When Ji Xingxuan's head maidservant, Yun He, was asked by Guo Huaian whether Ji Xuan had taken the Yellowfrost Stone to exchange with Yu Shu for Yunhua Yi Zi's exam paper, she panicked for a moment before quickly replying, "In reply to Official, this servant has never heard of Yunhua Yi Zi's exam paper. This servant only knows that the stone was stolen when Miss was shopping."
"Slap!"
"Audacious servant, you dare to lie in front of this official?" Guo Huaian's expression was stern as he slammed the gavel in his hand. Yun He was so frightened that her entire body trembled. She lowered her head and braced herself to say, "Official has wronged me. This servant does not dare to lie."
Guo Huaian ignored her and turned his gaze to Yu Shu, "Miss Yu, tell me, how did you get the Yellowfrost Stone back from Ji Xingxuan's hands?"
Yu Shu had been waiting for him to speak, so she took a step forward and said seriously, "Official Bing, this student doesn't dare to hide the truth. Last November, the Dayan Examination was near, so I asked a friend who studied at the Imperial Historian's Library to help me sneak into the library. There, I happened to meet Fourth Miss Ji and another female student from the library. Because the Imperial Historian's Library has a clear rule that outsiders are forbidden from entering the library, I was afraid that they would see me and implicate my friend, so I hid in a corner and wanted to wait for them to leave before coming out.
Who knew that the two of them would rummage through the books! "Yu Shu first told him how she got the Yunhua Yi Zi's exam paper and accidentally saw the Yellowfrost Stone that Ji Xingxuan was wearing. Then, she told how she got the Yellowfrost Stone back," Although that Yellowfrost Stone belonged to Daozi, he had lost his memory at that time, so we didn't know how it ended up in someone else's hands. For safety reasons, we couldn't ask Miss Ji for it in person, but I knew that this item was very important to Daozi and needed to be retrieved as soon as possible. So, I thought of using that exam paper to exchange with Miss Ji. "
Guo Huaian frowned and asked, "How did you know that they would ask for this exam paper and exchange it with you? This matter of stealing questions is a private matter. How did you know that Yunhua Yi Zi's examination paper was this year's Dayan examination paper? "
Yu Shu smiled bitterly and said, "Replying to Daren's question, at first, I didn't know that it was this year's examination question. It was only when I saw them looking for it anxiously that I thought it was something important. Later on, I heard from a friend that this Yi Zi's examination paper was a unique collection. Coupled with the fact that Daren had personally set the questions and personally graded them, I thought that it might be this year's examination question. Thus, I tried to write a letter anonymously and sent it to Miss Ji, claiming that I had the Yi Zi's examination paper that she was looking for. I asked her to come to Kunyuan Street's Eternal Spring Square at noon the next day for an exchange. In the end, she did come that day, but I didn't show up. Instead, I wrote a note asking her to place the Yellowfrost Stone in an old beggar's begging bowl and take it away during the chaos. At the same time, I asked Daozi to hand that paper to Miss Ji."
Guo Huaian turned his head to ask Jing Chen, "Daozi, did you personally hand over your father's examination paper to Miss Ji?"
At this point, he reminded everyone of Jing Chen's identity. Coincidentally, he had unknowingly handed over his father's examination paper to someone else.
"Yes, I still remember that it was raining that day. I wore a bamboo hat to cover my face and handed the umbrella with the examination paper to her." Jing Chen recalled truthfully.
At this time, Ji Xingxuan, who had been kneeling on the ground without making a sound, suddenly raised her head. She looked at Jing Chen with an ugly expression. She also remembered the scene of him handing over the umbrella in the rain that day. At that time, she thought that he had good intentions. Who knew that today, he would actually put them to death.
She turned her head to look at the people in the hall. Unexpectedly, there was no one who could speak up for them. As for the Ninth Prince, who had promised to help her yesterday, she did not know why he had not appeared yet. She felt that she had no way out today and was in such dire straits. She then looked at the person standing in front of her, who used to live under someone else's roof and had no one to rely on. Now, she was immaculately dressed and had ascended to a higher level. Other than hatred, she felt nothing else.
After Guo Huaian finished asking Jing Chen, he went to ask Xue Rui and another junior official who were sitting at the side listening to the interrogation, "Has it been verified that the question for this year's Astrology section is the same question that Yunhua Yi Zi answered in the Dayan examination twenty years ago?"
Xue Rui was prepared since a long time ago. As soon as he was asked, he passed the file in his hand to the advisor and said, "Sir, please take a look. I've already verified it, and it's indeed the same question from twenty years ago."
Guo Huaian looked at the record and went to ask Ren Qiming, who was sitting on his left, "Junior Supervisor Ren, is the question for this year's Astrology section really based on Yunhua Yi Zi's answer paper?"
Ren Qiming said expressionlessly, "Before the examination, other than the major points, the answer for this section should only be known by the lord who was in charge of storing Yi Zi's examination paper and that paper."
Guo Huaian asked, "Which lord was in charge of storing the examination paper?"
"It was the Right Commander of the Celestial Commissioner in the past, the late Old Mister Qin Fangqi."
Guo Huaian furrowed his brows. He thought that even if Ji Huaishan really stole the question, it was impossible for him to do it alone. Since the case was handed over to him to investigate, it was better to find out all the people involved and not just sentence Ji Huaishan but let the others escape.
With this thought in mind, he wasn't in a hurry to show the material evidence he obtained from the Celestial Commissioner.
In order to catch all the officials involved in the fraud, Guo Huaian's expression became more severe. He turned his head and looked at the grandfather and grandson who were kneeling on the ground. Instead of directly asking Ji Huaishan, he coldly questioned Ji Xingxuan, "Ji Xingxuan, you heard what Daozi and Miss Yu said. You still won't tell the truth. Did you already know the question for this year's examination? That's why you were willing to exchange a treasure like the Yellowfrost Stone for that examination paper. This official wants to ask you, which family's young miss went with you to the library to find the examination paper that day? Did she also know the question for this year's examination? "
"Your Excellency, you're innocent!"
Before Ji Xingxuan could say anything, the maidservant Yun He, who was eager to protect Ji Xingxuan, suddenly cried out. She knelt on the ground and hurriedly explained, "Our young miss rarely goes anywhere other than to the study garden. Eternal Spring Workshop is a restaurant, how could it be a place our young miss would go to? She has never been there before, not to mention Yi Zi's exam paper. She has never even heard of it. It is clear that Yu Shu and Daozi colluded to frame our master and young miss!"
"Slap!"
It was taboo to make a fuss in court. As soon as she finished shouting, Guo Huaian's face darkened as he slammed the table, "This official is asking your young miss a question. Why do I need you to answer for me? If you make any more noise, I'll slap you. Leave now!"
Yun He looked indignant and wanted to argue, but she heard Ji Xingxuan call her in a low voice, "Yun He, shut up."
Yun He bit her lip and reluctantly shut her mouth. Before she left, she did not forget to glare fiercely at Yu Shu.
Yu Shu secretly rolled her eyes. Why are you glaring at me? It's not like I don't want you to speak. I can't wait for you to shout a few more sentences so that someone can slap you.
"Your Excellency," Ji Xingxuan took two steps forward and raised her head. Her pale face was full of bitterness. "I scored one hundred yuan in astrology during the ninth year of Zhao Qing and was selected to study at the Imperial Historian's Library. After three years of hard work, I'll shamelessly boast that among the students at the Imperial Historian's Library, there are only two who can surpass me in astrology. When it comes to the examination, how many can compare to me? Let me ask you, why would Grandfather need to take the risk to steal the questions? Why would I need to cheat? "
Ji Xingxuan's words were ingenious. She did not directly deny cheating, but from another angle, proved that she did not need to cheat.
If there was no other evidence, Guo Huaian might have believed her words. However, with solid evidence in his hands, everything she said now sounded like sophistry to him.
Guo Huaian was known as the 'White King of Hell', so his methods were naturally not gentle. His face darkened and he took out a fire stick from the Red Dragon Tube on the table. He coldly shouted, "There are two testimonies, yet you still want to deny it. It seems that you are hoping to get lucky. Guards, use the Seven Fingers and torture!"
When he finished speaking, he threw the fire stick on the ground. The officials in the hall responded. Ji Huaishan and Ji Xingxuan were both shocked. The Seven Fingers were a kind of torture device made of five pieces of wood. Two pieces were used in a set and were specially used on female criminals. The ten fingers were connected to the heart, so one could imagine the pain. Women who could not endure it would often confess after the fingers were caught. If they could endure it, their fingers would be crippled. Years later, they would suffer from cold weather and bone pain. They would not even be able to write.
Yu Shu saw the frightened look on the father and son's faces. At first, she didn't know what kind of torture they were going to use. However, when she saw the officials take out the wooden clamps, she knew what they were going to be used for. At that moment, she really wanted to throw her head back and laugh out loud. What was this called? It was really karma. That day, one of her fingers was twisted off and she almost died from the pain. Today, she wanted to let Ji Xingxuan have a taste of this.
The officials took out the torture device and went to pull Ji Xingxuan. Without any explanation, he grabbed her arm and wanted to put the clamps on. Ji Xingxuan was already in a panic. When she saw the bloodstains on the Seven Fingers, she could almost smell the stench of blood. She felt her ears go numb and her face was full of fear. Her whole body trembled and she even forgot to struggle. "Daren, daren, please wait.
Please don't torture me. "Ji Huaishan's face was pale with fright. He struggled to crawl up from the ground and faced Guo Huaian. He stretched out his hands and pressed them in the air, then put his palms together and bowed, begging for mercy. However, Guo Huaian was unmoved. He glanced at him and coldly ordered," Torture me. "
The officials were used to doing this. In the blink of an eye, they put the torture device on her ten fingers. Without even saying a word, they forcefully pulled on her left and right.
"Ah!"
Ji Xingxuan screamed in pain. She suddenly shrank her shoulders, her face drained of blood. Tears gushed out of her eyes and her beautiful eyes lost their luster.
Yu Shu suddenly felt a little uncomfortable when she saw how she looked like she was about to die. She turned her head away and stopped looking at her. Her right hand stroked the little finger on her left hand that was wrapped up and still couldn't feel anything.
Right at this moment, Ji Huaishan suddenly flared up. He crawled two steps forward and pushed the officials. He stood in front of Ji Xingxuan, blocking the torture.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
