Inside the government hall, solemn and imposing, Luo Xianzhi sat at the head.
Several people were being held below him. Two were practitioners of occult arts, another was the merchant involved in the original transaction, and the last was the eunuch who had denounced the Crown Prince. All wore terrified expressions. Several others watched from the side. Luo Xianzhi wasted no time on preliminaries and asked directly, "Tell me, why did you frame the Crown Prince?"
Frame the Crown Prince!
The question made several people in the hall shudder. The four below trembled as they wailed, "Lord Lingjun, we've been wronged! How could we dare frame the Crown Prince?"
They kowtowed incessantly, their heads pounding like pestles crushing garlic, their faces filled with utter terror.
Luo Xianzhi calmly told the Chief Clerk taking notes, "Record what they just said: they framed the Crown Prince as part of a conspiracy to overthrow his position in the Eastern Palace."
???
The four on the floor instantly stopped wailing and froze. One still had tears running down his face and mucus slipping in and out of his nose, but could not utter a word. They were bewildered. Had they just said that?
The other officials in the hall, including the Chief Clerk, were at a loss. Wasn't this the actual framing? Someone ventured, "Lord Lingjun, doesn't this violate the laws of the state?"
His voice was very quiet.
Composed and unhurried, Luo Xianzhi looked at them and asked, "You are all important ministers of the state. You have attended countless meetings at every level, whether at Court, in the departments and ministries, or in government offices. Surely records are always produced at the end?"
They all nodded. Of course a meeting's conclusions had to be recorded, especially the Court's collective decisions, which would