"At the beginning of the preparations, the murderer first trapped the Taoist priest in the Qijiawu Temple of Immortality," Xu Zun continued his story, "and at the same time made an iron coffin from a secret location. Not only did he make one exactly the same as two years ago, but he also
I made a semi-finished product with the remaining iron plates and placed it in the underground secret room of my house to frame the blame...
“In this way, they secretly prepared for nearly a year, and when everything was ready, they finally started their plan.
"The first step," Xu Zun said, "They used You Dalang and his wife to frame me, and asked You Dalang's wife Chun Niang to seduce me and have an affair with her.
"Then, You Dalang took the opportunity to kill Chun Niang, confirming that I had raped someone else's wife and killed her, thus ruining my reputation.
"In the second step, they killed You Dalang, creating the illusion that I was using my power for personal gain, killing the merchant and his wife, and embezzling their property.
"The third step," Xu Zun continued, "that night, they killed the Taoist priests, activated the iron coffin, and placed the iron coffin on the Zhang Bridge to recreate the iron coffin tragedy that year.
“The purpose of doing this is to make the case bigger and create a sensation, thereby attracting higher-level officials to investigate.
"As expected, the higher authorities sent the Ministry of Punishment and the prefectures and counties to investigate the case. Only in this way will they have enough qualifications to shake Mr. Shen!
"The next step is the fourth step," Xu Zun added, "They use the jade pendant to reveal the identity of the Taoist priest.
"As a result, the situation escalated again, and the Iron Coffin case became a serious case of colluding with Japanese assassins. The Criminal Department was no longer able to handle it, and had to bring in more senior figures to handle it.
"Coincidentally, the Queen Mother was well prepared and specially sent Mr. Cai to secretly investigate the case. In this way, Mr. Cai accepted the case naturally and became the person with absolute authority to deal with Mr. Shen.
"So, in the fifth step, the informant letter appeared at the right time, leading Mr. Cai to my residence, and thus found out the evidence of my planning of the Iron Coffin Case.
"As everyone knows, I am just a confused county captain. I cannot handle such a big case on my own. People will inevitably point the finger at my father-in-law, Mr. Shen!
"Thus, the murderer's plan was perfectly realized. The Shen Mansion was investigated, and Mr. Shen and I were arrested. Their goal of bringing down Mr. Shen was finally achieved!"
After Xu Zun finished speaking, the scene was completely silent at first, but after a few seconds of silence, people started making noise like a frying pan.
During this period, the vast majority of people burst into laughter. Apparently they were not afraid of Xu Zun's rhetoric and even found it ridiculous.
"Ahem..." Seeing that the situation was out of control and the low-level officials did not dare to speak, the governor Li Yan had to cough a few times and said to Xu Zun, "Xu Zun, don't you think that your remarks are a bit too natural?"
Is it true? In our opinion, it is completely unconvincing and full of loopholes!"
"Yes!" Upon hearing this, Luo Wanwan couldn't help but echoed.
At the same time, all the people listening nodded frequently, obviously agreeing with the governor's statement.
"Okay," Xu Zun said directly without refuting, "Since you said that I am full of loopholes, then point them out to me! I will answer them one by one for you."
"Hmm... Okay," Li Yan first looked at Cai Kun, and after realizing that Cai Kun had no intention of stopping him, he said to Xu Zun, "First, you said you didn't kill the merchant couple, how do you prove it?
?
"You are a county captain and are in charge of prisons. If someone kills the merchant in prison to frame you, does it sound like a joke?
"Also, you said you didn't embezzle their property, but we saw with our own eyes that the merchant's silver and valuables were placed in the closet of your bedroom. How do you explain this?
"Secondly, you said that the iron coffin in the underground secret room was used to frame you. In other words, the murderer had to arrange the iron coffin before you moved in.
"But we saw that there was no dust in the secret room. It was obvious that someone came in and cleaned it frequently. You said you had no idea about it. Is it credible?
"In addition, you said that the iron coffin was not made in the secret room of your home. How can you prove it? And where is the real place where it was made?
"Third, let's talk about the Taoist priest. Since someone wants to frame you, why not put the jade pendant directly on the Taoist priest?
"Wouldn't this immediately prove his identity? Why bother to lead you to the Changsheng Temple to search hard? What if you can't find him?
"Also, how could the murderer be so accurate? Can he even calculate that the Queen Mother will send people to secretly investigate?
"Finally," Li Yan asked loudly, "You keep saying that someone framed you, so tell me who is this person who framed you!?
"You know what? If you don't know anything, then what's the point of making it up out of thin air to confuse the public?"
Li Yan's series of clear questions made the atmosphere more intense.
Everyone looked at Xu Zun, wanting to see Xu Zun's embarrassment as he was speechless.
However, what they saw was Xu Zun, whose eyes were shining and his expression was getting more and more arrogant.
"Okay! Mr. Li, everyone," Xu Zun faced everyone and said calmly, "I wanted to leave you in suspense. Since you have already asked this, I won't tell you anymore. I will tell you now, the one who framed me
And Mr. Shen’s people—who are they!!?”
When Xu Zun said this, the scene suddenly became quiet.
But after Xu Zun glanced at everyone, he finally stretched out his arm and pointed at one person:
"The person who framed me, the real mastermind behind the Iron Coffin case, is - him!!!"
Oops...
When they saw the person Xu Zun was referring to, the scene was filled with exclamations of surprise.
What!?
Chen Taiji and other officials also couldn't believe their eyes.
Looking at the whole audience, only Cai Kun, who was aloof, did not feel any surprise. Instead, he squinted his eyes and watched the drama in front of him with relish.
But it turned out that what Xu Zun was referring to was none other than the magistrate of Xinye County—Qiu Yongnian!!!!!
"This..." Qiu Yongnian spread his hands to show his innocence, and then asked Xu Zun, "Jiying, what do you mean?"
"Master Qiu, I predict that you will react like this." Xu Zun's eyes were like lightning, staring at Qiu Yongnian and said, "Master Li asked just now, as a county captain, I am in charge of the prison, if anyone dares to
Killing people in prison and framing me sounds like a joke.
"But if the person who framed me is the head of a county, our magistrate, then... does it still sound like a joke?"
"Haha, haha..." At this time, the county magistrate Luo Wanwan next to him suddenly laughed, "This... this is simply nonsense! No, it is simply a mad dog!
"Xu Zun," he stared at Xu Zun and asked, "have you gone crazy? Are you hallucinating? Magistrate Qiu, how could it be the murderer you said?"
"Yes, Ji Ying," Qiu Yongnian also blushed and said angrily, "You and I are considered acquaintances, why do you have to drag me into this? How have I offended you?"
"Xu Zun," shouted Li Yan, the governor on the other side, "you are really ungrateful. Magistrate Qiu is a scholar. Can you use a stronger slander?"
When several people said this, the scene burst into laughter again. It was obvious that people just regarded Xu Zun's testimony as a joke.
"My lords, don't be anxious," Xu Zun said through gritted teeth as before with confidence, "You should listen to my analysis first. After listening, you can taste it carefully to see if I am talking nonsense.
