Ministry of Justice.
Fang Tong, Bingzheng, and Jang Wen were kneeling on the ground.
Because the Minister of Justice, Lord Huang, and the Assistant Minister were dismissed, the official who temporarily took over the position was Liu He, who was transferred from the Ministry of Personnel.
He was sitting on the throne, staring at the three people on the ground with his sharp eyes.
He questioned, "Today, the trial of Du Mubai's poem theft will begin. The three of you are related to this case. Tell us the truth one by one."
He was very intimidating!
As the main culprit, Bingzheng spoke first, "Your Excellency, this matter was started by me alone. I have wronged Du Mubai."
He took the initiative to bear the responsibility.
Fang Tong and Jang Wen heaved a sigh of relief.
Liu He was in the Ministry of Personnel and had always been in charge of the conduct of officials. Therefore, he was much stricter than Lord Huang.
In short, he had to be fair!
After listening to Bingzheng's words, he did not continue to question him. Instead, he looked at the other two and continued to interrogate them, "What about you? Why did you help Bingzheng make a false testimony? To wrongly accuse him? " Fang Tong kowtowed loudly and shouted that he was wronged, "Your Excellency, please understand. We were also deceived by Bingzheng because he is too honest and trustworthy. Before this, he did write poems in his room every day. Du Mubai, on the other hand, was out for three days a day. How could he have the mood to write poems?
Poems? That's why we believed Bingzheng's words and helped him make a false testimony. We didn't know that! We shouldn't have wronged Du Mubai. Please give us a lighter sentence for the sake of our ignorance, Your Excellency. "
He was a knowledgeable person and was familiar with the laws and regulations.
"Give them a lighter sentence" and "forgive them" were obviously two different meanings.
The former meant repentance and guilt, while the latter meant nothing.
He was a scholar after all!
His skill with words was quite good.
Liu He frowned. His meaning was thought-provoking. He then looked at Jang Wen, "What do you say?"
Jang Wen trembled and slowly raised his head.
He also followed suit.
He said, "Your Excellency, what Fang Tong said is exactly what I wanted to say. We are both victims. We were deceived by Bingzheng. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have been implicated, and Du Mubai wouldn't have been branded a thief. The main culprit is Bingzheng."
As he spoke, he pointed a finger at Bingzheng.
An expression of annoyance and blame appeared on his face.
But Bingzheng was still kneeling coldly and quietly.
His gaze landed on the ground. He didn't care what others said!
He was prepared to die.
Liu He couldn't help but frown, "Then according to what you're saying, the two of you are innocent?"
Jang Wen replied, "Of course not, but …"
He immediately realized that he might have said the wrong thing.
In a moment of confusion, he placed all the blame on Bingzheng's head and completely removed himself from the blame. This was somewhat contrary to Fang Tong's previous words of "dealing with him leniently."
When he glanced at Fang Tong in panic, what he got in response was Fang Tong's exasperated look.
A good game was going to be ruined by him just like that! Fang Tong had to swallow his anger and hurriedly said, "Your Excellency, Jang Wen didn't mean that. We wronged Du Mubai only because we believed Bingzheng's words. Bingzheng should be the one to blame, and the two of us are also accomplices. It's just that we were really ignorant and didn't know how to think.
Please forgive us for the sake that we didn't do it on purpose. "
Another sentence of "dealing with him leniently" turned the situation around.
Liu He had been in the Ministry of Personnel for many years and had seen a lot of messy things in the officialdom. He had also seen a lot of words!
Of course, he could tell whether Fang Tong and Jang Wen were humans or ghosts.
He was also a straightforward person. His thick black eyebrows rose high as he said, "Du Mubai was a gifted scholar and entered the House of Marquis Pingyang as a disciple. Not many people can obtain such an honor. I'm afraid the two of you are clearly jealous, so you did not distinguish right from wrong and wrongly accused him."
"Your Excellency, please understand. We would never do that."
"Whether he is a human or a ghost, the two of you know very well."
"It's really because we believed Bingzheng's words that we …"
Liu He interrupted them, "Don't say anymore! I understand what you mean. "
Fang Tong's face turned red. He had to admit that he was indeed jealous of Du Mubai. Liu He, who had temporarily taken over Lord Huang's position, was indeed a very smart person.
Since the official had ordered him to shut up, he naturally could not explain. It was as uncomfortable as being skinned and exposed to the sun.
It was more like being poked in the pit of his stomach.
Liu He did not want to listen to the two of them bicker anymore. Instead, his gaze fell on Bingzheng, who looked gentle and weak.
He had already seen this person's file. He was born in a poor family and had an old grandmother. This person usually did not like to talk and kept a low profile. He never talked much with others. He was a completely unsophisticated person.
Why would such a person wrongly accuse others of stealing?
Liu He did not believe that one could know a person's face but not his heart!
He asked, "Bingzheng, let me ask you again. Did you do this on purpose? Or is there another reason? If there is, just say it. I will help you. This is the main hall of the Ministry of Justice. No one can do anything to you! "
At this moment, Fang Tong and Jang Wen both looked at Bingzheng.
Their eyeballs seemed to be about to fall out of their sockets.
They stared hard at Bingzheng, warning him not to talk nonsense.
Otherwise … Bingzheng lowered his head and did not notice their eyes at all. He slowly raised his empty and tired eyes to meet Liu He's serious gaze. He said, "Your Excellency, I have already said what I wanted to say. This matter is all my fault. I did it because I was jealous.
I was jealous of Du Mubai, so I wrongly accused him. Fang Tong and Jang Wen were also deceived by me. That's why they agreed to testify for me. I will admit to all the crimes. You can do whatever you want to me! "
After saying that, he once again fell to the ground heavily.
His forehead hit the ground.
"Peng!"
Everyone who saw it felt painful.
Fang Tong and Jang Wen heaved a sigh of relief again.
Liu He's heart was still beating fast. He did not know why, but his intuition told him that Bingzheng must be hiding something.
But now that the facts were in front of him, he had no time to think about other things.
While he was silent, the director of the Ministry of Justice walked to his side and bent down to remind him, "Your Excellency, it's time to judge the case."
"Got it."
Then you should judge!
He dilly-dallied for a long time.
If it were Lord Huang, he would have already slammed the case.
Liu He had never worked in the Ministry of Justice, but as an official of the Ministry of Personnel, he was well aware of the procedures of handling cases. That was why the higher-ups had assigned him here.
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