The abstinent and powerful minister is cold and aloof during the day, but he adores her in his dream

Chapter 15 Which Beauty
He was still wearing his official robes, clearly having just returned to his residence. He was standing with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance, as if deep in thought.

Upon seeing him, Zhiwan was startled and quickly stopped in her tracks. She stopped Shuang'er with a look, preventing her from speaking, and then pulled her away.

But at that moment, Lu Zhan, who had been looking into the distance, suddenly turned his head to look.

The man's eyes were cold and distant, with a hint of impatience at being disturbed between his brows.

When she met his gaze, Zhiwan's heart skipped a beat, and she stopped in her tracks.

"Cousin," she called out timidly, her head bowed.

Upon seeing her, Lu Zhan paused, seemingly somewhat surprised.

He gave a low "hmm" and then walked outside.

As he passed by, a pleasant fragrance wafted into his nostrils. He paused for a moment, but did not linger, and walked straight away.

Once he was out of sight, Zhiwan finally breathed a sigh of relief, clutched her chest, and plopped down on the balustrade.

My cousin's gaze just now was so cold and frightening.

Shuang'er was also quite frightened.

"If we had known the young master was here, we wouldn't have come," she muttered to herself.

Who said no?
Zhiwan nodded in agreement.

"But what was the young master thinking just now? He looked so serious," Shuang'er asked curiously, recalling the scene just now.

Zhiwan shook her head. "Who knows?"

After leaving the waterside pavilion, Lu Zhan did not return to Qingyun Residence, but instead had Chen Jiu prepare a horse and went to Dali Temple.

The Dali Temple recently received a case.

He was just thinking about this case at the waterside pavilion.

What he couldn't understand before suddenly became clear to him after smelling his cousin's fragrance.

Dali Temple.

Yan Niang was originally the most beautiful courtesan at Chunxiang Pavilion, but recently she became involved in a murder case and was sentenced to death.

He was originally imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice, and then transferred to the prison of the Dali Temple.

After being detained for several days and interrogated multiple times, she appeared somewhat disoriented when she was brought to the main hall today.

"You've come to see the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, why aren't you kneeling down?" the prison warden shouted.

"This humble servant, Yan Niang, pays her respects to Your Excellency." Yan Niang knelt down tremblingly.

Lu Zhan lifted his gaze from the official documents and placed it on Yan Niang, saying in a deep voice, "Yan Niang, you keep saying that you didn't kill Liu Hongru, can you produce any evidence?"

Mentioning Liu Hongru, Yan Niang's dazed expression turned agitated. "I did not kill anyone! Lord Liu's death has nothing to do with me! I beg you, sir, to investigate thoroughly and clear my name!"

“But the man died in your house, and the knife you used to peel fruit was still stuck in his chest. Since you say you didn’t kill him, then tell me, who killed Liu Hongru?” Lu Zhan stared at her sharply, his tone becoming more serious. “After all, you were the only one present when Liu Hongru died!”

Yan Niang slumped her shoulders dejectedly, then muttered to herself, "I didn't kill him, I didn't kill anyone..."

"I heard that the first person to arrive at the scene was Liu Hongru's wife, Zheng?" Lu Zhan suddenly asked. Yan Niang paused, remaining silent.

"The reason Zheng left so quickly is because you had someone notify her to go there, since Liu Hongru was already dead by then," Lu Zhan added immediately.

Yan Niang's pupils contracted, and she lowered her head.

Lu Zhan suddenly sneered, "If I'm not mistaken, Liu Hongru did indeed die because of you!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Niang became agitated again, "It's not my fault, it really isn't my fault! I didn't kill him, he just wouldn't listen to reason, he insisted on, insisted on..."

What exactly do you want?

Yan Niang's heart skipped a beat, and her voice lowered, "She insists on taking aphrodisiacs..."

The officials who were listening in were all shocked when they heard this.

Despite numerous interrogations, Yan Niang never revealed this clue.

So, Liu Hongru took aphrodisiacs, which means it was because...

"So, Liu Hongru died of a stroke because he was too excited when he had sex with you. You were at a loss and afraid that if this matter got out, it would damage your reputation and make it impossible for you to stay at Chunxianglou. Therefore, you did not dare to make a fuss and instead notified Zheng Shi immediately."

But you didn't expect that Madam Zheng also felt ashamed about this matter, and that it would damage the family's reputation if it got out. You also didn't expect that Madam Zheng would think of framing you and making you take the blame!
The truth about Liu Hongru's death was, after all, too disgraceful. You were afraid that if the truth were to be revealed, it would affect your status at Chunxianglou. So when Zheng stabbed Liu Hongru in the heart with a dagger, you did not stop her, which can be considered as acquiescing to Zheng's actions. Or perhaps, Zheng promised you benefits and promised to help you get off the hook, so you chose to conceal the truth.

"But it wasn't until you were sentenced to death that Zheng didn't come forward to protect you, and only then did you get scared and start crying out for your innocence." Lu Zhan's tone was cold, but there was a wisdom in his brows that seemed to see through everything.

The officials looked at him with admiration.

However, some officials raised objections, saying, "Sir, according to the autopsy report submitted by the coroner, Liu Hongru did indeed die from a stab wound to the heart, and not from any other cause of death..."

"You're right. It's precisely because of the autopsy report that the people in the Ministry of Justice were misled into believing that Yan Niang was the murderer," Lu Zhan said calmly.

"You mean the coroner who performed the autopsy on Liu Hongru was bribed by the Zheng family and submitted a fake autopsy report?" one of the young officials exclaimed.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhan glanced at him again, but did not reply. He simply ordered, "Summon Zheng and the coroner, Feng!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Niang turned deathly pale and collapsed to the ground. No longer daring to conceal anything, she confessed everything: "My lord, it was Zheng who tricked me, saying that if I confessed first, she would protect me afterward. But she never appeared again until I was sentenced to death. Only then did I realize that I had been deceived..." At this point, she crawled a few steps toward the table, sobbing uncontrollably. "My lord, I am truly innocent. I did not kill Liu Hongru. Please, my lord, restore my innocence."

The officials looked at her with pity.

How could she believe what Zheng said?
Liu Hongru frequented brothels, and Zheng, his first wife, must have hated him to the core. With this incident, using her as a scapegoat would both protect the family's reputation and get rid of her, achieving two goals at once.

Originally, Liu Hongru's death had nothing to do with her, but instead of reporting it to the authorities, she conspired with Zheng to conceal the cause of death, thus influencing the government's judgment.

Her actions have violated the law. According to the laws of Da Chen, she should be punished with twenty strokes of the cane and imprisoned for one month!
In addition, Zheng and the coroner Feng could not escape their crimes.

Even though Liu Hongru was already dead when Zheng stabbed him in the heart, she had already violated the law by bribing coroner Feng and altering the autopsy documents.

Soon, Zheng and the coroner Feng were brought in.

With the evidence laid bare, the two had no room for excuses and quickly confessed their crimes, explaining the whole story.

After finishing the trial, Lu Zhan was about to leave when Duan Ling, the Right Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, walked over.

He said with a sly grin, "This morning, there was still no clue about this case. How come you suddenly solved it after you went back to your residence? If I didn't know that you don't have a single wife or concubine in your household, I would have thought that you must have been inspired by some beauty."

(End of this chapter)