Chapter 7 Chapter 7 "Spare his life."
Gu Huaiyu took charge of the work himself, and the yamen runners moved faster, with Zhu Song also helping from time to time.
They learned bone examination together, but in the first few days, Zhu Song went out to catch cicadas in the middle of the night every day. He fell from a tree and his butt was swollen, but he didn't dare to say anything. He was in a very bad mood, so he didn't learn any key points of the bone meridians, so he couldn't examine the bones.
Zhu Song brought two yamen runners and dug a cellar himself. He used firewood and charcoal to burn the ground until it was red, then extinguished the open flame. He then poured two liters of good wine and five liters of acetic acid into the cellar, put Gu Huaiyu's dressed body into the cellar while it was still hot, and covered it with a straw mat.
It takes two hours to steam the bones. As long as we can determine the cause of death of one person and the others are almost there, we can report to the emperor first and buy more time.
Zhu Song had a good idea, but the sound of hurried horse hooves broke his expectations. "Master Zhu, something terrible has happened."
The man who came was Captain Wang from Jingzhao Prefecture. He was tall and strong, with a loud voice.
Zhu Song felt something was wrong and asked anxiously, "What's wrong?"
Captain Wang didn't even have time to dismount as he quickly said, "The emperor has issued an order to behead Lin Feng at noon today, and has ordered Lord Qu to oversee the execution. He has already been taken to the execution ground."
It's less than an hour away from noon. Zhu Song frowned. The results of the bone steaming are not out yet. What should he do?
But the mystery surrounding Lin Feng had not yet been solved. Killing him now would greatly increase the effort required to solve the case, so he said, "Come down, I will immediately go to the palace to see the emperor."
Captain Wang dismounted. Gu Huaiyu, upon hearing his words, took two quick steps and approached him. "The outcome is clear now. How will you persuade His Majesty when we meet now?"
Zhu Song didn't say much, but just asked him, "Do you think what Lin Feng said is true or false?"
Gu Huaiyu hesitated, "I..."
As the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple, Gu Huaiyu wanted to say that they should just look at the evidence and not speculate, but that was obviously inappropriate now. He knew what Zhu Song was going to do, so he advised, "Deceiving His Majesty is a grave sin. Even without Lin Feng, we can still find out the truth."
Zhu Song said nothing more, turned his horse around and left. Gu Huaiyu looked at his galloping back and finally shouted, "It's true!"
The sound of horse hooves was so loud that I didn’t know if Zhu Song heard it or not.
Half an hour later, Zhu Song stood in the Qinzheng Hall. The emperor, sitting at the head of the table, looked worried. "Tell me, you said there's a huge hidden secret in the Lin Feng incident. What is it?"
Zhu Song bowed and replied, "Lin Feng is a survivor of the Shuyun Villa massacre. He made this scene in the capital just to seek justice for his family."
The emperor said, "Qu Zhoubai has already said all this. If he wants justice, he should write a petition in a proper manner. He is playing tricks and causing unrest. If all those who have been wronged follow his example, how can the capital, and even the entire Liang Kingdom, ever have peace?"
The emperor's tone was very serious, proving that he was in a very bad mood. Normal persuasion would definitely not work in such a tight time, so Zhu Song had no choice but to take a risky move.
He swallowed and continued, "Your Majesty, Lin Feng is not a prankster, and this is exactly the secret I want to reveal. After Lord Qu came to the palace to meet His Majesty, I felt that it was impossible for Lin Feng to stir up trouble in the capital alone, so I went to interrogate Lin Feng. During the interrogation, I learned a shocking secret."
Emperor Liang's curiosity was piqued. "What secret?"
Zhu Song replied, "Someone is secretly making a green monkey."
Emperor Liang frowned slightly, "Hmm?"
Zhu Song continued, "Thirteen years ago, after Lin Feng escaped from a fire, he developed a fever that damaged his brain and caused him to lose his memory. He lived as a beggar in the capital for three years. Late one night, he was taken back home by a man in a luxurious carriage. The man forced him to take various medicines and take medicinal baths. Over time, his body became strange, as if he were ill. When he became ill, he would jump around and crave human blood.
Years ago, he had a fever again, and after regaining his memory, he wanted to escape and seek justice for his family. However, the place where he was imprisoned was too strict. He planned for a long time before escaping, but he was too nervous. He fell ill before he even reached the government office and was easily recaptured. Undeterred, he escaped again, but this time he fell ill again. This time he was not recaptured, but he fainted after drinking human blood, and when he woke up, he was at Shuyun Villa.
Your Majesty, there are many hidden secrets behind Lin Feng. Please spare his life for now. I will make a decision after we have investigated the truth."
Emperor Liang looked at him without saying a word for a while, his eyes gloomy, like the sky before a thunderstorm.
At this time, Qu Zhoubai was sitting in the position of the executioner on the execution ground, looking at Lin Feng, who was tied up and kneeling on the ground, with a stern brow and expressionless face. The sunlight falling from his head only cast a small shadow on the ground.
Captain Wang came hurriedly. Seeing him, Qu Zhoubai stood up eagerly and took two steps forward. When Captain Wang approached, he asked, "What's going on?"
Captain Wang said, "Master Zhu has entered the palace."
This was not what Qu Zhoubai wanted to ask. "Has the cause of death of the Lin family been determined?"
Captain Wang replied, "Master Gu is still waiting for the results."
"No results yet?" Qu Zhoubai was a little confused. There was no result yet and he had already told the emperor everything he needed to say. What could Zhu Song say when he entered the palace?
Captain Wang saw that Qu Zhoubai's face was not right, so he asked, "What should we do now?"
Qu Zhoubai asked, "Did Gu Huaiyu say when the results would be out?"
Captain Wang glanced at the sky and said, "It will probably take another hour."
Another hour? Wouldn't that mean the opportunity would be lost? Qu Zhoubai suppressed his urge to save Lin Feng and walked over to him, squatting. "You heard it too. It's not that we don't want to save you, it's just that you made too much noise. If you have anything else to say about your family, say it now."
Lin Feng's mouth was bitter. "I have already told you two masters everything I can say. I just hope that after I die, you can give my family justice and bring the murderer behind this to justice."
Now that everything was made clear, Qu Zhoubai had nothing more to say. He just comforted him, "Don't worry, we will investigate it thoroughly."
"Thank you, sir."
"Go on your way with peace of mind."
Qu Zhoubai stood up and returned to the execution platform to sit down. The sun rose higher and higher. When it was at its highest point, Qu Zhoubai took out the token from the token tube and threw it down. "The time has come. The execution may begin!"
Hearing these life-threatening words, Lin Feng bit his lower lip and closed his eyes.
Unfortunately, he has not yet avenged his family and has not been able to see the murderer behind the scenes being executed.
But Jingzhao Prefecture had already taken over his case, and it was only a matter of time before the truth came out. Lin Feng looked up at the magnificent sun in the sky and cried out in sorrow, "Mother, I am an unfilial child!"
"Spare his life."
Along with the rapid sound of horse hooves, there was also Zhu Song's loud and anxious voice. Seeing this, Captain Wang quickly caught the signature token that was about to fall to the ground, and barely held it in his arms. He rolled on the ground before standing up, holding the signature token in his hand and waiting by the side.
At the same time, Qu Zhoubai quickly shouted to the executioner, "Don't move."
The executioner raised his knife, but put it down after hearing Qu Zhoubai's words.
When Lin Feng heard Zhu Song's words, he looked up and saw Zhu Song coming like a hero in a picture book, covered in sunlight and full of righteousness.
Zhu Song dismounted, unfolded the imperial edict, and said aloud, "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The truth behind the Lin family's massacre remains unknown. As the sole survivor, Lin Feng's death sentence is suspended until the facts are known, and he will be punished accordingly."
Zhu Song walked up to Lin Feng and said, "Why don't you kowtow and express your gratitude?"
Lin Feng shouted loudly, "I thank the Lord for His great grace. Long live the Emperor."
Zhu Song then handed the imperial edict to Qu Zhoubai. Qu Zhoubai raised his chin towards him and immediately ordered, "Take Lin Feng back to Jingzhao Prefecture."
Zhu Song stopped him and said, "Take him back to the Dali Temple. The emperor has ordered the Dali Temple to investigate this matter."
Since His Majesty had spoken, Qu Zhoubai naturally wouldn't say anything. As the two of them walked back together, Qu Zhoubai asked curiously, "The Lin family's autopsy results haven't come out yet. How did you convince His Majesty?"
Zhu Song tapped his temples with his finger and said, "Use this."
Qu Zhoubai was somewhat helpless. "I know you're smart, so just tell me about it and I'll learn from you."
Seeing that he didn't understand, Zhu Song said more frankly, "I'll use this thing to guarantee it."
Qu Zhoubai was stunned, looking at him in disbelief. "Really? Just for Lin Feng, you're going to pledge your life to His Majesty?" Qu Zhoubai became more and more excited as he spoke, reaching out to touch his forehead. "Did staying up late damage your brain? I'll take you to the Imperial Hospital for a few injections."
Zhu Song opened his hand unhappily and said, "No."
Qu Zhoubai was very worried and asked, "What did you say to the emperor?"
Zhu Song said, "What else can I say? To put it bluntly, His Majesty was curious and gave me half a month to solve the case."
"Half a month?"
Hearing Qu Zhoubai's startled voice, the onlookers all looked over. Zhu Song glanced at him and said, "Keep your voice down. We are human beings, not monkeys."
Qu Zhoubai lowered his voice, but his tone was still very excited. "It happened thirteen years ago. How can we find out the truth in half a month?"
Zhu Song said, "You think I want to? The emperor haggles even harder than your mother does at the market. I asked for three months, but he reduced it to half a month. He said if he couldn't find out, he would send me to the northern desert to control desertification."
Zhu Song's heart trembled when talking about this. The emperor didn't say anything else but insisted on asking him to go to the Northern Desert to control desertification. He had just said two hours ago that he didn't want to go to the Northern Desert to control desertification. Damn, this made Zhu Song feel that it was a very bad omen.
"Beimo?" Qu Zhoubai lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, "Then I'll have someone buy some more sand hats."
"What are you talking about?" Zhu Song asked unhappily, "Can't you say anything nice?"
"Actually, it's nice to go to Beimo for some fun." Qu Zhoubai thought he was comforting him, but Zhu Song didn't feel it at all.
"Shut up your crow mouth."
Qu Zhoubai stopped talking and just said, "I'll go to the palace to find the emperor. This matter was originally handled by our Jingzhao Prefecture. Even if it's a joint investigation, they can't kick us out."
Qu Zhoubai was about to leave when Zhu Song stopped him and said, "The emperor is in a bad mood right now, why are you asking for trouble?"
"but."
Zhu Song knew that he wanted to help, and that even if His Majesty was free, he couldn't possibly manage everything. "If you want to come together, then we can."
Hearing him say this, Qu Zhoubai was also satisfied, "Okay then."
Zhu Song turned around to look at Captain Wang who was following behind him, and said to Qu Zhoubai, "Go check on Lin Feng."
Qu Zhoubai gave the original order, and after Captain Wang left, Qu Zhoubai asked, "Is Lin Feng dishonest?"
Zhu Song didn't say anything, but his expression had already answered Qu Zhoubai.
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