Chapter 11 Inspection
Unexpectedly, the people who came were not from the Chang'an County Government, but from the Dali Temple, and the leader was Gao Shaoqing of the Dali Temple.
He was very old and had only one tooth left, but he still personally brought people to investigate the case.
Traditionally, murder cases were investigated and tried by the Wannian County Court in Chang'an, with the verdict then reported to the Ministry of Justice for record. Major cases or cases of wrongful imprisonment were only referred to the Dali Temple for investigation. Everyone was surprised that the Dali Temple had arrived first to handle the Imperial College case.
Seeing everyone's confusion, Gao Shaoqing gestured towards the Imperial Palace with a bow, saying, "I am also following orders. The palace has long ago ordered that if there are any further setbacks in the Changhua Palace, they will be directly handled by the Dali Temple. We must deal with it swiftly and strictly, and will not allow rumors in the capital to damage the county lady's reputation."
Qian Deng then realized that it was just rumors in the market, and the emperor and empress had specifically instructed the Dali Temple to investigate and handle the case.
She bowed to Gao Shaoqing and said softly, "Thank you very much, Gao Shaoqing. Thank you for all the trouble."
Although Gao Shaoqing's eyesight was dim, he had served as an official for decades and naturally recognized that the person in men's clothing before him was the Lingling County Princess. He hurriedly bowed to her and said, "Don't worry. Interrogating cases is the responsibility of the Dali Temple. Please rest assured, County Princess. I will bring my men to conduct the trial personally."
Having said that, he really didn't mind the filth. He lifted the hem of his official uniform and walked into the alley first, stepping on the pool of blood.
It is rare for a young minister of such advanced age to personally visit the scene and take the lead in inspecting the traces at the scene.
Just as everyone was in awe, Gao Shaoqing's black leather boots stepped into ankle-deep blood water. He was about to step forward, but the alley was uneven and he was old and weak, so he tripped over the bricks and stones hidden under the dirty water and immediately lost his balance.
Amid the crowd's low cries, his followers hurriedly supported him, but the alley was too narrow. Although his body was held, his face hit the brick wall hard. He let out a wail, and the only remaining front tooth in his mouth flew out and fell into the blood with a soft thud.
Gao Shaoqing covered his bleeding mouth and retreated from the alley in embarrassment with the help of everyone.
When everyone saw that half of his face was rubbed against the wall and was covered in blood, they hurriedly advised Gao Shaoqing to go back for medical treatment and rest, and not to be busy and tired anymore.
Several yamen runners waded into the pool of blood and reached out to touch his lost front teeth.
Gao Shaoqing was furious and mumbled, "What are you touching? Can you put something you took out of a dead man's blood back into my mouth?"
The yamen runners repeatedly said yes and were about to turn around when someone suddenly exclaimed, lifted his foot from the water, looked at the scratched place on his boot, and leaned over to feel around in the muddy bloody water.
Then he took out a dagger from the blood and quickly waded through the water to hold it in front of Gao Shaoqing.
The dagger was stained with mud and blood, but it looked ordinary. Gao Shaoqing glanced at it quickly and said, "Compare it with the deceased's wound to see if it matches."
The bailiff carried the body out, and the coroner immediately stepped forward and compared the dagger with the chest wound of the deceased.
The autumn rain fell endlessly. Qiandeng held the umbrella woodenly, looking at Yu Guangling's body lying stiffly on the ground, covered in mud and blood. Listening to the rustling sound of raindrops hitting the umbrella, he felt a chill in his heart and a loss.
The man who was rumored to be her husband passed away so quickly.
Who killed him and why did he die?
After the coroner finished his examination, he reported to Gao Shaoqing: "The wound matches the dagger. It is undoubtedly the murder weapon."
Gao Shaoqing covered his mouth, swallowed blood, and asked, "How many times? Cause of death?"
"Based on the wound and the scene, it seems someone was hiding in the alleyway. When Guangling entered, they stabbed him in the heart with this dagger, causing blood to gush out of the wound and killing him instantly. The murderer then dropped the dagger and escaped."
Gao Shaoqing wanted to take a closer look at the murder weapon, but as soon as he stood up, his whole body went limp.
The yamen runners hurriedly supported him. They saw that he was bleeding profusely from his mouth and was unconscious. He was in a panic. The coroner beside him said anxiously, "I'm afraid that Shaoqing is old and his blood coagulation is slow. Now he is dizzy due to blood loss. Send him to the hospital immediately!"
Gao Shaoqing was in a daze. When he was helped away, he could hardly speak and just tried to look at Qiandeng.
Qian Deng said, "Young Master Gao, rest assured and receive medical treatment. Since the palace has asked the Dali Temple to handle the Changhua Palace case, and I have the most in-depth knowledge of it, I can temporarily question you on your behalf. I'll just have to trouble the Dali Temple staff to take notes."
Gao Shaoqing nodded quickly, his mouth full of blood, and murmured to everyone, "Everyone... listen... listen to the county lady."
Qiandeng withdrew his gaze from Yu Guangling, took a few deep breaths, and calmed himself down.
With Gao Shaoqing's final words as her command, she immediately assigned the tasks one by one, ordering: "Coroner, perform a thorough autopsy to determine the extent of the wounds and the time of the crime. All yamen runners, search the puddles and walls at the scene again, leaving no trace. Report your findings to me as soon as possible. Shangluo, Xue Xiyang, inform the chief priest, the teacher, and the gatekeeper to gather everyone in the Imperial College. I will be questioning them later."
Qiandeng sat down in the library and ordered people to check the walls to make sure no one had climbed over them. He also asked the gatekeeper and teacher who had been summoned.
The school was flooded due to heavy rain for several days, and classes were no longer in session. The students who had come to the Imperial College today were mostly there to listen to the lectures, and the teachers were well aware of the students they were teaching.
"Who are all the people in the Imperial College who have never attended Xue Lecheng's lectures? Is there a list?"
"Yes, they're out." The yamen runners were already used to being errand boys, and they immediately handed the compiled list to her.
Qiandeng flipped through it and saw only a few names on it, and his face suddenly darkened.
Those who didn’t arrive were Jin Tang and Meng Lanxi; the one who arrived late was Xue Xiyang.
"I?"
Hearing his own name, Xue Xiyang raised his eyes, which were as wet as the rain outside the window, and looked at Qian Deng. There was a clear sense of grievance and surprise in his eyes. "I am a lecturer, how can I be on the list? Could it be that I have great magical powers, so I can lecture and split myself into two to kill people at the same time?"
The officer checked the list and said, "Xue Lecheng started his lecture a quarter of an hour later than originally scheduled. Everyone can attest that he was inside the library, just across the wall from the alley where Yu Guangling had the accident."
"That's because the prison was clogged, and I accidentally stepped in the mud, which stained the hem of my clothes. County Lady, how could I possibly teach in muddy clothes? Luckily, there were spare clothes in the carriage, so I asked my attendant to fetch them. While I was waiting, I got bored and went to the library to look through the classics, but I've never been to the aisle!" Xue Xiyang looked at Qian Deng, his eyes filled with grievance. "If you don't believe me, ask someone to fetch my spare clothes. You'll know what I'm doing once you see them."
The bailiff immediately ran to the Imperial College gate and retrieved the clothing from the carriage. The clothing was also a bright, light-colored piece, with a few noticeable spots of mud on the hem. Judging by how dry the mud had become, it must have been there for an hour or two.
Qian Deng looked at the file and asked, "You were in the library at the time, right next to the murder scene. When Yu Guangling fell into the puddle, there should have been a sound. Did you notice it?"
Xue Xiyang shook his head: "No, the brick walls of the warehouse are so thick, how could I hear any sound?"
Nie Hezheng, the Dali Temple official, said nearby, "Although the brick wall is thick, there is a small window facing the alley..."
He didn't say anything more, but everyone knew what he meant.
While waiting to change clothes, Xue Xiyang did have time to climb out of the window, kill someone in the alley, and then sneak back quietly.
Xue Xiyang's expression changed slightly, and his usually gentle voice took on a sharp edge. "What a joke! I was invited here to give a lecture, how could I be carrying a weapon? Furthermore, how could I have known that Yu Guangling would go into the alley to avoid Jin Tang and seize such a fleeting opportunity to attack him?"
Listening to their argument, Qiandeng looked down at the file in his hand, and then thought of Yu Guangling who died tragically in a pool of blood, feeling inexplicably sad.
The fact before her was that the deceased and the three suspects were all candidates for her fiancé.
In addition to Xue Xiyang, the other two suspects - Meng Lanxi and Jin Tang, both of them had spoken harshly to Guangling in both open and covert ways.
Meng Lanxi said that Yu Guangling might not be able to control her fate, and she should think about herself carefully.
Jin Tang went straight to Yu Guangling and made a scene, which was quite embarrassing and made him a laughing stock in the capital.
Living in the same courtyard, studying at the Imperial College, and seeing each other every day, would they really draw their swords and kill each other?
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