TFWYH – Chapter 859 Imperial Gift

Wang Po and the others shuddered in fright.

None of them dared to lie any longer.

“Y-Your Excellency… this commoner didn’t actually see it.”

“I didn’t see it either.”

“Your Excellency, by the time we reached the backyard, Old Man Ling was already dead. It… it was Old Madam Liu who said Miss Ling had killed him, and we believed her.”

“We were all deceived by that old woman! Please see the truth, Your Excellency!”

…

“Silence!”

The Prefect impatiently struck the sounding block before glaring at Old Madam Liu.

“Ling Liu!”

“Why did you lie in court?”

Old Madam Liu trembled violently.

“I… I…”

“Because she is the one who murdered my grandfather.”

Ling Yue took over, her voice cold and firm.

Old Madam Liu cried out in alarm.

“You little wretch! What nonsense are you spouting?”

Ling Yue pointed to the map she had drawn.

“I was standing here.”

“My grandfather died over there.”

“And you…”

“Were standing here.”

“My grandfather died because someone pushed him, causing him to strike his head and die.”

“At the distance between me and my grandfather, it would have been impossible for me to push him that far.”

“But from your position…”

“It would have been very easy.”

“Or perhaps…”

“You intend to keep denying it until you’re tortured into telling the truth?”

Every word Ling Yue spoke was clear, logical, and impossible to refute.

Old Madam Liu was rendered speechless.

At the same time, terror overwhelmed her.

Her face turned deathly pale.

“N-No…”

Cold sweat poured down her forehead.

Her mind had gone completely blank.

Feeling countless pairs of eyes fixed upon her, she was on the verge of panic.

Just as the Prefect was about to order torture, she finally blurted out,

“It wasn’t me!”

“It was you!”

“And that guard in the residence also died by your hand!”

“All of us saw that with our own eyes!”

The moment she said that, Wang Po hurriedly chimed in.

“That’s right!”

“We all personally saw her kill him with the bracelet on her wrist.”

“That bracelet is actually a hidden weapon.”

“I saw it too!”

“It contains poisoned needles.”

“Anyone struck by one dies instantly.”

“Your Excellency, we’re truly not lying this time.”

“If you don’t believe us, just have someone remove her bracelet and examine it.”

…

The moment the topic shifted to the bracelet, the servants and matrons who had been trying to frame Ling Yue regained their confidence.

This was something they had genuinely witnessed.

Ling Yue had no way of denying it.

Ling Yue fell silent.

She knew that too.

She had tried her hardest.

She had thought about it for a long time.

But she simply couldn’t think of any way to explain it.

Forget it…

A life for a life.

She had killed someone.

That was an undeniable fact.

The only thing left for her to do…

…was drag Old Madam Liu down with her.

The old hag had also killed someone.

If they both died together, then Old Madam Liu would never again be able to cause trouble for her brother.

Dying together with that old monster…

Would at least be one meaningful thing she had done for her family—

for her brother—

and for her mother.

She was content with that.

There was only one regret.

She would never get to build the racecourse she had promised her sister-in-law.

Feeling dejected, Ling Yue slowly knelt down, preparing to confess.

Just then…

Tang Wan spoke calmly.

“That bracelet was an imperial gift.”

“If someone is killed using it…”

“…wouldn’t that mean no law was actually broken?”

“…Huh?”

The noisy courtroom instantly fell silent.

Ling Yue looked up in astonishment, staring at her sister-in-law as though she’d seen a ghost.

Wh-What?

An… imperial gift?

Tang Wan smiled reassuringly at her before turning to the Prefect.

“An imperial hidden weapon is still an imperial weapon.”

“Its authority is equivalent to the Sword of Imperial Authority—it carries the privilege of executing first and reporting afterward.”

“I’m sure Your Excellency is aware of that.”

“Since all these witnesses insist that my sister-in-law killed the man using that bracelet…”

“…then what crime has she committed?”

The Prefect: “…”

I didn’t even think about it until you mentioned it.

Looking carefully at the bracelet again…

Isn’t that the Seven-Jeweled Exquisite Bracelet?

Princess Wengnai’s bracelet…

Since it’s an item bestowed by the Emperor… it isn’t something that can simply be given away to another person…