Chapter 1071: Crime of Treason

The war ended, and after everyone returned to the Imperial Capital, Zhao Lun immediately handed an indictment over to the Ministry of War, reporting Ling Han’s action of defecting during the war.

Zhao Lun was Deputy Commander of the troops, so the indictment he handed in naturally was taken seriously by the Ministry of War, what more when Zhao Lun was also the only son of the Great General Zhao. His status was considerably n.o.ble, so no one would dare to treat this as a small matter.

Hence, a large-scale investigation was immediately launched.

The situation was indeed quite suspicious.

Ling Han might be extremely genius—this was a publicly acknowledged fact. However, no matter how much of a genius you were, your actual cultivation level was there to be seen. You were only at the peak stage of the medium extreme, and even if you could exceed five stars in actual battle, that would only be battle prowess worth the early stage of the consummate level.

There had been so many students in the middle stage, late stage, and peak stage of consummate level, and they had all been captured. How was it that only he managed to escape?

Following the end of the war, the captured students were naturally released. Some of them swore that they had seen with their own eyes that Ling Han had been summoned to be interrogated by the enemy soldiers, after which he was no longer imprisoned together with them.

It seemed like there were also witnesses as well.

“False accusations, these are all brazen false accusations!” After Shui Yanyu heard it, she was naturally incredibly furious.

She knew some of Ling Han’s secrets. With the Black Tower, how could Ling Han have been captured? Furthermore, Ling Han had discovered the conspiracy of the Eternity Sky Majestic Empire, allowing the empress to move personally.

That showed how important the information that Ling Han had brought back was!

Ling Han was a subject that had done outstanding service for the empire, yet Zhao Lun was presently making use of his public office to avenge a private grudge. He had also collaborated with others to frame Ling Han. This was really the style of a vile character, shameless to the extreme!

Ling Han chuckled, and said, “I have s.n.a.t.c.hed his favorite, so he is using underhanded means to pay me back. The more shameless and contemptible his means are, the more it shows how much he is hurt!”

Shui Yanyu rolled her eyes at him, and asked, “You are actually not the slightest bit worried?”

Zhao Lun was now boosting support for his campaign, building up the public opinion that Ling Han was a traitor to the empire. Once everyone believed Ling Han was a traitor, then no matter what the truth was, it would no longer be important. By that time, would the Shui Clan still be willing to marry their daughter off to Ling Han?

Ling Han smiled, and said, “If worrying was useful, then I would worry. Who asked me to be isolated and without help?”

“You can ask the Ninth King for help!” Shui Yanyu piped up immediately.

Ling Han shook his head. Empress Luan Xing had already expressed displeasure over the relations.h.i.+p between him and Hu Feiyun. If he went to ask for the Ninth King’s help at this moment, he was afraid that the empress would really do something to him.

“Don’t,” he said. “Zhao Lun is only a clown performing his antics. As long as one person speaks up, then no matter how much these people are jumping all over the place, it would be a waste of effort.”

“Her Imperial Majesty, the empress?” Shui Yanyu reacted.

“My wife is truly clever!”

If Empress Luan Xing was willing to speak up, then with her absolute authority, she was naturally capable of resolving this matter. But the problem here was that it merely implicated a minor ninth-ranked military general; how could such a trivial, small matter possibly reach the ears of Her Imperial Majesty?

The empress was naturally extremely busy, and still had to concentrate fully on cultivation. She was the backbone of the empire. Without the empress to support the heavens, the Chaotic Stars Majestic Empire would have long since been annexed by the other two Majestic Empires.

Thus, how could the empress possibly bother with this kind of small matter?

Ling Han smiled faintly. Shui Yanyu did not have an official rank, and had never used power of the nation. How could she possibly know that as long as Empress Luan Xing wanted, she would be able to know each and every move in the whole empire?

Of course, this was much too big a strain on her mentally and physically. Empress Luan Xing would definitely not do that. However, the Imperial Capital was the most important location of all, and was naturally under the complete control of this empress.

He had revealed a great conspiracy of the Eternity Sky Emperor, yet Empress Luan Xing had not conferred any rewards to him. This was obviously done on purpose. She most likely wanted to make use of this opportunity to regulate the discipline in her empire and warn some people not to go too far.

Empress Luan Xing had never declared her position on this matter, yet Ling Han already understood it. It was because they were both smart people, and because Ling Han himself was the leader of his own empire, though his Great Ling Empire was much smaller in comparison.

The matter was still developing. News about Ling Han defecting and committing treason, and that he would soon be punished spread throughout the whole Imperial Capital, causing quite a number of people who did not know the truth to feel great pity for him. He obviously had such great future prospects, so why had he chosen to defect?

No force would accept betrayal; this was the bottom line.

Under ma.s.sive pressure, many people drew a clear line between themselves and Ling Han. Even Li Weiwei was no exception. She visited Ling Han’s place personally, and informed him that the Left Minister had exerted very great pressure on her, telling her not to meet with Ling Han anymore.

Although Li Weiwei might be rebellious, if it was Left Minister’s strict command, she would not dare to go against it. Hence, she could only offer an apology to Ling Han.

Ling Han was still quite touched. After all, she was the daughter of the Left Minister, her status n.o.ble. It was already quite remarkable that she would deliberately come and inform him of this. She was really treating him like a friend.

It was impossible that the investigation would go on endlessly. After another two days, the Ministry of War decided to hold a public trial for Ling Han, and the time was decided to be on the noon of the next day.

Those that held an official rank of the empire could not be punished by anyone after simply declaring they should be punished… Of course, the empress was an exception—she possessed supreme authority. Thus, the Ministry of War had to first conduct a public trial to judge whether Ling Han had committed treason or otherwise.

Once it was confirmed, they would be able to apply to the empress to revoke Ling Han’s official rank of a ninth-ranked military officer. After that, they would be able to punish him as they wished.

From this, it could also be seen how important an official rank was.

The investigation was divided into a normal investigation and a public trial. In a normal investigation, the Ministry of War would imprison Ling Han and conduct an interrogation, but the process would not be made public. Only the final result would be announced.

The public trial was the exact opposite. During the investigation, outsiders were allowed to stand by and watch.

Because the crime that Ling Han had possibly committed was treason, the effects were too widespread. Hence, the Ministry of War decided to conduct a public trial. Of course, it was unknown whether Zhao Lun had any part in encouraging their decision. Perhaps he wanted to see Ling Han be convicted in public.

And when such an important matter had occurred, the casino would not be willing to be silent. They set out stakes on whether Ling Han would ultimately be convicted or otherwise—for example, would he be acquitted, or would his official rank be repealed. There were even stakes on whether he would be publicly executed.

At this moment, the most frequently discussed topic in the entire Imperial Capital was the matter of Ling Han’s ‘treason’.

***

Great General Sha’s Residence.

Sha Yuan laughed loudly, and asked, “The public trial will be tomorrow, right? Hehe, this guy is going to be out of luck. With so many witnesses’ testimonies, he would definitely be nailed on the pillar of shame! Haha, this is such a good chance, and if I do not join in, that would really not be enough to vent my grudge.

“Yuan Long, go and make arrangements. I am sure there should not be just so few people who have witnessed Ling Han’s ‘treason’,” he commanded calmly.

“Yes, Young Master!” a young man immediately answered from behind him.

“Ling Han, Ling Han, you are really the type that would only submit to pressure after having refused a polite offer; you must force me to make a move on you!” Sha Yuan smirked coldly. “Once you no longer have an official rank, added with your crime of treason, your only fate will be death!

“After you have been imprisoned, I will discover all the secrets you possess!”