"I am the deputy commander of the Zuowei appointed by the envoy of the Guardian. Now that the envoy is absent, I am only under the jurisdiction of the Zuowei and Your Majesty. Your Majesty has not explicitly stated that I am guilty, so I am still the deputy commander of the Zuowei.
It is true that I attacked and killed the imperial official, but it was not the so-called General Pei that I attacked and killed, but this General Pei who attacked and killed me. If I had not thought about the friendship of serving as officials in the same court, otherwise I would not have been able to kill him.
Even if we kill him on the spot, there is nothing wrong with him."
Chen Chao looked at those officials with indifference.
There was dead silence.
"What a sharp-tongued boy, but today you can tell the truth. You also killed the Marquis of Huainan. I want to come to Mr. Han to investigate these days. There is already evidence!"
As an official spoke, everyone's eyes fell on somewhere in the field.
That was supposed to be the seat of the Minister of Dali Temple, but soon people discovered that Han Pu, the Minister of Dali Temple, was not there.
Seeing the gazes of so many officials, the Dali Temple official stood up and said bravely: "Master Han is still investigating the case. I'm afraid it will be a little later before he can enter the palace for the banquet."
After hearing this, many people looked unhappy.
An official asked loudly: "Even if Han Pu is not here, can your Dali Temple investigate the case these days and come to a conclusion?"
The Dali Temple official had already received instructions from Han Pu before entering the palace. Even if he was asked about it at this moment, he just smiled bitterly and said: "Although there has been some progress in Dali Temple these days, Commander Chen only has some suspicions and has not yet finalized the case. It is really
Can't say the murderer."
After hearing what He Xini said, many officials were dissatisfied, but they could not get angry. After all, Han Pu was not here, so even if the Dali Temple official said something seriously, he could not count.
In fact, even if Dali Temple finds something, it will not be able to convict the Chen Dynasty in the end, because the Chen Dynasty is an official of the guardian envoy line. According to the Daliang Law, officials of this line are independent of the courtiers and are only under the jurisdiction of the guardian envoy.
, that is to say, if an ordinary official is found guilty and convicted by Dali Temple, he can be arrested, but even if an official of the garrison line is guilty, the garrison must make a decision.
Now the garrison envoy has been transferred to the Northern Territory General, and the garrison envoy's position is vacant. There are only two people who can govern the Chen Dynasty, one is Song Lian, and the other is His Majesty the Emperor.
For a major case like the killing of the Marquis of Huainan, even if Dali Temple finds out the truth, it must be reported to His Majesty for His Majesty to make a decision.
Until His Majesty has no decree, Chen Chao will always be just a suspect.
As for Pei Ji's previous attack, if we really look into it, he was indeed attacking and killing the imperial official. It was reasonable for Chen Chao not to mention seriously injuring him, but to directly kill him.
However, if His Majesty the Emperor is convicted later, Chen Chao will not only have to bear the murder case of Huainan Marquis.
"Since you didn't kill the Marquis of Huainan, where have you been these days and why don't you show up? Is it possible that you have a ghost in your heart and are running away in fear of crime?"
The officials present were still not prepared to let Chen Chao go. What happened that night was obviously very detrimental to Chen Chao.
After all, it is almost certain that the Marquis of Huainan died at the hands of Chen Chao. As long as this matter remains unchanged, they will use this to accuse Chen Chao to death!
"Have you read the book?"
Chen Chao looked at the unfamiliar official, somewhat curious.
The man's face was ashen and he said angrily: "I am from an academy, and I don't know how many more sages' books I have read than you!"
Listening to this, Chen Chao nodded and said thoughtfully: "It seems that it is not the fault of the adults, but the academy. Why has it been so careless in recruiting students over the years?"
Hearing these words, many people sneered in their hearts, and some even looked at the dean of the academy in the distance. Chen Chao's words also scolded the dean.
But the dean didn't care, he just picked up the wine glass and took a sip.
"Don't talk nonsense. If you didn't have any evil intentions in your heart, you wouldn't hide."
The official's face was ashen, but he still suppressed his anger and spoke.
"This gentleman said that I didn't show up because I had something in my heart, and I wanted to flee in fear of crime. But if I really had something in my heart, why did I show up at the banquet today? It has been so long since that night, and I should have fled to the ends of the earth long ago.
Now, if I still appear openly in front of you, are you asking for your own death?"
Chen Chao sneered, "Is it possible that this gentleman is stupid in reading and doesn't know such a simple truth?"
"you……"
The official was stunned and couldn't find anything to say to refute the Chen Chao in front of him.
After hearing this, many officials looked embarrassed and didn't know how to refute him. The dean smiled slightly, thinking that this kid's words were still so interesting.
The officials from the Ministry of Works looked at each other, but showed no concern for what was happening. Instead, they stared at the broken parts of the square, wondering how long it would take to repair it.
But despite this, most officials from the Ministry of Industry don't have much ill feelings toward Chen Chao. After all, the incident at Jianqi Mountain was attributed to Chen Chao.
"You didn't escape from the Divine Capital because the Divine Capital was tightly guarded and you couldn't leave. As for appearing here today, I'm afraid it was also to use your sharp mouth to clear away your suspicions. But God is watching what you do. Could it be that you
Do you really think you did those things without anyone noticing?"
An official said coldly: "For someone like you to serve as an official in the Liang Dynasty, it is a shame to the Liang Dynasty!"
"Shame? What is shame?"
Chen Chao stared at the official and said: "I was at the Wanliu Meeting to show off my authority for the imperial court. Earlier, I was protecting the land and people in Tianqing County. I did not hesitate to offend Fang Wai to protect the dragon vein. I went out to Mobei to kill the northern border."
Monsters, piles and piles, who can't see it? I am sincere and died for Daliang Dynasty. It is also a shame for Daliang Dynasty. Then what have you people done to dare to slander me like this? "
Chen Chao squinted his eyes, looked at the officials who questioned him, and sneered: "I said that I killed the Marquis of Huainan. It's not too late to wait until there is evidence to convict me. As for your speculation, it is just slander. Maybe
When I was assassinated that night, your lords’ shadows were involved.”
From the very beginning, when these people opened their mouths, they never mentioned the identity of Chen Chao, but focused on Chen Chao's killing of the Marquis of Huainan.
Now that Chen Chao mentioned what happened that night, many officials felt shuddered, but they still spoke one after another and angrily accused Chen Chao of spitting blood.
Chen Chao sneered and didn't say much.
Seeing that the matter was about to continue to develop, the second prince glanced at the eldest prince, finally stood up, and said calmly: "My lords, the matter cannot be solved with words. When Mr. Han appears, a conclusion will naturally be made. Now it is better to do it as soon as possible
Please take a seat, the banquet is about to begin, your majesty, how do you behave when you see your lords like this?"
As soon as the second prince spoke, the noisy place suddenly became quiet. Although the officials were still a little angry, they still suppressed it and sat down one after another.
Chen Chao remained silent, just glanced at the second prince, and sat next to Xie Nandu.
Xie Nandu, who had been silent for the whole time, handed Chen Chao a glass of wine and said, "It's quite interesting to watch you quarrel."
】
After Chen Chao took it, he sighed: "It would be easy if we just quarreled. The real trouble is yet to come."
Xie Nandu asked: "Did you do a very clean job in killing Song Ting?"
Chen Chao shook his head and said, "On the contrary, it's very sloppy."
"I was really not in a good mood that night."
Chen Chao rubbed his cheeks and took a sip of wine.
…
…
The incident passed quickly, but everyone knew that this was just the beginning, so no one was in a hurry.
Pei Ji was carried away. The Qingshan Prefecture general was destined to be unable to attend today's banquet.
However, after everyone calmed down, they quickly thought of a problem, that is, for today's banquet, Chen Chao would not be able to enter the imperial city without an invitation.
In other words, His Majesty still sent him an invitation.
Why does Your Majesty do this?
Many people are meditating.
As time passed, the bells in the imperial city rang, indicating that the Shenshi time had arrived.
His Majesty the Emperor appeared not far away.
The courtiers and the heads of the aristocratic families stood up one after another at this moment, and even the dean of the academy also stood up.
Emperor Liang walked over slowly, came to the banquet, and then slowly sat down.
As His Majesty the Emperor sat down, all the courtiers followed suit, and then a group of palace maids filed out.
The process was no different from the banquet process in previous years. His Majesty the Emperor was sitting at a high place and did not say anything, and there was no visible change in his expression.
It's just that the atmosphere in the venue is a little different compared to previous years.
The courtiers were all quiet.
Quiet and a bit weird.
Like the calm before the storm.
As the palace maid finished dancing, Lord Zaifu came out and began to talk about the major events that happened in the court throughout the past year.
The biggest issue in the Liang Dynasty last year was probably the Northern Territory, but when it comes to the Northern Territory, the word "Chen Dynasty" cannot be escaped.
Master Zaifu's expression remained unchanged, but the courtiers were not impressed.
Fortunately, after finishing speaking, His Majesty the Emperor did not say anything and did not open his mouth to award the reward as usual.
Master Zaifu slowly returned to the banquet.
Someone was taking a seat in the distance.
Han Pu, the minister of Dali Temple, finally entered the palace.
"Your Majesty, my minister, Han Pu, the Minister of Dali Temple, was ordered to investigate the case, and now a conclusion has been reached."
Han Pu came to the banquet and slowly knelt down.
Emperor Daliang looked at the Dali Temple minister and said, "Speak."
"After my investigation, the death of Marquis Huainan was indeed caused by Chen Chao, the deputy commander of Zuowei. The evidence is clear!"