#31: The Flowing Water of Today (II)

The witness was originally a young eunuch responsible for sweeping at Muchun Field, about seventeen or eighteen years old. He entered the hall trembling, barely able to speak. Upon seeing the assembly before him, his legs gave way, and he nearly collapsed.

“Y-your humble servant greets all the esteemed lords.”

Ye Tingyan stepped out from his seat and personally steadied the young man’s arm, gesturing for him to stand upright.

Upon recognizing Ye Tingyan, the eunuch visibly relaxed and stammered: “M-my Lord Ye.”

Ye Tingyan spoke gently: “Ruoshui, there’s no need to be nervous. Tell the court what you told me earlier. Under the wise emperor’s reign, no one will suffer unjustly.”

From afar, Luo Wei noticed Chang Zhao furrowing his brows.

Clearly, the two had been investigating the case together, but this witness was someone Ye Tingyan had never mentioned to Chang Zhao.

With Ye Tingyan’s reassurance, the young eunuch named Ruoshui strangely calmed down. After kowtowing again, his trembling voice steadied somewhat: “Your humble servant Ruoshui was originally responsible for tending horses and sweeping at Muchun Field.”

The presiding judge of the Court of Punishments prompted: “What did you witness regarding the assassination attempt at Muchun Field? Speak in detail.”

Ruoshui quickly responded with a timid “Yes” and continued: “Half a month before His Majesty’s scheduled hunt at Muchun Field, everyone began cleaning and preparing. During this time, fewer nobles came to practice horse riding. I remember… only Second Master Lin and a few of his friends continued to frequent the field, practicing archery and polo. They even considered venturing into the woods, but the supervisor forbade it.”

Lin Zhao interjected anxiously: “I was merely practicing more diligently in preparation for the spring hunt!”

Ye Tingyan clicked his tongue: “Bianjing is vast, with places like Jinming Pool and Qingtian Garden, not to mention the Lin family estate. Why confine yourself to this one location? Your explanation seems rather contrived.”

Before Lin Zhao could retort, the presiding judge cleared his throat and instructed Ruoshui: “Continue.”

Ruoshui glanced fearfully at Lin Zhao: “Forgive me, Second Master Lin. I am merely stating the facts. Though Lin frequently visited, he followed the rules. When Lord Ye investigated at Muchun Field, he repeatedly questioned me. That’s when I recalled seeing Second Master Lin elsewhere…”

“That day, the attendants sent to deliver the ceremonial sword to His Majesty happened to encounter Second Master Lin. Coincidentally, my roommate and I were polishing the sword. Despite attempts to stop him, Second Master Lin proudly showed the sword to his companions and boasted about it.”

At this statement, the hall erupted in murmurs.

Previous investigations confirmed that the ancient sword “Chunjun,” presented as a ceremonial prize, had been meticulously inspected before entering Muchun Field. It was supposed to be an unsharpened blade.

Yet, when both Lin Zhao and the horse trainer drew it later, it was a sharpened weapon.

Clearly, someone had switched the sword during the interim.

Ye Tingyan and Chang Zhao examined the swapped sword and discovered that someone had carefully replicated the hilt of Chunjun, attaching an ordinary blade to deceive others.

Ruoshui’s implication was clear—he had seen Lin Zhao handle the sword after the guards’ inspection but before it was presented to the emperor and empress!

Lin Zhao’s face stiffened, his lips quivering, but no words came out.

The seasoned officials in the room easily recognized his guilty expression.

Ruoshui quickly prostrated himself again, summoning courage: “How dare I deceive the court? Many accompanied Second Master Lin that day. Summon them, and they will confirm my account!”

The presiding judge hesitated, while Minister Hu Minhuai of the Ministry of Justice glanced at Yu Qiushi.

Yu Qiushi understood, set down his teacup, and swiftly asked: “You just said you saw Second Master Lin with others admiring the sword. Since he frequented Muchun Field, surely others must have known about this too. Yet someone specifically chose you as the witness. Is there a reason?”

His words hinted at suspicion that Ruoshui might have been deliberately arranged by Ye Tingyan.

The situation was volatile; any careless remark could shift the tide.

Ye Tingyan stood beside Ruoshui, locking eyes with Yu Qiushi, silent. Ruoshui hastily shook his head: “Lord Ye chose me not only for these reasons but also because, while sweeping in the forest before the archery competition, I found something.”

“The Grand Tutor should let him finish,” Ye Tingyan interjected smoothly, waving his hand without flinching under Yu Qiushi’s gaze. “Bring forward what he found.”

Pei Xi, ignoring the varied gazes around him, stepped up to present the evidence to the three judicial departments: “When Ruoshui found this item, Lord Ye knew we needed a witness. Thus, he entrusted it to me. Several colleagues from the Censorate have seen it. Once I received it, I immediately sealed it within the Censorate—it cannot be forged.”

Hu Minhuai stood up, examining the evidence before the presiding judge. At first glance, his mind reeled.

What Ruoshui had found in the forest was a golden tassel from a Jintian Guard dagger!

All doubts fell into place—on the day of the spring hunt, only bows and arrows were permitted. Nobles and princes were forbidden from carrying sharp weapons.

Thus, only two groups of people at Muchun Field could have possessed sharp blades.

One was Zhuque, the emperor’s covert bodyguards, whose weapons no one dared confiscate.

The other was the Jintian Guard, the elite imperial army tasked with protecting the emperor daily.

Unaware of the tension in the room, Ruoshui awkwardly added: “Before the archery competition, Second Master Lin joined the group hunting in the dense forest. I was stationed on the forest path and saw him chase an eagle away from the group. Later, I heard someone ask where Second Master Lin had gone, so I…”

There was no need for him to finish. Everyone filled in the blanks themselves.

It all made perfect sense now—Lin Zhao intended to assassinate the emperor. He colluded with a member of the Jintian Guard, who forged the hilt of Chunjun and attached a sharp blade. On the day of the event, this guard smuggled the counterfeit weapon into Muchun Field.

Lin Zhao then used the excuse of hunting to separate from the group and met the guard in the woods, receiving the sword. He concealed this by bumping into the attendants delivering the ceremonial sword and swapping the blades.

Though skilled in horse riding, he couldn’t control his long-familiar mount. He waited until a horse trainer approached, and together they charged toward the emperor. Whether successful or not, the blame could be shifted entirely onto the horse trainer.

This plan was flawless—had the colluding Jintian Guard not carelessly lost the golden tassel, nothing would have gone wrong!

If Lin Zhao denied everything, the three judicial departments, wary of offending Marquis Fengping and Yu Qiushi, would hesitate to convict him. Even Song Lan would need to deliberate further.

Luo Wei heard the presiding judge murmur, “It’s a Jintian Guard accessory,” and her previously calm heart began racing.

—What a brilliant scheme.

That eunuch named Ruoshui was likely not deliberately arranged by Ye Tingyan, though claiming so wouldn’t be incorrect either. Under Ye Tingyan’s meticulous orchestration, Ruoshui inadvertently became the perfect witness.

Lin Zhao was reckless, and during Song Lan’s rise to power, they had some friction. Lin Kuishan likely organized the archery competition hoping his son would win the sword and present it to the emperor as a favor.

Thus, Lin Zhao practiced repeatedly at Muchun Field before the spring hunt, during which Ye Tingyan selected him as the scapegoat.

As for the incidents of leaving the group to hunt an eagle and boasting about the sword, each individually seemed insignificant. Reflecting deeply, one might even find it absurd to think Lin Zhao swapped the sword in front of his friends.

But under Ye Tingyan’s deliberate guidance, Ruoshui recounted these events sequentially, leading everyone to believe in his fabricated “truth.”

Had she not known beforehand that this was Ye Tingyan’s “grand gesture,” she might have fallen for it, thinking herself clever.

Now, recalling that day, Ye Tingyan hadn’t followed her to the forest intentionally—he was there to plant the golden tassel!

Others didn’t know, but Luo Wei clearly remembered: after Lu Heng’s imprisonment and execution, the Jintian Guard replaced their original dark green tassels with golden ones.

The Eunuch Bureau delivered the tassels to the Jintian Guard’s Changfeng Hall. With recent affairs piling up, replacements occurred irregularly. If investigated, it would be difficult to determine who took an extra tassel or who lacked one.

The most ingenious part of the entire plot was this golden tassel.

It explicitly told Song Lan that someone in the Jintian Guard colluded with external ministers.

But Song Lan couldn’t identify who.

Beyond toppling Marquis Fengping, this incident rendered the entire Jintian Guard “untrustworthy” in Song Lan’s eyes. From Lu Heng to now, Luo Wei foresaw that after today, the emperor’s most reliable imperial guards would cease to exist.

The Jintian Guard were personally trained by Song Ling, formidable warriors loyal and obedient to the wind command token.

Now, holding the token, even Luo Wei couldn’t extract the emperor’s orders from them.

If she couldn’t uncover anything, destruction was preferable.

This was the grand gift Ye Tingyan offered her.

He deduced her actions against Lu Heng and naturally assumed she feared the entire Jintian Guard. Thus, he used this method to pledge loyalty to her.

A creeping chill ran up her spine. As Luo Wei pieced everything together, a bead of cold sweat trickled down her temple.

Glancing at Song Lan, she saw his darkened face, silent.

She realized the verdict was already decided in Song Lan’s mind.

Coincidentally, the battered horse trainer, hearing these accusations, struggled to rise and kowtowed forcefully at the steps, his cries chilling.

“I’m innocent! I’m innocent!”

Meanwhile, Lin Zhao, overwhelmed by continuous accusations, was utterly stunned. Even he, foolish as he was, realized he had fallen into someone else’s trap. With overwhelming evidence against him, he had no idea how to refute.

After years of reckless behavior, he finally felt immense fear, struggling to speak: “This is… a frame-up, a setup! You… you…”

Song Lan coughed coldly from behind the screen and spoke: “I’m weary. Since the trial is over, the three judicial departments may take them away and interrogate the mastermind behind this.”

This was his final verdict.

The presiding judge and Deputy Chief Censor sighed in relief. Hu Minhuai, aligned with Yu Qiushi, hesitated but ultimately echoed the others: “Yes.”

Lin Kuishan, avoiding conflict of interest, wasn’t present today. Yu Qiushi, having thoroughly analyzed Ye Tingyan’s scheme, still found it hard to believe a refined scholar could manipulate power so masterfully. Suspicious and uncertain, he suddenly heard another voice.

“Lord Ye’s account is intriguing. Coincidentally, I’ve just remembered—I also have a witness who found evidence.”

Ye Tingyan paused slightly, raising his eyes to look at Chang Zhao, who had risen from his seat.

Chang Zhao bowed respectfully to him, then summoned someone from behind, similarly holding evidence, and walked toward the platform.

“Lord Ye questioned those at Muchun Field; I did as well and obtained evidence from another sweeping eunuch. Initially, I didn’t understand its significance, but after hearing Lord Ye’s account, I realized it’s worth presenting.”

Unable to resist, Song Lan rose to look, and Luo Wei followed, her heart pounding upon seeing it.

The sweeping eunuch had found the feathered wooden arrow she had seized and shot into the forest that day!

Chang Zhao slowly explained: “Lord Ye claims Second Master Lin left the group and entered the deep forest, where a Jintian Guard accessory was found, making him highly suspicious. This feathered wooden arrow bears a carved leaf, a custom-made arrow belonging to Lord Ye. Therefore, I must ask—did Lord Ye also leave the group and venture alone into the rear mountain? Could he have conspired with Second Master Lin, or… is he also not free from suspicion?”

Luo Wei took a step forward, standing where she could glimpse Ye Tingyan, and gave him a deep, meaningful look.

For some reason, she suddenly recalled Ye Tingyan’s plea to “save my life.”

But in this situation, how could she possibly step forward and claim that Ye Tingyan was secretly meeting with her in the rear mountain that day?

Ye Tingyan’s gaze shifted from Chang Zhao to Yu Qiushi, then briefly lingered on Luo Wei before quickly moving away.

“I rode alone into the forest; there’s no one to testify for me,” he calmly stated. “The feathered wooden arrow does indeed belong to me, and I cannot deny it. Scholar Chang’s suspicions are reasonable. However, the innocent will prevail. There’s nothing to fear. Please, have the Ministry of Justice arrest me and subject me to the same torture as Second Master Lin.”