Chapter 18 The Beggar Murder Case (Part 8)
Li Jin glanced at the blind man kneeling on the ground, raised his hand and waved: "Take him into custody for trial."
Several constables responded and escorted the blind man out along the corner of the courtyard.
Yang An stared at the unfamiliar faces of the group and their constable uniforms. He raised his hand to call out to them, but was frozen in place by a murderous glare from Li Jin.
His gaze was filled with murderous intent.
"Yang An, you're really something." Li Jin said, taking half a step forward to shield Jin Shu behind him. "You almost brought the 'Clear Mirror Hangs High' plaque with you!"
"You're quite adept at using torture, though, when there's no evidence. The coroner's report is full of nonsense, yet you haven't done any serious work. You've also been nowhere to be seen searching for clues, examining the scene, or investigating the source of the body." Li Jin raised her hand, pointing her fan at his forehead. "Ha! You can't even close a case properly. You're truly a model of someone who holds a position without doing any work!"
Yang An was stunned. His face, which had been glaring angrily at Jin Shu, turned pale instantly. He quickly knelt on the ground: "Your Highness Prince Jing is right! This humble official has realized his mistake and has investigated and dealt with the incompetent coroner. Next, we will conduct a comprehensive and in-depth self-examination and self-reflection in the Linyang County government office, thoroughly analyze the problems existing in our office, and address the key issues. In order to live up to the royal trust and the people of Linyang, this humble official will do his utmost!"
Yang An rattled off this string of official jargon without even a second thought.
Li Jin was furious at his glib and slick manner.
"Go all out?" Li Jin chuckled. "Lord Yang's trick won't work on me."
He stood under the eaves, raised his left hand, and with a "bang," a thick stack of documents fell from the sky.
This sudden turn of events startled Jin Shu, who was standing behind him, causing her to take a small step back. Li Jin glanced at her surprised expression before turning back to Yang An and continuing, "If it weren't for these accounts of bribery and corruption, I might actually have believed it."
He threw the documents in his hand in front of Yang An, and they hit the ground with a dull thud.
"Lord Yang is quite busy every day, busy making friends and getting acquainted with powerful people. Busy collecting treasures and beauties to send to higher places. Busy covering up your appalling ability to solve cases." Li Jin stared at his face, suppressing his anger. "Even today, you're busy in a state of high anxiety, looking for the daughter you sent to my bed last night."
Kneeling there, Yang An, who had just been speaking so confidently and perfectly embodying the spirit of admitting and correcting his mistakes, froze instantly upon hearing the word "daughter."
Li Jin, her anger rising, turned to the side, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and rubbed her temples. After a moment, she opened her eyes again, unable to hide her disgust for him, and said in an icy tone, "You really have a lot of nerve!"
The person most surprised upon hearing this was actually Jin Shu, who was standing behind him.
It turns out that the reason Li Jin was sleeping in the dilapidated servants' quarters with Jin Rong early in the morning was because of the wonderful drama that had unfolded the night before!
Thinking about it this way, his huge dark circles under his eyes and his fiery temper when he wakes up in the morning are quite reasonable.
Thinking of this, she looked at Li Jin's back, a hint of pity in her eyes.
It turns out that being a carefree prince and a spoiled brat in the Great Wei Dynasty is not easy at all. He can't even sleep soundly at night. It's really miserable.
"Have you seen these things clearly?" Li Jin pointed to the stack on the ground. "Is there anything else you want to say?"
Only now did Yang An realize that Prince Jing hadn't come to deliver Mr. Jin from Dingzhou to him, but had come specifically to investigate him!
On the loess soil, in black and white on white paper, each entry and each item clearly and plainly recorded all of Yang An's accounts and transactions from the time he took office until now.
He believed that after so many years in officialdom, he was in his element and had already managed his relationships with high-ranking officials perfectly. He was certain that his future career would be smooth sailing. But he never expected that he would fall into the hands of Prince Jing today.
Thinking that his career, which he had been building up for so long, was about to be destroyed, he gritted his teeth and decided to fight to the death.
"Your Highness, Your Highness!" Yang An knelt on the ground, cupped his hands, and crawled forward two steps. "Your Highness, my daughter has already been engaged to the young master of the Su family, the Grand Tutor of the capital. Please, for the sake of the Grand Tutor, spare this official this time!"
After saying that, he prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed heavily.
What Li Jin wanted was this moment of his dying struggle. A selfish person like him would never let go of any lifeline, even if it would drag others down with him.
The destination of the bribe money had always been a mystery in the ledger, but now he has simply revealed a clue.
"Yang An, I am truly impressed with you. Do you think the young master of the Grand Tutor's family has a small bed? Too small for your daughter to sleep in?"
"No, no, no, I had no such intention! It was my daughter who insisted on doing it, and I couldn't stop her because I love her so much!"
"What a hypocrite! So eager to dote on his daughter, he can't stop her no matter what. I've had enough of your hypocritical face!" Li Jin sneered. "Lord Yang, you should say these things in the main hall of the Censorate."
Yang An froze, then looked up in alarm: "Your Highness Prince Jing, you can't arrest me! This official was personally authorized by the Emperor; arresting me requires His Majesty's..."
Before Yang An could finish speaking, the plaque in Li Jin's hand, a pure gold dragon with jade inlay in the dragon's eyes, engraved with the words "Imperial Arrival" and adorned with golden tassels, extinguished Yang An's last hope.
The Great Wei Dynasty spans vast territories and has thousands of officials of all ranks, but there is only one gold plaque that reads "The Emperor's Personal Arrival."
Emperor Li Yi of the Great Wei Dynasty, in order to give Li Jin enough power to counterbalance the Crown Prince's influence, handed over this only gold token to him.
Upon seeing this gold medal, it was as if the emperor himself had arrived. Li Jin could even execute Yang An without prior authorization, or even take his life on the spot.
Looking at Yang An, who was utterly despondent and slumped on the ground, Li Jin asked expressionlessly, "Yang An, shall my personal guards personally escort you, or shall you obediently go to the prison and wait there?"
The man in front of him looked up dejectedly, his mouth opening and closing, but he couldn't utter a single syllable.
Afterwards, the yamen runners in the courtyard spent half an hour tidying up, carrying all those elaborate items back in the same way they had been carried down.
As the sky gradually turned blue and the sun began to set, the desolate courtyard finally returned to its original state.
Li Jin stood in the center of the courtyard, looking at the desolate courtyard and the large pit where the bodies were buried, lost in thought.
Jin Shu, on the other hand, kept looking up from the eaves.
She was extremely curious about who had sent the evidence that had fallen from the sky. But seeing that Li Jin was very focused, she didn't want to interrupt, so she took two steps toward Zhou Zheng on the other side.
Before she could even ask, she heard a slightly displeased voice behind her: "Why can't you just ask me directly? Why do you have to ask Zhou Zheng?"
Jin Shu was stunned for a moment, then turned her head and met Li Jin's gaze.
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