"Who are you?" The bailiff from the Ministry of Justice turned around and asked Yang Liuqing coldly.
Yang Liuqing looked at him and said faintly, "Yesterday, when Mr. Chen came here, I was there too. I was the one who fought with him."
The officer narrowed his eyes and said, "If that's the case, then take him away as well!"
The bailiffs behind her were holding shackles and chains in their hands. Just as they were about to step forward, Yang Liuqing raised her hand to stop them. She looked at them and asked, "Do you have the arrest warrant from the Ministry of Justice?"
One of the officers' face darkened and he said in a low voice, "How dare you! How dare you question the Ministry of Justice!"
Yangliuqing's voice grew colder. "If you don't have it, then put away your tricks. Do you really think you can do whatever you want just because you're from the Ministry of Justice?"
The leading officer's eyes flashed. He didn't expect this woman to know the Ministry of Justice's procedures so well. There were countless people watching the Ministry of Justice, so he couldn't go too far. Finally, he waved his hand and said, "It's just a summons. There's no need to shackle them. Take them away."
Yangliuqing looked behind him and saw that two people were missing. He turned around and said to Zeng Zuimo with a smile, "Don't worry, Miss Zeng. It'll be fine. Let's go."
"That Chen is dead?"
Zeng Zuimo's expression was still a bit dazed. Although she didn't have a good impression of Chen, she still felt a bit complicated when she saw a living person die just like that …
…
…
The main hall of the Ministry of Justice.
The words "Mirror of Eminence" were hung high in the hall. More than ten officers stood on two sides. As the chief judge, Assistant Minister Zhao sat in the main seat with a gloomy expression.
The faces of the two attendants were filled with doubt.
The Ministry of Justice was usually busy. Unless the Emperor personally ordered it, they were usually only responsible for the review of major cases. It was extremely rare to hear a case in court like this.
However, this case was different. The son of the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of Rites was poisoned to death. Coincidentally, the Chen family had a close relationship with the Public House of Chen. Early this morning, the Public House had pressured the Ministry of Justice. Otherwise, this kind of case would have been handed over to the local government. Why would the Ministry of Justice personally take over?
If one were to look deeper into the matter, the Ministry of Justice had actually stretched their hand a little too far this time.
The Assistant Minister of Justice asked with a solemn face, "What's the result of the autopsy?"
A white-haired old man stepped forward and said, "Sir, the deceased died of poisoning. There were bruises on his chest, but there were no fatal wounds on his body. A silver needle dipped in poison, as thin as a hair, was removed from his right arm. The time of death was between yesterday night and this morning. Based on this, the time of poisoning should be between yesterday afternoon and the fifth hour."
"My poor child, who did this to him? My Lord, you must uphold justice for us!" The tears on the face of a woman sitting at the side had yet to dry. At this time, she could not help but cry bitterly.
Assistant Minister Zhao glanced at her and said, "Madam Chen, this official can understand your feelings, but this is the main hall of the Ministry of Justice. Please be quiet and do not disturb this official's investigation."
"Come, help the madam out," a middle-aged man beside the woman said in a low voice. A middle-aged man next to the woman said in a low voice. Two maidservants immediately walked out and supported the woman as she left.
"I'll leave everything to Sir Zhao," he said after taking a deep breath and clasping his hands at Assistant Minister Zhao.
The reason he was able to sit here and listen today was because of the face of the Duke's Public House. Otherwise, the Ministry of Justice would not give him any face as he was just a small minister counsellor.
Assistant Minister Zhao nodded and slapped the gavel. Looking at the people kneeling in front of the hall, he asked, "This official asks you, from yesterday afternoon to the seventh hour, where did your young master go?"
A few of the servants who had been following Young Master Chen heard the sound of the gavel and couldn't help but tremble. One of the servants immediately replied, "Replying to my lord, the Young Master was at the Spring Fragrance Pavilion yesterday. When it was about midnight, he went to the Willow Lane to find Miss Zeng. After that, he stayed at the Spring Fragrance Pavilion until evening."
When these words were said, even the bailiffs at the side couldn't help but laugh. This Chen was really interesting, treating the brothel as if it was his own home.
Assistant Minister Zhao furrowed his brows and said, "Bring all the relevant personnel here."
A bailiff below replied, "Sir, Zeng Zuimo of Willow Alley has not arrived yet, but the madam of the Spring Fragrance Pavilion and the girls who had contact with Chen have all been brought here."
"Those?" Just as everyone was mulling over this phrase, they saw a gorgeously dressed middle-aged woman walk in from the outside with more than a dozen coquettish women.
"These people …" Assistant Minister Zhao furrowed his brows and asked, "These people are all …"
The bailiff said somewhat helplessly, "Sir, these girls are the ones who had contact with Chen yesterday …"
"Then the madam …"
"The madam … also had 'contact' with him." The bailiff's expression was somewhat awkward. He couldn't help but glance at the madam, his stomach rolling.
The face of the middle-aged man listening at the side twitched. Assistant Minister Zhao stilled, but before he could speak, the madam knelt down with a thud and sobbed, "Sir, you have wronged me. Even if this servant had all the courage in the world, this servant would not dare to harm Chen. Moreover, Chen is one of the top financial backers of our pavilion. This servant can't wait to welcome him, how could he …"
Assistant Minister Zhao said coldly, "This official has not asked a question. How can you shout in court? If you say another word, drag her away and give her twenty strokes of the paddle!"
The madam's throat seemed to be strangled, and her voice came to a sudden stop.
Assistant Minister Zhao looked at her and said, "From the moment Young Master Chen first stepped into the Spring Fragrance Pavilion yesterday, tell this official in detail everything that happened!"
"In detail?" The madam stilled and asked uncertainly.
"What, do you still have something you want to hide?" Assistant Minister Zhao looked coldly at her and asked in a cold voice.
"No, no!" The brothel keeper's expression changed and she immediately said, "Xiangxiang, quick, Young Master Chen is calling you first. You go first. Lianlian, Huahua, Feifei, the three of you are calling him second. Hurry up and prepare …"
"The three …"
Among the two rows of bailiffs, someone smacked his lips, an envious expression on his face.
… …
… …
In the Ministry of Justice, the door of a certain guard room slowly opened, and a fatigued Liu Yizhong walked out.
After reading through the files for another night, he still hadn't found any useful clues. At this time, his head was slightly dizzy. The Minister had claimed illness and was resting at home. He would probably have to wait until he returned before he could read those files that had already been sealed. In the next few days, he would temporarily focus his attention on the Supreme Court.
"Official Liu …"
Seeing him walk out, a person at the door immediately bowed.
"Let's go." Liu Yizhong waved his hand and walked out.
That person waved at someone nearby and said, "You guys, leave!"
At the door of the Ministry of Justice's main hall, a few people turned their heads. When they saw the two people walking out, their expressions were somewhat regretful. They reached out to adjust the position of something in unison and quickly followed.
On the street, Liu Yizhong walked with his head lowered. Behind him, a few people were discussing something in low voices. At a certain moment, he suddenly raised his head and saw a carriage driving over in front of him. A look of shock appeared on his face. "Sir?"
… …
… …
In the main hall of the Ministry of Justice, the bailiffs were all flushed from hearing this. Occasionally, they would secretly stretch out their hands or bend their backs slightly …
In the hall, the woman was still talking incessantly. "Chen is really amazing. He tormented me for almost an hour. Then he changed four positions, and there was Guanyin …"
"Shut up!"
Assistant Minister Zhao finally couldn't help but scold her angrily.
He stared at the woman and moved his hand that was on the wooden block under his body for a moment. He asked, "Are you saying that young master Chen once said that his right arm hurt?"
The woman nodded repeatedly and said, "He said it, he said it. When Chen entered the room, he said it, but we didn't pay attention to it at the time. Chen only took off his clothes to take a look. Then I also took off my clothes, and then … four positions …"
"Shut up!" Assistant Minister Zhao slammed the wooden block and said, "Alright, take them away first."
Although this wave of questioning made him want to die, he had also obtained some useful information.
Before the young master Chen entered the brothel, he had already been poisoned, but the poison had not acted up. With the brothel women as witnesses, this information should not be false and could be used to convince the public.
Moreover, the young master Chen had no grudge against the brothel women. These people also had no motive to kill him. In this case, the murderer was someone else.
"Have you brought the other suspects?" he asked again.
"Sir, they have arrived," a bailiff below replied.
The eyes of the assistant minister flashed and he said, "Bring them up."
Immediately, a few more figures walked out. Behind them were the bailiffs of the Ministry of Justice. In front of them were three women. One of them was tall and had a cold expression. She stood slightly at the front, and the two behind her all had pale faces.
"Miss … Miss …" Xiao Cui had never seen such a scene. She looked at the bailiffs with sticks in their hands and the dignified official holding Zeng Zuimo's hand. Her voice trembled slightly.
Seeing the three people standing in the middle of the hall, Assistant Minister Zhao said coldly, "Why don't you kneel before me?"
Just as Xiao Cui and Zeng Zuimo were about to kneel, Yangliuqing reached out to support them. He looked up at Assistant Minister Zhao and said, "Why should we kneel?"
"Hm?" Assistant Minister Zhao's eyes were slightly cold.
"Your Jing Kingdom …" Yangliuqing looked at him and said. After realizing that something was wrong, he stopped and said, "The crime has not been determined. The Jing Kingdom does not have a law that forbids kneeling before a trial."
"How dare you!" Assistant Minister Zhao's expression changed, and he slammed the gavel down.
Yangliuqing's expression did not change. He only patted Zeng Zuimo and Xiao Cui's hands to comfort them.
"Sir, he was the one who attacked the young master yesterday and even sent him flying with a kick!" A servant of the Chen Estate saw Yangliuqing and immediately pointed him out.
"Are there any other witnesses?" Assistant Minister Zhao no longer cared about what the woman had just said because the Jing Kingdom did not have a law that forbids kneeling before a trial. It would be disadvantageous for him to pursue the matter, so he could not let her stall for time.
"Many people saw what happened yesterday." A bailiff nodded slightly and turned around to shout, "Bring a witness!"
"They saw it. That young master wanted to take liberties with the young lady, but he was beaten up by that heroine."
"You mean that young master yesterday? He has already looked for that young lady more than ten times, but he did not even enter the door."
"That heroine's martial arts are amazing. She sent several grown men flying with one kick. It was really enjoyable to watch …"
…
…
The crowd eating melon seeds did not hide anything and recounted what they had seen with their own eyes yesterday.
"Both the witness and the evidence are here. What else do you have to say?" The assistant minister asked coldly. "You could not stand the young master of the Chen family's harassment, so you decided to poison him to death. You had a motive to kill him, and it also coincided with the time he was poisoned. What else do you have to say?"
At the side of the court, the middle-aged man frowned. Although he also wanted to catch the culprit, he had a feeling that the matter was not so simple.
Would a mere commoner girl have the guts to poison his son to death?
"We did have a conflict with him yesterday, but it had nothing to do with the poisoning. The witness and evidence that Sir spoke of have nothing to do with this matter," Yangliuqing said in a tone that was neither servile nor overbearing.
"Hmph, the evidence is irrefutable, and you still want to deny it. It seems that if I don't let you suffer a little, you will not admit it." Assistant Minister Zhao of the Ministry of Justice snorted coldly and said, "Come, execute them!"
Xiao Cui's body trembled as she asked in a trembling voice, "Miss, miss, what, what is torture?"
Zeng Zuimo's face paled. Torture was a punishment specially used on women. It was to pierce holes in a wooden stick and connect them with a string. The victim's fingers would be placed in the middle of the stick and the string would be tightened on both sides. This could easily cripple both hands …
She relied on her hands to paint and play the guqin. If …
Thinking of this, she tightened her grip on Xiao Cui's hand.
"Is it too late …" Yangliuqing looked back and saw that the bailiff had already taken out the instruments of torture. He shook his head slightly and reached into his sleeve.
Xiao Cui's face was pale. The moment she saw the instruments of torture, she knew what they were used for. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she still suppressed her fear and stood beside Zeng Zuimo.
Assistant Minister Zhao stood up from above and said, "I will give you one more chance. If you still do not admit to your crimes, don't blame me for being merciless."
"If you want to incriminate someone, how do you admit to it?" Zeng Zuimo said through gritted teeth.
"Use torture!" His expression darkened as he threw down a stick.
Six bailiffs walked towards the three people.
Yangliuqing sighed softly and took out a piece of silk from his sleeve.
Several figures walked out from the outside in a single file.
The young man walking at the front looked somewhat thin, and there was a trace of fatigue on his face. However, his voice was powerful and resonant.
"The Secret Intelligence Bureau is handling a case. Unauthorized personnel, please leave!"
The bailiff and the two officials from the Ministry of Justice were startled when they saw this. Even the bailiffs holding the instruments of torture did not move.
Not to mention that they knew this young man, just the clothes that they were wearing were enough to intimidate people. They did not dare to make any strange movements.
"Liu Yiyi …" Assistant Minister Zhao looked at him with a dark expression and squeezed out a few words from between his teeth.
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