At the beginning of the next day, the three divisions of the trial came as scheduled, and Li Qianyou, the chief of the punishment, was in the same row with Yushi Zhongcheng and Dali Siqing, and the top seat after the three was Lu Chengqing. Lu Chengqing is close to old age, and has gone through the three dynasties of Gaozu Li Yuan, Taizu Li Shimin and Emperor Li Zhi, and is the same prime minister, highly respected, and deeply trusted by the emperor and queen. In the case that Li Hong cannot continue to serve as a mediator, he can be said to be the candidate who everyone wants.

Although the three directors were officials in the same dynasty, they were not close to each other, and after a slightly embarrassing greeting, Li Qianyou ordered someone to invite Xue Ne and Gao Min to the court, ready to start questioning the case.

Xue Gao and the two met outside the hall and intervened to greet each other. When the people outside the yamen saw the two of them, they hurriedly said to their companions: "Last time, it was the two of them, and they were so noisy, and today there is a lively ......."

"I think that little white face wins, he is more handsome than the black face!"

"Scared, he's exonerating the cardinal."

"Oh my God, why is he so conscienceless, then let that black-faced kid win."

Amid the noisy discussion of the people, Xue Gao and the two walked to the yahall with their own hearts, and after saluting several officials, they lined up on both sides, waiting for the suspects and witnesses to be summoned.

Before long, Fan Ning came to the court under the escort of two officials. "One day is like three autumns", I didn't understand it before, but now I finally understand how unforgettable that feeling of worrying about my stomach is. But the matter was not over yet, neither of them dared to make a mistake, and after looking at each other, they hurriedly turned their heads, for fear that others would notice their abnormality.

Sitting on the left side of the courtroom, responsible for presiding over the process of advancing the trial, was Yuan Gongyu, the chief of the criminal department, who was the deputy chief of the criminal department who spoke up in the mouth of the prince Li Hong that day. Although his official rank is below Li Qianyou, he is quick-witted, impartial, and trustworthy. Xue Ne couldn't help but admire Li Hong's proper arrangement, even if he was still grounded in the East Palace, he was still doing his best to help him solve the case.

Seeing that everyone was in place, Yuan Gongyu patted the shocked wood: "Colleagues have worked hard, this case has been postponed for several months, seven days ago, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince presided over the judgment here, and Xue Mingfu and Director Gao put forward two diametrically opposed conclusions. Xue Mingfu has physical evidence, and Chief Gao has witnesses, so His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked to re-judge today, and make sure that the human and physical evidence are complete, and that the unjust case must not be closed, let alone let go of a bad person...... Xue Mingfu and Director Gao, you two will investigate this case before we wait, and you must not live up to the expectations of the Second Sage and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, do you understand? ”

"Yes", Xue Ne and Gao Min agreed.

"Alright, the paperwork can start taking notes. Xue Mingfu, I heard that you have made a new gain in the past seven days, right? ”

"Exactly", Xue Ne stepped forward and began his own argument, "Since the last debate, Xia Guan has been tracking down several guards in the other courtyard. Because no matter whether it is Fan Ning or the thief leader mentioned by the lower officials who did this case, if there is no internal response, this matter will not be successful. Therefore, the lower officials and I, Lantian Wuhou, hurriedly checked and arrested Tian Laohan and the thief leader who shared the stolen goods in the West Market yesterday. The head of the thief has strong martial arts, and he has not been able to arrest him for the time being, and the lower officials have notified the Criminal Department and Dali Temple to issue a wanted warrant for the head of the thief, but the accomplice Tian Laohan confessed to his crime...... Please bring the old man Tian to the court. ”

After getting Yuan Gongyu's approval, the two martial marquis brought Tian Laohan up. Yuan Gongyu was shocked, and shouted in the court: "Tian Laohan, how did you participate in the planning of the arson case of the Hongwen Pavilion Annex, and truthfully invite it!" ”

After a day of detention, Tian Laohan's whole person wilted a lot, and he was no longer as arrogant as when he was arrested yesterday, Xu had figured out that he could truthfully confess and ask for a reduced sentence, he opened his mouth, and his white beard trembled, and he said pitifully: "Caomin Tian, who learned martial arts and joined the army when he was young, served as a martial marquis in Chang'an City, and was implicated and removed from prison because he did not verify the rebel blade that was transported into the neighborhood many years ago. When the pregnant wife heard the bad news, she died of a miscarriage in fear, and since then, the grass people have been alone and have no place to return. Later, after catching up with the saint and establishing the heavens, he gave amnesty to the world, and then cleared my case record and released me. Since then, Tian has been teaching in the village school in Lantian County, and he is poor and hungry. Five and a half years ago, Lantian County wanted to build the Hongwen Pavilion annex and recruit guards, and the grass people were selected as the arsenal guards because they had the experience of being a martial artist and could write a good hand. However, when the grass people had no livelihood, they owed money to the village tyrant, and when the other party learned that I had become an arsenal guard, they demanded a sky-high price. In order to pay off the loan, I really couldn't, so I stole the weapons and armor from the arsenal and sold them for money, and I made a manipulation of the records and reported all the weapons and armor as 'damaged'. Later, the superintendent discovered the matter, and suspected that I had stolen from the prison, but he could not produce any evidence, so he had to transfer me from the position of guard of the arsenal and only work as an ordinary scribe. ”

Fan Ning didn't expect that this matter was actually done by the seemingly honest and loyal Tian Laohan, and he was so angry that he couldn't kick him to death.

Feeling Fan Ning's sharp gaze on the side, Tian Laohan was so frightened that he moved two steps to the side, calmed down, swallowed his saliva, and continued: "At that time, I also hid a set of guard chief uniforms, and I had time to sell the stolen goods in the future, so I was afraid of being caught, so I sealed it with a wooden box and buried it in my backyard. Half a year ago, a Hu man came to his house to look for grass people, saying that he knew that I had resold armor five years ago, asked me if I had stock, and threatened to kill me if I didn't help him...... The grass people were really worried and scared, so they had to give him the set they had left privately five years ago. I didn't know that one wrong step, one wrong step, was restrained by that person like this, and finally ...... In the end, it caused a catastrophe! ”

Tian Laohan said that, and cried loudly, very pitiful. Feng Erwang Wu, who came to testify, was extremely angry when he saw this, and said: "Tian Liu, you took care of your own life and killed such a brother, not to mention, on the second day of the case, you lied to Xue Mingfu that he had a cold, and he took all the money from him to gamble, and then laughed at him for being stupid, this is also what others forced you?" ”

"Is there such a thing?" Yuan Gongyu sighed with emotion, and was filled with righteous indignation after hearing this, and asked Xue Nedao, "Xue Mingfu, how much money do you have with this old man?" Let him pay you back! ”

"Ah......" Xue Ne looked embarrassed, "It's been a long time, and the officials can't really remember it." ”

Seeing Xue Ne's embarrassed appearance, Fan Ning almost couldn't hold back his laughter, he really didn't have any concept of silver money, and he didn't know how much money to give to those injured craftsmen to supplement their families when he was in Luoyang before.

is also, this eldest son of the second prince of the second county, and has the official title of Gyeonggi, where would he care about the scattered silver coins. Yu Shi Zhongcheng cleared his throat and turned the question back to the case: "Tian Liu, how did that person ask you to respond, but you deliberately gave the manuscript to Li Chunfeng's apprentice for a day?" ”

"That Hu man, every once in a while, I asked me to copy the visitor on the file to make an appointment to show him, until that day, the red clothes ...... Ah no, this little lady wanted to come and get the "Tui Bei Tu", so he asked me to excuse myself from being sick for one day, and then take out the copy the next day. Other things, he, he was going to kill people and set fires, but the grass people didn't know about it, and I went home very early that day......"

"Xue Mingfu", Dali Siqing patted the file on the table and said to Xue Ne, "The case file of the last debate, this official has read it, Xue Mingfu is brilliant and clear-minded, and today there is a witness, which can be described as excellent...... It's just that there is a flaw in Xue Mingfu's previous judgment, that is, when was this guard chief replaced by the thief leader? ”

"Yes," Xue Ne replied, "During the last debate, the lower officials were too deeply influenced by Fan Ning, so they preconceived that the killing of the chief guard occurred before Fan Ning entered the library pavilion, but it was not. The head of the guard was killed by the change when the fake monks entered the Treasure Pavilion. Then the Hu man wore the guard uniform given to him by Tian Laohan and appeared in front of everyone, both Hu people, with similar beards and hair, that even Feng Er and Wang Wu couldn't tell the difference. Moreover, Tian Liu also deliberately informed the Hu people of what he heard, Fan Ning and the head of the guard the day before, and the Hu people deliberately said that they would listen to Fan Ning, which made Fan Ning, who was familiar with the chief of the guard but not very familiar with him, also think that he was the chief of the guard, so as to confuse the public and steal the beams and change the pillars...... The previous closing statement of the Criminal Department claimed that Fan Ning had done it himself, but in fact the flaws were even greater. Just imagine, if there was no pretending to be a guard chief in this case, how could those fake monks arrange a fire in the presence of the real guard chief, and spread miscanthus and Kunlun yellow all over the Treasure Pavilion? Not to mention the extra tin blocks and the copper tripod that fell inexplicably, none of which can be explained. ”

Xue Ne's words caused a whisper from the crowd of onlookers, indeed, if this case was committed by Fan Ning and the six fake monks, too much physical evidence and guard testimony at the scene would not be true. Seeing that the atmosphere was quite unfavorable to the closing statement of the Criminal Department, Li Qianyou immediately gave Gao Min a wink. Unexpectedly, Gao Min just listened to Xue Ne's words carefully, and did not have the intention of refutating. Li Qianyou couldn't, so he had to speak by himself: "If Fan Ning is the mastermind, why do you need any bronze tin mirror?" As for Feng Er, Wang Wu and the others, they only saw Fan Ning and the guard chief enter the entrance of the first floor of the Treasure Pavilion together, and they didn't see them enter the second floor together, maybe this woman took advantage of this gap......

"Li Sixing", Xue Ne interrupted Li Qianyou's words, "Don't you understand?" If it was the true guard chief who sent away the fake Famen Temple monks and greeted Fan Ning at the gate, then the fake monks would have no chance to take the mangnites and Kunlun Huang out of the box where the scriptures were transported. Fan Ning came alone, even if he could kill the chief guard, how could he set the entire building on fire, so that the guards didn't have time to put out the fire, and could only watch the three-story treasure pavilion burn into ashes? Could it be that Li Sixing really thinks that Fan Ning is a red-clothed yaksha who spits out three flavors of true fire? ”

Forget about the shouting of the red-clothed yaksha, hearing Xue Ne's call, Fan Ning Moti was displeased, and looked up at him with disgust.

How could Xue Ne not understand Fan Ning's thoughts, but in the trial, he couldn't show that he was too close to her, with a light smile on the corner of his mouth, and deliberately didn't look at her.

"Didn't you say that day...... It is said that there is a hot spring on the top of Li Mountain, and the hot spring will occasionally emit Kunlun yellow and other things, and over the years, it will paint a thick layer on the outside of this wooden library pavilion, but if there is a fire inside, will it burn outside? Li Qianyou was still unwilling, and asked in a loud voice.

Xue Ne calmed down and said unhurriedly: "Xia Guan said it, but that can only be achieved when the second and third floors of the Treasure Pavilion are sprinkled with manganese and Kunlun yellow. It's better to see than to hear, so let's take a look at it with your own eyes. Tao Mu, on the mold. ”

"Yes", Tao Mu clenched his fists and beckoned to the court, and several martial artists lifted up the wooden models of the two identical treasure pavilions and placed them side by side in the hall. Xue Ne walked up to the model and explained, "This is a treasure pavilion mold restored from the architectural drawings of the Hongbunkan annex, and its wood is no different from that used in the real treasure pavilion. Tao Mu, sprinkle Kunlun yellow on the surface. ”

Tao Mu took out two powder packets from his arms, and in order to show justice, handed them to the Wuhou present. Wuhou applied it evenly to the surface of the model, impartially, no more, no less.

"Then add miscanthus and Kunlun yellow on one of the second and third layers," Tao Mu said, handing over two more paper packets.

Wu Hou scooped a spoonful of yellow and white powder through a thin spoon, carefully extended it through the window of the model, and sprinkled it into the corresponding positions on the second and third floors.

Seeing that everything was ready, Tao Mufu took out two thin incense sticks, lit them and handed them to Xue Ne. Xue Ne took it carefully and said to everyone: "Next, someone must cooperate with the lower officials, and at the same time ignite this treasure pavilion mold from the inside. Since Taichang Bo Li Si has objections, you might as well verify it yourself, how about it? ”

Li Qianyou snorted coldly, stood up from the futon, and took the incense stick in Xue Ne's hand. The two of them lined up in front of the model, and Xue Ne said: "Xia Guan counted from one to three, and Li Sixing and Xia Guan stretched the incense stick into this treasure pavilion together...... One, two, three! ”

As soon as the words fell, the two of them stretched the incense sticks through the window of the model together, only to hear a "boom" explosion, and the model of the Treasure Pavilion on Xue Ne's side was ignited in an instant, and it burned to the entire model in a moment, and the flames flew to two or three times as high. Seeing this, Feng Er, Wang Wu and other guards in the hall all changed their faces and exclaimed, "That's it!" The Treasure Pavilion burned down very quickly that day, and if it was just an ordinary arson that didn't happen so quickly, we thought it was really strange at the time! ”

Everyone looked at Li Qianyou's side again, and the model was still intact, and not even a single smoke came out. Li Qianyou felt embarrassed, and poked it in again, but until the incense sticks were broken, he didn't jump into a spark, and the scene was extremely embarrassing. Seeing this, the crowd of onlookers let out a noisy laugh.

"It's useless, Li Sixing. When the annex was first designed, wax was applied to the surface of the wooden building to prevent it from catching fire, so it was impossible to ignite the building from the inside with flint alone. Previously, Xia Guan had cracked the Longmen industry fire case, and even a thing like a grotto, which is absolutely impossible to burn, will cause flames to erupt if its interior is sprinkled with miscanthus and Kunlun yellow, not to mention wooden buildings. Therefore, if there were no fake monks sprinkling these two things inside the building, it would never have been possible to set the Treasure Pavilion on fire in such a short period of time. ”

Everyone looked at Li Qianyou, only to see that although he was angry, he couldn't think of any reason to refute Xue Ne, so he turned his head to look away, pretending to be thinking.

"What happened to the six thieves who testified before and accused this woman of being the main culprit in this case?" Yu Shi Zhongcheng asked.

"These people have a lot of testimonies, please bring them with you, and the lower officials will know when they ask."

The three directors had no objection, and Wu Hou brought up the vicious accomplices and knelt down in the hall. Unlike the last time, everyone was blindfolded, and Wu Hou was covering their ears tightly from behind.

Seeing that everyone had doubts, Xue Ne explained: "After the last trial, Yuan Shaochang specially asked the head of the criminal department to separate them from their cells and keep them from colluding with each other. So from that day to now, there has been no communication between them. ”

With that, Xue Ne pointed at one of the prisoners, and Wu Hou behind him let go of the hand covering his ear. Xue Ne lowered his hand and asked, "When and where did this woman connect with you?" What tokens do you have for what you instructed? ”

"Yes...... It's the fifth day of the ninth month, in the West Market...... I can't remember anything else. ”

Xue Ne motioned for Wuhou to cover his ears again, pointed at the other prisoner, and asked the same question.

"Late October...... At...... Outside the ghost market. ”

A noisy discussion broke out in the crowd outside the hall, and the "red-clothed yaksha" who was scolding in his mouth just now also became a "little lady" at this time, and some people even began to speak for Fan Ning: "Looking at his face, he is a good boy, how can he do something hurtful and unreasonable, and it is clear that he was framed by someone!" ”

Xue Ne asked the fake monks one by one in the court, and everyone's words were different. Li Qianyou couldn't help but look embarrassed, and the others were full of understanding: Needless to say, these people are slandering Fan Ning, and the murderer is someone else.

Xue Ne looked at Gao Min, today's Gao Min changed his aggressive attitude seven days ago, and seemed too silent, as if everything that happened in the hall had nothing to do with him. Xue Ne saluted Gao Min and asked jokingly: "Director Gao is like taking dumb medicine today, and he didn't say a word. This is the key witness you mentioned at the beginning, how do you explain it now? ”

Gao Min lowered his eyes and smiled, and said with an innocent face: "Gao is just responsible for arresting people, who are the murderers these people want to identify, and what does Gao have to do with them?" Could it be that Xue Mingfu wanted to say that it was Gao who instructed them to accuse this woman? ”

As soon as Tao Mu waved his hand, the martial marquis escorted the six prisoners down. After discussing a few words in a low voice with Yu Shi Zhongcheng, Dali Siqing said to Xue Ne: "The argument of Xue Mingfu is clear and clear at a glance, and it can be a model for my Dali Temple." It's just that the official still doesn't know something: since Fan Ning is not the murderer, what is the identity of the real murderer, and why did he go to such great lengths to steal the "Tui Bei Tu" and burn the Hongwen Pavilion Annex? ”

Xue Ne turned to the front again, facing the presiding judge and said, "The real culprit in this case is the Hu Ren I mentioned earlier, who was arrested together with Tian Laohan. Since the real culprit has not yet been brought to justice, it is true that the lower officials have not yet found out why they stole the "Tui Bei Tu", set fire to the museum, and blamed Fan Ning, and even if there is speculation, it is not enough to be used as evidence in court. Fortunately, about his identity, Xia Guan already has some clues, which is why we were able to set up an ambush in the West Market in advance, so that Tian Laohan confessed to the law, and then I will ask the key person who provided the clues to Xia Guan to tell you personally. ”

As soon as Xue Ne's words fell, he heard a sound of iron shoes coming from far and near, and saw three soldiers of the Dragon and Tiger Army walking in with a girl in a sassy uniform. The girl is not tall, strutting high, heroic and cool, it is Li Yuanxi.

Li Yuanyan's arrival caused a burst of exclamations from the martial marquis and witnesses in the hall, and even the three presiding officials were a little surprised. And the onlookers in the hall wanted to block the demeanor of the British princess, so they were driven away by a group of martial marquis: "Next is the secret trial, and the idle people will quickly retreat!" ”

After about a stick of incense, the onlookers were all driven out of the gate of Jingzhao Yin's Mansion, and only Xue Ne, Fan Ning, Gao Min and the presiding officials were left in the court. A Wuhou was about to step forward to take Fan Ning off the field, but was stopped by Gao Min. Gao Min whispered a few words to him, and then Wu Hou hugged his fists, leaving Fan Ning behind, and retreated by himself.

Seeing Li Yuanyan present, Fan Ning's face was full of surprise, and more of a shame. Hearing that Li Jing had passed away some time ago, the emperor wept bitterly when he heard it, and even instructed his family to be treated preferentially, which made the already noble and extraordinary Li Jingye family even more popular. Today's Li Yuanyan is like a flower of Gaoling, noble and dazzling, and although Fan Ning is not the real murderer, he is detained on the yamen and has become a red-clothed yaksha who everyone scolds. Although he knew that Li Yuanyan was here to help him and should be grateful, Fan Ning still couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable, and he faintly heard Wuhou talking, saying that if it weren't for the sudden death of the British Duke Li Tao, Xue Ne and Li Yuanyan would get married this year, Fan Ning was even more sad and instantly depressed.

Yes, they are a match made in heaven in the eyes of many people, Fan Ning thought suddenly, what did Xue Ne say that day that Xue Ne liked himself since he was a child, could it be that Li Yuanyan was deliberately teasing? After all, the two of them have been enemies since childhood, thinking of this, Fan Ning raised his eyes and sneered at Xue Ne's back, full of unspeakable grievances.

Xue Ne only cared about redressing Fan Ning's grievances, how did she know that this girl who had always been a big girl also had a day when her little daughter was thinking wildly, and said to Li Yuanyan with a smile: "The county lord of Yuan Yuan is still in filial piety, and I am grateful to be able to come here today to testify." ”

Li Yuanyan chuckled and shook her hand, signaling that it was okay, and took two steps forward and said: "Great-grandfather often said 'loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness', loyalty comes first, since Yuanyan knows, how can there be any reason not to report it?" Before the Hongwenguan Annex, our Dragon and Tiger Army received a tip-off that a group of Turks was secretly lurking in our Chang'an City, intending to wait for an opportunity to cause chaos. And the leader is a Hu man called Ashina Poli, the first year of the Han Dynasty. This person is a member of the Turkic Ashina family, and is a collateral blood relative of the Ashina Helu family led by Su Dingfang, the general of the Right Tun Guard, in the second year of Xianqing. It gave itself the name 'First Year', which means rebelling against our Tang Dynasty and establishing the Yuan New Turkic Dynasty. When he was in the Turkic army, he fought with Ashina Helu everywhere, and his martial arts were also outstanding among the master Turkic wolf guards, so although the Turkic rebels were wiped out, he led a remnant of his army to escape. In order to cut down the grass and eradicate the roots, when my great-grandfather was alive, he ordered the informants of the Dragon and Tiger Army lurking in the Western Regions to inquire about the whereabouts of this person, and only then did he learn that this person had infiltrated Chang'an City. Yesterday, when Xue Mingfu led Wuhou to encircle and suppress, I ordered Shi Yuannian's informant to confirm the appearance of the Hu people from the side, and there was no difference. ”

Xue Ne echoed: "During the round-up, the lower officials ordered the Wuhou to pay special attention to whether there was a scar on the Tiger Shooting Knife at the root of the Hu Ren's ear, and found that there was indeed a corresponding scar, which was consistent with the location of the Tiger Shooting Knife wound mentioned by Fan Ning. This proves that Shi Yuannian is the real murderer who set fire to the Hongwen Pavilion Annex, framed Fan Ning, and killed eight guards and six monks of Famen Temple! ”

Xue Ne's voice echoed in the main hall, deafening. Seeing that the evidence was so conclusive, the three presiding judges no longer objected. Yuan Gongyu got up and walked to the side of Lu Chengqing, the right Su machine, and asked in a low voice, Lu Chengqing bowed slightly, Yuan Gongyu returned to his seat and sat down, patted the shocked wood, and said in a loud voice: "After the trial of the three divisions, the facts of this case are clear, the evidence is conclusive, the real culprit is the first year of Hu Renshi, Fan Ning should not be imprisoned for injustice, and he will be acquitted immediately!" ”

Hearing this, Fan Ning came back to his senses in a daze, and looked at the old men in front of him blankly, as if he didn't believe his ears, until Xue Ne turned around and looked at her, with all kinds of emotions such as joy, distress, and relief written in his eyes, Fan Ning woke up from a big dream, and his eyes were red.

In the past 100 days, several ups and downs, she finally washed away her grievances, and she no longer had to live the days of being frightened and hiding and hiding, Fan Ning's tears suddenly gathered in her eyes, I don't know whether to cry or laugh, the whole person is cute and pitiful.

Two Wuhou stepped forward and went to the shackles for her, Fan Ning took two steps forward, wanting to thank the old men who were impartially enforcing the law, but there was a sudden commotion outside the yamen, only to see that after the crowd dispersed, the imperial history dressed in red and holding the dust in his hand walked in under the embrace of a group of guards, and when he arrived in the hall, everyone saw that the imperial history was holding the edict in his hand, and immediately got up from his seat and bowed to the ground.

Seeing that everyone was kneeling, Fan Ning also knelt down, muttering in his heart: Yushi came by order at this time, could it be that his case has reached the heavens? Isn't it that the emperor and queen of heaven want to reward Xue Ne for his meritorious work in solving the case?

Yu Shijing walked past everyone's side, walked straight to Xue Ne, who bowed to the ground, unfolded the edict, and said loudly: "Xuan: Supervise Xue Ne, Lantian Ming Mansion, supervise the Imperial History Inspection School, shield the suspect, forge the truth, it is not allowed by the law, and the criminal department should be imprisoned." Bong Yi Yi. With that, he closed the edict and handed it to Gao Min next to him.

Gao Min raised his hand to take it, and bowed again: "The minister obeys the order!" ”

"What?" Fan Ning and Li Yuanyan both screamed in surprise, Fan Ning even disregarded the etiquette, stood up anxiously, and said to the imperial history, "I am already innocent, why is Xue Lang still punished for shielding me?" ”

That Yushi glanced at Fan Ning deeply, and did not pursue her roaring court, and turned away with a wave of dust. Those martial marquis had an order, even if they didn't want to, they had to make a gesture of invitation to Xue Ne, put the shackles that Fang had untied from Fan Ning on him again, and took him into the backyard to be imprisoned.

"Wait", Fan Ning ignored Xue Ne's dissuasion, and strode to block Wuhou's way, "Since it has something to do with me, you will also be imprisoned!" ”