Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 16 Reversal
"How dare you! What did you say?!"

"How dare you call yourself Dai Viet? Are you denying my position as the leader of the Ming Dynasty?"

Gu Shanjie and Shao Jing both changed color and shouted angrily at Ruan Zhengyong, no, Li Weining's self-introduction.

The response was unprecedented.

The name Annan comes from the Annan Protectorate in the Tang Dynasty. It became independent during the chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in the late Tang Dynasty.

In the Song Dynasty, he accepted the title of Prince of Jiaozhi from Emperor Taizu of Song and was officially listed as a vassal king.

Annan and Jiaozhi, both names have a long history. No matter which name it is, it is acceptable to the Ming Dynasty.

Only Dai Viet is not allowed.

That was not a title bestowed by the Central Plains dynasty. If you really want to trace it back, you have to go back to the Baiyue during the Former Qin Dynasty. It was the name used by the indigenous people and was certainly not allowed by the suzerain state.

If you shout that in your own country, no one will care. But if an envoy from another country goes to the suzerain country and calls himself Dai Viet, it is tantamount to the most serious provocation!
Not to mention now, in the Qing Dynasty in history, Emperor Jiaqing enthroned the Nguyen Dynasty monarch Nguyen Phuc Anh as the King of Vietnam, and then the new country name "Vietnam" was officially established. This is also the origin of the country of Vietnam in later generations. It is not something that can be chosen casually.

Therefore, when the title of Prince of Dai Viet came from the other party's mouth, the nature of it was more serious than having someone pretend to be a prince and cruelly killing the substitute.

Gu Shanjie could tolerate everything else, but when it came to state etiquette, he wasn't even afraid of the burly man. He shouted sternly, "Come here! Take them away and keep them under guard!"

"Humph!"

As if realizing that he had made a big mistake out of anger and shame, Li Weining's face was as gloomy as water. He glared at Hai Yue viciously, flicked his sleeves fiercely, and strode away.

Seeing that the prince did not resist, Zheng Wu and other guards followed him silently, and soon disappeared in the courtyard under the escort of the messenger.

"call!"

Looking at these dejected figures, Haiyue no longer felt the pride of a winner, but only a sense of relief.

He deeply understood the helplessness of those who were wronged.

How difficult is it to find out the truth?
"If this case reaches the emperor, this government may have the opportunity to return to the Central Plains and leave this place!"

Meanwhile, seeing that the Annan delegation didn't dare act rashly, and thinking that the Qiongshan Prefecture had cracked such a major case, which was enough to make them proud, Gu Shanjie was overjoyed, his smile overflowing with joy. "Qionghai Thirteenth Man! Haha! Great! Great! Your contribution will be noted in this prefecture, and I'll guarantee you a bright future in the future!"

Haiyue grinned and bowed perfunctorily: "Thank you, Mr. Gu..."

Shao Jingze noticed the man's fatigue and said gently, "Go and rest first!"

"Thank you, Magistrate Shao! I'll take my leave!"

Haiyue's gratitude to this person was sincere. She bowed, turned around and walked out.

After stepping out of the government office, he didn't care about anything else. He stretched out his body and took a deep breath of fresh air: "Finally! Finally, I'm really out of the government office!"

Hai Rui followed behind him. Seeing this, he showed a hint of hesitation, but he finally said, "Brother, I have some concerns. I don't know if I should speak up or not."

"Do we still need to be so formal with each other?" Hai Yue pretended to be unhappy: "Let's go! Let's talk while we walk!"

The two of them stood side by side, and Hai Rui spoke, "Wasn't Li Weining's admission just now too quick?"

"He's a prince of a country after all. Now that his scheme has been exposed, shouldn't he have some composure? Just admit it. Do you really have to humiliate yourself and kneel down to repent?"

Hai Yue didn't care about this. He was concerned about the consequences after the truth was revealed: "It's a pity that this person admitted it so straightforwardly. I'm afraid that Mr. Gu won't even put these murderers in jail, let alone punish them..."

Killing someone means paying with one's life, which is a matter of course, but this was not the case in ancient times when classes were clearly defined.

Not to mention paying with your life, if you meet a noble person, it will be difficult to even convict you.

For example, in this case, the stand-in, whose real name is still unknown, died without dignity at the hands of his "companion".

However, it is unrealistic to let the Qiongzhou government convict him for this and make the Annan Prince Li Weining pay the price he deserves.

If the prefect was Shao Jing, Haiyue could still try hard to play up his identity. If you say you are the Prince of Annan, then you are the Prince of Annan? How do you know that he didn't kill the real prince to avoid punishment?
But Gu Shanjie was the prefect, so he would be wary of the identity of the foreign envoy and would just send the plague away quickly.

Hai Yue naturally hated Li Weining very much in her heart, but his mental age was not comparable to that of a 17-year-old boy full of vigor and vitality, so he still had some cunning.

The more you care about something, the less you should show it.

If I could find a dark and windy night, catch up with this delegation that will definitely not be able to stay in the Ming Dynasty, and shoot them one by one, then my idea would come true.

Hai Rui still had something he couldn't figure out: "How did the Annan woman in the cell know whether the prince was real or fake? Did she have a spy among the guards?"

"This girl, 'Fanglian', does have many secrets. I plan to rescue her, and then I can ask her some questions."

Haiyue also did not forget her "cellmate" in that cell.

The woman who called herself "Fanglian" was full of concerns. Considering that the two had only seen each other for less than half a day, it was normal that some people would let down their guard while others would not reveal their true feelings, even in prison.

Now that the truth behind the murder of Prince Annan has been revealed, and the government is extremely disgusted with these scheming foreign envoys, she no longer needs to worry about any secrets and can reveal them all.

Hai Rui nodded and asked his final question: "Brother, why do you think the Annan delegation chose a Hainanese native as a stand-in for the prince?" Hai Yue frowned: "This does seem unnecessary."

Many of the stand-in's flaws stem from the local people's habits. Plus, he wasn't from Annan at all, so he naturally seemed to be indifferent and indifferent.

If it had been an Annamitian, the loophole would never have been so obvious.

Why choose the far away instead of the near?
But on second thought, Haiyue came up with a hypothesis: "This choice also has an advantage. It can help us get closer to the locals. The stand-in is approachable and has similar habits. Everyone will subconsciously like him and will be shocked and saddened by his death. Imagine if it was a prince as arrogant and rude as Zheng Wu, how many people would care about his life or death?"

Hai Rui thought for a moment, then let out a rare chuckle. "Brother, that makes sense. The replacement they chose was the Prince of Annan, who would make us feel most comfortable. Not the sinister and vicious Ruan Zhengyong, the rude and arrogant Zheng Wu, or even those guards who don't speak the Ming language!"

"Can't speak Ming dialect?"

Hai Yue was stunned when she heard this: "That shouldn't be the case. The official written language of Annan is Chinese!"

As a vassal state of the Central Plains dynasty, Annan was more deeply influenced by Chinese civilization than Korea and Japan. After all, it was originally Chinese territory and later became independent. There have been no major changes in either the system or the culture. Official documents, announcements, coins and even the imperial examinations all require Chinese characters.

Therefore, the people of Annan may use local dialects, but people of a certain status all communicate in Chinese. This is different from Korea and Japan, which have their own language systems. Only the upper class nobles would learn Chinese characters to show their noble status and facilitate reading and communication of Chinese books.

So Hai Yue asked curiously, "Are you sure they don't understand Chinese, or are they pretending not to understand in order to avoid revealing their flaws?"

Hai Rui thought about it carefully, "That reaction certainly showed he didn't understand my Ming language. It didn't seem like he was pretending."

"I'm not pretending... I'm not pretending... Something's wrong... What exactly is wrong..."

A flash of inspiration suddenly flashed through Haiyue's mind, and all the details related to the case suddenly emerged like a tide, surging in his thoughts. His lips moved slightly, and he murmured something in a low voice, but his feet seemed to have lost their souls, and he moved forward mechanically.

Hai Rui accompanied them without disturbing them. The two brothers walked shoulder to shoulder all the way back to the academy.

Haiyue stopped suddenly.

The poisonous dragon under the cold pond surged up the waves again, revealing its true face.

However, the truth pointed out this time is a subversive reversal from all previous speculations.

"That's it! This is the only truth that can explain all the mysteries!"

Haiyue's eyes regained clarity, and she groaned, "My previous reasoning... was almost completely wrong!"

"what?"

Hai Rui was stunned.

He just had a few minor doubts, and because of his personality, he always wanted to get to the bottom of things.

But my brother's previous reasoning was so clearly coherent that it left the entire Annan delegation speechless. How could he be completely wrong?

Haiyue looked around and found herself at the gate of Dongpo Academy. She could even hear enthusiastic cheers from her classmates in front of her: "Brother Yue, we've been waiting to see you back. Come quickly! We're all waiting to welcome you back and drive away the bad luck!"

Yes!

He has revealed the "truth".

He has been cleared of suspicion.

As long as he takes a few steps back to the academy, he can return to his original life.

Why bother with that anymore?

What if I get into trouble again and can't get out of it?

but……

An innocent man died.

That person loves Journey to the West.

That person is warm and generous.

That person considered him a friend.

On the night that man tragically died, I still sincerely helped him block the alcohol...

Haiyue closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and turned around resolutely.

"go!"

"Let's go back to the government office!"

"I want the truth of this case to be revealed to the world!"

　I'll update it early on Monday to get on the new book list. I heard that midnight is effective, but I don't quite understand it. Anyway, I'll ask for your support through monthly tickets!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)