A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 166 The Truth Revealed to the World (52)

The constables were ruthless, dragging the man out as easily as if he were a chick. However, after only a few blows, the physician's head lolled to the side and he fainted!

The constable brought over a basin of water and poured it over the doctor's head. The doctor woke up again and cried out, "Stop hitting me! I'll confess, I'll confess, okay?"

So when they dragged him back, the physician was noticeably more honest. He said, "Your Honor, I am Xia Changxin. The person who instructed me to poison Madam Liu is already dead! It's not that I'm unwilling to confess, but I'm worried that Your Honor won't believe me!"

"The mastermind is dead?" Song Shuyu was taken aback. "Who was it?"

The physician stammered and whispered, "It's Madam Li Yunyao, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Liu family!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall was shocked. In his anger, Liu Pei immediately shouted, "You audacious quack! You dare to slander the First Madam? I'll chop off your dog's head!"

"My lord, look at this situation, how could I dare to tell the truth?" The physician shrugged, looking embarrassed.

Song Shuyu slammed his gavel and said sternly, "No noise in the courtroom! Xia Changxin, confess everything truthfully. If you utter even a single falsehood, I will punish you severely!"

"I wouldn't dare!" The physician was horrified. He swallowed hard and recounted the whole story: "Half a year ago, the eldest young master died of illness. Li Yunyao approached me and gave me a thousand taels of silver, asking me to give Madam Liu a slow-acting poison called Seven Insect Flower. I had never seen so much money in my life, and in a moment of confusion, I agreed. After that, under the guise of taking Madam Liu's pulse, I tricked her into taking the poison, causing her to develop the false symptoms of palpitations. She was then given one pill a month to keep her alive until... until Madam Liu died from her palpitations."

Song Shuyu exclaimed in surprise, "Why would Li Yunyao poison Madam Liu? If it was to avenge her mother Yang Caiyu, then she should have poisoned Liu Changqing instead!"

"I don't know. I'm just doing this for money, I have no right to ask about the reasons of the benefactor." The physician shook his head, his expression sincere.

"Coroner Mu," Song Shuyu leaned closer to Mu Qingcheng and asked in a low voice, "Do you believe him?"

Mu Qingcheng thought for a moment and said, "I don't think it's very credible. Although Li Yunyao is dead and there's no way to verify it, given Li Yunyao's high-profile and open style, she wouldn't do something like a sneaky assassination. Besides, there was no direct conflict or hatred between Li Yunyao and Madam Liu, so it doesn't make sense."

Song Shuyu nodded, then asked, "Xia Changxin, words alone are not enough. Do you have any evidence?"

"Your Excellency, there is no evidence." The physician looked pale. "When Li Yunyao came to discuss things with me, she did so in private, so no one can testify. As for the thousand taels of silver, I've already spent it all on houses, land, and shops."

Song Shuyu sneered: "Without evidence, you're not far from death!"

The physician banged his head repeatedly, almost crying in desperation. "But...but I really can't produce any evidence! Otherwise, why wouldn't I confess? It's because I'm afraid you won't believe me!"

"Where is the property deed?"

"Have!"

"Where are the receipts for the money transactions?"

"Have!"

Song Shuyu immediately sent people to verify the information.

Then, Song Shuyu ordered someone to remove the handkerchief from Liu Changqing's mouth and asked, "Liu Changqing, do you admit to Liu Pei's accusations against you?"

"Cough cough—" Liu Changqing coughed violently, panting heavily, looking utterly dejected like a punctured tumbleweed. "What's the point of admitting it or not?"

Song Shuyu curled her lips into a lazy yet sinister smile. "How could it be meaningless? Li Mu, Huang Yiyi, Shuangcui, Linglong, Yang Caiyu, and the five children who fought with Liu Pei more than ten years ago, who used the imperial physician Liu Yu to poison people—don't they deserve a confession from the murderer?"

“Fine, I confess. I killed all these people. Are you satisfied, Lord Song?” Liu Changqing propped himself up halfway from the ground, his eyes full of provocation.

Song Shuyu waved outside, "The prisoner doesn't want to talk properly, teach him some manners."

The constable rushed in and asked, "Sir, should we finish the remaining forty strokes all at once?"

"How much to administer, and in how many batches, depends on whether he understands the situation."

"Yes!"

Liu Changqing angrily retorted, "Lord Song, if you want to kill, then kill! Stop humiliating me!"

Song Shuyu, unusually good-tempered, said, "The criminals are here, and the court is trying cases. Do you think this is an army in war? We must act according to the law and regulations, understand?"

"You..." Liu Changqing trembled with rage, "Fine, I admit it, I'll confess properly!"

Song Shuyu straightened his posture and said sternly, "Tell me all the people you have personally killed, and all the people you have assigned Liu Pei or other assassins to kill. Don't leave anyone out!"

"The first person I killed was Lei Tuo, the bandit who kidnapped my wife. I threw his body into the mountains to feed the wolves. The second person was Yang, Liu Pei's wet nurse. She heard about Liu Pei's background, so I killed her to silence her. The third person was five beggars I found and trained Liu Pei to kill. I can't remember their names, but they were all orphans without parents. The fourth person was someone I instructed Liu Pei to use the imperial physician Liu Yu to poison Mu Yan's wife, Bai Li, because she refused to concoct medicine for me and refused to hand over medical books..."

"What did you say?"

Mu Qingcheng slammed his fist down, and the desk in front of him shattered with a "crack"!
Song Shuyu was a martial artist after all, and his perception of danger was better than that of ordinary people. He dodged in time and was not injured at all. However, the broken wood that broke off hit Ji Yue on the forehead, who was completely unprepared!

Blood streamed down his forehead, and Ji Yue felt both stinging and dizzy. He stood up, leaning on the back of the chair, his lips trembling, and said, "Coroner Mu, getting angry is bad for your health. Let's talk this out!"

"Qing..." Lu Xun asked worriedly, his movements as he stood up somewhat hastily. "Coroner Mu, what's wrong?"

But Mu Qingcheng couldn't listen to any of that. At this moment, all that gathered in her eyes was murderous intent!
Song Shuyu grabbed Mu Qingcheng and said urgently, "Coroner Mu, calm down! Liu Changqing is going to die, but before he dies, we need to find out..."

"My lord, I..." Mu Qingcheng turned to the side, her eyes gradually filling with tears of grievance and sorrow as she looked at Song Shuyu. "He killed someone he shouldn't have killed. I... I think..."

Song Shuyu tightened her grip a bit more. "No! Coroner Mu, if you're tired, we can rest for half an hour!"

His suggestive gaze cooled her turbulent murderous intent, and she took a deep breath to calm herself.

Seeing the change in her expression, Song Shuyu breathed a sigh of relief and announced the suspension of the public trial, sending someone to quickly request the court judge to treat Ji Yue's injuries.

Thus, the two jurors and one supervisor, after going to the Jingzhao Prefecture and hearing a case, were all injured, with rotten heads, rotten hands, and rotten buttocks, covered in wounds!
(End of this chapter)