Chapter 218: Unjust!
"presumptuous!"
Magistrate Liu slammed the gavel and shouted, "Come here, dare to slander the imperial officials? Drag them down and give them twenty lashes!"
"Is Lord Liu feeling guilty and trying to force a confession?!"
Zhu Mingqing looked calm as he looked at the several yamen runners who had surrounded him, his eyes constantly looking outside.
It’s already 9 o’clock, why haven’t you come yet!
Magistrate Liu was so angry that his face turned blue. Outside, people were also making a commotion, all of them were talking about Huaxianglou being wrongly accused.
His eyes fell on the woman in the hall, and he had learned this too.
Looking at the few yamen runners who were still standing there, they were furious: "What are you still standing there for? Do you think my words are just wind?"
Just as the two yamen runners were about to take Zhu Mingqing away, the noise outside became even louder!
Magistrate Liu frowned and was about to close the gate, but the people slowly made way for him.
Squinting, I saw a man in red official uniform, holding a jade ruler, walking in, followed by a pair of men in gray official uniforms.
After the other party comes closer, look at that look!
He had met Lord Shang, the Inspector of Youzhou, at Prince Huai’s mansion!
Prefect Liu was so frightened that he immediately stood up to greet him.
"Master Shang, why are you here?"
Zhu Mingqing also took the opportunity to walk in front of Lord Shang, and when he passed by Prefect Liu, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
Magistrate Liu's heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that this is the reason for this?
As expected, after a few polite words, Lord Shang sat down to the side with a serious expression and said, "I was inspecting various places in Youzhou and happened to come to Guancheng. I heard that a murder occurred some time ago, so I came to see it. Lord Liu will open the trial!"
Prefect Liu broke out in a cold sweat. He glanced at the Luo family who were confident in their plans and knew that today would not end well.
He sat down in the main seat and signaled with his eyes that the yamen runners should stand aside and stop acting arbitrarily.
Zhu Mingqing also smiled faintly: "Master Liu, I have evidence that proves that Luo Xiao and Huaxianglou were wrongly accused, and the murderer is Xu, the shopkeeper of Tianxianglou!"
Magistrate Liu slowly closed his eyes and said, "Send it!"
A quarter of an hour later, Shopkeeper Xu bowed respectfully, lowered his head slightly, and tried to be as sincere as possible. He looked aggrieved, but refused to admit that he had poisoned the food.
"I know there's a lot of competition between Tianxiang Tower and Huaxiang Tower, but I don't think it's necessary to kill someone. I don't have the guts to do that!"
After saying this, he kowtowed again: "I hope you will understand and not let all my years of hard work go to waste!"
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Liu slightly tightened his grip on the gavel. He glanced at Lord Shang, who looked fine, and felt more at ease.
"Ms. Zhu, where is the evidence you mentioned?" Prefect Liu looked at Zhu Mingqing again.
"Here it comes, right here!"
Two people carrying a stretcher rushed out of the crowd. The people around them kept their distance and held their noses.
The stretcher fell to the ground, revealing the person on it. It was the person who died in Huaxiang Building.
Magistrate Liu's heart was pounding. How could he be here?
Zhu Mingqing spoke quickly, "What a coincidence! On my way home from Huaxianglou last night, I unexpectedly encountered this man who was abandoned on the road. I asked the coroner to examine him, and only then did I find out that he was deliberately murdered and died from thunder god vine poison!"
What do you mean on the road? He was obviously being held in the government office.
This Zhu is really talking nonsense and telling lies.
He was about to speak, but Zhu Mingqing didn't give him a chance to speak: "By the way, my lord, you can go to Tianxiang Tower and search. You will definitely find thunder god vine."
"If Shopkeeper Xu still refuses to admit it, why not call this man's family over and ask them!"
"As far as I know, the deceased had recently seen a doctor and was told he had tuberculosis and was dying. His family was very poor, but neighbors said they had been eating meat every day for the past two days and were talking about building a new house. I don't know where the money came from."
After hearing these words, Shopkeeper Xu, who was kneeling on the ground, began to feel dizzy.
How could she know so much!
This is also thanks to the note Jiang Feng sent me just after I left the house early this morning.
I wasn't sure whether it was true or not, but when I saw the pale face of Shopkeeper Xu, I knew the truth.
Lord Shang did not say anything, but just watched all this from the sidelines.
This made Magistrate Liu, who had initially not intended to give the Luo family a chance to speak, feel as heavy as if a mountain was pressing down on him.
He looked at the kneeling Manager Xu, his eyes full of pleading and hope!
He didn't know much about what happened.
But today I learned the whole story from my opponent's family.
Even if we want to suppress it, we can calm the public anger, but since Lord Shang can appear here, it means that he represents the attitude of the prince.
Who spread this rumor? Prince Huai obviously has a very good relationship with the Luo family.
Both father and son have now become the Luo family's backers!
"Come here, search Tianxiang Tower and bring the deceased's relatives up for questioning!"
After Magistrate Liu finished speaking, Shopkeeper Xu became more and more uneasy.
He gave himself a psychological hint, but he refused to admit it after a while, so what could be done about it?
Time passed slowly, and more and more people came to watch the fun, all wanting to know who would win and who would lose today.
Especially since it involves the local tyrant Xu family, and looking at the Luo family's behavior in recent days, the balance in some people's hearts has gradually tilted!
"My poor son."
"Dad, why did you leave like this?"
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were brought into the lobby and started crying and complaining, it was very lively.
"Silence!" Prefect Liu, noticing Lord Shang's impatience, immediately said, "Mrs. Zhu accused your family of accepting money from the Xu family, and then sent the deceased to cause trouble at Huaxiang Tower, and then framed the Luo family for poisoning. Is that true?!"
"Sir, this is unjust." The deceased's mother's hair turned white, tears streaming down her face. "My son died because he ate the food at Huaxianglou. They are slandering us!"
As he said this, he glared at Zhu Mingqing hatefully, but when he met the other person's calm and even frighteningly calm expression, he couldn't help but shrink back.
"Sir, thunder god vine was indeed found in Tianxiang Tower." The yamen runners who had been searching also came back, and brought back a pot of flowers in full bloom.
Shopkeeper Xu lost his composure and said, "Impossible! Tianxianglou has never bought this kind of potted plant before."
Thinking of something, he suddenly looked at Zhu: "It's you, right? You deliberately placed this thing in Tianxiang Tower to frame me!"
Zhu Mingqing felt very aggrieved, and tears welled up in his peach blossom eyes, which made everyone present stunned for a second.
"I hope you will understand. I am just a weak woman. How could I possibly purchase this item from Tianxiang Tower without alerting anyone?"
As for whether this was originally in Tianxiang Tower or was placed there by someone else, it was none of her business.
"You!" Shopkeeper Xu was filled with hatred. "Hypocrites!"
Zhu Mingqing burst into tears: "Unfair!"
Shopkeeper Xu was furious: "Cunning!"
Zhu Mingqing raised his hand to wipe away his tears: "Unfair!"
Shopkeeper Xu: ...
Shopkeeper Xu is about to have a heart attack!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com