“Her Imperial Majesty, the empress?” Shui Yanyu reacted.
“My wife is truly clever!”
If Empress Luan Xing was willing to speak up, then with her absolute authority, she was naturally capable of resolving this matter. But the problem here was that it merely implicated a minor ninth-ranked military general; how could such a trivial, small matter possibly reach the ears of Her Imperial Majesty?
The empress was naturally extremely busy, and still had to concentrate fully on cultivation. She was the backbone of the empire. Without the empress to support the heavens, the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire would have long since been annexed by the other two Majestic Empires.
Thus, how could the empress possibly bother with this kind of small matter?
Ling Han smiled faintly. Shui Yanyu did not have an official rank, and had never used power of the nation. How could she possibly know that as long as Empress Luan Xing wanted, she would be able to know each and every move in the whole empire?
Of course, this was much too big a strain on her mentally and physically. Empress Luan Xing would definitely not do that. However, the Imperial Capital was the most important location of all, and was naturally under the complete control of this empress.
He had revealed a great conspiracy of the Eternity Sky Emperor, yet Empress Luan Xing had not conferred any rewards to him. This was obviously done on purpose. She most likely wanted to make use of this opportunity to regulate the discipline in her empire and warn some people not to go too far.
Empress Luan Xing had never declared her position on this matter, yet Ling Han already understood it. It was because they were both smart people, and because Ling Han himself was the leader of his own empire, though his Great Ling Empire was much smaller in comparison.
The matter was still developing. News about Ling Han defecting and committing treason, and that he would soon be punished spread throughout the whole Imperial Capital, causing quite a number of people who did not know the truth to feel great pity for him. He obviously had such great future prospects, so why had he chosen to defect?
No force would accept betrayal; this was the bottom line.
Under massive pressure, many people drew a clear line between themselves and Ling Han. Even Li Weiwei was no exception. She visited Ling Han’s place personally, and informed him that the Left Minister had exerted very great pressure on her, telling her not to meet with Ling Han anymore.
Although Li Weiwei might be rebellious, if it was Left Minister’s strict command, she would not dare to go against it. Hence, she could only offer an apology to Ling Han.
Ling Han was still quite touched. After all, she was the daughter of the Left Minister, her status noble. It was already quite remarkable that she would deliberately come and inform him of this. She was really treating him like a friend.
It was impossible that the investigation would go on endlessly. After another two days, the Ministry of War decided to hold a public trial for Ling Han, and the time was decided to be on the noon of the next day.
Those that held an official rank of the empire could not be punished by anyone after simply declaring they should be punished… Of course, the empress was an exception—she possessed supreme authority. Thus, the Ministry of War had to first conduct a public trial to judge whether Ling Han had committed treason or otherwise.
Once it was confirmed, they would be able to apply to the empress to revoke Ling Han’s official rank of a ninth-ranked military officer. After that, they would be able to punish him as they wished.
From this, it could also be seen how important an official rank was.
The investigation was divided into a normal investigation and a public trial. In a normal investigation, the Ministry of War would imprison Ling Han and conduct an interrogation, but the process would not be made public. Only the final result would be announced.
The public trial was the exact opposite. During the investigation, outsiders were allowed to stand by and watch.
Because the crime that Ling Han had possibly committed was treason, the effects were too widespread. Hence, the Ministry of War decided to conduct a public trial. Of course, it was unknown whether Zhao Lun had any part in encouraging their decision. Perhaps he wanted to see Ling Han be convicted in public.
And when such an important matter had occurred, the casino would not be willing to be silent. They set out stakes on whether Ling Han would ultimately be convicted or otherwise—for example, would he be acquitted, or would his official rank be repealed. There were even stakes on whether he would be publicly executed.
At this moment, the most frequently discussed topic in the entire Imperial Capital was the matter of Ling Han’s ‘treason’.
***
Great General Sha’s Residence.
Sha Yuan laughed loudly, and asked, “The public trial will be tomorrow, right? Hehe, this guy is going to be out of luck. With so many witnesses’ testimonies, he would definitely be nailed on the pillar of shame! Haha, this is such a good chance, and if I do not join in, that would really not be enough to vent my grudge.
“Yuan Long, go and make arrangements. I am sure there should not be just so few people who have witnessed Ling Han’s ‘treason’,” he commanded calmly.
“Yes, Young Master!” a young man immediately answered from behind him.
“Ling Han, Ling Han, you are really the type that would only submit to pressure after having refused a polite offer; you must force me to make a move on you!” Sha Yuan smirked coldly. “Once you no longer have an official rank, added with your crime of treason, your only fate will be death!
“After you have been imprisoned, I will discover all the secrets you possess!”
Chapter 1072 - Testifying
Today was the day of the public trial to decide whether Ling Han had defected and committed treason.
It was exactly noon, and the Ministry of War sent out soldiers who brought Ling Han to a public court of the Ministry of War. This place was like an arena. In the center, there was a circular plain, and there were round after round of increasingly tall stairs all around. However, there were no seats.
Only the three judges had seats. They occupied a high pedestal, looking down on Ling Han. Each one of them was in the Sun Moon Tier, and exuded an air unique to elites, forming a kind of intimidating energy by itself.
Ling Han was not wearing any manacles or leg irons. Presently, he was only suspected to have defected and committed treason. However, as long as his crime was not proven, he was still innocent.
He was all alone, standing in the center of the defendant’s place. Meanwhile, there were people standing all around.
Everyone was extremely curious. This man that had stirred countless waves and created endless ripples in the Imperial Capital in the last year… Would this time be his final performance before the end of the show?
Shui Yanyu, Li Weiwei, and Ji Yun’er were here. Lin You, Ma Xing, Ye Chengyun, and other friends were here. Zhao Lun, Shui Yanyu, Jiu Wuqi, and other adversaries were also here, and added with those that were here to watch the excitement, or those that were jealous of him, they were all waiting for the show to begin on the spectators’ grandstand.
“Ling Han, do you plead guilty?” The three judges were Kong Chenghe, Gu Tianchu, and Nanmen Yang, respectively. Presently, this was a stern question from Gu Tianchu, his powerful spirit forming a terrifying spiritual intimidation, aimed directly for the heart.
If it had been any other person, he would’ve probably lost control of his divine sense, and speak out the words at the bottom of his heart in a moment of distraction. The fact that these three could become judges naturally had its own rationale. They had amazing attainments in terms of cultivation of the spirit.
In the first place, Ling Han’s spirit was extremely strong and tough, and added with the fact that he still had the essence of the Demon Master as foundation, to intimidate him was naturally impossible. At least, it was not a feat that could be accomplished by an elite in th
e medium extreme of the Sun Moon Tier.
He calmly replied, “I do not know what crime I have committed!”
“Insolence!” Kong Chenghe directed a fierce glare at him. “In the public court of the Ministry of War, you still dare to speak falsely? Immediately confess all the details of your collaboration with the Golden Lion Nation!”
Ling Han broke into a smile, and said, “This is something that’s never happened in the first place, so how am I supposed to confess?”
“Humph, we knew that you were going to deny it. Come, summon the first witness!” Nanmen Yang waved a hand.
The first witness to appear was actually Zhao Lun!
Looking at how he walked proudly down from the spectators’ grandstand, Ling Han couldn’t help but shake his head internally. This was really a case of “villain would make a lot of mischief”. ‘You are the son of a Great General, yet keep to beat down a “minor character” like me; do you feel no shame?’
With such temperament, his achievements would be limited.
Others kept saying that Zhao Lun was a genius, and the rate of his cultivation had by now exceeded that of the majority of those elites of the Heavenly Body Tier who had been in the same age bracket, and that in the future, he was definitely going to break through to the Heavenly Body Tier and so on. However, Ling Han hardly had any optimistic opinion of this person.
Among those Heavenly Body Tier elites he had seen, though they all had varying personalities, they all possessed supreme forcefulness without exception, and were extremely confident in themselves. But in Zhao Lun, he only saw pettiness and determination to avenge every smallest fault. This kind of character was destined to be incapable of crossing over the barrier to the Heavenly Body Tier for eternity.
Indeed, Zhao Lun was presently able to advance rapidly in his cultivation. Firstly, it was because his cultivation level was still low, after all, so he could soar. Secondly, it was because he had a good father, who was willing to snatch all kinds of natural treasures for him. Otherwise, it definitely would be impossible that he would advance into the Sun Moon Tier in the next millennia.
‘F***, you actually dare to look down on me?’
Zhao Lun had been glaring at Ling Han, and when he saw the disdain in his eyes, he almost exploded in fury.
‘You are now a prisoner, a commoner’—no matter what, he would not recognize Ling Han’s official rank—’an ant from a small world, a mere cultivator of the medium extreme of Mountain River Tier! What right do you have to look down on me??’
He was the son of the Great General Zhao, and this identity was enough to dominate over 99% of all the people in the empire!
‘Just see if I won’t get you killed!’
Zhao Lun revealed a cold smirk, and uttered, “Zhao Lun pays respects to the three lords!”
These three judges were all officials of the Ministry of War, and had official ranks. Furthermore, they were all in a higher position than Zhao Lun. In a public setting, even Zhao Lun could not dispense with etiquette. Otherwise, it would not be an insult to the three of them, but an insult to the political system of the empire.
“Heir Zhao, you may dispense with the formalities!” Though Kong Chenghe and the others accepted his respects calmly, they immediately greeted him cordially. How could they slight the son of the Great General Zhao?
“Bootlickers!” Li Weiwei mumbled. Her voice was not low, either.
Out of those present, probably only Li Weiwei, Sha Yuan, Zhao Lun, and a few other descendants of noble clans would dare to look down on the judges like this.
Kong Chenghe and the other judges looked rather awkward, but they could not afford to offend the daughter of the Left Minister, either. Most importantly, she had not pointed right at their noses and cursed at them.
“Silence!” Nanmen Yang rebuked. The aura of the Sun Moon Tier rolled out, and instantly caused everyone’s faces to pale. It was practically hard for them to even catch their breath.
Kong Chenghe opened his mouth, and said, “Heir Zhao, you were one of the commanding officers in this military expedition, and personally led the assault squad to launch a sneak attack on the Golden Lion Nation. Please describe in detail the proceedings at that time.”
“Yes.” Zhao Lun appeared very humble, giving enough face to these three people. “The Ninth King and I had come up with a countermeasure, and leading the troops, we set off and crossed the furious river…” He began to relate the happenings of that day. He was impartial in this recounting, though, and did not deliberately frame Ling Han for anything.
…It was because even without him making a move here, the subsequent over dozen “witnesses” were the true fatal attack.
Zhao Lun smirked coldly. He had mentioned the Ninth King a few times, and that was to mock Ling Han. Such a huge thing had happened, yet the Ninth King had not appeared at all. She had not even spoken one word on his behalf!
‘You must be very disappointed, right?’
This was natural. Who did not know of the Ninth King’s esteemed, noble status? Furthermore, there was an unwritten rule, and that was that none of the Nine Kings—just like Her Imperial Majesty, the empress—married!
Since the eight Kings before her were thus, he was sure that the Ninth King would be no exception.
Her relations with Ling Han were too close, so Her Imperial Majesty would definitely interfere personally!
It had to be known that it was not that Zhao Lun had not had designs on the Ninth King before. He was confident as he was a man of striking appearance, and one with extraordinary talent, who was furthermore the only son of the Great General Zhao. Though he was inferior to the Ninth King in terms of status, was there any other in the entire empire that could be match for her?
However, he had only ingratiated himself with the Ninth King once, and when he returned, he was sternly warned by the Great General Zhao not to have any designs on the Ninth King. He was not to even think of anything of the sort, or the Great General Zhao would have no choice but to personally behead him and offer his severed head to the empress in apology.
It was that serious!
‘I, Zhao Lun, am not fit for her, so who do you, an ant from a small world, think you are?’
Finally, Zhao Lun added his own analysis. “At the time, I was wearing the treasured armor my father had given me. After fully awakening it, I could possess defenses on the level of the consummate level of the Sun Moon Tier, and would be capable of flight. Even so, it was still extremely difficult for me to charge back, and bring back information about the invasion of the Eternity Sky Majestic Empire. Finally, the Eternity Sky Majestic Empire knew that their plans had been foiled, and thus chose to command the Golden Lion Nation to retreat.
“I would like to ask: if even I had such difficulty breaking out of such a heavy encirclement, and the subordinates that I had brought had all fallen into enemy hands, how could possibly a mere cultivator in the medium extreme of the Mountain River Tier manage to escape?”
Zhao Lun pointed at Ling Han, accusing him in a stern tone.
Chapter 1073 - Irrefutable Evidence?
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Zhao Lun was really quite thick-skinned. While beating down on Ling Han, he did not forget to blow his own trumpet, completely seizing the merit of forcing the Eternity Sky Majestic Empire to retreat.
In truth, practically no one knew that Empress Luan Xing had moved personally, and thus, the fact that Golden Lion Nation, or rather the Eternity Sky Majestic Empire, had suddenly retreated their troops could only be summed up to be a result of the secret being leaked out—they apparently did not dare continue the war. Otherwise, if a full-out war broke out between the two Majestic Empires, it would only be advantageous to the Jade Drop Majestic Empire.
Going by that account, Zhao Lun had really performed a great service because all members of the assault squad had been lost, and he had been the only one to escape. Additionally, he had also exposed the fact that t
he Golden Lion Nation had the support of elites from the Eternity Sky Majestic Empire.
Initially, it was a grand failure, a rash act of launching an attack without even knowing the depth and ins and outs of the enemy, but in Zhao Lun’s words now, it had become a great meritorious service. The level of shamelessness this man had was indeed awesome.
“Ling Han, what do you have to say?” Nanmen Yang asked Ling Han.
Ling Han smiled slightly, and responded, “Just as Zhao Lun said, I am merely in the medium extreme, and no one would take me seriously. Then, isn’t the fact I managed to escape very logical? Furthermore, I would like to ask a question of Heir Zhao. Obviously knowing I am only in the medium extreme, why had you chosen me to be a member of the assault squad still?”
“This…” Zhao Lun paused. He had not thought that Ling Han would ask this question outright in public.
Could he say that he wanted to make use of his official position to vent his personal grudge, and borrow enemy hands to erase Ling Han? If he actually said that, even he would not be let off easily. Putting aside the fact that he would be punished by the empire, what soldier would dare follow his lead in future? Wouldn’t they be worried that he would do the same to them one day?
“Ling Han, don’t change the topic!” Zhao Lun quickly exclaimed. How could he allow Ling Han to take control of the proceedings? This was a trial to judge whether the latter had defected, so why was he bringing him into the matter?
“En, don’t think of changing the topic,” Gu Tianchu said with a nod of his head. He was naturally siding with Zhao Lun.
“Ling Han, do not try to talk your way out of this. There are many witnesses who can prove that you were indeed captured that day here. Hence, do not deny it unto death,” Kong Chenghe said coldly.
“Oh, then I would really like to hear how I had been captured,” Ling Han said, smiling.
“Summon the other witnesses!” Kong Chenghe appeared displeased. This brat was really the type to hold out hope until faced with the grim reality.
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 550