Chapter 64 Speaking the Truth
The story about Wu Silang that Li San Niang heard from Gao Ya Hui was not surprising at all.
It turns out that Wu Silang was the illegitimate son of Emperor Wu's second elder brother. He was not very capable, but because Emperor Wu ascended the throne, he was given an honorary official position at will. He was not a bully or a tyrant, but there were often some scandalous stories about him.
But it was nothing more than spending a fortune for some courtesan in Pingkangfang, a kind of romantic affair that was considered a man's affair at the time.
Therefore, everyone was very surprised when they heard his servant say that he had been murdered in the garden.
Later, even the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review came. Those from noble families knew without being told that something was going on, so they obediently followed the arrangements.
After waiting for more than half an hour, someone finally called her name, and then a young girl in a pink ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) stood up and went out.
The young women in the room felt a little nervous upon seeing this. Gao Ya Hui even whispered to Li San Niang, "Sister Li, you can tell now that you're a few years older than me. You don't seem scared at all. I'm a little flustered. At home, my father-in-law is always so kind and gentle. I wonder if the officials of the Dali Temple are like him."
What could Li San Niang say? She couldn't very well say that she had witnessed a murder with a handsome man today, and coincidentally, it was this man named Wu Si Lang.
"Ya Hui, you don't know, I'm just pretending. Actually, I'm very nervous inside too. But we're all just innocent bystanders, and today's murder case has nothing to do with us. I guess they'll let us go home after they've finished questioning us."
Gao Ya Hui nodded, smiled sweetly, and said, "Yes, I'll listen to Sister Li. This has nothing to do with us."
Li San Niang felt bitter, but she couldn't say it.
Li San Niang was still wondering whether she should tell him what happened in the garden that day when she was questioned later.
To tell or not to tell?
If I speak out, will I fall into a trap? Will I implicate that handsome young man? Will I bring trouble to the Li family?
If I don't say anything, what if my handsome husband reveals it? Is it possible that a third party witnessed me and my handsome husband meeting Rou Niang and Lin Lang in secret?
At this moment, Li San Niang's mind was racing, and more than a dozen questions flashed through her mind in an instant.
However, before Li San Niang could make a decision, her name was called.
When she heard her name, Li Mingfang, being called from outside the door, Li San Niang didn't react for a moment. She was stunned for a moment before realizing that her original name was indeed Li Mingfang!
Nodding to Gao Ya Hui beside her, Li San Niang walked out of the room and followed a maid around and around until they finally arrived at a courtyard where there were also yamen runners at the gate. She watched as one of the yamen runners went in to announce her arrival, and soon someone came out and told Li San Niang to go in.
Upon entering the room, he saw Di Shaoqing smiling at him. Of course, Di Shaoqing was not alone in the room; his two deputies were also there, both of whom were taking notes with charcoal pencils.
The other side consisted of officials from the Ministry of Justice. One of them directly asked, "Li Mingfang?"
Li San Niang first bowed to the officials, then nodded and said, "Yes, Li Mingfang greets Vice Minister Di and..."
"This is Vice Minister Zheng of the Ministry of Justice," Di Shaoqing said, stroking his beard.
With someone reminding me, things became much easier: "Pay respects to Minister Zheng."
The rest was easy. They asked some standard questions from the notice, then asked who she received the notice from, when she received it, what time she arrived today, who she came with, and what she did after arriving. They especially focused on a certain time period, asking where Li San Niang was at the time and if there were any witnesses.
On her way here, Li Sanniang had already decided that she should tell the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice everything she and her handsome husband had seen in the garden today.
After all, firstly, Li San Niang did not have an alibi during that time period, nor did she have any witnesses who deliberately testified against her;
Secondly, even if he admits that he heard the sounds of a man and woman meeting in secret, he only heard them, and it was not Li San Niang who actually did it. Telling the truth is better than hiding it and making things worse.
Third, Li Sanniang doesn't know how much the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice already know. If they had asked the handsome young man or the maid Bitao before Li Sanniang, they would most likely have told her where Li Sanniang was at that time.
Therefore, Li San Niang decided that it was best to tell the truth.
Then Li San Niang recounted in detail everything that had happened that day, from the moment she overheard the intimate conversation between a man and a woman at the rockery out of curiosity, to the moment she met the handsome young man, and to the moment she saw Lin Lang lying on the ground and Rou Niang running away.
"Third Sister really doesn't know that young man's name, but he is quite tall and handsome. If Third Sister could go and see the young man who came to the banquet today, she would definitely be able to identify him."
"Did Li San Niangzi see clearly who Rou Niang and Lin Lang are?"
"In response to Lord Di, the distance was too far for Third Sister to see clearly, but at that time, this Lin Lang was wearing a dark blue robe, and Rou Niang was wearing an apricot-colored ruqun."
Having said everything she needed to say, Li San Niang felt she had also said things she shouldn't have said, and the heavy weight in her heart finally lifted. Only then did she look up at Di Shaoqing at the head of the table. Strangely enough, Di Shaoqing was smiling!
Li San Niang felt very strange. Why was Di Shaoqing so happy after hearing what she said?
This is a murder case!
He's a close relative of Emperor Wu, and he was sent to investigate the case. Even if he's not usually stern, he doesn't need to be so happy.
Di Shaoqing noticed Li Sanniang's confusion, so he first gave Zheng Shilang a look that said, "See, I told you so," before slowly taking a sip of tea and saying to Li Sanniang, "Sanniang, do you think that handsome man behind you is the one behind you?"
Upon hearing this, Li San Niang immediately understood. She turned around abruptly and saw a man behind her wearing an indigo Taoist robe and with his hair tied up with a white jade hairpin. It was none other than Xu Sanlang, Xu Jingzhen!
Xu Jingzhen was laughing heartily at this moment, his eyes narrowed. If the occasion weren't inappropriate, Xu Jingzhen could have laughed heartily for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
In fact, when Xu Jingzhen saw the arrival of people from the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice, he knew that this matter was bound to escalate.
Although he grew up in a Taoist temple, his grandfather told him from a young age that he must be loyal to the Tang Dynasty and the emperor. He said that the Li family was already illustrious enough, and as long as they maintained their loyalty, they could continue to be illustrious.
So, after being taken away from the garden, Xu Jingzhen took the opportunity to meet Di Shaoqing and Zheng Shilang ahead of time. She directly told them that she had been urged by her grandmother to come too early and felt bored, so she went for a walk in the garden. Because she knew some martial arts and saw the ingenuity of the garden, she went up to the platform of the artificial rockery and meditated there for a while.
Unfortunately, not long after he began meditating, he noticed a couple having a secret rendezvous on the opposite side of the artificial rockery. Adhering to the principle of avoiding trouble, he remained silent.
But by sheer coincidence, Li San Niang bumped into her at that moment.
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