On the day of the final review.

In the Chenying Hall in the heavy forest, the crown prince Wei Zixu sat on a low circle chair carved with red sandalwood, and the public case in front of his abdomen was full of files of the 'Houshan Murder Case', some of which had been flipped through and were open and upside down. He held his forehead with one hand and looked at the main entrance of the main hall from time to time, obviously impatiently waiting.

Yin Zhuo Zhenghou, the secretary of Dali Temple, was on the side, saw his thoughts, and hurriedly trotted forward and saluted: "Your Highness, Lord Eldest Sun has not arrived for a long time, and the hour is not early, it is better to bring the criminal to trial first." ”

The prince said casually: "The book of the criminal department has not arrived, what are you anxious about." ”

"All of you from Dali Temple and Lord Chen appointed by Xuanting have arrived, and they can also be tried..."

As soon as the words fell, several adults in the Chenying Hall exchanged glances with each other, and then hurriedly bowed to the prince in agreement.

The crown prince frowned and stared at him: "I don't have this rule in Rongguo!" What's more, this suspicious case involves two court officials, and the father and emperor decreed that three divisions must be tried, what are three divisions? Investigation by the Criminal Department, review by Dali Temple, supervision by Xuanting, what is a triage? Naturally, the representatives of the three divisions were present before the case could be concluded. You... Isn't it clear? ”

Yin Zhuo seemed to be a little unspeakable, and said hesitantly: "This... The lowly position is just worried that His Highness has waited too long. ”

"It's okay, the eldest grandson must have been dragged back by official business, let's wait." The prince looked at him coldly, thinking that there were many contradictions between the Criminal Department and Dali Temple in the investigation of the case over the years, if it weren't for Mo Fei to balance it, I am afraid that there would have been infighting. Today, Yin Zhuo had such an attitude, I was afraid that there was something boring, so he asked him, "The Criminal Department and Dali Temple are investigating the case together, although the Criminal Department touches more things in the case, but your Dali Temple has the position of supervision, and you always have the upper hand, have you ever crossed the line for so many years?" ”

Yin Zhuo was so frightened that he knelt on the ground: "Don't dare to be humble!" Humble and abide by his duty, how dare he exceed his authority, His Highness is clear! ”

The prince laughed: "The criminal department is the knife of Rong Guo, and the Dali Temple is the scabbard, both of which are indispensable, you have always been the most trusted by your father, and this palace is just a casual question, don't panic." ”

The person kneeling on the ground breathed a sigh of relief, only to find that his back had been soaked with sweat, and hurriedly got up and retreated to the side to wipe his sweat. ”

Nangong Que?

This is interesting.

Outside suddenly became lively, and the students of Shu Youtang first jumped into everyone's eyes, and then Nangong Que, the servant of the Criminal Department, also entered. Yin Zhuo's loose face trembled, and his teeth gurgled.

And at this time, the eldest grandson Wuzheng also hurried over, and before he saw anyone, he could already hear his loud voice, "The minister is late, please atone for your sins!" As soon as the words fell, the eldest grandson Wuzheng had already bowed down at the bottom of the steps.

The prince raised his hand and told him to get up. Yin Zhuo squinted at him, sneering, too lazy to look at him. Wei Zixu quietly withdrew his gaze from him, drank a cup of tea to moisten his throat, and asked, "Who is kneeling?" ”

Nangong Que first reported to his home, bowed his head the whole time, and didn't dare to look at the prince at a glance.

Su Yan bowed respectfully: "Back to Your Highness, Mr. Shu Youtang Su Yan, the criminal on trial today is the brother of Nangong Jinqi, a student of Shu Youtang, so he is here to hear the trial." ”

"How can this Chenying Hall be a woman who can come in at will to listen to the trial!" Yin Zhuo looked at him, his eyes full of disgust, "What's more, you have nothing to do with this case." ”

Su Yan said: "Lord Hui, this Chenying Hall is not a forbidden place, it is a place to interrogate prisoners, it seems that there is no rule that women are not allowed to enter, right?" ”

Jin Qi was a little angry, "Exactly! Mr. Su is the gentleman of Seven Senses Academy, and Nangong Lin is my elder brother, so we are naturally related! Nangong Que was so frightened that he hurriedly dragged her behind him, and tremblingly pleaded guilty: "Your Highness is angry!" The little girl is still young, and she has no taboos! Weichen went back and disciplined strictly! ”

The prince looked at the brocade with great interest and did not speak. Yin Zhuo and Nangong Que have always been at odds, but when they caught his handle at this time, they naturally didn't let it go, "Okay, just a little girl, you dare to talk nonsense in front of Your Highness!" ”

Su Yan smiled and said, "The adults are angry, and Jin Qi is also eager to save people." ”

Yin Zhuo was so angry that his eyes were red, and he continued to reprimand, but was stopped by the prince sharply: "Yin Zhuo, this palace is sitting here, what kind of power are you exerting?" He turned to Su Yan and said, "Since you are the gentleman of Shu Youtang, then you will be given a seat." After speaking, the palace slave laid a felt mat on the right side of the stairs, put it on the table, and gave seasonal fruits, spring tea, etc.

Su Yan didn't expect that today's crown prince would be so approachable, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of respect in his heart: "Thank you, Your Highness, for your great kindness!" ”

"I think that when the palace was young, I was personally supervised by Mr. Zeyuan, and you were personally selected by him, Mr. Zeyuan has always had a unique vision, and you must have something extraordinary. Rong Guo respects Confucianism and Taoism, and admires scholars, so you don't need to be polite. As he spoke, his expression became more and more kind, not at all as unkind as the rumors.

It's just that the sentence 'Mr. Zeyuan has always had a unique vision'... Su Yan felt funny, narcissism was not strange, but such a fair narcissism didn't feel that it was only this prince who blushed.

A few yacha came in with a ragged young man, this person was Nangong Lin, who was extremely delicate, even if he could still feel the blood stains and emanation on his face. And Jinqi, who hadn't seen his brother for a few days, finally didn't hold back, and hid behind his father and sobbed in a low voice.

Su Yan was quite surprised in his heart, it turned out that the criminal department and the Dali Temple had to deal with such a heavy hand.

The prince said: "Since they have arrived, two adults, let's start." ”

The eldest grandson Wuzheng looked at Yin Zhuo, a flash of contempt flashed in his eyes, he knew that Yin Zhuo was going to have a hard time today. Thinking of this, his heart suddenly brightened, and he spoke with a lot of energy: "Three days ago, a corpse was found in Houshan, which was Jia Wedge, the nephew of the Ministry of Works, who died at an ugly moment. The body suffered injuries of varying degrees of beating, including a fatal blunt force wound to the back of the head. A broken tassel was also found next to the body, which came from the jade workshop. The suspect had a quarrel with Jia Wedge three days ago, during which he moved, and everyone in the Immortal Pavilion was able to testify, and the shopkeeper of the Sifang Tavern on Jiuxiang Street confirmed that the suspect was drinking in the tavern and did not leave until four o'clock. The suspect confessed that he felt a headache after drinking, so he went to the pharmacy in the west of the city to get his medicine, stayed for two moments and left. After many verifications by the Criminal Department, it will only take a moment at most from Jiuxiang Street to the west of the city. Therefore, after leaving the pharmacy, the suspect had at least half an hour to kill people and throw away corpses. The guards at the city gate did not see the suspect enter or leave, but it is not ruled out that after he killed someone, he bribed others to dump the body. "The eldest grandson came one by one, and the details couldn't be more detailed, and he could hardly find anything to suspect.

Dali Siqing stepped forward to interrogate Nangong Lin, "Three days ago, did you have a dispute with Jia Ji?" Because of the dispute, did you ask the killer to dump the body in the back mountain? ”

Nangong Lin raised his head slightly, "As the adults said, just left Cricket that night, and the criminals did have a conflict with Jia Wedge. ”

Yin Zhuo breathed a sigh of relief, turned his head to the eldest grandson and said, "The criminal has confessed, and the eldest grandson doesn't have to say much to him, there is no need to delay His Royal Highness the Prince's time." ”

The eldest grandson Wuzheng glanced at him with disdain in his heart, "The suspect has not yet explained the motive for the murder and the process of committing the crime, and this case is still suspicious." Why should Lord Yin be in a hurry to close the case? What's more, Your Highness is not in a hurry, what are you anxious about? ”

Yin Zhuo snorted coldly, not taking him seriously at all.

Nangong Lin dragged his scarred body and crawled a few steps, and said hurriedly: "My lord, listen to the explanation of the sinners!" The sinner and Jia Wedge did quarrel, but the sinner didn't want to kill him! That night the sin was wounded, and after drinking he left the wine alley street, on the way to the pharmacy he met a brother, who not only sent the sinner to the pharmacy, but also escorted the sin back, and the adults could ask him. The more Nangong Lin spoke, the more eager he became, he spat out blood, and almost fainted, but he was still justifying: "The sentencing really didn't kill anyone, Jia Wedge's death, how he died in the back mountain, and why he found the spikes of the sinner in the back mountain, I really don't know anything!" If the tassel is broken, how can it be judged that it belongs to the sinful people? Please be clear, please be aware of His Royal Highness the Prince, the criminals are wronged! "After saying that, he crawled on the ground, and the iron chain on his wrist made a crisp sound on the ground, but the sentence 'wronged' hit Su Yan, Jinqi's father and daughter, and the students of Shu Youtang hard, and there was a loud sound.

Yin Zhuo angrily reprimanded: "What nonsense! You said that this person escorted you, so why can't we find out the whereabouts of this person, you don't even know his name, you are lying! ”

The crown prince raised his forehead and groaned: "Yin Zhuo, no one has ever roared like you in Chenying Palace, where do you put this palace?" ”

Yin Zhuo turned around and bowed to the prince, "The minister is guilty, but as the secretary of Dali Temple, he really can't bear the lies of such a person who destroys the conscience in front of you!" Now that the evidence is conclusive, and he has confessed in person, the case has already been solved, and Dali Temple has also been retried overnight, believing that the murderer is indeed Nangong Lin. Your Highness must not believe that the murderer pretends to be pitiful! ”

The prince said impatiently: "The final trial has to come step by step, what are you anxious about?" The eldest grandson has no dispute, you come to judge! ”

The eldest grandson said yes without arguing, so he took the evidence presented by Zuo Shilang and asked Nangong Lin, "I ask you again, is this tassel yours?" ”

Nangong Lin didn't look at it, and said hesitantly: "At first glance, it looks like it's a sinner's, but the head of the sinner's tassel is wrapped around the tail hair of a nine-tailed fox, this is nothing, this..."

The eldest grandson said without arguing: "The jade pendants on everyone's bodies are intact, only yours is not on your body, and you can't prove your innocence." ”

Nangong Lin suddenly fell silent, lowered his head, and tears fell uncontrollably.

At this time, Su Yan slowly got up, walked to the bottom of the steps, and saluted the prince.

The crown prince, Yin Zhuo, and the eldest grandson had no dispute, and many officials present couldn't help but wonder.

"Your Royal Highness is wise, there are other grievances in this case, the little woman has a personal witness, this person is Li Hong, the guard of Yunlai Pavilion, which can prove that Nangong Lin did not have the time to commit the crime!" As soon as the words were finished, everyone present was surprised, what Su Yan said had obviously overturned all the previous facts. Above the main hall, there were a few subtle sounds of ear to ear. And the most unexpected thing was Yin Zhuo, and even he had some fear that he forcibly hid in his heart.

The prince nodded and ordered someone to bring it in. When Nangong Lin saw Li Hong, he was stunned for a moment, confirmed repeatedly, and suddenly found that he was the brother who escorted him, and immediately shed tears of excitement, and cried to the prince: "It's this brother, he has always been by my side!" ”

Li Hong didn't dare to face the majesty of the prince, so he lowered his head and narrated: "That night, the villain sent my girl to Yin's mansion, and then went to the tavern near Jiuxiang Street to drink, but I didn't expect to meet Nangong Gongzi drunk and lying on the side of the road, the villain recognized him, worried that something would happen, so he stayed by his side for more than two moments. The villain saw that he was injured, so he thought about taking him to the pharmacy to get medicine, but the nearby pharmacy had long been closed, and the villain remembered that there was a pharmacy in Yonghefang in the west of the city that was open all night, so the villain took him there. After staying for a while, I escorted him back, and I went to Yin's Mansion to pick up my girl, that's all. ”

"You've never met him, so why do you want to protect him all the way? Out of reason! Yin Zhuo asked.

Li Hong explained: "The villain can't bear to see that he is injured and has nowhere to be treated, so he will protect him all the way by relying on his fists and feet!" ”

Yin Zhuo also wanted to question, but Su Yan took the first step and said: "There is no Li Hong in the evidence collected by the Criminal Department, that is to say, in the time deduction of the Criminal Department, a full two quarters of hours must be added, so he has no time to commit the crime at all, even if he uses this only moment to kill someone, how can he throw the body back the mountain?" ”

Yin Zhuo said eagerly: "It is also possible that after killing someone, let others throw the body, during the investigation of the Criminal Department, the city gate guards did not find that Nangong Lin had entered and exited, but several carriages left Kyoto that night and did not return." ”

Su Yan said proudly: "Now that the human witness is gone, isn't Nangong Lin's suspicion even smaller?" ”

"Unless you can prove that this spike does not belong to Nangong Lin but is the real murderer, if not, then Nangong Lin still can't escape the involvement!" Yin Zhuo said angrily.

The prince shook his head and said in disappointment: "Direct evidence is still needed, otherwise, Nangong Lin's suspicion is the greatest, if the real culprit cannot be found today, I am afraid it will ......."

As soon as Nangong Que heard that his son was in a catastrophe, he knelt on the steps with a plop, and at the same time prostrate on the ground, "His Royal Highness the Prince, Your Majesty has always warned his subordinates to attach importance to all cases, big and small, whether it involves ordinary people or important members of the imperial court, do not engage in favoritism, let alone hastily conclude the case, we must ensure that there are no doubtful cases, and if there are doubtful points, they should be retried at a later date!" ”

Yin Zhuo hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, there has never been a second trial in Chenying Palace, if it spreads, it will have a great impact on Your Highness's reputation." ”

Wei Zixu hesitated a little, looked at Nangong Que, and did not respond.

Su Yan couldn't bear to watch Nangong Yan, who was a father, begging for someone in a low voice for his son, which made her feel uncomfortable.

At this time, the eldest grandson saw that the situation was slowing down, so he said: "Your Highness, there are many doubts in this case, and Weichen believes that if there is really a grievance, it must be retried, and there must be no more unjust and wrongful cases." ”

Wei Zixu sat quietly, but Emperor Rong's face flashed in front of him. The father handed over the case to him to supervise the final trial, and it was impossible to just let him supervise, and he was selfish, and I am afraid that he would try to see how he would deal with such things. If he ends the case quickly in order to save trouble, he will be punished, and if it affects his image in his heart because of this matter, he will really not be able to pay it. announced to everyone: "Since there are doubts, it is natural to retry them, how can this palace allow unjust and wrongful cases to happen." ”

Su Yan hurriedly stopped, "There is no need to retry!" ”

"Mr. Su still has evidence?" The prince asked in surprise.

"Exactly! I ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to allow me to invite one more witness into the temple. ”

Wei Zixu nodded in agreement.

Everyone looked back together, the sun was shining outside the hall, the thin clouds were slow under the blue sky, and a plain blue embroidered skirt swept into everyone's sight, and when they saw it clearly, they couldn't help but secretly exclaim, this is not the top brand of Yunlai Pavilion!

Yin Zhuo's heart sank, and he secretly screamed that it was not good.

Mo Xuan looked at everyone in the palace with some official positions one by one, "Folk girl Mo Xuan, please greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and all the lords." ”

A dusty woman appeared in the serious hall, causing quite a commotion. Yin Zhuo saw that Mo Xuan seemed to have been ignited with explosives, "This is Dali Temple, how can you allow a filthy person like you to set foot and pull her down if no one comes!" ”

"Why should Lord Yin be in a hurry, it's better to listen to her testimony first." Su Yan's words are neither humble nor arrogant.

Yin Zhuo cursed her a few times in his heart, but what was an ironclad thing was stirred up by her, and at this time, Su Yan came to oppose him again, so he turned the spearhead around, and said in a strange manner: "I heard that Mr. Su was just a sprinkler in the tavern before, and I don't know who supported him to become Mr. Yitang, but after all, this is Dali Temple, Chenying Palace!" Are you going on such a rampage and contradicting the officials of the imperial court, do you want to provoke the majesty of the Heavenly Family?! ”

Su Yan smiled disapprehantly, "It's obvious that Lord Yin's reaction was too aggressive, but he came to accuse the little woman of having other intentions, and from this point of view, I feel more and more that Lord Yin's behavior... Doesn't make sense. ”

In a word, it caused a lot of waves in the main hall, and Wei Zixu was suddenly a little suspicious when she mentioned it. Yin Zhuo's heart suddenly became empty, "What words!" The official behaves rightly, sits straight, how can he be slandered, the official does not allow Dali Temple to be covered with filth by a dusty woman! ”

Su Yan glanced at Mo Xuan, she stood on the majestic Chenying Palace, as small as a sparrow, provoking and insulting! Su Yan was on fire and immediately shouted: "Your Majesty once said: All living beings in the world are equal!" Why is it that when I come to you, people have a hierarchy, high and low? Are you vetoing Your Majesty? ”

The prince coughed dryly a few times and said, "What Mr. Su said is reasonable, Yin Zhuo, don't retreat!" Yin Zhuo was very unwilling in his heart, and looked at Su Yan hatefully, but he could only follow the prince's instructions and retreat aside. The prince asked Su Yan again, "Mr. Su invited this woman, does she have evidence to prove that Nangong Lin is not a murderer?" ”

Su Yan was confident: "At least it can be proved that there is someone else who suspects him!" ”

Everyone pricked up their ears to look at Mo Xuan, but Wei Zixu inadvertently found that Yin Zhuo seemed to be a little abnormal, seeing that he was in a cold sweat, his face was pale, and he couldn't help but be suspicious in his heart.

"This matter has to go back to the night of Jia Wedge's accident and start from the beginning." Speaking of this, Su Yan looked at Mo Xuan, and Mo Xuan continued, "That night, Li Hong picked up the folk girl to play the tune in Yin's mansion, at that time, the folk girl only played two songs and was stopped by a shout, I saw Jia Gongzi rushing in with the smell of wine, at first he could still drink kindly, but he didn't expect the two to argue in a blink of an eye, and after that, Yin Gongzi sent the family to send the folk girl to the side room to wait, until Li Hong came to pick up the folk girl, he was no longer there, but the appearance of the housekeeper, it seems that something happened, but the folk girl didn't dare to ask more. ”

Su Yan said: "It seems that this Jia Gongzi has not only quarreled and fought with Nangong Lin, but also has grievances with Yin Gongzi, and now it has been confirmed that Nangong Lin has no time to commit the crime, is Yin Gongzi the most suspicious?" Maybe Yin Gongzi is the one who kills people impulsively, abandons the corpse in the wilderness after killing people, and then blames others! ”

"You're spewing blood!" Yin Zhuo jumped violently, and his two eyebrows instantly stood up, "These are all speculations from you, and you have no evidence, you dare to talk nonsense here!" ”

The doubts in Wei Zixu's heart became more and more affirmed. From beginning to end, Yin Zhuo was alone in a hurry to close the case, and above the main hall, he was targeting Su Yan everywhere, looking forward to convicting Nangong Lin all the time, he was so sensitive and impatient about this case, it seemed that there was really something hidden. couldn't help but be tempted, "Yin Zhuo, as a Dali Siqing, why are you a little abnormal today?" ”

Yin Zhuo knelt on the ground and said tremblingly: "Don't dare!" The ministers are loyal, how can they deceive His Highness! He looked up at the prince in fear, and did not dare to speak.

Wei Zixu was not in the mood to deal with Yin Zhuo, and analyzed the case with Su Yan attentively: "According to Nangong Lin's testimony, he quarreled and beat Jia Zhuo because he found out that Jia Yu and Yin Yun deceived him, do you think that Yin Yun thought of blaming Nangong Lin and faking the murder scene because he knew about this connection." ”

Su Yan couldn't help but bow down to the prince, "Your Highness is wise!" However, it is also possible that Yin Yun didn't think about framing Nangong Lin at all, and just wanted to leave misleading evidence and let the criminal department shift the target. ”

The prince and everyone nodded in agreement, and she said: "Regardless of whether Yin Yun is a murderer or not, but with the witness of Miss Moxuan, it is enough to prove that Yin Yun also has a motive to kill." ”

"Come on, bring Yin Yun to the palace!" The prince couldn't hide his excitement and immediately ordered Yin Yun to be arrested, but Yin Zhuo was already on the side, and he didn't even have the strength to speak.