Chapter 374 Case Details
The next day, the sun was high in the sky.
Meng Jinyao slowly woke up. After opening her eyes, she subconsciously looked at the spot next to her and found it empty. She then looked outside and found the room bright, indicating that the sun was shining brightly outside.
She sat up, about to ring the bell to summon a maid, when she suddenly realized her back ached. She instinctively rubbed it and yawned. Although she had only just woken up, she still felt tired. She had been up too late last night.
Immediately afterwards, Meng Jinyao saw Gu Jingxi come in. When she saw that Gu Jingxi looked refreshed, she suddenly felt depressed. Everyone had worked together, so why was she the only one who felt tired?
When Gu Jingxi saw that she was awake but looked listless, he strode forward and asked softly, "Ayao, how are you feeling?"
Meng Jinyao glared at him accusingly: "My back aches, I'm tired, and I'm a little sleepy. It's all your fault for staying up so late."
Gu Jingxi sat down, pulled her into his arms, and said apologetically, "It's my fault, let me rub it for you." After saying that, he turned her over so that she was lying face down on the bed and massaged her waist.
His technique was good, the pressure was just right, and the massage felt very comfortable.
After a long while, Meng Jinyao felt her backache had eased considerably, so she got up and summoned her maid to serve her.
After washing up, doing my hair and makeup, and getting dressed, it was already noon, lunchtime.
Gu Jingxi instructed the maid to prepare the meal.
After lunch, Yu Chuan came to inform him: "My lord, Fang Xuan and Fang Ce have returned."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi told his young wife and went to the study in the front yard. Fang Xuan and Fang Ce were sent by him before he left the capital. They arrived in Huzhou Prefecture before him and were ordered to investigate some matters. He wondered if they had any leads.
After he left, Meng Jinyao told her trusted maid Qingqiu about what happened last night. Last night, after she came out of the washroom, she saw the menstrual belt that Qingqiu had prepared and knew that Qingqiu probably misunderstood that she had her period. After all, in this situation, Qingqiu would not have thought that it was menstruation.
Upon hearing this, Qingqiu was greatly shocked: "Madam, you and the Marquis have consummated your marriage? And the Marquis's illness is cured?"
Meng Jinyao nodded: "The Marquis's illness has been cured by Imperial Physician Wen."
Qingqiu was stunned for a long time before she could process the news. A joyful smile appeared on her face as she rejoiced for her: "Madam, this is wonderful! This way, you and the Marquis can be like a normal couple and have children. Maybe you're already carrying a little prince in your belly."
Meng Jinyao subconsciously reached out and touched her flat stomach, smiling gently: "I guess it won't be that fast, but my coldness has been cured, so I don't think there will be any problems with having children."
Qingqiu seemed to be deep in thought, and said, "It would be better to get pregnant with the young prince later. It takes more than half a month to travel back to the capital by boat, which is not suitable for resting during pregnancy."
Meng Jinyao said gently, "Let nature take its course. If you get pregnant, you can give your mother a surprise when you return to the capital. Your mother is so good to her grandson who is not related to you by blood, which shows that she really likes children."
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The study in the front yard.
Fang Xuan and Fang Ce were already waiting in the study. They were twin brothers, about twenty-one or twenty-two years old, and looked almost identical, but their personalities were different. Fang Xuan was calm and reserved, while Fang Ce was gentle and loved to laugh.
After Gu Jingxi entered, the two brothers bowed respectfully.
Gu Jingxi waved his hand, indicating that they didn't need to be so polite, and then asked them to sit down before asking, "Did you find any clues when you went to Deqing County?"
Fang Xuan replied, "Reporting to the Marquis, we went to Deqing County to investigate the deaths of the two previous magistrates and the first official who came to investigate this case. As the case file states, they all died from sudden illnesses. Before their deaths, they were incoherent, had difficulty breathing, and were numb and weak all over. Before they fell ill, they all experienced the same thing: they got up in the middle of the night, saying that someone was crying out for justice and that they had to get up to see who was crying out for justice. But in reality, no one was crying out for justice. Then they fell ill the next day. Everyone said that they had seen a ghost and were harmed by a vengeful spirit."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxi frowned slightly. This was not a useful clue. He had seen these things in the case file as well. Before they died, all three of them heard someone crying out for justice. It must be someone playing tricks and deliberately creating this coincidence to confuse the public.
Gu Jingxi then asked, "Anything else?"
Fang Xuan replied, "Both magistrates were good officials in the eyes of the people, fair and just, and honest in their official duties. However, there was a merchant who had a grudge against the former magistrate, Lord Sun."
Gu Jingxi asked, "What caused their feud?"
Fang Xuan recounted the story in detail: "There was a merchant surnamed Li whose only son raped and murdered a respectable woman. He was reported by the woman's brother, and Magistrate Sun convicted Li's son and sentenced him to beheading. After the case was closed, it was submitted to Prefect Wei."
"After reviewing the case, Lord Wei discovered some suspicious points. This woman had a past relationship with the young master of the Li family. The young master of the Li family planned to take her as a concubine. However, when the woman's brother found out, he was consumed by hatred and raped and murdered the woman, then framed the young master of the Li family."
"At first, the elder brother refused to confess, insisting that it was the young master of the Li family who committed the murder. He only confessed after being tortured. Upon hearing that he was sentenced to beheading and public display of his head, he was so afraid of being beheaded and dying without a complete body that he smashed his head against a pillar and died. The case was closed."
"But Lord Sun was not rigorous in his investigation, and almost had Young Master Li sentenced to beheading. The merchant surnamed Li also held a grudge against Lord Sun because of this, and even told others that Lord Sun was incompetent. No one knows how many innocent people lost their lives because of Lord Sun."
"However, this was also a slip of the tongue while drunk. Merchants have a low status and dare not openly criticize officials of the court. In addition, Lord Sun is a good official in the eyes of the common people. The people only think that the woman's brother is vicious and cunning, which led Lord Sun to misjudge. Therefore, such remarks did not cause any ripples. The woman's parents also left this sad place and went to live elsewhere."
After hearing the whole story, Gu Jingxi initially felt there was nothing wrong with it, but he had some doubts: "However, as the elder brother, how could he turn love into hatred?"
Fang Xuan replied, "He is not the woman's biological brother, but an orphan adopted by her parents. The woman's parents had considered having the two children marry, but the woman had no romantic feelings for her brother, so they gave up on the idea."
Gu Jingxi nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Did that merchant surnamed Li do anything to harm Lord Sun afterwards?"
Fang Xuan shook his head: "The merchant surnamed Li did nothing else, but he was dissatisfied with Lord Sun's misjudgment, which almost killed his only son. By the way, Lord Marquis, the merchant surnamed Li has a good relationship with Lord Chen, the new magistrate after Lord Sun. This is because although the merchant surnamed Li is a businessman, he also understands poetry and can chat with Lord Chen."
After hearing this, Gu Jingxi temporarily ruled out the possibility that the merchant surnamed Li had murdered an official of the court. After all, one was Lord Sun, with whom he had a grudge, and the other was Lord Chen, with whom he had a good relationship. However, the cause of death for Lord Sun and Lord Chen was the same: a sudden illness with the same symptoms. And the first official sent by the court to investigate the case was even less likely to have been murdered by the merchant surnamed Li.
Fang Ce, who was standing to the side, asked, "My lord, is there anything else we need to investigate?"
Gu Jingxi pondered for a moment and then instructed, "Fang Ce, go and find the woman's parents. Fang Xuan, go and investigate the Li family's young master. He has a past with that woman. Investigate their relationship."
The two brothers replied in unison, "Yes, Lord Marquis."
After Fang Xuan and Fang Ce left, Gu Jingxi instructed Yu Chuan: "Yu Chuan, hurry up and investigate that matter I asked you to investigate earlier."
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