Chapter 135

“I believe I’ll receive a fair verdict.”

Ye Zheng’s answer rang out with firm clarity. Pei Xi’s thoughts scattered in an instant. When she said “believe,” did she mean she trusted her father, as the emperor had asked? Or did she simply not care who the judge was, only believing that the outcome would be fair?

Because of his unique background, Pei Xi didn’t have a biological father. But before the Blood Flower incident, his adoptive parents had given him abundant care, no different from that of true parents.

He thought that the emperor assigning Ye Zheng’s father to preside over this case might actually be an act of kindness. From what he understood, the noble factions in the Upper District were deeply divided. If someone who disliked the church and the Saintess were placed in charge of the trial, the situation would only worsen. A biological father would, after all, protect his own daughter.

The emperor spoke in a gentle, reassuring tone, “There’s no need to worry too much. There are many circumstances surrounding murder, and the matter isn’t without room for redemption.”

“You’re not only the empire’s Saintess, but also the daughter of the Chief Justice of the Upper District. Ye Zheng, perhaps you understand this country’s laws even better than I, the emperor, do.”

The emperor let out a hearty laugh and cast Ye Zheng a meaningful look. “I’m still looking forward to your coming-of-age ceremony, Ye Zheng.”

“I believe I won’t disappoint your expectations.”

Ye Zheng lowered her head slightly, replying in a soft and gentle voice.

✧✧✧✧✧

While people were fervently discussing the tangled mysteries behind the Western District incident, and all kinds of alarming rumors and conspiracy theories were spreading wildly, an even more unbelievable piece of news suddenly surfaced, shocking everyone—

Someone had accused Saintess Ye Zheng of being involved in the murder of multiple ordinary people in the Western District!

Ye Zheng’s family villa.

“Tell me; Zhengzheng will be fine, right? You’re a judge of the Upper District, and you’re also her father. You know better than anyone that Zhengzheng could never kill ordinary people!”

Shu Wan clutched the man’s collar, her eyes red and blazing. Ye Fanjing was already irritated. He had finally returned home to rest for a while, only to be confronted again. Annoyed, he shoved the woman away forcefully. Shu Wan staggered back a few steps before barely managing to steady herself.

“What does it matter if I believe her? Do you know who’s accusing her? It’s someone from Duke Green’s family! They have both witnesses and physical evidence. If your daughter had only killed ordinary people, it would still have been easy to deal with!”

When Ye Fanjing received the documents and evidence submitted by the other party, he had been more shocked than anyone. How could Ye Zheng have done such a thing?

She could be willful at times, to the point that even he, her father, felt uncomfortable, but she had always been a clever child. Every gesture and movement of hers was flawless, making her a model young lady. Not to mention that she was now the God’s Chosen who wielded the Divine Sword, basking in boundless glory. As her father, he had always been proud of her.

Regarding the Western District incident, Ye Fanjing only knew that the wife of the chief administrator there had rebelled, and that it seemed to be related to the church’s secret experiments. He suspected that Ye Zheng might have been ordered by the church to silence certain people, and that an accident had occurred in the process.

Whenever he saw Ye Zheng’s power growing greater and greater, Ye Fanjing felt both joy and an unshakable shadow lurking in his heart. Now he finally understood, the Saintess had always been nothing more than a high-ranking figurehead with little real power. The sudden glory and authority Ye Zheng had obtained, which did not truly belong to that position, was never a good thing.

The most urgent matter now was to appease the Green family, Ye Fanjing thought anxiously. The emperor’s attitude was also extremely ambiguous. Logically, they had already reached private agreements. Ye Zheng was already considered half a member of the imperial family. Once her coming-of-age ceremony arrived, he would rightfully become imperial kin… so why had such an incident occurred?

He recalled the scene from not long ago, when he had gone to see the emperor. The imposing man had frowned deeply, leaving him waiting for a long time before giving him only a single sentence.

“Handle it impartially.”

At that moment, cold sweat had broken out across Ye Fanjing’s forehead. The emperor’s vague stance was like a sword hanging above his head. No matter what move he made next, that blade could fall and pierce through him at any moment.

Impartially? What exactly counted as justice? Ye Zheng had truly left him with an enormous problem.

He had been on the verge of promotion. If he failed to handle this matter properly, not only would he lose his daughter, but his own future would be ruined as well.

“Ye Fanjing, I see that you’re not worried about Ye Zheng at all. You don’t care whether she actually killed anyone, you only care about whether the people she offended will affect your career, isn’t that right?”

The middle-aged woman’s neatly coiled hair had become somewhat disheveled, with a few loose strands falling across her intense, emotional eyes. Ye Fanjing averted his gaze uncomfortably.

He stiffened his neck and said, “I am the Chief Justice of the Upper District. Even if Ye Zheng is my daughter, I cannot bend the law for personal reasons. Do you expect me to show favoritism toward her out of private affection?”

Ye Fanjing roared at Shu Wan, glaring at her defiantly, already bracing himself for her to try and appeal to family bonds and fatherly love. This woman had lost control like this more than once. Ten years ago, after the Blood Flower incident took away her parents, Shu Wan had also lashed out at him in the same irrational manner.

　　Shu Wan stared at him, her eyes brimming with resentment, then turned and walked away without saying another word.

Ye Fanjing’s expression stiffened. The anger and irritation that had been swelling in his chest instantly turned into awkwardness the moment his wife turned her back on him.

He watched her silent, retreating figure, and the unease within him only grew heavier. Yet he didn’t have the time to deal with her right now. He still needed to probe the attitudes of the Green family and the emperor once again. After all, Ye Zheng was his daughter, of course he didn’t want to be the one to personally convict her.

After the argument, Shu Wan didn’t return to her room to rest. Instead, she wandered alone into the back garden. In the soft evening breeze, she brushed aside the loose, disheveled strands of her hair and suddenly noticed a single white strand hidden among them.

She plucked the white hair out and held it between her fingers, staring at it for a long moment. All at once, she felt as though the word “young” had already drifted far, far away from her.

But Zhengzheng was still so young.

She was living the kind of life Shu Wan had once envied in her own youth. And the thought that this girl was her daughter transformed that envy into a quiet sense of fulfillment and expectation, as if her own youth hadn’t truly come to an end.

Shu Wan reached out and gently brushed her fingers across the half-withered white flower bushes. The gardener had once suggested replacing them with fresh plants, but she had refused. She’d told him that their season hadn’t completely passed just yet.

Jasmine flowers—symbols of beauty, purity, and faithful love—had been planted by Ye Fanjing for her many years ago. Their blooming period was fleeting. The jasmine they had planted together back then had long since faded away. In the beginning, she’d tried to preserve them using her ability, but for reasons she couldn’t quite explain, she no longer had the strength or the heart to keep doing so.

Shu Wan hummed a soft, lingering tune. Her fingertips slowly crushed the small, half-withered petals. Gradually, the petals shed their dull yellow hue, and the curled, shriveled edges began to unfurl once more, as though a vivid summer had quietly returned.

At the same time, the thick soil beneath the flower branches shifted and loosened, as if a thin layer had been peeled away. Shu Wan lowered her gaze and saw slender stems breaking through the earth, gathering the surrounding soil together. Once their task was complete, the stems silently withdrew back beneath the ground.

This was her ability—【Summer Bloom】.

An S-Class ability, 【Summer Bloom】. Many years ago, numerous ability academies had fought fiercely to claim it. It could not only manipulate ordinary plants, but also control aberrant plants within the Aberrant Realms. It could even harness the power of vegetation for other purposes, such as parasitizing human bodies or absorbing the flesh and blood of living beings…

Over the past few days, she’d picked up a habit from more than a decade ago once again. But this time, it wasn’t to preserve the so-called “flower of love.” It was to allow Zhengzheng to live freely. Only then could she rely on her daughter, borrow her eyes, to glimpse the boundless, radiant world that would never truly belong to her.

Shu Wan plucked a small, delicate flower and tucked it behind her ear. Even after being severed from its stem, it didn’t wither. Instead, it retained the peak beauty of its bloom, like an intricately crafted ornament.

After giving birth twice, her ability level had fallen to A-Class. And after years of neglecting her training, her current strength was likely no more than B-Class. These past few days, she’d been practicing again and again with the plants in the garden, barely managing to recover a trace of her former skill.

Thinking back to Ye Fanjing’s righteous, unyielding expression, how he had spoken so firmly about “justice” and “not bending the law for personal reasons”; the truth was, in this once-loving and tolerant family, the moment he refused to show even the slightest bias toward Ye Zheng, he had already placed himself on the opposite side of his own daughter.

Shu Wan lifted both hands to her cheeks, gently massaging her slightly stiff face as she let out a long, slow breath.

She had originally planned to make her move against Ye Fanjing during Ye Zheng’s coming-of-age ceremony.

She’d already pieced together the vague arrangement Ye Fanjing had been trying to conceal. It was nothing more than stripping Ye Zheng of her Saintess title and having her marry into the imperial family while still bearing the halo of God’s Chosen.

At one point, she’d even thought it was a rather acceptable option. But now she saw it with painful clarity, doing so would only completely bury Zhengzheng. Her halo, her brilliance, even her abilities would all be openly taken and reduced to nothing more than ornaments to elevate the Crown Prince.

Shu Wan had originally intended to prepare in advance. She would’ve taken advantage of the chaos during the coming-of-age ceremony to kill Ye Fanjing, then shift the blame onto a member of the imperial family, completely throwing their plans into disarray.

But now, she couldn’t afford to wait for Ye Zheng’s coming-of-age ceremony any longer.

She had to kill him now. Deep down, in the depths of her subconscious, Shu Wan understood that if anything were to happen to Ye Fanjing standing, then as Ye Zheng’s father, he’d only act even more ruthlessly to sever all ties with her.

Shu Wan knew that killing him now would almost certainly expose her. But if she murdered her own husband, would that crime be enough to buy Zhengzheng more time?

The woman turned and quickened her pace toward the house. She needed to find out the exact date of the trial. She’d kill Ye Fanjing the day before the court session.

With her head lowered, Shu Wan walked so quickly that she suddenly collided with a broad chest. She looked up, her expression filled with surprise and a trace of sorrow, and hurriedly asked, “Wende, why are you here? Could it be that Zhengzheng… she—”

“The Saintess is fine. She’s temporarily staying in the imperial palace. Princess Heath is keeping her company.”

Shu Wan gave a bitter smile and slowly shook her head. “If she’s fine, then why hasn’t she come back? Did His Majesty detain her? Does he also believe she’s guilty…?”

Wende wasn’t someone who was good at offering comfort, nor did she usually speak much. However, she had her own way of reading people. With a single glance, she saw the grief, the anger, and the quiet, deathly resolve in Shu Wan’s eyes. This wasn’t something Ye Zheng would want her to carry.

At that moment, she finally understood why Ye Zheng’s final instruction to her had been this specific matter.

“Madam, please calm down and listen to me. Ye Zheng asked me to pass along a message to you—”

“‘Tell my mother not to worry about me. I’ll come back.’ …She said she’ll come back.”

　　“So, you have to wait for her.”

Under the young woman’s steady, unwavering gaze, Shu Wan gradually settled down. Wende’s eyes were remarkably calm, carrying a quiet but undeniable power of persuasion.

The woman drew in a deep breath and, for the moment, pushed aside her earlier frenzied impulse. She clasped Wende’s hand tightly and said, “Alright, I’ll wait for her to come back.”

“But if anything happens, if there’s anything you need, you have to tell me, alright?”

Wende nodded. “Please don’t worry. The Saintess isn’t fighting on her own. There are many people standing behind her and working for her.”

“She’ll definitely come back.”

✧✧✧✧✧

The emperor had kept Ye Zheng in the palace under the pretext that she was a witness to the Western District incident, but everyone understood that the real reason lay in the accusations and suspicions looming over her.

Under normal procedures, in a case this serious with such substantial evidence, the suspect would typically be detained by the Security Bureau. However, the emperor had chosen to keep Ye Zheng within the imperial palace and treat her as a guest. Many people interpreted this as a display of the imperial family’s tolerance and mercy, and they couldn’t help but sigh in admiration at His Majesty’s leniency.

Compared to the emperor’s decision to keep her, what surprised those in the palace even more was that Princess Heath had stepped forward at such a critical moment. She told the emperor that she and Ye Zheng were friends and expressed her wish to personally host her.

The emperor sighed with emotion over the rare and precious bond between the two and readily granted her request.

Inside the luxurious and comfortable guest chamber, Ye Zheng was holding a stack of documents, reading through them with deep concentration.

The quiet and gentle blonde girl sat beside her, looking over the documents together with her. From time to time, her gaze would drift toward Ye Zheng’s composed profile. Heath’s tightly pressed lips betrayed the worry she was trying to hide.

Ye Zheng lifted her head from the documents and let out a helpless, almost self-mocking laugh.

“They’re only accusing me of killing three people. Is it because Kieran and that priest in charge of education are members of the church?”

If the case involved the church’s bishop and priest, it wouldn’t fall under the jurisdiction of the Upper District court anymore. Instead, it’d be transferred to the church’s Holy Wheel Court.

To minimize the church’s involvement in this matter, the second son of the Green family had quite cleverly chosen to seek justice for only these three individuals.

Two of them were researchers she had come across while rescuing Lu Qi, and the third was the nursery supervisor she’d shot in the base’s back garden.

Ye Zheng’s brows lifted slightly. The moment she saw that this young Green had selected these three as his accusations, she immediately realized that the second son of the Green family didn’t actually understand the full process behind her killings.

Otherwise, he’d never have chosen these three people. While picking them did help avoid drawing the church into the situation as much as possible, the issue was—

She hadn’t personally killed any of them.

One of the two researchers had died due to the dragon bone, and she hadn’t even been the one who implanted it, his assistant had carried out that procedure. That same assistant had later been taken by the rising room to the back garden where the Fallen Ones were kept. Even Ye Zheng herself didn’t know whether he was still alive or already dead.

As for the nursery supervisor, although she’d fired several shots at him, he had ultimately fallen into a stream and drowned on his own. Who could possibly prove that his death had anything to do with her?

　　“Ye Zheng, I can help you get in touch with the church. You’re the Saintess, logically, the church has the authority to step in on this matter. They might be able to help you…”

“There’s no need, Heath. Some people within the church might actually be pleased to see this unfold.”

Ye Zheng took Heath’s hand and gave a gentle smile to reassure her. “It’s alright. You’ve already helped me a lot just by obtaining these documents.”

Aside from the accusation files, Heath had also gathered detailed information on the Green family, their recent personnel shifts, and the complete roster of judges for the trial.

Even Ye Zheng hadn’t expected Heath to possess such extensive connections.

“It’s not just me.”

Heath winked at Ye Zheng and made a small gesture behind her head, as if pulling something into shape. Ye Zheng instantly recognized it—she was imitating a little bun hairstyle.

That hairstyle belonged to Teacher Qin Lu.

From the documents, Ye Zheng had seen that, as an imperial duchess, Qin Lu would also be present at this trial, though only in the capacity of a jury member.

“Thank you, both of you.”

Ye Zheng offered a sincere smile, and Heath returned it in kind.

All of a sudden, Ye Zheng caught a hint of unease concealed within Heath’s smile, as though she were burdened by some lingering concern. She asked, “Heath, is there something else?”

Heath hesitated briefly, but in the end, she chose to speak frankly.

“Someone’s deliberately tarnishing your reputation. They’re spreading propaganda throughout the Middle and Lower Districts, claiming you killed two civilian researchers. The attention this has stirred up has already surpassed the original focus on the Western District incident.”

A sharp glimmer flickered through Heath’s slightly somber eyes. “Ye Zheng, you understand what this implies…”

After all, they were still inside the imperial palace—walls had ears. Heath didn’t say everything outright.

A shadowed emotion passed through Ye Zheng’s eyes. At last, she fully grasped what this situation was truly targeting.

Whether the imperial family and the church disliked her was one matter. At its core, they needed a more controversial issue to divert public attention, to bury the truth of the Hope Project and… the dragon bones concealed within the Western District.

Perhaps that young Green who had survived the base and returned to the Upper District had accused her on his own, only for interested parties to seize the chance and amplify the situation. Or perhaps that young Green had been acting under someone’s orders from the very beginning.

　The once-immaculate reputation of the Saintess, Ye Zheng, transformed her into a highly effective scapegoat for those seeking to redirect public scrutiny.