After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

With a series of clanging sounds, the coffin lid was pried open.

Even after being coated with tung oil, the coffin had decayed considerably over the past twenty years.

A strong earthy smell and the stench of rotting sawdust wafted from the pit.

Ning Nan sat by the pit, wiping away sweat, waiting for the Imperial Guards to inspect the coffin.

A series of teeth-grinding prying sounds rang out.

Not long after.

A member of the Imperial Guard, covered in dirt, climbed up, panting, and whispered, "Young Master, it's empty. There are only some clothes inside."

Ning Nan closed his eyes.

After a moment, he suddenly stood up.

"Let's not rest anymore, let's go to Li He's house."

……

……

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The golden sun in the sky shines its light upon the earth.

As the sun gradually rises, the light becomes increasingly intense.

The glare was intense, and people's hearts became increasingly restless along with the weather.

Noon arrived quietly.

The Jiangning County government's patience with Li Erlai's murder of the village headman had finally reached its limit.

The opening ceremony, originally scheduled for 7:00 AM, was postponed.

The scholar from Lijiacun said that he had a key witness who was on his way from Lijiacun, and asked the magistrate and the county constable to postpone the court session by an hour.

But from Chenshi (7-9 AM) to Sishi (9-11 AM), and then from Sishi to Wushi (11 AM-1 PM), the key witness mentioned by Li Yanting still did not appear.

Not to mention the government, even Li Baoxin's relatives couldn't sit still. If the person who made the suggestion hadn't been a family member, they probably would have already knelt on the ground and started making a scene.

Lin Tao, the county magistrate dressed in a blue official robe, sat in the side hall and picked up his third cup of tea.

"Wen Zhao," he said to Li Yanting, "the county government made an exception for you, and we've been waiting for two hours, but your witness still hasn't arrived. In my humble opinion, let's begin the trial after noon."

"The case has both witnesses and physical evidence. Even if more witnesses come, it will only be icing on the cake. If you hadn't insisted, Li Erlai would have already been sentenced to death."

Li Yanting's face fell. Although he didn't know what evidence the big rascal had, he still asked him to delay the trial as much as possible.

He had no official rank or title, was a commoner, and only managed to drag the court hearing from morning to afternoon thanks to the influence of the students at Bailu Academy. He had done his best.

At this point, even the most studious student could only clasp his fists and say, "Thank you for your kindness, senior brother."

Lin Tao put down his teacup, smiled, and said, "Wen Zhao, you're too kind. It's alright... He has principles, but he also knows when to advance and retreat. Hmm, he's a rough gem."

It was early afternoon.

The county magistrate, dressed in a green official robe, sat majestically at the head of the table. He had no interest in the case; the evidence was sufficient, and a death sentence would suffice as a formality. However, because the deceased was a village headman and the case was registered with the Ministry of Justice, he decided to hold a trial to demonstrate fairness.

The case was handed over to County Lieutenant Lin Tao. In any case, Lin Tao was a talent carefully cultivated by the academy faction. He wouldn't stay in the county government for long, and Jiangning was an attached county. He was practically a grandson to Lin Tao, so there was no need to worry about him being sidelined.

Li Erlai, with disheveled hair, was brought to the court and forced to kneel on the ground by the constables.

Lin Tao gave a cold smile.

He ordered all witnesses who saw Li Erlai commit the crime that night to come forward.

Seven or eight honest farmers were brought to the hall. Although they showed their sorrow for Li Erlai, they still told the truth: that night, when they heard the noise and rushed to the village head's house with their weapons, they saw Li Erlai holding a knife and standing in front of the village head's corpse.

Li Yi also stepped forward and cried, saying that she and her daughter were asleep at the time and thought that bad people had entered the village. They hid in the room and dared not come out. When they came out again, they saw the county magistrate capturing Li Erlai and the corpses of her father.

Li Erlai kept his head down, staring at the courtroom floor, remaining silent the entire time.

Then, Lin Tao had the coroner bring up the murder weapon.

As soon as the gleaming, blood-stained weapon appeared, the villagers of Li Village exclaimed, "This is Er Laizi's pig-slaughtering knife!"

Lin Tao stood up from the chair beside him with a flourish, and respectfully cupped his hands, saying, "Your Excellency, the case is now clear. Although the murderer Li Erlai has changed his story, saying that he did not kill the person, nor was it Ning Nan who ordered it... the evidence that the person was killed by Li Erlai is conclusive. In my opinion, it is not uncommon for the murderer to change his story. We just need to use torture, and he will confess to everything."

"Well then, let's use torture." The county magistrate didn't waste any words and nodded in agreement.

"Your Excellency is wise." Lin Tao straightened up, his eyes flashing, and was about to torture Li Er.

At that moment, a voice came from outside the courtroom.

"Lord Lin, aren't you getting a little impatient?"

Hmm? Lin Tao squinted and looked over... the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

Qin Yuanyao, dressed in a red flying fish robe, led more than ten people into the courtroom with indifferent expressions.

"Lord Qin," Lin Tao said indifferently, "what brings your esteemed Commandant's office to my Jiangning Public Hall?"

Qin Yuanyao took out a gold medal.

"Prince Xin has decreed that Li Baoxin, as the village head of Li Family Village, though not an official appointed by the imperial court, is still a servant of our Great Liang. Li Family Village is located in Jiangning, bordering the Yangtze River. Anyone who plots to harm the village head is guilty of a heinous crime. However, we must also be wary that the village head may be harmed by traitors from the Northern Dynasty. Therefore, the Embroidered Uniform Guard is hereby ordered to observe this case. Do you two gentlemen understand?"

Prince Xin… Lin Tao’s pupils contracted.

The case even reached Prince Xin?

"The Jiangning County government obeys the King's order!" The drowsy county magistrate suddenly perked up, quickly stood up, bowed, and then said authoritatively to the side, "Someone, prepare a seat for Commander Qin!"

He then turned to Lin Tao and said sternly, "County Commandant Lin, this case must be handled strictly without error! The culprit has both witnesses and physical evidence, yet he stubbornly refuses to confess. He must be hoping to get away with it. In my opinion, he needs to be severely tortured to completely eradicate any hope of getting away with it..."

The magistrate's voice was as steady as a mountain, full of righteous indignation. Before Lin Tao could reply, Qin Yuanyao interrupted him leisurely, saying, "Your Excellency, if you resort to torture after only a short interrogation, doesn't that seem like you're trying to extract a confession through torture?"

"Eh?" The magistrate paused, grunted a few times, and nodded solemnly, saying, "Commander Qin is right. County Lieutenant Lin is, after all, young... and lacks experience. Naturally, his considerations are not as thorough as Commander Qin's. He was indeed a bit hasty in suggesting that the prisoner be tortured."

He wanted to say "after all, she's young," but considering that the commander in front of him was a woman, saying that Lin, the county magistrate, was "after all, she's young" would be implying that she was old, so he swallowed his words.

"What suggestions does Commander Qin have?"

Qin Yuanyao sat upright in a chair and slowly called a villager up first, asking him kindly, "What's your name?"

After the honest villager gave his name, she slowly asked him his age, what he was doing on the night of the incident, what he was doing that day, how the harvest was, and so on.

Lin Tao's temples twitched as he saw the other party asking these irrelevant questions, and his face turned ashen.

After waiting for an unknown amount of time, just as the woman finished questioning this person and was about to move on to the investigation, she suddenly called out a second person…

Lin Tao, unable to bear it any longer, was about to interrupt when the county magistrate beside him tugged at his sleeve and gave him a wink. Lin Tao followed the magistrate's gaze.

Hmm... that gleaming gold medal of Prince Xin... Lin Tao took a breath, gritted his teeth, and finally held back.

Prince Xin is about to ascend the throne, so there is really no need to offend the new emperor's favorites at this time.

otherwise……

It suggests that they are taking sides.

……

……

When Ning Nan returned to the Jiangning County government office with his men, the sun was already setting.

Li Xing and two Imperial Guards had been waiting for him outside the county government office for a long time.

Ning Nan dismounted and, after listening to Li Xing's explanation of the situation, his face darkened. He said in a low voice, "Have they all been captured?"

"Mmm-hmm." Li Xing nodded smugly. "We caught him."

"That's fine then." Ning Nan patted his head.

Having said that, he planned to enter the county government office to settle the matter.

At this time.

A rapid sound of horses' hooves approached from afar.

Ning Nan turned his head to look... One person on two horses, it seemed to be urgent news.

But upon closer inspection, the rider on horseback looked familiar; he seemed to be one of the Imperial Guards sent that morning to keep an eye on Ning Er.

Ning Nan frowned.

What happened?

"Young master," the knight pulled on the reins, hurriedly dismounted, and, covered in sweat, hastily handed an envelope to Ning Nan with both hands.

"Young Master Ning is dead," the knight said urgently.

What?!

Ning Nan suddenly looked up, took a step forward, and asked urgently, "What did you say?"

"Not long after school ended, Young Master Ning committed suicide..." the knight cried out in distress. "I waited outside his room and actually heard some noises, but I didn't dare to go in and disturb him. When I realized something was wrong... I rushed in and saw that Young Master Ning... had already hanged himself!"

"This letter... young master... this letter seems to be his last letter to you... we dared not delay... and delivered it to you without stopping..."

Ning Nan swayed twice, a sense of disbelief and absurdity filling his mind in that instant.

……

The letter begins with the line, "Bai Xuan, I am honored to be your uncle..."

"When I was young, I overheard my father and uncle plotting something..."

"Twenty years ago, my third uncle, Guangshao, had an affair with the wife of a general under the command of the Marquis of Jingbei. When the Marquis's elder brother, Beiyue, found out, he was furious and had Guangshao whipped and reprimanded, intending to imprison and execute him... My father knelt and begged my brother... The Marquis was deeply indebted to our grandfather, and although my brother was worried that this general would cause trouble for the rest of his life if he found out about this, he could only put it aside for the time being and wait for the Marquis to return before dealing with him..."

"Guang Shao lived in constant fear... and poisoned his elder brother, Bei Yue..."

"...After learning about it, Father...took advantage of the situation..."

"The Marquis has taken me in as his adopted son..."

"Bai Xuan... If Bai Xuan has no clear evidence, this is clear evidence."

"For the past twenty years, I have been burning inside, my lungs and heart are in turmoil..."

"...Bei Zhi is young and innocent. If she marries into an unsuitable family and things don't go well in her husband's family, I will trouble Bai Xuan to protect her and fulfill his filial duties on behalf of Uncle Yu..."

"The water is cold and desolate; Ning Zhiyuan's last words."

……

The letter was about 500 words long, but it said everything that needed to be said.

Ning Nan felt a chill run through his body. After taking a long breath, he closed the letter with a grim expression and put the letter into his pocket.

Because he had used too much force in his arms, he was trembling slightly.

"Grass!"

The notorious scoundrel from Lijia Village, his eyes bloodshot, gritted his teeth and cursed angrily.

He immediately turned around, lifted his leg, and strode straight into the county government office.