Zu An shrugged, replying, “Did I? Why don’t I know anything about it? You can't baselessly slander people, you know?”
“This old one personally saw it! The hand imprint is still on King Dai’s face, and yet you’re still denying it!” Meng Yi protested, his expression turning fierce.
You have successfully trolled Meng Yi for +400 +400 +400…
King Dai finally snapped out of his daze, cursing, “Bastard Zu, you actually dare to strike a prince in public? This is a serious crime! Men, arrest this scoundrel who has no respect for his ruler or father!”
You have successfully trolled Zhao Ping for +555 +555 +555…
“Is it true just because you said it was? I said earlier that it was you who schemed against the Qin clan’s state dukes. Will you acknowledge that then?” Zu An replied with a smile.
“It’s useless trying to create misunderstandings through gossip here,” Meng Yi said with a sneer. “There are so many officials with eyes here. They all saw that you struck King Dai in the face!”
King Dai’s face was still burning, perhaps from the pain, or perhaps from humiliation.
Father-in-law, can you not speak so loudly? Being slapped in the face isn’t anything honorable to begin with! It’s all that bastard Zu’s fault!
You have successfully trolled Zhao Ping for +444 +444 +444…
“Is that so? Did you all see it?” Zu An asked, sweeping his gaze across the area.
Many subjects averted their eyes.
This is now touching upon whether we support the Meng clan and King Dai or the Bi clan and crown prince; who would be willing to get involved in something like that?
Meng Yi narrowed his eyes.
This kid also wants to play around with our tactics? However, he's still a bit too naive.
Sure enough, there were several important subjects who claimed to have seen it.
“I saw it!”
“I also saw it!”
“It was you who hit King Dai!”
…
They were all from the Meng clan and King Dai’s faction, so it was natural that they would speak up.
Zu An seemed to have anticipated that, saying, “All of you are King Dai and Meng Yi’s lackeys, so of course you’ll speak up for him. According to the Great Zhou Dynasty’s laws, you're all people with aligned interests, so your testimonies can't be accepted. Sir Jiang, am I correct in what I’ve said?”
Jiang Boyang, who was passing by, couldn't help but smile. He said sternly, “That is indeed the case.”
This bastard Meng has crossed the line again and again. Did he really think I couldn't lose my temper?
Zu An thought to himself, As expected of Principal Jiang’s father, he's no stranger to the law.
“Jiang Boyang, you…” Meng Yi began furiously.
Just then, a eunuch said in an eerie voice, “Sir Zu, her highness has invited you to the Palace of Peace. She has something she wishes to inquire about.”
The eunuch seemed to carry an ominous air about him, and the subjects in the vicinity couldn't help but stay some distance away from him. It was the empress’ attendant, Eunuch Lu. Ever since Eunuch Wen died on Violet Mountain, he had already practically become the general manager of internal affairs.
“Eunuch Lu, this Zu person just hit King Dai,” Meng Yi urgently said.
Eunuch Lu said emotionlessly, “Commandant of Justice Jiang is right next to you. If there is any matter worthy of complaint, please file a case with him. Her highness wishes to meet with Sir Zu right now, and I do not dare to tarry when it comes to her request.” Shortly after, he bowed to Zu An, saying, “Sir Zu, this way, please.”
Zu An frowned, but in the end, he didn’t want to embarrass the empress and decided to follow the eunuch for now.
When he saw the two leave, King Dai’s expression distorted. He muttered, “What is the empress trying to do here?”
Meng Yi’s brows also furrowed tightly.
Her highness’ treatment of this bastard Zu seems to be quite special.
…
Zu An quickly met up with the empress in the Palace of Peace.
Liu Ning gave him a look. Then, she asked with a sigh, “You blame me for the choice I made just now, don’t you?”
Zu An shook his head, saying, "I don't. I already anticipated all of this before I entered the palace.”
Liu Ning felt a bit anxious, saying, “You can't act rashly; I already handed this case to the Embroidered Envoy. You can investigate however you want and no one will be able to say anything.
“Besides, strictly speaking, this matter isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The Qin clan and Murong clan have suffered such wrongs, and the officials now sympathize with them. Together with the Meng clan and King Dai being in the wrong this time, they likely can't demand for the Qin and Murong clan to remain imprisoned. So, the crimes of the Qin and Murong clan will be minimized, and they'll be allowed to leave.”
Zu An nodded, saying, “Your highness has already considered the entire situation fully.”
Liu Ning felt a bit skeptical because Zu An seemed a bit too calm. She said, “You absolutely can't do anything foolish. Just leave the rest to me, and I promise that I'll bring the Qin and Murong clans out of the prison as quickly as possible.”
Zu An asked, “Will they be restored to their former posts with their full innocence?”
Liu Ning was a bit troubled. She said, “That might not be too likely. The events that took place on Violet Mountain were a bit too big, so there need to be some people who take responsibility. However, I can promise that there will definitely be no danger to their lives, and that they'll at most have their noble titles lowered by one level and have their official posts demoted. They'll likely also have to put up some insignificant family members and so on.”
Zu An nodded.
When she saw that he didn’t say anything, Liu Ning just felt a bit alarmed somehow. She continued, “That's the most I can concede. Otherwise, according to the rules, the Murong clan would likely be executed down to the third generation, and the entire Qin clan would likely be banished.”
“I understand how much you’ve already done," Zu An said with a chuckle.
“You really won’t do anything foolish?” Liu Ning couldn't help but ask.
“Don’t worry, I won't do anything stupid. Otherwise, I might become the public enemy of the entire capital,” Zu An said in consolation, then got up to leave.
…