Chapter 164 Just investigate the case, why show off?
Before meeting the girl carrying the basket, Li Jin was indeed confused and had a vague sense of understanding about the tragic case of a family being wiped out.
It seems like they've grasped the key to the case, yet they can't find a complete chain of events among the fragments.
Until now.
The courtyard was littered with torn and dirty clothes, overturned pots and pans, shattered porcelain, and broken and torn paintings...
With the little girl's words just now, he now knows 90% of the whole picture of the case.
The courtyard was quiet and serene. The early autumn sunlight, like a golden veil, gently swayed and draped over the eaves of the courtyard.
Several sparrows gathered near the scattered rice grains, feasting on them.
A gentle autumn breeze was blowing, and as noon approached, a faint warmth still lingered, rising slowly from the earth.
After a long while, Li Jin stood up, took a deep breath, and said, "Let's go back and see what good deeds Xuan Yutang did in his lifetime that made the people of Shengzhou City stand against the government."
When he said this, Jin Shu froze for a moment: "Does Your Highness know who the murderer is?"
Li Jin turned around, a slight smile playing on her lips: "Most likely."
He took a step, searching for a place to stand amidst the mess, and added with a light laugh, "And it's very likely that Yun Jianlin was also helping the murderer."
Li Jin walked to the door and saw Jin Shu's puzzled expression, so he slowed down: "Yun Jianlin, the prefect of Shengzhou, has served as an official for twenty or thirty years. He is diligent in his duties and loves the people, which is evident to all."
He stood with his hands behind his back, glancing back at Xuan Yutang's residence: "So, what are the chances that he has never even met this embroiled Master Xuan?"
Although what he said made sense, Jin Shu didn't understand. Looking at Li Jin's smiling face, she asked in surprise, "Isn't Lord Yun a member of the Prince's camp?"
Li Jin raised an eyebrow: "He is, but that doesn't affect his desire to protect one or two loyal and righteous heroes who rob the rich to help the poor."
He turned around, stepped over the threshold, glanced at the street on the verge of chaos, and quickly got into the carriage.
Li Jin understood a little better why Feng Chao only mentioned borrowing a coroner when he came that day, but didn't mention solving the case at all.
Logically, if a major case involving the extermination of an entire family occurs in a prefecture under its jurisdiction and cannot be solved, the imperial court will be furious and at least penalize the offender with a six-month salary reduction.
Yun Jianlin would probably rather have his salary docked than let the suspect go unpunished.
What kind of person could make Yun Jianlin take such a risk and make a choice so contrary to his status as a prefect?
Li Jin felt that the answer to all of this might lie in the numerous lawsuits that Yun Jianlin had mentioned that day.
The carriage swayed gently as it passed through the bustling city of Shengzhou. Li Jin kept the curtain drawn, watching the lively scene unfold before her.
Although not as bustling as the capital, it was still lined with shops and very lively.
In Shengzhou, where there was no curfew, the only way to leave the city was through one of the eight city gates corresponding to the zigzag main road.
The night market closes at 1:15 PM, and the city gates close 1:15 PM.
During this period, the murderer needed to move the four victims from Xuanfu, which was on the verge of causing trouble...
Li Jin turned around, took out a street map of Shengzhou City from his bosom, and looked at the location of Xuanfu on it. It was as if countless lines started from there and, with the optimal path, drew several routes that the suspect was most likely to choose on the paper.
But no matter which route you take, you'll have to pass through this bustling commercial street in front of you.
So here's the question: How exactly did he manage to move the body out of the commercial street so easily, right under the noses of so many people?
Upon returning to the Shengzhou government office, Li Jin went straight to Yun Jianlin's back room.
He and Jin Shu saw Yun Jianlin organizing the legal documents from afar, and without giving him a chance to react, they walked straight up to him.
Yun Jianlin was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly mixed the few sheets beside him into the large stack, stood up and bowed.
"Your Highness has already finished inspecting the scene?" He was somewhat surprised.
The scene of the massacre, which lasted for just over an hour, was returned to the scene by three people in such a short time.
Li Jin did not respond. He walked with a slight smile to the stack of lawsuits, picked one up at random, and it was a lawsuit for the abduction of a woman and the resulting death. After putting it down, he picked up another one, a lawsuit for unpaid wages of six hundred taels of silver that had not been paid for three years.
In addition to these, there were also those who hired thugs to injure people to the point of paralysis, forcibly seized farmland, and caused families to be broken up and people to die.
Li Jin remained silent for a while before slowly saying, "Yun Jianlin, you have quite the nerve."
Although the tone was not harsh, the pressure and sharpness that followed immediately made Yun Jianlin break out in a cold sweat and kneel on the ground.
"Do you know you're wrong?" Li Jin didn't even turn his head, continuing to flip through the petition.
Yun Jianlin knelt there, his lips opening and closing.
Before he could speak, Li Jin said leisurely, "The cases on this petition are all shocking. If they are true, it is no exaggeration to say that Xuan Yutang is utterly wicked." He chuckled, "And you, who have presided over so many trials and concluded so many cases, have never even met him."
At this point, Yun Jianlin, who was kneeling behind Li Jin, was stunned for a long time.
He knew that Li Jin was adept at political maneuvering and stratagems, and could also solve cases with ease.
It wasn't that he returned quickly, but rather that the prince before him had thoroughly understood the entire case in just one hour.
Even so, Li Jin still picked out only one charge from the major charges of "harboring a criminal suspect" and "deceiving the royal family" and pinned it on Yun Jianlin for "incompetence in handling affairs".
Kneeling on the ground, he took a deep breath, his eyes filled with gratitude.
He kowtowed on the ground: "This humble official knows his mistake."
Li Jin continued flipping through the pages unhurriedly, saying casually, "You're allowed to redeem yourself through meritorious service." He paused, "But there won't be a next time."
Upon hearing this, Yun Jianlin was filled with resentment and remained kneeling on the ground. Seeing that he was not getting up, Li Jin took two steps forward, squatted down, and personally helped him up.
Upon seeing this, Yun Jianlin exclaimed in alarm, "Your Highness, your injuries..."
Li Jin shook his head: "It's alright."
After that, he pondered for a long time and still asked Yun Jianlin to avoid the Six Doors' investigation process.
Inside the room, facing a thick stack of lawsuits, Jin Shu rolled up her sleeves, sat cross-legged on the floor, and began to examine each one.
That appearance was in stark contrast to Li Jin, who sat behind his desk in a chair.
It was as if he were the girl.
"Why didn't Your Highness let Lord Yun pick them out directly?" Jin Shu asked without looking up. "When we came in just now, didn't we see that he had already separated a few?"
Li Jin frowned, got up and walked to Jin Shu, and sat cross-legged on the ground opposite her.
He picked up a few papers beside him and said as he looked at them, "Lord Yun is a good official in Shengzhou City." He smiled slightly, "I don't want him to leave an impression in the hearts of the people of Shengzhou as if he had betrayed them."
"Since he has chosen to stand with the people, we should no longer allow him to be involved in the Six Doors' camp."
Jin Shu paused for a moment, then looked up at Li Jin's face.
"What does Your Highness intend to do?" Jin Shu asked. "Does he intend to stand against the people?"
Li Jin chuckled, his handsome and clear face, with its picturesque features, complemented by his talented and unrestrained soul, was half shadow and half light.
He said, "How could that be?"
He said, "The will of the people is justice."
All sounds in the room ceased. Li Jin lowered his head, concentrating intently on searching for clues in the indictments.
His words were like a pebble falling into Jin Shu's heart, creating ripples upon ripples.
Glancing at his face, Jin Shu complained for a moment, "Just focus on the case, why are you showing off?" She stood up, "I'll go pour you a cup of tea, Your Highness, would you like some?"
Turning around, she couldn't hear Li Jin's reply at all. She gently patted her chest and took three deep breaths.
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