Mr. You's fictitious marriage

Chapter 16

A/N: Wow, final chapter! It's so ginormous it almost killed me (and, at the very least, broke my brain!)! Anyway, another reminder that I have no idea, how those things work irl, so it's all just bullshit, don't take it very seriously!

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Tomorrow approached, bringing with it the impending trial that had been set. Qin Jiu pondered if You Huo had returned from his trip and would grace him with a visit beforehand. He surveyed the group of well-wishers, but alas, to his dismay, he could find no sign of his beloved husband.

In the early hours of the morning, Wen Yuan and Yi Wusi arrived to fill him in. They explained that You Huo, having just returned from a continent, found himself burdened with a multitude of pressing affairs. Matters of great import awaited his personal judgment and counsel.

Qin Jiu was already aware that their company's property had to be arrested for the time of trial at the very least. The grim reality loomed over them, for it meant a halt to any new revenue streams. In this dire situation, they faced a difficult choice: to dismiss a significant number of employees or find a way to sustain their livelihoods amidst the tempestuous storm. They had talked about Qin Jiu's wishes on the matter, yet he deferred the final decision to You Huo, just as he asked Mr. Lee and his lawyer to explain to him.

And as he had foreseen, he was informed that his husband had commanded the allocation of some of Qin Jiu's properties, and even the entirety of their controllable previous year's revenue, to serve as remuneration for their loyal employees throughout the duration of the company's inactivity. Moreover, he had resolved to part with their grand city mansion, which required significant funds to keep running. And so it was decreed that most of their staff would be transferred to the house in the countryside. And those unfortunate souls who were dismissed from service were offered a recompense equivalent to three months' worth of wages.

Listening to his friends describe You Huo's moves made Qin Jiu's mood finally go up. You Huo's demanding obligations rendered him unable to pay a personal visit. Instead, he could only resolve himself to penning a succinct message to Qin Jiu.

The inked words on the scented paper danced before Qin Jiu's eyes, and a glimmer of joy touched his heart, momentarily lifting the weight of their physical separation:

"See you tomorrow. Everything will be alright. A"

***

The following morning, when the sun had barely risen above the horizon, a procession of solemn guards with impassive countenances emerged to escort him towards the halls of justice. In the presence of this esteemed assembly, wherein Qin Jiu's fate hung precariously in the balance, his resolve hardened like steel. He would not permit these baseless charges to mold his identity or obliterate all that he had painstakingly constructed. With You Huo by his side, they would unravel the veiled truth and expose the Crown Prince's treachery.

As the heavy wooden doors creaked open, revealing a sea of unwelcoming faces, Qin Jiu smiled wryly. An ongoing campaign aimed at tarnishing his name was very successful, it seems. Now, standing before the imposing martial court trial, Qin Jiu knew that his destiny hung in the balance, swaying with the whims of those in power. It was only moments ago, in a brief encounter with his defense attorney, that Qin Jiu had finally learned the name of the judge presiding over his case.

The matter of the judge's identity weighed heavily upon their troubled minds, for it held the power to sway the fate of their case. Should he align himself with the crown prince's faction, their cause would be irretrievably doomed. Conversely, if his sympathies lay elsewhere, hope yet lingered. To their great relief, it was revealed that a man by the name of Nori Hashimoto had been chosen to decide Qin Jiu's destiny on this momentous day.