It was clear that Mark didn't believe him and his impression turned from neutral to negative.
But, he didn't drag the matter for any longer and sat straight. For a while, the atmosphere turned awkward before the heiress of the Lin Clan changed the topic as she cursed out, "Zhang Kong, you bastard."
The third prince, Song Yue, and Mark turned their heads in the direction Shang Wei was looking.
Minister Zhang, his son Zhang Kong, and some old man were walking towards them, more like they were going towards the tent beside them.
"Dear…" Song Yue whispered to herself with her eyes about to tear up.
As they were about to pass the tent, Zhang Kong glanced at Song Yue before moving his head away.
Meanwhile, Mark stared coldly at him.
Mark still remembered that day when the couple came to his store. Zhang Kong berated his weapons and Mark showed him the power of pistol and embarrassed him.
After that, this was their second meeting but the couple was no longer together. The real reason for the annulment of their engagement was that the Zhang Clan became stronger than the Song Clan but he was dragged into their mess for fulfilling their agenda.
When he heard it through the second prince, Mark added the Zhang Clan to his blacklist and at the same time, he also felt a little bit happy for some reason. Is it because he got an enemy to extort a huge sum of money? Or is it because Song Yue became single again? Quite debatable but Mark never thought about it deeply. So, the answer remains a mystery.
They waited for 15-20 minutes before Emperor Shang Fu, the Supreme Commander Bai Xun, and the Grand Secretariat entered the arena following the announcement of their arrival.
The Emperor passed by the tents but he didn't even glance at them until he reached his throne and take his seat. It was so to indicate that they aren't princes now. One is a prosecutor and the other is a defender, nothing less or more than that.
As he gestured, the spectators took their seats and the Crown Prince first stepped out of his tent and walked towards the platform placed in the middle of the Arena.
Stepping on it, he explained to the public all the charges on Lu Zhen regarding this trial.
The soldier nearby the judges' tent announced loudly, following the procedure, "Accused Lu Zhen, Allen, and Alina, please come forward."
The second prince patted Lu Zhen, "it's your turn."
Lu Zhen nodded and stood up. He walked forward. Allen and Alina followed behind. Their dazzling appearances indeed surprised the spectators for a moment.
However, the Emperor frowned when his eyes fell on Mark. "Commander Bai… Is it just me or does that young man resembles Lan Gengxin?"
"Lan Gengxin? The late Patriarch of the Lan Sect or the man reputed to be known as the Ice Emperor?" The Grand Secretariat expressed his surprise. He only heard the name and the stories of the legend of Lan Gengxin.
"He does, Your Majesty." Bai Xun confirmed it. He added, "It was for this reason I met Second Queen Consort and confirmed that Lan Gengxin didn't have any heirs except for her. It's unlikely that Lu Zhen has any relations with that man."
The Emperor nodded that he understood and stared at the three of them. His gaze was fixed on Alina for a few seconds before he gave a gesture for the crown prince to start the trial.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The Crown Prince bowed to the Emperor and then said, "For Crime number 1, I would like to call Song Chang, the current Patriarch of the Song Clan to the trial."
The Emperor nodded and a middle-aged man, who looked average in every angle, walked forward and stepped onto the platform, standing beside the crown prince.
"Accused Lu Zhen, Song Clan had officially reported your crime on attacking the former Public works minister and the head of the Song clan. Do you wish to defend?" The Crown Prince asked Mark.
Mark didn't know why this Crown Prince wanted to trouble him but the latter was an enemy to him. So, he was bound to argue instead of just defending.
He looked straight at this biological father of his, and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I wish to address all of the accusations at once because the answer to all of them isn't that different."
"All of them are the same?" The crowd started to murmur among themselves. A frown appeared on the Crown Prince while the third prince was taken aback.
The third prince only planned to step in when Song Yue is concerned. Now, he was forced to step in as the Emperor gave the permission and everyone from the defender and prosecutor section arrived on the trial platform.
"Lu Zhen, everyone is here. Now, explain in detail what you want to say," The Emperor said to him.
Mark then started his lecture that he prepared beforehand, "Your Majesty, what happened to me is nothing special. In fact, it is what society goes through every day.
First, I'll address my issue." Mark pointed at Song Chang, "this man is the head of the Song Clan. He is here to report that a stranger such as me damaged their property and killed a few of his clan members. And this man from Qian Clan reported that I killed his clan members and extorted 10,000 gold coins, this man from Lei Clan is the same, and this elder from the Sui Clan reported that not only I killed his clan members but also cause huge property damage.
All of them have one thing in common. It is that they have high social status within their respective towns and cities and all of them threatened me about the consequences if I don't listen to them. Their reasons are different and their threats are different.
Song Yun threatened me that he will frame me and my younger brother Allen and send us to prison for life if I don't kowtow and apologize.
Qian, Lei, and Meng Clans threatened me to hand over my servant whom I treat as my younger sister to them or else they will kill me and even used the Sui Clan's name to scare me.
And the Sui Clan's elder named Sui Hanying even threatened me to turn me into a slave and my younger sister into a prostitute if I don't listen to him.
But, why did they dare to do that? It's because I'm a commoner and is an owner of a small weapon store. If it wasn't me who wasn't in those situations, what if it is someone from those spectators?" Mark pointed at the thousands of civilians who came to witness the trial. He decided to use them from the start as soon as heard it was going to be a public trial.
Mark also wanted to use this situation to develop feelings of rebellion, which can be of use to him in the future.
Pointing at them, he raised his voice even higher, "what if it's a commoner? Wouldn't they have spent their lives in misery for offending a noble? Wouldn't their sisters and daughters of their family be dragged away by the nobles?
Or Do I need to remind his majesty about the incident that occurred a few months where a noble tried to take away a girl by force thinking that she's a commoner and you had to kneel before a Legendary realm expert?"
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