Chapter 142: The Courtroom Confrontation
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
“Big brother!”
Lu Chao Chao’s small face turned pale as she clutched at the hem of her sleeve. Lu Yan Shu, trembling, pressed his hands tightly against his head. His lips were a thin, bloodless line, and cold sweat beaded across his furrowed brow. His clenched fists trembled, the veins on his hands bulging with suppressed emotion.
“Yan Shu…” Madam Xu’s heart tightened in alarm.
With great effort, Lu Yan Shu raised a hand. His eyes remained tightly shut, lashes quivering as his inner turmoil surged within.
[Lu Jing Huai orchestrated the murder using Pei Yao Zu? How old was he at the time?]
[And afterward, he gouged out Pei Yao Zu’s eyes and cut out his tongue!]
The fragmented thoughts from Lu Chao Chao’s heart poured into his mind. He silently absorbed her words. Years ago, when the calamity struck, he was but a reckless youth. The tragedy had left him paralyzed, drowning him in despair. Those memories, too agonizing to face, had been buried deep within him—even blurred, as if shielded by his mind as a form of self-preservation.
But now, they resurfaced, each moment sharp and unrelenting. He could not calm the storm within. His lips moved as if to speak, but no sound emerged. Turning to look at Madam Xu, his anguish was evident in his strained silence.
Tears welled in Madam Xu’s eyes. “I sent Pei Yao Zu to the Xu family, hoping justice could be found. But ten years have passed. All evidence of Lu Jing Huai’s crime has vanished.” Her voice trembled. “It’s my fault—for failing to recognize the depths of evil. I brought calamity upon you both.”
“Mother,” Lu Yan Shu reassured her, his voice steadying as he grasped his sister’s hand. “Our days are only just beginning to brighten. We needn’t dwell on the past.” His tone shifted, conviction burning in his words. “The pain we suffered, the deceptions we endured, and the indignities we bore—we will reclaim all of it, one by one!”
“Tomorrow, I will go to the authorities.”
Madam Xu’s breath caught. “The evidence is long gone,” she reminded him, her worry etched on her face.
Lu Yan Shu’s gaze sharpened. “The evidence may be gone, but…” He let the words linger, a cold edge in his tone. “We can still sow discord in the Marquis’s household. We can stain Lu Jing Huai’s name with disgrace.”
Behind his composed façade, a darker resolve glimmered.
[Lu Jing Huai was born wicked! He is pure evil!]
Lu Chao Chao’s silent fury resonated in his mind.
…
The following morning, Lu Yan Shu personally filed a report at the magistrate’s office. The Xu family brought Pei Yao Zu forward as a witness. The charges, accusing Lu Jing Huai of hiring an assassin and implicating Pei Yao Zu in the crime, caused an immediate uproar in the capital.
“Lu Yan Shu was the victim?”
“His own uncle? His grandmother’s younger brother?”
“Hiring an assassin at that age? How old was Lu Jing Huai back then? He couldn’t have been more than eight or nine!”
The whispers echoed in every corner, their shock rippling through the city. Even the magistrate, Official Zhong, personally greeted Lu Chao Chao at the courthouse gates. After all, she now carried the title of Princess Sunshine.
“May the Princess find peace and prosperity,” Official Zhong greeted her with a deep bow.
As a scholar, Lu Yan Shu was not required to bow, but he offered a courteous nod nonetheless. His youthful figure stood resolute as he pointed directly at Pei Yao Zu.
“Years ago, I saved Miss Jiang Yun Jin from drowning. Frightened, she hid in the rockery, crying. I had just climbed ashore when Pei Yao Zu pushed me back into the water, holding me under until I lost consciousness. The trauma left me with no memory of the incident until now, when it all resurfaced.”
He paused, his words deliberate and clear. “Pei Yao Zu had his tongue cut out and his eyes gouged by Lu Jing Huai. He is now nothing but a ruined man.”
Official Zhong immediately summoned Lu Jing Huai to appear. Alongside him arrived Old Madam Pei, whose anguished cries filled the court as she rushed toward Pei Yao Zu.
“Yao Zu! Yao Zu! It’s your elder sister! Which monstrous fiend gouged out your eyes?”
Pei Yao Zu recognized her voice, his mouth opening as he wailed incomprehensibly, tears streaming down his face. The siblings clung to each other, their sorrowful cries echoing in the chamber.
Lu Jing Huai watched coldly, his face pale from his recent provincial exams. Bowing slightly to Official Zhong, he spoke.
“I have never hired an assassin, let alone at such a young age. When this alleged incident took place, I was merely eight years old.” He straightened, meeting the magistrate’s gaze with unwavering calm. “My elder brother’s resentment toward me is evident. Though I am an illegitimate child and have no place in the Marquis’s household, I have always acted with humility toward my brother. Yet this accusation of murder is not only baseless but absurd.”
He turned his gaze to Pei Yao Zu, whose body trembled violently upon hearing his voice. “Ah! Ah ah!” Pei Yao Zu lunged toward him, but blind and disoriented, he stumbled and fell to the ground.
Lu Jing Huai’s expression remained icy. “Uncle,” he said slowly, each word deliberate. “For the sake of our family, I will ensure your only son is well cared for.”
At this, Pei Yao Zu’s anguished cries deepened into howls of despair. His face was a portrait of hopelessness as he clutched his head, shaking uncontrollably. Lu Jing Huai approached him, crouching down to meet his unseeing eyes.
“Tell me, Uncle,” he asked in a low, threatening tone. “Was it I who hired you to harm my brother? Was it I who mutilated you?”
Pei Yao Zu’s wails escalated into incoherent shrieks as he shook his head frantically. His sister, Old Madam Pei, recoiled as if struck by lightning.
“Who hired you to kill Yan Shu?” she demanded, her voice trembling. “Who gouged out your eyes and cut your tongue?”
Lu Yan Shu remained impassive. He hadn’t come here expecting to bring Lu Jing Huai down today. His goal was merely to sow discord within the Marquis’s household. But as for Pei Yao Zu…
Pei Yao Zu would not leave the courtroom alive.
“Grandmother,” Lu Jing Huai said earnestly. “I did not hire an assassin, as you can see. Uncle himself has denied it.” He cast a significant glance toward Lu Yan Shu. “Perhaps my brother inadvertently offended our uncle.”
Old Madam Pei’s throat constricted. She knew her younger brother too well. Without a hefty bribe, he was too much of a coward to commit murder. Petty theft and peeping on bathing women—these were his usual exploits. Murder? Never.
Lu Yan Shu’s laughter was bitter. “Do not call me your brother,” he said, his tone cutting. “You are nothing but a rat scuttling through sewers, unworthy of daylight or decency. How dare you address me so familiarly?”
He turned to Old Madam Pei, his eyes glinting with malice. “Did you know?” he asked, his voice laced with menace. “You sent Uncle to murder, only to have his eyes and tongue removed. It’s monstrous… I fear for you. Who’s to say when he might turn his cruelty on you?”
Lu Jing Huai’s smile vanished, replaced by a shadowed expression.
Official Zhong, well aware of the brothers’ fractured family ties, struck the gavel, his voice stern. “Pei Yao Zu, were you instructed to commit murder?”
Pei Yao Zu shook his head vehemently.
“Was this crime your doing alone?”
He nodded, tears streaming down his face.
Old Madam Pei’s panic spilled forth. “Yan Shu! Yan Shu! Do not accuse your uncle. We are family—a family bound by blood! Spare him this once, I beg you. He has learned his lesson.”
She grasped Lu Yan Shu’s arm, her voice desperate. “You’re standing now, alive and well. Let this go, Yan Shu. Let it go.”
Lu Yan Shu’s voice was soft yet unyielding. “Family?” he asked. “Am I listed in the family register?”
Old Madam Pei froze, her lips trembling.
[Fortunately, the severance is official. Otherwise, she’d weaponize filial piety against us!]
[She dismisses my brother’s decade of despair as if it were nothing!]
Lu Chao Chao’s small face was taut with fury.
“You personally cast me out,” Lu Yan Shu continued, his voice cutting through the air. “You struck my name from the records, severed all ties with a written document. Or have you forgotten?”
His words carried a sharp, dangerous gleam, leaving the courtroom in suffocating silence.