Chapter 1918: Not All Wrongs Are Righted in the Name of Justice
Chapter 1918: Not All Wrongs Are Righted in the Name of Justice
“What?!” Qin Wanru and the young women exclaimed, feeling all shocked and furious.
Who could have done something so malicious? After all, this was a world where strength was everything. If you didn’t have your cultivation, then you could only let yourself be trampled on! Even if Qin Zheng was a state duke, if danger came knocking on his doorstep, that noble title alone wouldn’t do a thing. Apart from that, when a cultivator became crippled, that sudden change in their body wasn't something many people could tolerate. The most obvious part of all that was a change in their lifespan. For example, Qin Zheng had been hale and hearty, as lively as a tiger; and yet now, he was like an elder with one foot already in the grave, as if he could pass away at any moment.
The sobbing woke Qin Zheng up. He opened his hazy eyes and called out, “Is that Little Ru? I seem to have heard Little Ru’s voice.”
“Dad, it’s me,” Qin Wanru said as she sat down at his side and held his hand tightly. She couldn't help but start to sob.
“Grandpa!” Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao exclaimed, also kneeling down in front of him. They cried endlessly next to him.
“Good, good…” Qin Zheng said, tears covering his aged face. “I thought I wouldn't be able to see your faces again in this life." He even found the situation hard to believe, to the point that he asked, “Am I dreaming?”
“No, it was Ah Zu and Principal Jiang who brought us to see you. We came too late…” Qin Wanru said, full of remorse. She figured that if she hadn’t stopped to pick up Youzhao first and had come straight here, perhaps they would have been able to save him.
“Ah Zu,” Qin Zheng said, looking at Zu An with a complicated expression. He thought about how he had looked down on this young man when he first came to the capital, and how he had been angry to think that his goddess of a granddaughter was given to a guy like that. He never would have expected that the very same youngster would become more and more formidable, to the point of being the one to save him now. He said, “Thank you.”
“I'm only doing the right thing,” Zu An said seriously, then added, “I’m going to give Qin second master a look.”
Qin Zheng sighed, saying, “His situation is likely not much different from my own.”
Zu An quickly ran next door. Sure enough, Qin Se had also had his cultivation crippled. Where was his usual style befitting a handsome older man? He looked like nothing more than a decrepit elder too. Thus, Zu An returned to inform the others about the situation. Qin Wanru felt even more broken-hearted.
“State Duke of Triumph, who exactly was it that made you like this?” Jiang Luofu asked with an icy expression. She had even said proudly in front of the others that she had entrusted people here to look after the State Dukes, and yet, how could she have anticipated this result? Her father was actually a chief minister in the court! This proved there was someone who didn’t give her family any respect.
However, what made her even angrier was that the Qin clan and Murong clan’s crimes hadn’t even been confirmed, and yet someone had already carried out such vicious punishment. They weren’t treating the nation’s laws with any importance at all!
Qin Se’s gaze landed on Ye Ping, and he said, “He was the one who brought those people over, and he had a black-robed individual as his subordinate. I did not recognize that man.”
The gazes of all those present landed on Ye Ping, leaving him trembling with fear. He quickly said, “It has nothing to do with me! I merely followed orders!” There was no trace left of his arrogant and despotic attitude.
Before he could even finish what he wanted to say, Zu An grabbed him by the neck and raised him into the air, saying gravely, “State Duke of Triumph, I'll first kill this person to appease your anger. I'll look for the true mastermind after!”
Ye Ping was so scared that his soul almost left his body. King Jin also seemed to have been killed the same way. How could his status compare to King Jin?! He immediately pissed his pants in terror.
Qin Wanru cried out in alarm and quickly stopped Zu An, crying out, “Ah Zu, don’t do it! He's still a vice minister of the Ministry of Justice! Killing a court official is a major offense!” She didn’t want her own family’s affairs to be a burden on this son-in-law. If he had no choice but to go on the run as a criminal too, that would really be letting down both him and Chuyan.
Jiang Luofu also tried to advise him, saying, “That’s right, Ah Zu. The killing of King Jin has already caused a huge commotion. If you kill a vice minister now, it might draw too much ire. Not even the status of libationer might be able to protect you!”
Zu An replied gravely, “I’ve never relied on my status to do these things. I am myself.” In the end, his individual strength was the greatest source of his confidence. Even if he were neither the libationer nor the Eastern Palace’s Chamberlain, he wouldn’t feel the slightest bit of fear right now either.
“Ah Zu, don’t be rash,” Qin Zheng added. “If you kill him here, even if we are in the right, we will be found to be in the wrong. Judging from what I’ve seen, this is the perfect chance to use your status to report this incident to the court. Before heaven’s law, I refuse to believe that the court cannot bring us justice!”
Zu An said with a frown, “State duke, not all wrongs are righted in the name of justice. Besides, the reason you're behind bars in the first place is because you trusted the court too much.”
With the Qin clan state dukes’ influence in the army, if they really had been like the other ambitious clans and formed a power of their own, the court wouldn’t have dared to touch them. However, because they were too loyal to the empire, it had become all too easy for the court to deal with them.
Qin Zheng became quiet. A while later, he said, “This one has remained loyal to the empire my whole life. I do not wish to discard my beliefs right before my death.”
Zu An sighed. Even though he didn’t approve of Qin Zheng's way of thinking, he still admired this kind of person. It was precisely because of such foolish persistence that there were still so many heroic tales of righteousness.
“Since even the state duke has spoken up for you, I’ll leave you with your petty life. However, your crimes can't be forgiven. I'll let you have a taste of the Qin clan’s suffering,” Zu An said, giving Ye Ping a cold look.
With a wave of Zu An's hand, Ye Ping immediately screamed miserably and fell from the air. He hugged his legs as he rolled all over the ground. Judging from the blood dripping down, it was clear that his legs had been broken.
“Thank you for your mercy, Sir Zu…” Ye Ping said, doing his best to hold back his desire to scream. He had thought he was dead for sure, but he'd actually managed to keep his life! Didn’t it actually seem as if he had actually profited? Either way, he was a cultivator, someone with astonishing regenerative ability. He’d be back to normal in just half a year. Zu An hadn't left him with any hidden ailments or sucked away his cultivation.
Zu An didn’t pay him any attention and took out a pill to feed Qin Zheng. Then, he began to treat the duke's injuries with his own ki, saying, “State duke, you had your cultivation sucked out of you. I'll protect your dantian to prevent it from atrophying and completely disappearing, and I'll infuse some ki to nourish your body. I'll also try to find a way to cure you in the future.”
Qin Zheng was shocked and overjoyed, exclaiming, “There is still hope of recovering? Ah Zu, thank you so much!”
He had already felt completely helpless after he lost all his cultivation. All he wished for now was justice and innocence. He had never expected there to be even a possibility of recovery!
Which cultivator would want to be an ordinary person again?
“There is indeed hope. However, we need some special pills and other method,” Zu An said; his eyes flickered.
“That’s amazing!” Qin Wanru cried as she jumped up excitedly. “Ah Zu, you’re incredible!” This was the best news she had heard all day!
“Huanzhao, Youzhao, why aren’t you thanking your brother-in-law for saving your grandfather yet? Kowtow to him!” Qin Wanru urged them. She had nearly done so herself, but thankfully, she had promptly remembered that she was his senior and that it was a bit unsuitable. Thus, the duty of kowtowing fell upon her two daughters.
Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao liked their brother-in-law anyway. Forget about kowtowing, even if they had to kneel down and… do that, they would still be willing. Let alone this time, after he had saved their grandfather, cousins, and so many other people.
Zu An quickly supported the two young ladies up and said, “It was just the right thing to do. We’re all family, so there’s no need for such formalities.”
Chu Huanzhao got up and gave him a peck on the cheek, saying, “Thank you, brother-in-law!”
Chu Youzhao’s teeth ached as she watched. She had actually wanted to kiss him too, but her current identity was that of a man, and Murong Qinghe was also present. It was a bit inappropriate for her to kiss him now. However, who would have thought that this crafty second sis of hers would move first to gain the upper hand?
Qin Zheng watched the scene in shock.
Is this really the relationship of just a brother-in-law with his sister-in-law?
He already took one of my grandchildren; is he going to take the whole pot?
Qin Wanru also had a huge headache. If this were any other time, she would definitely have disciplined her daughter, but today, Zu An had helped the Qin clan so much. It almost seemed as if a kiss from her was to be expected, no? She even had the feeling that a kiss alone wasn’t enough to repay such a great favor.
Zu An rubbed his cheeks. The soft and fragrant kiss from a young lady really was moving. He noticed that Jiang Luofu was looking at him with a smile. His face couldn't help but heat up and he said, “Ahem, I’m going to treat Qin second master first.”
After saying that, he quickly ran next door. Qin Wanru and the others quickly followed to express their sympathies to the other elder.
Soon after, Zu An finished treating Qin Se. The duke felt warm inside, as if he had recovered quite a bit. He laughed heartily and said, “Ah Zu, you really aren’t bad at all, kid. It’s a pity that I don’t have any pretty daughters or granddaughters, or else I would have insisted on marrying them to you.”
Qin Wanru was speechless.
Second uncle, what are you saying right now? If you married your daughter off to him, what would my relationship with him be like? Wouldn’t the ranks of seniority be flipped completely upside down?
“Second grandfather!” Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao exclaimed, both pouting playfully.
Qin Se was stunned at first, then roared with laughter. “It seems I didn’t have to do a thing. Big brother seems to be quite blessed. Those common people all want sons, but how could they know that daughters are actually much more of a blessing?”
Unlike the inflexible QIn Zheng, he had often frequented places of romance. In his youth, he had been a known playboy. His understanding of women far exceeded that of his older brother. He could tell what Chu Huanzhao and Chu Youzhao were thinking from a single glance.
All three sisters might be snatched away in one pot by this youngster.
Sisters, huh? Just how many men have dreamed of such a thing? In the past, I also had such dreams, but I was never able to make them a reality.
I never expected that dream to actually be realized by another, with the Qin clan’s women, no less.
When he sensed the duke's amused smile, Zu An couldn't handle the embarrassment and said, “Ahem, I’ll be entering the palace first to demand justice for the Qin clan.”
“Alright. I'll have my father send men to the prison. Furthermore, I'll personally guard this place to ensure the safety of the Qin and Murong clans,” Jiang Luofu said.
Qin Wanru was incredibly grateful. She tightly clasped Jiang Luofu's hands and said, “Sister Jiang, I really don’t know how to thank you enough. I'll definitely introduce an ideal husband to you in the future!”
Jiang Luofu wasn’t too used to her enthusiasm. She quickly pulled her hands back and said, “Madam Chu speaks too politely. It was my fault to begin with, for not taking care of them enough. I can't let the people of the world become disappointed with our Great Zhou Dynasty’s laws.”
Zu An came over to her side and said, “Big sis Jiang, this matter is unrelated to you. No one could have anticipated that King Dai and Meng Yi would do something like this. You need to be careful here. It's hard to say if they will send more people.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not a weak woman. I won't have any problem protecting them,” Jiang Luofu said, a trace of a smile appearing on her cold face.
When he recalled her fierce appearance with her high heels, Zu An figured that made sense. Perhaps it would even be more dangerous for anyone who came here to cause trouble.
…
Then, Qin Wanru and the other young women decided to stay behind as well to take care of the Qin clan prisoners. Zu An took Ye Ping and the others straight into the palace.
Soon after, the bell that summoned the ministers resounded. The entire capital’s great clans were alarmed.
Didn’t we just hold a court session this morning? Why are the subjects being gathered again?
After all, the bell was only used when something most urgent came up. It wasn’t something that could be rung as one pleased!