Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 14 You are the murderer!
"Now that the female thief has been captured, why don't you bring the murderer into the hall and interrogate her strictly?"

"This woman's identity has not yet been ascertained. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, torture is prohibited without authorization. We must conduct a thorough investigation..."

"What else do you want to investigate? We will investigate what you dare not investigate! We will do what you dare not do!" "The Ming Dynasty is unjust, harming our envoys and condoning them!" "We are going to Guangzhou Prefecture and ask the governor to give us an explanation from the Annan people!"

"Oh no... I can't do that! I can't do that!"

In the torture chamber of the government office, two parties were arguing.

On one side were the Annan guards led by Zheng Wu, who were all excited and talking at once.

On the other side were the government officials. The prefect Gu Shanjie was in a state of panic, and the prosecutor Shao Jing had a dark face.

"enough!"

Until Ruan Zhengyong suddenly said: "We are here to ask for an explanation, not just to make a fuss!"

Zheng Wu and others fell silent instantly.

The torture chamber suddenly became quiet.

Gu Shanjie breathed a sigh of relief, but Shao Jing looked at Ruan Zhengyong with a frown on his face.

He was deeply impressed by this guard commander. When Prince Li Weining was alive, he often gave orders and was extremely powerful.

After arriving at the government office today, his face was as gloomy as water, and he didn't say a word, letting Zheng Wu shout and a dozen burly men support the scene.

At this moment, he stepped forward to stop them, and the moment he spoke, he spoke first: "What we said just now was truly a result of anger and can't be taken seriously. However, when the master is humiliated, the minister dies. This is the truth of the world! Now that His Highness has been murdered, I will track down the murderer to the end and will not let any of the murderers go!"

Shao Jing said in a deep voice: "Do you still think that the academy student Hai Yue was the one who poisoned you?"

"The students in the academy are no longer important. What's important is the Mo family's followers!"

Ruan Zhengyong waved his hand, his eyes glaring. "This thief must have other accomplices. They must all be wiped out. Not a single one can be spared. We don't need to trouble your government with this matter. We can do it ourselves. Leave her to me!"

Gu Shanjie and Shao Jing asked in unison: "What do you want to do?"

Ruan Zhengyong said, "We won't start a large-scale war. Once we find out where the thieves are hiding, our delegation's guards will personally take action and wipe out the thieves. This will also protect local peace!"

His tone grew solemn, revealing worry. "You two should know that war is already raging across Annan. The Li and Mo families are at loggerheads. Does the government really want our hatred to spread to your country, leading to endless assassinations and revenge plots?"

"hiss!"

Gu Shanjie immediately thought of the Ningbo Rebellion a few years ago.

The Ningbo Rebellion, also known as the Tribute Dispute, occurred in the second year of the Jiajing reign. Two Japanese daimyo each sent an envoy to the Ming Dynasty to trade. After arriving in Ningbo, Zhejiang, a fierce conflict broke out between the two sides due to a dispute over the authenticity of the official permit. One side suddenly rose up and started burning, killing, looting, and even killed many grassroots generals of the Ming Dynasty, which greatly angered the court.

This incident directly led to the Ming court abolishing the Fujian and Zhejiang Maritime Customs Offices, and also resulted in the severance of trade routes between the Ming Dynasty and Japan. The coastal merchants suffered heavy losses, laying the groundwork for the subsequent "Southeast Japanese Disaster".

Gu Shanjie could not have anticipated the Japanese invasion, but the Ningbo Rebellion, which resulted in the death or dismissal of many local officials, was a real disaster. He certainly did not want to repeat the same mistake.

"Tuiguan Shao, look..."

When Gu Shanjie tilted his head and whispered, Shao Jing knew that the prefect who could not stand the threat was tempted again. He wanted to hand over the female prisoner to calm the anger of the diplomatic corps and let the Annan people resolve the civil unrest on their own.

In fact, if we only talk about the latter, he is also quite tempted. However, this move is tantamount to giving up the initiative and showing the incompetence of the Qiongzhou government. Shao Jing cannot accept it.

Just as he was thinking about how to persuade him, he suddenly heard chaotic footsteps outside and another group of Annan guards rushed in.

Zheng Wu couldn't help but ask, "Why are you here?"

The guards replied in a jumbled voice in their local dialect, leaving Zheng Wu even more baffled: "The general didn't call you..."

"Ok?"

Ruan Zhengyong heard the noise behind him, turned around and looked, his expression changed immediately: "You are not guarding the coffin? How dare you abandon your post? Quick! Go back!"

"Oh! It's too late!"

With a clear laugh, Haiyue strode into the torture chamber: "The coroner has opened the coffin for an autopsy!"

While the others in the hall were still bewildered, Ruan Zhengyong was already furious: "Open the coffin? How dare you desecrate His Highness's body?"

Hai Yue retorted, "You've accused me of murdering foreign envoys? Compared to that, what's this little risk?"

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute! What are you talking about?" Looking at the two people arguing with each other, Gu Shanjie was confused.

"Mr. Gu! Magistrate Shao!"

Hai Yue bowed and said, "I'm here to uncover the truth about the murder of Prince Annan!"

Gu Shanjie's eyebrows lit up with joy: "Great! Great! The murderer is indeed that thief, right?"

Shao Jing was concerned about the details of the case: "How did the murderer poison Envoy Li during the banquet?"

Hai Yue shook her head: "The murderer is not the female prisoner from Annan, and the deceased was not poisoned at the banquet that night."

"what?"

The officials present were stunned. Shao Jing said in a deep voice, "But Envoy Li's body has a blue face, bleeding from the mouth and nose, and purple and black lips and nails. How can this be explained?"

Hai Yue said, "The above characteristics are indeed signs of death by poisoning, but they are not enough to prove that the deceased was poisoned at the banquet. The only thing that can truly pinpoint the time of death is this person's confession!"

Everyone looked at the guard leader, Ruan Zhengyong, who replied coldly, "Your Highness hasn't eaten since returning from the banquet. Everything was normal before the banquet. If it wasn't poisoning at the banquet, then when would it be?"

"How to prove it?"

"Why do you need to prove it? I've already said it..."

"How do you prove that what you said is true?"

"You think I'm lying?"

"Why not?"

Hai Yue said coldly, "The prince has been murdered, the envoy has suffered, and as guards, you cannot escape responsibility, and may even face death! Since you are so closely involved in this case, how can the government trust your confession?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of everyone in the hall flickered and they fell into deep thought.

In fact, many people think that the fact that this group of guards insisted that it was the students of the Ming Dynasty who harmed the Prince of Annan was an attempt to cover up their own fault for failing to provide adequate protection.

But now it seems that in order to shirk responsibility, they have acted even more despicable and even fabricated the time of the poisoning?

"What nonsense!"

Ruan Zhengyong shouted without hesitation, "Are you saying we deliberately gave the wrong time to frame you?"

"I know you're anxious, but don't worry, because there's more to come."

Hai Yue sneered, "Not only do I accuse you of intentionally slandering me, I'm also accusing you of deliberately allowing the assassin to succeed, leading to Prince Annan's unfortunate death!"

The torture chamber was silent for a moment, and Zheng Wu's voice was the first to grumble, "Bullshit! We escorted His Highness all the way here, how could this happen?"

"Oh?"

Hai Yue looked at him and said, "But I feel like you're not very respectful to that prince. You're not as obedient as you are to this commander!"

Zheng Wu paused and looked at Ruan Zhengyong. The shouting voices of the other guards also suddenly became lower.

"Could it be!"

Shao Jing's body trembled. He stared at Ruan Zhengyong, then looked at the guards who followed his orders. A bold idea came to his mind.

"Oh, right! I suddenly remembered a story from Shishuo Xinyu called 'The Bedside Ghostwriter'!"

Hai Yue said calmly, "Cao Cao was about to receive an envoy from the Xiongnu. He thought his appearance was too ugly to intimidate a distant nation, so he sent Cui Jigui to meet him on his behalf. He himself, holding a sword, stood beside Cui Jigui's couch as an attendant. After the reception, Cao Cao ordered his spies to ask the Xiongnu envoy what he thought of the King of Wei. The Xiongnu envoy replied that the King of Wei was elegant and noble, with a graceful demeanor, but it was the man holding the sword beside the couch who was the true hero. After hearing this, Cao Cao sent people to hunt down the Xiongnu envoy!"

Gu Shanjie now understood. His eyes widened as he looked at Ruan Zhengyong and groaned, "You! You guys!"

A gloomy look appeared between Ruan Zhengyong's brows. He stared at Haiyue. Just as he was about to speak, he heard footsteps.

Hai Rui hurried over and handed something over, "Brother! I've got the autopsy!"

Hai Yue opened her eyes, scanned them, and finally took a breath: "I didn't expect the truth to be even more cruel than I imagined! Ruan Zhengyong! That day you falsely accused me of murdering the Prince of Annan. Today, I am here to formally accuse you of this heinous crime!"

At that moment, he surveyed the torture chamber and uttered earth-shattering words to everyone: "The Annan delegation committed treason and deceived our suzerain, the Ming Dynasty. The deceased in the Dongpo Academy cell was not Prince Li Weining of Annan at all, but a replacement! The most terrifying thing is, the unfortunate death of the replacement wasn't caused by an assassin, but by the heartless and ruthless killing of your guards!"

(End of this chapter)