A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 373 Ending (42)

"Isn't the Empress Dowager Song's aunt? How could she treat him so harshly?"

"Could it be that the Empress Dowager intends to extract a confession through torture?"

"Our Lord Song is honest and upright, and he has investigated and solved countless long-standing and unsolved cases. He strictly prohibits torture and forced confessions. Who would have thought that Lord Song himself would suffer such a terrible calamity!"

"Why not let Master Mu investigate Lord Song's case?"

"With such a major case at hand, why is the Empress Dowager forcing Master Mu to marry as a concubine? What are her true intentions?"

"Yes, how can a trial and a wedding ceremony be held at the same time? Especially between a superior and a subordinate, it's utterly ridiculous!"

"Yes, it's utterly absurd and ridiculous!"

"..."

The voices of the people were not loud at first, and they whispered among themselves in small groups. But as they talked, some people became excited and raised their voices, which in turn spurred more people to voice their doubts!
Those closest to the common people are the civil and military officials, who have the most direct experience of the people's disappointment and anger.

Aside from the neutral faction remaining calm, officials who had chosen sides experienced a mix of joy and sorrow. The Song family, who harbored resentment towards Song Shuyu for his righteous act of sacrificing his own family, had all secretly pledged allegiance to the Empress Dowager. Seeing this situation, they couldn't help but nervously look back frequently, wondering how things would end today and what their fate would be!
On the stage, Qin Huai turned pale with fright, his gaze towards Song Shuyu filled with disbelief, but Song Shuyu did not even respond with a glance, and instead raised his voice: "I beg Your Majesty to grant justice for this humble subject!" Zhou Chun raised his whisk, signaling the people to be quiet.

The Emperor glanced sideways and asked the Empress Dowager in a deep voice, "Why is this? Whether Song Shuyu has committed a crime is a matter for the Three Judicial Offices to investigate and try. Empress Dowager, you've interfered in the Ministry of Justice. How am I supposed to explain this to my subjects?"

The Empress Dowager's beautiful face was instantly stained with a fierce look. Song Shuyu's move was a preemptive strike, taking advantage of the ignorant people to put her in a difficult position, damaging her image in their eyes, and causing them to lose trust in her, so as to pave the way for his subsequent exoneration!

This tactic is simple and brutal, with absolutely no substance, yet it has proven to be incredibly effective!
Now she finally understood why Song Shuyu wanted to become the Prefect of the Capital, why he was willing to exchange his father and brother's years of accumulated military merits for a third-rank official position, and why he was so subservient to her, begging her to help him quell the opposition from the ministers!
It turns out that Song Shuyu had been planning this all along. He did his best to be a good official and spent his own money to do practical things, all in order to win people's hearts and turn the people into a sharp weapon to stab her!

It turns out that the father and son had been feigning friendship with her all along; they had long wanted to bring her down and get rid of her as soon as possible!
She thought she had everything under control, but little did she know that she had already unknowingly fallen into Song Shuyu's trap!

Having figured this out, the Empress Dowager calmed herself and quickly devised a plan. She turned her beautiful eyes to Qin Huai and coldly rebuked him: "You audacious eunuch, how dare you outwardly comply while inwardly defying me and committing evil behind my back? Even if Song Shuyu is imprisoned, he is still my good nephew. How can I allow you to humiliate him?"

Qin Huai's body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground, his lips trembling as he said, "Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, this servant... this servant was confused for a moment and committed a grave mistake. I beg the Emperor and Your Majesty the Empress Dowager to punish me!"

At that moment, Qin Huai knew he was not going to survive.

Song Shuyu needed him as a weapon to deal with the Empress Dowager, and the Empress Dowager needed him to take the blame in order to escape, so all that was left for him was death!