Vol 2 Chapter 273 (1/2)

Chapter 273: Courtroom Debate

All of the officers were in shock No one had expected Fan Xian would sooner select death before a debate The Minister of Appointments' face went dark, with a look as if he was prepared to say soher-ranked officers in front of him, he was silenced He then realized that these matters were not as simple as he believed them to be

The Bureau of Military Affairs’ head diplo, white beard hovered above his face like a cloud in the breeze His eyes were squinted so shu was looking down the aisle and spotted the General’s son, Qin Heng He was silent as well Where was the courage he had shown in early spring, suggesting that Fan Xian becodom?

The military’s silence was understandable, for this was a battle of words and not one of swords This is despite the fact that they shared a very good, long-standing relationshi+p with the Overwatch Council There was an officer, referred to as Shu the Scholar, who looked almost afraid; as if he had never seen the Emperor raise his voice before Such was this scene and its palpable tension, that many of the ministers in court became petrified

Yan Hangshu was of the mind to yell at Fan Xian, but he ultimately dee while the eldest princess ay in Xinyang

Seeing as there weren’t any chancellors barking at Fan Xian, the Eazed at Fan Xian and told him, ”If you continue to offer no counter-debate, ill listen to what Officer Lai has to say”

I was keen to adhere to such an order He immediately stepped forward and spoke aloud the criainst Fan Xian He over-enunciated al everyone present could hear each offence clearly As he did so, Fan Xian thought to hily place the blas on me? Those little bastards I already evicted froe briberies last month and now I must take the fall?”

An undercurrent of discussion between the people present in the court could be heard The way that they each looked at both Officer Lai and Fan Xian was al The first crime that the Imperial Censorate accused Fan Xian of was the acceptance of a bribe by Eunuch Dai, who had done so on behalf of his cousin Dai Zhen Each and every officer there thought it insulting that Officer Lai illing to bring this ht that the repercussions of such a crime asted on Fan Xian, who had only accepted a measly 1,000 tael None of the officers in the court would have been willing to

accept such a tiny sum

When the E Fan Xian were involved with the palace, his facial expression remained resolute The E Eunuch Dai to the court from the manor where he currently was

Every officer believed that theabout the presentation of his case was a little strange Everyone knew that the Eive those involved with bribery, nor would he send them to prison Therefore, they were each curious as to how today’s events were set to unfold So they bit their lips in silence, perched at the edge of their seats

Not long later, Eunuch Dai was brought before the court Without being told, he kneas occurring As he stood there, he was both afraid and a little bewildered In his thoughts, he recollected how he passed on the money to Yi Guipin She was a cheerful wo She was also a distant relative of Fan Xian ”Could she have sold me out? I doubt it But then, how could these revelations have coht by the Imperial Censorate?”

While he was in the court, greeting the Emperor, he pleaded the ”injustice” that had been done upon hi as tears rolled down his cheeks, proclai his innocence and how he had not been involved with anything unlawful He then said, ”My lord has always forbidden the workers of the palace froe I could not even drea the law or any co of Mister Fan, I have heard his name before, but…”

Eunuch Dai was a pitiable sight He now looked up at the Emperor and spoke: ”Everyone knows about Fan Xian He is fa of myself, I adodo further honor to our nation It would be nigh i is all I have done I never laid eyes upon this man in all my life!”

I coldly asked, ”You really have not seen Fan Xian before?”

Eunuch Dai’s knees ached as he knelt upon the floor He paid no heed to it, though, as he cursed the nosy wretch before hi what he asked, the eunuch perked his head and feigned the i ”Ah, I remember now It was sometime last year I think it hen I visited the Fana e I entered and left shortly after If that counts as seeing him, then yes, I have But it was

was only that one time”

Eunuch Dai then began to cry out loud, proclais and a and sniffles, said, ”My lord, I only saw hihtning and may I be once more reincarnated as a eunuch!”

The Emperor was taken aback The eunuch’s words appeared honest, but he had no idea that the man despised his fate as a eunuch as er and yelled, ”What nonsense are you spouting?!”

Officer Lai looked a little worried and to perhaps ease tensions, said, ”About the bribery, it’s not as if you’d both have to see each other to do it Eunuch Dai, letDo you have a cousin called Dai Zhen? He is a se of… the inspection of vegetables Yes, he is a vegetable inspector”

Eunuch Dai did not deny anything and simply nodded

Officer Lai continued by saying, ”My lord, this Dai Zhen is the…” Officer Lai proceeded by speaking aloud the criaze back over to Fan Xian and with a chilling tone, said, ”Let ht now?”

Fan Xian thought for a while before answering, ”That case is closed That fellow Dai Zhen, after he was forced to relinquish the money, he was fired Where he is now, I have no clue”