Chapter 133 Leaving the Capital (Seventeen) Could someone be giving false testimony? ...
The five men chatted briefly in the hall when suddenly a heavy snow began to fall. Yang Qingnian, the steward who had been guarding this old house for many years, came out from the hall by lifting the curtain, breathed on his palms, beckoned to the two servants in the corridor, gave them a lecture, and then said that he would personally go to the market to purchase a good feast, both to welcome the Second Master and to entertain the guests.
As he spoke, he left the old Qi family residence, took a servant in charge of purchasing, and went straight to the main street. He saw that the ground was covered with white frost, and there were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the street.
The servant rubbed his hands and ran forward to ask, "Manager Yang, I heard that the Second Master dismissed all the servants in Nanjing, leaving only a few old men to go to Guangzhou with the First Madam. Do you think the Second Master will send us away as well when he comes back?"
Yang Qingnian turned to look at him, put his hands behind his back, tilted his head back and sighed, "The Ru family only has the Second Master left as their master. Does he need the servants from the third branch to serve him? But who knows? Anyway, the Second Master is busy with the Prince's affairs right now and can't take care of things at home. Don't ask about these things for now. Go to Dingxing Restaurant and order a table of food to send home."
And what about you?
"I'll go find someone to deliver some charcoal to my home."
The two parted ways ahead. Yang Qingnian went into an alley and found a familiar charcoal seller. He then emerged from the end of the alley and walked straight to a bustling main street. He arrived at the gate of a grand mansion and spoke a few words to the servant in front of the gate. The servant then went inside to report back. About a quarter of an hour later, the servant ran out to lead him inside.
After wandering around the mansion, he arrived at a study, where a fair-skinned young man sat diagonally behind the desk, sizing him up with a crooked smile. "Are you the steward of the Qi family?"
The androgynous voice startled Yang Qingnian, who quickly knelt down and kowtowed, saying with a smile, "My surname is Yang. Please forgive my abruptness, Master Chen. I have important matters to report to you."
It turned out that Chen Jia was sitting behind the desk. He nodded leisurely, stepped out from behind the desk, and stared at him for a while. Suddenly, he bent down and chuckled, making a "squeak" sound like a mouse. Then, he raised his voice high and said, "Get up. You're the housekeeper for the Qi family. What do you want to talk to me about?"
Yang Qingnian bowed and said, "Our Second Master arrived in the capital this afternoon with three guests. As soon as they arrived, Prince Zhao's guards led Lord Zou from the Dali Temple to our Second Master's house, apparently to discuss Prince Zhao's case."
Chen Jia glanced back at him with slight surprise, "Who are the three guests?"
"One is named Yu Qi, and his daughter is Yu Jiuli. The other is named Zhang Da, who is a constable."
So they weren't dead. Chen Jia immediately thought, no wonder the six men hadn't returned to report for so long. Something must have gone wrong. But those men were all bandits who were used to burning, killing, and looting. They had some fighting skills. How could they not even kill Qi Xubai, that weak scholar?
There's only one possibility: they ran into Yu Qi.
He pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Okay, thank you for these letters. Please keep an eye on me in the future."
After saying this, he turned back to the desk and ordered someone to bring fifty taels of silver to send Yang Qingnian away. The person who brought the silver was none other than Jiang Xu. After the man left, Jiang Xu walked to the desk and said, "If I had known Second Master had sent men, I should have waited for them on the road, so Second Master wouldn't have to wait here anxiously for news. I was wondering if those men had run away? They're all death row inmates; they finally had a chance to escape from prison—"
Chen Jia immediately raised his hand to interrupt, "No, they may escape, but their families won't." He then frowned and lowered his hand, "Are you sure that Du Zhong is dead?"
“He’s definitely dead! I saw him drink that bowl of tea with my own eyes. Once that medicine is ingested, even a god can’t save him. Besides, Du Zhong came to the capital with Qi Xubai. He wasn’t one of the three guests that servant mentioned earlier.”
As long as Du Zhong is dead, that's fine. Qi Xubai is lucky to be alive! Chen Jia immediately got up and left the study, heading straight for his father Chen Chengzong's room. Chen Chengzong was about forty years old, tall and thin, with a mustache and a three-inch long beard. He was talking to a concubine in the room, and they happened to be talking about the Imperial Concubine's recent poor health.
Hearing the maid announce that the Second Master had come in, the concubine tactfully got up and came out. Chen Jia then entered the warm pavilion and bowed to his father. "Father, I was just about to give you an answer when a servant from the Qi family came to tell me that Qi Xubai, along with Yu Qi, Yu Jiuli, and others, have arrived in the capital and are currently staying at the Qi family's old residence. At that moment, Zou Chang is over there discussing the case of Prince Zhao with them."
"Qi Xubai isn't dead?" Chen Chengzong glanced at him. "What about the men you sent?"
Chen Jia hesitated and shook his head. "We haven't heard from them. I don't know what went wrong. Maybe they ran into Yu Qi and failed. Their families are in their son's hands, so they probably wouldn't dare to do anything strange. Shall we wait a little longer?"
Chen Chengzong nodded. "Is Yu Qi the doctor who injured you?"
A sinister glint of hatred flashed in Chen Jia's eyes. "It's him. I could tell he was quite skilled last time; he must have studied martial arts. Yu Jiuli is Aunt Quan's daughter. It must have been Yu Qi who rescued her from the fire that engulfed the Quan family mansion. So, those shadow guards who died in the Quan family mansion back then must be connected to this person!"
"Put that aside for now; the matter of King Zhao is more important."
"Father doesn't know, this man is very clever. Qi Xubai brought them to the capital simply to exonerate Prince Zhao."
Chen Chengzong leaned on the table and stood up, pacing around the room for a while, gradually relaxing his spirits. "There's nothing to be afraid of. The other day, I heard Qin Ji report to the Emperor that a young eunuch witnessed Prince Zhao walking out of the crime scene that night. This young eunuch told Qin Ji yesterday. Now we even have a witness. I don't believe that Zou Chang and little Qi Xubai can cause any trouble."
The young eunuch, named Shunzi, was responsible for patrolling the palace at night and announcing the time. That night, when he arrived near the scene of the crime, he happened to see King Zhao in a hurry and reported the matter to Qin Ji and Zou Chang, who were investigating the case.
Zhang Da said during the banquet, "That's not right, Lord Zou. Didn't you say that the eunuch only saw Prince Zhao come out of the Bluebird Pavilion and go to the small garden, but didn't see him come out of the small garden?"
Zou Chang put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and sighed. "That night, only the murder weapon was indeed found, and only the eunuch said he saw the prince go that way. But there are servants in the Zhao Prince's residence who testified that the dagger that killed the palace maid had been missing for several days before the incident. Also, the eunuch who testified at the time only saw the prince go in that direction and did not see him kill anyone. These cannot be used as direct evidence, so the case is questionable, and that's why the Emperor ordered Qin Ji and me to investigate. But a few days ago, this Shunzi suddenly appeared and said that he saw the prince come out of the small garden where the crime scene was that night. This adds another strong piece of evidence."
Jiuli frowned and asked, "It's been more than a month since the case happened, why is Shunzi only now coming forward to testify?"
Zou Chang turned his gaze to her, his expression becoming even more amiable. “Miss, you may not know this, but coincidentally, Shunzi contracted dysentery after finishing his patrol on the night of the incident. He was immediately sent back to the alley outside the palace where the eunuchs lived to receive treatment. He was treated for more than a month until he recovered and was released. He then relayed this information to Qin Ji and me.”
Seeing that he was nearly forty years old and so kind and approachable, Jiuli felt no qualms and spoke boldly, "Dysentery can be fatal, so it's understandable that he'd be treated indoors. But this concerns the Prince. Such a big matter, shouldn't the eunuch who visited him in the palace have told him? If he had, he should have told the two officials about it much earlier. Why did he only bring it up recently? Could he have been bribed to give false testimony?"
Zou Chang stroked his beard, smiling silently, seemingly agreeing with her somewhat. If it was about instigating perjury, it was most likely the Chen family's doing; unless Shunzi herself admitted it, no one could point that out.
Xu Bai asked, "Does what Shunzi said match the events of the night the incident occurred?"
Zou Chang nodded with a smile, "Of course it matches. He described the prince's clothes in great detail."
But if someone instructed him to give false testimony, even if he hadn't seen the prince that day, someone would naturally tell him what the prince was wearing that night. While the group remained silent, Yu Qi suddenly spoke calmly, "Witness testimonies should, in principle, be verified before they can be considered valid. May I ask, Lord Zou, have you verified them clearly?"
"According to Shunzi, the day before yesterday, Lord Qin and I searched that road carefully, and we even found a handkerchief in the grass by the roadside, which belonged to the prince."
Jiuli snorted lightly, "Since we're going to give false testimony, we'll definitely do it thoroughly. Finding a prince's handkerchief is nothing."
"That being said, this also corroborates the credibility of Shunzi's testimony, and it should be accepted unless there is stronger evidence to refute Shunzi's testimony."
Xu Bai then asked, "And what did the Emperor say?"
"Your Majesty still harbors doubts. Moreover, the entire court is in an uproar over this matter. Some say that Qin Ji was recommended by the Imperial Uncle Chen and should not be involved in this case. Others say that I have been lecturing on criminal law for the Prince for many years, so I naturally favor the Prince. Furthermore, the evidence at present can only prove that the Prince was present near the crime scene, but it cannot directly prove that the Prince committed rape and murder. Therefore, Your Majesty has been hesitant to make a decision."
As he spoke, Zou Chang smiled at everyone, "Now that you've all arrived, Mr. Yu has solved many mysterious cases in Nanjing. Previously, there was a petition from Nanjing, and the Emperor also knew Mr. Yu's name. Mr. Yu is neither an official nor has he achieved any merit, nor does he have any connection with the Prince. If we recommend him to the Emperor, no matter what the results are, all the officials will be convinced."
Yu Qi wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, smiled with his face slightly lowered, and picked up his tea. "If the truth is indeed what Prince Zhao said, what will happen to Lord Zou, Second Master Qi, and those in the court who support Prince Zhao?"
Unable to answer, Xu Bai could only look at Zou Chang.
Zou Chang stroked his beard and smiled calmly, "This is a matter for His Majesty to decide; it is not for us, his subjects, to comment."
As he spoke, he rose from his seat to take his leave, but Xu Bai quickly left his seat to see him off. Yu Qi and the other two also returned to their rooms one after another. The snow had not yet stopped, and the garden was already covered in silver, making the old Qi family residence appear even more desolate and dilapidated, scattered and crumbling.
However, the guest courtyard where the three of them stayed was rather nice. It was said to have formerly belonged to Qi Xuyun and was adjacent to Xu Bai's courtyard. There were east and west wings and a main room in the courtyard. Yu Qi naturally occupied the main room, and there was an old woman living in a side room next to it, who was in charge of entertaining the three of them. When the three of them entered the main room, the old woman hurriedly brewed tea in the side room, lit a charcoal brazier, covered it with incense, and then withdrew to let the three of them talk.
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Author's note: Thank you for reading.
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