Ruan Lang frowned and looked quite puzzled: "It is obvious that this matter is intended to frame Lan Yu. But how could it frame Master Xia?"
As he spoke, he glanced at the testimony again.
Man Tingfang explained unhurriedly: "Lan Yu has always been very close to Mr. Xia, and it was Mr. Xia who vouched for him, which allowed him to go all the way to where he is today. If Lan Yu has the heart to rebel, Xia
Your Excellency must be involved!"
After a pause, he added: "At least his opponents will take note of the emperor's suspicion and use this matter to impeach him!"
His words made Ruan Lang understand the pros and cons of relationships.
He thought for a moment and muttered: "Gu Zhili was appointed by the emperor to interrogate him in person. I was not present at the time! It seems that the only way to do this is to have the emperor reiterate the order so that one of you and I can participate.
Only then can we clearly see Gu Zhili’s conspiracy!”
After thinking deeply for a moment, Man Tingfang said: "If you want the emperor to order a retrial, you must make him think that the confession is false!"
Ruan Lang scratched his head and walked around anxiously, as if he had lost his patience: "Now that the emperor is angry, he is willing to believe any truth, but he is afraid that he has no ability to think. What's more, he is very fond of Lan Yu himself.
Disgusted, he will definitely believe it when he sees this testimony!"
Man Tingfang calmly put away the testimony and said in a calm tone: "Master Ruan, don't be anxious now, let me try my luck! The emperor can at least listen to what I say."
Ruan Lang's expression was shocked, and he immediately bowed to him and handed over his hands: "Then this matter will trouble Sir Manman!"
After coming out of the prison, Man Tingfang went straight to the palace, and it was not until two hours later that he left in high spirits.
I don’t know how Man Tingfang persuaded the angry Emperor. Soon after, Emperor Yu issued an edict:
Order Gu Zhili, Man Tingfang and Ruan Lang to retrial the prisoner Wang Cheng immediately!
Emperor Yu's new decree caught Gu and Wang off guard, who thought they were sure of victory.
Before the two of them had time to discuss a countermeasure in person, Ruan Lang came to the door in person and invited him directly to the prison to continue the interrogation without giving him any chance to collude with him or leak information.
However, Gu Zhili was not in a hurry, but was determined to enter the imperial prison.
Because everything has been arranged, as long as I go to the interrogation, I won't be afraid that the assassin will be tortured to extract a confession and then change his confession.
Moreover, the person hearing the trial was Man Tingfang, who was submissive and mild-tempered. He and Wang Su never took her seriously.
As for Ruan Lang.
Although he is a popular person in front of the emperor, he does not dare to go against Wang Su. Even if the trial is repeated several times, the result will be the same - before long, Wang Su will return to the position of chief assistant, and he will become the second
auxiliary!
As soon as Gu Zhili and Man Tingfang sat down, Wang Cheng, who had been severely punished, was brought up.
It had only been two days, but the broad-shouldered deserter had already lost his appearance. His whole body was covered with large and small wounds. It seemed that he had suffered a lot of punishment.
Ruan Lang finally walked in, exchanged glances with Man Tingfang, and then sat aside in silence.
Gu Zhili's face was full of joy and he wanted to chat with the two of them.
Unexpectedly, Man Tingfang suddenly stood up and pointed at the royal city and asked loudly: "Bold and cunning people, your two confessions are obviously different! Tell me! What is your real purpose of breaking into the palace? Who is the instigator behind the scenes?
who?"
Gu Zhili was startled suddenly and turned his head to stare at him, obviously shocked by his sudden move and powerful posture.
But what surprised him even more was that the stunned Wang Cheng pointed at Gu Zhili and said without hesitation: "Sir, those testimonies were all told by him!"
Although Man Tingfang and Ruan Lang knew very well that all this was a trick by Gu Zhili and Wang Su.
I thought this was a well-trained assassin, and it would take a lot of thought and skill to pry his mouth open.
Unexpectedly, when I just started asking, this person actually said something shocking and pointed directly at the person behind the scenes.
Man Tingfang looked at Gu Zhili and then at Ruan Lang, who looked a little embarrassed.
For a moment, I didn't know how to proceed, which made the situation awkward.
Gu Zhili was the first to react.
He immediately stood up, pointed at Wang Cheng's nose, and roared: "You bold thief, you dare to frame an official of the imperial court when you are about to die! Come here, beat him out and beat him to death with a stick!"
Although Gu Zhili had no right to instruct the Chief of Staff, since he was the presiding official sent by the Holy Emperor, the Chief of Staff had no choice but to listen to the instructions given.
The government officials rolled up their sleeves, immediately picked up the palace and dragged it out.
Wang Cheng, who had been dumb and stupid, suddenly became furious.
While struggling to hit the yamen servant beside him, he glared at Gu Zhili angrily and yelled: "Guan Gu! Didn't you say that just because I made those confessions against Lan Yu, you can give my family a large sum of money and also give me a lot of money?"
You did it for me as a high official, why do you want to kill me now?"
As soon as these words came out, Man Tingfang and Ruan Lang looked at each other in shock, somewhat confused about the current situation.
Gu Zhili's face became even uglier, he jumped on his feet and shouted angrily: "What are you still doing standing still? Block this guy's mouth and beat him hard until he wakes up!"
Seeing that although Wang Cheng was powerful, his hands and feet were restrained, and he was still dragged down by the government officials.
"Wait!"
Man Tingfang finally reacted and shouted loudly: "Wangcheng, it is a capital crime for you to break into the palace with a sharp knife. I advise you to sincerely admit your mistake, and maybe you can save the lives of your family. If you are more charming,
The crime of being an important official in the imperial court is a serious crime against the nine tribes!"
Wang Cheng twisted his body while shouting at the top of his lungs: "Let me go! Let me go!"
The officials of the Royal Guards Department looked at Ruan Lang and saw him slightly nodding, so everyone let go of Wang Cheng and stood aside.
Man Tingfang walked over, helped Wang Cheng up, and her tone suddenly softened: "Wang Cheng, the matter has come to this, you'd better tell the truth. Tell me why you want to break into the palace without permission, and is there anyone behind it? You just need to tell me
To be honest, I will never torture you!"
Wang Cheng pointed at Gu Zhili and said angrily: "It's him! He ordered everything! But now he has turned his back on me!"
Gu Zhili was horrified and argued angrily: "Master Mandarin, don't listen to this lunatic! He must be holding a grudge because I tortured him yesterday, so he said such words today!"
Man Tingfang cupped her hands to him and said kindly: "Master Gu, don't be anxious. When I ask you in detail, he will definitely reveal his flaws, and I will return your innocence to Master Gu!"
But how could Gu Zhili, who had a guilty conscience, sit still and wait for death? He wanted to stop him, but Ruan Lang said in a strange tone: "Master Gu, those who are clean will be clean by themselves. Why are you so restless?"
Gu Zhili looked at Ruan Lang's aggressive face and the expressionless yamen servant beside him, and realized that he could not trespass in Ruan Lang's territory, so he sat back reluctantly.
Man Tingfang glanced at Gu Zhili, whose face was ashen, and then looked at Wang Cheng: "Wang Cheng, you said it was him who ordered it, so what did he want you to do when he let you break into the palace with a knife?"
Wang Cheng said without hesitation: "He just asked me to hold a knife and wander around the Xuande gate until I was caught and put in jail."
Man Tingfang was a little confused after hearing this, and continued to ask: "What you said is strange! Why did he let you hang around the gate of the palace? Didn't he have other instructions?"
The Wangcheng witness looked numb. He scratched his scalp and said, "He said that as long as I am imprisoned, he will tell me what to say and what to do next!"
Man Tingfang looked sideways at Gu Zhili. His face was getting uglier and uglier at this time, with an uncontrollable anger flashing in his eyes, and his teeth were clattering: "Humph, this is really the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.
joke!"
Man Tingfang turned around and continued to ask: "Wang Cheng, if he asked you to do this, what benefits would it bring to you?"
Wang Cheng blurted out without thinking: "He promised to give me a job as a high official and give my family a lot of money!"
Man Tingfang suddenly turned around and asked abruptly: "Wang Cheng, are you a soldier under Lan Yu?"
Wang Cheng did not hesitate
He nodded: "I am the reserve army of the Southwest Iron Cavalry."
Man Tingfang didn't give him time to make up a story, and then asked: "Then why did you leave the army?"
Wang Cheng lowered his head and said feeling aggrieved: "The treatment of the Southwest Iron Cavalry is generous. My family is poor, so I joined to make money. But to truly join the Southwest Iron Cavalry, you need to undergo very rigorous training and pass an exam.
OK.
During this period, our treatment was pitiful and the training was too hard. After a few exams, I gave up. But before joining, we signed a contract of renunciation, and those who entered the reserve army could only leave alive.
There were no corpses or soldiers left. My brothers and I had no choice but to escape."
Man Tingfang narrowed her eyes slightly, twisted her beard and asked, "In that case, how did Master Gu find you?"
Wang Cheng looked up at Gu Zhili and said accusingly: "I was stopped by his people on the way to escape. They promised me a high official position and a lot of money to do things for him."
Man Tingfang rolled her eyes and suddenly laughed: "Since you are doing things for him, why do you want to identify him again today? Aren't you supposed to keep it a secret for him?"
Wang Cheng lowered his head and said angrily: "I gave him a confession yesterday, but he didn't let me out, and even let these government officials beat me severely all night long. So I don't plan to keep it a secret from him anymore!"
Man Tingfang nodded, knowing the answer in her heart, so she stopped asking.
He turned around and looked at Gu Zhili, who was sitting uneasily, with a half-smile, as if he was asking or explaining.
At this point, Gu Zhili simply gave up.
He smiled without changing his expression, pointed at the royal city and asked: "Bold Royal City! Yesterday you said that Lan Yu collaborated with the enemy and ordered you to assassinate the emperor! Today you suddenly changed your story and implicated me again. I think you are not serious
You are just pretending to be stupid! These confessions of yours are really not credible!"
Wang Cheng was not polite, pointing at his nose and yelling: "How did I know that Lan Yu was collaborating with the enemy! You told me to tell you! You won't give me an official job, you won't give me money, and you'll beat me! I don't want to do that now!"