Chapter 149 Investigation!
Li's parents waited until almost dawn before getting out of bed to prepare something to take to the Jingzhao Prefecture to visit Li San Niang, who was currently being held captive.
After hearing what her eldest brother Li said, Li's mother went to Li San Niang's room and took a set of her clothes, thinking that if it worked, Li San Niang could at least change into a clean set of clothes. Li San Niang was such a clean person that she probably hadn't slept a wink all night, let alone washed her hands and feet.
Li's father and mother naturally understood that Li San Niang's situation must be much worse than what Li's elder brother had described; otherwise, Li's elder brother would not have specifically instructed Li's mother to bring a set of clothes.
After Li's father, mother, elder brother, second elder brother, and Granny Wang, who had slept at Li's house the night before, finished getting ready, they boarded the donkey cart to Jingzhao Prefecture.
Mr. Li was unaware that Mr. Bu Ke had visited the previous night and had spent a considerable amount of time talking with Mr. Li and his family.
The whole family was on the donkey cart. Since there was still some time before they arrived at Jingzhao Prefecture, Brother Li approached his father and whispered in his ear about the things that Mr. Bu Ke had instructed them to do.
When they arrived at the gate of the Jingzhao Prefecture, Li's father and his companions ran into the Jingzhao Prefect, who had been woken up early that morning to go on duty.
The Prefect of the Capital was allowed to enter directly, while Li's father and his party had to obtain a household registration certificate from the gatekeeper, explain their purpose, and undergo a thorough inspection before they could enter.
As soon as the Prefect of the Capital arrived at the side hall where he usually conducted his business, he saw that Chai Shanmei, the Judicial Advisor of the Capital Prefecture, and Yuan Yafan, the Judicial Advisor, were already inside.
The two men first paid their respects to the Prefect of the Capital before reporting to him on the murder case discovered by the Imperial Guard and what exactly happened.
"So, the site has been surveyed?"
"Reporting to the Prefect, not yet. We have just arrived at the Prefectural Office."
"Hurry, arrange for someone to examine the scene and have a coroner examine the bodies. Have those two people woken up? Where are they now? What about the woman?"
Before Chai Shanmei could answer, they heard a knock on the door from a minor official.
"Come in."
"Prefect, Judge Chai, Judge Yuan, the family of Li San Niang, the murderer in that case, has come to visit her. May they be allowed to see her?"
"No, how can such a murder be handled so casually?"
"Prefect, may Li Sanniang change her clothes? Her clothes when she came were covered in blood."
The Prefect of the Capital thought that Li Sanniang was really unlucky, going from victim to perpetrator. Well, this little bit of leniency is still possible.
"Yes, but the bloodstained clothes must be kept in the manor as evidence."
"promise."
The clerk arrived at the gate of the Jingzhao Prefecture, took the bundle handed to him by Li's mother, and found a female clerk in charge of the women's prison in the prefecture. After checking that there were no foreign objects, he rewrapped the bundle.
Thus, Li San Niang received the clothes brought by the female official and learned that her father and others had come to the Jingzhao Prefecture to visit her, but because of the murder case, they could not meet.
Li San Niang didn't know what lay ahead, but she would never give up. She thanked the female official, locked the door, and changed into the clothes her mother had brought in. The female official took away her original pale yellow dress and the scalpel hidden in her waistband.
Li San Niang's whole body aches, especially her lower back and the left shoulder and upper arm that the man in black slashed with his dagger. Although the wounds are not deep and have stopped bleeding, they still need to be treated.
Li San Niang had just asked the female official if she could find a doctor to treat her wounds, but the official said with difficulty, "This... Madam is currently a key figure in the murder case, and the higher-ups don't allow Madam to contact anyone. Madam's injury doesn't look too serious."
Helpless, Li San Niang stopped pressing the matter.
When you're under someone's roof, it's better to avoid trouble. Let's just forget about it and talk about it later.
With the care from her family, Li San Niang felt a renewed desire to live. She still had Lu Zhu'er, her father and mother, and other family members. She also had to take care of Jiu Niang's pregnancy, detoxify Fang Chengxian, and help Na Shunzi and Ying Niang get pregnant. She still had so many things to do and so many wishes to fulfill.
Li San Niang took out a new handkerchief, dipped it in the tea in the room, and carefully wiped her face, cleaning away the faint smell of blood that was about to dissipate.
Only then did Li San Niang finally feel at ease.
Daming Palace, Xuande Hall.
Emperor Wu had just finished practicing a set of health-preserving boxing exercises in the small square in front of his sleeping quarters, and his forehead was slightly sweaty, when he saw Xue Yao, who had entered the palace early that morning and had been waiting there for quite some time.
"You're here early. What's wrong? Is there some trouble somewhere?"
Emperor Wu took the hot towel handed to him by Wang Da Dang, wiped his hands and face, and asked Xue Yao with a hint of helplessness.
Emperor Wu thought to himself, "If anyone time-travels and wants to be emperor, let them try sitting on this throne!"
Being an emperor is truly the most difficult job in the world. You have to get up earlier than the rooster and go to bed later than the dog. There are always droughts in one place and floods in another. There are also various factions causing trouble in the court. Especially at this time, the Tang Dynasty had a vast territory and a diverse range of ethnic groups, so there were even more conflicts and more affairs.
Sure enough, Emperor Wu had just gotten up and hadn't even had breakfast when his loyal subordinates urged him to go to work.
"Your Majesty, in the Records of Extraordinary People, there is a young woman named Li San Niang who was assassinated last night but killed the assassin in self-defense. I went to investigate the scene, and the assassin was somewhat unusual, seemingly related to the rebellion in the Turkic region on the frontier."
As Emperor Wu listened to Xue Yao's report, he walked into the imperial bedchamber. Just as he sat down and picked up a scallion pancake, Xue Yao continued, "When I was investigating the scene, I happened to run into people from the Chang'an Bad People's Bureau. It seems that Li Sanniang is also registered with the Bad People. I suspect that Li Sanniang's murder case is also related to the theft of the military tally that the Bad People are currently investigating."
When Emperor Wu heard about the theft of the military tally, he sat up straight, but then slumped back in his chair. As he listened, he thought to himself, "No matter how well a person takes care of themselves and exercises, they can't help but accept that they're getting old."
"Because this matter involves many parties, I came to the palace early this morning to report to Your Majesty. It was my fault for delaying Your Majesty's breakfast."
Emperor Wu paused for a moment while chewing his scallion pancake, pretending not to hear the words, and continued chewing.
After Xue Yao realized that his words had failed to fool Emperor Wu, he fell silent. It was Wang Da Dang who had a conscience and brought Xue Yao a cup of tea.
After Emperor Wu finished his breakfast, he said to Xue Yao with satisfaction, "Alright, these are all minor matters. No matter how loyal you are, you must take care of your health, right? I still want you to serve me well for another thirty years."
Regardless of what Xue Yao, who was drinking tea with a stiff face, was thinking, Emperor Wu turned to Wang Da Dang and said, "Dang, convey my imperial edict, ordering Di Renjie, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, to work with the Jingzhao Prefecture to investigate the Li San Niang murder case. I need to know the truth within three days, uh, never mind, seven days."
Therefore, Chai Sifa, who was on his way to conduct an on-site inspection of the alleyway, met with Di Renjie, who had come directly with his men after hearing Emperor Wu's oral decree.
It was only then that Judge Chai learned that Emperor Wu had ordered the Dali Temple to work with the Jingzhao Prefecture to investigate Li Sanniang's murder case.
Chai was a tactful judge; after all, Di Renjie was the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, a position far superior to his own as a judicial officer. According to rank, he should be the one to listen to Vice Minister Di.
Therefore, Judge Chai bowed and saluted first, letting Judge Di go first, before leading his coroner and others inside.
As dawn broke, the traces of the scene were still visible. Even the thug and the big man had woken up, their mouths gagged and their hands tied, trembling to the side.
He knew both the coroners from the Dali Temple and the Jingzhao Prefecture; they were both well-known members of the lower nine schools of thought in Chang'an.
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