The shadow-man seemed struck by lightning, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Madame Mei, yet not a single word could he utter.
The Prefect of Shuntian remembered something. "This official forgot you are mute. Attendants, bring paper and ink. Let him write down what he wishes to say."
Paper and brush were placed before him, but the shadow-man remained motionless, only staring at Madame Mei, tears welling up in his eyes.
Crack!
The gavel sounded again. The Prefect's voice turned grave. "If you refuse to write, then this official will take it as your admission of guilt! You have killed eighteen people. According to the law, you are to be sentenced to execution. Do you understand?"
The shadow-man shuddered and swiftly wrote something.
The paper was lifted and unfurled. Written upon it was—Why did you lie?
Madame Mei glanced at it and lowered her head again. Xiao Tian cursed, "You filthy beggar! How dare you falsely accuse my mother?" He then turned to the Prefect. "Your Honor, this beggar has been following my mother around all day these past days, pestering her relentlessly, trying to cling to the wealth and status of our Earl's household! He must be unwilling to give up his wicked scheme, so he fabricated this story of rescuing us, dreaming of latching onto our family. You must see clearly!"
As these words fell, the shadow-man scribbled several more sheets.
Each sheet still bore the same six words—Why did you lie?
Madame Mei was backed into a corner, her voice trembling. "I did not lie! Your Honor, I did not lie!"
As if to convince herself, she repeated it twice.
With a snap, the wolf-hair brush in the shadow-man's hand broke. The light in his eyes extinguished bit by bit.
Seeing this, the woman from the Yue family said, "Your Honor, he has admitted it. I beg you to uphold justice for this commoner woman!"
Xiao Tian also chimed in, "Such a murderous fiend! I implore Your Honor to behead him according to the law!" His righteous indignation made it seem as though he had completely forgotten that mere hours ago, when he was kneeling and begging for mercy, it was this very "murderous fiend" who had saved him.
Seeing the shadow-man offer no further response, the Prefect of Shuntian slapped the gavel. "Good. With both witnesses and evidence present, this official shall now rule according to the law. The sentence is immediate behead—"
"Hold."
A calm, unhurried voice came from outside. The Prefect was about to angrily shout at whoever dared disrupt the court proceedings, but upon looking up and seeing Yan Zheng, he immediately trembled and hurried down to greet him. "P-Prime Minister! What brings you here?"
Yan Zheng did not answer, merely nodding towards the outside.
Soon, Meng Yang entered with several hunters. They identified the bandits one by one. The hunters knelt and said, "Your Lordship, these men are indeed the bandits from our mountain. This one is Li Biao, that one is Wang Que. They always boasted of having high-ranking officials in the capital as relatives, so we common folk dared not protest, suffering their raids year after year!"
The Prefect of Shuntian frowned. Xiao Tian panicked. "Even if they are bandits, it doesn't prove they robbed us..."
Meng Yang let out a derisive laugh. "Are you joking? If bandits aren't after money or women, were they inviting you for tea?"
Xiao Tian was left speechless. Meng Yang then brought forward a guard—the one previously assigned to follow the shadow-man.
The guard recounted everything he had seen and heard that day, matching almost exactly what the shadow-man had written earlier.
The Prefect's face darkened. "You from the Yue family, what more do you have to say?"
The Yue family woman was terrified, kowtowing repeatedly. Xiao Tian had a sudden flash of inspiration. "Your Honor! This witness belongs to the Prime Minister, and that beggar is also his man. It's entirely possible he ordered them to give false testimony..."
Before he could finish, Madame Mei anxiously covered his mouth. "Prime Minister, please forgive us! Prime Minister, do not take offense! We were blinded by greed and falsely accused this young brother. We beg Your Excellency to be magnanimous and not hold it against a child!"
As she spoke, she also shot a covert glare at the shadow-man. Who could have imagined that the mute who had been pestering her all these days was actually the Prime Minister's man?
Meng Yang sneered at their swift change of face, asking only the Prefect, "Your Honor, now that the matter is cleared up, may we leave?"
"Of course, of course!" The Prefect bowed. "I must also thank the Prime Minister for his keen discernment, helping this humble official avoid a miscarriage of justice. I shall shortly submit a memorial to His Majesty, reporting the Prime Minister's meritorious service!"
This was blatant flattery. Yan Zheng did not refuse it, merely instructing Meng Yang to lead the way out.
Outside the yamen, the shadow-man remained despondent. Meng Yang was exasperated by his lack of spirit. "What is wrong with you? The world's number one swordsman, captured by a few constables is one thing, but you had to have His Lordship personally come to the yamen to bail you out. Look at you!"
The shadow-man hung his head in silence.
Just then, Xiao Tian also helped Madame Mei out. The surrounding crowd was filled with murmurs of "ungrateful" and "heartless."
Forced into it, Madame Mei stepped forward with a strained smile. "This... this young brother, thank you for saving us today..."
The shadow-man remained silent. Xiao Tian said angrily, "Mother, why are you talking to a filthy beggar? Let's go!"
Mother and son left, embracing each other. The shadow-man watched their retreating figures, then turned his hand and slapped himself across the face.
That night.
After finishing his official duties, Yan Zheng returned to find Chu Ruoyan holding her forehead, her complexion not looking well. "What's wrong? Should I summon the imperial physician?"
The young lady shook her head. "No, perhaps it's just the exhaustion from today's travels. A night's rest should help. By the way, how is the shadow-man?"
"Nothing serious. He abandoned his post during the royal hunt. I had him punished with a dozen lashes. Meng Yang is applying medicine to him now."
Chu Ruoyan was taken aback, then chuckled and shook her head. "You truly are strict with rewards and punishments. I thought..."
"Thought what? That I would let it slide?" Yan Zheng took off his outer robe, his brow slightly furrowed. "To be honest, I am somewhat surprised he has been so trapped by this matter concerning his mother for so long. But after today, he should wake up. Madame Mei's character is flawed, and what she raised is even more of a rotten fruit. He has no need to belittle himself."
Chu Ruoyan laughed at this. "Yes, yes, yes. When it comes to decisive action, few can compare to my husband. But the shadow-man is still young. He can be taught slowly. Don't be too impatient."
Yan Zheng gave a hum, wrapping his arms around her waist. "A'Yan, you know full well what I'm impatient for isn't that..."
Then, dense, lingering kisses began to rain down. Chu Ruoyan shivered, placing a hand against his chest. "We've been busy all day. I'm rather tired. Another time..."
Yan Zheng frowned. "But it's been several days since we've called for water! If this continues, the servants might start to think there's something wrong between us."
Chu Ruoyan was momentarily stunned, blurting out, "Then call for water! Just leave it there, not using it is..." Mmph!
Her words were cut off as her mouth was sealed.
The man's bewitching voice whispered by her ear, "A'Yan, you agreed to this..."
Soon, blushing sounds filled the room. But as their passion began to rise, Yan Zheng noticed her complexion didn't seem quite right.
He forced himself to stop. "A'Yan? A'Yan?"
Chu Ruoyan lay on her back on the bed. Hearing his voice, she responded vaguely, but her eyelids were too heavy to open.
The man kissed her forehead. "Never mind. Another time." He tucked her in properly, then went out to douse himself in cold water before finally going to sleep.
She slept straight through until the afternoon of the next day. Upon waking, Chu Ruoyan realized she truly wasn't feeling quite right.
Drowsy, fatigued, and constantly nauseous...
She remembered Chief Physician Zhang had specifically come to stop her carriage yesterday, but was interrupted by the shadow-man's affair before he could finish.
So she said, "Nanny Zhou, please go to the Imperial Hospital and ask Chief Physician Zhang to come."
