Sun Mingyuan’s face changed dramatically.

After Yang Juren filed a lawsuit against him at the Dali Temple yesterday, he was summoned there and didn’t return home all night.

Since it involved such serious matters and had caused a major uproar, even those around him dared not pass on any messages to him at this time.

Thus, Sun Mingyuan didn’t know that early this morning, a group of around ten people had filed complaints against him.

Among the new accusers were Zhang Duo, a scholar who had been replaced years ago, and Li Fangheng, a victim of Sun Mingyuan’s bribery and corruption.

Li Fangheng entered the hall, immediately lifted his robe, knelt down, and shouted, “I beg the Princess to seek justice for me!”

Li Fangheng’s family was wealthy, but due to business dealings, they provoked others. His father was beaten to death, and their wealth was seized.

The ones who killed his father and robbed their assets, however, were able to live freely because they had connections with Sun Mingyuan.

The judge of the case was Yang Yu, who had replaced Yang Juren and attained the title of jinshi, and now held an important position in the Ministry of Justice.

Li Fangheng had exhausted all appeals without success.

He was even beaten to the point of having a leg broken, and after losing his family’s fortune, he could barely survive, living only on hatred.

Now, seeing Sun Mingyuan, he wished he could rush at him and die together.

“… My family owned more than a hundred acres of good farmland, as well as the Li family tavern, all of which were taken,” Li Fangheng said, his voice growing hoarse. “My father was tragically killed years ago, and the murderer still roams free.”

“Sun Mingyuan embezzled more than ten thousand taels of silver, and yet he easily ordered people to erase such a deep blood feud.”

“The villainous deeds he committed have made it impossible for me to sleep at night. My father’s blood debt weighs on me, yet I can only allow him to bully and insult me. I can’t even protect my meager inheritance!”

The hall was exceptionally quiet. The students standing outside had difficult expressions.

If they had still looked at Sun Mingyuan with some respect when he mentioned the old minister Lü Ge, they now felt disgusted by the numerous faults and actions that were impossible to endure.

The students were still in the academy and had not yet entered officialdom.

Many of them, still filled with passion and ideals, couldn’t bear to hear this and almost wished they could rush up and crush Sun Mingyuan.

“Pah! A rat like him, may he die horribly!” someone couldn’t hold back and muttered in disdain.

But Sun Mingyuan still didn’t admit to any crime. He spoke in a low voice, “Such matters should be taken up with the Ministry of Justice or the Shuntian Prefecture, not with me!”

“I am the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works! How could I easily interfere in such matters?”

He looked at Princess Wen Yue and said, “Princess, what these people are saying is slander.”

“The matter regarding the missing examination papers was the fault of the Ministry of Rites. As the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, I have no jurisdiction over the Ministry of Rites. As for the alleged death and the protection of the murderer, it’s nonsense!”

“The accusations of villainous crimes are nothing but fabricated slander, concocted by the mouths of others. Even if you, Princess, have some prejudice against me, you cannot convict me based on the words of others!”

He came from a scholarly background and lacked much talent, but his ability with words was sharp.

Sun Mingyuan was cunning by nature and very adept at reading people’s thoughts.

As he spoke, he emphasized the part about the Princess potentially having prejudice against him.

The students outside remained silent, but the officials present for the hearing hesitated for a moment.

Earlier, when Sun Mingyuan entered the hall, one of the officials who made eye contact with him spoke up: “Could it be that there is some misunderstanding between Lord Sun and the Princess?”

His voice was not small, and it was just loud enough for everyone around to hear.

Another official responded quietly, “Lord Sun’s eldest sister is the wife of the former Vice Minister of Dali Temple, Zhou Yuandu.”

“Sun Mingyuan’s niece, Zhou Yujie, is the noblewoman who was poisoned by the Princess.”

The official’s voice wasn’t loud, but his words, though unintentional, were clearly heard.

Upon hearing this, the official repeated his words loudly.

The hall instantly fell silent.

Countless gazes fell upon Princess Wen Yuesheng.

“How strange, so many people have filed complaints against Lord Sun, and it seems like they came well-prepared. If this is a coincidence, then it’s too much of a coincidence,” the official shook his head and said.

“To use personal grudges to frame a government official in the court—this truly chills the heart.”

He did not name anyone specifically, but his words seemed to be aimed directly at Princess Wen Yuesheng.

And by speaking this way during the trial, he seemed to be deliberately trying to steer the case in a particular direction.

Most people understood this, but some still followed along, unconsciously buying into the idea that everything was to frame Sun Mingyuan.

After all, how could such malicious acts occur in the Emperor’s court without some hidden agenda?

As a result, some of the onlookers began to harbor doubts.

When officials conducting an inquiry themselves were questioned, the case was often hard to proceed with.

Moreover, the officials would be trapped in a situation where proving their innocence was difficult, and once caught in someone else’s trap, they wouldn’t easily escape.

The officials accompanying the Dali Temple’s inquiry paused for a moment, glancing at Yan Ling.

This young yet influential court official, who held a high position, had not changed his expression from beginning to end.

The only sign of change was the gentle gaze he cast upon Princess Wen Yue.

However, for some reason, he did not speak up to help.

Instead, the Princess, who was conducting the trial for the first time and whose identity as a woman was often underestimated, spoke nonchalantly, “Lord Kong, don’t be in a hurry, your involvement in today’s matter is also significant.”

The official mentioned was Lord Kong, who had no previous dealings with Princess Wen Yuesheng.

Hearing his name suddenly, his face changed for a moment.

The next moment, Princess Wen Yuesheng continued, “Take Lord Kong into custody and also summon Yang Yu from the Ministry of Justice and Jiang Shunzhi from Shuntian Prefecture.”

Before the officials in the hall could react, the soldiers Princess Wen Yuesheng brought with her had already moved forward.

Her soldiers were unlike others and obeyed her commands without hesitation.

She ordered, and in an instant, Lord Kong was dragged out of the hall.

When officials from the Dali Temple usually interrogated, they wouldn’t make the person kneel.

But Princess Wen Yue’s soldiers didn’t care for such formalities and kicked Lord Kong’s legs, forcing him to kneel.

“Ah!” Lord Kong cried out, feeling his leg about to break.

People like him and Sun Mingyuan had always bullied others and had never been treated this way.

Sweat broke out on his face, and he wanted to speak up and defend himself, but he couldn’t get a word out.

At that moment, Sun Mingyuan, seeing this, was furious.

He shouted, “What does the Princess think she’s doing? Today, you are the lead judge, and everyone present is showing you respect. Yet, you don’t ask for any evidence and have your soldiers beat up a court official!”

“Does the Princess still care about the law, or the Emperor?”

He was skilled at flattering others, exaggerating every action, and now, seeing how the Princess was acting, he couldn’t help but accuse her of treason.

But despite his constant questioning, Princess Wen Yuesheng never answered him.

She only coldly looked at the officials from the Dali Temple and asked in a soft voice, “What punishment should be given to those who question the lead judge in court?”

The official paused for a moment and then quickly replied, “The punishment would be twenty strikes with a bamboo stick.”

Princess Wen Yuesheng’s voice rang out, “Did you hear that?”

Li Qingyuan, who had been waiting, immediately shouted, “I take the order!”

Before anyone could react, he waved his hand, and two soldiers stepped forward, immediately gagged Sun Mingyuan and dragged him out of the hall.

The hall fell silent.

Lord Kong, who had been holding his leg in pain, looked terrified.

Only then did they realize that Princess Wen Yuesheng was not like the civil officials they had dealt with before.

She didn’t respond to any questions, didn’t care about their words, and was ruthless in her actions, swift and decisive.

In just a few words, she had caused them to drag the powerful officials they respected into punishment.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of the bamboo sticks hitting flesh echoed throughout the hall, sending shivers down everyone’s spine.

Lord Kong’s mouth hung open, and he, who was usually so eloquent, couldn’t speak a single word.

His position wasn’t as high as Sun Mingyuan’s, and he was certain that if he dared to speak up now, he would be the next one beaten, or perhaps even killed.

Fear filled his heart, and he looked at Princess Wen Yuesheng with a shrunken gaze.

Even the officials from Dali Temple looked tense.

They had never witnessed such brutal punishment in a trial before.

Yet, Princess Wen Yue had done it, and no one dared question her actions.

The official, carefully observing Yan Ling’s expression, saw him smile slightly.

For a moment, the official was stunned and rubbed his eyes.

Was it just an illusion? The cold and detached Yan Ling actually smiled?

The hall was quiet, and Princess Wen Yue remained calm, absentmindedly twirling a Buddhist bead, unaffected by the atmosphere around her.

And she didn’t answer any of Lord Kong’s earlier questions.

When the twenty strikes were over and Sun Mingyuan was dragged back in, he was pale, with blood pooling underneath him.

The soldiers didn’t care if he was alive or dead.

They dragged him in like a dead dog and threw him onto the ground.

When it came to punishment with bamboo sticks, the strength of the person wielding them determined the outcome.

If they applied enough force, the victim could easily be killed with just twenty strikes.

Wen Yue Sheng’s subordinates were restrained and did not kill Sun Mingyuan, leaving him with half of his life.

However, for someone like Sun Mingyuan, this was already close to torture.

Yet, Wen Yue Sheng remained calm, looking coldly at the prostrate Sun Mingyuan, and coldly spoke, “What you are enduring now is merely a fraction of what you have imposed on others.”

“What’s wrong? Can’t endure it anymore?”

Sun Mingyuan collapsed to the ground, his lips moving, but the sound he produced was too faint.

Li Qingyuan bent down to listen for a while, then stood up and loudly said, “Replying to the princess, he says you are taking personal revenge, and that he is innocent.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Yuesheng threw a thick book at his head.

She tossed it casually, and the book hit his forehead, making his head throb with pain, causing a large bruise to form.

Sun Mingyuan was nearly knocked unconscious by the blow and couldn’t even discern the words on the book.

On the side, Kong Shen glanced at it, and his expression immediately changed.

At the head of the room, Wen Yuesheng had already risen.

Without looking at the book, she slowly walked toward the hall while coldly speaking:

“In the 17th year of the Great Hui, on the 7th of March, received 40,000 taels of silver from Wang Ruhai to cover up the murder case of Li Fangheng’s father.”

“In the 17th year of the Great Hui, on the 18th of March, accepted a bribe of 10,000 taels of silver from the official Kong Shen and three thin horses from Yangzhou, assisting him in obtaining an official position. Kong Shen was transferred to the Ministry of Rites as an assistant.”

“In the 18th year of the Great Hui, on the 23rd of August, accepted 30,000 taels of silver from Lu Xingchun to exchange his son’s exam papers for an official title…”

And so on, all recorded in the book.

With each sentence Wen Yue Sheng read, the room grew quieter.

The people who had been shocked by her nearly killing Sun Mingyuan were now even more stunned.

The scale of Sun Mingyuan’s corruption, the people he had wronged, and the enormous amounts of silver involved were staggering. Each transaction was tangled with countless lives and efforts.

He was a parasite, living off the bones of others, standing above everyone else!

And worse, he was a heartless, unscrupulous beast!

At that moment, the crowd became agitated, and a scholar shouted angrily, “Kill him!”

“He deserves to die!”

“How can such a villain be in the court!”

After being beaten, Sun Mingyuan could no longer speak.

Only Kong Shen and others by his side trembled.

Many of the things recorded in the book were directly linked to Kong Shen, so he had no choice but to whisper:

“Your Highness, Your Highness is wise… Everything in this book is a fabrication.”

“I… I never did these things.”

Wen Yuesheng paused when she heard this.