The frail maid began kowtowing as she trembled like a leaf while turning a blind eye to Anchhi's query. Before she blurted forth a slew of lies and dishonesty, she avoided making eye contact with Anchhi and kept her shifty eyes glued to the ground.
"That day, Young Miss had entered the market, dressed as a man. I accompanied her all the way to the market. However, she misled me and ran out into the woods only to give action to her conspiracy. I even followed her so I could see that action firsthand. His Highness Fourth Prince was taken hostage by a group she headed. He was strung on by a pole and flogged to death."
"W-What? What are you uttering, Shoumen?" Anchhi froze at her place. Eyebrows knitted together and jaws slacked.
She knew that everything she heard was a lie but Anchhi couldn't believe it coming from Shoumen, the only person with whom she had entrusted her trust, in this not-so realistic world.
Her face was slapped by the icy breeze of treachery. It was as though she had been witnessed to reality.
"You will have the chance to defend." From his majestic throne, The Almighty Emperor casted a chilly glare.
In a kneeling position, Shoumen continued, "She instructed her men to attempt rape and inflict poison on her. They staged a play there, and it went per her plan. Fortunately, I had a chance to escape that dreadful scenario."
Anchhi lost her composure and retaliated violently. "Why? Shoumen, why are you acting this way? On whose saying are you doing this?" The petite maid was forced to stand up after being tightly seized by her arms.
"This isn't the truth, you know right?" Shoumen's eyes weren't engaged to that of Anchhi's. She swallowed excessively and the redness of her ears indicated how anxious she was.
"Why are you intimidating this maid? We can plainly see, Your Majesty, that this female criminal is pressuring this maid to retract her statement." Minister Li Wang interfered with his caustic icy remarks. He gave Anchhi a cunning glance, before bowing down to the Emperor.
"Does she belong to the Underworld Clan?"
"Could she be the master we are all looking for?"
"A vicious swine hiding behind the mask of a decent noble lady. This is intolerable."
"She should be hanged to death."
Once again, the tittle-tattle began to spread throughout the court. This time, an intimidating menacing one.
"What's with this chattering? This place is an Imperial Clan Court, not any fish market." Standing next to Gua Huang, the Head Eunuch grumbled.
In the meantime, Hui Jing stepped in the discourse to defend his beloved. Anchhi's fragile hands were taken out of Shoumen's embrace by him, as he gently clasped them.
"Emperor Father, I request you to take Shoumen's testimony in consideration. She shouldn't be trusted because she has no proof to back up her claims. It may be a mere deception to deceive us." He lowered his head, bowing before the Emperor.
"What more do you need, Crown Prince, than an eye witness?" In a mocking gesture, Minister Li Wang cocked his head to the right and batted his eyelids.
Behind the curtains, Empress Mawangdui scowled at her son's foolishness. "Still doing everything he can to protect her."
With a curled lips, she let out a sigh, "I am sorry, my child. You have to go through this all, but I am doing this for you."
On the other hand, one of the guards sprinted into the court with a tiny glass jar covered by a lid. Bowing before Gua Huang, he confronted, "Your Imperial Majesty, this was discovered while investigating Fei Jia's chamber."
"A poison?" Hui Jing murmured as he squinted his eyes. He then turned to face Anchhi, who had a look of uncertainty on her face. "This can't be!"
The Emperor's countenance abruptly shifted from poker face to rigidity. "How will you justify this?" His hawk-eyed were penetrated at Anchhi.
False evidences were heaped up against her to label her as the criminal. Her mind was now gradually processing the entire act, taking place in front of her.
Palace scheme welcomed her with open arms! This was the unflinching truth about a place like Chang Yuan Palace, where conspiracies and schemes prevailed over truth.
Anchhi felt a sort of dizziness and her legs were about to give up. If it weren't for Hui Jing's arm, which she was leaning on, she would have collapsed unconsciously.
"Hmm." Gua Huang's lips cruelly curled up as he grinned sinisterly. "For the time being, detain Fei Jia at the Ministry of Justice. I shall preside over her trial personally." Concluding today's discussion, Emperor Gua Huang rose from his seat.
From the front, the Head Eunuch announced, "If there is no more question, the court shall be dismissed."
On the contrary, the palace guards got hold of Anchhi to drag her to the Ministry of Judiciary. She swept her sight across the courtroom, exhaling a deep sigh. A drop of tear rolled down her eyes. Initially, she was unaware of the reason she had been summoned to the court. But, as the drama began to unfold, she got grasp of every single moment.
After having a near death experience and waking up, only to witness accusation such as this?
******
In the Ministry of Judiciary,
"If you admit your crimes now, I will deal with you leniently." came a hefty voice of Gua Huang who made himself comfortable in the bench, where it is decided whether a defendant is innocent or guilty.
For Anchhi, his statements amounted to threats. A warning for her to surrender!
"I did nothing wrong, Your Imperial Majesty. How do you expect me to admit to my crimes?" Anchhi argued, her brows furrowed yet her gaze lowered. She was kneeled down before the Emperor.
"The evidence is conclusive, and how do you expect me to believe you?" Once again, he mocked Anchhi's statement, flashing a smirk across his lips.
She turned to face him, raising her bowed head. "I have nothing to say if you actually trust such flimsy proof."
Bold lady! Anchhi does definitely have the audacity to act in such manner in front of the Emperor of Great Gua.
"Absurd!" Gua Huang banged the bench. "Look at your arrogance." He was shooting glares with his stares.
Then, maintaining a solemn demeanor he queried, "The two of you were the ones who initially pretended to be males and walked to the market. How do you justify your behavior?"
She irked on him, "If I had truly wanted to assassinate Fourth Brother, then I would've taken someone who had no connection to me. Why would I bring my personal maid with me?" Anchhi's justification seemed reasonable.
"I am also a victim of this incident. They tried to kill me by poisoning me." Exasperated from the baseless interrogations and accusations, they were getting on her nerves.
Anchhi wasn't concerned about being executed for speaking to the Emperor in such manner. She would die either way, thus it is preferable if she passes away for this reason rather than die for the crime she has been wrongfully accused of.
"All right, I will ask you again." The Emperor pondered for a long moment, before asking again.
"Do you have any personal grudge against the First Prince? How are things between you two?"