These words made Xu Yuehuai feel uneasy.
But he still forced himself to say, "Find a coroner. A forensic doctor who frequently handles corpses can naturally tell when the body was murdered."
"Let's get a coroner."
Gao Zhen waved.
Xu Yuehuai was filled with anxiety.
Ah Qi, on the other hand, genuinely believed that someone had come to act on behalf of Heaven.
The coroner squatted down beside the body, examined it for a while, and then stood up, saying firmly, "Reporting to Lord Gao, this body was indeed murdered within the last three months. It was poisoned. You can tell by looking at the throat and bones."
Xu Yuehuai was surprised.
"Isn't this blatant lying?"
The person was indeed poisoned, but there was no flesh left on the body. It would take some time for the flesh to decompose. The matter clearly had nothing to do with them, but the coroner's words made it seem as if they were the ones who had been poisoned.
"This coroner isn't competent enough. Find someone else," Xu Yuehuai said angrily.
"replace!"
Gao Zhen was clearly cooperative with them, waving his hand.
A moment later, another coroner arrived.
This man, like the previous one, half-squatted beside the skeleton. After looking at it for a while, he started talking nonsense again, "Sir, the victim was clearly killed by them. He struggled violently before he died... You can tell by looking at the color of the skeleton."
Xu Yuehuai felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
It's unbelievable that another cunning guy has appeared.
The two looked at each other in bewilderment.
She suddenly moved closer to the half-dead Lord Ming, "Does Your Excellency really intend to misattribute the identity?"
"I...I..."
Lord Ming was barely clinging to life, yet he couldn't utter a single complete sentence.
Ah Qi landed a punch on his face, instantly knocking Lord Ming unconscious. Xu Yuehuai was worried that Ah Qi might kill the hostage if he used too much force.
She repeatedly emphasized that she must handle things calmly, but she repeatedly teetered on the brink of collapse.
It seemed as if a chasm had suddenly appeared before us, with an unfathomable abyss below.
Ah Qi asked with his eyes what to do next.
Just as she was pondering how to win him over, Gao Zhen sneered and arrogantly pointed at the two of them.
"You petty scoundrel, are you still so audacious even when death is imminent? Poisoning someone is already a serious offense, but now you dare to beat up an official of the imperial court right in front of me. You are truly courting death."
"You officials are protecting each other, clearly you've received favors from Li Feng. This is a trumped-up charge," Xu Yuehuai roared indignantly.
The muscles on Gao Zhen's face twitched, and then a series of gurgling sneers burst from his throat, "Yes! So what if it's a trumped-up charge? You're all going to die today."
"Find Brother Qi, I want to see Qi Guze."
Xu Yuehuai approached the controlled Lord Ming again, "Otherwise, his life will be in danger."
Gao Zhen remained calm and composed, speaking slowly and deliberately, "Oh? Let's not even talk about whether Qi Guze will come here. How could such a trivial matter bother the old man? Besides, even if he did come, do you think we corrupt officials would survive?"
Someone leaned closer to Gao Zhen and whispered a few words to him.
Xu Yuehuai thought to herself, "Oh no."
Sure enough, in an instant, San Niang and Zhou Wan, who were under control in the prison, were brought over.
Third Sister's head was bleeding profusely; she had clearly been severely beaten.
Zhou Wan was covered in wounds.
As soon as the two got close, a soldier kicked them roughly. They lost their balance and fell to the ground with a thud. Although their knees hurt, San Niang still managed to stand up straight.
As for Zhou Wan, her face was ashen, and she was secretly gathering her strength to stand up.
Just then, the ruthless man pressed the scabbard of his embroidered spring knife against their necks, saying, "Behave yourselves, or you'll regret it!"
Third Sister sneered, "You bunch of corrupt officials, what kind of ability is it to bully orphans and widows?"
Zhou Wan spat and started cursing as well.
The courtyard was filled with cries of despair.
Everyone was about to teach the two a lesson, but Gao Zhen stood with his hands behind his back opposite Xu Yuehuai, like a warrior.
He spoke gently, "Xu Yuehuai, do you really want to seek your own death? You may be fearless, but what about them? Are your good sisters going to die with you?"
Third Sister laughed loudly, her disheveled hair making her look like a demon. "Even if I become a wandering ghost, I will still take revenge and make sure you never have a moment's peace, hahahaha."
Zhou Wan said coldly, "Killing someone is just a matter of beheading them. You cowardly coward, you truly deserve the name of a wimp. If you have the guts, then go ahead and do it. We're all of one mind. Kill, kill!"
Gao Zhen then fell silent.
But his facial expressions were out of control, his mouth twitched, and his cheeks trembled violently.
"Xu Yuehuai!"
She roared furiously.
Xu Yuehuai weighed the options for a long time, but still couldn't find the best way to save herself and others. Just then, a guard approached in a panic and knelt on the ground.
He stammered and pointed outside, "My lord, the Regent has arrived."
With a cry of "Ah!", Gao Zhen's face turned ashen. "Quick, quickly throw them into the jail, hurry!"
No sooner said than done.
Before they could even get Xu Yuehuai and the others away, a neat and imposing group of soldiers surged in like a tide.
"Does Lord Gao really want to make a fool of himself?"
The familiar voice outside was... Qi Guze's voice.
Xu Yuehuai was in high spirits as she looked toward the long line at the entrance.
This is really strange. What is the relationship between Qi Guze and the Regent? Why is he here? Oh, this is an unsolved case, and it needs to be investigated by the Censor and Qi Guze together.
But Xu Yuehuai quickly dismissed her own judgment.
Similarly, the group of people who had previously been on good terms with Qi Guze turned around at the same time and were surprised to find that Qi Guze was surrounded by a crowd of people.
He wore bright yellow clothes, had an outstanding temperament, and moved like the wind.
Upon seeing this, Xu Yuehuai's eyes went unfocused.
San Niang and Zhou Wan exchanged bewildered glances.
Qi Guze moved very quickly. When he entered the courtyard and saw that Xu Yuehuai was safe and sound, he visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Xu Yuehuai was stunned, shocked, frightened, and incredulous.
A variety of micro-expressions appeared one after another.
It turns out that Qi Guze is actually a prince.
It turns out he was actually the regent.
Tie Xiong looked at Gao Zhen, who hurriedly came over to bow and scrape, like an old dog with a broken spine crawling in the dust.
"Your Highness, I was unaware of your arrival. I have failed to greet you properly and deserve to die. I deserve to die!"
Qi Guze didn't even glance at him.
It was Tie Xiong who spoke, “Gao Zhen, you bully others by abusing your power, and you protect your officials! You also framed the poor people and beat them. This is indeed a capital offense. Let us start over.”
"Your Highness, Your Highness."
Gao Zhen was terrified.
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