“Official Wei.” Peng Pei was busy wiping sweat off his face so Minister Yong of the Justice Department could only take over the questioning temporarily, “You have been accused of leaking the Imperial Spring Exam questions, do you have anything to say?”

“Yes.”

“Please go ahead.”

“Since I have not confessed to this crime and Gu Nan Yi has yet been questioned,” Feng Zhi Wei smiled, “I would like to ask everyone here, how did this confession that clearly and in great detail narrated the ins and outs of the exam question leak case came to be?” 

A thoughtful expression appeared on everyone’s face. Yes, the two culprits had yet to make their statements, so where did this very detailed confession come from?

“Only those who participated in the matter would know the ins and outs the best, isn’t that right?” 

“You are wrong again.” Peng Pei finally calmed down a bit, and sneered as he glared at Feng Zhi Wei with murderous eyes, “Don’t think that you can get out of this by rambling nonsense. Even if you don’t confess, someone else will! Have you not heard that even circumstantial evidence can be as heavy as a mountain?!” 

Pleased with himself, Peng Pei turned to sit back down but then saw his master sitting with a frown and an expression of unease. Peng Pei’s heart gave a nervous lurch but it was too late to pull back now. 

Slamming a wooden block down, he called out “Summon the witnesses!”

The guards yell out, one after another, echoing through the hall, 

“Summ…on…the witness…es….” 

“I am a third-ranking official of the Ministry of Rites, and recently took some sick leave to recuperate at home. The day before yesterday, my good friend who is a commander of the Fifth Army had arrived in the capital to begin his post. That night, I had set up a feast at the Mountain Moon Inn for my friend. While there, we heard that Official Wei was having a banquet in the same place so we went over for a drink. For the rest of the night, I was with my friends and never left them. I do not know how the keys were stolen. This subordinate is willing to receive punishment for my negligence.” 

Skipping over testimonies from 5 witnesses. 

“I am Li Asuo,  a…locksmith on Xicheng Street…I opened a lock making shop at the entrance of Xicheng Street. Aside from locks we also make keys. Around nine o’clock of the night before yesterday, there was a man in all black clothes wearing a white face cover. He knocked on my shop, took out two clay molds of keys, and asked me to make two keys. Yes, these two keys.” 

“My name is Xu Han, a member of the Department of Proof and Inspection in the Ministry of Justice. The two keys handed over by Minister You and Minister Zhang both have a small amount of red crushed mud caught in the sharp edges of the keys. Those red crushed mud matched those of the clay mold that was used by locksmith Li Asuo in his shop.”

 After a series of detailed testimonies that seemed disorganized on the surface but all vaguely pointed to Wei Zhi, all the officials’ expressions were solemn as they listened. 

Feng Zhi Wei listened quietly, actually admiring the other party inwardly. There was no delay after the incident, and the trial was started almost immediately. In such a short time, the Ministry of Punishment was able to prepare such an impressive amount of evidence and witnesses. This sort of abnormally high efficiency meant that the other party had been preparing for quite some time and had come with a full determination to bring her down.  

There was glee in Peng Pei’s eyes as he looked at Feng Zhi Wei’s pensive face, but when he stole a glance at his master, there was still a trace of unease on his master’s face. 

Yet another witness came in. The man trembled when he saw Feng Zhi Wei’s handcuffed figure before shakily kneeling down by her. 

Feng Zhi Wei’s eyes flashed– very good, very good. Finally, there is a witness that she did not expect to see. 

“I am…Qingming Academy’s student Ni Wenyu…on that day…with a group of fellow students…had held a banquet for Official Wei…during that time…during that time…”

Compared with the previous group of witnesses who spoke decisively and clearly, the one that is kneeling now hung his head very low with a trembling body, unable to form complete sentences as he stumbled over his words.  

Because Wei Zhi was kneeling right by him and looking at him with his head tilted. 

Not angry, not sad, not indignant, not shocked. He didn’t jump up furiously to rebuke him nor did he lunge at him to beat him up. Wei Zhi just quietly knelt beside him, in a rather familiar fashion, as he looked at him with his head tiled, his eyes calm. In fact, there was even a strange trace of a smile in the corner of his lips. 

A strange, indescribable hint of a smile. 

As if…a bit amused, with a bit of pity, a bit of contempt, and a bit…of watching a puppet performing enthusiastically, but with the clarity of an observer. 

Anyone faced with that hint of smile, would feel like they are a puppet being controlled by him. 

Ni Wenyu’s body began to shake. 

He has seen this sort of smile on Wei Zhi before at the academy. Whenever he encountered troublemakers attempting to make trouble for him, Wei Zhi would smile like this…then, the trouble would disappear and the troublemakers would meet a miserable end. 

The students of Qingming Academy regard Wei Zhi as a god in their hearts. So did he. Yet today, he betrayed his god right in front of his face. 

He buried his head even lower, unable to utter a word. 

“Ni Wenyu.” Someone in the hall spoke up. Minister Peng Pei said chillingly, “You can rest assured, speak boldly and truthfully. Don’t worry, this is the Ministry of Punishment, I am here to protect you!” 

Listening to Peng Pei’s deep and oppressive words, Ni Wenyu shuddered again. 

His fingers dug into the cracks in the brick. 

He is different from Tao Yangyu and his group of friends with their noble backgrounds. He came from a poor background, he doesn’t have the backing of a powerful family that has already paved his future for him. He has to work harder than them in order to obtain the results they can easily obtain without trying. He doesn’t want to resign himself to a life of endless studying in hopes of taking one little step forward like all of the other poor students. He envies the smooth sailing life the children of the noble families enjoy so he tried to get close to them…but it takes money to be with them. Take this feast planned by the students for example. Everyone else was from a noble background and paid their portion of the money without a second thought but he had to pawn his winter coat…His mother at home has not touched a trace of meat in the last three months, even as he was watching whole plates of untouched food being carelessly thrown away. 

After that night, while he was worrying about how to afford the next day’s food, someone came to see him. 

A thousand taels of silver, and a guarantee that he will pass the spring exam. Even if he wasn’t able to pass the palace test (after the written spring exam, those who passed will have a face to face interview in the palace), they will make sure he has a glowing recommendation from a local official. With the help of a good recommendation, a bright future will be ahead of him. 

In the darkness of the night, the last conscience of an ambitious poor student was wiped out. 

…With Peng Pei’s words still echoing in his ears, Ni Wenyu hardened his heart. Things have progressed to this point, he has already taken the money, it was too late to change his mind now, a man has to be ruthless in this world to achieve greatness! 

Closing his eyes, Ni Wen puffed up his chest and the words fed to him by others came rushing out. 

“During that time, due to my inability to handle too much liquor, I didn’t join the drinking competition but pretended to be asleep instead. By accident, I saw Official Gu approaching Official Yu and Zhang when they were toasting other people, and using other people’s bodies as a cover, he made clay mold of their keys.”

“You #$@!% !” Hua Qing as the witness of the “forced confession” stood outside the fence to listen to the trial. Hearing Ni Wenyu’s words, she couldn’t help but swear, “If Gu Nan Yi really wanted to do something, would someone like you have been able to see it? Shameless, falsely accusing an innocent person, you have shamed all scholars, and shamed all of Qingming Academy!” 

Under the scolding, Ni Wenyu’s face turned pale, his flickering glance darting all over. Seeing Ni Wenyu’s nervousness, Peng Pei quickly yelled angrily “Hua Qing! We already made an exception for you to listen in on the trial, if you disrupt the trial again then we will drive you out immediately!”

With a toss of her head, Hua Qing sent a powerful spit onto the side of Ni Wenyu’s face, “I will wait to see you drown in the spit from the academy students!”

Afraid something else might come out of Hua Qing’s mouth, Peng Pei quickly calls out, “Summon Gu Nan Yi!”

“Summon Gu Nan Yi…” 

  All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com

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