Female Consort Chapter 66: Three Charges

"The commoner, Sheng Xi, dares to present a petition and sue the esteemed Minister of Court of Judicial Review and the Imperial Court, Qiu Che, for bullying men and domineering women, forcibly abducting a woman... resulting in the miscarriage of my wife, Lady Yan, and indirectly causing the death of my mother-in-law..."

"Because he is the esteemed Minister of Court of Judicial Review, I have no other choice. It is by the mercy of Lord Wu that I am able to stand before His Majesty... I beg Your Majesty to uphold justice for my wife, Lady Lian, and for me!"

In the Golden Palace Hall, a plain-clothed man sobbed bitterly, constantly bowing his head in reverence.

Li Shi sat on the Dragon Throne, flanked by Prince Wu and a host of high-ranking officials. The hall was filled with murmurs, with everyone sizing each other up, each harboring their own thoughts.

Li Shi’s face remained cold, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest, lost in thought.

Soon, the doors of the grand hall swung open.

Under the watchful eyes of all, Qiu Che was escorted into the hall by Liu Buxiu, though it was more of a gentle escort than a harsh arrest.

She walked ahead calmly, her expression as cold and composed as ever.

She glanced briefly at the man kneeling on the ground and raised an eyebrow in apparent surprise, then slowly and courteously performed a bow. “Your Majesty, esteemed ministers, I am truly sorry for the sudden arrival. May I inquire as to what has transpired?”

Among the ministers, whose faces all hid various motives, Lord Wu remained notably calm and spoke up, “Lord Qiu, do not feign ignorance at this point… Perhaps it would be better to ask Mr. Sheng to clarify. Is this the same Qiu Che, the one he saw on the night in question?”

Qiu Che cast a cold glance at the man kneeling beside her.

The man, who called himself Sheng Xi, shuddered upon meeting her gaze. He quickly nodded and pointed at her: “Yes, yes! One day ago, I saw this scoundrel in the kitchen at my house, molesting my wife! It was him!”

Li Shi spoke slowly, his tone deliberate. “Lord Qiu, Mr. Sheng accuses you of molesting his wife the night before last, in his kitchen. What do you have to say about this?”

Qiu Che masked the cold light in her eyes, adopting a puzzled expression, as though just realizing what was happening. She asked in a surprised tone, “What is this about? I was clearly at the Princess's residence last night, sleeping alongside Her Highness... The servants and guards can testify to that.”

The Crown Prince interrupted with a sarcastic edge, “Of course, the servants at Princess’s residence would side with Lord Qiu, and the Fourth Princess, being your wife, would naturally speak in your favor. Lord Qiu’s testimony is hardly credible.”

Qiu Che smiled faintly. “Your Highness is indeed correct. So, why not ask Mr. Sheng for proof? Does he have any evidence to prove that I am the one who molested his wife?”

“After all, I only returned to the capital a few days ago. My injuries are not fully healed, so why would I abandon the glory and wealth awaiting me to go out and dishonor another man’s wife in the dead of night?”

Li Shi nodded slightly, clearly satisfied with her explanation.

The Crown Prince, seeing this, sneered and muttered, “Who knows what you were thinking?”

Lord Wu gave a meaningful smile, his eyes glinting with amusement. “Lord Qiu’s words imply that Mr. Sheng would fabricate such a serious accusation without any cause?”

Qiu Che, maintaining her composure, replied, “I would like to ask, without any evidence, how Mr. Sheng is so sure that it was I who molested his wife that night?”

Sheng Xi cried out in desperation, “I saw it with my own eyes! Not a word of it is false!”

Qiu Che pressed on, her tone calculated, “So, it seems Mr. Sheng cares deeply for his wife, so much so that he is willing to tarnish her reputation by accusing someone else. Is that so?”

Sheng Xi immediately nodded, then shook his head violently. “No, no! I love my wife, and I hate this scoundrel even more! If he isn’t dealt with, how many innocent women will suffer at his hands? It was clearly Lord Qiu who, on his own, stopped the heinous customs that were tormenting women. Even my wife, Lady Lian, praised Lord Qiu for being a good official... I never expected this, truly never!”

His words were righteous, well-structured, if it wasn’t for the fact that Qiu Che was the one he accused, his speech might have moved anyone to sympathy.

The Empress, who had been silent throughout, could no longer hold back and laughed before speaking. “If that is the case, then why didn’t you stop him when your wife was harmed?”

Sheng Xi faltered, a brief flicker of guilt flashing in his eyes before he straightened his posture and replied boldly, “I knew Lord Qiu had martial skills, and I did not dare confront him directly. This is my fault as a husband... But it does not erase Lord Qiu’s crime!”

The Empress shook her head in disbelief, while Qiu Che found the whole situation laughable.

In her past life, she couldn’t recall whether the same man had knelt here, accusing her of “crimes,” but the general story had not changed much.

And because she had no witnesses, she had been unable to defend herself. After much prompting from the officials, she had ended up in prison.

Now, she had witnesses, although they wouldn’t fully clear her name, they certainly held more weight than Mr. Sheng’s unsubstantiated claims.

She was curious to see what kind of scene they would create this time.

Just as she thought this, Sheng Xi gritted his teeth and added, “Furthermore…”

“I have evidence! My wife, Lady Lian, can testify in court!”

Qiu Che’s amusement deepened as she glanced at the woman who was being brought in.

Her carefree smile disappeared, replaced by a stern, emotionless expression.

The reason for this was simple.

The woman that Sheng Xi had brought with him was the very same girl they had rescued from the Crown Prince’s clutches a few months ago, who had been sold to bury her father.

Qiu Che had given her a bag of silver to prevent her from repeating her tragic fate.

The woman’s appearance here was something Qiu Che had never anticipated, it struck her like a thunderbolt, leaving her dizzy.

What happened?

In just a few short months, the case had not only come years earlier than expected, but the victim had gone from a stranger to a girl she had once helped.

Lord Wu had been observing her closely and, seeing her expression change, his smile widened. He took a slow sip of tea, perfectly masking his smirk of triumph.

The girl was dressed in simple white clothing, her face pale and wan. As she passed by Qiu Che, she lowered her head, not daring to look up, her eyes evasive.

She knelt beside Sheng Xi, her hair loose and her lips pale, radiating sorrow and despair.

Sheng Xi supported her shoulder, his expression one of deep pity, as though he were doing this against his will. “Ayin, tell them! Tell the Emperor and the ministers who it was that defiled you that night!”

“Ayin” trembled, lowering her head further as though unwilling to speak.

Sheng Xi, filled with anguish, held her closer, encouraging her. “It’s alright, don’t be afraid! His Majesty and the ministers will stand for you! Speak up! Is this the man? Is this the scoundrel? I didn’t get it wrong, did I?”

Before Ayin could respond, Sheng Xi’s voice rose again in righteous fury, “Ayin… Ayin, say something!”

Ayin opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Qiu Che interrupted her calmly.

“I see, it’s Miss Lian?”

“Before speaking, you must carefully consider the consequences. To falsely accuse someone of wrongdoing will bring divine retribution.”

Qiu Che’s voice was calm and even.

She thought to herself, I’ll give them one more chance.

If she were being forced, or if she had shown even a trace of hesitation, then Qiu Che would have let it go.

But the words she spoke, full of apparent threats, clearly failed to intimidate the other party. In fact, they only made Lian Yin tremble even more.

Timidly, she lifted her head and stole a glance at Qiu Che, quickly lowering her gaze once again.

She shakily bowed deeply to the emperor.

Her voice was soft but firm as she spoke:

"It... it's him, it's definitely him! I would never mistake him, months ago, it was this Lord Qiu who saved me along with Princess Lehe... I had feelings for him, but since Princess Lehe was still around, I was rejected by this Lord."

"But never did I expect, months later, after I had already married, he suddenly barged into my home the night before and forced me into an illicit act in the kitchen..."

At that moment, Qiu Che's lips twisted slightly, a cold smile threatening to appear.

She felt an overwhelming sense of absurdity and sorrow.

This was, in fact, the most common choice for women in this era, when faced with the impossibility of preserving both reputation and survival, choosing reputation was the rarest option.

Lian Yin had most likely been coerced into making a false confession, but sadly, she had no way of resisting, and couldn't tell who would truly allow her to survive.

She was certainly not at fault.

But how innocent was Qiu Che?

She had discarded her gratitude and innocence, hoping for an opportunity to live, one that might never come.

That was her choice.

"Enough." At this point, the Minister Wu gently interrupted her, speaking in a calm voice. "No need to continue, Lady Sheng, that will be enough."

Qiu Che laughed.

"Why is it 'enough'? When Minister Wu was being so aggressive earlier, did he not consider when it would be enough?"

Her words were biting, almost like she was intentionally causing trouble.

Minister Wu, hearing this, smiled even more deeply. "Lord Qiu, let’s stick to the facts. You must understand how important a woman’s purity is in this world. Lady Sheng has summoned enough courage to stand before us and accuse you, and she would never falsely accuse a stranger. Without other evidence or witnesses, I’m afraid there is no way to clear your name."

Qiu Che replied coolly, "Not to mention the many flaws in Miss Lian's words, but perhaps you've forgotten that I have a half-brother from my father's side, a notorious scoundrel."

Minister Wu immediately responded, "But Lady Sheng also said she could not have mistaken the person."

Qiu Che retorted, "What if she truly made a mistake?"

Minister Wu was momentarily speechless, his gaze turning towards Lian Yin, who was kneeling on the ground.

In front of everyone's eyes, Lian Yin gritted her teeth and, with closed eyes, declared, "It’s absolutely impossible! If I truly mistook the person and falsely accused Lord Qiu... then, I would willingly fall into slavery, becoming a woman of disgrace and a toy for others!"

At these words, the Empress let out a sigh in her heart.

On the surface, however, she pretended to ponder, like a reed swaying in the wind. "In that case, Lord Qiu will indeed need to provide some strong evidence."

Qiu Che cast one last glance at Lian Yin.

In the grand hall, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone was waiting to see how she would defend herself.

This was not an unsolvable deadlock.

But Qiu Che no longer wished to endure.

The people behind the scenes were determined to frame her, whether she endured or not, the result would be the same.

So why not make the flames burn even brighter?

Qiu Che closed her eyes.

She stepped forward, clasped her hands, and calmly said, "I have an official matter to present."

Everyone was momentarily stunned, unsure of what she intended to do.

Li Shi, who had been silently signaling her to remain calm, was also taken aback. "Lord Qiu... please speak."

For some reason, the words that followed came out with difficulty, as though he already sensed some ominous storm on the horizon.

Sure enough, Qiu Che pulled out a memorial from her sleeve.

The sight of it made the ministers' hearts race. It was so familiar that they felt the shadow of past events looming over them once again.

But before they could stop her, Qiu Che spoke, "I have one accusation, and I must accuse Lord Qiu Zhe, the eldest son of the Qiu family, of being unlearned, bullying men and women alike, forcing innocent women into immoral acts while falsely using my name for his schemes."

"I have a second accusation: to accuse the head of the Qiu family, Qiu Chudong, of abducting thirteen women from respectable families and killing nine young girls. The bodies are buried in the Qiu family's backyard. Your Majesty can send the Imperial Guard to investigate."

"I have a third accusation."

Qiu Che paused, holding the memorial in her hand, and slowly removed her official hat. In the shocked silence of the court, she knelt gracefully, speaking each word with clarity and weight.

"I must accuse the second son of the Qiu family, Qiu Che... for being a woman in disguise."

She had once told Li Qingwu that she couldn't bear to see women suffer, but it was only because she feared that one day her true identity would be exposed, bringing her death. Those words were not said in vain.

The more she saw, the more she felt, and the more she understood the sorrow of women.

The world tells women how they should and shouldn't be, what they can and cannot do... The world says a lot, and then demands they bow their heads.

But she refused to remain silent.

Perhaps she was wrong in some ways.

She had been preparing for this day since she asked Li Qingwu for the divorce agreement, since she began teaching her martial arts.

She had always been waiting for this day to come.

Even knowing, perhaps, there was no way out.