people of Northern Yan will never have any chance to take advantage. Seventh Prince, you'd better be at ease and not think too much." Bai Xu didn't care and thought it was just a joke told by Wei Xun.
"When the emperor first ascended the throne, he put down the war in the northern border. Afterwards, the Japanese pirates returned to Dongjing City with the emperor, but they hid there for half a year. If the emperor had not been sharp-sighted and wise enough to detect something unusual, today, Da Yue would not be as stable as you see. It was like this back then, so how can you be sure that there are no people from Beiyan lurking in Dongjing City now?"
Wei Xun simply mentioned the emperor and used him as an example in front of the emperor.
"I just want to ask one thing, if Beiyan really invades, you lock up General Shen, maybe you can take his place on the battlefield to kill the enemy?" Wei Xun pressed Bai Xu into a dead end with every word he said.
"I am terrified. How can a civil servant like me go into battle and kill the enemy?" Bai Xu lowered his head and showed weakness to Wei Xun.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to order the release of Lord Shen without guilt." Seeing that Bai Xu finally agreed by pressing his head, Wei Xun turned around and faced the emperor, asking for his opinion.
The emperor was a straightforward person. Since Wei Xun had won the fight against Bai Xu, he would let Wei Xun handle the matter as he pleased.
After the morning court session, Wei Xun came out and Bai Xu stopped him.
"Seventh Prince, the argument at the court this morning was caused by my rudeness. I was not able to understand your good intentions in time, so..."
"Master Bai, you don't need to bow down and apologize to me. Instead, spend more energy on managing the Ministry of Justice. Otherwise, people will say that the Ministry of Justice's ability to handle cases is not as good as that of a small government office."
Wei Xun didn't give Bai Xu any face at all. He said this lightly and left.
Bai Xu stood where he was, watching Wei Xun's departing back, snorted angrily, then flicked his sleeves and walked away in the other direction.
Hall of Mental Cultivation.
A bright yellow man sat upright in front of the desk, while Li Hai hunched over beside him and whispered a few words in the emperor's ear. Then Song Zhiqing came in and saluted the emperor respectfully.
The emperor sighed, leaned back, and looked at Song Zhiqing for a long time.
"What do you think about what happened in the court today?"
A questioning voice came from above his head. Song Zhiqing looked solemn. He raised his eyes, looked at the emperor, and then lowered his head again.
"The Seventh Prince is wise and sympathetic to the old ministers in the court. This is indeed a righteous act. As for Lord Bai from the Ministry of Justice, he did not follow the laws of Dai Viet and privately detained important officials of the court. Your Majesty did not order a punishment, which is already a grace to him." Song Zhiqing spoke carefully. He treated both Wei Xun and Bai Xu equally.
"You really can't figure out why the Seventh Prince has never been in charge of the Ministry of Justice's affairs before, but today he picked the case of General Shen to talk about?" The emperor's eyes were slightly dimmed, staring at Song Zhiqing closely.
Song Zhiqing was stunned, and suddenly raised his head, just in time to meet the emperor's gaze.
"Don't blame me for speaking bluntly. You and the Seventh Prince had a big fight over the second daughter of the Ling family, and then you changed your mind and got engaged to the eldest daughter of the Ling family. Now in the court, the Seventh Prince is speaking for General Shen in front of all the civil and military officials. Who is General Shen? He is the second daughter of the Ling family's biological grandfather. After this matter came out, you can't escape the speculation of those gossipy officials in the court."
When the emperor finished speaking, he sighed continuously.
"I called you here today to remind you that if you make a decision, there is no turning back. The Seventh Prince is very capable and has the greatest prestige among the young talents of the court. I hope that you can have a good relationship with him so that I can help you one day."
The emperor was not a fool. He had heard about the things that the eldest prince did secretly. In order to prevent the eldest prince from having the power all to himself, he could only rely on Song Zhiqing to check and balance him.
However, Song Zhiqing was a very reclusive person. He never paid much attention to the affairs of state on weekdays, but instead focused on the love affairs of his children.
"I understand, son." Song Zhiqing frowned slightly, looking embarrassed.
When Song Zhiqing left, the emperor was filled with sorrow, and even after a long while, he still did not feel relieved.
"You said, did I make the wrong decision?"
Li Hai paused while pouring tea and almost spilled it outside the cup.
"Forget it." Seeing that Li Hai was slow to respond, the emperor knew that he was just a servant, which meant that he couldn't tell good from bad.
The emperor stood up and walked away around the screen.
Li Hai saw two or three drops of tea stains accidentally splashed on the desk when he was pouring tea just now, so he took out a clean handkerchief and gently wiped them off.
Soon, the news that Shen Chengzhou was released by the Ministry of Justice reached the Ling Mansion.
"This old bastard was released after only three to five days. He will surely stir up trouble again tomorrow and make my mansion restless." Old Madam Ling was extremely angry.
After saying that, she slammed the teacup heavily on the table. The sound was so crisp that it scared Ling Chuchu and Li Ma.
"Madam, don't be angry. The Ministry of Justice has to follow the rules when arresting people. Since General Shen has been released, the truth must have been found out. The corpse has nothing to do with him." Nanny Li stroked Madam Ling's back and comforted her.
"General Shen stayed in the Ministry of Justice for not just one or two days, but six days. I don't believe that the corpse has nothing to do with General Shen."