Chapter 296: Recitation

Suddenly all the evidence vaguely pointed to the Du Family, and Gu Jiu Ling stared fixedly at Gu Cheng standing opposite.

What a slick-talking shameless scoundrel.

That brat Gu Huai is no good either; before framing his own brother Gu Kang, he had already worked out all his escape routes.

Even when unexpected things later arose that caught him off guard, he could still turn the tables against the wind.

Gu Jiu Ling's eyes grew a bit more murderous; suddenly her hand was tightly gripped by Xiao Yin's cold, hard hand.

At this moment Gu Jiu Ling, overly agitated, trembled slightly; Xiao Yin's low words reached her ears.

"Stay calm, don't panic; if it can't be settled in court, we'll settle it privately."

Gu Jiu Ling's heart stirred slightly; she understood Xiao Yin's meaning.

After this matter is over, we'll directly take a knife to Gu Huai's grandson.

But even if we slaughter that brat afterward, avenging our brother, we still cannot bring him back to life.

Now the case involving Gu Kang is Mr. Wen's major case; not to mention she, a princess consort of the Rui Wang Fu, even if Xiao Yin personally appealed to the Emperor Longqing, he might not grant this face—after all, that's the Imperial Tutor.

Whether public or private, if Gu Kang cannot give some explanation today, then he will surely be the one to die this time.

Even if Mr. Wen wakes up, with so much evidence beside Gu Kang, he cannot escape responsibility.

After all, an Imperial Tutor of a nation almost burned to death alive; if this case is mishandled, it will be the imperial family's face that is lost.

The Crown Prince's brow also furrowed; actually he clearly knew in his heart that Gu Kang was likely framed.

But Gu Cheng is his confidant, and the evidence on Gu Huai's side is insufficient; we cannot keep dragging this case on.

In the end, it will still be him, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, who suffers blame, showing he lacks ability.

Xiao Ting coldly glanced at Gu Kang laughing out loud, then slammed the table hard.

"Bold lunatic, the evidence is solid—how can you still laugh? Seize him, administer the bastinado!"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Gu Jiu Ling stood up.

As a physician, she could see that Gu Kang's injuries were severe.

Being able to barely stand here for trial now has already reached the limit of his body.

If we drag him out again and beat him with dozens of blows, he'll likely die on the spot; then that would truly be a wrongful death.

Even in death, he would bear a curse for all ages, and moreover the curse of having killed his own teacher.

Truly, killing the body and exterminating the heart.

Xiao Ting glanced at the standing Gu Jiu Ling; his brow twitched slightly.

Although his heart held a few more complex feelings for this woman, the imperial court now allows no private sentiments.

No matter who steps forward to take the fall for this case, there must be someone to bear the blame.

Gu Kang finally stopped laughing, as if he had encountered the funniest thing in his life.

He slowly lifted his head to look at Xiao Ting seated in the place of honor.

Suddenly Gu Kang began to slump little by little onto the ground.

Because his right leg was still in a splint, this kneeling motion obviously tugged at his wounds.

Yet he kept gritting his teeth without crying out in pain, and thus slowly knelt before everyone.

Gu Jiu Ling's brow furrowed; she knew that doing this motion after a fracture was, for him, nothing short of extreme physical pain.

He was almost at the peak of pain, yet unexpectedly Gu Kang could still endure it.

Gu Kang knocked his head once, lifted his head, and said to the Crown Prince seated above: "Your Highness, please allow this commoner to recite an article before you."

As soon as Gu Kang's words fell, everyone looked in disbelief at the blood-soaked youth.

These people thought Gu Kang would refute something, but instead he wanted to recite an article for the Crown Prince—has this boy gone mad?

Gu Jiu Ling also looked incredulously at her brother, feeling that Gu Kang's mental state was off—could he truly have been tortured into madness?

She suddenly felt a faint regret—had the drug she gave Gu Kang earlier been too strong?

After all, for such a spoiled young master, to pull him back onto the right path really does require a somewhat potent drug.

But sometimes administering too strong a drug can backfire.

Xiao Yin helped Gu Jiu Ling sit down, leaned to her ear, and whispered: "Concern breeds chaos; just watch what kind of madness this kid has taken up."

The Crown Prince Xiao Ting also hadn't expected Gu Kang to recite an article for him; he couldn't help but snort coldly, was about to rebut, when suddenly Gu Kang's hoarse voice began to recite slowly.

"My life's brief span, compared to the endless rivers, is like a grain of millet in the vast sea."

"Sun, moon, stars; discussing spring, autumn, winter, summer; arising from the original heart..."

Gu Kang, having suffered a fire, had his voice hoarse from smoke, so his tone was somewhat low and slightly raspy.

Precisely because of that slight rasp, his recitation of this article became all the more uniquely appealing.

The onlookers observing the trial were all scholars from Shang Jing, most of whom were to take this imperial examination.

Now hearing Gu Kang recite this excellent piece word for word.

Everyone couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air, exclaiming: "Excellent literary talent! Truly excellent! Although this article falls just a bit short of the Princess Consort of Rui's piece from the earlier poetry gathering, it is nonetheless a superb article unheard of from ancient times to the present!"

Hearing the scholars' discussion around her, Gu Jiu Ling's face flushed slightly, feeling rather guilty.

How could she write such a timeless excellent article? She merely recites the ancients' works.

At this moment she looked astonished at her brother Gu Kang.

Although she knew Gu Kang had been working hard these days, she didn't think he could write such a good article.

Frankly, this article, if placed in her world's high school Chinese textbook, would be more than sufficient; it's truly superb.

She couldn't help but frown, truly not knowing what medicine her brother Gu Kang was selling from his gourd.

However she noticed that, as her brother recited each sentence of the article, the face of Gu Huai kneeling beside him turned paler by a fraction.

Until her brother finished reciting the entire article, the Gu Huai kneeling nearby began to tremble uncontrollably.

Gu Jiu Ling's thoughts paused; could there be some catnip in this?

Xiao Ting thought Gu Kang was reciting some damn essay in front of him just to mock him.

Who would have thought that Gu Kang would actually produce such a good essay at this moment; could it be that this person has truly changed his nature?

If that's the case, then he really is a talented person; this time he actually developed a feeling of fondness.

He didn't really want to kill him.

The Gu family indeed produces talented people; even this spoiled young master who has wasted many years, after turning over a new leaf, his outstanding literary talent makes people look at him anew.

Xiao Ting's expression eased a little as he looked toward Gu Kang: "Gu Kang, today this Prince is interrogating the case of Mr. Wen."

"Please don't beat around the bush; confess your crimes so as to avoid physical punishment."

Gu Kang raised his head and stared steadily at Xiao Ting: "Your Highness, I did not harm Mr. Wen."

"I also did not steal Mr. Wen's money."

"The bank notes found in Li Quan's room, I am completely unaware of."

"It cannot be that because Li Quan is my personal servant, and his possession of Du Family Money House bank notes leads to this misfortune being pinned on me, a humble commoner."

"Your Highness, the humble commoner does not confess guilt, but the humble commoner still has something to clarify to Your Highness."