Wu Chengsi glanced at everyone, only Xue Ji looked normal, the other eight officials were a little timid, as if they were worried about being listed as a suspect by Dali Temple.
Cui Baosheng and Shou Dashi both had bruises and swelling on their faces, and they didn't know who had been beaten.
Seeing his gaze, Shou Dashi bowed and said: "Your Excellency, the envoy has never said anything disrespectful to the Queen and the Princess. It's just the nonsense of this Silla pig. Please believe it!"
Cui Baosheng then raised his hands and said: "My lord, what the envoy said is absolutely true. Japanese slaves are like wild dogs when they are in heat. There is nothing that cannot be said!"
Wu Chengsi raised his hand to stop the two of them, and asked Xue Ji: "What were you discussing just now?"
Xue Ji looked at Zhugenan, who explained: "When I was searching in the main hall, I found a set of wine sets in the cabinet, which was missing two wine glasses. When I asked Editor Xue, he said that the missing wine glasses were two. The wine glass the deceased used to drink before his death.”
Wu Chengsi wondered: "What's strange about this? Gao Lan must have brought wine but not the wine glasses. Lu Zhining used the two wine glasses to drink with Gao Lan."
Xue Ji said: "Zhangyuan, you don't know something. There are drinking utensils specially used to entertain guests in the Hanlin Academy, and the two bronze cups are used for decoration."
Zhuge Nan said in a deep voice: "Shaoqing, I have carefully inspected those two wine glasses. There is still dust inside, which means that the two wine glasses have not been used at all!"
Wu Chengsi's brows twitched, this incident was getting more and more bizarre, and he asked doubtfully: "Could it be that the two deceased people didn't drink before?"
"Probably not. There is a lot less wine in the jug, and there is no wine on the ground. If they didn't drink, where would the less wine go?" Zhugenan wrinkled his nose and asked.
Wu Chengsi frowned and said nothing, paused, and asked, "Have you discovered anything else?"
"Wu Shaoqing, look at this." Zhugenan handed over a button and said, "I picked this up on the ground of the political hall. After identification, it can be determined that it is a button from the Qianniu Guards uniform."
Wu Chengsi frowned and said nothing. Although this evidence also pointed to Hei Te Changzhi, it made him feel incongruous.
Zheng Lingxuan stepped forward, holding a pamphlet, and said seriously: "I asked everyone for their testimony, and two of them came from the beginning of Sishi (9 o'clock) to the third quarter of noon (11:45). Return to the corridor between Hongwen Hall and Hanlin Academy and move a library of books from the library of Hongwen Hall to the library of Hanlin Academy."
Wu Chengsi was surprised again. In this way, these two people were equivalent to natural eyewitnesses. As expected, Zheng Lingxuan continued:
"When Hei Te Changzhi came, one person saw him, and another person saw Hei Te Changzhi leaving. When Gao Lan came, one person also saw him. According to their testimonies, there was no one during the incident. Others entered the Hanlin Academy."
Wu Chengsi's heart sank. This almost meant that Hei Te Changzhi was the only person who had ever been to the Hanlin Academy, and all the evidence pointed to him.
Wu Chengsi thought for a while, called Zhuge Nan and Zheng Lingxuan aside, and whispered: "Do you think it is possible that an insider committed the crime?"
Zheng Lingxuan seemed to have considered this question before and immediately replied: "Judging from the testimony, Xue Ji was with two envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty. Two of the other eight civil servants were with the three of them, and two of them were in a library. After sorting out the books, the two of them moved the books back and forth between Hongwen Hall and Hanlin Academy, and they could both bear witness to each other."
"What about the other two?"
"Those two people were on duty in two library rooms respectively, and no one can prove it for them."
"It can't be the two of them! Zhuge Nan said firmly.
"Why?"
"There was no sign of a fight at the scene, and there was no poison in the wine. It seems that the deceased was quickly restrained and force-fed poison to death! I checked the civil servants, and they were light-footed and didn't know any martial arts."
Wu Chengsi thought to himself: "Zhugenan's idea is similar to that of Li Duozuo. If you want to do this, you must be a person with martial arts skills. However, the officials in the Hanlin Academy are all weak scholars. It is difficult to subdue them without leaving traces."
people."
"Then do you all think that the murderer is Hei Te Changzhi?" He looked at the two of them.
Zheng Lingxuan hesitated and said: "From what they said, it seems like this." It was her first time to participate in handling a case, and she was not very confident yet.
Zhugenan's brows hadn't relaxed since just now, he scratched his temples and said, "I always feel like something is wrong."
Wu Chengsi let out a long breath. He felt the same as Zhugenan. The more evidence there was, the more he felt that Hei Te Changzhi was not the murderer.
This was not only because of the indiscriminate interference of the Ministry of Justice, but also because many things were too coincidental. For example, the two civil servants happened to be moving books in Hongwen Hall and Hanlin Academy.
Hei Te Changzhi was not a fool, otherwise he would not have taken refuge in the Tang Dynasty. He wanted to kill someone, and he had to kill somewhere, so he had to kill in the palace? Didn't he know that he could easily be witnessed?
However, after all, you cannot rely on your feelings when handling a case. You also need evidence. If someone is really behind the scenes and you continue to investigate through formal channels, you will only be passive everywhere.
At this time, it is best to use some special case handling methods.
His heart moved, and he said to Zheng Lingxuan: "Miss Zheng, the Queen has promised to make you the envoy of the Ministry of Justice and the Lord of Xuanyang Township. I will accompany you to the Ministry of Personnel immediately. How about you report to the Ministry of Justice tomorrow?"
Zhuge Nan was surprised and said: "Your Majesty is the biggest official in the Ministry of Punishment, and the Queen is so generous!"
Zheng Lingxuan was overjoyed at first, then realized something and asked: "You mean, let me investigate from within the Ministry of Justice?"
Wu Chengsi smiled slightly: "Yes, this case is likely to be involved with the Ministry of Punishment. After you enter the Ministry of Punishment, you can conduct a secret investigation and you may gain more."
"Okay, I know." Zheng Lingxuan said with a smile. Now that she was alone and could help others, she felt much more at ease.
The three of them left the palace all the way. Wu Chengsi asked Zhuge Nan to go back to Dali Temple to check the two corpses. He and Zheng Lingxuan went to the Ministry of Personnel. Although Wu Mei's order had not yet arrived, Wu Chengsi came forward and the Ministry of Personnel did not pass.
So difficult.
After working until night, the two of them completed all the formalities and left the staff department.
Wu Chengsi asked Zheng Lingxuan where he had been living recently. Zheng Lingxuan blushed slightly and said, "When I left Chang'an, my family's mansion and property were sold, so I have been living in an inn."
Wu Chengsi secretly blamed himself and said: "Your property must have been robbed by He Lan Minzhi's people, but I have always forgotten to help you get it back. This is my negligence. You stay in my house for now, and I will go to the Ministry of Punishments tomorrow.
, ask who is responsible for raiding Uncle Anyuan's Mansion, and I will definitely help you get your property back!"
Zheng Lingxuan lowered her head and said "hmm", then quietly raised her head and glanced at him, thinking: "Although there are many bad people in this world, there are also good people like Brother Di and Mr. Wu."
The two returned to the palace together. Wu Chengsi specially asked the kitchen to add dishes for dinner and prepared a sumptuous dinner for her.
After Zheng Lingxuan had eaten, she was taken to a small courtyard in the West Cross Courtyard by a maid named Qiu Chan. Although the courtyard was small, it was well-equipped with all the necessary features. In addition to a main room and two side rooms, there was also a kitchen and a well.
Qiu Chan smiled and said: "This was the former residence of Butler Wen. Later, after Butler Wen moved out, it became vacant. My father-in-law said that you should prefer this kind of small courtyard, and he also specifically asked Butler Wen not to let anyone disturb you.
"
Zheng Lingxuan really fell in love with this small courtyard at first sight, and said softly: "Thank you very much, Miss Qiu, and please help me tell my father-in-law that I like this place very much."
Qiu Chan smiled and nodded, and introduced her to the location of each piece of furniture before saying goodbye and leaving. Zheng Lingxuan stayed in the west wing room, fetched water, washed up, and lay down on the bed.
After returning to the mansion with Wu Chengsi, she had been observing secretly and noticed that he spoke very gently to the servants in the mansion, and those servants talked to him very casually, which made her let go of her last trace of caution.
Looking at the ceiling and listening to the occasional insect chirping in the silence outside the window, Zheng Lingxuan felt a sense of peace.
This is the first time I've felt this way since my family was destroyed.