Qin Lin investigated the case overnight in the Forbidden City, and whenever there was new progress in the investigation, someone was busy reporting to Cining Palace.

Empress Dowager Cisheng, the current Supreme Wanli Emperor of the Ninety-Five, the Lord of the Six Palaces, Empress Wang, the head of the Emperor's Division, Zhang Juzheng, and the head of the internal prison, Feng Bao, the most powerful people in the Ming Dynasty, were all waiting in the Cining Palace, waiting for Qin Lin's reply.

Will he be able to get to the bottom of the case and convince all parties?

The palace maid has already served the tea three times, and the Empress Dowager Li, although she is tired, still tries her best to support it, Wanli is the emperor and her own son, she must find out whether her son is a faint monarch and a tyrant.

Wanli was distressed, his wine was indeed not good, what happened last night, and now he couldn't recall it at all, so he racked his brains, and his mind was still blank.

Thanks to the encouraging and trusting glances that Queen Wang cast to her husband from time to time, Wanli's mood was slightly better, and then she faintly felt a little guilty about Queen Wang, and secretly decided to be better to her queen in the future.

Feng Bao said a few good words to Wanli against his will, and the wrinkles in the corners of Empress Dowager Li's eyes stretched slightly.

Feng Dugong was very familiar with Empress Dowager Li, of course he knew what this meant, and secretly said in his heart that although Qin Lin's gang was hateful, his judgment of the situation was extremely accurate.

Even if Wanli is really a faint king, it is one thing for Empress Dowager Li to scold her son and punish her son, and it is another thing for others to accuse her...... Feng Bao finally quietly looked at his ally Zhang Juzheng, the majestic expression of the emperor's first assistant, as unfathomable as his scheming, only to see his blazing eyes looking out of the hall, the whole person is the same as the statue, I don't know if he is contemplating the future of the Ming Dynasty, or calculating the pros and cons of this case on the great cause of the New Deal reform?

The sky outside the hall is as dark as ink, the cloudy sky can't even see a trace of starlight, the snowflakes are flying, the lanterns lit up by the palaces and halls of the entire Forbidden City, the firelight is extraordinarily dim, and the big palace lamps that shine like daytime seem to only illuminate a few feet of distance around it, and some farther light will be swallowed up by the darkness...... When everyone was anxious, the sound of hurried footsteps lifted people's hearts, and everyone cheered up and turned their eyes to the direction of the footsteps.

Sun Huairen rushed from outside the hall, his face was full of joy, and he panted and said loudly: "There is progress!" General Qin has made progress! ”

Wanli was worried in her heart, and when she was about to ask, Empress Dowager Li had already rushed in front, she leaned forward, and her voice was a little anxious: "How is it?" Excuse me, say it quickly! ”

Sun Huairen said in a colorful voice: "Empress Dowager Qiyu, General Qin found broken hair in the fatal wounds of the two palace maids, but there were no other wounds on the corpse, those broken hair was glued to the blade of the sword when His Majesty cut off their hair with a sword before, which proves that the murderer killed the two palace maids with a sword first, and then slashed a few swords on them, which is likely to be an attempt to blame Your Majesty!" ”

So that's it! Empress Dowager Li's expression eased a lot, and her back finally leaned back in the chair.

Wanli also breathed a sigh of relief, although it could not be completely washed away, but it also greatly reduced the suspicion.

General Qin also said......" Sun Huairen looked at Feng Bao, snorting.

Empress Dowager Li was surprised, waved her hand and said, "In front of the mourning family, it doesn't hurt if you say anything." ”

Sun Huairen finally said bluntly: "General Qin said that if Gonggong Feng is willing, he is His Majesty's best witness, last night His Majesty went to Gonggong Feng's residence to disturb first, and then had an accident in the Quliu Pavilion, what His Majesty was drunk into, Gonggong Feng knows best." These two palace maids were killed by a sword hit, and if His Majesty was really drunk, then it would be even more impossible to kill people. ”

Brushing and brushing, several eyes suddenly fell on Feng Bao's face, and everyone had to think: Yes, Wanli took the sword and said that he wanted to kill Feng Bao, but something happened when he returned to the Quliu Pavilion, since Qin Lin specifically mentioned it, could it be Feng Dugong...... Empress Dowager Li took a sip of ginseng tea and said slowly: "Wife Feng, what did you see Your Majesty drunk at that time?" ”

Feng Bao really hated Qin Lin so much at this time, he was helpless, so he had to say loudly in order to wash himself off: "Qi Yu Niangniang, the old slave saw His Majesty coming with a sword last night, his steps staggered, his body fell down, and he was already very drunk, it seems that it is impossible for both swords to pierce the vital point and kill two palace maids." ”

As soon as these words came out, Wanli breathed a sigh of relief, he was really a little afraid of this Feng Daban, he took a sword last night and said that he was going to kill Feng Bao, but in fact, it was all wine to strengthen people's courage, and later he was secretly scared when he thought about it.

At the beginning, Feng Bao kept complaining to his mother, on the surface, it seemed to excuse him, but in fact, he was duplicitous, and Wanli was not a fool, of course he could hear it.

After Feng Bao went out, his tone changed a little, and he was not as provocative as he was at the beginning.

Until now, Feng Bao personally admitted that Wanli was very drunk, and it was unlikely that he would kill the palace maid so cleanly, and Wanli finally put his mind at ease.

"Duke Feng told the truth," Queen Wang smiled low at her husband.

"He wishes I would like to abdicate my position," Wanli pursed his lips indignantly, and whispered, "Do you think Feng Daban is kind enough to excuse me?" It wasn't that Qin Aiqing had found ironclad evidence, he had to push the boat down the river. ”

Well, in the mind of Emperor Wanli at this moment, all the merits belong to Qin Aiqing, and if there is one, it is blamed on Feng Daban, and poor Feng Bao was shot with a thousand holes.

When Empress Wang heard this, she frowned: "Your Majesty can trust General Qin so much? ”

Wanli smiled, the bare-handed elephant, the general Qin who rescued the car alone, the No. 1 loyal minister in Tianzi!

Only Zhang Juzheng never said a word, he was already tall, even if he sat on the chair, he had the momentum of stopping at Yuezhi.

Seeing Feng Bao's ugly face, Zhang Juzheng gently stroked the black beard under his chin, and Danfeng's eyes were slightly provoked, and he glanced at him.

Somehow, Feng Bao, who was already in chaos, sensed the meaning of the emperor's first assistant, and suddenly his heart stopped jumping and his temples stopped jumping suddenly, and gradually calmed down.

The sound of hurried footsteps sounded again, this time it was Zhang Cheng and Zhang Whale coming together.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!" Zhang Cheng was still far away, so he exchanged tears and made a look of joy and tears: "General Qin found the bloody clothes, what did he do to restore the scene and repeat the case, it has been proved that the two palace maids were not killed by His Majesty!" ”

Zhang Whale looked at it, I damn it, Zhang Cheng, this kid pretended to be very powerful, so he also raised his sleeves up, crying so much that he called it "pear blossoms with rain", and sobbed: "Emperor, slave maid, slave maid is almost scared to death, fortunately, General Qin cleared the emperor's wrongs, otherwise the lord humiliated the minister to death, the emperor has something, how can the slave and maid live?" ”

Empress Dowager Li didn't notice it, and thought that the two of them were revealing their true feelings, so she nodded and said, "You two are also loyal, and the mourning family is not wrong." ”

Feng Baozhen couldn't cry or laugh, Zhang Cheng and Zhang Whale, the two guys, I am afraid that they are still 108,000 miles away from the word "loyalty", and they are only a stone's throw away from the word "annihilation".

Zhang Cheng and Zhang Whale were anxious to invite pets, so they used Qin Lin in bloody clothes, and found eunuchs and palace maids with similar statures to restore the scene and repeat the case, and rushed to tell them again.

After hearing that the bloody clothes worn by Wanli were very different from the bloody clothes obtained after the repetition of the case, the shape and location of the blood stains were very different, Wanli stood up excitedly, clenched his fists and waved: "I just said that I didn't kill anyone, or General Qin tried the yin and yang, and investigated the case for me!" ”

Mrs. Li was overjoyed, but she still snorted heavily: "Your Majesty, although you didn't kill anyone, should you be drunk and drunk and fight with swords in the middle of the night?" ”

Wanli sat back in his chair with a bitter face, hanging his head and not daring to speak.

Zhang Juzheng suddenly opened Danfeng's eyes, and said loudly: "If the teaching is not strict, the teacher is lazy, and the old minister is also responsible." ”

"Mr. Zhang is indeed responsible," Empress Dowager Li paused, and then said, "Therefore, Your Majesty's edict will punish Mr. Zhang for drafting." ”

Ah, and still make an edict against yourself? When Wanli heard this, he was really half shorter, and he was about to argue, his lips smacked a few times, and he didn't dare to disobey the queen mother's will after all.

"Slave maid, slave maid ......" Sun Huairen looked at the faces of the masters, and said hesitantly: "The slave and maid think that the guilty edict can be postponed for further discussion, and now the key is to find out who is the culprit who killed the palace maid and framed His Majesty." ”

That's right, when it comes to the hearts of the monarchs and ministers, who is bold enough to commit such a murderous crime in front of the emperor in the Forbidden City?

Motive is undoubtedly the starting point of doubt.

If Wanli abdicates, who will be the most beneficial?

On the surface, it seems that King Lu, who has a great chance of succeeding to the throne, is the younger brother of Emperor Wanli's mother, and is also the son of the former Emperor Longqing.

However, not to mention that King Lu and Wanli have a very good relationship, brothers, friends and brothers, it is unlikely that they are just age - King Lu has just turned twelve years old this year, and a twelve-year-old child can set up such a conspiracy?

In addition to King Lu, the next beneficiaries are Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao, but Zhang Juzheng is outside the palace and controls the cabinet, the six ministries and the imperial historians, but his hand is not enough to reach the Forbidden City.

The only object of suspicion left is Feng Bao Feng Dugong, after all, His Majesty went to his door to shout and kill, and when he came back, something happened, and he couldn't get rid of Feng Bao's suspicion of blaming the blame!

Suddenly, Feng Bao's heart beat a drum, he is the head of the inner court and also the commander of the East Factory, killing the palace maid and framing Wanli, he has both motive and ability, if he can't find out the real murderer, he will really fall into the crotch of his pants - it's not but is.

Previously, Feng Bao hoped that Qin Lin would not be able to solve the case, which made Empress Dowager Li extremely disappointed in her son, and she and Zhang Juzheng cooperated to play a big drama of abolishing the long and standing young; But at this time, he begged the Jade Emperor Taishang, the old monarch, the Yuan Shi Tianzun, the Buddha, the Buddha, the Guanyin Bodhisattva, the gods and Buddhas, and only begged Qin Lin to solve the case quickly and find out the bastard who blamed others quickly.

Grandma's, find that guy, don't let him taste the six hundred and thirty-six sets of torture in Dongchang Tiangang, Lao Tzu Feng Bao Feng wrote backwards!

Fortunately, Zhang Juzheng, the first assistant of the emperor, once again cast a supportive gaze to Feng Bao, stern and firm, which made Feng Bao's mood calm down a little.

Finally, the footsteps sounded for the third time, and a group of people hurried with lanterns.

The first two times were Qin Lin's breakthroughs in the investigation, will this time bring new surprises?

It was Qin Lin himself, he was holding a soft cloth in his hand, wrapped in something, and everyone's eyes were attracted by him, so that Zhang Hong, who was also the No. 1 important person in the inner court, was completely ignored for the first time, and Sun Dexiu and the other four eunuchs involved in the case last night were ignored even more.

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager," Qin Lin walked into the main hall of Cining Palace with a smile: "Weichen has found the things left by the murderer." ”

What is it, could it be the jade pendant on the real murderer's body, jewelry or something? That's what you can know whose it is by looking up, so as to track down the real culprit.

Qin Lin uncovered the soft cloth, but saw that it was a small and delicate wooden boat inside.

"Isn't this a boat that passes wine through the meandering halls?" Wanli said in surprise: "I played with it last night, and used it to float in the stream to pass the cup, Qin Aiqing, this is not a murderer's thing." ”

At this time, there is no fingerprint recognition technology, and the evidence found at the scene can only be found by identifying a certain person, and finding the person's head, such as the deceased tearing off a button on the murderer's front placket and grasping it in the palm of his hand, if the button is more unique, follow this clue to find the murderer, but an ownerless thing like a boat will not play a role in solving the case.

Qin Lin observed Sun Huairen, and when he found that he was coming with a cloth bag, he looked a little flustered, but when he saw that there was a small boat in the cloth bag, he calmed down.

Hmph, you think that's all I have?

In front of Empress Dowager Li, Wanli, Zhang Shoufu and other bigwigs, Qin Lin talked eloquently: "People's fingerprints are unique, where people have touched them, they will leave fingerprints, and Weichen can let the fingerprints develop and find out the real murderer." ”

The reputation of Chief Qin is not covered, although he has not heard of this method before, but since Qin Lin said it, no one will doubt it since Empress Dowager Li.

Only Sun Huairen whispered a few words in Queen Wang's ear, and Queen Wang asked: "General Qin said that you can identify whose fingerprints it is, but this has never been heard of, can you prove it to the Queen Mother?" ”

Empress Dowager Li nodded when she heard this, after all, she had never heard of a method, and she had to rely on it to verify the real culprit, so she had to prove whether this technique was effective first.

"It's very simple," Qin Lin looked around at the bigwigs in Cining Palace, "There are five big red lacquer pillars here, the lower officials go out first, ask the Queen Mother, Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, Zhang Shoufu and Feng Dugong to pick a pillar each, touch it at a five-foot height, and then return to the original seat, touch it on the armrest of the chair, and when the lower official comes in later, check the fingerprints, and you can tell who touched which pillar." ”

This method is novel enough, and before Empress Dowager Li agreed, Wanli rushed to agree with great interest: "General Qin is reasonable, so be it, you go out quickly, let's touch the pillar." ”

"Weichen obeys," Qin Lin said before turning around and walking out of the hall, standing with his back to the hall.

(To be continued)