Chapter 556: Suspension of Conviction
Dali Temple.
Chang Yunxiao was facing a thick stack of files, with a flickering candlelight beside him. Half of his face was hidden in the darkness, and his expression could not be seen clearly.
The Queen died from the turtle in the salmon soup.
But Li Yao did not murder the queen.
He was absolutely sure of that.
Through investigation of the imperial kitchen and review of the Queen's previous dietary records, it can be seen that the Queen rarely ate fish and shrimp, which means that she did not like to eat them, and the imperial kitchen would not be unaware of this.
So the question is, why in such an important occasion as a palace banquet, the imperial kitchen would suddenly add a dish of salmon soup with turtle soup.
As one of the organizers of the palace banquet, Li Yao did have the conditions to commit the crime.
But when I asked Li Yao for confirmation that day, she mentioned without hesitation that she had taught the imperial kitchen to add turtle soup into the fish soup.
If she intended to murder the queen, this would be tantamount to exposing herself.
It doesn't make sense.
So he personally interrogated the people in the imperial kitchen again. The head steward of the imperial kitchen was hesitant at first and refused to tell the truth, but finally, under his psychological tactics, he told the truth.
It turned out that day, he accidentally heard the Queen's personal maid Dong Zhu say that the Queen had mentioned salmon soup many times recently and seemed to be very concerned about it.
But the fish soup in the imperial kitchen is always not made well, and the queen is considering replacing the head chef of the imperial kitchen.
The head steward of the imperial kitchen was afraid that he would lose his position, so he thought of a quick solution. He heard that Concubine Rong had made an Eight Treasures Salmon Soup when she was in the Eastern Palace, and His Majesty had specially praised her for it, so he went to ask Concubine Rong for advice.
This led to the addition of turtle soup.
It seems that the appearance of salmon soup was no accident.
It was no secret that Concubine Rong could make Eight Treasures Salmon Soup. Perhaps Dong Zhu knew this and deliberately guided the head steward of the imperial kitchen.
Regardless of whether Dong Zhu intended to murder the queen, Concubine Rong was at most unintentional in the whole incident and definitely not a deliberate murderer.
Footsteps were heard outside Chang Yunxiao's room.
"Didn't you tell me not to bother me?"
Chang Yunxiao frowned slightly and was about to put away the file on the case.
"Old Chang, it's me." Zhu Lan's voice rang out.
Chang Yunxiao stopped.
"Tomorrow is the three-court trial. Have you made any progress?" Zhu Lan walked up to him and asked.
Chang Yunxiao's voice was calm.
"Noble Concubine Rong did not murder the Queen."
He told Zhu Lan all his analysis and then asked:
"Did she say anything to you?"
"who?"
"Qin."
“…”
Zhu Lan lowered his eyes and fell into a brief silence.
Yes, she had just met Qin Yuwei and already knew the whole truth.
For example, Dong Lanxin was worried that Li Yao would keep harping on the matter between her and Xiao Yuan, which would sooner or later affect the Crown Prince, so she decided to set a trap to prevent Li Yao from turning over.
For example, Dong Zhu left the palace on Dong Lanxin's orders and took the opportunity to meet Ju Yuanqing who was captured by Li Yao. He taught him to betray the emperor and mentioned that Dong Lanxin did not like eating soft-shelled turtles.
All these things connected together finally completely broke Yan Xiuyun's trust in Li Yao and he no longer believed anything she said.
"You can choose not to tell me."
Chang Yunxiao looked at Zhu Lan, his voice as calm as ever.
"So what are you going to do tomorrow?" Zhu Lan asked him.
"This matter concerns Yu Wei. If we don't help her, Concubine Rong will make a comeback, and Yu Wei will lose the Queen's protection in the harem. I'm afraid she and Jing'er will be in danger."
"Then as the Chief Censor, what are you going to do tomorrow?" Chang Yunxiao suddenly asked her.
Zhu Lan sighed and said he didn't know either.
Tomorrow the three courts will hold a joint trial, and people from the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate will all be present.
Yuwei is their best friend. As a close friend, he should help her even if it means going through fire and water.
But now, he and Chang Yunxiao, one is the Chief Censor in charge of supervision, and the other is the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple in charge of judicial trials.
If you hold such an important position and show favoritism, how can you face your colleagues in the court in the future, and how can you face the people of the world?
Zhu Lan closed his eyes in pain, enduring the torment in his heart.
"Mr. Chang, you get to choose this time."
"The Censorate is a supervisory agency. The Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice were not suspected of corruption or bribery during the investigation. All of their actions were in accordance with procedures.
No matter what decision you make tomorrow, the Censorate will have no objection."
After Zhu Lan finished speaking, he turned and walked out.
Chang Yunxiao sat down again, rubbed his eyebrows, and couldn't help but pull out a faint bitter smile.
Zhu Lan has now thrown a huge problem upon himself.
…
A night passed and dawn broke.
Because the death of the queen involved the harem, Qin Yuwei, as the concubine with the most power in the harem at that time, was specially allowed by Yan Xiuyun to attend the trial of the three courts.
In the court of the Ministry of Justice, Yan Xiuyun sat upright with a serious expression.
"Call the Minister of Justice Mo Wenhan, the Chief Censor Zhu Lan, and the Minister of the Supreme Court Zhong Maoqing—"
Mo Wenhan and Zhu Lan, dressed in official robes, walked into the court one after another, bowed to Yan Xiuyun and Qin Yuwei behind the screen, and sat down on both sides respectively.
Manager Zhao whispered beside Yan Xiuyun:
"Your Majesty, the Minister of the Zhong Temple sent someone to report that the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple, Chang Yunxiao, has been following up on the case of the Empress' murder, so he recommended him to represent the Dali Temple in the joint trial of the three courts."
Yan Xiuyun nodded slightly.
Manager Zhao loudly called Chang Yunxiao in.
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