With thе infоrmаtiоn Li Мing had seсrеtlу рrоvided about еstаblishing the Supеrvisory Dераrtmеnt, Li Rоng wаited idly in thе Princess's Manor fоr tеn daуs.
Hоwеvеr, shе was nоt idlе during thеsе tеn daуs. She investigatеd рersоnnel everуwhere, сonsidering whо tо trаnsfеr intо thе Suрervisorу Dеpаrtmеnt оncе it was еstаblished. At thе sаme timе, she secrеtly trained а trоuрe оf actors tо реrform а раlасе dramа аlluding to thе Qin Shi cаse.
Mоst of thеsе mаtters wеrе hаndlеd by others оn her behalf; she onlу oversaw thе generаl direсtiоn. With nothing еlse to do, she visited various places, occasionally playing leaf cards with Shangguan Ya, making her days quite enjoyable.
Ten days later, the Qin family's verdict was announced. With conclusive evidence, they were sentenced to execution in autumn. The news of the Qin family's case quickly spread throughout Huajing. Li Rong immediately had the prepared troupe set up a stage and begin performing on the very day the Qin family's case was finalized.
With the Qin family's case just settled, such a play alluding to Qin Shi being framed immediately sparked widespread rumors.
By the next day, Li Rong arranged for Qin Zhenzhen to kneel in front of the Princess's Manor.
Early in the morning, as people came and went, everyone saw a young woman kneeling motionless at the entrance of the Princess's Manor.
As the crowd of onlookers grew, Li Rong finished her makeup indoors and heard Jing Lan enter and say, "Your Highness, it's about time."
Li Rong stood up happily and said, "Let's go."
With that, Li Rong led her people out. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Qin Zhenzhen kneeling at the entrance, who shouted loudly, "Your Highness!"
Seeing Qin Zhenzhen, Li Rong feigned surprise and asked, "You are..."
"I am Qin Zhenzhen, the second daughter of the eldest branch of the Qin family."
Qin Zhenzhen introduced herself according to the script they had rehearsed. Li Rong pretended to be astonished and said, "Oh, why are you here?"
As she spoke, she quickly instructed others to help Qin Zhenzhen up and said anxiously, "Please rise. Why are you kneeling at my door?"
"My family has been wronged," Qin Zhenzhen raised a blood-written petition and suddenly kowtowed to the ground, exclaiming loudly, "I beg Your Highness to uphold justice for me!"
Li Rong took a step back in panic and said, "You... what justice do you want me to uphold?"
"Your Highness," Qin Zhenzhen raised her head, tears in her eyes, "Rongguo has invaded, and my uncles and brothers fought on the battlefield. Now that the border has been secured, the noble families in the court, in their struggle for rewards, have falsely accused my father and brothers of colluding with the Yang family, betraying the country and aiding the enemy! I beg Your Highness to uphold justice for me!"
"Why come to me for this matter?" Li Rong hesitated before speaking, "I am only a princess..."
"Your Highness is of the Li bloodline, born of the legitimate empress," Qin Zhenzhen interrupted her, speaking passionately, "Now the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice are colluding to frame my entire family. No one dares to accept or handle this blood-written petition. I have no other recourse but Your Highness. If Your Highness does not accept this blood-written petition today, I will dash myself to death in front of the Princess's Manor and follow my Qin family to the afterlife!"
"Miss Qin, don't..."
Before she could finish, Qin Zhenzhen suddenly stood up and, amidst Li Rong's screams, charged toward the stone lion at the entrance!
Qin Zhenzhen had already prepared a blood pouch in her sleeve. As she stood up, the pouch slipped into her palm. Just before colliding with the stone lion, she used her hand to block slightly, burst the blood pouch, quickly smeared it on her forehead, and then collapsed.
As Qin Zhenzhen charged at the stone lion, Li Rong and her people rushed over, blocking the view of the commoners. After Qin Zhenzhen fell, Li Rong quickly turned her over and exclaimed in agitation, "Miss Qin!""Your Highness..." Qin Zhenzhen gasped, trembling as she handed the blood-written petition to Li Rong. "I beg Your Highness... help me... help..."
As she spoke, Qin Zhenzhen's eyes closed and her head lolled to the side.
Li Rong reached out to check her breathing, then her expression changed. Her hands trembled, but she said nothing.
The crowd murmured among themselves.
"Is she dead?"
"She must be."
"The Qin family is truly tragic. If they weren't wronged, would this girl have dashed herself to death before the Princess's Manor?"
"Why didn't she seek out the Crown Prince?"
"The Crown Prince is in league with those noble families in court—how could he possibly intervene?"
"Will Princess Pingle handle this?"
"Who knows?"
Everyone spoke in hushed tones, all waiting for Li Rong's decision.
After a long while, Li Rong took the blood-written petition from Qin Zhenzhen's hand and slowly rose to her feet.
"Take Miss Qin inside and arrange a proper burial for her," Li Rong said, her voice trembling slightly. Then she raised her eyes and declared through gritted teeth, "Prepare the carriage. I am entering the palace!"
Upon hearing Li Rong's command to prepare the carriage, the crowd immediately erupted.
Some seemed overjoyed, shouting, "Her Highness has accepted the blood-written petition! She will handle this matter!"
To the common people, Li Rong accepting this blood-written petition was like a ray of light piercing through the noble-dominated Huajing.
No one had expected Li Rong to actually accept the blood-written petition. Thus, after she boarded her carriage, the surrounding commoners gathered in even greater numbers. They followed behind Li Rong's carriage, loudly cheering, "Your Highness, we support you!"
Li Rong held the blood-written petition without speaking. She sat dignified inside the carriage as the commoners trailed after her vehicle. The carriage was tightly enclosed, making it impossible to see the occupant inside. Only when the curtain occasionally lifted could one glimpse her faint figure—solemn and awe-inspiring.
Li Rong's carriage proceeded directly into the palace grounds. When she arrived at the palace, the Morning Court Assembly had not yet concluded, so she had someone announce her arrival immediately.
A eunuch hurried into the main hall, relaying the news of Li Rong's arrival all the way to Li Ming. Li Ming had been waiting for her and directly raised his hand, saying, "Summon her."
Holding the blood-written petition, Li Rong stood at the entrance of the main hall, listening as the eunuch's resonant voice echoed from within: "Summon—Princess Pingle to enter the hall—"
Upon hearing this summons, Li Rong, clutching the blood-written petition, walked into the main hall. She then knelt at its center and proclaimed loudly, "Your daughter pays respects to Father Emperor. May Father Emperor live ten thousand years!"
"It is currently the Morning Court Assembly," Li Ming said from his high seat, feigning ignorance. "What brings you here?"
"To report to Father Emperor, your daughter has come to seek justice."
"For whom do you seek justice?"
"For the Qin family of Liangzhou."
"What injustice do they suffer?"
"The Qin family is wholly loyal and righteous, yet they have been falsely accused of colluding with the Yang family in treason. The Censorate, Ministry of Justice, and Department of State Affairs—the Three Judicial Departments—have acted unlawfully, using torture to extract confessions and mishandling the case, resulting in a grave miscarriage of justice. Today, a daughter of the Qin family, in her quest for justice, dashed herself to death before your daughter's vermilion gates. Your daughter cannot bear this in her heart. Even knowing the road ahead is treacherous, she must seek a measure of justice for the Qin family!"
Upon hearing this, the entire court fell silent. Shangguan Xu looked over and said with a smile, "What is Your Highness saying? This case has been reviewed by the Three Judicial Departments and cannot be mistaken. Your Highness does not understand the full situation and has likely been misled by villains."
"Lord Shangguan," Li Rong raised her eyes to meet Shangguan Xu's gaze. "Would someone use their own life to mislead this princess?"
Shangguan Xu said nothing.
Qin Zhenzhen was dead—this was the most difficult fact to refute.
In terms of sentiment, Qin Zhenzhen's death gave the Qin family a natural advantage in this matter.Seeing Shangguan Xu remain silent, Li Rong turned and raised the blood-written petition in her hand, speaking respectfully, "Father, this is the blood-written petition of grievance submitted to your daughter by the Qin family's daughter. If this case truly resulted from false accusations by others, I fear it may become an extraordinary injustice through the ages. Your Majesty's illustrious reputation must not be tarnished by such a small flaw."
As Li Rong spoke, the blood-written petition was delivered into Li Ming's hands. Li Ming opened it and read for a while before slamming his palm on the table in anger, exclaiming, "How outrageous!"
Then Li Ming looked at Shangguan Xu, "Minister Shangguan, you must investigate this matter strictly. The Qin family case is to be retried with different officials, and the previous judges must also be examined to determine whether there was deliberate framing."
"Yes," Shangguan Xu replied with measured calm, but Li Rong raised her voice, "That won't do."
Everyone turned to look at Li Rong, who said earnestly, "Father, this case involves many individuals, many of whom are scions of noble families with close marital ties. I do not trust Minister Shangguan to handle this case."
"Then this humble official..."
Su Rongqing suddenly spoke up, but Li Rong cast a cold glance at him and immediately declared, "I don't trust you either!"
"You don't trust this one, you don't trust that one," Li Ming seemed annoyed, "What do you want?"
"Father, the Qin family's daughter died in my arms. I promised her I would uncover the truth of this case. I beg Your Majesty to permit me to personally investigate this matter!"
"How can that be?" Shangguan Xu immediately interjected urgently, "Your Highness is a woman of the inner court. Matters of the court..."
"Haven't I handled them before?"
Li Rong looked up at him, speaking seriously, "Great Xia has never had a rule forbidding princesses from participating in governance. The Yang family case was originally uncovered by me. Since the Qin family case is connected to the Yang family case, what is improper about me investigating it?!"
Li Rong's words were forceful. Shangguan Xu had not expected Li Rong to speak to him in this manner, momentarily turning pale with anger, his beard quivering as he said, "Your Highness, by seniority, this humble official could be considered your elder. You should heed my advice..."
"Then by rank, Her Highness is Your Majesty's eldest daughter. Minister Shangguan should bow when meeting Her Highness. Minister Shangguan should heed Her Highness's advice instead."
Pei Wenxuan, standing at a distance, suddenly spoke, his cool tone provoking Shangguan Xu to fury as he shouted, "You insolent wretch, who gave you the right to speak?!"
"What does Minister Shangguan mean by that?" Pei Wenxuan, ignoring the expressions of everyone around him, held his court tablet calmly, "Does this mean that in the imperial court, even officials from the Censorate cannot speak before Minister Shangguan?"
This was something Shangguan Xu dared not respond to. No matter how low the Censorate's rank, they oversaw all officials. Even the Censor-in-Chief could criticize the emperor's faults. Although Pei Wenxuan was only a Supervisory Censor, Shangguan Xu was merely a minister—his errors were certainly not beyond reproach.
Shangguan Xu remained silent, glaring at Pei Wenxuan, who treated him as if he were invisible and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, if this case is truly as Her Highness described, it would implicate nearly all investigative bodies in the court. It should indeed be overseen by a third party."
"What you say is indeed reasonable."
Li Ming tapped the table, speaking slowly, "Very well, Ping Le, you shall handle this case first. The Qin family case is to be reopened and retried, and the officials who previously reviewed it must also be reinvestigated. Since you handled the Yang family case before, I know your capabilities. If you can handle this well too, then henceforth, the duty of overseeing officials shall routinely be entrusted to you."As he spoke, Li Ming laughed: "You can see me anytime, and you're my daughter, so you can act more freely. If there's anything you can't handle, reporting it will be convenient. The Censorate supervises the officials, but there must also be someone to supervise the Censorate." Li Ming said this while glancing playfully at the Censor-in-Chief, Shangguan Minzhi. "Isn't that right, Shangguan?"
Shangguan Minzhi bowed without speaking, tacitly agreeing.
Though no one showed it on their faces, their hearts were roiling with shock. Everyone understood Li Ming's words—a princess who supervises the officials, acting freely and reporting directly to the emperor without going through the Three Departments—what a terrifying institution that would be.
"Your Highness," Right Chancellor Su Minzhi hesitantly spoke up, "the matter of supervising the officials is already handled by the Censorate. Now, to have the princess supervise as well..."
"And why not?"
Li Rong turned her head, staring at Su Minzhi. "Does Minister Su think it unnecessary, or does he think I am incapable?"
Su Minzhi, hearing Li Rong's question, dared not answer immediately. As he carefully considered his words, Li Rong continued, "If the Censorate could replace me and handle matters directly today, that would be best. But now the Censorate is also implicated. How does Minister Su propose to proceed?"
Su Minzhi remained silent. Li Rong's question was indeed valid. At present, there was no investigative body in the court not implicated in this case. Forming a temporary institution was entirely reasonable.
"As for thinking I am incapable," Li Rong laughed, "whether I am or not, shouldn't we try? For this case, can Minister Su find someone of higher rank than me, who is not part of the Three Judicial Departments, and has experience investigating cases?"
"Well... indeed, there is no one."
Su Minzhi spoke hesitantly. Li Ming, seated above, happily declared, "Then it's settled. Ping Le has grown up and wants to share her father's burdens, so let's give her this opportunity."
Li Ming smiled and said, "From the city garrison, select five hundred men to assist you. If this case is handled well, there will be rewards. Do your best."
"Thank you, Father."
Li Rong quickly responded. Li Ming straightened up, seeming somewhat weary. "Alright, that's all. Court is dismissed."
With that, Li Ming walked out amidst the respectful farewells of the officials.
Pei Wenxuan moved against the crowd to Li Rong's side, pursing his lips as he said, "Shall we return together?"
"Alright."
Li Rong walked out with him, lowering her voice to whisper, "Did I perform well today?"
"First-rate." Pei Wenxuan gave a thumbs-up.
As the two were happily chatting, they heard Shangguan Xu's voice from behind: "Your Highness, please wait!"
Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan stopped. Pei Wenxuan subtly moved closer to Li Rong and whispered, "Trouble has arrived."
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