It is said that Cui was ordered by Lord Li to go out of the room to pick up criminals, and when he entered the courtyard, he saw only twenty or thirty human bodies listed indiscriminately, which can be called a mess and mourning. In this regard, he felt a lingering envy in his heart, an envy of power.

Cui spent a while working hard to find two targets from these people on the ground, and ordered the little colonel to carry them to Lord Li.

This Zhang and Fang Er's officials, one is the leader of the small officials in the Guozi Supervision Book Hall, and the other is the ordinary officials in the Guozi Supervision Rope Sorrow Hall, which seems to be unrelated, but their residences are adjacent to each other and have close contacts.

Most of the other statements are vague, and some are even difficult to justify, but it is understandable that what happened half a year ago is not clear. But these two people remember it clearly, and they also made a mutual testimony that made Li You feel suspicious. It is estimated that when these two people agreed at the beginning, they only thought about the situation of one being arrested and one rescued, but they did not expect both to be arrested.

This is an era of presumption of guilt, and of course Master Li does not mind bringing up people he thinks are suspicious to continue to torture and extract confessions.

Since the two were brought in, they knew that their family had become a key suspect, so they didn't care about pretending to be dead, and shouted grievances again and again. "The little two of them ate and drank together at Zhang's house that night, and after that, they played chess and played tricks, and they had nothing else to do, and they were really wronged!"

Cui Jing thought about it and whispered to Master Li: "You can separate the two of them and judge them separately, and ask them about the details of that night, such as what kind of wine they ate, how many dishes they had on the table, the situation of winning or losing chess, whether there were spectators, whether there were dogs barking outside the door, and how the moonlight was at night." Even if they are prepared in advance, they can't expect everything, and there will be flaws. ”

Opinionated! Li You said secretly, do you think this official is stupid enough and needs you to remind you of this? This really made Master Li feel that he was being underestimated, but he didn't care about Cui for the sake of making meritorious contributions.

In fact, Li You is not optimistic about this method. As far as he knew, the residences of the officials of Guozijian were all around Guozijian, and they could go back and forth without half an hour, and the two of them had every chance to commit the case first, and then go back to their residences to eat, drink and play chess and pretend not to be there at night.

But it turns out that Master Li is treating others with himself again, and not everyone is shrewd and cautious.

After questioning Zhang and Fang separately, and then comparing the two results, it was found that there were many loopholes, and inconsistencies abounded. These two people didn't even make a show, and fabricated a pretense of eating, drinking, and playing chess out of thin air.

It's really a small surprise that saves countless hearts. Master Li slapped the case and shouted: "What else do bold thieves have to say!" Hurry up! ”

The two men lay on the ground, gritted their teeth, and refused to say anything except shout grievances, as if they were determined to resist to the death.

So far, Li You has only concluded that they have deceived and lied, and there is no human or physical evidence to prove that they committed the crime. It would not be appropriate to continue the torture, they had already suffered fifty heavy punishments, and they were afraid that they would not be able to stand it if they were beaten again, and if they died at this time, it would be too much to gain and lose.

Looking at the faces of these two people, it is estimated that they hope that someone will rescue them after they survive this hurdle. But what made Li You a little puzzled was that these two people clearly knew that he was serving the edict of the Empress Dowager of the Ming Dynasty, and they dared to take the risk to resist the decree to rescue the two small officials?

Li You glanced around the hall and couldn't help but sigh. The torture equipment here is really not complete, if only there was a clamp, a hammer and the like, you can use it with confidence without worrying about your life. Shouldn't I send someone to the nearby Suncheon Mansion to borrow one... Cui Jing suddenly took out a booklet from his arms, flipped through it a few times, and whispered: "Yesterday, I visited as a classmate of the Southern Prison, and Renyun, a small official surnamed Zhang, was very keen to make friends with a prisoner surnamed Qian..."

Surname Qian? Hearing this surname, Li You's eyelids jumped suddenly. Empress Dowager Qian's money is not a big surname, and I haven't heard that there are other powerful people in the capital with the surname Qian. Therefore, at present, there are only two powerful people surnamed Qian who can Enyin's children in prison to study in Beijing, so this Qian prisoner is likely to be the nephew of Empress Dowager Qian.

If this is the case, the scope of this matter will develop in the direction that Li You least wants to see. Could it be that the expectations of these two suspects are in this?

Cui Jing catered to Master Li and said: "If the adults are embarrassed by the two in front of them, it is better to find another way to start with Qian Jiansheng!" ”

Li You shook his head to stop Cui Jing from continuing. Is this a different way? It's clear that you are looking for another way to die! It's good to know that it's good to actively inquire about news and take notes, but can you make an idea that is not so unqualified? It looks like it's time to reconsider whether to retain you or not... Cui Jing felt Lord Li's coldness, and his heart was uneasy.

At this time, the prisoner who had been escorted to the prison came back, only to see that his face was bruised and swollen and full of humiliation.

Li You put down the two suspects first, and questioned the colonel who escorted the prisoner to the prison, and was very disappointed to learn that there was no accident. The prisoner sneered: "The charge of disobeying the ban of the imperial court cannot be offset by the prisoner, and the official will sue you for sacrificing wine and punish you with prison rules." Before that, tie you to the corridor and wait for punishment. ”

Isn't this equivalent to a prisoner showing the public, more humiliating than the prisoner, the prisoner looked angry, and was about to speak, and heard Master Li say: "This official thinks that you are a straightforward person, and you must have been deceived by others, asking you to come out and stir up trouble but cheapen him." After writing things out, I will let you go, and I will not make an example. ”

The prisoner doesn't care if it's not an example or anything, but it's better to get out first. The adult in front of him is very difficult to get along with, and he doesn't seem to care about his background, and if he is unscrupulously humiliated, what face will he have in the capital in the future?

It was the hero who didn't suffer the immediate loss, so the prisoner took the pen and paper and wrote: "Today, I want to go home to visit my sick mother, and I have obtained the permission of the teacher. Why was the prison door closed and anxious, and I misheard the words of fellow classmate Qian Mou's encouragement, and I was angry for a while..."

Is it a prisoner again? When Li You saw this name, he pondered. What did Prison Supervisor Qian encourage others to break into and leave the prison? There is only one explanation, he is also in a hurry to go out, and he is afraid of attracting attention, so he provokes others to explore the way or cover him. Why did Qian Jiansheng go out in a hurry and didn't want to make a noise? Does it have anything to do with the arrest of all the suspects when you investigate the case?

Thinking of the suspect surnamed Zhang, who is said to be very attached to Qian Jiansheng, Li You sketched a line in his mind - Qian Jiansheng instructed Zhang Mou, who was close to the little official, to extinguish his mouth, and Zhang found a more direct Rope Hall official Fang Mou... Is the most superficial truth nothing more than that? Probably not far away, the deeper background and motivation or something, Li You didn't dare to think about it for the time being.

Cui Jing saw that Master Li was in a daze, and asked cautiously, "Why did your lord groan?" ”

Li You pointed his finger at Qian Jiansheng's name, "This person has become the nephew of the Queen Mother." ”

Cui Jing gasped and was silent for a while. is a little crying without tears, is it really as Master Li said, whoever he follows will be unlucky?

This matter can only be investigated so far, and it is enough to have two suspects with insufficient evidence! Li You made up his mind and wrote:

“… It has been found that in the case of the violent death of the sixth prison in September last year, two officials were very suspicious. It is speculated that they should be accomplices, among whom He instigated and Fang committed the crime, and they also made a contract to deceive the public. It has been found that these two men have perjured each other, which is enough to prove that their hearts are weak, and imagine how they would have been weak if they were not thieves..."

He wrote a large article with gusto, and most of the whole article was plausible conjectures, and in the 21st century, such a closing report would be laughed off.

But at the present time it is the most appropriate wording. After all, in these days, the rule of man is the mainstay, especially at the top of the temple, many things can be known to everyone, and evidence is sometimes not so important.

Because it is a conjecture, so the room for maneuver is large, and when it comes to the Queen Mother, she will recognize it if she wants to recognize it, and if she doesn't want to recognize it, she won't recognize it, and it is convenient to deal with it. Perhaps, this is the purpose of the Queen Mother who sent him to investigate the case.

However, after writing it, Li You himself felt that it was a bit unreasonable, even if he chased the wind and shadows, it couldn't be too mysterious, so he had to find some "real evidence", otherwise it would be difficult to deal with the crowd in all directions.

This is difficult for Master Li, who has a family tradition and experience, and he instructed Cui Jingdao, who was still lamenting his own misery: "You go outside to spread the word, whoever can report the evidence of these two suspects can be acquitted and released." ”

Cui Jing was stunned for a moment, and he could collect evidence with a few shouts? If those people really had any evidence, they would have been shown long before they were beaten to death.

"Let's go!" Li You waved his hand impatiently to urge.

Cui Jing went out and stood on the steps, facing more than 20 half-dead human bodies, and relayed Master Li's original words in a businesslike manner.

It's useless, Cui Jing thought, and was about to turn around and go back to the house. I saw the nearest little official under his feet, who had only breathed out but not in, when suddenly a carp rolled and raised his upper height and shouted: "The small one should be reported!" The little one is also a member of the rope hall, and he left late on the night of the murder, but he saw someone Fang come to the prison of the rope hall and asked him if he remembered the mistake on duty, and he came by mistake! ”

Yes? Isn't it? Plausible? Cui Jing seems to have been empowered, and he has been enlightened.

No wonder he was no match for Master Li at the beginning, he read books and read roundabouts, and he always wanted to calculate and act within the box, even if he was shrewd, how could he compare to Lord Li's elusiveness and common sense? Just say that the person who broke up under his feet is much taller than himself... Cui Jing, who returned to the rope hall, was no longer the previous Cui Jing, and handed the latest several confessions to Lord Li, but he mustered up the courage to offer advice for the third time: "Have you ever remembered a sentence, you can't have the heart to harm people, and you can't have the heart to prevent people!" ”

Li You fell into the long exam again, and when he woke up, he praised Cui Jing for the first time and said, "Not bad! There is growth! ”

After Cui Jiansheng, who is forty-one years old this year, was praised by Master Li, who was only half his age, he actually felt like he wanted to burst into tears.

"Go, I'm optimistic about you!" Li You still waved his hand.

Cui Jing respectfully bowed his hand and went out.

Master Li only stayed in Guozijian for three days before calling it a day and leaving, which was faster than most people imagined. The next time it was the court meeting, and there was also the discussion of the Wuying Palace, and Lord Li went to the court with his case book.

(To be continued)