Chapter 285 Retrial
When they reached the bottom of the mountain and there was no longer any danger approaching Su Qianqian, Jiang Fan stood at the foot of the mountain and stood for a moment in the direction of the Qin family's tomb.
"Even if I cheat, I will never break my promise to you. Lu Jing will not hurt a hair on your head. The people who come here today will also be delivered to you and you can decide their fate."
Jiang Fan didn't look back, but looked in the direction of the grave where the voice was getting distant.
"Thank you. I will keep these people with Master Jiang for a few days. It would be great if you can get some information out of them. If not, please send them to the Dali Temple after three days. I will have some use for them when the court is in session. If you have any information, please send them to Anmin Teahouse or Cuiying Tower."
After Su Qianqian finished speaking, she did not stay any longer. She bowed, said goodbye, got on the carriage, and returned to the Marquis' Mansion.
These past two days, Su Qianqian dressed as a man and went to work in the yamen as usual, while the fourth lady in the marquis's mansion was arranging for Du to adopt her as her daughter.
Xin was against it at first, as she didn't want to be too ostentatious, but since the matter had been made, there was no turning back, and for Zhou Jinghuai's sake she had to make a big fuss about it, so she had to reluctantly agree and let the Fourth Lady send invitations and host a banquet.
On the day when the Dali Temple opened its trial again, Su Qianqian noticed that the atmosphere was not right when she walked into the back hall. Then the old chief clerk waved for her to come over and whispered:
"We must act according to circumstances during today's trial. I heard that Her Royal Highness the Princess will come to the trial in person. This has never happened before. We just need to follow Her Royal Highness' instructions and don't say too much."
"Her Royal Highness the Princess?" Su Qianqian was a little surprised. She didn't expect that the Princess would once again disregard her own personality and directly step out from behind the scenes to interfere in the trial. This case was bound to become very difficult.
However, Su Qianqian's original intention was not to target the buying of official positions. She had no empathy for whether the Da Qi regime was stable. She had always been for herself, whether it was for finding out the truth for the Wuning Marquis Mansion or for confronting Lu Jing.
Sure enough, when the court session began, Her Royal Highness the Princess and Duke Xu both came to the Dali Temple. With their status, Lord Zhuang wanted to attend the trial, so it was difficult for him to refuse. However, the group of people who came afterwards made Lord Zhuang even more dumbfounded.
Madam Qin, along with three old ladies, Qin Hanjin and Qin Hanjue, all smiled and wanted to join the hearing.
[The news spread too fast. The people they sent were not servants, but scouts! It only took a quarter of an hour for the news to reach them at the Dali Temple. Speed is indeed of the essence in war. 】
The system was amazed at the execution ability of these people, and the third old lady looked even more proud.
"Madam Qin, this is not a trial, and there is no room for jokes. Why don't you take the old ladies back to the mansion and call a troupe to perform a few of their best plays in the garden? I am willing to entertain the old ladies. Come on, send Madam Qin back to the mansion..."
The eldest princess' voice sounded faint and a little tired, and she was about to tactfully drive the Qin family out.
"Your Highness, although I am old, I am not so confused as to not be able to distinguish between the Dali Temple and the theater.
The princess is the king, and she follows the king's orders to keep the world safe. A minister is a citizen, and she follows the people's will to distinguish right from wrong. Listening to the trial together means they reach the same goal, which is to bring peace and prosperity to the country of Great Qi. What's wrong with that? I hope Her Royal Highness the Princess will approve. ”
Madam Qin was respectful and resolute, showing no sign of giving in. Lord Zhuang quickly came over to smooth things over:
"Your Highness, if you are the only one in the hall and no one else is listening to the trial, it is inevitable that people will talk about it. If Madam Qin is also listening to the trial, no one will say much. This will benefit the reputation of Your Highness and stop the gossips. Why not do it?"
After listening to this, the princess pondered for a moment and said nothing more.
Lord Zhuang came to the court. The bailiffs shouted in awe. First Fang Youan was brought up, and then Xie Fangkun was also brought into the hall wearing prison clothes and torture instruments. The loose brown prison clothes on her thin body made her look even more frail.
Her face was sallow, her eyes were hollow, her lips were cracked from dryness, a piece of gauze was tied in her mouth to prevent her from biting her tongue again, there was a faint trace of blood at the corners of her lips, she knelt in the hall with her head down, not saying a word.
"Xie Fangkun, although you can't speak, you can write with your hands. Moreover, based on the location you told me, I have already found the hidden gold and silver. Even if you don't say anything at this time, you have made a great contribution."
Lord Zhuang was not in a hurry and said calmly.
Xie Fangkun suddenly raised his head and looked at Lord Zhuang who was shaking his head desperately, mumbling something "ah ah wu wu". Because the gauze was stuffy around his mouth, some saliva mixed with blood flowed down again.
"Okay, I understand. I will return the gold and silver hidden in the vault to the people according to the list. As for those that have been taken away, don't worry. I will recover them when I find the head of the association."
Lord Zhuang nodded, as if he really heard what Xie Fangkun said. He made a promise to her and ordered someone to take Xie Fangkun away.
Xie Fangkun's eyes were filled with fear and she struggled desperately to make a sound, but the bailiffs unceremoniously pulled her arms and dragged her out.
"In the case of Fang Youan killing Liu Zi, most of the money collected by the Wanwu Shengcai Society from the Xijing leader was handed over to the leader. The rest that had not been transported away was found in the basement of his residence. After the case is closed and reported, it will be returned to the person who lost the money according to the law.
Fang Youan should be beheaded for murder. Xie Fangkun and other leaders of the association and branches who aided and abetted the evil and endangered the people will be dealt with together after they are brought to justice and taken away. ”
Fang Youan calmly stood up and left the hall.
Then Feng Zhigao, Wu Wencai and Shishu were brought to the lobby.
But Lu Jing did not come.
"Reading, are these what you use to practice calligraphy these days?" Lord Zhuang asked in a gentle voice.
The chief clerk took out a stack of papers and placed them in front of the clerk.
But after five days of learning to read, he had lost weight again, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He read it carefully before nodding: "This is what I wrote while practicing calligraphy."
Lord Zhuang took out another file, covered it up and handed it to the chief clerk, who presented it to the clerk.
"Did you write this?" Lord Zhuang asked again.
Shishu took only one look and shook his head repeatedly: "Sir, I have never written these. Sir, this... this is clearly written by the master. My writing skills are not as good as the master's..."
"Nonsense! This is the document you wrote, and you still dare to deny it. You took my things and money, and now you are pretending to be a good person!"
Feng Zhigao immediately shouted and cursed loudly.
"I didn't, it was all given by my master. You have never given me money or anything else. Don't accuse me falsely!"
Shishu finally rebelled desperately.
"No noise!" Lord Zhuang slammed the gavel.
"Come here, please ask Lord Lu to come to the hall to identify it."
The Princess and Duke Xu were sitting behind a screen on one side of the lobby without saying anything. Opposite them was the screen where Madam Qin and several old ladies were sitting, talking in low voices.
Lu Jing walked into the hall. He looked not in good spirits today, with dark circles under his eyes, just like Shishu. He first glanced in the direction of Su Qianqian, and then saluted to Lord Zhuang.
"Sir Lu, this is a document for the promotion of an official. Please take a look at it. Is it your handwriting?"
Lord Zhuang held up the document.
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