Chapter 156: Trial-2!
"My lord, I'd like the eye witness to recount who has seen the whole situation while escorting me. It will save our time and since he is a subordinate of Uncle Shang Jiao, he can be trusted to be unbiased!"
Shang long nodded before turning his gaze to Shang Jiao: "Shang Jiao, overseer of the Shang Clan, tell the court whether you guarantee the eye witness' loyalty and unbiased testimony?"
Shang Jiao, sitting to the right side of the courtroom, stood up, glancing at the eyewitness before replying: "Yes lord, I guarantee on my name that he will speak the truth!"
This man was the right hand man of Shang Jiao and had his utmost trust. Even if Ashen threatened him, he wouldn't betray Shang Jiao.
"Alright, then the court will allow it!" Shang Jiao declared authoritatively.
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The eyewitness went to the plaintiff's spot before taking a deep breath and recounting the whole situation to the best of his ability.
"My Lord, I was given the order by lord Shang Jiao of escorting his highness Ashen. I escorted him to the princess's mansion and when we arrived in front of the mansion, the formation that let's the owner of the mansion see the visitors who have arrived, activated."
"Even though his highness had come to visit, no one arrived to welcome him, instead, the defendant's voice resounded in our ears. He simply said 'come in' without any respect in his tone nor did he address his highness. When we entered, the princess was sipping tea sitting on a couch and the defendant stood behind her."
"They didn't even greet him despite his arrival and ignored him for a short while. Due to the disrespect he had been shown by them, his highness also asked without any formalities about the reason for her visit, however, as soon as the defendant heard his highness' disrespectful tone, the defendant roared as he threatened him and released a powerful pressure with an intent to make him kneel!"
"However, his highness remained unfazed despite the pressure, and after making the defendant realize his crime he decided to come back, however, the defendant laughed at him and called him a fool to think that our Shang clan would dare make an enemy out of the defendant's clan over his highness!"
Completing his recount, he bowed: "That's all my lord!"
Shang Long nodded as he turned his gaze to the old man and asked: "Do you find anything false in his testimony?"
The old man couldn't deny the man's testimony since this eye witness was guaranteed by Shang Jiao and even if he denied the accusations, there was always the method of letting someone check his memories from his sea of consciousness and if that happened, all his lies would be exposed.
Denying the testimony and then being caught afterwards would have severe consequences.
Despite his unwillingness, he answered: "No my lord, everything he spoke is truth!"
The old man could only count on his clan to save him.
The Shang Clan, though one of the four sacred clans, wouldn't make an enemy out of his clan over this small issue.
It wasn't like he had committed some heinous crime.
Moreover, he only acted in defence of the princess. The princess would surely save him.
Shang Long nodded after his answer before turning to Ashen and asking:
"Ashen, you can proceed to announce the punishment you want him to suffer. Remember, the punishment can only be justified by the crime's severity, so ask for a reasonable punishment."
Ashen nodded before he stood up and stepped on the plaintiff's spot.
He took a pause, letting the silence settle in and all the attention be focused on the words he was about to speak:
"I ask the court for execution of the defendant!"
"W-What??" The princess stood up with wide eyes in disbelief before she complained: "This is a completely unreasonable request. He should only be fined a small amount for his daring actions. It is not that big of a crime!"
The old man was pleased to see the princess speak up for him.
However, this wasn't a normal courtroom where someone of insignificant status was judge, instead, this was the courtroom being lead by the clan head.
"Princess Lianhua, it's not your turn to speak. I'm the judge here, let me decide what the punishment shall be!" Shang Long threatening and deep voice resounded in the courtroom.
The princess quietly sat back down. It was just because she was a princess that she wasn't punished right now, otherwise, she'd have been injured, the moment she spoke.
"Ashen, continue," Shang Long ordered.
"I suppose the court needs a reason to execute the defendant. I'll provide the court with more than one reason to execute him."
He raised his index finger as he explained: "His first crime, Trying to harm a member of the royal family! This is already an offense punishable by death!"
Shang Long nodded in agreement before giving the defendant a chance to defend himself against the charge. "Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
The old man spoke in a hurry: "I-I only released some of my pressure to make him kneel, there was never any intention to harm him. Moreover, I only acted in the defence of the princess' honor. I was only carrying out my duty as her guard!"
His words made sense and hence, Shang Long shifted his gaze to Ashen to hear his response.
"My lord, he has accepted his crime from his own mouth. He wanted to make 'Me' kneel, A royal prince! Isn't that an attack on my dignity and honor?"
"Also, I only asked a question to my elder sister, why would that be an attack on her honor? Was there really a need for him to defend her honor? Is her honor so fragile that she can't protect it herself and needs her guard to pamper her?"
"If she is so fragile, then I can understand that he acted on behalf of the princess." He pointed to the old man and requested loudly: "So I ask the defendant and the princess to clarify their stance so that I can proceed to give further reasoning!"
Shang Long questioned the princess: "Princess Lianhua, please answer the court, did you find Ashen's question an attack on your honor? And if not, was your guard's action as per your wishes or did he act out of his own volition?"
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(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)