Judge Zhong held several thick letters in his hand, bowed deeply to Lin Yi, and said with a face full of apologies, "This subordinate is truly sorry for keeping Sir Lin waiting for so long."

Looking at Judge Zhong still maintaining such formality, Gongsun Mo couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of saliva impatiently.

"Stop wasting words, if you have something to say, say it quickly. You haven't yet fulfilled what you promised me."

Hearing this, Lin Yi incredulously looked at the two men, finding it hard to comprehend.

"Wait, Little Zhong, you, you know Senior Gongsun?"

The two seemed extremely familiar, like old friends who had known each other for many years, yet their ages differed by at least a generation.

Judge Zhong smiled and then recounted the events that had happened after Lin Yi left.

Apparently, after Lin Yi left, Gongsun Mo wanted to use Judge Zhong to contain Lin Yi, to coerce him into finding the young Emperor and exact revenge.

However, when Judge Zhong revealed the details of Gongsun Mo's case from years ago, Gongsun Mo's attitude performed a complete one-eighty.

All of this started from when Judge Zhong assumed the position of judge in Dali Temple, and naturally, could not have happened without Lin Yi's instructions.

Initially, Lin Yi had tasked Judge Zhong to look into the lists of those who had been executed in the autumn and those who had been made scapegoats over the years, which included Gongsun Mo.

Perhaps it was fate, but Judge Zhong took particular interest in Gongsun Mo's name and carefully reviewed the case where Gongsun Mo's entire household was executed.

After reviewing all archival dossiers, Judge Zhong quickly discovered major problems with the case; it had been hastily closed with a verdict of execution for the whole family on insufficient and unclear evidence.

Later, during his free time, Judge Zhong also reviewed other cases from the same period and found many similar motives being exploited repeatedly.

Looking at the judge who presided over Gongsun Mo's case, it wasn't the Minister of the Ministry of Criminal Justice who supervised the investigation, but it had been bypassed.

It was signed off by the personal confidant of the Eighth Prince at the time, the Central Capital Protector.

Such blatantly improper case handling and irrational legal processes passed without question, even obtaining final approval from the Ministry of Justice to sentence a whole family to execution.

It was clear to anybody that someone must have been intent on condemning Gongsun Mo to death; the case was closed hastily and sloppily.

Having witnessed countless wrongful and mistaken verdicts among the common folk, Judge Zhong was originally uninterested in the miscarriages of justice among court officials and the powerful.

In his view, these were nothing more than casualties in the power struggles and pursuit of interests among the nobility.

As the saying goes, in the pursuit of wealth and status, one must risk danger, and the losing party in the chase for interests inevitably pays the price.

However, having become a judge at Dali Temple, Judge Zhong decided to pay attention to Gongsun Mo's case and look for clues, treating it as a form of practice.

Unexpectedly, Gongsun Mo, who had supposedly been executed after autumn, was still alive and appeared before him.

No, he appeared alive and well in the previous Emperor's sleeping chambers, the Qiankun Palace.

Gongsun Mo, realizing that his wrongful case had caught the attention of a junior, started to entertain the idea of sparing Judge Zhong.

The condition was to help Gongsun Mo find out who had framed him back then.

After hearing the whole story, Lin Yi finally understood why Gongsun Mo had appeared here and why he wanted to kill him.

It turned out Gongsun Mo wanted to repay a father's debt with his son's life, killing the young Emperor to avenge his deceased family.

Thinking of this, Lin Yi's heart unwittingly ached for the woman he loved most.

She, a fragile maiden, had to bear the humiliation and burden of a man, taking on the heavy responsibilities of a sovereign.

Moreover, she had to bear the consequences of the errors her father had once committed, with enemies now knocking at the door to settle old scores.

Yet, she was still a woman after all.

'No, I absolutely will not allow my woman to face any danger.'

Thinking about it, Lin Yi held the laser cutting gun, aimed at Gongsun Mo's forehead, and said coldly.

"Senior Gongsun, I'm sorry, but I am sworn to loyally serve the current Emperor. Your existence poses a great threat to his safety and to the stability of the kingdom, I cannot let you leave alive."

Unexpectedly, Gongsun Mo didn't take Lin Yi's words seriously and struck him with a palm, sending Lin Yi flying.

Caught off guard, Lin Yi was smacked into the corner of the wall.

Puh—

Lin Yi spat blood on the spot, his complexion completely drained of color.

If not for the bullet-proof suit which absorbed some of the impact, Lin Yi might have been dead by now.

Seeing this, Judge Zhong hurriedly went over to help Lin Yi up, saying with distress,

"Senior Gongsun, I beg you to spare Mr. Lin, I promise to help you find the murderer behind your setup."

With Judge Zhong's promise, Gongsun Mo calmed down a bit, and he warned,

"Fine, I'll give you face. Kid, you were able to withstand my Black Sand Palm, it seems you have some skills."

Lin Yi, struggling to stand with the support of the wall, couldn't help but curse in his heart.

'Hmph, always with the sneak attacks, such a typical move. If I had been prepared, I wouldn't be in such a mess.'

Gongsun Mo, holding Lin Yi's laser cutting gun, tried to play around with it, but couldn't figure out how to operate it.

Seeing this, Lin Yi finally felt a bit of consolation, realizing his foresight was indeed effective.

"Senior Gongsun, don't bother trying, my toy works only for me."

Lin Yi was quite smug; setting up a password lock on important weapons would save a lot of trouble in the future.

While others saw it as a treasure, in his own hands, it became useless, Gongsun Mo couldn't swallow this pride and irritably tossed the useless thing back to Lin Yi.

Luckily, Lin Yi was prepared and caught the laser cutting gun steadily.

However, before Lin Yi could secure the laser cutting gun, Gongsun Mo's indifferent voice came over,

"You better not harbor any ill intentions, kid. In this Qiankun Palace, I have plenty of ways to deal with you."

"And you, this little Judge, better swiftly clarify the old case. My patience is limited; otherwise, both of you will die here."

Judge Zhong, full of confidence, said, "Senior Gongsun, rest assured, I have been secretly investigating your case."

"As soon as we find out who was the Central Capital Protector back then, we can uncover the assassin behind your setup."

The position of Central Capital Protector was later abolished, so information about it was scarce, but perhaps veterans like Sixth Prince, Fourth Prince, and General Mu might remember.

Reflecting on the bureaucracy from more than ten years ago was a struggle for Gongsun Mo; he barely remembered ever meeting the so-called Central Capital Protector.

It seemed like the Central Capital Protector was always accompanying the Eighth Prince, guarding the border, nearly never mentioned by anyone.

Lin Yi immediately saw through the intricacies and casually said,

"Senior Gongsun, you are really confused about who you've made enemies with, and it does relate to the Central Capital Protector."

Speaking of enemies, the first person that came to Gongsun Mo's mind was his fellow disciple, the old eunuch.

They always fought openly and underhandedly as disciples from the same school, struggling to learn the true Kung Fu of their master, even coming to blows.

…End of Chapter…

ps: Added update, the 5th today!

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