Chapter 251 Solving the Case
The dim moonlight stretched Qing'an's figure very long. He was wearing a black robe and had a cold expression without any warmth. In the eyes of the middle-aged man, he looked like an evil ghost that wanted to kill him.
"I got you."
"Master, please spare me, master, please spare me. I am innocent, please let me go." He knelt on the ground and pressed his forehead desperately.
In the dark night, Qing'an narrowed his eyes coldly, walked slowly forward, grabbed the middle-aged man by the collar and dragged him back.
…
"Master, the person has been captured."
The middle-aged man was thrown onto the cold, hard bluestone road and groaned as he fell. Before he could get up, a pair of short boots embroidered with python patterns in gold thread came into view.
"Speak for yourself, or I'll beat you up first." The man's voice was extremely cold, and it was particularly terrifying in the silent night, making people feel afraid.
"Say, what do you say?"
His back was suddenly crushed by a huge force. He couldn't even raise his head. His face was pressed tightly to the ground, almost deformed. The force seemed to crush his spine, and the pain came like a tide.
"Whatever you want to know, I will tell you everything I know. Please spare my life."
The pressure on his back was finally removed, and the man gasped for air like a dying person who was suddenly able to breathe. He turned over and lay flat on the ground, and could see the face of the man above his head clearly.
Immediately his whole body stiffened and trembled, and he knelt down again in panic and fear, "Fourth, fourth, fourth prince."
Xiao Yuan turned around and returned to the desk, "If your explanation can make my wife happy, it is not impossible to spare your life."
"Whatever the Fourth Prince wants to know, just ask. I will tell you everything. Everything."
"Qing'an." Xiao Yuan spoke coldly, and Qing'an immediately stepped forward and dragged the middle-aged man away.
In just a quarter of an hour, the study door was pushed open again, and Qing An came back with an account book in his hand, "Master, he confessed everything. The two hundred taels of silver that the princess asked to investigate came from the Shen Mansion. Shen Yunbai was afraid that the matter would be exposed, so he sent people to the bank to snatch the account book."
"The man just now was the one who handled the banknotes. Shen Yunbai was afraid that something might go wrong tomorrow, so he gave him money and asked him to leave the capital, but he didn't expect that he would send assassins halfway."
Xiao Yuan took the account book and flipped through it for a while, his dark eyes narrowed slightly, "How is the person?"
"He was told very simply to stay in the dungeon."
"Oh, if he wants to eliminate the trouble forever, why would Shen Yunbai choose such a cowardly person?" He threw the account book on the desk casually.
"Master means..."
"It's getting late, the princess should rest. I'll give the account book to her tomorrow. You can keep it for now."
"yes."
Xiao Yuan left his desk and prepared to return to Wutong Garden. The moment he stepped out of the study, he suddenly turned around and ordered, "Go check tonight to find out who is the boss behind Zuichunlou."
——
The next day, early morning.
Blurred, Shen Anan half opened her eyes and saw a man with his back to her, tying his belt. He had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a straight back.
She jumped up and woke up instantly. "Are you going to the Dali Temple for the trial?"
Xiao Yuan glanced at her, nodded and said "Yeah."
"Can I go?" Shen Anan pursed her lips, her eyes sparkling.
"Didn't I tell you yesterday that it's a different price?"
"Taking advantage of someone's misfortune." Shen Anan pouted in dissatisfaction, but seeing him lift his legs to leave, she couldn't help but walk down to the bed barefoot and grabbed his sleeve, "Hey, don't go, you, just name a price."
Xiao Yuan said calmly, "That depends on your sincerity, madam. If it touches my heart, I will give you another gift."
"What is it? Did Qing'an find a clue?"
"Not only that, all the witnesses and evidence were brought back."
"Really? Where?" A flame rose in Shen Anan's eyes.
Xiao Yuan didn't move and stretched out his palm towards Shen Anan.
She frowned and slapped his palm hard. Xiao Yuan raised his eyebrows and started to leave without saying a word.
"Hey, wait, wait, let me think about it."
What was on his mind were nothing more than those unspeakable private matters in the bedroom. It happened more than once or twice anyway, so for the sake of truth, he just followed his wish.
She convinced herself in her heart.
"Okay, I promise."
"Promise me what? I want your sincerity, but I didn't put forward any conditions."
"...I agree to let you do whatever you want, but the prerequisite is that I can win the lawsuit today, otherwise it will not count."
Xiao Yuan seemed dissatisfied. "Let me do whatever I want, and I have to guarantee your victory. It doesn't seem to be a good deal."
"Xiao Yuan, don't you feel like you've been slacking off these days? You haven't been doing your job properly and have delayed your official duties."
She called Mo Xiang into the room and asked her to change her clothes and wash up.
Two quarters of an hour later, he finally got his wish and followed Xiao Yuan to the Dali Temple.
When it comes to officials, with the emperor's consent, the Dali Temple will close its doors and conduct secret trials, and ordinary people are not allowed to watch. However, in addition to Shen Yunbai and Xiao Yuan, there are many court ministers present, including the Chief Censor who has a grudge against Shen Yunbai.
Mrs. Chen was supported by Lin Yurou and Miss Xu into the court, where she sought justice for the young master of the Chen family as a family member.
The Chief Justice of the Dali Temple looked at Shen Yunbai, then at Xiao Yuan, with cold sweat on his forehead. He slammed the gavel heavily, and the bailiffs immediately knocked on the wooden sticks in unison.
This was the first time Shen Anan witnessed the trial process in person, and she was sitting next to Xiao Yuan.
"Bring the witness and the young master of the Chen family." After the Dali Temple Minister finished speaking, Tao Fen and the young master of the Chen family in chains were taken to the court.
"Madam, how about trying the fruit from the Dali Temple?" Shen Anan didn't even look at what Xiao Yuan handed her, and stuffed it directly into her mouth. She bit it lightly with her teeth, and immediately grimaced in pain, half of her teeth were about to fall out.
Xiao Yuan chuckled.
The Dali Temple Chief Justice looked at this scene, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
"My son," Mrs. Chen called out and started crying.
Master Chen was seen being shackled with chains, his wrists and ankles were all worn out, his back was covered with criss-crossing whip marks, and he was kneeling on the ground weakly, as if he would pass out at any moment.
"Sir, how can we punish someone before the case is decided? This is against the laws of our dynasty." Lin Yurou asked in a loud voice.
The Dali Temple official frowned, "In order to be fair and just, and to close the case as quickly as possible, some punishment is unavoidable."
"Then why don't you arrest Miss Taofen and give her a beating? What if she gives false testimony? Oh, and Lord Shen, the censors all say that Lord Shen is seeking fame and reputation. You should arrest him and torture him severely to see whether it is true or not. This will be fair and just. Don't you agree?"
Shen Anan asked the question slowly and calmly, leaving the Dali Temple official speechless.
She stared at the Dali Temple Minister with cold eyes, "To put it bluntly, you are picking on the weak and think that the Chen family is weak and easy to bully, right?"
"I dare not, I dare not, how can the Fourth Prince's wife say that?" He secretly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Didn't they say that the Fourth Prince was only here to listen? Now it seems that he is clearly in cahoots with the Chen family. This case is going to be difficult to handle.
"What are you all standing there for? Why don't you untie Master Chen's chains?"
The bailiff immediately stepped forward to untie the chains, but the young master of the Chen family lay motionless, like a dead man without a soul.
Shen Anan frowned.
At this time, the case officially entered the curtain. Tao Fen first narrated how she witnessed the process of Chen's son killing Yin Hong. Her words were so sure, and the time and place were so clear that it was hard not to believe it.
"Mr. Chen, what do you have to say in rebuttal?"
Young Master Chen raised his pair of empty and desperate eyes, stared at Tao Fen for a moment, and said, "Your Excellency, I have nothing to say."
"Son,"
"cousin."
"Mr. Chen,"
Mrs. Chen was heartbroken. She rushed over to shake him, "I don't believe you would be so cruel as to kill her. The day before the incident, you were still arguing with me about her, saying that you would rather die than marry someone else. How could you kill her in just one night? Son, tell me what happened that night. Consider it a plea from me. If anything happens to you, I will die."
Young Master Chen raised his hand to support the crying Madam Chen, his eyes slightly moved, and he choked up and said, "Mother, she is dead, she is dead, even if my son is alive, he is just a walking corpse, no different from being dead, please don't force me."
"It's mother's fault. It's all mother's fault. I should have agreed to you earlier." Mrs. Chen had a last glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Son, even for mother, you must not acknowledge me."
Snap——
The sudden bang of the gavel made the courtroom suddenly quiet. The Dali Temple official said in a deep voice, "Mr. Chen, I will ask you one last time. If you still plead guilty, this case will be closed. According to the laws of Daliang, you will be sentenced to death immediately!"
"Son," Mrs. Chen shook her head desperately.
Lin Yurou also stepped forward and said, "Cousin, I can't recognize you. If anything happens to you, your aunt will die."
"I, I," he lowered his head, falling into deep self-blame and entanglement.
"It was me who killed Yin Hong. If I had married her earlier or protected her, she wouldn't have died, and our child wouldn't have died either."
Mrs. Chen hugged him and almost burst into tears.
On the other side, Tao Fen looked at the mother and son, her eyes flickering, she pursed her lips and lowered her head as if she didn't dare to look anymore.
Shen Anan's eyes swept over Taofen, who was hanging her head, and Miss Xu, who had tears in her eyes, and said indifferently, "Mr. Chen is deeply in love and wants to follow Miss Yinhong. It is really admirable, but I wonder if Miss Yinhong would resent Mr. Chen for his weakness and incompetence if he were alive."
The empty eyes of the Chen family's son finally showed other emotions, and he turned his head to look at Shen Anan.
She said slowly, "If Miss Yin Hong was really killed by you, then you are exonerated for sacrificing your own life. But if not, then it means that someone else murdered her. It is very likely that he is in court, waiting for your death, and then he will escape unscathed and celebrate. You are weak, so you might as well die. It is a pity that the girl is pregnant with a child, and she died in vain."
The last four words were like a heavy hammer hitting the heart of the young master of the Chen family. His eyes immediately turned bloodshot and his fists clenched tightly.
The Dali Temple's judge slammed the gavel again, "Mr. Chen, you don't have much time left. Do you admit it or not?"
Madam Chen was shaking him, and Lin Yurou was trying to persuade him, amidst the crying of Miss Xu. She took small steps forward, supported Madam Chen, and said to Master Chen.
"It's all our fault. If it weren't for our marriage, Miss Yin Hong wouldn't have died. She was killed by our marriage. That child died before she even opened her eyes to see the world. It's all our fault."
The hope in the eyes of Young Master Chen disappeared again, and slowly fell into silence.
"Mr. Chen." Taofen's accusation sounded at the right time, "My sister loves you and even gave you her life. Can you bear to watch her die alone?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
