Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 731: The Duke’s Perfect Counterattack in the Trial (4)_1

Chapter 731: Chapter 731: The Duke’s Perfect Counterattack in the Trial (4)_1

This time, as usual, no one paid attention to the students’ requests. Just when they thought it would be fruitless again, an eunuch appeared before the crowd, holding an imperial edict in his hands.

With a resounding proclamation of "The Imperial Edict has arrived," thousands of students knelt down en masse to listen to the decree, their excitement undiminished by the cold, hard floor tiles that made them incredibly uncomfortable.

"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees... The examination fraud case is of great significance. I shall hold a public trial in the Hall of Supreme Harmony today at the third quarter of Si Shi. All the students from Jing City may enter the palace to observe, to witness and hear the truth—Such is Our command—"

As the last word of the Imperial Edict was pronounced, the students who had been agonizing at the palace gates for days were overjoyed and deeply grateful to Emperor Huian. They openly declared that the current Emperor was wise and that Great Chu would surely prosper for millennia.

The eunuch who delivered the edict listened with one ear to the students singing Emperor Huian’s praises and, with a smile, turned and entered the palace gate. He relayed their words in a more polished form to Liang Gonggong, who then tactfully mentioned them to Emperor Huian after the morning court session while the Emperor was having his breakfast.

Emperor Huian listened expressionlessly, seemingly unaffected. But Liang Gonggong observed carefully that the Emperor had eaten two more steamed buns and a bowl of white jade red date porridge than usual.

The news that the examination fraud case would be publicly tried in the Hall of Supreme Harmony at the third quarter of Si Shi spread like wind across Jing City in an instant, bringing the people’s attention to the pinnacle of interest in the fraud case.

No one expected Emperor Huian to take the fraud case so seriously that he would hold a public trial in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and even allow hundreds of students to be present as observers. It seemed that he was determined to be thorough.

Many people heard that the Crown Prince was Emperor Huian’s favorite son, and no one knew whether Emperor Huian had grown cold-hearted towards the Crown Prince’s actions, hence the public trial, or whether he steadfastly believed in the Crown Prince’s innocence, intending to clear the mud that had been thrown at him.

Everyone had their own opinion, with many engaging in fierce debates over the Emperor’s true intentions. Eventually, a gambling house boldly launched a betting pool on the outcome.

What no one had expected was that this spur-of-the-moment wager set up by the gambling house owner would become so popular. Even those who never stepped foot in a gambling house were drawing their silver notes to participate. Suddenly, the gambling house was packed, and the fervor was unmatched in history.

Mo Yan, who had received news from Xiao Ruiyuan earlier and obtained a plaque to enter the Hall of Supreme Harmony for the trial, entered Jing City at the third quarter of 7am. After hearing about this unprecedented betting event, she took out a silver note of five thousand taels from Space and entered the gambling house, placing the largest single bet of the event.

In the end, the gambling house calculated the odds for this historic bet based on the number of participants and the total amount bet—it was one to six.

Thinking that she would have an income of twenty-five thousand taels of silver after the public trial, Mo Yan’s previously somber mood improved somewhat.

When Da HongZao arrived at the palace gate and stopped, Mo Yan straightened her clothes and alighted from the carriage, only to see a long line at the gate, filled with students waiting to verify their identities to enter the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Considering that the queue consisted entirely of adult men, Mo Yan did not feel comfortable squeezing into the middle and, worried about the delay being too long to enter the Hall of Supreme Harmony before the third quarter of Si Shi, she brazenly cut in line, heading directly to the gatekeeper.

Seeing a beautiful young woman with a notably fine demeanor cut in the queue, the students in front, though curious, empathized with her awkwardness and did not openly criticize her for doing so.

However, when the gatekeeper verified the identity of Lord Mo Yan and courteously let her through, those students stared with astonishment at her slender retreating figure, unable to snap out of their shock for a long while.

No one had expected that the person at the center of so much controversy would just brazenly appear before them. They had originally thought that a farmer’s daughter turning into the Phoenix from a sparrow and becoming a County Lord was like a pheasant donning the feathers of a Phoenix—still a pheasant no matter how noble the appearance may seem.

They were soundly rebuked by Mo Yan’s naturally elegant and ethereal temperament, which outshone those so-called noble ladies by far, befitting a County Lord.

If a father could raise such an exceptional daughter, could he truly be shameless enough to commit examination fraud?

The students who had previously harbored significant prejudice against Mo Yan and her father suddenly doubted whether they had been wrong.

Guided by a eunuch towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Mo Yan was unaware of these students’ thoughts. Even if she had known, she would have only remarked that judging by appearance and temperament was common to any era.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony, located in the Outer Court, was the largest hall in the Imperial Palace, where the daily morning court was held. The square in front of the hall was spacious enough for ten thousand people to worship, and the hall itself covered more than two hundred square zhang, providing ample space for a thousand people with room to spare. (Note: A square zhang is an ancient unit of area, equivalent to eleven square meters in modern measurement; two hundred square zhang is therefore two thousand two hundred square meters.)

When Mo Yan was led into the Hall of Supreme Harmony by little eunuchs, there were already many people inside. Aside from the civil and military officials who had stayed after the morning court session, the rest were the students who had gathered outside the palace gates for days, all between the ages of twenty and forty.

The hall was filled with men, including the eunuchs who guided them. When a woman of uncommon beauty and exceptional temperament suddenly entered, she instantly attracted everyone’s attention.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony, which had been somewhat noisy, fell silent for a moment. The little eunuch felt the strange atmosphere and with a voice neither loud nor soft, said, "Princess Hejia, please follow this servant over here."

He led Mo Yan to a spot closer to the Dragon Throne, a place belonging to the queue of civil officials, where all that could be seen were older gentlemen with white streaks in their hair.

Giving a County Lord of no small rank, especially one ennobled for her merits, even the more conservative old men did not feel that Mo Yan, a woman, should be barred from such an august place as the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

And with this fraud case implicating her own father, if he were convicted, her entire family would be implicated. Normally, people would avoid such situations at all costs; who would dare to step forward? Mo Yan’s presence at this time made them feel that this lady was extraordinarily brave and her filial piety commendable.