Chapter 262 Li Nuo's Discovery
Guanglu Temple Chancellery.
Many officials from the Guanglu Temple, Taichang Temple, Ministry of Rites, and Honglu Temple lined up at the entrance of the mourning hall to pay their respects.
Although the four ministries belonged to different government offices, they often needed to cooperate with each other when the court held court meetings, various ceremonies, and sacrificial matters. Most of the officials between the ministries knew each other, and upon hearing the news of the death of Guanglu Temple Secretary, they all came to pay their respects.
Wu Zongguang, the Minister of Guanglu Temple, became a Jinshi in the 18th year of Zhisheng. In 16 years, he climbed from the bottom of the ninth rank to the fifth rank. This speed is not slow and his future is promising.
If he could live another twenty years, he might have retired at the position of fourth rank.
It is a pity that he died young. He passed away due to illness when he was less than 40 years old. It is really a pity.
"Sister-in-law, I'm so sorry!"
"Sir Wu, I am here to see you off for the last time."
"God is blind. Lord Wu is so young, how could he..."
"Sister-in-law, if you have any difficulties in the future, you can come to Guanglu Temple. We promised Lord Wu that we will take good care of your family..."
…
Although the entire Wu Mansion was immersed in sorrow, many officials came to pay tribute to the Guanglu Temple Secretary, and their words brought some comfort to everyone in the Wu Mansion.
The housekeeper of the Wu Mansion had just seen off a group of guests when a few more figures walked into the Wu Mansion.
In the front was a beautiful young woman with an air of nobility. The others were wearing constable uniforms and looked out of place with the surroundings.
The mistress of the Wu residence came out quickly, bowed to them, and asked, "Are you here to pay tribute to your late husband?"
Li Anning looked at her and said, "We are from the Ministry of Justice. We are deeply saddened by the news of Lord Wu's death. In addition to paying tribute to Lord Wu, we also have some questions for Madam."
"Ministry of Justice?"
The woman was slightly startled and asked, "What do you want to ask?"
Li An Ning smiled at her kindly and said, "Madam, don't worry. This is just a routine inquiry. Lord Wu was a fifth-rank official of the imperial court. The imperial court will definitely investigate his death. But there is no rush. Let's pay tribute to Lord Wu first..."
Several people walked into the mourning hall and offered incense and worship first. Then, Li Anning looked at the woman and asked, "Mrs. Wu, may I have a word with you?"
The woman nodded and said, "Please follow me."
Watching the few people leave, the two young women kneeling on both sides of the mourning hall couldn't help but look at each other, and a hint of deep worry flashed in their eyes.
At this moment, in another room in the Wu Mansion, Li An Ning asked the woman several questions in succession.
"Has Lord Wu's health always been poor?"
"In the past few years, the master's health was quite good, but since two years ago, it has been getting worse day by day. In the past few months, he has been so sick that he can't even get out of bed."
"What disease is Master Wu suffering from?"
"I saw the imperial physician before, and he said that I was overworked and hurt my body. He also prescribed some tonics, but they didn't work..."
"Overworked? As far as I know, the official duties of the Guanglu Temple should not be considered very busy."
The woman was a little embarrassed to talk about this matter, and said: "Three years ago, the master took two concubines. He worked day and night and his health was weak. Two years ago in the winter, he caught a cold and was seriously ill for a month. Although he recovered, his health deteriorated day by day..."
Li Anning continued to ask: "What did those two concubines do before?"
The woman said, "They are prostitutes in a brothel. They were originally a pair of sisters. Later, the master redeemed them and took them as concubines. In the past three years, they have also served the master wholeheartedly..."
A meaningful expression appeared on Li Anning's face.
Before taking a concubine, his health was pretty good. But after a year, his health deteriorated day by day.
Although he died two years later, it was hard to arouse others' suspicion, but she believed in her husband even more.
She looked at the woman and asked, "Have you seen a doctor in the past two years?"
The woman nodded and said, "I asked the imperial physician to take a look. He prescribed a prescription and I have been taking it for the past two years."
“Does it work?”
"It had some effect at first, but then it became less and less effective..."
"Show me that recipe."
…
When Li Nuo returned home from the Honglu Temple, An Ning was already waiting for him in the yard.
Li Nuo asked, "How's the investigation going?"
Li Anning shook his head and said, "Since Lord Wu fell ill two years ago, his health has deteriorated. I have asked someone to look at the prescription written by the imperial physician. There is nothing wrong with it. It is a prescription for replenishing qi and nourishing the body..."
Li Nuo thought for a moment and asked, "What about that prescription? Do you still remember it?"
Li Anning took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and said, "I copied it down."
Li Nuo took the paper and looked up.
This is a top-notch recipe for replenishing qi and nourishing the body. If a fifth-rank official is sick, he can ask the imperial physician to see him for free. The biggest effect of this prescription is to nourish the kidneys, and it has no side effects on the body. It should not make one's health worse the more he drinks it.
Although the code can identify criminals, it cannot provide any specific help to Li Nuo in the process of solving the case.
In order to solve the case, he has to find substantial evidence.
Li Nuo thought about it and said, "Forget it, I'll go with you tomorrow."
…
night.
Jingzhao government office.
Jing Zhao Yin tapped the table lightly with his index finger and asked, "You mean, after Li Nuo left, he went to the Ministry of Justice first, and then Princess An Ning took people to the Wu family?"
A man nodded and said, "Yes, Princess An Ning also asked Mrs. Wu some questions about Wu Zongguang's life. They seem to have begun to doubt the cause of Wu Zongguang's death..."
Jing Zhao Yin rubbed his brows and said angrily, "How could this happen..."
The thing he was most worried about happened.
Originally, this was something that happened without anyone noticing.
It took them more than five years to implement this plan.
The whole plan was flawless and flawless.
Unfortunately, the officials from the Honglu Temple were overlooked and were scheduled to go to offer condolences on behalf of the Wu family.
Who on earth asked him to go to the Honglu Temple?
How did he notice it?
But at the moment, these are not the most important things. Since the flaw has been revealed, we must activate the second plan.
The man said disapprovingly, "Sir, you don't have to worry. This time, the two of them did it cleanly. They can't find anything."
Jingzhao Yin took a deep breath and said, "I'm afraid they won't be able to find out anything..."
Then Li Nuo had obviously discovered something.
Let him find out what is going on smoothly so that the case can be closed sooner.
Once he can't find anything, he will continue to investigate. In this case, no one can guarantee that he will find anything.
He looked at the man and said, "Tell them to activate Plan B."
The man's expression changed, and he asked in confusion: "Why!"
Plan B meant to have them expose themselves intentionally.
As for plotting to murder an official appointed by the imperial court, the two men had no choice but to die.
The butterfly is dead, can't the dragonfly and firefly be saved too?
Jing Zhao Yin looked at him and said word by word: "The only purpose of their lives is to complete the plan. Your little mercy may make us lose everything..."
The man lowered his head silently and said, "As you command..."
…
The next morning, Li Nuo and An Ning went out together to the Guanglu Temple Prime Minister's Mansion.
However, before the two men entered the Wu Mansion, they saw the two women being escorted out of the Wu Mansion.
Li Nuo was stunned when he saw this, and walked forward and asked, "What happened?"
The housekeeper of the Wu residence said angrily, "These two concubines, the master had just left, and they took the family's property and tried to escape. They were caught by the night patrol guards. The servants in the family also found some medicinal herbs in their room. Every time they boiled medicine for the master, they would secretly hide some of the herbs. The doctor said that without these herbs, the tonic turned into poison. No wonder the master's health is getting worse and worse. It's all their fault. The master is so good to them, but they dared to murder the master. Come on, follow me to see the official!"
Li Nuo and An Ning looked at each other and it seemed that there was no need to go into the Wu Mansion.
The case was solved, but it was the other party who fell into the trap on his own initiative and had nothing to do with them.
Li Anning felt a little regretful and said, "Oh, it's all my negligence. I should have just searched their room yesterday!"
She was extremely regretful at the moment as she had lost the cultivation that was given to her for free due to her carelessness.
Cases involving fifth-rank officials are not ordinary murder cases and can increase one’s cultivation significantly.
Li Nuo smiled and said, "You should go back to the Ministry of Justice. If you handle this case, you can recover a lot of losses."
An Ning hurriedly went back to the Ministry of Justice with them. After Li Nuo returned to the Honglu Temple and came to his own room, a hint of doubt finally appeared on his face.
He looked at the two colored portraits on the codex.
If the arrest of those two women had nothing to do with him, why did their portraits appear in the code?
What strengths do these two women have that can be recognized by the law?
Do these rich and powerful people have such high requirements for talent when taking concubines?
However, these talented women are often accompanied by deadly dangers.
Zheng Yuanwai died at the hands of his concubine, and Guanglu Temple Secretary Wu Zongguang also died at the hands of his concubine...
Wait...he seemed to have seen the name Wu Zongguang somewhere before?
After a brief recollection, Li Nuo quickly remembered some things.
He went to the Ministry of Personnel and borrowed the list of successful candidates in the imperial examinations over the years from his father-in-law.
After finding the list of successful candidates in the 18th year of the Holy Dynasty, Li Nuo flipped directly to the end.
Gu Wenhan, a Jinshi in the 18th year of Zhisheng, ranked 96th in the imperial examination.
Wu Zongguang became a Jinshi in the 18th year of Zhisheng and ranked 97th in the imperial examination.
Zheng Tianxing became a Jinshi in the 18th year of Zhisheng and ranked 98th in the imperial examination.
Gu Wenhan, Wu Zongguang, and Zheng Tianxing - the three last-place Jinshi scholars in the 18th year of Zhisheng, have all died.
If Li Nuo's guess is correct, Wu Zongguang, the Minister of Guanglu Temple, may have worked in the Eastern Palace before?
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
