little emperor of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 183 Foreign Objects
The spring sun shines through the window lattices, and the ground in the main hall of Ciqing Palace is scattered like gold. The fragrance of lilies burning in the three-legged gold-plated bronze beast incense pot is sweet and refreshing. Outside the door, Wang An is stepping on the thick carpet carefully. He came in quietly, but when he looked up, he saw the prince Zhu Changluo standing under the window contemplating. Tu Bi, who was standing beside him, quickly gave him a wink.

"Come here, let's talk about something."

Wang An turned back his stepped foot, smiled happily and said, "Go back to the prince, everything is done, that man is waiting outside the door for an answer."

Zhu Changluo calmed down and said with a smile, "Tell him to come in and let me have a look."

Wang An agreed, and immediately led a person in after he went out quickly.

The man stood in front of Zhu Changluo, his face was flushed red, his expression was cramped, he was panting heavily, he just lowered his head, looking extremely nervous, he almost didn't know where to put his hands and feet, but fortunately Wang An pushed him away Ba, shouted in a low voice: "This is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, hurry up and greet."

It wasn't until this time that the man came back to his senses, fell to his knees with a plop, and kowtowed again and again: "Li San, a servant of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, pay respects to the crown prince."

Zhu Changluo waved his hand and said, "Get up quickly, let me ask you, have you done everything I told you?"

Li San respectfully stood up, put his hands down and said, "According to the crown prince's order, the younger one brought all the words. After hearing this, he was trembling with fright, and finally he only said one sentence..."

Zhu Changluo spoke softly, "I'd like to hear what it is?"

"He only said that he knew, and hoped that His Royal Highness would not break his promise."

"It's not like he's a fool." Zhu Changluo nodded: "If you have time, you can tell him that if he keeps his promise, I will be honest and let him rest assured. I will write down your credit for this matter, and you Go back, there will be good news about you in a few days."

Li Sanhuan was trembling with joy, "Your Highness, don't worry, I will definitely bring my words to you and finish the errands well."

After Wang An led Li San out, Zhu Changluo stood up, pushed open the window, and looked at the sky with clouds and blue shadows, thousands of miles of wind, clouds, peaks and valleys changing, and suddenly smiled: "Although until now, I haven't seen through what you want. What are you doing? But it is conceivable that the picture must be very small."

"If you want the world to be peaceful, the scene of Qianlong will be new?" There is a cruel and mocking smile on the corner of his mouth: "If you have thousands of calculations, thousands of arrangements, and eventually some tricks are exhausted, with me, you are doomed. Fall short!"

Wang An, who sent Li San back to his life, took a bold look and suddenly found that the prince who was looking out of the window had a faint smile on his face. Sheathed blade.

In the lobby of the Ministry of Justice, Lu Shengguang stared at the page he had just written, black and white, with ink marks, so clear that it was almost shocking.

As if he couldn't believe it, he didn't even realize when the pen dropped from his hand and fell to the ground, his eyes widened in panic... because he suddenly found the handwriting of the demon manuscript he wrote and Wang Shugu threw all over the floor Comparing the two, although they are not exactly the same, they are [-]% similar. At this moment, Li Shengguang felt that the sky was wide open, and he seemed to be stupid after flying three souls and leaving seven souls, and kept murmuring in his trembling mouth mumbling to himself.

"I only wrote one copy, how could so many come out? This handwriting... this handwriting..."

When a person is in a critical situation, sometimes he will be very sober, and sometimes he will be confused. The Lu Shengguang in the small courtyard belongs to the latter, but at this moment the Lu Shengguang in the hall of the Ministry of Justice is obviously the former.

The dead end has been decided, since entering the gate of Jinyiwei Prison, Lu Shengguang has no hope of life, but how will he die?Lu Shengguang, who seemed to understand everything but didn’t understand anything, closed his eyes in despair. The tall and depressing figure in the courtyard appeared in front of his eyes, but Li Tou’s light as a mosquito, but almost thrilling, sounded in his ears. if.

My mind is as bright as a lightning strike!The closed eyes have been opened. I glanced at Mrs. Li who was kneeling not far away from me, and then at my son who was mourning and crying in his wife's arms. Countless thoughts passed through my mind for a moment. I have never felt like this moment in my life. Lu Shengguang, who was also sober, suddenly sighed: "No need to write, I did it."

The answer came too directly, and it came very suddenly. All the officials of the three judiciary who participated in the trial were silent, and they looked at each other in blank dismay.

Wang Shugu frowned, and ordered the scribe to hand over the demon book and Lu Shengguang's personal letter to all the adults for reading. Everyone had different expressions after reading it.To be honest, the handwriting can barely be said to be similar, but the adults who were "fortunate" to participate in this three-division trial, although they had doubts in their hearts, all of them without exception kept their mouths shut, and no one expressed their opinions.

The reason is simple, the demon book case is too involved, from the emperor to the crown prince, from the noble concubine to the prince, from the first assistant to the second assistant, almost all the most powerful people in the Ming Dynasty from top to bottom, no matter who is entangled, That is asking for ashes.All of you here are foxes who have cultivated for thousands of years to become fine, so naturally they will not make troubles for nothing and play chat with themselves.

Seeing that the officials were speechless, Wang Shugu, the presiding judge, committed a difficult situation. According to him, Lu Shengguang was wronged. When he didn't meet him, he thought he was some kind of expert. Wang Shugu concluded that it was absolutely impossible for him to write such a profound article. The facts were in front of him, and Lu Shengguang was a scapegoat.

The criminal has already admitted his guilt, but the chief judge has been unable to close the case for a long time.When Wang Shugu was in a dilemma, Xiao Daheng, Minister of the Criminal Ministry, took the lead in expressing his position: "This case can still be deliberated, and it cannot be closed based on his words."

This sentence caused an uproar among the officials including Wang Shugu. Li Sancai, the Zuoqian capital censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, snorted, noncommittal with a smirk, and Hu Tingyuan, the Minister of Dali Temple, slammed the case with a cold voice. He said: "Since the principal culprit has confessed and all the witnesses and material evidences are available, the case can be closed. Mr. Xiao is full of twists and turns, what do you want to do?"

Hu Tingyuan's words resonated with most of the people in the hall. In the eyes of the officials, this case is really too involved, and it is reasonable to close the case quickly. A few courageous people have already spoken out to agree with each other. Xiao Daheng's actions are indeed suspected of causing public outrage , but fearing his power, most people dare not speak out.

The stern-faced Xiao Daheng who tried to act majestic knew that he had committed the anger of the public. Under the eyes of the public, he only felt his scalp numb for a while. The dumb man ate yellow lotus. He knew the pain... He wanted to close the case faster than anyone else, but Shen always The words of the instructions are still in his ears, he has to listen and do it, otherwise, as a second-rank senior, he will immediately become a yellow flower after autumn, a grasshopper after snow.

There was no turning back when he opened the bow, Xiao Daheng bowed his heart and arched his hands: "If you remember correctly, Mr. Hu was promoted from the position of Secretary of Dali Temple to the current position of Zhengqing through his accumulated achievements. God, Xiang Wuqiao, people call him Hu Qingtian, I wonder if it is true?"

At this moment, how dare you flatter yourself?Hu Tingyuan was stunned for a moment, and said with a cold face: "Master Xiao has something to say, so I dare not take such a compliment."

Xiao Daheng glanced at Hu Tingyuan like an idiot: "The number of words recorded in the demon book is not many, but in terms of weirdness and eccentricity, it must be done by those who are familiar with courtiers and court affairs. Even if the prisoner admits that he did it, there must be someone behind it." The so-called elimination of evil, failure to catch the mastermind behind it, the case of the demon book is still a turmoil, does Mr. Hu think so?"

"You!" His face flushed instantly after being provoked by Xiao Daheng's puns. He was obviously harboring evil intentions, but he unexpectedly bit him back. Hu Tingyuan, who had lost his chance, was speechless, and stretched out his fist in anger. Pointing at Daheng Xiao, he kept shaking.

Seeing that the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and the Minister of Dali Temple were about to pinch each other, all the officials in the hall looked at each other in blank dismay, relatively speechless.Li Sancai stood up in a huff, "You two don't need to argue to lose your dignity. Today's case will be heard by the three divisions, but Mr. Wang is the presiding judge appointed by the crown prince. Let him decide everything."

Daheng Xiao and Hu Tingyuan looked at each other, snorted coldly, and sat down.Li Sancai smiled slyly: "Since that's the case, let Mr. Wang make up his mind."

Wang Shugu's slightly closed eyes suddenly opened, he got up and bowed his hands to the three people in the seat, as a sign of obedience, he stretched out his hand and patted the gavel, and there was a loud resounding sound from the mountain: "Yu Shengguang, the case of the demon book, I ask you Is there someone in charge?"

Seeing that Wang Shugu chose to proceed with the trial, Xiao Daheng, who had his wish fulfilled, was overjoyed, while Hu Tingyuan was so angry that his face turned red and then white, and his eyes almost burst into flames.

Lu Shengguang, who was kneeling on the ground, visibly trembled for a moment. After hesitating for a moment, he said slowly but firmly: "I did it, no one took the lead."

Wang Shugu didn't speak for a while, closed his eyes and meditated for a moment, then said: "Ji Shengguang, I have been in charge of the criminal department for decades, and I have tried eight hundred criminals if there are not one thousand, do you know that I have a nickname? "Speaking of this, the tone lowered, and suddenly he laughed lowly: "It's nothing unusual for me to give you the nickname Wang. The so-called set is slap, board, and stick. In my eyes, this person is Low skin, low bone and low meat, if you refuse to tell the truth again, the master will let you have a try."

There was a light hiss in the hall, it seems that Wang Yitai's reputation is really not small.Seeing many officials on the left and right whispering to each other, Wang Zhicai curled up his mouth in disdain, hating and jealous in his heart.

Lu Shengguang was so shocked that his heart seemed to be floating in the clouds. Although the presiding judge in front of him didn't move his face, every word he said was like a small knife piercing his heart. Jin Yiwei was even more terrifying.

Suddenly there was a violent shout in the hall: "Bold, don't say it quickly!"

His eyes fell on the shivering mother and son who were kneeling in the corner, and Lu Shengguang, who was driven to a corner, gritted his teeth, unaware of the inborn ruthlessness: "I did it alone, no one made it!"

Wang Shugu chuckled a few times: "Very well, since you refuse to tell the truth, don't blame me for being cruel."

With a wave of his hand, a few criminals came up from both sides and set up Lu Shengguang. Wang Shugu said indifferently: "Give him fifty mouths first, and see if his mouth is tough or our palms are hard!"

It is said that it is a slap, not with hands, but with a glove-like object made of raw cowhide. There is a bruise on the face, flowers are blooming in front of the eyes, and wind is blowing in the ears. If you really slap these fifty slaps for a round, you will be bloody and bloody. It is really shameless.

After ten slaps, Lu Shengguang's face was already swollen like a pig's head, and after twenty slaps, his face was already blue, red, blue and purple, as if a dye shop had been opened, and blood flowed everywhere. , was too horrible to look at, and shouted like a pig being killed, and shouted indistinctly: "My lord, spare me!"

Wang Shugu was proficient in torture, so he naturally knew how to measure it. When he hit the No. 30 palm, he suddenly shouted: "Stop it." Then he saw that Lu Shengguang's body was dripping as if he had been fished out of water, and he was paralyzed. It's like a puddle of mud on the ground.

With a wave of his hand, as arranged, two people came up from left and right to carry a long black chair, and two people came up to stand on left and right with bare arms and sticks. The officials of the third division who were used to seeing torture all put away their smiles, all of them looked solemn and shuddered.

Wang Shugu stepped down the hall, stared at him coldly, and tapped his fingers on the black chair a few times: "Lu Shengguang, I will give you another chance, since you have admitted that you did everything, then you can do it." Confess the mastermind, otherwise the next round will be a board." After a long time, he blew on the ashes on his fingers, and said in a calm voice, "Look carefully, this chair was made of brass at the beginning, but now it's black on it, but it's all black. Human blood!"

Looking at the blood stains on the iron chair in front of him, the brown blood stains were congealed, and the two fierce men with sticks next to him, their cold swishing eyes were swishing around him like knives. Although Lu Shengguang was a bachelor, he was severely punished Under the law, the psychological defense line finally collapsed, and he burst into tears, mumbled indistinctly: "I...I..."

Wang Shugu's ears were pricked up, and everyone's eyes were also widened. Who will be the mastermind who is about to speak out from Lu Shengguang's swollen mouth?

At this moment, a disconcerting voice suddenly sounded, "Master Wang, I'm afraid the perpetrator will soon be unable to hold on, so he can ask again slowly."

Wang Shugu suddenly sighed. Anyone with common sense in interrogation would know that the sentence of three to seven is the moment when the criminal's mind breaks down.

But if that moment passes, it will be difficult to think about success again. It is like fighting a war. One drum is brave, the second drum advances, and the third drum is exhausted. Xiao Daheng's drink has already put all the hard work he has put in today into waste. .

Turning his head to stare at Xiao Daheng, Wang Shugu was annoyed, annoyed and surprised in his heart. When he was about to explode, he was a second-rank minister, and he was only a first- and sixth-rank master. The official position was disparate. Suspected, he couldn't help filing his teeth a few times, and cupped his hands angrily: "My lord has any orders, I will listen attentively."

Daheng Xiao forced a laugh, and even he himself felt his dry throat tighten, turned around and got off the writing desk, walked to Wang Shugu's desk in a few steps, pointed to Lu Shengguang's handwritten letter before and said: "Send this Take a look with me."'

Wang Shugu handed it over with a blank expression, Xiao Daheng pretended to look at it a few times, and handed it back again.Wang Shugu hated it so much that he had to pick it up with both hands. When the robes and sleeves met, he suddenly found something extra in his hand!
　Thank you ande for your continuous support, and thank you Lonely City Ranger, Wunuo, Dangyu, Shengli Autobao, and Iambic.Shen, the next station, the end point, Tiandi and other book friends have been supporting me, thank you Lafite, brother Tang Feng, and sister Qingying for their support, here I would like to say thank you to the God of Heaven and God of Sword who have always selflessly helped me!At the same time, thank every book friend who subscribed!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)