Chapter 37: The Old Case of the Jiang Family, The Truth Revealed

On the seventh day, the trial of the old case at Zhenbei Marquis Manor began.

Outside Zhuque Gate, a sea of people surged.

Not only the People of the Capital had come, but many soldiers who had followed from Han Zhou and Luo'an all the way here as well.

Chen Shanhe, clad in old armor, stood beneath the court dais, his eyes bloodshot.

Three items lay upon the case table.

The Zhenbei Tiger Tally.

Jiang Xuan's Letter.

And the Fragment of the Heavenly Gate Alliance, seized from a Secret Chamber in the Imperial Palace.

Gu Chongming personally read the fragment aloud.

"The Great Yin Taizu and the Heavenly Gate made a Covenant: the Royal Family would shepherd the people on behalf of Heaven, offering Qi Refining once every century. The Northern Border Sword Vein was an anomaly in the Human Realm; thus, the Jiang Family must be cut down, the Sword Vein severed, and returned to the Heavenly Gate."

Upon hearing this, the entire hall erupted in uproar.

Many had previously only heard Jiang Che mention it when questioning the ruler; now, hearing the Imperial Palace's secret scroll with their own ears, they realized this was not a charge fabricated by the Rebel Army.

The Great Yin Royal Family had truly treated all under heaven as livestock to be sacrificed to the Heavenly Gate.

Next, old archives from the Ministry of War were presented.

Three years prior, Marquis of Zhenbei Jiang Xuan had received a secret edict from the Emperor, ordering him to open the Northern Border Sword Vein for the Heavenly Gate Envoy to harvest Qi Refining.

Jiang Xuan refused.

Subsequently, the court secretly granted Lu Heng military authority, ordering him to contact the Northern Barbarians and act as an inside agent to force Jiang Xuan to split his forces.

The most fatal secret order was written in the Emperor's own hand.

"If Jiang Xuan does not comply, use the Heavenly Gate to execute him. No member of the Jiang Family is to be spared."

Upon hearing these words, Chen Shanhe felt as though struck by Thunder.

He knew Lu Heng had rebelled.

He knew the Heavenly Gate had intervened.

But only today did he learn that the true hand that passed the blade was the Emperor upon the Dragon Throne in the Capital City.

Chen Shanhe fell to his knees, crying out hoarsely, "My Lord!"

Many Zhenbei Old Soldiers followed suit, kneeling and weeping until they could no longer speak.

Jiang Che sat in the main seat, his fingers slowly tightening.

He had thought himself calm enough.

Yet when this secret order lay before his eyes, his chest still felt as though being sliced back and forth by a blunt blade.

He remembered his father's smile.

He remembered the sea of fire at Hou Manor.

He remembered himself in the Broken Temple, clutching a Wooden Sword, living like a stray dog for three years.

It turned out all of that was not fate.

It was merely a single character, "Kill," written on paper by someone.

Several former officials were dragged up before the hall.

One among them had served as Vice Minister of War and participated in transmitting the secret order.

He knelt on the ground, trembling like a sieve shaking grain.

"Young Master, spare my life! This humble official merely acted on imperial orders!"

Jiang Che looked at him.

"Acted on imperial orders?"

The Vice Minister bowed his head repeatedly, striking the ground: "The ruler's command cannot be disobeyed!"

Jiang Che asked calmly, "Then what of the lives of the people of Han Zhou?"

The Vice Minister froze.

"What of the lives of the three hundred and seventy-six souls of Zhenbei Marquis Manor?"

"What of the lives of the thirty thousand wrongly killed in the Northern Border?"

Jiang Che rose, his voice carrying across the entire hall.

"From this day forward, acting on imperial orders shall no longer be a golden shield against punishment."

"If a ruler's command harms the people, the minister still bears guilt."

As these words fell, the faces of many officials turned pale.

Gu Chongming, however, slowly nodded.

He had waited for these words for most of his life.

Ultimately, those involved in the massacre at Zhenbei Marquis Manor were punished according to their crimes.

Lu Heng was already dead; among his faction and clan, all who directly participated were beheaded, those who did not participate were exiled to the borderlands, and no innocent children were to be killed.

The messengers of the Ministry of War, the eunuch military supervisors of the Inner Court, and the remaining priests of the Heavenly Gate were all beheaded before Zhuque Gate.

Before the execution, Jiang Che walked personally to stand before Chen Shanhe.

"Uncle Chen, after today, the old case of the Jiang Family shall be declared to all under heaven."

Chen Shanhe's old tears streamed down his face.

"Young Master, my Lord can now rest in peace."

Jiang Che gazed toward the North.

"Not yet."

Chen Shanhe was stunned.

Jiang Che said, "The Heavenly Gate still exists."

"The hand that truly pressed my father to death has not yet been cleanly severed."

By the time the trial concluded, the sky had already darkened.

Suddenly, a sword cry echoed from the depths of the Imperial Palace.

The Green Bamboo Sword automatically unsheathed by half an inch.

Xie Tingxue's expression shifted slightly: "What is wrong?"

Jiang Che gazed toward the Imperial Palace.

"Inside the Secret Chamber, there is still something."