SLLBTT Chapter 28
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Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
⋇⊶⊰Chapter 28⊱⊷⋇
In the court, there was a massive electronic screen for the convenience of court officials during presentations. Now, it also facilitated Censor Xu's presentation of evidence against Liu Jiao's cheating.
Censor Xu displayed the archived exam paper of Liu Jiao on the large screen, showing that it was different from others. Simultaneously, he pulled up the exam room surveillance footage, revealing that on the day of the exam, Liu Jiao gifted Chief Proctor Lily a priceless jade pendant.
At this point, discussions arose in the court.
Censor Xu immediately played a video: Lily's confession. Facing the camera, Lily admitted, "The day before the math exam, Beautiful Lady Jiao approached me, asking for help in cheating. Initially, I refused. However, he claimed to be the most favored consort in the harem and hinted at consequences if I opposed him. Fearing the repercussions, I reluctantly agreed. So, that night, I removed the Little Cat Proctor's litter box, and while he was in the big cat restroom, I pushed him from behind. This enabled me to take his place as the proctor and assist Beautiful Lady Jiao in cheating. I deeply regret this and, burdened by guilt, decided to confess to the Minister and expose Beautiful Lady Jiao's misconduct."
After the video concluded, the court officials shook their heads and sighed, "Cheating, even when so favored... It's truly disheartening."
"This is bribing proctors and manipulating the exam! It's utterly shameless!" exclaimed Censor Xu, filled with excitement.
Censor Li, observing the evidence, was also left dumbfounded.
The evidence was overwhelming, practically an "iron-clad proof" leaving no room for denial.
Following the protocol, it was now necessary to summon Liu Jiao forward.
Liu Jiao, bewildered, arrived at the court looking innocent. As Censor Xu launched into a lengthy accusation, Liu Jiao stood there dumbfounded, unable to utter a word for quite some time.
The Snow Wolf King, who had remained silent, finally spoke, "Beautiful Lady Jiao, if you don't want to speak, you can remain silent."
However, Liu Jiao shook his head and said, "I want to speak."
"Then speak!" Censor Xu sneered, "I'm eager to hear what Beautiful Lady Jiao has to say."
"I didn't cheat! I really didn't!" Liu Jiao exclaimed with a hint of agitation. "I didn't force Proctor Lily! Why would I do that?"
Censor Xu, unconvinced, retorted, "Then why did you give her that invaluable jade pendant?"
"I... that's... that's a gift from the Queen Dowager," Liu Jiao, puzzled, tried to make sense of it. "The Queen Dowager asked me to give her the pendant."
Censor Xu was utterly astonished. "The Queen Dowager?"
"Certainly," Liu Jiao didn't overthink it and said directly, "It was the Queen Dowager who instructed me to do so."
Censor Xu sneered, "If you're spreading rumors about the Queen Dowager to evade responsibility, that's a crime of defiance!"
"Defiance?" Liu Jiao, seeing such a weighty accusation placed on him, turned pale and became utterly bewildered.
The Snow Wolf King coldly stated, "In court, even openly contradicting the Great King isn't considered defiance. How is this defiance?"
Hearing this, Censor Xu's face stiffened, merely saying, "Great King, wise counsel may be hard to accept..."
The Snow Wolf King brushed his sleeve and ordered, "Summon the Queen Dowager!"
However, Censor Xu argued, "The Queen Dowager is of noble status. Great King, should you bother him with such trivial matters?"
The Snow Wolf King gave him a cold glance but remained silent.
Pressured by the Snow Wolf King's authority, Censor Xu stiffened his neck, too intimidated to speak.
After a while, Queen Ming also entered the court.
When Liu Jiao saw Queen Ming, it was as if he had found a savior. With teary eyes, he pleaded, "Queen Dowager, you have to speak up for me! They say I cheated with the jade pendant. But wasn't it you who told me to give it away?"
Queen Ming, however, frowned and said, "Jade pendant? What jade pendant?"
Liu Jiao, upon hearing this, felt his heart sink. "The jade pendant... it's... it's..."
Censor Xu sneered, "Look at this demon consort, even trying to implicate the Queen Dowager! Fortunately, the Great King brought the Queen Dowager here to confront you and expose your lies!"
Liu Jiao's face turned pale, anxiously clutching Queen Ming. "Queen Dowager, don't you remember? You gave me that jade pendant! You asked me to give it to Proctor Lily..."
Queen Ming remained silent, glancing towards the Snow Wolf King. Seeing the Great King sitting regally, expressionless, like a deity, Queen Ming smiled and said, "Great King, what's going on here?"
However, the Snow Wolf King replied, "Queen Ming is getting old. Perhaps his memory is failing. Maybe take a closer look and try to recall."
Queen Ming looked up at the Snow Wolf King, who looked down at him. They locked eyes for several seconds. Suddenly, Queen Ming laughed and said, "Ah, yes... look at my memory. It indeed was me who gave it."
Censor Xu was shocked. "What? Queen Dowager, what did you say?"
"It was me, it was me." Queen Ming suddenly knelt down.
The onlookers were astonished and began to kneel one by one.
The Snow Wolf King, expressionlessly observing the people kneeling before him, coldly stared at Queen Ming. Queen Ming calmly admitted, "It was my idea. I influenced Beautiful Lady Jiao. This matter has nothing to do with him. I saw him working hard in his studies, so I used some tricks. It's my fault, and I'm willing to accept punishment."
The court officials were all shocked. They hadn't expected the plot to take such a sudden turn. Of course, the most confused person was Liu Jiao, still unable to catch up with the plot. Did I cheat or not?
However, Censor Xu said, "But Lily's testimony clearly states that Beautiful Lady Jiao threatened her."
The Snow Wolf King responded, "That's only Lily's side of the story. Do you believe Lily, or do you believe the Queen Dowager and the physical evidence?"
Censor Xu didn't know what to say and fell silent.
"Enough, no need to argue further," the Snow Wolf King decisively stated, "Lily violated palace rules, so she'll be punished with thirty lashes, expelled from the royal palace, and permanently disqualified from employment. As for Beautiful Lady Jiao, while he may not have committed a deliberate offense, he still influenced the fairness of the exam. His monthly exam score is reset to zero."
Liu Jiao nodded and said, "I acknowledge my guilt. Many thanks for the Great King's mercy."
"As for the Queen Dowager, being an elder but disregarding the law, he's held to a higher degree of fault. He will forfeit half a year's salary and face a one-month confinement," the Snow Wolf King glanced at Queen Ming, "Do you accept the punishment?"
"I accept the punishment." When Queen Ming uttered these four words, there was a faint smile at the corners of his mouth.
The "cheating" turmoil finally subsided. However, discussions in the palace escalated. The consorts, who had studied, were infuriated to discover that Liu Jiao had cheated. "He's already favored by the Great King, and he still cheats! That's too much!"
Consequently, Liu Jiao faced isolation from his classmates.
"Humph, let's not play with Beautiful Lady Jiao anymore!"
"Right, he's a bad student!"
Liu Jiao felt incredibly uncomfortable and miserable. In the evening, he bowed on the Great King's lap and lamented, "They won't play with me anymore."
The Snow Wolf King stroked the person's hair on his lap and said, "Ignore them. I'll play with you."
Liu Jiao suddenly felt embarrassed. "But what we play is different from what they play..."
The Snow Wolf King, hearing this, lifted Liu Jiao's chin, revealing a blush on the embarrassed face. Intrigued, he said, "Alright, today we'll play something different."
Translator's Note: Poor Pepper :(
