Chapter 63 First, give them five lashes.

In the main hall of the government office, Liu Jingchang slammed the gavel down heavily.

"Wu Ming! You still dare to argue?"

Yesterday, Zhang Cheng, the owner of Yu Hu Chun restaurant, the waiter on the third floor, and several diners all testified that you have always been alone!

I moved from a private room on the second floor to the observation deck on the third floor, and didn't speak to anyone the whole time.

You said someone asked you out? Did that person grow wings, fly into the building, and then fly out again?

Wu Ming was anxious and flustered. He crawled forward two steps on his knees and shouted, "My lord! I'm not lying! Someone really did ask me out!"

It was...it was the evening before last, when I was checking accounts at Zuiyue Tower, and a beggar handed me a note.

It said that I should go to the viewing platform on the third floor of Yuhuchun yesterday at 3:45 PM, and that "if I don't come, I will regret it!"

How could I not go?

But when I got there, I waited for a full half hour and didn't see a single person before I left!

Liu Jingchang: "A beggar? How old? Did he say what he wanted?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Ming was clearly stunned.

He never paid attention to what any beggar looked like.

"He was just an ordinary beggar. He didn't say anything more."

Liu Jingchang snorted coldly.

"You know nothing, yet you dare to go to Yuhuchun?"

Do you think I'm a three-year-old child, so easily fooled?

He said he was about to get the torture warrant, "Looks like you won't tell the truth unless I teach you a lesson."

"My lord! No! I have evidence!" Wu Ming suddenly shouted, his voice trembling. He frantically tried to reach into his clothes, but was held down by the constables.

"The evidence...the evidence is in my pocket!"

"Have someone bring it out and let us see; then we'll know I wasn't lying!"

The bailiff pulled a palm-sized cloth bag from his clothes; it was bulging with contents.

When you pour out the contents, there is indeed a long strip of toilet paper.

The bailiff presented the draft paper to the official's desk, and Liu Jingchang unfolded it to take a look.

There was only one line of characters with varying shades of ink and crooked strokes.

It looks like it was written by a child who has just learned to write, with obvious signs of trembling at the strokes: “I do not wish to be disgraced and ruined, at the third quarter of the hour of Xu, I will see the Jade Pot Spring.”

He glanced at it twice and gestured for the bailiff to show the note to Xiao Yunzhan, who was standing next to him.

Pei Zhiwei stood behind Xiao Yunzhan, and the words on the note were clearly visible to her.

The trembling at the bottom of the pen doesn't seem deliberate, but the continuity of the strokes in the characters basically confirms that the writer was not illiterate, nor was it a child who didn't know many characters.

Liu Jingchang's gaze fell back on Wu Ming: "When did you receive this note?"

If someone was threatening you, why didn't you say so sooner?

Also, what exactly does the phrase 'disgraced and ruined' refer to?

"You've been running a restaurant in Yangzhou for many years. Is there some kind of leverage that someone has over you?"

Wu Ming opened his mouth wide several times, but each time it seemed as if the words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back.

Finally, she started wailing and crying.

"What? You don't dare to say?" Liu Jingchang's tone turned cold.

"Do you think that if you don't talk, I won't find out?"

You ran away as soon as you saw the officials. If you didn't have something to hide, why did you run away?

This note might have been written by someone you hired, deliberately making up the excuse of 'someone wanting to meet you,' in an attempt to escape punishment!

"No! I didn't!" Wu Ming cried out.

"But...but...I am truly wronged!"

Liu Jingchang picked up the gavel and slammed it down heavily.

Wu Ming!

The flower stand collapsed, resulting in two deaths and five serious injuries.

Two of them will never be able to stand up again, and one can't even recognize people.

According to the laws of the Great Liang Dynasty, intentionally killing someone and causing multiple deaths or injuries is punishable by death!

You should weigh the pros and cons yourself: is your reputation more important, or your life?

Wu Ming continued to cry and plead his innocence, but refused to say anything else.

Seeing this, Liu Jing didn't try to persuade him any further. He said to the bailiffs in a deep voice, "Guards! Give him five strokes of the cane to wake him up!"

The constables responded in unison, stepped forward, grabbed Wu Ming, and pressed him to the ground.

The first "thud" of the wooden plank hitting the ground made Wu Ming cry out in pain, and beads of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.

By the third strike, his pants were soaked with blood, but he still wouldn't give in, only intermittently shouting "I'm innocent!"

Pei Zhiwei stood to the side, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over Wu Ming's hand, which was being pressed to the ground.

On the web of his right hand, there was some redness and swelling, and several obvious blisters, as if they had just appeared not long ago.

A thought struck her, and she gently touched Xiao Yunzhan's arm, gesturing for him to look at the web of Wu Ming's right hand.

Xiao Yunzhan immediately understood and whispered a few words to the yamen runner, who then relayed the message to Liu Jingchang.

Liu Jingchang paused for a moment, then followed Xiao Yunzhan's gaze to Wu Ming's hand, his brows furrowing again.

"Wu Ming, what happened to the blisters on your hands?"

Wu Ming came from a wealthy family and had never suffered such torture before. The pain was so intense that he couldn't catch his breath. "It's...it was a few days ago in my family's restaurant, when I was sawing wood and accidentally scratched it..."

"Sawing wood?" Liu Jingchang raised an eyebrow, his tone full of disbelief.

"You're the owner of Zuiyuelou, why would you need to personally saw wood on a regular basis?"

"It's...it's at home!"

The leg of my chair broke, and I thought I'd fix it myself, so I found a saw and started sawing wood. Without paying attention, I got blisters...

"Nonsense!" Liu Jingchang slammed his gavel.

"I couldn't find you last night, and I've already asked your steward and servants."

They all say that you've been preoccupied with something these days, staying quietly in your study!

You dare lie again!

Wu Ming was so frightened that he gasped for breath, his lips trembling, unable to speak.

Looking at his appearance, Liu Jingchang had already made a judgment in his mind and said to the yamen runner, "It seems that you won't confess without severe torture."

"Bring the clamping rods."

"No! My lord! I'll tell you everything! I'll tell you everything!"

Wu Ming suddenly shouted, his voice filled with despair.

"That matter of 'being disgraced' is... it's because I had an affair with Chen Gong's concubine, Zhao!"

I'm afraid this matter will get out, so I dare not say anything!

When I saw the officials this morning, I thought someone had reported this matter to the authorities, which is why I ran away!

Later, when I heard from the adults that Chen Gong was among the dead, I dared not say anything more.

I'm afraid you'll suspect that I, a commoner, killed him!

But I, a humble citizen, really didn't cut the rope! I'm truly innocent!

The hall fell silent immediately after these words were spoken.

The constables looked at each other, their eyes filled with surprise.

Liu Jingchang was also taken aback for a moment, then said, "Summon Zhao Shi!"

Before long, the yamen runners brought Zhao in.

The woman was around thirty years old, with delicate features. She wore a light pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and the gentle charm in her eyes seemed to be innate.

His face was pale, and when he saw Wu Ming on the ground, his legs went weak and he knelt down.

"This humble woman...this humble woman, Zhao, greets Your Excellency." Her voice trembled, and she dared not raise her head.

"The Zhao family," Liu Jingchang said, getting straight to the point.

"Wu Ming said you were having an affair with him. You met him at his house in the east of the city last night. Is that true?"

Zhao trembled, tears welling up in her eyes, and nodded: "It's...it's true."

Yesterday afternoon, Wu Lang sent me a letter saying he had something important to discuss with me and asked me to go to his house in the east of the city.

I knew that Master Xu was going to a social event at Yuhuchun Restaurant and wouldn't be home, so I went secretly.

She paused, then continued, sobbing, "When we got there, Wu Lang said... said that someone knew about us."

They even threatened him, telling him to go to Yuhuchun to meet someone, or they would expose the whole thing.

We had originally agreed not to see each other for a while, and to wait until things calmed down...

Unexpectedly, the master... he just passed away like that..."

Liu Jingchang had someone summon the messenger who delivered the message to Zhao Shi and Wu Ming, as well as the guard of the house in the east of the city, to confront them one by one, and found that their stories matched up.

He then had someone bring him pen and ink, and had Wu Ming and Zhao write the words "I do not wish to be disgraced and ruined, but will meet you at the third quarter of the hour of Xu" with their left and right hands respectively.

The characters written by the two people, even those written with their left hands who couldn't write, were completely different from the handwriting on the note.

Liu Jingchang looked at the words on the table, then at Wu Ming and Zhao Shi, who were still crying out for justice on the ground, and his brows furrowed even more.

He remained silent for a moment, then said to the bailiffs, "Take Wu Ming and Zhao Shi into prison for now, keep them under separate guards, and do not allow them to have any contact."

Court adjourned. The trial will resume at a later date.

The group walked out of the main hall and headed towards the back office.

As soon as he sat down, Xie Ji couldn't help but say, "In my opinion, Wu Ming is definitely the murderer!"

He had an affair with Zhao, which was discovered by Chen Gong. He then planned to kill Chen Gong to silence him when the ceremonial frame collapsed!

The motive is so obvious!

Xiao Yunzhan picked up the tea on the table, took a sip, and said, "It doesn't seem like it."

If he really wanted to kill Chen Gong, there were many safer ways.

Using a colored frame is too uncertain.

If the ceremonial frame collapses, who can guarantee that it will hit Chen Gong?

What if we hit the wrong person? Wouldn't that be a waste of effort?

Pei Zhiwei rested her chin on her knuckles, "And that note."

If Wu Ming made it up himself, he wouldn't need to reveal the affair.

As long as he remains tight-lipped, his motive will only be directed at the Yuhuchun Restaurant.

Now that he has spoken, the suspicion is even greater, and the motive is more specific.

I actually think he seems genuinely eager to prove he didn't kill anyone.

"Could it be the Zhao family?" Xie Ji guessed again.

“Zhao lives with Chen Gong, so she must know that Chen Gong was going to Yuhuchun last night. Maybe she did something to make sure that Chen Gong was standing right under the colorful frame?”

"That's unlikely too." Pei Zhiwei shook her head.

"There were so many people at Yuhuchun yesterday. Chen Gong accompanied Xu Fengyan, and where he stood was entirely up to Xu Fengyan. Zhao Shi had no control over it at all."

Xie Ji stroked his chin and asked again, "What about the note?"

Maybe Wu Ming had someone who couldn't read write it, and deliberately made it look like that to deceive people!

"It doesn't look like it."

Look at this handwriting. Although the brushstrokes tremble, the strokes are all correct and very smooth.

This must have been written by someone who knows how to write, using their left hand, which they never use to write.

Everyone fell silent.

The back office was quiet, with only the wind rustling the leaves outside the window.

"Your Highness! Lord Liu!

"There's a little beggar outside who says... he can prove that Wu Ming didn't harm anyone!" A constable rushed over to report.