She Holds the World After Being Reborn
Chapter 291 - 290: I Don’t Admit This Guilt!

Chapter 291: Chapter 290: I Don’t Admit This Guilt!

As soon as Father Li’s voice rang out, the hall erupted into whispers, and all eyes fell on Yan Wanqing.

She was dressed today in dark red soft armor, her hair tied up high, masquerading as a man, her eyes and eyebrows brimming with a heroic spirit, and her usually sickly appearance seemed anything but ordinary.

"Anping, is what this man says true?" The Emperor’s voice echoed through the hall, his tone unreadable.

Yan Wanqing looked up, her gaze meeting and quickly moving away from Zhang Lanyi’s worried eyes. She brought her hands together in a bow, "What he says is true, Li Chengxiang was indeed killed by Anping."

"What? The Commandery Princess actually killed Princess Yaochi!" The court officials were shocked.

And she admitted it so openly.

It was utterly inconceivable.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes at her, "Anping, you’ve got quite the nerve."

Yan Wanqing’s expression remained calm, not at all flustered by Father Li’s unexpected arrival beating the Gong of Appeal, her eyes bright and clear.

"Princess Yaochi showed no respect for the law, daring to disguise herself as a common soldier thereby committing her first capital offense, during which time she used her identity as the county princess to intimidate others, destabilizing the military’s morale, her second capital offense. In Xiliang City, she attempted to assassinate me, nearly causing my death, her third capital offense. She colluded with the traitorous seventh Prince, exchanging messages with him, her fourth capital offense by association. Are these four grave offenses not enough for this Commandery Princess to execute her on Your Majesty’s behalf?" Her intense gaze fixed on Father Li, kneeling on the ground.

"Sinful Li Qing, what face do you have to strike the Gong of Appeal, coming before this court to plead for your vicious daughter?"

Each word she spoke landed with force, momentarily taking everyone back to the time when she stood alone against an enemy army, facing thousands.

Li Qing’s eyes, muddied and bloodshot, he pleaded persistently, "Your Majesty, all these accusations are merely her words against my daughter, without evidence. This humble civilian begs for Your Majesty to thoroughly investigate and bring Anping to justice by the law!"

The Emperor remained silent, his gaze dark, inscrutable.

"Everything Li Chengyuan did has witnesses among the military commanders. If Anping’s claims are false, I am at Your Majesty’s disposal to be dealt with, without any deceit," Yan Wanqing proclaimed, her back ramrod straight as she bowed with both hands.

Li Qing sneered, "As the leader of the Western Expedition and the esteemed Commandery Princess of Anping, those commanders are probably all your men already. Anyone who knows the truth would hesitate to speak out against you, fearing your status. Poor my daughter, who died in Xiliang City without even being wed, we have nowhere to even retrieve her body..."

He cried uglier than hurt, tears of grief falling like those of an intensely saddened father.

But Yan Wanqing knew too well what kind of person he was, nauseated by his threats to Li Chengxiang that day compared to his current act with Li Qing.

"The seventh Prince could have revealed the truth, but now he too is gone. I truly have unspeakable hardships, this Yan family woman truly wants to blind everyone with her deceit," Li Father cried out loudly, "Poor daughter... I have failed you, you have no remains left, how can I face our ancestors after I leave this world—"

"Shut your mouth!" Zhang Lanyi could bear it no longer and coldly scolded, "This is the imperial court, no place for your clamor!"

The Empress displayed her authority, but Li Qing wasn’t the least bit intimidated.

"Empress truly dotes on this Commandery Princess Anping, fearing even a slight grievance against her. Here I am simply stating the truth, and you cannot bear to hear it, stepping out to scold a lowly civilian. Indeed, my life is cheap, nothing compared to the noble Township Manor, once dead, all is ended. Indeed, I struck the Gong of Appeal wrongly today!" Li Qing scrambled up from the ground, only to have a soldier kick him back down by the knee.

"Audacious!" Zhang Lanyi hadn’t expected someone to spout such nonsense in the great hall.

At that moment, the Emperor glanced at her indifferently and remained silent.

Zhang Lanyi felt chaotic inside, her complexion also becoming somewhat unstable, her hands under her sleeves dripping with cold sweat.

"You babble and pester me in vain, I’ve already made myself clear, and I believe His Majesty has his own judgment!" Yan Wanqing said no more, stubbornly looking toward the Emperor.

The Emperor paused for a moment, then said, "Li Chengyuan was personally bestowed her title by me and even created the Flaming Stone weapon to expand our Dawei’s military power. Anping, regardless of what happened, you should not have killed her on the spot, but should have escorted her back to the capital with the Seventh Prince for me to deal with."

Upon hearing this, Yan Wanqing’s straight demeanor trembled slightly.

Her face instantly paled.

"So... Your Majesty believes him?" Yan Wanqing pointed at Li Qing, who was suppressed on the floor, her voice full of disbelief, "My Yan Family has always been upright and direct, calling red ’red’ and black ’black.’ We’ve never spoken half a lie before Your Majesty, and you actually don’t believe Anping?"

The Emperor just stared at her grimly.

Yan Wanqing chuckled half-heartedly after a while: "...Father, do you see? This is your blindly loyal Emperor!"

"Insolence—" As soon as these words were spoken, the Emperor’s expression immediately turned cold, "Yan Wanqing, do you realize you’re spouting nonsense? Do you truly think I wouldn’t dare touch you!"

"Didn’t Your Majesty always want to move against the Yan Family?" Yan Wanqing stepped back twice, her face no longer respectful as she coldly looked at Li Qing, "This man is as timid as a mouse, yet today he dares to beat the Gong of Appeal in public and cry injustice, which means what everyone quite understands."

"Your Majesty, you are the Emperor my father swore loyalty to until death. When fourteen sons of the Yan and Sun families died at Governor’s Office Pass without even a question from you, yet now, for a mere Commandery Princess, you question Anping’s crimes. What kind of justice is this, if it is Your Majesty’s justice at all!"

The Emperor stood up abruptly: "If you have evidence, produce it to clear yourself. In My presence, it’s not about who can shout louder, who is innocent and free from guilt!"

Yan Wanqing scoffed, "You wanted to put me to death right from the start; why this feigned righteousness? On the day my father and brothers’ coffins returned to the capital, didn’t you have someone find evidence of rebellion in the Yan Family? One thing after another, do you hate the Yan Family so deeply that you would not be satisfied until you have exterminated us?"

"Yan Wanqing, I remember you are the legitimate eldest daughter of the Township Manor, and today I shall not take these nonsensical words to heart. But the fact remains that you murdered Princess Yaochi, and you have already confessed. Right now, I am stripping you of your title as Commandery Princess and sending you to Dali Temple for interrogation, have you any objections?" The Emperor’s aged face was calm, colder than ever, finally resembling a decisive ruler, "Now kneel down and thank me for my grace!"

"Thank me for my grace?" Yan Wanqing felt this was the most absurd thing in the world, she stood upright, her gaze more fearless than ever: "It’s not my crime, I don’t admit it, and I won’t thank you for this ’grace!’"

"You wish to die—!" the Emperor threatened, "My patience has limits."

"A subject must die when the sovereign commands it, it seems you’re quite experienced with such matters. But Li Chengxiang deserves his fate, this crime I absolutely will not admit." In full view of everyone, Yan Wanqing stretched out her hands, standing openly and directly in the great hall, shouting to Xie Qun, "Mr. Xie, please, send Wanqing to Dali Temple for a visit."

The courtiers watched her, the looks in most of their eyes were complex.

All this, for a minor Princess Yaochi, yet a loyal servant’s descendants must be executed.