As was stated on the news, the Marshal court was opened up two days later in one of their Court Jurisdictions on Earth.
In the Ding home;
Xia Yueyu stared hard at her son.
Due to the huge amount of blood loss and the aftereffects of the magnetic energy, Ding Weimin was too weak to walk on his own so he was seated in an automated wheelchair in front of one of the many floor to ceiling windows that adorned the Ding mansion.
It was still quite early and the Plex was just rising so the red hued light seeping through the windows gave his skin a soft glow but it did nothing to hide his scars and overall sickly appearance.
Xia Yueyu clenched her fists in heartache. The so called Marshal court trial was to be held in the afternoon and the fact that they had set it when Ding Weimin wasn't even close to completely recovering annoyed her deeply.
Her son didn't deserve this. He had lived his entire life fighting for the sake of the Plexar Federation but what did he get in the end? People who didn't even have the least faith in him and accused him of stealing what belonged to others!
Although there were people speaking up for her son, with each passing day, their numbers dwindled and the number of people screaming hate at him increased by ten fold.
She slowly walked over and held the sides of the wheelchair. "Min'er?"
Ding Weimin had no noticeable reaction. Instead, his eyes were trained on the long stretch of greenery outside the window. She sighed. "Min'er, don't think too much alright? I know you had been desperate and that was why you had said those words but don't worry.
-You are already free from the magnetic energy now and the Twelve Marshals must have finished their investigation. They would naturally see that everything was Yang Xue's schemes and you would no longer face the hatred of everyone."
A small smile slowly bloomed on her face. "In fact, once your name is cleared, you better not let them off! They must compensate you for this misunderstanding and we would sue everyone who said bad things against you for defamation!"
Ding Weimin finally had a reaction then. He activated his wheelchair and turned around. He silently watched his mother's assured expression before shaking his head in defeat. "There's no need. The merit truly belonged to Yang Xue."
Xia Yueyu's chest heaved. "Don't keep saying those words! You killed the second Xor queen! No one else did!"
Ding Weimin blinked in mild surprise. His mother's extreme reaction confused him but he was too tired to care. He simply operated his wheelchair away from her.
"Min'er!" Xia Yueyu watched as Ding Weimin retreated without looking back even once and she got even angrier. This was all Yang Xue's fault! Right from the moment he stepped into the Ding home, nothing went right again!
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In the P.R Institute, He Yuan stared at Yang Xue's reflection in the mirror as he adjusted his black suit. The trial was in an hour and thirty minutes and he needed to be there.
In actuality, the Marshal court mostly involed the Marshals handing out verdicts on offending soldiers so all that was needed was Yang Xue's appearance and nothing else.
888 materialized behind He Yuan at that moment. He adjusted his glasses with his knuckles and cocked his head to the side as he said, "This trial would most likely be the end of Ding Weimin. How do you plan to deal with Jin Qi?"
He Yuan stared at the space behind him through the mirror and then remembering that his system did not have a reflection in the task realms, he turned around. "As soon as Yang Xue's merits are obtained. I would have to return to the army. Trust me, Jin Qi would definitely be unable to sit still and would come to me."
888 frowned slightly. "Then what?"
He Yuan's poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue and offered his system a thin smile. "You'll see."
KNOCK!
Both men turned to the door at the same time and after finding out that it was the P.R Institute employee in charge of taking him to the courthouse, He Yuan calmly followed after.
888 simply narrowed his eyes at his host before dematerializing.
An hour later, the gallery of the Courthouse was full to the brim with reporters, supporters of Ding Weimin, ex supporters of Ding Weimin, a lot of soldiers on leave who had held onto their believe in their General, civilians and some elites who had come to watch the 'show.'
"ALL RISE!!" The bailiff said as soon as eleven out of the twelve Marshals walked in. Since Ding Weimin was the one being tried, it was inappropriate for the Third Marshal to be part of the Judicial panel.
The bailif continued once the Marshal's were seated. "The Marshal Court! The twenty seventh Judicial Circuit is now in session. The Honourable Eleven Marshals of the Twelve-army Coalition are collectively presiding."
He Yuan was ushered into the courtroom then and led to the plaintiff seat and soon after, Ding Weimin was led in.
Unlike during the press conference, the special one was not hidden in a glass case like a treasure but was decked in a black suit. There were tiny scars littered all over his face and hands, which were the only parts of his body exposed.
He also had sickly pale skin and heavy eye bags beneath his eyes and even though he was seated on a wheelchair, he didn't look as awful as a lot of people had expected him to look.
Xia Yueyu held her husband's hand tightly but Ding Wang barely had any reaction. Her heart fell. Right from the press conference she'd noticed Ding Wang's lukewarm attitude towards their son. She had no idea what was going through his head.
All eleven Marshals struck their gavels at the same time, signalling the beginning of the court session. Ding Weimin was a soldier of the Third army so naturally the session was supposed to be headed by the Marshal of his army but given how peculiar the situation was, the session was headed by the First Marshal instead.
It was an andronian male with a weirdly calm demaeanor and a face dioning a jland expression. He went straight to the point. "General Ding Weimin, it has been brought to the notice of the Marshal court that you are suspected of the crime of appropriation of a fellow soldier's merits, how do you plead?"
All eyes turned to Ding Weimin who had his eyes trained on He Yuan. After three seconds, his heart stirred in pain. Yang Xue didn't even give him the satisfaction of returning his stare. He lowered his head with a bitter smile as he said, "Guilty."
Majority of the people present merely nodded. They already believed that Ding Weimin was guilty anyways. The Marshal panel also nodded. The question was just a formality anyways. Ding Weimin answer just made things more straightforward.
On the other hand, Ding Weimin's remaining supporters were at a loss. They had been of the believe that their General had said those words back then because he was suddenly hit with the news that he would become paralyzed if he wasn't aided soon so why was he saying the same thing now?
Some of them directly walked out of the courtroom with shameful and shell shocked expressions on their faces.
Admidst this, there was still someone who absolutely refused to believe that Ding Weimin was guilty. Xia Yueyu felt the urge to get out there and shake her son awake. He did not steal any merit from Yang Xue! He was the most beloved General of the Plexar Federation, he could never do any wrong!
Ding Wang narrowed his eyes when he saw his wife's crazed expression and was quick to tighten his hold on her. "Xia. Yueyu!" He forcefully whispered.
Xia Yueyu turned to her husband with an unwilling expression.
Ding Wang's nostrils flared. "The minute you do something stupid, the minute the marriage between the both of us ends!"
Xia Yueyu's eyes widened and her body froze in shock.
Up on stage, the First Marshal continued after Ding Weimin's declaration. "As punishment for your crime, you would be given a jail sentence of 12 months, a fine of 30,000,000 credits and be stripped of all your military ranks!"
Some people nodded, some people had their eyes widened in shock at the hefty fine whilst Ding Weimin sat up straighter on his wheelchair. On the other hand, some people who thought below the surface, had their eyes narrowed.
The last set of people included both He Yuan and his system. 888 clicked his tongue. [I don't know how verdicts are interpreted but since it wasn't mentioned, does that mean he is not discharged from the military?]
The Marshals knew exactly what they were doing. Ding Weimin was actually one of the best soldiers in the Plexar Federation. Compared to a mandron who might have killed a Xor queen by accident, a human with a tall wall of achievements to his name was much better. Kicking him out of the army would be a huge loss so they would rather retain him until a better option is presented.
Some Marshals, namely the Tenth Marshal and his allies, had been vehemently against this but unluckily, was out voted by the others.
This was because the Third Marshal had given them an offer they couldn't refuse...
The First Marshal continued then, "There is another verdict. During investigations, it was discovered that the Third Marshal had abused his power as a Marshal and protector of the Nation by erasing important data and delibrately suppressing a soldier.
-As a result of this, he is no longer able to hold on to the position of Third Marshal and would be dishonourably discharged from the army after paying a fine of 20,000,000 credits and serving a jail sentence of six months!"
The First Marshal sat back on his seat at that. This was the offer. With the Third Marshal giving himself up and letting go of his position, it would be easy to decentralize the power in the most powerful army of the Coalition, the Third army.
Even if a new Marshal was appointed now, that person would not necessarily have much power to begin with. As for which one of the other Marshals would actually have the most control over the Third army behind the scenes... it, of course, depended on their abilities.
In the gallery, collective gasps rang out after the First Marshal's words.
The reporters quickly looked around and remembering the Third wasn't present, they cleched their fists in disappointment. This was really shocking news. A Marshal who was imprisoned and dishonourably discharged! There had never been a precedent in the history of the Plexar Federation!
Xia Yueyu, Ding Wang and Ding Wemin all had horrified expressions on their faces.
Seated in the Plaintiff box, He Yuan calmly watched the reactions of everyone and tilted his head thoughtfully. He didn't know what to feel at the moment. It might be unclear to others but to him, it was clear as day that the Third Marshal had used himself to save Ding Weimin's ass!
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