"That's enough!" Qiu Yongnian stood up from his seat, pointed at Xu Zun and shouted, "Xu Zun, I have treated you with all my kindness and righteousness, don't be ungrateful.
"Those who serve in the county government were indeed ordered by Qiu, but Qiu acted in accordance with the rules. They all followed legal procedures and agreed with the county government's recruitment conditions.
"As for their origins, they have nothing to do with Qiu.
"Most of them were introduced by Chief Secretary Liu Zhang, and I don't even know the details of those people.
"Furthermore, Xinye County has such a large population and there is nothing suspicious about having a few foreigners doing business. Why do you have to be connected with me?
"Also, your statement about the horse-drawn carriage is also pure nonsense. It is based on your imagination. According to what you say, does it mean that our Xinye County government office has become a criminal base camp?
"Sir!" He turned to Cai Kun and said excitedly, "Xu Zun has no law and slanders the imperial officials. He is vicious and has a heart that can be punished. Please make the decision for me!"
"Well..." Cai Kun, who had not spoken for a long time, nodded slightly, pointed to the household registration books and said to Xu Zun, "Xu Zun, you are right, these household registration books alone can't explain anything at all! You still have
Is there no stronger evidence?"
"Yes," Xu Zun said, "It was just a small warm-up, and the real drama will come next!"
"You...what do you want me to say about you?" Cai Kun took a deep breath and blamed him, "Since you still have evidence, then go straight to the topic and prove it to us, okay?"
"No!" Xu Zun said casually and solemnly, "If you don't warm up, I'm afraid what I'm going to say next will scare you!"
"You..." Cai Kun frowned, angrily picked up the teacup next to him and said, "Okay, then you go ahead!"
After saying that, he pretended to take a leisurely sip of tea, but actually he was very anxious inside.
However, Cai Kun's words undoubtedly amounted to acquiescence to Xu Zun. Qiu Yongnian suddenly broke out in cold sweat on his forehead and could neither sit nor stand, looking extremely embarrassed.
"Magistrate Qiu," Xu Zun turned to Qiu Yongnian again and launched a new round of attacks, "Do you still remember the two corpses that Mr. Cai showed you at the beginning of the ceremony?
"Last night, a group of four of them sneaked into the village with oil barrels and wanted to burn the four corpses stored in the village.
"Fortunately, I had anticipated this and asked Mr. Cai to ambush the guards in advance and captured them on the spot.
"Unfortunately, Liang San and Cheng Wen committed suicide by taking poison on the spot, and only the other two were captured alive in the end!
"Master Cai, am I right?" Xu Zun raised his head and asked.
Cai Kun, who was drinking tea, almost spit out the tea. He quickly pressed the lid of the cup and nodded in recognition:
"Yes, this is indeed the case. The other two are being interrogated. They will definitely be recruited in a short time!"
ah?
oh?
Hearing the conversation between Xu Zun and Cai Kun, the scene was filled with confusion.
No one could figure it out. Xu Zun actually sang along with Cai Kun. How could this be the scene of a trial?
If Xu Zun hadn't been wearing handcuffs and shackles, I would have thought he was the chief judge!
"Magistrate Qiu," Xu Zun said to Qiu Yongnian with a hint of contentment, "Isn't it unexpected? In fact, there are no guerrilla generals in Gunan County, and there are no East Palace guards who can recognize the assassins.
"All of this is a trap set by Master Cai and I!
"You have indeed been fooled! Hum hum," Xu Zun rubbed his palms, "You have set me up so many times, and I finally retaliated once. How do you feel?"
After hearing Xu Zun's words, everyone became more and more confused.
However, no one noticed that Qiu Yongnian's body was shaking uncontrollably.
"Xu Zun," Qiu Yongnian suppressed his shock and gritted his teeth and said, "I can't understand what you said."
"Yes," the governor Li Yan couldn't help but said, "Xu Zun, whether he understands it or not, I can't understand either.
"Why did those people go to Yizhuang to burn the bodies? What's the point of doing so? Why do you say that this matter has something to do with Magistrate Qiu?"
Li Yan's question was also a question for everyone present.
Even Cai Kun, the leader of the Inner Guard Pavilion, leaned out half of his body, looking eager to know the answer.
"The reason why Qiu Yongnian sent people to Yizhuang to burn the corpses," Xu Zun said, "was not that he wanted to burn all of them, he just wanted to burn one of them."
As he spoke, he stepped forward to the four corpses lying flat in the court hall, and with a swipe, he lifted the white cloth from one of the corpses.
Under the white cloth, the body of the Taoist priest suddenly appeared.
The Taoist priest's uniform on the corpse has faded away, the face is twisted and ferocious, and it has been severely decomposed.
The strong smell of corpses emanated, causing all the officials to cover their mouths and noses.
"Xu Zun, don't talk nonsense," Qiu Yongnian scolded, "Why do you say I sent someone there?"
"Yes, Xu Zun," Cai Kun, who was sitting in the seat, reminded, "even though I deliberately set a trap in front of Magistrate Qiu, and then something happened in Yizhuang, you can't just say it casually!"
"This..." Qiu Yongnian's face turned dark, and cold sweat broke out on his cheeks.
Cai Kun's words were obviously insinuations.
"Xu Zun, let's get down to business," Cai Kun urged, "Tell me quickly, why did they insist on burning the Taoist priest's body?"
"The answer is very simple," Xu Zun pointed at the corpse and said, "This person is not a Japanese assassin at all!"
"What?"
"ah?"
"No way?"
All the officials present got up from their seats and leaned out, with deep puzzlement in their eyes.
"Not a Japanese assassin?" Cai Kun frowned and thought, but he also couldn't figure it out.
"Sir, please look," Xu Zun reached out and grabbed one of the Taoist priest's legs, pointing to the sutured toes and said, "Both sides of his toes are swollen. It is obvious that the suture injuries have not yet healed.
"Looking at the abscess flowing out of the suture holes, it means that his toe has not yet recovered, so the sutures were hurriedly removed..."
"Oh, I understand!" Cai Kun already understood, "The assassination incident occurred eleven years ago. If the injury on his foot was caused by the Ministry of Punishment, it should have been cured long ago!"
"Ah?" Li Yan's eyes widened, "So... this Taoist priest is not an assassin?"
After Li Yan finished speaking, he suddenly felt much more at ease.
If this Taoist priest is really not a Japanese assassin, doesn't it mean that the iron coffin case has nothing to do with the assassination of the Queen Mother, and then their Tangzhou government will not be implicated?
"It's not just the toe injury, all the injuries on his body are new injuries!" Xu Zun said, "It can't be more than a year at the earliest."
"Huh? No, no!" Unexpectedly, Chen Taiji suddenly objected, "Xu Zun, I have been in the Ministry of Justice for many years and have examined countless corpses. Based on the degree of wound healing alone, I can only distinguish new injuries within a few months.
"Unless you are a minor, you cannot tell the difference between an injury that has healed for a year and an old injury.
"Also, our Criminal Department is not a medical center. How can we be careful and careful in stitching up prisoners?" He pointed to the corpse, "His toes may just be old injuries that have not healed and are caused by infection. It cannot be concluded that they are new injuries."
After hearing Chen Taiji's words, everyone nodded.
As the censor of the Ministry of Punishment, Chen Taiji was not only proficient in autopsy, but also considered authoritative.
If he couldn't tell the difference, how could Xu Zun tell the difference?
So, everyone turned their curious eyes to Xu Zun, wanting to see what Xu Zun said?
"Chen Yushi," Xu Zun said after thinking for a few seconds, "If I can't prove that the deceased's injuries were new within a year, then you can't prove that these injuries were all from eleven years ago.
An old injury, right?”
"This?" Chen Taiji thought for a moment and nodded.
"In this case, we are even," Xu Zun said happily, "Let's move on to the next topic!"
