3rd Day of the First Month in the Year 736 NCE.
Disciplinary Hall, Mu Household, Miu Aisla City.
A dense congregation of family members and close relatives of the Mu Family gathered within the Disciplinary Hall and stood witness to the ongoing trial. The trial was for the suspected murder of 'First-Class' maid, Mengmeng, and the primary accused of this trial was the newcomer to the Mu Family, Wuzhi.
As he stood within the witness box, the divinely pretty-looking Wuzhi sported a sour expression on his face. A pair of metal handcuffs bound his hands while his two flanks were covered by two large, grim-looking armoured men.
The scholar raised his head and looked towards the raised platform, upon which a council of five elders sat. These elders were the heads and vice-heads of the Disciplinary Hall and were tasked with investigating crimes within the Mu Household. They were also the ones that meted out punishment upon the guilty.
Turning his head away, Wuzhi looked in the other direction whereupon a long wooden table, a cabal of more men dressed in neat suits sat. These men were the 'prosecutors' and were responsible for arguing the case against Wuzhi's favour.
Now, normally, the scholar would have his own 'defence counsel' responsible for defending his innocence and interests. Unfortunately, since it had been less than three whole days since his arrival at the Mu Household, he hadn't been graced with such assistance.
Of course, he had been offered to have some men represent him. However, Wuzhi had very kindly refused all such offers. He wasn't very keen on it as his first meeting with his near and extended family had been with him being framed for murder.
Wuzhi looked down toward the polished stone floor and sighed. He recalled the saying 'hindsight is 20-20' and thought that perhaps there was some truth in that saying.
Getting caught by his overly intimate and uncomfortably enthusiastic maternal aunt, Chu Mingxi, had completely been his fault. He had gotten cocky and arrogant after his string of successes in the South Aislan Continent and had relaxed his caution. He had left traces and clues where he shouldn't have, leading to his discovery and capture.
'This messes up all of my plans.' He sighed once again.
"I see you sighing a lot, Mr Wuzhi," an incisive and deep voice remarked. "Perhaps, you are finally regretting your mistake?"
"Oh? And what would my mistake be, Elder Tie?" For now, Wuzhi decided to gather his attention on the matter at hand; the murder trial.
"Don't act too smart with me, boy! Everyone here knows what you have done! The evidence is insurmountable!!" Elder Tie, one of the people sitting atop the raised platform, thundered. "So, stop wasting all our time and confess! Why did you kill the first-class servant Mengmeng!?"
'So much for a warm welcome,' he darkly chuckled. His clingy and 'quick to tears' aunt had repeatedly told him on their journey here that his life of wandering and hardship was over; that what waited for him in Miu Aisla City was a life of comfort, warmth, love, and recognition.
Recalling her rose-coloured descriptions, Wuzhi almost wanted to break out into roaring laughter. 'Is this the recognition and love of the Mu Family? To frame me as a murderer and throw me into another cage?' A dark smile spread across his face.
He raised his head tall and unflinchingly stared at the people gathered within this hall. He then roused his voice and started his defence. "Respected Elders, jurors, and all those who have gathered here to stand witness for my trial today, Wuzhi will begin his defence with a story."
"Story? We don't have time for stories, boy!" Elder Tie impatiently smacked a table.
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"It's a short story. It won't take long. Please take it as my only and final request to this council."
"Humph!" Elder Tie thunderously snorted before saying, "Begin! And be quick!"
"Thank you," thanked Wuzhi. He then cleared his throat, turned to face the greater crowd, and started his oration. "The date was three days ago, on the 1st Day of the First Month in the Year 736 NCE. I had arrived within the inner compound of the Mu Household Residence as a guest and was settled in an empty courtyard residence by a steward and his servants…"
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Nighttime. 1st Day of the First Month in the Year 736 NCE.
Silver Lilies Courtyard, Inner Residence, Mu Household.
Putting down his luggage, Wuzhi turned around and thanked the servants with a light bow. "Thank you all for the help." He then handed over a small pouch filled with coins worth 20d.
The steward, named Steward Lu, received the pouch with a wide smile and brightly said, "Aiyayaya! In the Mu Residence, guests are equal to gods. It is only natural that we serve you with our utmost best."
Pocketing the pouch inside his wide sleeves, Steward Lu offered a bow and left. The other servants followed him and went away.
Left alone, Wuzhi walked around and took stock of the residence allotted to him. A winding rock path, dotted with tall stalks of bamboo on both sides, led to the main entrance to the residence.
Inside, he was met with a small foyer which then led into a simplistic, eastern-style living room. The floor of the living room was tiled with mats made from some fibrous material. An open-fire hearth was built in the centre of the living room.
Three paper sliding doors led to the two bedrooms and kitchen from the living room. On the opposite end, there was a passageway that led to the bath. A glass sliding door occupied one living room wall and led to the private courtyard and garden.
The private courtyard appeared reasonably large and had a pond and a gazebo. The pond was well-kept and was littered with silver lilies, reeds and carp. The silver-coloured gazebo overlooked the courtyard and pond and was furnished with a table and benches.
On the whole, Silver Lilies Courtyard appeared to be a beautiful, quaint, and serene residence. It also radiated a feeling of peace and quiet that subconsciously helped a person to relax their mind and forget their worries.
Standing at the edge of the patio which led into the courtyard, Wuzhi took a look at the night sky and approximated the time. He remembered Steward Lu telling him that a servant would be bringing him his dinner and that it would do well for him to not wander outside during the night.
Returning to the bedroom, Wuzhi glanced at the soft mattress laid on the floor before leaping into it. His body hit the bedding with a comfortable thud, and for the first time in the past few weeks, he let himself completely relax.
The past few weeks had been a complete whirlwind of events, starting with him running into his late mother's younger sister, Chu Mingxi; a person that Wuzhi never knew existed.
His late mother had always been a very private person. She seldom spoke with him about matters regarding her life before his birth and always consciously skirted around the topic if it ever came up. Most of the information that he had learnt, such as the fact that he was the eldest son of the Golden Sovereign, had been done so through the context clues that his teacher regularly teased him with.
In short, Wuzhi had no idea that he still possessed some family on his mother's side. And it was this very fact that had caught him off-guard when he first saw Chu Mingxi's appearance.
His sudden meeting with this woman who bore an eighty percent similarity to his dead and cremated mother had filled him with endless horror. The sight had left him scared to the point that he was unable to properly control his limbs for a good few hours!
After meeting and familiarizing herself with her nephew, his aunt had asked him about his and his mother's life in the Isilda Continent. Wuzhi spoke what he could and hid what he could not. He never spoke a single word of a lie and expertly weaved together half-truths until his aunt's curiosity was satisfied.
His story, coupled with his oratory skills, had left his aunt heartbroken. While Wuzhi wouldn't exactly consider his childhood to have been filled with great hardships, in the mind of his aunt, who knew the wealth and lives of the other children and wives of the Golden Sovereign, he might as well have been living in a pigsty eating the scraps and refuse of others.
By the end of his narration, Chu Mingxi was beyond incensed. Her entire body had trembled with wrath, as thick, visible, palpable killing intent began to surround her figure. Just when he thought that it couldn't get any worse… it did.
Wuzhi came down with another 'episode.'
Seeing her nephew's body stiffen and spasm like a fish out of water, her head went blank. She then hurriedly gathered her wits and poured technique after technique to try and treat him. Unfortunately, her efforts proved to be pointless as she belatedly realized that none of her techniques worked on the youth.
The Everfrost Fairy nearly fell into complete despair. In the end, it was Wuzhi himself that understood his peculiar condition the best. After smashing his head against a nearby rock with enough force to nearly kill himself, he finally snapped out of his manic 'episode.'
And then, the inevitable question arrived; what was the problem with him?