Tan Yuanji took a deep breath to calm his frightened mind and asked Wang Laizi: "My father-in-law, who are you?"
"My lord, I am a villager in Xiangyang Village." Wang Laizi replied.
"You said Uncle Guo sent people to massacre Xiangyang Village, do you have any evidence?" Tan Yuanji asked.
This is his biggest concern.
"Little old man, I have no evidence." Wang Laizi replied.
"This -" Tan Yuanji looked stunned and asked doubtfully: "Can I not trust my official?"
He felt that if Wang Laizi dared to come to Dali Temple to beat drums and sue Cao Deming, he should have some evidence in his hand.
"I believe you, sir, but I really don't have any evidence," Wang Laizi replied.
He was not sure about Tan Yuanji at first, but when he saw Tan Yuanji being scolded so badly by Zhang Xiaozhu, he was magnanimous and refused to argue with Zhang Xiaozhu, and admitted on the spot that the time-honored rule that the people who complained to the officials were beaten first was
Wrong, he even wrote a note to report to His Majesty. He felt that Tan Yuanji was a good official who dared to speak for the people, so he abandoned his prejudice against Tan Yuanji and chose to believe in him.
Tan Yuanji couldn't help but look bitter and said: "Don't say you are suing the uncle of a relative of the emperor. Even if you are suing a beggar on the street, there is no way to convict him without evidence."
Zhang Xiaozu said: "I must have known what I knew, so I came to sue my uncle. You might as well tell me and let me and this lord hear it."
"Okay, just tell me and listen." Tan Yuanji nodded.
The yamen servant brought a stool to Wang Laizi, but Wang Laizi did not sit on it, but sat on the ground.
Then he spoke: "The old man was originally an infantryman of the Suzaku Legion. He had one of his legs broken during the attack on the Imperial City, and had to disarm and return to the field.
But my home had long since been burned down in the flames of war, and I had no home to return to.
So the old man found twenty-two Paoze brothers who were in the same embarrassing situation as the old man, and found a place with beautiful scenery to live at the foot of Qinnan Mountain. He also buried some unknown martyrs who died in the battle and did not know their names in Qinan Mountain.
Nanshan.
We named the village Xiangyang Village and lived with a beautiful longing for a new life. At the same time, we guarded the remains of the martyrs on Qinan Mountain and burned some paper money for them during the holidays.
Life in Xiangyang Village is peaceful and comfortable. Several old brothers married their wives and spread the blood of their ancestors. As a result, the population of Xiangyang Village slowly increased.
We thought that such a beautiful and peaceful life would last forever, but the construction of Dengxian Pavilion broke everything.
The uncle-in-law Cao Deming wants to build a palace on Qinan Mountain, where actors can sing and dance, and literati and nobles can play the flute every night.
How is this possible?!
The remains of martyrs are buried on Qinan Mountain!
Isn't it bullshit to have actors step on the bones of martyrs to sing and dance, and to have literati and noble men stand on the graves of martyrs and play the flute every night?
We went up the mountain to stop the construction of the Dengxian Pavilion, and clearly informed the people in the uncle's house that martyrs were buried on Qinan Mountain. We were not allowed to disturb the martyrs' resting place, let alone tarnish the souls of the martyrs.
After hearing this, the Guojiu Mansion stopped work.
We all know that Uncle Guo is a great benevolent person in the Imperial City, and we feel that after he knows that the remains of the martyrs are buried on Qinan Mountain, he will definitely not disturb the martyrs’ resting place anymore.
Life in Xiangyang Village has returned to peace.
The old man loved peach blossoms the most in his life. Every year in April and May, he would go to the Shili Peach Blossom Inn in Qingkou City in the south to enjoy the peach blossoms. This year, he was late because of the trip to the Immortal Pavilion, so he left in early May.
A few days ago, the old man came back from the south with satisfaction, only to see that only ruins were left in Xiangyang Village. The village was overgrown with weeds, and the palaces on Qinan Mountain were about to be built.
The old man dug up soil stained red with blood on the ground in the village, and immediately knew that something must have happened.
Because the people of Xiangyang Village will never agree to build Dengxian Pavilion on Qinan Mountain unless they die.
The old man did not dare to act rashly, but quietly sneaked into the imperial capital city to inquire, wanting to know what happened.
In the end, the old man found out, and ninety people in Xiangyang Village were massacred overnight, but the murderer has not been caught so far.
Tell me, who is the murderer?
Who else can there be except Cao Deming, the great uncle of the country?
Xiangyang Village blocks his way to make money!"
After Wang Laizi finished speaking, his face burst into tears.
The courtyard fell into silence, because after everyone listened to Wang Laizi's story, their first guess as to the murderer of Xiangyang Village was Cao Deming.
Zhang Xiaozu clenched his fists loudly.
Tan Yuanji took a deep breath, calmed down his shock, and said: "I did hear that the Ministry of Punishment was investigating a major case recently, but due to busy official duties recently, I didn't have time to inquire, but I never expected that
It turned out to be such a horrific tragedy."
"What are you going to do, sir?" Zhang Xiaozhu asked Tan Yuanji.
"The case was transferred to the Criminal Department, and the three departments of the Criminal Department, Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate were jointly tried, but -" Tan Yuanji frowned.
"What?" Zhang Xiaozu asked.
"Without evidence and mere suspicion, even a three-division trial cannot convict. Moreover, the Criminal Department has not found the murderer after investigating for so long. It must be that the murderer committed the crime extremely carefully and left no clues." Tan Yuanji said.
"Isn't it the Ministry of Punishment that is deliberately shielding Cao Deming?" Zhang Xiaozhu asked with a sneer.
This is the reason why Wang Laizi did not go to the Yamen or the Criminal Department, but came to Dali Temple to file a complaint.
He also suspected that the former was shielding Cao Deming.
"No." Tan Yuanji shook his head and said: "The officials of the Ministry of Punishment have almost undergone a major change this time. They are all young people who are motivated and motivated, and everyone is striving to earn credit.
If they found evidence that Uncle Guo did it, they would be unable to sit still.
But regardless of whether there is evidence or not, it must be reported to His Majesty for a joint trial by the three departments.
Slaughtering disabled veterans of the empire and desecrating the remains of martyrs is a heinous and heinous incident that could lead to a mutiny.
I really don’t know what these little bastards from the Criminal Department are doing? How dare they hide such a big thing and not report it.”
"You don't have to worry about the evidence, I have a way." Zhang Xiaozu said coldly.
He turned to look at Fang Chengyu and said, "Tell Master Tan what you know about Cao Deming's crimes."
"Yes." Fang Chengyu nodded hurriedly. Zhang Xiaozu's cold tone made his legs tremble. He bent his knees and knelt down towards Tan Yuanji, saying with a cry: "Sir, the villain has committed a crime."
"Stop talking nonsense." Zhang Xiaozu shouted.
Fang Chengyu's newly brewing mood was suddenly disturbed by Zhang Xiaopou, and he quickly went straight to the topic: "Three years ago, Shan Liangji, the martial arts leader of the uncle's house -"
He told Zhao Yue'e's story briefly and concisely.
After hearing this, Tan Yuanji said angrily: "The trap was set three years ago, and the trap was withdrawn three years later. It's so calculated and vicious. How many shameful things are there in the Guojiu Mansion that everyone praises and praises?"
Zhang Xiaozu pointed to the six people from Guojiu's Mansion who had been cleaned and brought over but were still in a coma, and said to Tan Yuanji: "These six people are all from Guojiu's Mansion. Let them tell you if there is anything else you can't see in Guojiu's Mansion."
It’s a human thing.”
After saying that, he flicked out six bursts of energy with his fingers, waking up the six people who were unconscious.
"Ah - uncle, spare my life, spare your life!"
"I don't dare anymore, I don't dare anymore!"
The six people woke up from the coma. When they opened their eyes and saw Zhang Xiaozu, they were all scared to death. They knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Zhang Xiaopu desperately to beg for mercy.
"Tell me all the bad things you have done, or I will make you live in pain for the rest of your life." Zhang Xiaozu shouted.
"I said, I said."
The six people were so frightened that their bodies trembled, and they had no idea of resistance.
"It was the martial arts leader who ordered us to mix in the crowd and stir up trouble, inciting the people to stop the uncle from filing a complaint."
"The uncle's mansion has a very secluded manor outside the city, which is specially used to train slaves."
"Many of those slaves were forced by the martial arts masters to sign a contract of sale."
"Martial Arts Instructor——"
Tan Yuanji frowned again and again as he listened to the six people talking about the crimes committed by the uncle's house.
He found that all the charges were pointed at the martial arts instructor of Guojiu's house, and none of them were directly related to Guojiu's uncle Cao Deming.
At the same time, a man sneaked out of the small door in the backyard of Dali Temple and walked into a nearby alley. He entered an inconspicuous teahouse, where Shan Liangji, the martial arts instructor of the Guojiu Mansion, was sitting drinking tea.