In addition to the middle-aged monk, there is also a witness who is Duanmuqi's personal maid Xia Jin.

The monk and the maid all knelt down and respectfully saluted He Yushen.

He Yushen patted the shocked wood again and asked, "Who is kneeling in the hall?"

The middle-aged monk clasped his palms together and performed a Buddhist salute and replied, "My lord, the poor monk is a monk of the Qingjing Temple, and his Dharma name is Jihua. ”

Xia Jin's eyes were red, and her expression was uneasy, and she continued: "My lord, slave Xia Jin, my wife is the third lady of the Yang family. ”

He Yushen glanced at the two kneeling on the ground, and then asked: "Today, Duanmu Chao sued his niece for murdering his daughter in Qingjing Temple, that is, Duanmu Qi, the third lady of the Yang family, and you two are witnesses. What do you all see?"

The monk Jihua recited the sound of the Buddha and took the lead in saying: "Back to my lord, yesterday morning, the poor monk carried water through the back temple, and accidentally heard a woman's quarrel, so he looked back and saw this girl."

As he spoke, Jihua raised his hand and pointed at Duanmu, "I had an argument with Mrs. Yang San, and Mrs. Yang San was very excited at that time. Later, the poor monk saw the girl walk out of the rockery by the lake and leave the temple. Later, when the poor monk heard the sound again, Mrs. Yang San also fell into the water. ”

Xia Jin raised her head and looked at He Yushen, her eyes shining with tears, weak and pitiful.

"My lord, the slave and maid also saw it with their own eyes, the eldest girl and my wife quarreled fiercely"

"Later, the eldest girl pushed my wife into the lake, and when my wife fell into the water, her head hit the rockery, and she shed a lot of blood, and when my aunt rushed to the water to rescue my wife, my wife was already unconscious."

"Yesterday, my uncle invited famous doctors all over Beijing, but he still couldn't save his wife. Madame went at dawn this morning."

As she spoke, Xia Jin choked up, two lines of crystal tears flowed from the corners of her eyes, and her whole body trembled, as if she was about to faint at any time.

The onlookers were in an uproar, like a pot of boiling water, and they pointed at Duanmu in indignation.

"There are two witnesses' confessions, I'm afraid there will be no mistakes in this case"

"No matter what the two cousins are arguing about, if they don't agree, they will ask for their lives, this Duanmu girl is too cold-blooded."

"It is said that these high-ranking families hide a lot of unsightly pickled things, and it is true"

“”

One after another, the condemning eyes fell on Duanmu Jun in the public hall, and the voices of these people were louder than the other.

Duanmu Chao's eyes in the center of the public hall were also red, his whole body was tense, his eyes shot at Duanmu Jun like a sharp arrow, and he reprimanded in a high voice: "Duanmu Jun, what else do you have to say?"

"What can she say is just a pretext" He's voice was extremely sharp, staring at Duanmujun with tears in his eyes, and wanted to pounce on Duanmujun.

However, this time, before she took a step, she was quickly grabbed by Duanmu Chaoyan.

Duanmu Chao clamped Xiao He's right wrist and silently gave her a warning look, telling her to calm down.

Xiao He's heart seemed to be burning with a fire, and the hand hidden in his sleeve was clenched into a fist, and his nails pinched into the soft palm, causing bursts of stinging pain.

Then, Duanmu Chao looked at He Yushen again, and said loudly: "Lord He, the little girl died unexplained, and please punish the murderer severely according to the law, and give the little girl and our husband and wife an explanation."

When those people saw this, they sighed and said something like "pity the hearts of parents in the world".

He Yushen's head hurt even more, and he raised his hand and rubbed his temples.

In the midst of the uproar, Duanmujun still stood still, watching coldly for a while, without even raising his eyebrows.

Suddenly, she moved.

As soon as she moved, everyone's eyes were focused on her.

"Master Jihua," Duanmujun turned his head to look at Jihua a few steps away, and asked in a calm tone, "Have you ever seen me push Mrs. Yang into the water?"

"No, I didn't." Jihua shook his head honestly. The monks don't speak.

There was a shallow smile on the corner of Duanmujun's lips, and he said, "Master Jihua, you just said that you happened to see me and my second sister arguing when you were carrying water, I don't know where Master went from at that time, and how long he stayed at that time, and asked Master Jihua to repeat what he saw and heard yesterday in detail." ”

He Yushen listened to Duanmujun's question, his eyes lit up, and he was refreshed again.

To tell the truth, originally he didn't have a clue about whether Duanmuqi was a murderer or not, but now seeing that Duanmujun acted and spoke in a very orderly manner, he had a faint intuition in his heart: Duanmuqi's death had nothing to do with Duanmujun, so for himself, this case would be much easier to try.

He Yushen straightened his waist and echoed as if parroting: "That's right, Master Jihua, you can talk to the official in detail." ”

Jihua frowned, and after trying to recall, he said in detail: "Yesterday morning, because the kitchen tank ran out of water, the poor monk went to the back temple to fetch water. When the poor monk passed near the small lake with a bucket, he happened to hear someone arguing, so he stopped by the bamboo forest and glanced at the voice. ”

At that time, this Duanmu girl and Mrs. Yang San were a little far away from the poor monk, and the poor monk couldn't hear what they were arguing about, so he heard what Mrs. Yang San seemed to be talking about, and there were also things like the authorities were obsessed with bystanders. The poor monk thought that he should not listen to the insolence, so he hurriedly carried water and left. ”

"When the poor monk brought water to the kitchen and came out with an empty bucket, he happened to see the Duanmu girl leaving the temple alone."

"After that, the poor monk went to pick up a load of water again, and when he came back from carrying water, he heard the woman's cry for help, shouting for help, saying that someone had fallen into the water, so the poor monk put down his things and ran to look, and saw Mrs. Yang San fluttering in the water."

Jihua recited "Amitabha" again, and his expression was embarrassed, after all, Duanmuqi was in the Qingjing Temple.

For a while, only Jihua's voice was left in the public hall, and everyone listened attentively to him, including the people and students watching from the outside of the public hall.

After pondering for a moment, Duanmujun raised his hand and pointed to Xia Jin, who was kneeling on the ground, and asked, "Master Jihua, she dared to ask the person who called for help at that time."

Jihua nodded and responded affirmatively: "It is this female benefactor." ”

Duanmu hooked his lips, and his jet-black willow eyes became brighter and clearer.

Immediately afterwards, she threw out the next question: "How long did it take from the time I left to Xia Jin calling for help?"

Jihua calculated the time he spent carrying water, and replied, "I don't think I have half a cup of tea." ”

"Thank you, Master." Duanmu Jun smiled at Jihua, his delicate and bright face flashing with confidence.

Then, Duanmujun looked at He Yushen behind the public case, and said calmly: "Lord He, Master Jihua didn't see Duanmuqi pushed by me with my own eyes. ”

"From the time I left the Qingjing Temple to the time Duanmuqi fell into the water, there was half a cup of tea in the middle. It was clearly after I left that she was pushed down the lake. ”

He Yushen squinted thoughtfully, and said eagerly: "This is indeed possible."

Originally, most of the onlookers outside the court believed that Duanmujun was the murderer, and at this moment, half of the people's faces were moved, and they felt that what Duanmujun said was not unreasonable, maybe there was another hidden truth in this case.

Everyone turned their heads in twos and threes, nodding slightly.

"To put it mildly, there are a lot of things that can happen in half a cup of tea."

"This huge Qingjing Temple is not only the two sisters of the Duanmu family."

"Maybe there are other villains who have harmed Mrs. Yang San, not necessarily."

“”

Seeing that the situation began to fall in the direction of Duanmujun, Xia Jin was anxious, and her little face instantly turned red.

"You are talking nonsense" Xia Jin raised her voice excitedly, and scolded Duanmu Jun sharply, "Big girl, after you leave, no one will go to the temple to see my wife, who else can you do if you don't move?"

Xiao He decided in his heart that Duanmu Jun was plotting to kill his daughter, and felt that Duanmu Jun was just looking for a loophole in the witness's words to try to prevaricate.

Xiao He clenched his fists, looked at Duanmu Jun hatefully and said: "It's not you, who else can you think that you can get away with just a few words."

In a hurry, Xiao He's even Jing Zhaoyin scolded together: "He Yushen, don't think about bending the law for personal gain, and help Duanmujun, a little slut."

He Yushen's whole face darkened, and he slapped the shocked wood heavily, "Second Mrs. Duanmu, you talk nonsense again, be careful that this official will punish you for the crime of making a public noise."

Duanmu scolded Xiao He's bad things in his heart, glared at her, and said politely to He Yushen: "Lord He, because of the pain of losing his daughter, he is a little emotional, and I invite my lord Haihan." ”

Duanmu Jun didn't pay attention to Duanmu Chao and Xiao He at all.

She looked at Xia Jin who was kneeling on the ground with a smile, her sharp gaze seemed to be able to penetrate people's hearts, and Xia Jin subconsciously shrank down, feeling as if she was being targeted by a fierce beast, and her heart was a little weak.

Duanmu Jun asked unhurriedly: "Xia Jin, how do you know that no one has seen your wife since I left?"

"Could it be that you were there all the time and never walked away?"

"Since you have been guarding the side, why did you neither pull her nor call someone at the first time when your wife fell into the lake, and you had to drag half a cup of tea to call someone"

Duanmu Jun methodically issued a series of questions, and slowly took a step closer to Xia Jin, her shadow cast on Xia Jin's face, giving her an inexplicable coercion.

Duanmu Jun stared at Xia Jin without blinking, and said word by word: "Could it be that you pushed your wife down?"

Duanmu's voice became colder and colder, and it was loud and loud.

Before you know it, the hall is full of silence.

Even the onlookers outside the public hall were attracted by Duanmujun's words and forgot to speak for a while.

The atmosphere was awe-inspiring.

Xia Jin's eyes widened slightly, and she was dumbfounded for a while.

Duanmu Jun didn't wait for Xia Jin to answer, he looked at He Yushen in front of him again, and smiled, as if to say, what does Lord He think

He Yushen was stunned, and after thinking about it for a while, he suddenly realized.

By the way, in addition to Duanmu Jun at that time, there was also this maid named Xia Jin present, since it was not Duanmu Jun who killed people, then the truth is obvious, this is the evil slave killing the master

Moreover, there is a reason.

He Yushen slapped the shocking wood again, and immediately said angrily to Xia Jin: "Good you evil slave, not only kill the master, but also want to blame others, you can really punish him."

The onlookers exploded and the discussion became more lively:

"I heard this Duanmu girl say that she is justified, she must have been wronged"

"It must be this evil slave who killed his master."

"That's right, what this girl said is full of mistakes and omissions"

“”

Xia Jin only felt that the gazes behind her were like hundreds of needles piercing her, afraid and panicked.

Her face became whiter and paler, as white as paper.

"Adult Mingjian" Xia Jin's chin was raised higher, and he shouted at He Yushen, "Please don't listen to the one-sided words of the eldest girl."

"My wife treats slaves and maids very well, and treats them as confidants. The slave maid has served her since she was a child, and it has been twelve years, why should the slave and maid harm her?"

"The slave maid is my wife's dowry maid, the lady is gone, and the slave and maid have nowhere to go"

Xia Jin's eyes flashed with a thin layer of water vapor, and she looked like she had been wronged.

He Yushen intercepted Xia Jin's words and asked in a cold voice: "Xia Jin, you said that you have no reason to harm your wife, does Miss Duanmu have a reason to harm your wife?"

He Yushen looked down at Xia Jin who was kneeling on the ground, and his expression was a little condescending.

Duanmu Jun frowned, she didn't want to involve her sister, Sakura's lips moved slightly, wanting to interrupt He Yushen, however, it was already a step too late.

"Yes" Xia Jin blurted out excitedly, "Lord He, of course there is"

As if grabbing a piece of driftwood, Xia Jin raised her hand and pointed at Duanmu Jun again, accusing: "The reason why the eldest girl killed my wife is because the fourth girl was taken by the evil spirit."

"Smack"

He Yushen knocked on the shocking wood heavily, and the public hall was quiet, and the atmosphere became more and more solemn.

He Yushen's expression was solemn, and he reprimanded sharply: "Zi Bu is silent, and his power is confused. Come, drag this evil slave who killed the lord out of the court."

The students outside also frowned disapprovingly and scoffed.

Ignorant women and children

These scholars grew up reading the Tao of Confucius and Mencius, and they memorized the Analects backwards, and they all felt that this maid and god said such evil words were either stupid or empty-hearted.

"Yes, my lord" The two yacha immediately received the order, approaching Xia Jin on the left and right, intending to drag the person down.

Xia Jin was even more afraid, and walked a few steps forward in embarrassment, shouting loudly: "The fourth girl used to be a fool, everyone in Duanmu Mansion knew it, she couldn't even write, she stammered when she spoke, and she would fall down when she walked on flat ground, and the old people in the house all knew about it." ”

"Lord He, if you don't believe me, just go and ask someone."

"Six years ago, the four girls were rescued after falling into the water in the Qingjing Temple, and after waking up, she was like a different person, and suddenly she became extremely smart and top-notch. These things are also known to the whole house. ”

"My wife has long found out that something is wrong, but the old lady has always been partial to the four girls, and even was picked up by the four girls and separated the family last year. My wife really didn't want to see the family being harmed by an evil sect that caused discord between father and son, and the brothers were separated, so she went to Daoyuan Temple to find Huang Tianshi and asked for Zhang Fu, wanting to get rid of this evil that dominated the body of the four girls. ”

"The eldest girl obviously knew that something was wrong with the four girls, but in order to keep the status of the queen of the four girls, she just didn't know. She was reluctant to be the eldest sister of the queen, and yesterday she not only scolded my wife, but also tore up the rune paper given by my wife, and finally killed my wife."

"Big girl, Madame's dedication to the Duanmu family, you are really ruthless"

Xia Jin said everything in one go as if she was pouring beans from a bamboo tube, her expression was excited, and her voice became more and more high-pitched.

"Lord He, my wife died unjustly"

"My lord, you must make the decision for my wife and bring this murderer to justice."

“”

Whether it was the officials in the public hall or the onlookers outside the public court, there was an uproar, and the atmosphere inside and outside became a little strange, some people scoffed, some people were suspicious, some people were dumbfounded, and some people were moved

Rao is Mama Fang thought she was well-informed, and she was also stunned, and she didn't react for a while.

He Yushen was sweating profusely, his middle clothes were wet, and he was almost sad to death.

He had no idea that things would go in this direction at all.

When Duanmu Chao and Xiao He first came to report the case, He Yushen thought that at most, there was some dispute between sisters, and Duanmu Jun accidentally pushed people into the water.

However, later, he looked at Duanmujun with a calm appearance, and his words were reasonable, but he felt that most of them were not.

He Yushen has also been an official for so long, and he has tried not thousands of cases, but hundreds, I don't know how many prisoners have seen dodging eyes and weak demeanor, by no means like Duanmujun.

However, he never expected that this maid would say this in the court

He Yushen subconsciously grabbed the startling wood in his hand, and his head was as big as a fight.

I'm afraid this case is in trouble, and it won't end well.

This maid called Xia Jin actually said in front of so many people that the four girls of Duanmu were attacked by evil spirits

Although the son is silent, there have been witch cases in all dynasties, especially the royal family, which is the most jealous of witch Gu, which will cause a bloody storm every time, and once the family is involved, the end is likely to be the nine clans.

The four girls of the Duanmu family are the future queens, and if this matter is not handled properly, not only will the nine clans of the Duanmu family not be protected, but even he will have to finish the game with all his fears

He Yu Shen Jing Zhaoyin was shocked and frightened just thinking about it.

He grabbed the startling wood and was about to knock it down

Duanmujun was one step faster than He Yushen, she strode forward, raised her hand and slapped Xia Jin in the face.

"Smack"

A loud slap reverberated clearly in the air.

Xia Jin's face was crooked, and a blood-red five-finger mark was left on her fair cheek.

Everyone was stunned, and the hall was silent.

Everyone looked at Duanmu Jun and Xia Jin in a daze, but did not react.

"My sister is not something you can just talk about and cling to indiscriminately," Duanmu Jun said coldly, his eyes were like swords, and he was heroic.

Xia Jin covered her left cheek and said indignantly: "Big girl, if you think my wife is wrong, then why did you kill her?"

"You clearly have a weak heart. You know that our lady is telling the truth, that's why you kill people."

Xia Jin stared straight at Duanmu Jun two steps away, looking righteous and righteous.

Those students were unimpressed by Xia Jin's accusations at first, but they were slightly moved when they heard this.

They don't believe heresies, but Duanmujun doesn't necessarily disbelieve them.

Since ancient times, killing people has been nothing more than for such reasons, for love, for money, and for power

Seeing that the emperor and queen will get married next month, the four girls of Duanmu will be the most noble queen, and the Duanmu family has also won the title of Duke Muguo, this honor is enough to make people take risks, and even kill people.

In history, there were many people who harmed others and themselves because of witchcraft.

For example, when Emperor Daizong of the previous dynasty, Empress Zhang asked for the secret recipe for giving birth to a child but couldn't, and under the madness, she practiced witchcraft and cursed the harem concubines, so that no prince in the palace lived past seven years old in ten years, and was later deposed by Emperor Daizong as the queen, and Empress Zhang's maiden family was also involved in this witch case, and the family had no survivors.

Not only that, because the Zhang family has a huge influence in the court as a foreign relative, nearly half of the officials in the court have joined the Zhang family, which has also triggered a wave of purges, and those officials of the Zhang family and the party have either been dismissed, demoted, or degraded, and many families have fallen into this witch curse

Those students exchanged their heads and ears, and their expressions were solemn.

In contrast, ordinary people are looking in the other direction.

"That maid just said Dao Yuan Guan, Dao Yuan Guan, that is very effective," a plump woman in Tsing Yi said matter-of-factly.

"yes, yes." An old woman with a wrinkled face beside her nodded frequently, "Last year, the grandson of my next-door neighbor was hit by a funeral, and he cried all day long, just went to Dao Yuan Temple to find the soul of Huang Tianshi."

"Huang Tianshi's magic is really profound, a family in our village is haunted, and it is also a ghost that Huang Tianshi went to collect. When the ritual is done, it is immediately quiet. ”

"My family also asked Huang Tianshi to do things for my dead father, and my father and mother gave me a dream that night."

The people who were onlookers were full of praise for Huang Tianshi of Dao Yuan Temple.

The woman in green clothes said in a loud voice: "Huang Tianshi's mana is profound, and his talisman must also be spiritual. If the fourth girl of Duanmu is really okay and not evil, then why not try Huang Tianshi's talisman."

The other young woman in blue also thought so, and said with a frown: "Could it be that the fourth girl of Duanmu really has a problem?"

Another old man chimed in: "This maid is right, if the fourth girl of Duanmu is fine, why should this Duanmu girl kill people and kill her mouth."

The more these people talked, the more energetic they became, and the implication was that they had actually determined that Duanmu had killed Duanmu Qi, and they had even more determined that Duanmu Fei had been taken by the evil spirit.

He Yushen naturally heard the voices of those people, and his head became bigger.

Things have developed to this point, He Yushen just wants to withdraw from the court as soon as possible and then think about it in the long run.

"Smack"

Duanmu Jun slapped Xia Jin in the face again, making Xia Jin's left side of her face even more swollen.

Xia Jin glared at Duanmu Jun fiercely, "Big girl, even if you beat me, I still have to say what I should say."

Xia Jin kowtowed to He Yushen again and again, and when she raised her head again, her sideburns were messy, and her forehead was bruised.

"Lord He, what the slave and maid said is true, it is the slave and the maid who did not protect the master, and the slave and the maid did not want to live in the first place, but in order to make the truth of the matter public, the slave and maid lived in the world."

"Otherwise, the master will die in vain"

Xia Jin said hoarsely, resolutely pulled out the silver hairpin on her bun, held the silver hairpin high, and aimed the sharp hairpin tip at her white and delicate neck.

Even the onlookers guessed what she was going to do, and several timid women exclaimed, "Don't"

In the midst of one scream after another, Xia Jin desperately stabbed the tip of the hairpin into her neck.

Piercing blood poured out of the wound in an instant.

There was silence in the room, as if all the voices had been sucked out.

Xia Jin's slender body shook slightly, and slowly fell to the side, her eyes glazed

Her cherry lips moved slightly, and she murmured, "The fourth girl is evil."

As the last word fell, her body fell limply to the cold hard ground.

Scarlet blood also flowed on the ground, spreading rapidly in all directions, as if red flowers bloomed on the cold and hard ground