463 Public Trial (2/2)

Long Fanyun exchanged glances with the Dragon King, and then asked, ”What weapon did the assassin use?”

Everyone was surprised that the Dragon King's man would come up with such a question. Ju Chi's voice was low, the people outside the hall were eager to hear him. A dozen guards stood in front to stop them from rushing in.

Ju Chi hesitated and then quietly said, ”A saber.” After which, he dropped his head even lower.

”What kind of saber?”

”The... the Golden Roc Fort kind.”

”Did he carry only one weapon?”

”No, I saw... I saw around his wast—” Ju Chi looked up and quickly glanced at the Dragon King, ”there was a sword.”

This stirred the crowd up. Their whispers resounded like a gale, signaling an imminent storm.

Long Fanyun did not get any hint from the Dragon King. He had had nothing to say up until now. Just when he did not know what he should do, the Dragon King rose up.

The storm that had been brewing in the crowd weakened immediately, and the guards at the gate all breathed a sigh of relief.

The evidence was compelling, so what else did the Dragon King have to say? Did he think that he could compel everyone present with his saber and sword? Most people thought like that, while very few of them worried about the Dragon King and considered conducting a public trial so urgently the wrong strategy.

However, Gu Shenwei knew what he was doing.

The Dragon Army had yet to gain full support in Xiaoyao Lake, and meanwhile, the war was imminent. The Dragon King did not have much time to win the people over. However, this murder provided an opportunity for him to win more support in a dramatic way.

Ever since he entered the Great Snowmountain and acquired the title of Dragon King, he knew that dramatic events were more effective than regular measures. Even if it did not solve the fundamental problem, it was the best ways to quell an immediate crisis.

Gu Shenwei walked along the table toward Ju Chi. Standing beside him, Gu Shenwei ignored him and turned to ask the elderly woman, ”Did you see the dead?”

The elderly woman did not expect this. She shivered with fear and cringed. ”Yes.”

”And then? What did you do after you saw her?”

”I... I ran out to call for help. I saw that the guard was lying on the ground, so I ran along the valley and shouted. Then... people came to help.”

”You didn't go to help the maid?”

”No, no, I was too frightened. You don't know, the blood...”

”I know.” Gu Shenwei interrupted her. ”So you were running with a candle?”

”Candle? There was no candle. I got up from the bed as soon as I heard the scream in the inner room. How would I have had the time to light a candle?”

”But you saw the blood on the bed, and the fatal wound on the pregnant woman's throat.”

She froze, but then continued. ”I saw that afterward. A lot of people came when they heard my shout. They lit candles, that's how I saw it.”

Gu Shenwei nodded as if he had nothing to say. Suddenly, he changed the subject. ”What's the name of the pregnant woman?”

”Hai Tang.”

”Identity?”

”A court maid.”

”Whose child was she carrying?”

The questions were all detrimental to him, which puzzled many people, including the elderly woman. She hesitated for a while before answering, ”She was carrying the Emperor's child.”

”Which Emperor?”

”The King of the Stone Kingdom.”

The rumors were proved true one by one. More commotion was stirred up in the crowd outside the hall. The guards at the gate remained vigilant, but they still feared that they would not be able to stop the angry crowd.

Gu Shenwei was silent for a moment and then asked, ”Did you just learn these things, or did you know about them all along?”

”I knew all along.” The elderly woman whispered, as if she was afraid that those words would provoke the Dragon King. ”When His Majesty had Hai Tang live there, I knew that it was his child.”

”So, you knew that the court maid was carrying the child of the King of the Stone Kingdom, but you didn't check on her after the scream? You didn't try to save her, but ran to call for help? Why?”

Gu Shenwei questioned the elderly woman. However, he did not look at her. He was staring at Ju Chi.

”I, I...” The elderly woman was at a loss for words.

All of a sudden, all the ministers and the crowd were waiting for a reasonable explanation from her.

The Princess was feeling proud, and never did she expect that she would be called by the Dragon King at this time.

”My Queen, it's time to tell the truth.”