Chapter 98
Lin Nanjie sat down at the table, held the candle in front of him, and unfolded the blood letter beside the candle. The blood letter was written on thick kraft paper, which gave off a strong fishy smell. There were crooked words written on it, all written in blood. Some places had already turned deep red, which looked shocking.
Li Dai coughed twice and waved his hand in front of his nose.
"This smell... is too fishy."
"My Lord, what does it say?"
Lin Nanjie held the blood letter in his hand and read it line by line. He took a deep breath and closed the blood letter:
"There is a wrongful conviction."
"Unjust...unjust case!"
Li Dai was greatly shocked. He turned his head and looked in the direction of the west chamber, muttering, "This is a serious injustice."
"You're pretty good at finding a place."
Lin Nanjie folded the blood letter and put it away, then said to Li Dai, "Come on, take me to see that person."
Li Dai quickly agreed, holding the lantern and taking Lin Nanjie to the west room.
The west wing was originally uninhabited, but to prevent friends and colleagues from staying overnight, Li Dai had it decorated as a bedroom. At the moment, the man who presented the blood letter was lying on the bed in the west wing, his body was covered in blood, emitting a strong stench, and there were crisscrossing whip marks on his body, as if he had been severely whipped not long ago, his skin and flesh were bruised and purple, very scary.
Li Dai couldn't help but say, "You'd better not look at it, it's scary."
Lin Nanqi covered his nose and said, "Why does this person smell so bloody?"
Li Dai quickly opened the window: "Maybe he came all the way from somewhere else and didn't change his clothes, plus the weather is hot."
Lin Nanjie walked to the bed and looked carefully at the person on it.
The man's face was covered in blood, and his true appearance could not be seen. Lin Nanqi asked Li Dai to get a large basin of water, and he stayed in the west room. The man was dressed simply, and nothing could be seen from his clothes. Lin Nanqi turned over his hands and saw that his palms were thick and his right hand was covered with old knots, like the hands of someone who often worked.
Ordinary people would not travel all the way to Beijing from far away places unless they encountered a great injustice.
What's more, the timing is just too coincidental.
It just happened to be related to a case he was currently handling.
This case is a case of kidnapping a woman.
There is a place called Tianshui Town in Huaiqing Prefecture.
There was a wealthy man in Tianshui Town named Fan Zhaoming. His ancestors had been high-ranking officials. Although he was not an official in his area, he was also a well-known landlord in the area. Fan Zhaoming was not only a spendthrift, but also obsessed with women.
Qingwan was grief-stricken and went to the county government to sue Fan Zhaoming, but the people of Tianshui Town were united, and the county government took a lot of advantage of Fan Zhaoming, and directly declared him innocent. I thought that was the end of it, but Qingwan went to the higher authorities and alarmed the imperial envoy who was inspecting Huaiqing Prefecture, so they arrested the rich man and sentenced him to beheading.
The verdict was reported to the Ministry of Justice, which reviewed it and some people thought the sentence was too severe and that exile would suffice, not beheading. However, the final result of the review was still beheading.
Soon after, the case was reported to the Censorate and fell into his hands. If the Censorate gave a seal of approval, the crime of beheading would be confirmed.
Just at this moment, someone related to the case appeared at his door and handed him a letter written in blood.
The blood letter said that he was Qingwan's childhood sweetheart, they grew up together, they loved each other, and he helped the girl to sue, but who would have thought that he would get into trouble. Now he was arrested and thrown into the state prison, waiting to be executed, not the real guilty nobleman, but his father, who was made a scapegoat.
If this is true, it is not an ordinary case.
From Tianshui Town to Huaiqing Prefecture, and then to the capital, the connections must be extensive.
There was a noise outside, and Li Dai had already brought the doctor in. When the doctor entered the room and saw the person on the bed, he was also shocked. He went forward to check the wound, and then took the pulse. Finally, he said to Lin Nanqi and Li Dai with a serious face: "This person's injuries are serious and he has a high fever. He must be treated immediately. I will write a prescription first, you can follow the prescription, and I will treat the wound immediately."
Lin Nanqi nodded and said to Li Dai, "Please ask the housekeeper to go to the pharmacy in the city to get some medicine. This person is very important."
Li Dai realized the seriousness of the matter and did not dare to delay. After the doctor finished writing the prescription, he left immediately.
After more than half an hour, he finally came back with a large bag of herbs: "I went to several drugstores in the city, and finally one was willing to open. The herbs inside were rare, so I went to two stores before I could get all the herbs."
Lin Nanjie said to Li Dai gratefully, "Thank you, housekeeper."
The doctor had treated the wound and told Li Dai about boiling the medicine. Li Dai told his men to do it.
After working all night, it was already dawn. Lin Nanjie hadn't slept all night. He looked at the sky outside and said to Li Dai, "Uncle Li, prepare the carriage. I'm going to change my clothes and go to court."
Li Dai looked at Lin Nanjie's tired expression and advised, "I've asked the kitchen to prepare some millet porridge. Eat some before you go."
Lin Nanjie had no appetite now and shook his head: "Let's go to court first and have dinner when we come back. You must keep an eye on this person. Anyone who comes to the mansion to ask about him will say that they have never seen this person."
Li Dai: "Don't worry, sir."
There was no time to sleep, and Lin Nanjie was no longer sleepy. He took the blood letter in his hand, got on the carriage, and drove towards the Meridian Gate.
When the court was about to start, all the civil and military officials lined up in the main hall, and the six ministries began to submit petitions. When it came to the Ministry of Justice, Lin Nanqi's ears perked up. The incident of Fan Zhaoming had caused a lot of uproar, and the Minister of Justice Cai Yuanli mentioned the matter: "Reporting to the emperor, the Ministry of Justice's review results are consistent with the prefecture's, and the sentence is still to be executed. The documents have been handed over to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and they will be sent back to the prefecture for immediate execution after verification."
"It's just that the Censorate's review has taken too long. To this day, there is still no news."
If it weren't for Cai Yuanli's position as the Minister of Justice, Yuan Liu would have wanted to roll up his sleeves and curse.
What does it mean until today?
How many days has it been since this document was sent to the Censorate?
When they have nothing to do in the Censorate, they serve the Ministry of Justice every day!
Yuan Liu was about to speak when Lin Nanjie suddenly walked out from behind his sight. Yuan Liu stopped in his tracks.
Lin Nanjie actually took the initiative to take the responsibility?
Well, not bad, not bad. The child is teachable.
Lin Nanjie stepped out of the line, but first said in his heart: "Someone knocked on my door last night. Someone handed me a letter written in blood, saying that the person currently detained in the state prison is not the real Fan Zhaoming, but a scapegoat."
Li Chengqian felt nervous.
Knocked on Lin Nanjie's door late at night?
What if it's a bad guy?
Lin Nanqi straightened up and glanced at Li Chengqian.
[I will come to see you later.] Xinyin said confidently, [The weather is too hot recently, I want to eat something cold.]
A smile appeared in Li Chenghuan's eyes, and he nodded almost imperceptibly.
Lin Nanjie immediately understood: "I have an urgent matter to report. At 15:30 last night, someone knocked on my door and handed me a letter written in blood. The letter said that the person detained in the state prison was not the real criminal Fan Zhaoming, but a scapegoat."
When these words came out, the court was shaken.
Cai Yuanli's face was slightly unhappy: "Master Lin, what do you mean by this? Are you saying that my Ministry of Justice's review is wrong? You are questioning the Ministry of Justice. If this matter is wrong, can you bear the consequences?"
Lin Nanjie said quickly, "I dare not question the procedures of the Ministry of Justice without authorization. It's just that this matter has come to my house, so I have no choice but to do it. I hope that the Minister will forgive me. If there is any mistake, I will bear all the responsibility."
Cai Yuanli snorted coldly.
At this time, someone suddenly stood up and said, "I think what Lord Lin said makes sense. Now that the matter has been exposed, we should deal with it as we should. We can't let people be wronged."
Lin Nan pricked up his ears and looked slightly to the side behind him.
Liu Weiming, the Minister of Personnel.
Cai Yuanli snorted coldly: "What else can I say!"
Wang Wenhe said, "Of course. Now that things have come to this, we can find out whether someone has taken the blame, why they were convicted, and whether it was voluntary or involuntary. These are all within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice. The Censorate is only exercising its supervisory responsibility."
The two exchanged sharp words, and Cai Yuanli had no choice but to take on this hot potato. With a pair of deep eyes gleaming with coldness, he said to Lin Nanjie: "In that case, Lord Lin, please hand over the blood letter to me."
Lin Nanjie presented the blood letter.
Cai Yuanli: "Where is the person who submitted the blood letter now?"
Lin Nanjie remained calm and said, "He only left a blood letter and did not see anyone."
After the court session, Lin Nanjie was called away by Wang Wenhe alone, leaving only the two of them. Wang Wenhe's face darkened.
"Nonsense! Why didn't you discuss this important matter with me in advance?"
Lin Nanjie said, "Aren't you afraid that you won't agree?"
"You know I won't agree to it!" Wang Wenhe's beard bristled with anger, "One or two of them are troublesome."
Lin Nanjie and Wang Wenhe were no longer angry.
Wang Wenhe glared: "What are you still doing standing there?"
Lin Nanqi stepped forward and said, "Sir, there is something fishy about this matter."
"You knew something was fishy, but you jumped in? And you handed the blood letter directly to the Ministry of Justice?"
Wang Wenhe's eyes were filled with disbelief.
Lin Nanqie smiled servilely: "Isn't it because I'm afraid that you are too eager to protect your son?"
Wang Wenhe snorted coldly.
Lin Nanjie said, "I noticed something fishy last night." He took something out of his pocket and presented it to Wang Wenhe. "Look, this is the real blood letter."
Wang Wenhe was started and quickly took the blood letter and said, "What did you give to Cai Yuanli? Why does this blood letter... smell so bad?"
Lin Nanjie said slowly, "The blood letter I gave to Master Cai was written with the blood of a chicken I slaughtered last night."
Wang Wenhe: …
Lin Nanqi pointed at the blood letter in Wang Wenhe's hand and said, "This blood letter is also fake."
Wang Wenhe: ???
Wang Wenhe was too old to react for a moment. After all, the Inspectorate was not responsible for adjudicating cases. They were usually busy investigating people and were not well versed in these unconventional methods.
"It's also fake, then what is this?" Wang Wenhe felt goosebumps all over his body as he looked at the blood writing in his hand.
Lin Nanjie's eyes lit up: "Smell it, this blood book has an extremely foul smell, it's not like ordinary human blood."
Wang Wenhe's old face turned slightly pale.
Who would pay special attention to what human blood tastes like after being left for a period of time?
When you see blood writing, you will just think it is the blood of the innocent person.
"It doesn't look like cinnabar either..."
Lin Nan cut the nail and cut the iron: "It's pig blood!"
"Pig blood?" Wang Wenhe hadn't thought of this. "Is that why it stinks so bad?"
Lin Nan nodded: "Human blood, chicken blood, and pig blood are not easy to distinguish. However, chicken blood is more smelly than human blood, and pig blood becomes more smelly and darker in color after being left for a while."
Wang Wenhe carefully looked at the words written in blood. The color was indeed very dark, and some of the words were even dark red.
Wang Wenhe looked puzzled: "Why did you think of swapping the blood letter?"
Lin Nanqie carefully told Wang Wenhe what happened last night: "My mansion is not a conspicuous place, and my colleagues in the capital may not know about it. He, a foreigner, actually fainted at my door with great precision. I can't help but be suspicious."
"Besides, although there is a blood letter as evidence, I have not been to Tianshui Town to investigate in person, so I cannot be completely convinced. Moreover, ordinary people who are wronged will bite their own fingers and write a blood letter, but this blood letter was written with pig blood."
Wang Wenhe nodded: "Yes, you think very carefully. If this blood letter is real, it will have far-reaching consequences. If this blood letter is fake..."
Lin Nanjie stopped smiling and saluted Wang Wenhe with both hands: "Then you came for me."
Wang Wenhe's expression changed. "Right. The matter is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple. They will probably use these two to deal with you. Do you have any enemies?"
Lin Nanjie smiled bitterly and said, "I have made countless enemies."
Wang Wenhe also felt that he had asked a stupid question. These censors offended people every day.
"But... it's too much of a fuss."
Wang Wenhe paced back and forth, puzzled. Several senior ministers in the court had no objection to Lin Nanjie's appointment as an official. Was it necessary for them to go to such great lengths to deal with Lin Nanjie?
Lin Nan nodded in agreement: "Master Wang is right. This matter may not be that simple."
Wang Wenhe was rarely angry: "These bastards, they are not often reported on, but they actually resorted to such despicable means!"
"I must teach them a lesson!"
"You dare to touch the people of the Inspectorate without considering your own weight!"
Lin Nanjie looked at Wang Wenhe's angry expression, and was moved and worried. He quickly poured a cup of tea and said, "My Lord, calm down. Calm down. Calm down."
Lin Nanjie was afraid that Wang Wenhe would get into trouble because of his anger, so he helped her sit down on the chair and handed her tea.
Wang Wenhe drank a sip of tea and calmed down. "Don't worry, I'll keep this blood letter with me. If they dare to do evil, I will never let them go!"
Lin Nanjie said gratefully: "Thank you, sir!"
Lin Nanjie added: "The person who sent the blood letter may also have cat pus. He is now in my house. Please keep it secret for the time being."
Wang Wenhe naturally agreed to all of them.
Lin Nanjie came out of the Inspectorate and returned home, heading straight to the west chamber.
"Uncle Li, how is he?"
Li Dai said, "He looks much better than last night, but he's still unconscious."
Lin Nanqi walked to the bedside and saw that the person lying on the bed had been washed and changed into clean clothes. The blood on his face had been wiped dry, revealing his true face. He looked ordinary and honest, a look that you wouldn't find even if you threw him into a crowd of people.
The man had his eyes tightly closed and his face was dark, so dark that you couldn't tell he was a human being without a light at night.
Lin Nanqi sat on the bedside and muttered: "I have handed your blood letter to the Ministry of Justice in front of the emperor and all the civil and military officials. This criminal investigation is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple. If we hand it over to them, they will definitely get to the bottom of it."
"If what you wrote in blood is true, they will verify it according to the clues above, and I believe the results will come out soon."
"If Fan Zhaoming is found, I'm afraid he won't have a good end. The Ministry of Justice has a wide variety of tortures. I don't know if you have heard of waist cutting, which is to cut a person in half. Because the internal organs are in the upper body, the person who is cut in half will not die immediately. It will take a while before he dies. Oh, it is really painful."
"There is also the wooden stake punishment. The wooden stake is a stick, but it is not used as a stick. Instead, the stick is inserted directly into the mouth or vagina. The whole stick is inserted and pierces the stomach and intestines. Oh my, it is so painful!"
The person on the bed twitched his eyelids.
"Fan Zhaoming had the audacity to let someone else take the blame. He is so audacious that he deserves death!"
"If the blood letter is false... I'm afraid I'll end up in an irreparable situation, and even I'll lose my job."
The dark-skinned man's face turned slightly gray.
Li Dai looked at Lin Nanjie muttering to the patient and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Is this some way to wake the patient up?
Even a man who had experienced many battles like him felt a little scared.
Unfortunately, Lin Nanjie had almost finished reciting the Ten Cruel Tortures of the Qing Dynasty, and the person on the bed didn't even blink. He walked out of the west room, called Li Dai, and whispered a few words in his ear.
Li Dai's eyes suddenly widened, and then he nodded hesitantly: "Don't worry, sir, I will do as you order."
After giving his instructions, Lin Nanjie entered the palace.
In the Zichen Palace, Li Chenghuan knew that Lin Nanjie was coming, so he ordered people to prepare ice cream and other snacks.
There were acquaintances everywhere in the Zichen Hall, and no one was trying to stop Lin Nanjie, so he went straight into the warm room, sweating all the way.
Li Chenghuan was distressed and said, "Let me know. I will send a dragon chariot to the Meridian Gate to pick you up."
Lin Nan recalled the scene of him riding the dragon chariot all the way from the Meridian Gate to the Purple Palace, and was so frightened that he quickly stopped him: "No, no, it's good to walk."
Li Chenghuan took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off Lin Nanjie's forehead, then handed him a teacup: "Drink some warm tea first."
The two sat down at a table with ice cream snacks.
Lin Nanjie ate the ice cream and immediately felt refreshed.
Halfway through the meal, Lin Nanjie said, "I'm here to talk about the blood letter."
Li Chengqian nodded: "Tell me about it."
Lin Nanjie expressed his own judgment: "You can hear my inner voice, so you should know that I know something."
Li Chengqian nodded.
Lin Nanqi continued, also somewhat puzzled: "But this matter is not within the scope of my knowledge. Perhaps it is because I have switched with my original self, and many things are not as they originally were. This case is not complicated. Fan Zhaoming of Tianshui Town oppressed the people and forcibly took women, but there was no such thing as a scapegoat."
Li Chengqian estimated that Lin Nanjie had almost finished eating, so he moved the snack in front of him and said, "Eat less cold food, it's cold."
"After the court meeting, I asked Liao Baifan to investigate. There are secret guards stationed around your mansion. According to the secret guards' report, just as you guessed, the man entered the capital and went straight to your mansion."
The two looked at each other, and both saw the words "ill-intentioned" in each other's eyes.
Lin Nanjie was puzzled: "Why are you coming to me? This case has nothing to do with me."
Li Chenghuan picked up a handkerchief and wiped the crumbs from his mouth, saying nonchalantly, "If the blood letter is fake, then it does matter."
Lin Nanqi nodded gloomily: "That's right."
Li Chengqian dipped his fingertips in water and drew a circle on the table.
"Lue the snake out of its hole."
Lin Nanjie blinked his dark and shining eyes: "Then I will just wait and see?"
Li Chengzhen nodded, frowning slightly: "At this critical juncture, undercurrents are surging inside and outside the palace. After failing to assassinate me, they chose to target you. It's not that easy."
Lin Nanjie asked with a hint of understanding: "But what happened in the palace?"
Li Chengxuan sighed: "I don't know what kind of magic potion Jinyi gave to my mother. My mother mentioned several times that she wanted her to enter the harem."
Lin Nanjie: …
Lin Nanjie looked at Li Chenghuan with cold eyes.
Li Chenghuan raised his hands: "Don't look at me like that."
Not knowing what he was thinking about, Li Chengqian's face turned pale: "As soon as I saw Jinyi, it brought back some bad memories for me."
Recalling a period of time when I was feeling anxious and green all over my head.
Li Chenghuan collected his thoughts and said, "The brocade robe may be related to Qianzhou."
Lin Nanqi immediately became alert: "She has been planning in the palace for so long, she must be making a move."
Li Chengqian: "I have already sent a letter to my uncle in advance, asking him to secretly mobilize troops back to the capital."
Lin Nanqi's heart tightened.
Li Chenghuan raised his hand and touched his cheek: "As long as we don't get rid of these people in the dark, our lives will be uneasy. It is better to take advantage of their tricks and get rid of them once and for all."
Lin Nanjie raised his hand and grabbed Li Chenghuan's wrist, looking into his eyes steadily: "Is there any danger?"
Li Chenghuan's eyes were soft. "I have arranged personnel in various places, so don't worry. The Ministry of Justice may make things difficult for you, but don't worry. I have already told you that Si Yuanxun will not sit idly by."
Lin Nanjie was silent for a moment, then tilted his head to look at him: "Is it really not dangerous?"
Li Chengqian nodded.
Lin Nanqi put down his chopsticks and looked at him righteously: "I'd better move back to the Purple Palace."
Li Chengqian was both amused and confused: "Now you want to come back again?"
Lin Nanjie nodded.
Li Chengqian: "How do you plan to deal with the person in your house?"
Lin Nanqi was in a dilemma and sighed quietly, "Forget it, let me go and deal with the matter at home first, and then I'll move back."
Li Chenghuan held his hand and said, "Don't rush. You can still stay tonight."
Lin Nanjie's moist eyes widened:???
"Okay, you set me up."
Li Chengzhen smiled recklessly, with a look of triumph in his eyes and eyebrows.
The next morning, Lin Nanjie had breakfast in the palace, left the palace and returned to his residence, and also took a visit from a chef in the palace who was good at making ice cream.
After returning home, Lin Nanjie immediately called Li Dai and asked, "How is that person?"
Li Dai's face was filled with joy: "Your Excellency is amazing. I asked someone to find all the tortures from past dynasties and recited them in rotation in that man's ear all night. Finally, he woke up!"
Lin Nanjie: "Did he say anything?"
Li Dai said: "I just want to see you, sir."
Lin Nanqi nodded, got up and went to the west room, and said to Li Dai who was following behind him: "No need to follow me."
Li Dai suddenly became anxious: "How can we do that? What if he wants to do something to you? It will be very dangerous!"
Lin Nanjie said helplessly: "Then Uncle Li will bring people to guard outside the door."
Only then did Li Dai agree.
Lin Nanjie entered the west room, closed the door, and walked to the bed.
The person lying on the bed had opened his eyes and slowly moved his gaze towards Lin Nanjie. He then stood up and saluted: "Master Lin, thank you for saving my life!"
Lin Nanqi quickly stopped him: "You are injured, no need to be polite."
Lin Nanjie sat down beside him and looked at this man, finding him interesting.
He had instructed everyone to do so, and when he woke up, there was nothing unusual on his face.
"What is your name?"
"My name is Changfu, Chang means often and Fu means blessing."
Lin Nanqi nodded: "Changfu, what a good name."
Chang Fu scratched his head, and a somewhat embarrassed smile appeared on his dark face: "It's my name, thank you for the compliment, sir."
Lin Nanjie's expression was gentle: "I have already handed over your blood letter to the Ministry of Justice."
Chang Fu: "Thank you for redressing my grievances!"
Having said that, Chang Fu wanted to bow again.
Lin Nanjie: "Don't thank me, it's all my duty. Besides, this blood letter needs to be re-investigated after it is handed over to the Ministry of Justice, which will take time."
Chang Fu was anxious: "But the officials in the Ministry of Justice are unwilling to investigate? Fan Zhaoming is a piece of shit! He is in collusion with officials and businessmen! He is in cahoots with everyone! I am willing to be a witness."
Lin Nanqi's eyelashes drooped: "Well, this is not urgent."
Chang Fu showed a puzzled look: "Why not hurry? My father's life is in danger."
Lin Nanjie explained, "Now that this matter has become a hot topic, the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple have dispatched personnel to Huaiqing Prefecture, and they should have arrived by now. I am worried about you now."
Chang Fu looked blankly: "Me? What do I have to worry about?"
Lin Nanqi said patiently, "You risked your life to come here to deliver the blood letter. If you show up rashly, it will definitely cause quite a commotion, and you might even be tortured into confessing."
Chang Fu shuddered all over when he thought of the tortures he had read all night.
"Then, when can I go out?"
Lin Nanjie comforted him, "Don't worry. Your injuries are still serious and you need to rest. You should stay in my house for a while until the outside investigation comes out."
Chang Fu looked around and rubbed his hands in embarrassment: "I'm afraid that the officials in the capital have also been bribed by Fan Zhaoming and my father has been harmed. I'd better go to the Ministry of Justice to file a complaint."
Lin Nanqi's eyelids twitched. It seemed that Chang Fu was very concerned about the Ministry of Justice.
"Do you know where the Ministry of Justice is?"
Chang Fu scratched his head and said, "I'll keep asking and I'll eventually find the answer."
"Then do you know who is the head of the Ministry of Justice?"
Chang Fu stammered, "Shang... Shangshu Lord. I heard that Shangshu is the most senior official in the six ministries. It's right to go to Shangshu Lord."
Lin Nanqi nodded: "Yes, you are right, the Shangshu is indeed the highest official in the Ministry of Justice. So, have you thought about what you will say when you meet the Shangshu?"
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