Chapter 266 In-depth Investigation
Li Nuo's hands that were massaging An Ning paused slightly.
A murder in Chang'an city was enough to attract attention.
The deceased was an official appointed by the imperial court, so the Ministry of Justice had to take it more seriously.
Li Nuo learned from An Ning that the deceased was a guard from the Ministry of Personnel. He did not go to the government office that morning. When his colleagues from the Ministry of Personnel went to his home to look for him at noon, they found that he and an old servant had been killed at home.
The home of this official in the Ministry of Personnel was turned upside down and all his valuables were gone. On the surface, it looked like a case of burglary and murder.
Thanks to the efforts of the Anti-Theft Bureau, thieves are almost extinct in Chang'an today.
It is difficult to even encounter a petty thief, and burglary and murder have not happened for a long time.
Not to mention that the deceased was an official appointed by the imperial court. The seriousness of this case was second only to the murder of powerful officials. The three provinces issued an edict, ordering the Ministry of Justice to investigate the case thoroughly and bring the murderer to justice.
If it was just an ordinary guard, it would be fine, but this guard died last night and his rank was promoted this morning. He was promoted directly from the ninth rank to the seventh rank.
The killing of a seventh-rank official is no small matter.
Li Nuo asked: "Did you find any clues?"
Li Anning shook his head and said, "On the surface, this is just a case of burglary and murder, but I think it's not that simple. How could it be such a coincidence that he happened to rob an official's house and he happened to be promoted the next day..."
There are some suspicious points in this case. Li Nuo thought about it and said, "I'll go check it out with you tomorrow."
In fact, it would have been best to check today, but as of now, the case must have happened more than a day ago, and the automatic lock-in of the criminal by the code has become invalid. It will be the same if we check tomorrow.
As the Secretary of the Honglu Temple, he did not go to the Honglu Temple during office hours and ran around outside, which was considered as deserting his post.
When Li Nuo was in the Ministry of Rites, if he caught an official abandoning his post without permission, he would first fine him half a month's salary, no matter how high or low the official was.
But I guess no one dares to say anything about him.
An Ning was naturally very enthusiastic about the opportunity to investigate cases with Li Nuo, as this was something she had fantasized about countless times before.
The next morning, the two arrived at the crime scene.
The residence of this official from the Ministry of Personnel was not in the prosperous area of Chang'an. The annual salary of a ninth-rank official in Daxia was one hundred taels. Although it was definitely a high salary compared to ordinary people, he could not afford a house in the prosperous area of Chang'an.
If you are not in a prosperous area, public security is naturally difficult to guarantee.
Li Nuo looked at the scene but did not find any useful clues.
His house was in a mess, all his belongings were stolen, even the books on the shelves were taken and scattered everywhere.
The neighbors around him are not very familiar with him.
All I know is that there lived a master and servant here. The master was a minor official in the court and rarely communicated with his neighbors.
Having gained nothing, the two decided to go to the Ministry of Personnel to investigate further.
The main thing is to inquire about his interpersonal relationships, to see if he has any enemies, or if he has ever had a grudge with anyone.
Many murders are disguised as burglary and murder.
"Enemy?"
In the Ministry of Personnel's case library, Fang Zhanggu shook his head and said, "Lord Zhao is a rather aloof person and rarely interacts with others. He should not have any enemies. Alas, how could Lord Zhao encounter such a thing..."
Li Nuo asked several officials from the Ministry of Personnel, and they were not very familiar with the deceased Zhao Zhanggu. They could only be said to be ordinary colleagues.
According to several officials from the Ministry of Personnel, Zhao He was arrogant and aloof, so he didn't have many friends, but he had never had a conflict with anyone.
Li Nuo also asked in detail about his promotion.
A ninth-rank Zhang Gu was suddenly promoted to a seventh-rank Gong Cao. This was not considered a normal promotion.
The officials from the Ministry of Personnel quickly explained the reason to him.
This Zhao Zhanggu and the Jingzhao Yin were actually from the same hometown.
It is not uncommon for fellow townsmen to help each other in the court.
But the fact that his death and promotion happened at the same time is still somewhat intriguing.
When leaving the Ministry of Personnel, Li Nuo looked at An Ning and asked, "Where did he go in the days before his death? Did the Ministry of Justice find out?"
Li Anning shook his head and said, "Zhao He is a solitary person and has few friends. No one knows his whereabouts after leaving the government, and the Ministry of Justice has no way to investigate."
The Ministry of Justice had no way to investigate, so it could only seek help from the Mingjingsi.
Half an hour later, Li Nuo got the answer he wanted.
A ninth-rank palm guard is not an important person, and the Mingjing Division will not send people to monitor his every move all the time.
Unless he is connected to some big shot.
After learning about his relationship with Jingzhao Yin, Mingjingsi traced back through Jingzhao Yin and indeed found out that on the day of Zhao He's death, someone went to the Jingzhao government office to meet Jingzhao Yin.
The Ministry of Justice spent the whole day investigating this matter yesterday but found nothing.
I'm afraid no one would have thought that a small ninth-grade palm seal would have any connection with a court giant like Jingzhao Yin.
The two men arrived at Jingzhao Prefecture and met the Jingzhao Yin smoothly.
The Jingzhao Yin was named Lin Fuzhi, a middle-aged man who looked quite elegant.
Li Nuo was actually not unfamiliar with this name. Like his father, Lin Fuzhi was a Jinshi in the 14th year of Zhisheng. In that imperial examination, he ranked second.
They were also the two people who participated in the imperial examination that year and now hold the highest official positions in the court.
Inside the government office, Jingzhao Yin bowed to Li Anning and Li Nuo and asked, "Greetings to the princess and the prince consort. I wonder what important matter has brought you to Jingzhao Prefecture?"
Li Anning said, "There is a guard in the Ministry of Personnel named Zhao He. Lord Lin, do you know him?"
Jingzhao Yin nodded and said, "I know him. He is from the same hometown as me. I arranged for him to join the Ministry of Personnel."
Li Nuo had seen Zhao He's ranking in the imperial examination. As the last-place Jinshi, it was impossible for him to enter the Ministry of Personnel without someone behind him.
Jingzhao Yin was really nice to his fellow townsmen.
Li Anning continued to ask, "The night before yesterday, Zhao Zhanggu was killed at home. Does Lord Lin know about this?"
Jingzhao Yin looked a little sad and said, "I heard that there are only two of us serving in the court in Shahe County. I wanted to promote him to my side and train him well, but I didn't expect such a thing to happen. The court must catch the murderer and give him a life for his life to comfort his soul in heaven..."
"Of course." Li An Ning looked at him and said, "However, Zhao He came to Jingzhao Prefecture to look for Lord Lin a few hours before his death. Is this true?"
Jingzhao Yin did not deny it, nodded and said: "Yes, Zhao He has come to me many times, hoping that I would promote him because of our hometown relationship. I felt that he was not virtuous enough, so I kept him in the Ministry of Personnel for a while. Now I think the time is right, and I wanted to let him take the position of Gongcao, but I didn't expect..."
He sighed and said, "I didn't expect something like this to happen."
After that, he looked at Li Anning and said, "After this case is over, can the Ministry of Justice hand over Zhao He's body to me? I will send him back to Shahe County. This is also the local tradition in Liangzhou..."
Li Anning said: "Master Lin can apply to the Ministry of Justice for this matter. I think the Ministry of Justice will agree."
The two still couldn't find any useful information from Jingzhao Yin.
Jingzhao Yin had no reason to kill him, and judging from his past actions and his performance today, he was unlikely to be the murderer.
What's more, it doesn't make sense to kill him the night before and promote him the next morning.
Li An Ning thought for a moment and asked, "Could it be that the officials of Jingzhao Prefecture, because Zhao He took their positions, decided to kill him to silence him?"
This suspicion is not without reason.
Blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing his parents.
Blocking someone's career path is more serious than blocking his financial path.
The position of Gongcao of Jingzhao Prefecture is worth the risk for many people.
But if we investigate this way, the scope of suspects will become wider, but there are still solutions.
As long as we can provide him with the list, the rest will be easy.
Li Nuo plans to go to the Ministry of Justice to try the screening method. If the life expectancy increases, it means that the right person has been sentenced. Although this method is troublesome, it is the most practical.
In the name of investigating a case, the two men quickly obtained a list from Jingzhao Yin.
These people are all strong contenders for the position of Gongcao.
When they walked out of Jingzhao Mansion, Steward Wu had just finished talking to someone. He walked up to Li Nuo and An Ning and said, "Master, Princess, the Mirror Office checked the intelligence of that day. After meeting Jingzhao Yin, the official in charge of the Ministry of Personnel went to see King You at night. After returning from King You's Mansion, he was killed..."
"King You?"
Li Nuo was a little surprised. It was incredible that a small ninth-grade palm seal could be related to Jingzhao Yin. It was even incredible that even King You was involved...
What's going on with the cases these days?
Why is it that the more I investigate each case, the more outrageous it becomes?
(End of this chapter)
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