The Ye family members were all imprisoned, and that same day, they ganged up on Ye Ting and beat her again.
"Waaah, I've never had a mother since I was little..." Ye Ting huddled in the corner of the cell, burying her face in her hands and muttering to herself, "I was so stupid, so stupid..."
After sorting out the case, Magistrate Li rubbed his head, wondering how to report this momentous case to his superiors.
Before long, half a month had passed. Magistrate Li, with all his literary talent, had written a deeply moving letter to the Prime Minister of Chu, but before he could send it, the Uyghurs invaded.
When Magistrate Li learned that the eldest prince was actually a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and that he had defeated the Uyghurs in just one hour, it was no longer certain who would inherit the throne.
He suppressed the letter he wrote to the Prime Minister of Chu and the case files he wrote to Prefect Luo.
In early December, Yongle County received a declaration of war against the invaders issued by His Highness the Crown Prince.
Magistrate Li was thrilled. He wanted to quickly gather a batch of grain and send it to Yin Jin'an to support the Crown Prince.
I'll also report my proposed handling of the case to the Crown Prince.
On December 12th, Magistrate Li heard crows cawing in the trees early in the morning, so he picked up a stone and threw it at them.
"What are you yelling about? You unlucky thing!"
Constable Xue ran over and said to him, "Sir, people have arrived from the capital, in two carriages."
He handed the invitation to Magistrate Li, who glanced at it, immediately straightened his clothes, and went out to greet the messenger.
The two carriages were clearly of high quality to any connoisseur, as the frames were made of the finest wood available at the time, especially the front one, which was made of Phoebe zhennan wood.
Upon seeing him emerge, the person inside the carriage, supported by guards, lifted the curtain and stepped out.
The Chu prime minister was in the carriage in front, and an old man in his fifties or sixties with white hair and beard got out of the carriage behind.
Magistrate Li only met Prime Minister Chu once when he passed the imperial examination, and then he was assigned to Yongle County as magistrate. He had never met any other high-ranking officials of the court.
Why did the Prime Minister of Chu come to Yongle County?
He immediately knelt down: "Greetings, Lord Chu; greetings, sir."
"Lord Li, there's no need for such formalities. I'm here incognito," said the Prime Minister Chu in a low voice. "This is Vice Minister Cui."
Magistrate Li's heart skipped a beat. Minister Cui, was the same Minister Cui who had sent the brocade robes to Longmen Town back then?
No, how dare he show his face here? How dare he come in person?
Do you think the eldest prince is definitely dead? Or do you think the eldest prince wouldn't dare to kill him?
No, there's another possibility: both the Prime Minister of Chu and Vice Minister Cui are looking for someone...
Thinking of how Chu Bu Nu and Xiao Hong Li both died in Longmen Town, Magistrate Li broke out in a cold sweat in the dead of winter.
When Chu Xiang and Cui Shilang entered the backyard of the county government office, they felt a chill creeping up from their feet.
The Prime Minister frowned and said to Magistrate Li, "Longmen Town is under your jurisdiction, Lord Li, isn't it? Are you familiar with Longmen Town?"
“Yes, I know! Just a few months ago, we solved a case in Longmen Town. It involved the Cui family father and son robbing and murdering Li Changhe from Changkeng Village. Both father and son were executed.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Vice Minister Cui immediately asked, "The Cui family of Longmen Town? Cui Fude?"
"Yes, sir," Magistrate Li said, forcing a smile.
"Nonsense!" Minister Cui said angrily. "Don't you know that my ancestral home is Longmen Town in Ganzhou?"
Magistrate Li feigned fear and said, "This humble official truly did not know. The facts of their murder are clear, and there are both witnesses and physical evidence. This humble official also did not know that he was a relative of the Vice Minister!"
The Prime Minister looked at Minister Cui and said, "The Cui family may be relatively low-key, and it's possible that Magistrate Li hasn't heard of them."
Vice Minister Cui immediately changed his tone and said, "It is true that I have not returned to my ancestral home for many years, so it is understandable that Lord Li does not know. I am deeply saddened that Cui Fude has done such a treasonous thing."
Upon hearing the two men's back-and-forth banter, Magistrate Li immediately understood that Vice Minister Cui didn't care about Cui Fude's life or death at all.
There's only one reason they're asking about Longmen Town—they're inquiring about the Crown Prince!
Sure enough, Vice Minister Cui rebuked Cui Fude and his son, and then asked where Cui Fude's family members were now.
"When I investigated this case, I did not implicate any family members; I only punished Cui Fude and his son," Magistrate Li replied slyly.
Cui Fude's family was driven out of Longmen Town, but it wasn't him who did it.
Minister Cui breathed a sigh of relief and said, "A few days ago, we received a 'Declaration of War against the Invaders' issued by Ganzhou Prefecture in the capital. It was issued in the name of His Highness the First Prince."
"This is ridiculous! His Highness the First Prince has always been in the capital. How could a First Prince suddenly appear in Ganzhou?"
Magistrate Li rolled his eyes inwardly. "Does he think I'm a fool?" he thought, spouting lies.
Since you say His Highness is in the capital, what are you doing in Ganzhou?
If Your Majesty has determined that someone is impersonating you, why doesn't Your Majesty send military officers to suppress them? In the dead of winter, why should the most powerful minister of the court brave the wind and snow to make the trip in person?
Furthermore, even if the proclamation issued on the fifth day of the twelfth month were delivered to the capital by fast horse, it would still take more than twenty days to travel back and forth. Even if the Prime Minister of Chu and Vice Minister Cui used airplanes, it would still take half a month for them to travel from the capital to Yongle County.
Today is only December 12th, and the manifesto has only been issued for seven days.
The two of them must have set off from the capital half a month ago, specifically to find His Highness the First Prince. Why aren't they focusing on fighting the enemy? Why have they traveled so far to see the First Prince?
So, there must be some unspeakable secret behind these two old men coming to Ganzhou.
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