There were originally two factions in this hall, and all the officials of the Criminal Department were silent, but it seemed that Xue Ne was the only one to decide the case, and now that Gao Min stood up, the two parties finally had the intention of fighting. The nearly 100 people watching from the periphery of the yamen were like geese whose necks had been lifted, their necks stretched out, and they looked into the hall with their heads open, waiting for the two of them to argue.

Gao Min looked like a bamboo in his chest, took a step forward, and Xue Ne was not far away, the two of them had a black complexion and a white complexion, one was confident and flying, and the other was humble and easy-going, as if they were incompatible. I only heard Gao Min being aggressive, and asked Xue Ne: "I have to say that Gao still admires Xue County Ling very much, Xue County Ling has a smart mind and extraordinary intelligence, and he can think of such an incredible story through these irrelevant objects." But there is a contradiction in Xue County's inference, just Xue County's order said that someone pretended to be the head of the guard, hid in the carriage box, and was transported into the Treasure Pavilion by the group of monks, so let me ask Xue County, when was the head of the guard replaced? ”

"Naturally, before Fan Ning entered the Treasure Pavilion, Fang Cai Xue had already said that they relied on the short stop time when Fan Ning smelled the aroma of Hu cakes, and completed the ...... of stabbing poison, stabbing swords, and hiding corpses."

It seemed that he was waiting for Xue Ne's words, Gao Min chuckled lightly and replied: "Okay, pass on Feng Er and Wang Wu to the court." ”

As soon as the words fell, Feng Er and Wang Wu were brought up. Gao Min asked them, "When did the masters of Famen Temple go out?" Was it before Fan Ning entered the other hospital, or after? ”

"Before," the two said in unison.

"Who accompanied them?"

"It's our boss," Wang replied.

"Okay, then here's the problem", Gao Min said as he paced, circling between the crowd, "Since the guard chief has not been replaced, and has been following those monks, then let me ask Xue County Order, when did those so-called fake monks take out the miscanthus salt, Kunlun Huang and what tin mirrors needed for arson from the wooden box, and when did they lift the big copper tripod on the third floor?" ”

Xue Ne was startled, he was speechless for a while, and he couldn't answer, Fan Ning said that the chief guard still talked to her about yesterday's events when he entered the door, and he was preconceived, and he didn't find a flaw in his reasoning.

Seeing that Xue Ne was silent, Gao Min laughed twice and said to Li Hong: "Your Highness, in addition, what Xue Xianling said seems to be reasonable, but there are too many accidental factors. Just talking about the time when Fan Ning came to the other courtyard, it was the first uncertain, the day before or the next day, morning or evening, no one except herself, could control it. If Xue Xianling's inference is to be true, then this hypothetical murderer must know in advance when Fan Ning will come to the Hongwen Pavilion Annex, and let the masters arrive just before Fan Ning arrives. Except for Fan Ning himself, who can grasp it so accurately? ”

"Do you mean that the person who intercepted and killed the monks of Famen Temple was sent by Fan Ning?" Li Hong asked.

"Exactly. His Royal Highness may not know that this woman has a group of fox friends and dog friends in the ghost market, and on the night of the Shangyuan Festival, the minister was ordered by Tai Changbo to go to the ghost market to arrest this woman, and saw Fan Ning leading those rabble to fight with other gangs. In addition to me, there are also twenty soldiers of the Yulin Army, and even Xue County's commander who was present can testify. ”

"Xue Qing, is this really the case?" Li Hong asked.

Xue Ne knew that there was a trap hidden in Gao Min's words, but his position on this matter was subtle and could not be denied, so he could only reply: "There is such a thing, but this does not prove ......"

"Okay, since this woman has the support of these lawbreakers, she can completely drive these people to ambush and kill the monks of Famen Temple in Gongchuan, and then make them pretend to be monks, and then murder and pretend to be the head of the guard in the other courtyard, and set up a fire, isn't it more convincing than a third party to interfere with it?"

Some of the people outside the hall have begun to nod their heads in agreement, for them, what poisonous needles and tin mirrors are all things in the book, too strange, as if they should not be owned by the world, and the ghost market that Gao Min said, many people have heard of it.

The atmosphere at the scene changed suddenly, which made Xue Ne feel a little bad, but before he could tell, Fan Ning couldn't help but speak: "These dog officials of your criminal department are storytellers, my friends are either shorter than a boy, or thin and tall as a rod, and the only monk is still blind." If I had asked these people to pretend to be masters, wouldn't I have been exposed by the guards earlier? ”

"On the night of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the minister heard that there were bandits gathering and fighting in the ghost market of Lantian, so he borrowed the soldiers of the British lord to suppress it, hoping not to make any big trouble. What we have seen with our own eyes is that the other party helped the others kidnap hostages and provoke them first, but the senior principal summed it up with the word 'mutual assault', is it not misleading? Although the law of my Datang does not allow this kind of private night market to exist on the surface, the ghost market has lasted for nearly a hundred years from the end of the Sui Dynasty to the founding of the Tang Dynasty, which can make some people who have been sentenced to prison have land to make a living, and the government has always been at peace. Without any evidence, Mr. Gao expected that the case was committed by them, is it a bit unfair? Xue Ne argued with reason and argued with Gao Min.

"Xue County's order is wrong, there are many lawbreakers in the ghost market, and there are not a few people who kill people and steal goods for money. These people have always been blind to the law, thinking that what they are doing is unaware. Even if Fan Ning's irons look weird, it doesn't matter, just find a few others with normal figures. Since Xue Yushi insisted on the intervention of a third force, he might as well talk about how this hypothetical murderer manipulated Fan Ning's actions like a puppet? ”

"Xue Qing, what do you think of what Gao Qing said?" After listening to Xue Ne's solution to the case, Li Hong felt that he was nine out of ten, but he didn't expect Gao Min to catch a little flaw and strike a strong blow to Xue Ne, which made Li Hong feel confused, and he couldn't see the truth of the case clearly.

The people outside the hall gathered more and more, and hundreds of pairs of eyes were firmly fixed on Xue Ne, but he seemed to be in a deserted wilderness, carefully sorting out his thoughts, and after a while, he stepped forward and replied: "Your Highness, the minister thinks that it is not difficult for the murderer to do this. Whether it is Fan Ning who takes the manuscript of "Tui Bei Tu" for Li Jucheng, or the monks of Famen Temple who come to get the scriptures, they need to apply to the Hongwen Museum in advance, and after their consent, issue a public inspection of the government, and then the government will report to the guards of the other courtyard, so that it can be verified at that time. And there are many treasures in the annex of Hongwen Hall, so there is also an accurate arrangement for the time to take the treasures. Therefore, in this process, the people of the Hongbunkan main courtyard and the guards of the annex will know in advance the specific time when they will come to the Hongbunkan annex. Therefore, the third-party murderer only needs to have a guard as an internal response, and he can easily grasp the time when the monk of Famen Temple and Fan Ning came to pick up the book. ”

"Gao Qing, can you agree with what Xue Qing said?" Li Hong asked.

What Xue Ne said is true, so Gao Min can't deny it: "What Xue County ordered is true. But this alone can only prove that someone can know the time of the two in advance, and it cannot prove that someone can influence Fan Ning's actions. And what Xue County Ling said is equivalent to bluntly saying that the court officials are accomplices, and the matter is serious, and the ministers have no real evidence, so they dare not be so suspicious. ”

"Xue Qing, do you have any evidence?" Li Hong asked.

"Back to Your Highness, since the minister dares to say this, there is naturally solid evidence. Originally, the time when Fan Ning went to the Hongwenguan Annexto to get the scriptures should have been the day before the crime. But it is so strange that the scriptures that should have been copied on this day were very coincidentally delayed by a day because the copyist Mr. Tian Laohan contracted a cold. Therefore, Fan Ning returned empty-handed the day before, and when he came back the next day, he encountered the arson and theft of books in the other courtyard, which is the evidence that the murderer manipulated Fan Ning's actions, as evidenced by Feng Erwangwu, the guard of the Hongwen Pavilion. ”

Gao Min chuckled, looking disapproving: "Can it be said that it is evidence that it is infected with wind and cold?" I'm afraid Xue Yushi is too hasty, right? Maybe if Fan Ning had come the day before, the time of the case would have been a day earlier, and it is not known. ”

"Naturally, anyone can be dyed with wind cold, but isn't it strange to be infected with wind cold so coincidentally? If it is really the first day, how can you complete the statement that the ghost market people in the ghost market intercepted and killed the monks of Famen Temple as mentioned by Director Gao? ”

The people outside the hall began to talk to each other, and it seemed that there was quite a disagreement. Li Hong tilted his head and thought about it, raised his hand and patted the startled wood: "Bring the old man from Natian up." ”

Tian Laohan had heard Xue Ne's words in the back hall, and hurriedly went to the hall in small steps, knelt down, and shouted to the heavens and said: "Your Highness, you are wronged!" In those days, the old man was in a hurry to copy books, he was too tired, and the weather suddenly turned cold, so he contracted the wind cold. If you want to be convicted for this, what a wrong, wrong! ”

Tian Laohan was heartbroken, kowtowed again and again, begging for mercy, and the onlookers couldn't help but sympathize when they saw this scene, and accused Xue Ne of being untrustworthy, and even such an old man had to slander.

"You said you were infected with the wind cold, but did you have a recipe for Lang Zhong to see?" Li Hong asked.

"Your Royal Highness, the old man is just a copyist, his life is embarrassing, and he looks down on Lang Zhong in the ordinary cold...... "Tian Laohan kowtowed again.

Xue Ne couldn't help but sigh, if this person was really guilty, how could he easily admit it? However, when the onlookers heard this, they all felt the same way, nodded again and again, and looked at Li Hong's eyes, all of which became a little alienated, as if they blamed him for not knowing the people's suffering, which made Li Hong in a dilemma, and he didn't know whether to interrogate him again.

Gao Min struck while the iron was hot, and then arched his hand: "Your Highness, the minister thinks that the crime mentioned by Xue Xian Ling has been sensational, and this case does not need a third party at all, and there is no need to spend a lot of time to do anything about the tin mirror, it is all completed by Fan Ning and the scoundrels in the ghost market." The so-called thief leader fabricated by Xue County's order has neither physical evidence nor evidence, and is purely conjecture. ”

"Director Gao said that Xue was arranged by association, isn't Director Gao far-fetched? Is it possible that in this world, only Fan Ning can kill people and set fires, but the thieves who commit crimes will not? Director Gao said that Xue was preconceived and took Fan Ning's innocence as the premise, isn't Director Gao also preconceived and took Fan Ning's guilt as the premise? What's more, since Director Gao asserts that Fan Ning is guilty, it may explain why Fan Ning stole the "Tui Bei Tu" that she was originally going to take? Xue Ne is not good at words, but for the sake of this case, he will not back down at all, and he will argue with Gao Min fiercely, and he can't get off the bridge.

"Killing more than a dozen people, setting fire to the Hongwen Pavilion, and mutilating the masters of Famen Temple, this woman's crime is appalling, and she has already gone mad, how can you speculate on it with human ethics? I heard that the ghost market does all kinds of business, so the minister deduced that this woman should have stolen this book and sent it to the ghost market to sell the stolen goods, and even Li Chunfeng, the secret bureau minister, may have died under this woman......"

"Hahaha", Fan Ning, who was kneeling in the middle of the hall, suddenly laughed, as if Gao Min's words were full of coke, "I surrendered that day because I believed that the Tang Dynasty still had a bit of royal law, but I didn't expect the crown prince to be on top, and the officials of the criminal department were still so arrogant, if it weren't for the fact that my master was in the court, I would have killed a few of you dog officials first to vent my anger!" ”

"Your Highness, look at how stubborn this woman is! He roared in the court, completely ignoring the crown prince in his eyes......" Li Qianyou was annoyed and fanned the flames, "No matter whether this woman denies the crime of going to the court, today's behavior should be shown to the public!" ”

"If this woman is really not a suspect, isn't she allowed to speak out?" Xue Ne refuted Li Qianyou and said, "What's more, His Royal Highness didn't say anything, Tai Changbo's words are really a bit overstepping!" ”

"Just talk about the case, don't make groundless speculation", Li Hong looked impartial and reminded Gao Min, "Li Jucheng is an official of my Tang Dynasty, even if his whereabouts are unknown now, he should not be arrogant." ”

Gao Min smiled and confessed his guilt lightly: "The minister lost his words, please punish His Highness." ”

"Xue Qing", Li Hong smiled and came out to play a round, bringing back the focus of the two parties, "Do you have anything else to say about Gao Qing's judgment?" ”

"Naturally, Your Highness, rank, two days ago, when Xue and Tao Mu checked the items left in the courtyard, they found that there were two flying knives left."

While Xue Ne was talking, Tao Mu walked into the hall with a wooden plate, and there were two flying knives in the plate, and some of the onlookers recognized it, and shouted loudly: "This is a tiger shooting knife!" ”

"Yes," Xue Nei said, "this thing is a tiger sword, and the people who live in the mountains have it in case of wild beasts. Fan Ning, this object is yours? ”

"Yes," Fan Ning replied, "at that time, I fought with the chief of the guard, and he was so strong that I could not resist it, and I flew out of the Hidden Blade while he was not paying attention, and injured him at the base of the left side of his face. ”

Tao Mu picked up the hidden sword through the white cloth and showed it to everyone: "Please look at the rank, the blade of this hidden blade is faintly green, it should have been quenched with some earth poison, this kind of earth poison will leave a scar when it is stained with blood, it is specially developed to make the mountain people wary of the fierce beasts that have been attacked by people." ”

The minister thought that the next step was to ask the Criminal Department to visit the Hu people's residences in the capital and ask if there were any people who were similar in size to the guard and had the scars of this knife at the base of their ears, and the case could be solved. If there is such evidence, is it not clear? Xue Ne asked rhetorically.

"In order to investigate the case, Xue County's order is so hard to work and hurt money, it's really open-minded", Gao Min snorted, "Whether this knife hurts people or not depends on Fan Ning alone." What if there is no such thing at all, but this woman deliberately left this thing in order to get rid of her sin? ”

"Does Director Gao have no evidence to refute? To say such nonsense in court? Seeing that Gao Min began to mess around, Xue Ne only felt angry and funny.

"Okay, Master Gao", Li Qianyou said loudly, "You bring the most critical witness!" ”

The most critical witness? Xue Ne's expression was full of doubts, but he saw Gao Min asking Li Hong for instructions: "Your Highness, Fan Ning hired a murderer and committed a heinous crime, which is indeed correct. The minister has a key person certificate to bring to the court and ask His Highness for permission. ”

"Exactly."

"Your Highness Xie", Gao Min clasped his fists and saluted, and said with his hands behind his back, "Bring a witness!" ”

After a while, six obscene-looking bald men were brought up by Wuhua Da Tie, and the gate guards Feng Er and Wang Wu who were standing on the side immediately exclaimed, "It's them!" The so-called monk of Famen Temple! ”

Gao Min walked unhurriedly to the middle and said to Li Hong: "After several days of investigation by the Criminal Department, the thieves who killed the master of Famen Temple in Gongchuan have been arrested and brought to justice, and Your Highness will listen to the testimony of these people. ”

Everyone's eyes focused on the group, but when they saw the leader of the group, they glared at Fan Ning fiercely, and said loudly: "It's this little lady, she hired us to intercept and kill those masters, and then pretended to be them to go to the Hongwen Pavilion, so that the objects she needed to set fire to them could be transported in!" ”

For a while, everyone in the hall was in an uproar. Gao Min slapped his hands a few times, and angrily reprimanded Fan Ning and said: "The human and material evidence is here, the red-clothed yaksha, what else do you have to say?" ”

Fan Ning, who was originally kneeling, stood up and kicked the leader in the face, kicking the strong man flying out of the distance, she scolded angrily: "Where did you come from, bastard, when did I Fan Ning recognize you pickled goods!" ”

"The Yaksha has sex! Hire a murderer, and dare to sprinkle in court! The onlookers in the hall all screamed, and no matter what object they were holding, they all smashed into the hall with all their might. The scene was out of control for a while, and Zhang Shun and others rushed forward to cover Li Hong's evacuation.

Li Qianyou stepped forward, blocked Li Hong's way, and hurriedly said: "Your Highness, these accomplices were caught by my criminal department, are they ......?"

Li Hong understood what Li Qianyou meant, and now that he had no choice but to wave his hand and say: "Since the people caught by the Criminal Department are all brought back to the Yamen of the Criminal Department." ”

The spring rain is dripping, and although it is not heavy, it is more chilling than the winter snowflakes. Xue Ne led the horse through the sparsely populated Suzaku Street, his face full of frustration and confusion.

I thought that a dam that stretched for thousands of miles had been built for her, but I didn't expect to be defeated once, but it was so easy. Gao Min arrested four suspects, all of whom claimed that Fan Ning was the mastermind, while Zhang San and Tian Laohan on his side both flatly denied that they were internal responses, and Shen Qi also insisted that he only saw Fan Ning, and did not see any pretending to be the chief of the guard.

Without a witness, he couldn't refute Gao Min, Xue Ne was helpless and shook his head gently. Gao Min's reasoning is by no means infallible, it just takes advantage of people's likes and dislikes and sets a trap. It's a pity that the law of the Tang Dynasty not only depends on whose inference is more perfect, but also emphasizes empirical evidence, and the empirical evidence is more important than human evidence. If Xue Ne wants to truly clear Fan Ning's grievances, she must find someone for Fan Ning who can prove her innocence, or let the guards show their own feet.

The small droplets of water fell on Xue Ne's long eyelashes, his face looked a little pale and haggard, I don't know if it was because of the fatigue of three days of sleeplessness, or because he saw Fan Ning being escorted away by the Criminal Department, his heart was painful and depressed, he raised his hand and wiped his face, only to find that the rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the street was empty.

With such a shocking case, it is indeed not easy to turn things around in the day, but he will never give up, he must take her out of the dark and cramped prison safely, he still has so many things to say to her, he will never let go.

Thinking so, Xue Ne turned over his horse and drove towards the end of the canopy covered by cumulonimbus clouds in the pouring rain.

Fan Ning thought that she would be tortured by words and deeds after entering the prison of the Criminal Department, but who knew that from noon to midnight, she was not tortured in any way, and the meal sent by the cell boss according to the three meals was not bad, and even once made Fan Ning suspect that it was a severed head meal, and she didn't dare to use a mouthful.

In the middle of the night, she leaned against the mud wall and listened to the faint sound of the rain, not daring to sleep too deeply. At this moment, there was a sound of footsteps on the cell door, and after a burst of footsteps, Gao Min and the cell boss exchanged pleasantries, and Fan Ning hurriedly raised his 120,000 spirits, seemingly unconcerned, but in fact he was waiting for him.

This place is the same as Lantian's prison, she is only imprisoned as a heinous criminal, so Gao Min must be looking for her. Fan Ning closed his eyes, but his ears were erect, only to hear Gao Min striding over, standing in front of the prison door, as if looking at the cold food, and said, "Isn't it to taste?" I heard that you like Hu cakes, but Gao sent someone to buy them in the West Market. ”

Nothing to do, courteous or thief, Fan Ning didn't answer his words, and sat upright like a stone statue. Gao Min was not in a hurry, he confronted her like this, and I don't know how long it took before he said with a smile: "Brother Ning is not a picky eater on weekdays, why did he come here to pay attention to it?" ”

This sentence "Brother Ning" really shocked Fan Ning's body, and no one else could see through it, could Gao Min see it at a glance? What evidence does he have to prove that she is "Ning Chungong", or is he just deceiving her?

Gao Min figured out Fan Ning's thoughts, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, whether you are Ning Chungong or not, Gao has no intention of reporting Xue County's order." I'm not interested in this, so it's just such a trivial matter. ”

Fan Ning snorted coldly, and finally opened his mouth: "Yes, if you frame me as the murderer in the Hongwen Pavilion case, you can be promoted to the fifth grade, where do you need to arrange some other charges for me." ”

"There are many offends in Jingzhao Yin's Mansion today", and the people who are still shouting in the court today "their crimes should be punished" are now apologizing to Fan Ning, with a very humble attitude, "Gao and our criminal department Taichang Bo are both entrusted by people, loyal to people, and we have to do it as a last resort, hope...... Her Royal Highness Princess Anding doesn't remember the villain, forgive us for our helplessness. ”