Upon hearing this, the young Emperor’s lips quirked slightly. He subtly raised his teacup, concealing the faint, almost imperceptible smile.
What an act! When it came to the monarch and minister performing in concert, Youzhi was truly indispensable.
Princess Ata grew anxious.
"What I’ve said is the truth. I’m not lying. These are letters detailing treasonous conspiracy, found in the Great Wizard’s secret chamber. I can show them to you," she insisted.
The anxious Nanjiang princess immediately took the letters from her inner garment and handed them to Ji Youzhi.
Ji Youzhi glanced at the young Emperor. Seeing the young Emperor nod, he accepted the letters.
Upon reading them, Ji Youzhi frowned.
"Well?" the young Emperor asked quietly.
"Your Majesty, these letters... we must have Youze come and determine their authenticity!" replied Ji Youzhi.
Summoning Ji Youze to verify them? This implied that Ji Youzhi doubted the letters’ authenticity.
The young Emperor nodded and immediately had someone summon Ji Youze.
"Why call for someone else to verify them? Isn’t it all written clearly right there?" Princess Ata, anxious despite her refined demeanor, quickly argued.
Ji Youzhi gave her a cool glance, his gaze unintentionally sweeping over the wound on her chest, before he said, "After Princess Ata’s inexplicable injury, I cannot help but doubt the veracity of any words coming from her mouth!"
"What... What did you say?" Princess Ata’s face paled at his words. She trembled with anger, and a series of coughs escaped her chest.
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH! I, Ata, have heard of Divine Hunter Ji’s reputation even in Nanjiang. I know you are skilled at solving cases and are a man of integrity. I was injured by your Great Han people; they nearly took my life, yet I have not pursued the matter. How can you doubt me?"
Princess Ata instantly felt wronged, her expression one of tearful indignation, on the verge of crying yet holding back.
The young Emperor found this a little hard to bear. He was the kind of man who most disliked seeing women cry. After all, when he was young, Empress Dowager Xiao had wept daily due to the late Emperor’s philandering, which led to the neglect of mother and son. Consequently, whenever he saw a woman cry, it was as if he were seeing his own mother, her face awash with tears.
"Enough! Youzhi was merely joking with you. The matter of your injury has not yet been clearly investigated. Regardless of the truth, we must find evidence before drawing conclusions. If it was indeed a subject of my Great Han who injured you, I, the Emperor, will certainly give you justice. However, if there is some other reason for this..."
The young Emperor paused here, his gaze fixed on Princess Ata’s face. Indeed, he saw a flicker of panic cross her features.
Ji Youzhi immediately interjected, "If this matter indeed has another cause, then it will also require Your Majesty to personally preside over justice. After all, Xie Si is an elite scholar of our Great Han, a future pillar of the nation!"
For a moment, the monarch and minister, performing in perfect concert, left Princess Ata flustered and agitated. She could only lower her head silently, not daring to respond.
Seeing her state, Ji Youzhi recalled what Xiaosuisui had said at the post-station. His eyes flickered, and just as he was about to ask a few questions regarding the details of the case, he heard Eunuch Ling report from outside.
"Your Majesty, Juren Ji has arrived."
The imperial examination results had been released today; Ji Youzhi had passed, becoming a Juren. Although he did not achieve First Grade, he was among the top five of the Second Grade. However, he seemed to show no interest in these achievements. On such a joyous day with the results announced, he had not even left the palace. Instead, he remained in a hidden chamber within the palace, secretly assisting the young Emperor with governmental affairs.
Five years ago, after the young Emperor began his personal rule, those old ministers deliberately made things difficult for him, dumping all memorials, regardless of importance, onto him. The young Emperor, in turn, had passed them all to Ji Youze.
Thus, for all these years, every memorial that reached the young Emperor’s hands had first been screened by Ji Youze.
"Your Majesty!"
"Dispense with the formalities. Princess Ata has brought some letters. Quickly, ascertain their authenticity!"