The court officials were filled with speculation. General Ling had never directly refuted any of the emperor's ideas. But now he spoke out... This was quite intriguing.
Not only them, even Emperor Jing himself did not expect Ling Sheng to speak, his eyes darkened, "General, what you said is very true. Come, bring all the men in the palace today who have left the Qionglin Banquet before, regardless of their status, to me! Also, tie up all the guards who have been alone during this period!"
After all, the first person who can commit a crime must be a man. In the palace, apart from the palace guards, Emperor Jing is the only man! Today, at the Qionglin Banquet, all the courtiers and candidates are men. But Princess Ningyang was with Concubine Shu before. As long as we find out the men who went out alone during the short time they were apart, and check them one by one, the real culprit will not be able to escape!
Almost no court officials left, but many of the candidates left, and almost no guards were left alone.
Of course, the emperor's order was carried out quickly.
In less than half an incense stick of time, more than twenty men were kneeling in front of him, all of them were scholars who had left the Qionglin Banquet halfway through.
Emperor Jing was too shameless to conduct the investigation in public in the hall, so naturally he didn't care about searching these people at this moment.
"Check them one by one!"
How do I check this?
Of course you have to take off your clothes to check!
After all, Princess Ningyang had scratched the murderer's flesh and blood under her fingernails! So the murderer must have related scars on his body! Moreover, if he had just raped and killed a woman and there was no time to deal with it, there would always be some differences.
Fortunately, Emperor Jing finally realized that there were so many daughters of court officials present, so he had someone draw a circle of black cloth and bring these twenty or so people directly in, and asked the people from the Ministry of Justice and the coroner to investigate.
The daughters of the court officials didn't dare to look at it. They had been trembling for a long time and didn't dare to raise their heads.
Soon, they actually found a man with scratches on his chest!
The man was thrown out like a dead dog. When Concubine Shu, who had been stunned for a long time, saw the man, she wanted to pounce on him and tear him to pieces. Emperor Jing ordered people to restrain Concubine Shu.
There was thunder and rage in his eyes!
The man, who looked like a dead dog, lay on the ground, shaking violently.
The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice reported back, "Your Majesty, according to the coroner's examination of this man's body... he is very likely the suspect."
"Raise your head!" Regardless of whether the person on the ground dared or was willing, Emperor Jing gave an order and the guards who captured the man on the ground forced him to lift his head up.
"Tell me! Is it you?! Why did you do that!?"
The man looked ashen, "No... No..."
When the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice heard that he was still trying to argue, he frowned slightly and said, "You'd better tell the truth." Otherwise, the whole family will be executed. If he tells the truth, there is no telling whether his family members may be sentenced to military service or exile.
When the man saw this, he knew he couldn't escape, so he kowtowed repeatedly, "I was just a student who was blinded by greed... I was just a student who was bewitched for a while..."
"student……"
As soon as he said the word "student", a scholar started to curse him, "How can a beast like you be called a scholar? How can you be called a 'student'?"
The man changed his words. Although he passed the imperial examination, he now called himself a commoner. "I admit my guilt. I only beg you to spare my family. This is all my fault..."
No one could sympathize with such a person. The Minister of Justice said coldly, "Go ahead and tell me. The Emperor will make his own decision."
"Yes, yes. I am getting bored sitting here..."
The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice directly exposed his lie, "According to what the scholar who sat next to you said earlier, you left not long after you sat down. You felt bored just after you sat down? Why don't you tell the truth at this time?"
The man shuddered, "It was me who saw it...saw it..."
"What do you see?"
"No, I didn't see anything. I just wanted to walk somewhere else in the Imperial Garden, I..." Although he said this, his eyes glanced towards Baili Feiyue and the others.
He thought he was leaving no trace, but he was actually trying to cover up his mistake.
A man like the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice had a pair of sharp eyes and was very observant. But the people he was looking at were all important officials of the court, and the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice was not a fool. When he thought of a possibility, he suddenly jumped and waved his hand to have the handkerchief brought over.
"Do you recognize this thing?"
The man's eyes were even more evasive.
"explain!"
The man seemed to want to struggle, but suddenly lost his energy and stopped resisting. He said dejectedly, "It belongs to me."
"This handkerchief looks like it belongs to a woman. Since you have a woman's handkerchief on you, you must have someone you like. If you have someone you like, why do you do something worse than an animal?"
"We are just common people, toads who want to eat swan flesh. We are all common people..." He suddenly shed two lines of tears, and this time he looked at Baili Feiyue with determination, with certainty and directness, looking at Baili Feiyue.
"I know I won't survive, but before I die, I want to express my feelings."
"I...I...Miss Ling San, I...admire you..."
These words, this sudden turn of events, made everyone shudder in silence, and at the same time, it was like thunder and an uproar.
The man continued, "Everyone else likes weak women, with a willow-like figure. But I like...like...the Japanese medical competition. When others saw you poisoning and killing people, they all stayed away. I don't know why, but I felt that you were particularly eye-catching and particularly attracted to me...I...I...so, I collected her handkerchief..." It's you again, and it's her again. I don't know who he's talking to.
However, a young man confessing his love to a woman is supposed to be a romantic thing, but at this moment, the people present only felt that it was unbearable to hear. Even the way they looked at Baili Feiyue was filled with strange disgust.
"Today, I saw General Ling and his men coming, and thought Miss Ling III should have come as well. But I didn't see her... so I made an excuse to go for a walk, hoping to see her, even just a glimpse would be good."
The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice still gave some face to General Ling Sheng. Although being admired by someone was not a shameful thing, firstly, Miss Ling San was engaged. Secondly, and most importantly, how could an embroidered handkerchief, a personal item of a girl, be collected by a strange man?
No matter how this embroidered handkerchief was obtained, it will not benefit Miss Ling's reputation at all!
So I interrupted him, "Okay, don't talk about your love."
However, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice wanted to save some face for Ling Sheng, but someone was unwilling to do so.
It was a mocking young girl's voice, "Sir, this concerns the life and innocence of Her Royal Highness the Princess. This handkerchief was found in Her Royal Highness the Princess's hands. It is such an important piece of evidence and it belongs to Miss Ling San of the General's Mansion. How can you bypass it?"
The person who spoke was none other than Yang Jiaoer, who had previously competed with Baili Feiyue for the hairpin in the silver shop.
When she suddenly said this, not mentioning anyone else but her father, Lord Yang was stunned.
After realizing what was happening, he was shaking. "What nonsense are you talking about, you evil creature! Who allowed you to interrupt and talk nonsense in this kind of situation!"
Yang Jiao'er raised her chin, "Dad, I'm right. The handkerchief was given to her. It's possible that Miss Ling San and this man had been in love for a long time, and they were caught by the princess, so they killed each other to silence them!"
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