instead?" Song s.h.i.+ren looked at Fan Xian with a sneer and continued with a taunt, "What kind of man are you if you can’t even take responsibility for what you did?"

Fan Xian was aware that his opponent was trying to provoke him. Despite this, his expression remained calm with a mixture of astonishment. It was as if he was confused as to why the man in front was accusing him falsely. Zheng Tu’s voice cut in and he spoke mockingly, "Voice? I’ve never heard of any case being determined by a voice- and I know the laws inside out."

Song s.h.i.+ren did not back down, instead he spoke deliberately, "If voice is not enough to prove Mr. Fan’s ident.i.ty, then allow me to show everyone a poem." With this, he retrieved a piece of paper from within his sleeve and recited slowly.

...

The absent-minded Mei Zhili behind the bench was suddenly awakened from his daze by the poem and he spoke energetically, "What a wonderful poem. Who is the poet?" Only then did he realize that he was not in his study, or in a poem festival but in court working on a case. He cleared throat and requested the piece of paper from Song s.h.i.+ren.

He inspected the piece of paper in detail and saw not only the brilliance of the poet, but also how rarely elegant the calligraphy was. Curious, he asked Song s.h.i.+ren, "Who is the poet and what does this have to do with the case?"

Song s.h.i.+ren replied respectfully, "This poem was written by Fan Xian during the poem festival at Jing palace yesterday. When Mr. Fan a.s.saulted Mr. Guo on the street, he recited these lines. It’s quite obvious he was belittling Mr. Guo."

Mei Zhili was amazed. He observed the bright-faced and innocent-looking young man in court, bewildered at the fact that he could have written such a poem. He felt a sense of regret for him- why would he recite his poem if he was beating someone up? Not to mention the fact that the elegance of the poem did not even fit the violent environment of a fight. Furthermore, he had essentially provided his opponent evidence against himself.

Mei Zhili was a well experienced man, however the key to how he managed to secure his position as the capital’s magistrate could be found in his skill in blurring the lines between right and wrong. There are many rich, powerful and formidable figures gathered in the capital. If he had been fair in all of his cases, he would not have lasted long. He remembered back to when he first worked for the palace and of how Guo Gonggong had given him the advice of making concessions to avoid trouble. Mei Zhili had since then lived many peaceful years because of that advice.

Today’s case was no different, as he planned to maintain the att.i.tude he’d always had and refrain from making any decisions. He would leave them to sort out their differences themselves, and if that didn’t work out, he would delay the case for a couple days and send them to the Ministry of Punishments. If he planned to stay out of trouble, then he had to avoid closing this case his court. He glanced worriedly at Fan Xian and Zheng Tu.

Zheng Tu had once worked for Mei Zhili for a while as his clerk, and knew what was on his old boss’s mind. He chuckled, "This is ridiculously funny. Many scholars were gathered on the day of the poem festival, and Mr. Fan’s poetry stood out from the rest. It can only be a.s.sumed that people had taken note of it, so it’s not unusual that others know the poem. More importantly…"

He glanced at Song s.h.i.+ren coldly with a sneer and continued, "…do you think Mr. Fan is out of his mind? Reciting a poem he had written while beating up a man during the night?! Only an idiot would be stupid enough to reveal his ident.i.ty, not to mention how ridiculously amusing the whole situation already is. It’s quite obvious that someone who has a feud with Mr. Guo knew of Mr. Fan and Mr. Guo’s disagreement in the restaurant a few days ago. The real culprit had obviously planned to mislead Mr. Guo into thinking that Fan Xian was the culprit."

It seemed that his hypothesis was quite logical. Fan Xian who smiled while standing silently to the side.- What was it he said…?" Only an idiot would be stupid enough?? He coughed awkwardly. Mr. Guo Baokun on the wheelchair could no longer suppress his anger and he yelled, "Quit trying to twist the truth! This illegitimate b.a.s.t.a.r.d is just using the Fan family’s authority. He’s so reckless because he doesn’t think the law applies to him!"

Zheng Tu’s face darkened when he heard the words illegitimate b.a.s.t.a.r.d. He deeply agreed with the young master’s wise decision of beating up the man in the wheelchair. He spoke coldly, "As the compiler of the imperial palace, you should watch what you say. I know that you are angry, but you shouldn't throw tantrums. After all, you work closely with the crown prince, and it would be a shame to hurt the reputation of the palace."

While those words directly offended Guo Baokun, they were also filled with shade. In terms of authority, The Fan could not be compared to the Guo family, who worked closely with the crown prince, and what Guo Baokun had said before was naturally inappropriate. This caused another wave of discussion by the civilians outside. There were many more who believed Fan Xian to be innocent.

Although Fan Xian was expressionless, on the inside he was thoroughly impressed by Zheng Tu, who utilized all of his plans flawlessly. It seemed weird that the lawyer Song s.h.i.+ren was not as desperate as Guo Baokun. Song s.h.i.+ren smiled and said, "Magistrate, my master is in pain. Would you allow us to rest?"

Mei Zhili nodded, and Guo Baokun went to the backroom with the help of his servants. At this moment, Song s.h.i.+ren turned and bowed to Fan Xian and Zheng Tu, saying, "So it looks like Mr. Fan will not be admitting to beating people up." For some unknown reason, Guo Baokun’s face was full of life as he left. It was as if the real battle was about to begin.

Zheng Tu and Fan Xian smiled in unison and said nothing. Who were they kidding? Niulan Street was pitch black, there were no witnesses, and no evidence. What did they plan on using as proof? What’s more, it was stated clearly on the doc.u.ment of complaint that the servants from Guo mansion were drugged, so n.o.body would believe their witness statement that "Fan Xian beat him up." Mei Zhili frowned and called Song s.h.i.+ren to the front and spoke in a low voice, "Let's wrap it up for today."

Song s.h.i.+ren bowed as he spoke, "Mr. Guo is the compiler of the imperial palace and he was beaten up. How could you close this important case so carelessly?"

Mei Zhili was agitated, "When did I say I was closing the case? I’m just simply delaying it. If you wish to claim that he had been beaten up, then get some evidence to prove who did it." It was said that the court was not allowed to carry out punishments on officials in public, and even if Fan Xian was not a scholar, he doubted that they would punish him. It was basically impossible to get him to admit what he had done.

Surprisingly Song s.h.i.+ren turned round to ask, "Mr. Fan was at home all night yesterday?"

"That’s right. The servants of our mansion are witnesses." Zheng Tu replied.

Song s.h.i.+ren laughed coldly, "Call in the witnesses." Mei Zhili realized that there may be a change to his initial judgement and he nodded. Servants from Guo mansion brought in a bunch of people, all dressed differently and with different jobs. There was a dumpling seller, a night watcher, bearers for businesses in streets and even a prost.i.tute; the list just went on and on.

Zheng Tu frowned uneasily and the people watching from the sidelines questioned curiously, "What’s with all this?"