In the Chenying Palace in the densely forested area, Prince Wei Zixu sat on a low armchair with carved red sandalwood. The case files in front of his belly were piled with the files of the "Back Mountain Murder Case". Some of them had been read and were open and turned upside down.
Go up. He held his forehead with one hand and looked at the main entrance of the hall from time to time. It was obvious that he was impatient to wait.
Marquis Yin Zhuozheng, the minister of Dali Temple, was standing by and saw what he was thinking. He trotted forward and saluted: "Your Highness, Mr. Changsun has not arrived for a long time. It is already getting late. It is better to bring the criminal to trial first."
The prince said casually: "The Minister of Punishment has not arrived yet, why are you in a hurry?"
"Everyone from Dali Temple and Mr. Chen appointed by Xuanting have arrived. They can also conduct a joint trial..."
As soon as he finished speaking, several adults in the Chenying Palace exchanged glances with each other and quickly bowed to the prince to express their approval.
The prince frowned and stared at him: "Our country, Rong, does not have such rules! What's more, this suspicious case involves two court officials. My father has decreed that it must be tried by three divisions. What are three divisions? Investigation by the Ministry of Punishment, review by Dali Temple, Xuan
Court supervision, what is a joint trial? Naturally, representatives of the three divisions must be present before the case can be concluded. Are you... not very clear? "
Yin Zhuo seemed to have something to hide, and said hesitantly: "This... I am just worried that Your Highness will wait too long."
"No problem, Mr. Changsun must have been delayed by official duties. Let's wait." The prince looked at him coldly, thinking that there have been many conflicts between the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple in investigating cases over the years. If Mo Fei hadn't balanced them, I'm afraid
There had already been internal strife. I was afraid that there was something fishy about Yin Zhuo's attitude today, so I asked him, "The Punishment Department and Dali Temple are investigating the case together. Although the Punishment Department has touched more things in the case, you, Dali Temple, have the authority to supervise the case."
You always have the upper hand despite your position, have you ever done anything that crossed the line in all these years?"
Yin Zhuo was so frightened that he knelt on the ground: "I don't dare in my humble position! I abide by my duties in my humble position, how can I dare to exceed my authority? Your Highness is aware of it!"
The prince smiled: "The Ministry of Justice is Rong Guo's sword, and Dali Temple is the scabbard. Both of them are indispensable. You have always been the most trusted by my father. This palace is just asking casually, so there is no need to panic."
The man kneeling on the ground breathed a sigh of relief, only to realize that his back was soaked with sweat. He hurriedly stood up and stepped aside to wipe away the sweat. At this moment, he suddenly heard the thunderous sound of drums outside the hall, and someone rushed in to report: "Your Highness, everyone in Shuyou Hall
We are playing drums outside, and among the group is Mr. Nangong!"
Nangongque?
This is interesting.
The outside suddenly became lively. The students of Shu Youtang jumped into everyone's sight first, followed closely by Nangong Que, the Minister of Punishment. Yin Zhuo's saggy face trembled, and his teeth made a rattling sound.
At this time, Changsun Wuzheng also rushed over. Before he saw anyone, he heard his loud voice, "I am late, please forgive me!" As soon as he finished speaking, Changsun Wuzheng had already prostrated himself at the foot of the steps.
The prince raised his hand and asked him to stand up. Yin Zhuo glanced sideways at him, scoffing, not bothering to look at him. Wei Zixu quietly looked away from him, drank a cup of tea to moisten his throat, and asked: "
Who is kneeling?"
Nangong Que first introduced himself to his family, keeping his head down the whole time and not daring to look at the prince.
Su Yan bowed respectfully and said, "Your Highness, Su Yan, Mr. Shuyoutang, the criminal on trial today is the brother of Nangong Jinguan, a student of Shuyoutang, so I am here to hear the trial."
"How can a woman in Chenying Hall be allowed to come in and hear the trial at will?" Yin Zhuo looked at him, his eyes full of disgust, "Besides, you have nothing to do with this case."
Su Yan said: "Sir, this Chenying Palace is not a forbidden area, it is a place for interrogating prisoners. It seems there is no rule that women are not allowed to enter, right?"
Jin Guan was a little angry, "Exactly! Mr. Su is a gentleman from Seven Senses Academy, and Nangong Lin is my brother. We are naturally related!" Nangong Que was so frightened that he quickly pulled her behind him and tremblingly apologized: "Your Highness, please calm down.
! My little girl is still young and her childish words are unruly! I will discipline you strictly when I return home!"
The prince looked at Jin Guan with great interest but said nothing. Yin Zhuo and Nangong Que had always been at odds with each other. Now that they had caught him, they naturally refused to let it go. "Okay, a mere girl dares to talk nonsense in front of His Highness."
Nonsense!”
Su Yan smiled and said, "Sir, please calm down, Jin Guan is also eager to save people."
Yin Zhuo was so angry that his eyes were red, and he wanted to continue to rebuke, but the prince stopped him sternly: "Yin Zhuo, I am sitting here, why are you showing off your authority?" He turned to Su Yan and said, "Since you are Mr. Shu Youtang, then
I will give you a seat." After saying this, the palace slave spread a felt mat on the right side of the steps, placed a table, and gave him seasonal fruits, spring tea, etc.
Su Yan didn't expect that the current prince would be so approachable, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of respect in his heart: "Thank you for your great kindness, Your Highness!"
"I remember that when I was young, I was personally supervised by Mr. Zeyuan, and you were personally selected by him. Mr. Zeyuan has always had a unique vision, so you must be outstanding. Rong Guo respects Confucianism and Taoism and respects scholars. That's the case.
, you don’t need to be polite." As he spoke, his expression became more kind, and he was not as unkind as the rumors said.
However, the sentence "Mr. Zeyuan has always had a unique vision"... Su Yan found it funny. It is not surprising that he is narcissistic, but the only one who could not blush with such an aboveboard narcissism was the prince.
Several cadres brought in a ragged young man. This man was Nangong Lin. He was extremely handsome. Even through the blood and hair on his face, he could still feel it. Jin Guan, who had not seen his brother for several days,
Finally he stopped holding back and hid behind his father and sobbed softly.
Su Yan was quite surprised. It turned out that the Criminal Department and Dali Temple were going to deal with such harsh measures against the prisoners.
The prince said: "Now that we are all here, two adults, let's get started."
Changsun Wuzheng looked at Yin Zhuo, with a flash of contempt in his eyes. He knew that Yin Zhuo would have a hard time today. Thinking of this, his heart suddenly became enlightened, and he spoke with great enthusiasm: "Three days ago, a body was found in the back mountain.
The corpse was that of Jia Wei, the nephew of the Minister of Industry. He died at three o'clock in the morning. The corpse had varying degrees of beating injuries all over the body, and a fatal injury caused by a blunt instrument on the back of the head. A damaged tassel was also found next to the corpse, which was from
Yushifang. The suspect had a quarrel with Jia Wei three days ago, during which he made a move. Everyone in the Shenxian Pavilion can testify, and the owner of the Sifang Tavern on Jiuxiang Street confirmed that the suspect drank in the tavern and left at 4:00 a.m.
The suspect confessed that he felt a headache after drinking, so he went to a drug store in the west of the city to take medicine, and stayed for two moments before leaving. The Ministry of Punishment has verified many times that it took at least a moment to reach the west of the city from the liquor alley. Therefore, after leaving the drug store, the suspect
It took at least half an hour to kill people and dump the bodies. The city gate guards did not see the suspect coming in or out, but it cannot be ruled out that after killing people, he bribed others to dump the bodies." Changsun Wuzheng came one by one, and he could not be more detailed.
It's detailed and there's almost nothing that can be doubted.
The minister of Dali Temple came forward to interrogate Nangong Lin, "Did you have a dispute with Jia Wei three days ago? Because of the dispute, did you kill the killer and dump the body in the back mountain?"
Nangong Lin's head hung weakly and he raised his head slightly, "As your Excellency said, just after leaving the Cricket Manor that night, Sin Min did have a conflict with Jia Chui."
Yin Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief, turned to Changsun Wuzheng and said: "The criminal has confessed, and there is no need for Sir Changsun to talk to him. There is no need to delay His Highness the Crown Prince's time."
Changsun Wuzheng glanced at him with contempt in his heart, "The suspect has not explained the motive of the murder and the process of the crime, so the case is still suspicious. Why should Mr. Yin be in a hurry to close the case? Besides, His Highness is not in a hurry, so why are you in a hurry?"
Yin Zhuo snorted coldly and didn't take him seriously at all.
Nangong Lin crawled a few steps with his scarred body, and said anxiously: "Sir, listen to the sinner's explanation! The sinner and Jia Wei did have a quarrel, but the sinner did not want to kill him! The sinner was injured that night, and he drank
After drinking, we left Jiu Alley Street and met a brother on the way to the drug store. He not only sent the criminals to the drug store, but also escorted the criminals back. Adults can ask him." Nangong Lin became more and more anxious as he spoke and vomited.
He was bleeding from the mouth and almost fainted, but he still defended himself: "The sinner really didn't kill anyone. I really don't know how Jia Wei died in the back mountain, and why the sinner's ears were found in the back mountain."
! The tassel is already damaged, so how can we conclude that it is something that offends the people? Your Majesty, please observe clearly, Your Highness, the Crown Prince, please observe clearly, the people are being wronged unjustly!" After saying that, he prostrated on the ground, and the iron chain on his wrist made a crisp sound on the ground, and
The words "unjustly accused" struck hard and resoundingly in the hearts of Su Yan, Jin Guan and his daughter, and all the students in Shuyoutang.
Yin Zhuo angrily yelled: "That's nonsense! You said this person escorted you there, so why can't we find out his whereabouts? You don't even know his name. You are lying!"
The prince held his forehead and groaned: "Yin Zhuo, no one has ever roared like you in Chenying Palace. Where do you put me?"
Yin Zhuo turned around and bowed to the prince, "I know that I am guilty, but as the minister of Dali Temple, I really can't stand such a man who has no conscience and tells lies in front of you! Now that the evidence is conclusive and he has confessed personally, the truth of this case is
It has been solved long ago, and Dali Temple has also reviewed it overnight. It is believed that the murderer is indeed Nangong Lin. Your Highness must not believe the murderer's pretense of being pitiful!"
The prince said impatiently: "The final trial must come step by step. Why are you anxious? Changsun Wuzheng, you come to the trial!"
Changsun Wuzheng said yes, took the evidence presented by Zuo Shilang, and asked Nangong Lin, "I ask you again, is this tassel yours?"
Nangong Lin didn't look at it and hesitated: "At first glance, it looks like it belongs to Sin Min, but the head of Sin Min's tassel is wrapped with the tail hair of a nine-tailed fox. This one has nothing. This..."
Changsun Wuzheng said: "Everyone's jade pendants are intact, but yours is not on them, and you can't prove your innocence."
Nangong Lin suddenly became silent, lowered his head, and tears fell down unsatisfactorily.
At this time, Su Yan slowly stood up, walked to the bottom of the steps, and saluted the prince.
The prince, Yin Zhuo, and the eldest grandson Wu Zheng, many officials present could not help but wonder.
"Your Highness is wise, there is another injustice in this case. The little girl has personal evidence. This person is Li Hong, the guard of Yunlai Pavilion, which can prove that Nangong Lin did not have time to commit the crime!" After saying this, everyone present was surprised by what Su Yan said.
It has obviously overturned all the previous facts. There were several subtle whispers in the main hall. The most unexpected thing was Yin Zhuo, and he even had some fear that was forced to be hidden in his heart.
The prince nodded and ordered someone to bring him in. When Nangong Lin saw Li Hong, he was stunned for a moment and checked repeatedly. Suddenly he found that he was the brother who escorted him. He suddenly shed tears with excitement and cried to the prince: "This is the brother.
He is always by my side!"
Li Hong did not dare to face the prince's majesty, so he lowered his head and narrated: "That night, the villain sent my girl to the Yin Mansion, and then went to a tavern near Jiuxiang Street to drink. Unexpectedly, he met Mr. Nangong lying drunk.
On the roadside, the villain recognized him and was worried that something might happen, so he stayed with him for more than two moments. Seeing that he was injured, the villain thought of taking him to a medicine shop to get some medicine, but the nearby medicine shop had long been closed.
The villain remembered that there was a drug store in Yonghefang in the west of the city that was open all night, so the villain took him there. After staying for a while, he escorted him back. I went to Yin Mansion to pick up my girl, and that's all."
"You have never met him, why would you protect him all the way? It makes no sense!" Yin Zhuo asked.
Li Hong explained: "The villain couldn't bear that he was injured and had nowhere to be treated, so he just protected him all the way because he knew a little bit of boxing and kicking skills!"
Yin Zhuo still wanted to question, but Su Yan was the first to say: "Li Hong is not included in the evidence collected by the Punishment Department. In other words, in the time deduction of the Punishment Department, a full two quarters of time must be added, so he has no evidence at all."
When he committed the crime, even if he used this only moment to kill someone, how could he leave the body behind?"
Yin Zhuo said anxiously: "It is also possible that after killing someone, someone else dumped the body. During the investigation by the Ministry of Punishments, the city gate guards did not find that Nangong Lin had entered or left the city, but several carriages left Kyoto that night and did not return."
Su Yan said proudly: "Since there are no witnesses, isn't Nangong Lin's suspicion even smaller?"
"Unless you can prove that this ear does not belong to Nangong Lin but is the real murderer, if you can't, then Nangong Lin will still be involved!" Yin Zhuo said angrily.
The prince shook his head and said in disappointment: "Direct evidence is still needed, otherwise, Nangong Lin is the biggest suspect. If the real culprit cannot be found today, I'm afraid..."
When Nangong Que heard that his son was doomed, he knelt on the steps with a plop and prostrated on the ground at the same time, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, your Majesty has always warned his subordinates to pay attention to all cases, big or small, whether they involve ordinary people or important officials of the court, and they must not engage in malpractice for personal gain, let alone
The case cannot be solved hastily, and it must be ensured that there are no doubts. If there are doubts, it should be retried at a different date!"
Yin Zhuo hurriedly stepped forward and said: "Your Highness, there has never been a second trial in Chenying Palace. If word spreads, it will have a great impact on Your Highness's reputation."
Wei Zixu hesitated a little and looked at Nangong Que, but there was no response.
Su Yan couldn't bear to see Nangong Qing, a father, begging for help for her son, which made her feel bad.
At this time, Chang Sun Wu Zheng saw that the situation had slowed down and said: "Your Highness, there are many doubts in this case. I believe that if there is an injustice, it must be retried. We must not let another unjust case happen again."
Wei Zixu sat quietly, but Emperor Rong's face flashed in front of his eyes. His father handed over the case to him to supervise the final trial. It was impossible for him to supervise the case. He had selfish motives and probably wanted to test his involvement in such matters.
, how would he handle it. If he had settled the case quickly to save trouble, he would indeed be punished. If the incident affected his image in his heart, it would be more than worth the gain. He announced to everyone: "Since there are doubts, it is natural to retry.
How can I allow unjust and wrongful convictions to happen?"
Su Yan hurriedly stopped him, "There is no need for a retrial!"
"Mr. Su, do you have any evidence?" the prince asked in surprise.
"Exactly! Please allow me to invite another witness into the palace, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Wei Zixu nodded in agreement.
Everyone looked back together. The sun was shining brightly outside the palace, and the thin clouds were slowly falling under the blue sky. A corner of a plain blue embroidered skirt came into everyone's sight. When they saw it clearly, they couldn't help but secretly exclaimed, this is not the top card of Yunlai Pavilion.
Moxuan!
Yin Zhuo's heart sank and he cried secretly.
Mo Xuan bowed to everyone with some official position in the palace one by one, "Daughter Mo Xuan, I would like to send my regards to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and all your lords."
A promiscuous woman appeared in the serious hall, causing quite a commotion. Yin Zhuo saw that Moxuan seemed to have been lit with explosives and said, "This is Dali Temple. How can we allow a profligate and filthy person like you to set foot there? If no one comes, we will
Pull her down!"
"Master Yin, why should you be anxious? It's better to listen to her testimony first." Su Yan's words were neither humble nor overbearing.
Yin Zhuo cursed her several times in his heart. What was an ironclad matter was disturbed by her appearance. At this time, Su Yan came to oppose him again, so he turned the target and said in a strange way: "I heard that Mr. Su was just a tavern in the past.
I am a cleaning boy, and I don’t know whose support I got to become a gentleman. But this is Dali Temple, Chenying Palace after all! Do you want to challenge the majesty of the Tian family by running rampant and contradicting the imperial officials like this?!"
Su Yan smiled disapprovingly, "Obviously it was Master Yin who overreacted, but he came to accuse the little girl of having other intentions. From this point of view, I feel more and more that Master Yin's behavior is...unreasonable."
This sentence caused quite a stir in the main hall. Wei Zixu suddenly became suspicious when she mentioned it. Yin Zhuo felt guilty all of a sudden, "What are you talking about! I am an upright person and sit upright. How can I tolerate your slander?
I will not allow Dali Temple to be defiled by a promiscuous woman!"
Su Yan glanced at Mo Xuan. She was standing on the majestic Chenying Palace. She was as small as a sparrow, ready to be provoked and insulted! Su Yan got angry and immediately shouted: "Your Majesty once said: All living beings in the world are...
Equality! How come you are here and people are divided into hierarchies, high and low? Are you rejecting His Majesty?"
The prince coughed a few times and said, "What Mr. Su said is right, Yin Zhuo, why don't you back down!" Yin Zhuo felt very unwilling and looked at Su Yan hatefully, but he could only follow the prince's instructions and step aside. The prince
He asked Su Yan again, "Mr. Su invited this woman to come over. Does she have evidence to prove that Nangong Lin is not the murderer?"
Su Yan was confident: "At least it can prove that the suspect is someone else!"
Everyone pricked up their ears and looked at Mo Xuan. Wei Zixu accidentally discovered that Yin Zhuo seemed to be a little abnormal. Seeing that he was sweating coldly and his face was pale, he couldn't help but feel suspicious.
"This matter must be discussed from the beginning back to the night when Jia Wei's accident happened." At this point, Su Yan turned his eyes to Mo Xuan, who continued, "That night, Li Hong took the daughter of the common people to play music at the Yin Mansion. At that time,
The folk girl only played two songs before she was stopped by a burst of shouting. She saw Mr. Jia rushing in smelling of alcohol. At first, he could drink in a friendly manner. Unexpectedly, the two of them started to argue in a blink of an eye. After that, Mr. Yin sent his servant to hastily
The peasant girl was sent to the side room to wait. When Li Hong came to pick up the peasant girl, he was no longer there, but judging from the servant's appearance, it seemed that something had happened, but the peasant girl did not dare to ask any more questions."
Su Yan said: "It seems that Mr. Jia not only quarreled and fought with Nangong Lin, but also had a grudge with Mr. Yin. Now that it is confirmed that Nangong Lin did not commit the crime, does that mean that Mr. Yin is the most suspicious? Perhaps Mr. Yin is the one who committed the murder impulsively.
After killing someone, leaving the body in the wilderness, and then putting the blame on someone else!"
"You are so slanderous!" Yin Zhuo jumped suddenly, his eyebrows instantly raised, "These are all your speculations, and you have no evidence, how dare you talk nonsense here!"
The doubts in Wei Zixu's heart became more and more certain. From the beginning to the end, it was Yin Zhuo who was rushing to close the case. Above the hall, people were targeting Su Yan everywhere, hoping to convict Nangong Lin all the time. He was very concerned about the case.
Being so sensitive and impatient, it seems that there is indeed something hidden. He couldn't help but test, "Yin Zhuo, as the minister of Dali Temple, why are you acting abnormal today?"
Yin Zhuo knelt on the ground and said tremblingly: "I don't dare! I am so loyal, how could I deceive His Highness!" He raised his head and glanced at the prince in fear, and did not dare to speak again.
Wei Zixu was not in the mood to deal with Yin Zhuo, and focused on analyzing the case with Su Yan: "According to Nangong Lin's testimony, he quarreled and beat Jia Wei because he found out that Jia Wei and Yin Yunyu had deceived him. Do you think
, it was precisely because Yin Yun knew this connection that she thought of blaming Nangong Lin and faking the murder scene."
Su Yan couldn't help but kneel to the prince, "Your Highness is wise! However, it is also possible that Yin Yun did not want to frame Nangong Lin at all, but just wanted to leave misleading evidence and let the Ministry of Punishment divert the target."
The prince and everyone nodded in agreement, and she added: "Whether Yin Yun is the murderer or not, the witness of Miss Moxuan is enough to prove that Yin Yun also has a motive for murder."
"Come here, bring Yin Yun to the palace!" The prince could not conceal his excitement and immediately ordered the arrest of Yin Yun. However, Yin Zhuo was already lying on the side, unable to even speak.