Human Evidence

The Censorate.

The main hall was unusually quiet at this moment.

No, it was more accurate to say it was the buzzing that erupted after a deathly silence.

When that figure appeared at the entrance, the first to notice were the low-ranking officials standing at the periphery.

They instinctively made way, and then, as if something had lodged in their throats, they let out half-stifled gasps.

"Is that..."

"Madam Jiang?"

"How is this possible?"

Sunlight streamed in from behind Jiang Jianli, outlining her silhouette with a faint golden glow.

She wore a simple, clean gown—neither as opulent and intricate as typical official wives' attire, nor as soft and delicate as ordinary women's clothing.

Her steps were steady, so steady it felt as though she was stepping on everyone's hearts.

Jiang Jianli.

The wife of Shangguan Yuan, a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. And Gu Chengyin's... what?

This question lingered on everyone's lips, but no one dared to voice it first.

Why was Jiang Jianli here?

Wasn't she on Gu Chengyin's side?

Shangguan Yunying was Luo Zhao's chief female official, meaning the Shangguan family was essentially part of the crown prince’s faction.

Moreover, Shangguan Yuan’s entry into the Cabinet had been orchestrated by Gu Chengyin himself.

Since Jiang Jianli was both Shangguan Yuan’s wife and Shangguan Yunying’s mother, she belonged to the crown prince’s faction.

Yet here she was.

At the critical moment when Cui Zhenji was interrogating Gu Chengyin, Jiang Jianli had arrived.

And judging by her demeanor, she was here to testify.

"What’s going on?" someone whispered to a colleague. "Is there a rift within the crown prince’s faction?"

"I haven’t heard anything about it!"

The person being asked looked just as bewildered. "Just yesterday, I saw Shangguan at the Cabinet office."

"How could Grand Tutor Gu and Shangguan Yuan fall out?"

"Then why is Madam Jiang here?"

"Maybe she’s come to testify on Gu Chengyin’s behalf?"

...

The murmurs grew louder, like a swarm of bees buzzing inside the hall.

Those with sharp instincts began to calculate: if the crown prince’s faction truly was splitting, what would that mean?

It meant a realignment of power in the court.

It meant the two strongest forces within the crown prince’s faction would go their separate ways.

It meant...

No one dared to think further.

Because whether it was Gu Chengyin or Shangguan Yuan, each represented far too much.

Luo Zhao, the Imperial Household Department, the Qing Sword Sect, the Shangguan family—and countless other deeply intertwined factions. Pulling one thread would shake the whole web.

This wasn’t a private dispute between two men; it was a clash between two leviathans.

If it truly erupted, no official in the entire court, across the two capitals and thirteen prefectures, would be able to stay neutral.

Some of the more timid officials had already edged backward.

They wished they could shrink into the crowd, praying that if swords were drawn, no blood would splatter on them.

Those bolder ones, however, had eyes gleaming with excitement.

Nothing like a good spectacle.

And this—this was a spectacle of epic proportions!

Jiang Jianli, however, seemed oblivious to the chatter.

Her gaze remained fixed ahead, cutting through the doubtful stares, through the whispering crowd, and landing squarely on the figures behind the judge’s bench.

She walked slowly, but each step was rock-solid.

The hem of her skirt brushed lightly across the floor, making no sound.

Yet somehow, wherever she passed, the murmurs instinctively faded, as if suppressed by some invisible force.

She stopped beside Gu Chengyin, standing there under everyone’s watchful eyes.

Then she raised her hands and clasped them in front of her in a formal salute—not the bow of a woman, but the gesture of a man.

"Minister Cui."

Her voice carried clearly into every ear.

"I am willing to serve as a witness and accuse Gu Chengyin of usurping the position of Sect Leader of the Qing Sword Sect."

Boom!

It was like a ladle of water thrown into a pot of boiling oil—the entire hall erupted.

"Did you hear that!"

"She really came to testify!"

"Usurping the Sect Leader position? Is that even a crime under the Great Luo Code?"

"Madam Jiang is the wife of Shangguan Yuan. If she testifies, then..."

"There really is a rift! The Shangguan family is going to battle against Gu Chengyin!"

...

The officials who had previously been indifferent now had sparks of excitement in their eyes.

A few who couldn’t contain themselves had already started eagerly whispering back and forth, guessing what had happened behind the scenes.

What was now certain was that the rift was real—the crown prince’s faction had indeed split.

Jiang Jianli’s words had stirred a tsunami.

Cui Zhenji, the presiding judge, was utterly flabbergasted.

He stared blankly at Jiang Jianli standing in the hall, momentarily at a loss for words.

What was happening?

Had Cui Shifan managed to win over Shangguan Yuan?

No—such a major development wouldn’t have been kept from him, not by Cui Shifan.

And knowing Cui Shifan as well as he did, that senior grand secretary always acted with meticulous care.

If he truly had allied with Shangguan Yuan, he would have sent someone to notify Cui Zhenji in advance, coordinating the performance.

But no.

There had been nothing—absolutely nothing.

So who had brought Jiang Jianli here?

And she claims she’s here to personally testify against Gu Chengyin?

Cui Zhenji’s mind raced, trying to untangle the web.

Jiang Jianli was Shangguan Yuan’s wife. No doubt about that.

Her presence here should represent Shangguan Yuan’s intention.

But wasn’t Shangguan Yuan half a member of the crown prince’s faction?

How could he...

Had Shangguan Yuan truly broken with Gu Chengyin?

Why?

He hadn’t heard of any conflict between the two...

Cui Zhenji’s brow furrowed.

Was there bad blood between Shangguan Yuan and Gu Chengyin?

Yes. And more than one incident.

That white-glazed celadon teacup of Shangguan’s—a one-of-a-kind piece from the Southern Kilns in the capital—had been shattered by a kick from Gu Chengyin.

The cause? A discrepancy in the Ministry of Revenue accounts. The dispute had escalated all the way to the Cabinet. In the end, Shangguan Yuan was suspended and confined, while Gu Chengyin was reprimanded and docked a year’s salary.

That glossy door of golden nanmu wood at the Shangguan residence—a century-old antique, passed down three generations—had been smashed to pieces by another kick from Gu Chengyin.

Reason: an assassination attempt. The matter had required Yuan Zhengqing to personally relay the emperor’s oral decree.

The result? It was... brushed aside.

If you wanted to really count them, there was also Xiao Song’s downfall and the large-scale purge of Xiao-affiliated officials.

But Cui Zhenji understood full well that those were just performances at the time.

Yet on the surface, in the public eye and in common gossip, Shangguan Yuan and Gu Chengyin indeed had friction.

Cui Zhenji knew the deeper story because he was the Minister of Rites, a member of the Cui clan.

But ordinary officials didn’t. The common people of the divine capital didn’t. Those in the capital and the thirteen prefectures knew even less.

To those people, all they saw was a clear and seemingly complete chain of logic.

That Shangguan Yuan and Gu Chengyin had long had conflicts.

That these had gradually deepened into disagreements, eventually turning into a split within the crown prince’s faction.

Whether this rift was real or fake was something only the parties involved truly knew.

So even if Cui Zhenji could see through it, at this moment, he had to keep the act going.

Because the current situation was disadvantageous to Gu Chengyin.

Jiang Jianli was here, and she was a witness—a witness of immense weight.