The two of them spoke at the same time, and Jiang Lingyao subconsciously turned her head to look at the screen, but the screen was covered with shadows, blocking the face of the young messenger, and only his tall figure could be seen.
Even when sitting, even when looking lazy and relaxed, it is still as majestic as a mountain and as powerful as thunder.
Jiang Lingyao didn't see anything, so she quickly looked away and her gaze fell on Chen Shuangxi again.
This small Yuyongjian had only a few dozen craftsmen. Even if the seal-holder and a few eunuchs in charge were included, the total number of people could not reach a hundred.
But with such a small number of people, each of them has another face and they are all scheming against each other, which is chilling.
Although craftsmen are considered lowly, at least they don't have to go to the battlefield. Soldiers are fine in peacetime, but once war breaks out, they will be immediately conscripted to the battlefield.
Some people would rather be a slave in peacetime than risk their lives on the edge of a knife to gain a chance to be honored with military merits.
Generally speaking, the powerless ordinary soldiers can only fight for their own heads.
In the past few years, the borders were in turmoil and there were many wars. Even the capital was almost lost. If Feng Shuanzi was a deserter at that time, it would make sense.
But he was very courageous. He even changed his name and entered the prison. If he had worked in an ordinary institution, Rong Jingui would not have been able to catch him.
Seeing that none of the Jinyiwei spoke, Jiang Lingyao had no choice but to continue asking, "But Feng Shuanzi looks only about fifteen or sixteen years old. Can his skills be comparable to Rong Jingui's?"
This sentence seemed like some kind of shocking joke, and Chen Shuangxi suddenly burst into laughter: "Sir, you may not know that the most important thing for a craftsman is talent."
"If you have talent and are willing to work hard, you can become a master in eight or ten years, and you can even be recruited from other places to serve in the imperial court, leaving behind precious works. If you don't have talent, some people will work hard for more than ten years, but they will just be ordinary people. The things they make are good-looking and useful, but they have no spirit."
"Feng Shuanzi is a man who is talented and hardworking. Although he is young, he was displaced when he was young and worked very hard to change his name. Although his craftsmanship is not comparable to that of ordinary craftsmen, it is better than that of ordinary craftsmen."
Chen Shuangxi said: "In my opinion, he is vaguely similar to me."
Jiang Lingyao was really surprised. Feng Shuanzi looked so young, but he had such skills. But even so, he wouldn't kill his master, right?
After several rounds of questioning, Jiang Lingyao was no longer reserved.
She did not mention that Feng Shuanzi had witnesses and did not have time to investigate the case. She just continued to ask naturally, "But letting someone else do the work is bound to be risky, especially since Rong Jingui made things for the emperor, and everything had to be presented to him. This time he was pretending to obey but secretly disobeying, which is not very safe."
Jiang Lingyao changed the subject: "Could it be that Rong Jingui has some unspeakable secret that makes him unable to serve?"
Chen Shuangxi replied subconsciously: "That's right, who called his hand..."
Having said this, he was like a chicken with its neck pinched, unable to utter a single sound.
This time, it was the soothsayer who spoke slowly.
His voice was even lower than before, as if it was transmitted through the deep sea, vague, lingering, cold and chilling.
"Oh? In that case, then the pagoda that His Majesty ordered to be built to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday was also built by Feng Shuanzi as a substitute? There is no other reason, just because..."
He said word by word based on what Chen Shuangxi said, "It's because Rong Jingui has been drinking for many years, and his hands have long been unable to work steadily. He urgently needs a substitute to complete every supply for him. And you, or many people in the Yuyong prison, know this."
The voice of the comforter seemed to be poisoned and icy, making people feel cold from the bottom of their hearts.
At this moment, Chen Shuangxi's face was pale and his heart was dead.
Cheating the superiors and deceiving the subordinates, lying to the emperor, and reporting to heaven can all be regarded as the crime of great disrespect. Once the emperor is angry, there will be no peace.
Feng Shuanzi's identity is different. He must have been brought back from outside by Rong Jingui. Because of the household registration handle, he can only willingly be Rong Jingui's "apprentice".
As for Yu Yongjian, even if everyone in his upper and lower ranks hated him in their hearts, they still hoped that he would speak sweet words in front of the emperor and win more rewards for him.
As a result, everyone had ulterior motives, and everyone just hoped that the pagoda would be completed, and then there would be countless gold, silver, treasures, glory and wealth.
But among these people, someone finally couldn't bear it anymore and killed Rong Jingui.
So does this person really not care about fame and fortune? Or does he seek wealth and fortune at the risk of his own life? He wants to take a different and risky path, and even if there are many dangers, he must eliminate dissidents and eventually become a master of the prison.
For a moment, everyone's mind was filled with confusion, and Chen Shuangxi was completely dumbfounded, not daring to say a word.
Seeing that he could not get anything out of the interrogation, the governor said, "Take him away and make him sign a warrant. He will be temporarily detained in Yuyong Prison. Inform Wei Zhangyin first. The rest of the matter will be handled separately after the case is concluded. Pei Yu, bring Xu Baocai here instead."
When Chen Shuangxi was dragged out of the interrogation room, the counselor's eyes fell on Jiang Lingyao again: "Xiao Qiao... Sir, the interrogation just now was correct, and every word hit the nail on the head."
Jiang Lingyao was not flattered at all. She just stood up and saluted: "Thank you for your guidance, sir."
Behind the screen, the soothing envoy seemed to pick up the teacup and took a sip of tea slowly and gently.
Then, his voice floated into Jiang Lingyao's ears.
"Master Xiao Qiao obtained the post of the sixth-rank judge of Shuntian Prefecture from the Imperial Concubine five months ago, right?" the appeaser asked, "Master Xiao Qiao is so smart, good at interrogation, and able to solve cases, how come he had no achievements before, it seems..."
He suddenly chuckled, and the low, hoarse voice made Jiang Lingyao's heart tremble.
Why does this laughter sound familiar?
"Master Xiao Qiao seems to have appeared out of nowhere. Even I, the North Town Caretaker, can't find out the reason. It's really embarrassing..."
"Oh, if I have offended you, please do not be angry, Master Xiao Qiao. This is the duty of the Jinyiwei, and I do not want to offend you."
His words "Master Xiao Qiao" made Jiang Lingyao's heart burst into her throat.
Jiang Lingyao just listened to him speaking slowly, her heartbeat gradually increasing from slow to fast, and by the time she heard the last sentence, her heart was already beating like a drum.
Although she was nervous, she still looked dignified and didn't seem panicked at all.
The interrogation room in the west wing was dim and the weak candlelight could not illuminate everyone's face, and it seemed that it could not illuminate everyone's heart.
The human heart is unpredictable and the case is complicated. I don’t know if the truth can be uncovered today.
"Sir, the case we are investigating is not about the use of prison homicide? Why are you transferring the question to me? Is there anything wrong with me?"
Jiang Lingyao's voice was also very soft, but the firmness in her tone could not be ignored.
"I was originally an ordinary person, and my past was not worth mentioning. I suddenly got a great opportunity and had a little affinity with the Royal Concubine, so I was able to gain a small official position, but it was just to make a living," Jiang Lingyao said, and even laughed at the end, "I am such an ordinary person, I don't know if I can win the favor of the Lord Zhenfu."
"But..." Jiang Lingyao suddenly changed her tone and said sharply, "But compared to me, the governor is quite mysterious. No one knows his true appearance. I don't know why he is so secretive."
Jiang Lingyao was a straightforward and bold person. She dared to question the officials of the Jinyiwei even though she was in the territory of the Jinyiwei. Her tone was quite tentative, as if she was not knowing the consequences.
As expected, as soon as she finished speaking, Zheng Feng's expression changed. He raised the Xiuchun Knife in his hand forward, and the cold light of the knife flashed Jiang Lingyao's phoenix eyes.
"How brave!" The tall and mighty commander was imposing.
Behind Jiang Lingyao, Li Da and Shen Suning were not far behind. They both stepped forward and said in unison, "How brave!"
Tensions quickly mounted on both sides, and the atmosphere was even colder than during the interrogation just now.
Jiang Lingyao clasped her hands on her knees, her posture was tall and graceful, her face was calm and composed, and she seemed not afraid of the knife in front of her at all.
On the other side, behind the screen, the young caretaker was still holding the teacup, with a smile on his lips.
At this moment, he took another sip of tea, and then with a "pop", he placed the teacup on the table beside him.
"We are all officials in the same court, why do we have to be so aggressive to each other?" The soothing envoy said in a cold but not gloomy voice, "It's just a few jokes, right? Xiao Qiao... Sir?"
The two words "Xiao Qiao" seemed to be stuck in his throat, with a lingering meaning.
It seemed that he was very vague about the surname Qiao and did not think that the original surname of this female magistrate was Qiao.
Jiang Lingyao clenched her hands, but her expression relaxed. She said with a smile, "Your Excellency is right. But it's just a joke."
The two men were confronting each other in this tit-for-tat manner, but before they could catch their breath, Xu Baocai was captured again by the Jinyi Guards.
His age is older than Rong Jingui. He is already in his forties and his face looks very old due to years of hard work.
Perhaps due to the torment of the two-day murder case, his temples were somewhat gray and he looked extremely haggard.
He was the last person to be interrogated. He might have seen Chen Shuangxi covered in blood just now.
As soon as he entered the interrogation room, before he was put on the rack, he burst into tears and his legs went limp.
"Sir, I confess. I confess everything. Please don't hit me, sir."
He cried so hard that he was extremely pitiful.
Behind the screen, the voice of the town's messenger immediately responded coldly: "What can you confess? We have already found out that you returned the Yu Yong Jian yesterday and came out again. Or did you secretly submit a report to Wei Zhangyin, saying that Rong Jingui privately sold the Yu Yong Jian treasure atlas?"
Xu Baocai, who was crying bitterly, immediately fell silent.
His eyes widened, his mouth opened, tears streamed down his face, and he was extremely shocked.
"Sir, how...how did you know that?"
The voice of the comforter was like a cold poisonous snake, crawling on everyone's heart: "Xu Baocai, maybe you don't know one thing? If you don't want others to know, then don't do it yourself. There is nothing under the sky and on the earth that our Jinyiwei can't find out."
"Master Xiao Qiao, are you right?"
Jiang Lingyao did not answer the words of the town's messenger. She frowned and said, "Xu Baocai, according to the Jinyiwei's investigation of the testimony yesterday, Rong Jingui was also released from prison around twilight hour yesterday. Are you going to the same place?"
Rong Jingui did go to Yu Yongjian last night, but after he left, no one saw him since.
but……
Jiang Lingyao didn't even give him a chance to catch his breath. She guessed directly, "Did you guys go out together to roast meat and drink wine to discuss things that you can't talk about in prison?"
So after a morning of investigation and interviews, the Royal Guard pieced together everyone's actions. Did Xu Baocai leave Yu Yongjian at the same time as Rong Jingui?
If they really were on the same path, then combined with the honey on Rong Jingui's body and the wine and meat in his stomach, Jiang Lingyao made this bold guess.
However, what no one expected was that after the trick played by the town counselor and the judge, Xu Baocai lost all his strength, collapsed to the ground and burst into tears.
They were all right.
"I admit it. I confess. I killed the person."
He cried out, "I was the one who killed that bastard Rong Jingui!"
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