Jiuxi

Chapter 608 Chapter 606 [Minister of Punishment]

The Duke's Mansion, front hall.

"Your subordinate greets you, sir."

A middle-aged civil servant performed the ceremony in a polite and respectful manner.

Lu Chen said calmly: "No need to be polite, Mr. Gao, please take a seat."

The two of them sat down as host and guest.

The person who came was the Minister of Justice Gao Huan.

The man has a yellowish complexion, a short beard on his chin, a cold gaze, and straight eyebrows. He has a natural aura of majesty without even getting angry.

Of course Lu Chen would not feel uncomfortable. Firstly, he had met this Shangshu Gao many times in court meetings before, and secondly, he was very familiar with Gao Huan's family background.

At this moment, he was only impressed by Xue Nanting's swift and decisive action. Just yesterday, he said that he would ask all departments to cooperate with him in investigating the case, and today the chief of the Ministry of Justice took the initiative to visit him.

After the greetings, Gao Huan said in a serious tone, "The assassination of the emperor is a matter of utmost importance. I dare not delay. Now the case is under the overall investigation of the public. The Ministry of Justice is ready to respond to your orders at any time."

"Minister Gao is thoughtful." Lu Chen said straight to the point, "But I may not need to trouble the brothers in the Ministry of Justice."

"Uh?"

Gao Huan was shocked, and then asked with some surprise: "Could it be that the master has found out the mastermind behind this?"

Lu Chen picked up the teacup, moved the teacup, and said slowly: "Two assassins who were mixed in the craftsmen's team have confessed."

And then there was no further news.

Gao Huan couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.

As the chief judge of the current dynasty, he should have been the chief judge of this major case. However, the emperor brought Lu Chen out, and he didn't even have the courage to object.

At this moment, of course, he wanted to know the inside story of the case because he had something hidden in his heart.

Gao Huan felt a headache whenever he thought of what his cousin Gao Que had mentioned in private.

His advancement from a second-class Jinshi to his current position as Minister of Justice was naturally inseparable from the support of the Longlin Gao family in all aspects. In this era when etiquette and law are extremely important, he must devote his heart and soul to his own clan.

Last night he learned from Gao Que that there were two assassins related to the Gao family, and he couldn't sleep the whole night.

He had also heard of Ning Bugui's name in the past, but this person had disappeared for many years. Who would have thought that he would suddenly appear again, and cause such a big fuss as soon as he appeared. What's more troublesome is that he insisted on involving the Gao family.

In fact, the matter did not have to come to this dilemma for him.

If Gao Que could be more decisive and kill Ning Bugui on the spot, or get the specific plan from him, or at the very least, as long as he could find out the identity of the assassin sent by Ning Bugui, Gao Huan would be willing to pay a certain price to report the matter to the emperor.

All we can say is that Gao Que was used to being the head of a leisurely and noble family, and he had no idea about the vicious minds of the underworld people, so he was severely played by Ning Bugui.

Now that the assassins have taken action, the Gao family is in a state of chaos, and it is either dirt or shit.

At the very least, he cannot escape the charge of being an accomplice to assassination. Even though he is only an accomplice, this is also a serious crime punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of the entire clan!

At this point, Gao Huan can only take things one step at a time and temporarily meet Ning Bugui's demands. At the same time, he should try his best to find a way to get rid of this hidden danger. The most urgent task is to find out the progress of the case.

"Mr. Gao?"

Gao Huan was awakened from his deep thoughts when Lu Chen's calm voice came. He realized that he had lost his mind in front of this young Duke, and hurriedly said, "Please forgive me, my lord. I still can't figure out who is so bold as to assassinate the emperor in front of the imperial mausoleum, so I can't control myself for a while."

"It doesn't matter."

Lu Chen spoke in a gentle tone, looking at the Minister of Justice thoughtfully, and said lightly: "Minister Gao, do you want to know who the mastermind behind the two assassins confessed to being?"

Gao Huan was not an ordinary person who had never seen the world. Although the Ministry of Justice could not be compared with the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Rites, he had been in this position for seven years and was accustomed to the intrigues in the court. How could he not hear the mystery in Lu Chen's question?
He calmed down and said calmly: "If you think there is something fishy, ​​perhaps I can help you figure it out."

He kept a low profile and answered very skillfully, without expressing his attitude hastily.

Seeing this, Lu Chen said bluntly: "The two assassins said that they were instructed by Li Zongjian to assassinate Your Majesty."

Gao Huan had already prepared himself mentally, so he said in shock: "Lieutenant Fengguo?!"

Lu Chen said: "That's right."

"This this……"

Gao Huan hesitated several times, and it seemed that he didn't know whether he should believe this conclusion. Lu Chen took a sip of the fragrant tea, then put the teacup on the table and asked, "Minister Gao, don't you believe it?"

Gao Huan frowned and said, "This matter is of great importance. It is difficult for me to tell the truth from the falsehood in such a hurry."

"I want to hear your opinion, so feel free to speak frankly."

"Since your Excellency has said so, then I will say a few words. Judging from Lieutenant Fengguo's previous performance, he is indeed likely to do such a treasonous thing. After all, the late emperor's sons are only the present emperor and him, and the present emperor's son, Prince Yanning, is too young. If the emperor's carriage is in trouble, Lieutenant Fengguo will undoubtedly benefit the most."

"So Minister Gao is still inclined to believe that these two assassins were sent by Li Zongjian?"

"I am not sure. Perhaps you can present the assassin's confession to the emperor and let His Majesty make the judgment."

Until this point, Gao Huan felt that there should not be any major problems with his response.

Lu Chen shook his head and said, "I think this is an obvious frame-up."

Gao Huan choked slightly.

Lu Chen then briefly described the information of the two assassins, and then asked, "Did Minister Gao gain anything?"

Gao Huan pondered and said, "These two are indeed suitable to be assassins. Yang Shunzhi is alone, and even if he is cut into pieces, he will not implicate others. As long as there is someone worth sacrificing his life for, he will be willing to do such a treasonous act. Although Wan Yingqian still has family, they are not blood relatives after all. It is hard to say what kind of relationship he has with his adoptive father's family."

"Yes, one has no relatives and the other is cold-blooded and ruthless. They are very suitable to be assassins."

Lu Chen looked relaxed and said slowly, "Minister Gao has been immersed in criminal law for decades, but he can't see the biggest flaw here. I am really surprised."

Gao Huan asked somewhat unnaturally: "What do you mean, sir?"

Lu Chen looked into his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Two assassins who are so suitable for this crime, and who committed a capital crime punishable by extermination of the family and property, couldn't even survive a day and couldn't wait to reveal the name of the mastermind behind the scenes. Minister Gao actually thinks this is okay?"

Gao Huan was stunned.

This is indeed a paradoxical result.

Ordinary people simply don't have the courage to kill the king. Although the emperor was on the altar at that time and was not surrounded by court guards like usual, that was only a relative space.

There were thousands of civil and military officials, relatives with military honors, and royal family members in front of the imperial mausoleum. In addition, masters from the court guards, imperial army, and the weaving bureau were scattered all around. In such a solemn occasion, how many people dared to take action?

If these two assassins did not have enough courage and determination, they would be trembling in fear if the situation really happened.

Just because they dared to take action, it proved that they were not ordinary people. How could such people confess in just a few words?
Gao Huan made a very fatal mistake.

At that moment just now, all he thought about was the request that Ning Bugui asked Gao Que to convey, that the assassin's confession could be delivered to the emperor as soon as possible, but he ignored the caution and meticulousness that he, as the Minister of Justice, must have in this matter.

As his mind raced, he quickly said humbly, "Your Excellency has been very thoughtful. I am far inferior to you. It seems that these two assassins have other intentions and want to stir up a fight among the royal family. They deserve death!"

Lu Chen found this matter more and more interesting.

He originally just felt that this Shangshu Gao was a little abnormal today, but he didn't expect that the other party's flaws would appear one after another. He immediately said, "In fact, there is no perfect conspiracy in this world."

Gao Huan suppressed his panic and said respectfully, "I'd like to hear more details."

Lu Chen said calmly: "These two assassins are not people who appeared out of thin air. There are traces of their past lives, so we only need to spend a little more time to find out some unusual details. Generally speaking, the powerful and wealthy will give the best treatment to the assassins they raise, and they will do everything they can to relieve the worries of the assassins. This is not something that can be done by just giving some money."

Gao Huan listened more seriously.

Lu Chen continued, "But these two assassins are obviously not the traditional kind of assassins, so why are they willing to do this for the mastermind? Judging from human nature, there is only one possibility. They owe someone a great favor and must repay it with their lives. This person must be a life-and-death friend with whom they have a similar temperament. In this case, we only need to start a detailed investigation from Yang Shunzhi's relatives and friends, Wan Yingqian's adoptive father's family, and the craftsmen who built the imperial mausoleum, and we will probably find the answer."

Gao Huan looked at the handsome young face, his throat rolling subconsciously, cold sweat gradually appeared on his back, and he managed to remain calm and said: "My Lord, you are very insightful. I have no choice but to respect you."

Lu Chen smiled faintly and said slowly: "Check the interactions between these two people in the past years. The key is to find out what kind of difficult troubles they have encountered and who helped them solve these troubles. Then we can know who has done them a great favor, and the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes will be revealed. When that time comes, the court can follow the clues and dig out all the people related to this mastermind behind the scenes. Those who should be confiscated will have their property confiscated, and those who should be beheaded will be beheaded."

Gao Huan's face turned slightly pale.

Lu Chen paused, squinted his eyes and looked at him, and asked meaningfully: "Sir Gao, do you think this will work?"

There was an uncomfortable silence.

After a long while, Gao Huan suddenly stood up and bowed, forcing a smile that was uglier than crying, and said in a trembling voice: "I am guilty, please save me, sir!"

Lu Chen was unmoved and asked in confusion, "Sir Shangshu, what are you talking about?"

Gao Huan looked dejected and sighed.

(End of this chapter)