Spring Water Cold

Before dawn, many people had gathered in the Golden Palace of Dongyuan. The ministers who came to the morning court had come early, but when they arrived, they saw several people who had come earlier than them.

Chai Qi and Chai Heng would also come to the court on weekdays, which was not unusual. What was strange was that Chai Jing and He Xiao, two people who did not usually come to the morning court, also came.

Someone who was well-informed had already quietly spread the gossip, "I heard that Luo Qing and Prime Minister He's daughter were jealous of each other, and actually pushed her into the water and drowned her alive!"

"This is too much, how could she..."

At this time, the minister who spread the gossip suddenly covered his mouth.

He saw the three brothers and sisters of the Chai family staring at him with murderous eyes, as if they were going to rush up and strangle him to death in the next second.

So... so scary...

the minister was scared to tears.

At this time, Jie Gui and Zhu Rui almost walked into the Golden Palace at the same time.

There was nothing strange about the appearance of these two people, but the person who appeared next to them stunned everyone.

Fei Ru also came, followed by Luo Jin.

The heads of the three judicial departments appeared at the same time, and the rumored murderer followed them, which surprised everyone.

They still remembered that the last time the three judicial departments appeared at the same time was an extremely brutal case ten years ago. The deceased was a second-rank official at the time. The whole family, including more than a hundred servants in the mansion, all died tragically, and even the babies were not spared. This incident shocked the court and the public. The emperor ordered the three judicial departments to jointly handle the case, and finally caught the real murderer within ten days.

"Because the deceased is the daughter of the Prime Minister, right? That's why the three judicial departments were alarmed."

"You really gave the Prime Minister face..."

"The three judicial departments will work together to close the case today."

"Why isn't Luo Qing locked up? It's strange that she just walked up here unharmed..."

Chai Jing stared at the man with a fierce look, gritting her teeth, "Why don't you lock yourself up? You bastard!" "

..." The man shrank his body and hid behind the crowd.

While they were talking, the emperor finally came to court.

The ministers consciously stood on both sides, waiting for the emperor to speak.

The emperor looked at everyone in the audience and said in a loud voice: "I have heard that the three judicial departments have different opinions on the case of He Wanying's death. I received the request from the three judicial departments to review the case overnight, and I did not sleep all night. I will review the case this morning."

Fei Ru said: "Your Majesty, I do not have a disagreement with Lord Jie. It is Lord Zhu and I who have a disagreement. Luo Qing has been in the prison of the Ministry of Justice last night and I am personally guarding him. He will never collude with others. Your Majesty can rest assured to review the case."

Zhu Rui frowned and stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, I have evidence to prove that Lord Luo is the murderer of Miss He. This is a handwritten letter from Miss He to Lord Luo. It was written by Miss He herself. Please take a look at it."

A eunuch came over, took the evidence presented by Zhu Rui, and gave it to the emperor.

The emperor took a look and said, "I will ask someone to check whether this was written by He Wanying herself. According to what is written above, He Wanying asked Luo Qing to go to the lake, right?"

Zhu Rui said, "Yes, after Lord Luo went to the lake, he had an argument with Miss He. Lord Luo was skilled in martial arts, and in a rage, she pushed Miss He into the lake. The He family couldn't find her anywhere, and it was not until midnight that they heard that she went to Changfeng Garden, where she found her body." As

soon as he finished speaking, Chai Jing stepped forward and said, "Father, there are doubts about this matter! As far as I know, He Wanying is afraid of water, and Luo Jin is also afraid of water. Two people who are afraid of water made an appointment to meet by the lake... This is strange no matter how you think about it, isn't it?"

Zhu Rui said, "This note was indeed found in Lord Luo's house."

While they were arguing, someone came up and handed over a note.

The emperor read the note and said, "I have sent a coroner to perform an autopsy. He Wanying died around 3 p.m. yesterday and was drowned. There were no signs of drugging or fighting, and the soil under her feet was consistent with that near the lake. In other words, she walked to the lake by herself and was pushed into the water. Who were you with, Luo Qing, at 3 p.m. yesterday? Who can prove your whereabouts?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard several voices saying almost at the same time, "I can!"

At the same time, several people took a step forward at the same time.

Chai Jing walked the fastest, almost without hesitation, "I was with her! I can prove that she didn't go to the lake to kill anyone!"

Chai Heng also said, "The same goes for me and my eldest brother. We were playing together and we didn't go to the lake at all."

He Xiao, who had been silent all the time, also said, "I can also prove that Luo Qing didn't kill anyone."

Even someone came out from the Gongyu Guards at the door. The chief guard Liu Zishu said without hesitation, "Your Majesty, I can also prove it."

Liu Zishu's father, like He Wanying, was the prime minister of the current dynasty. One on the left and the other on the right, they had many different opinions on a daily basis. Although he didn't understand what had happened, when he saw Luo Jin being involved in a murder case, his first thought was that she must be wronged. That Zhu Rui wanted to fabricate evidence to put her to death, so he naturally had to help her.

Prime Minister Liu turned his head and glanced at his son. Although he was not on good terms with Prime Minister He,

he had no intention of interfering in the matter. He did not understand why his son suddenly said that. But since his son had said it, he did not refute anything, although he knew that Liu Zishu had been at home since 3 p.m. yesterday.

Luo Jin did not expect these people to suddenly appear to testify for her. She was a little moved. If this was exposed, they would definitely be punished.

[I understand everyone's intentions, and I did not kill the person.]

[I was watching monkeys fighting in the backyard of Changfeng Garden for an hour...]

[I am naturally afraid of water. If there is no one I trust with me, I will not go to the lake. The note was secretly placed in my room by the maid Xiangxiang, and I did not see it at all.] [

Even if I saw it, I would not go to the water with He Wanying. 】

【At that time, Xiaolian was the only one by my side, but Xiaolian's testimony was useless. 】

The emperor said, "In that case, you should each write down where you were at the time and see if you can match them up."

He ordered the eunuch to take out paper and pen and give them to several people.

Luo Jin took the paper and pen, and she could only write truthfully: "I was watching monkeys fighting in the back garden of Changfeng Garden."

She thought that several people from the Chai family might know that she was in Changfeng Garden, but they might not know where she was exactly. Changfeng Garden was served by only a dozen servants. The garden was so big, and she never saw those people from beginning to end. Only Xiaolian was with her all the time. After

several people finished writing, they handed it to the eunuch to present.

The eunuch picked up the note and his eyes widened immediately.

"That... Luo Qing said she was watching monkeys fighting in the backyard of Changfeng Garden."

"Princess Chai Jing said... she dressed up as a monkey and fought in the backyard of Changfeng Garden."

"The second prince said that he... he also dressed up as a monkey and fought in the backyard of Changfeng Garden."

"The... the crown prince did the same."

"General He and Captain Liu Wei... the same."

The ministers: "..."

Is it popular to dress up as monkeys and fight now? How come they haven't heard of it?

Luo Jin was stunned, "Those monkeys yesterday... were you pretending to be them?"

Of course she knew that those monkeys were real, but they actually told such a ridiculous lie for her, and she was still very moved.

[Everyone is like this... I'm really a little embarrassed. ]

[Crown prince, your image...]

[General He, you are two meters tall, how can there be such a tall monkey? 】

【There have been many unreasonable things since the beginning. There is a flaw in this case. Where is the flaw... By the way, the body was found in the middle of the night. Why was it found in the middle of the night? How could a young lady go out without anyone following her? How strange...】

Jie Gui's heart sank. He had been looking for evidence before, but he didn't think about it carefully from this aspect.

He thought for a while, and stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, there are doubts about this matter. Why was Miss He not accompanied by his men when she entered Changfeng Garden? I asked the guards at the gate before, and she did enter Changfeng Garden alone. This is strange. How dare she ask Luo Qing to go to the lake when she knew that she was good at martial arts? And she went to the appointment alone?"

As soon as these words came out, the ministers nodded repeatedly.

"Indeed, it doesn't make sense."

"It's so weird, totally unreasonable."

"Could it be that she originally wanted to be pushed into the water?"

A trembling voice suddenly sounded outside, "You... the person is dead, and you still blame her. How can you be so vicious as officials in the same court?"

Prime Minister He walked in from outside the palace. Although he was wearing an official uniform, he had a white cloth tied on his arm. The court uniform was dark black, and the white cloth was extremely glaring.

The emperor frowned slightly.

According to the rules of Dongyuan, unless it is a national funeral of the emperor's family, funeral items are not allowed to be brought into the Golden Palace. Not to mention that Prime Minister He's daughter died, even if he himself died, no one was allowed to enter the Golden Palace wearing funeral items. The white cloth tied by Prime Minister He obviously violated taboos.

The emperor did not say anything. Such an old minister had just lost his beloved daughter, who was his only child. He understood his heartache and could not bother with him.

Prime Minister He then looked at Luo Jin with a resentful look, knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, please kill this evil woman for me and avenge my daughter! I only have this one child, and I am heartbroken to lose my daughter in my old age!"

Luo Jin glanced at him and said: "I didn't kill your daughter. Are you here to vent your anger or to take revenge? If you want revenge, go find the real murderer. Anyway, I am not the real murderer."

"Who else can it be if not you?" Prime Minister He stood up and rushed towards Luo Jin, waving his hands and trying to strangle her neck.

Fei Ru hurriedly stopped him and advised: "Isn't the trial going

on? There are many doubts in this case. Luo Qing may not be the murderer. Don't talk nonsense and delay the trial. Don't you want to find the real murderer?" Jie Gui said: "I have some ideas in my mind. Prime Minister He, are you willing to listen?"

Prime Minister He glanced at Jie Gui, with some disdain in his eyes, "How old are you? What do you know?"

Jie Gui is only in his twenties this year, very young, but he can become the Minister of Justice not by relying on the shadow of his ancestors. On the contrary, he was born in a humble family, without power and influence, and he can have his current position entirely by his own ability. But in the court, many people would be jealous and disparage people like him who are of low birth and promoted quickly. People like Prime Minister He, who come from a famous family, would probably look down on him.