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Old Chief fell with such skill that he avoided the coachman trying to catch him. Minister Xing"s expression changed, and he hurriedly reached out to help him.
He managed to help, but his sleeve was torn, and two doc.u.ments fell out.
"I"ll pick them up, I"ll pick them up!" Without waiting to steady himself, Old Chief bent down to pick up a confession letter and the case file written by Xiao Heng, "Oh, dear."
Seemingly casually, he looked at the doc.u.ments in his hands, "How... How could this..."
Minister Xing quickly took the doc.u.ments, folded them, and put them back in his other sleeve. He said, looking fl.u.s.tered. "Goodbye!"
Old Chief returned to Grand Secretary Yuan"s carriage.
Grand Secretary Yuan looked at him solemnly.
Old Chief, with an appearance as if struck by lightning, stared and said blankly, "Old Yuan, guess what I just saw?"
Grand Secretary Yuan frowned, are we that familiar? Why are you suddenly calling me Old Yuan?
Although Grand Secretary Yuan and Old Chief had served the court for many years, their relationship wasn’t particularly close.
The only connection between them was probably that both were friends with Old Feng.
However, Old Feng was closer to Old Chief.
Today, the reason Old Chief was in Grand Secretary Yuan"s carriage was that Grand Secretary Yuan encountered Old Chief whose carriage broke down on the way. Old Chief shamelessly asked if he could hitch a ride.
Could Grand Secretary Yuan refuse?
Reluctantly, he had to let Old Chief get on his carriage.
Afterward, this scene happened.
Old Chief then nervously continued, "I saw a confession letter from the Ministry of Justice. It says that the Young Owner of the Heavenly Music House is actually an imperial princess of the State of Zhao, His Majesty’s younger sister."
"The doc.u.ment you had on top wasn"t a confession letter." Grand Secretary Yuan immediately saw through it.
Old Chief: "..."
Grand Secretary Yuan: "Also, you deliberately fell down, and intentionally tore Lord Xing’s sleeve. Do you think I"m blind?"
Old Chief: "..."
The green tea master finally met his match.
Old Chief: "Anyway, I saw it, and I"ve told you. When news about this case comes out in the capital later, I"ll say it originated from your Yuan Family."
The highest state of a green tea master was to be able to stop pretending once the teacup was overturned and the tea was spilled.
Grand Secretary Yuan felt the corner of his mouth twitch, "Can"t you have a little dignity?"
Old Chief thought seriously then said, "No."
Grand Secretary Yuan: "..."
Minister Xing entered the palace to meet the Emperor.
The Emperor was in the study reviewing memorandums when Eunuch Wei announced his arrival and had him brought in.
"Your Majesty, this humble official pays respects."
Minister Xing saluted respectfully.
The Emperor, seated behind the desk, set aside a reviewed memorandum and picked up another, asking, "Minister Xing, why have you suddenly come to the palace?"
Minister Xing hesitated for a moment before saying, "This official has a matter to report, Your Majesty."
The Emperor opened the memorandum, "Why couldn"t it wait until the morning court?"
Minister Xing thought to himself, it could indeed wait until the morning court, but I’m afraid it would displease you if I say it in front of the civil and military officials.
Recalling the encounter with Old Chief and Grand Secretary Yuan on the way, Minister Xing wondered, Old Chief didn’t see the contents of the doc.u.ments, did he?
Old Chief had only glanced at it, and theoretically, he wouldn"t have been able to read it.
Even if he did, as an old official, he wouldn"t spread this matter.
Thinking of this, Minister Xing secretly felt relieved.
Minister Xing respectfully said, "It"s a case, and this official is undecided whether to discuss it in the court."
The Emperor asked, "What case?"
Minister Xing truthfully replied, "The case of the Heavenly Music House."
"The Heavenly Music House?" The Emperor frowned, "Isn"t that the most famous brothel in the capital?"
"Your Majesty is aware of it, too?" Minister Xing was surprised.
He couldn’t be blamed for being surprised. The fame of Heavenly Music House might seem significant, but ultimately, it was just a brothel. The hierarchy in the imperial capital was clear, and crossing the barriers of cla.s.s was harder than reaching the heavens.
The Emperor, who wasn’t interested in visiting brothels, wouldn"t have paid attention to it.
"I"ve heard of it." The Emperor dismissed it, "Does a brothel case need to be brought to the court?"
Minister Xing"s expression became complicated, "This case involves a wide range and is related to the imperial family."
The Emperor casually said, "Which prince got into trouble while visiting the brothel?"
If it were a prince, it might not be so troublesome for you.
Minister Xing understood that today, speaking up or staying silent was equally troublesome, so he said, "The top courtesan of Heavenly Music House died. It happened on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year."
The Emperor remembered the seventh day. It was the day the army returned and the day he saw Ning"an again.
How could something happen on such a good day?
The Emperor"s brows furrowed.
Initially, Minister Xing thought it was just a common murder case, not worth disturbing the Emperor over, so he hadn"t mentioned it in the court.
Minister Xing continued, "But later, through investigation, this official unexpectedly discovered that the top courtesan from the Heavenly Music House didn"t actually die. She faked her death, used a subst.i.tute, and her real purpose was to get close to Physician Gu."
The Emperor, initially uninterested in the story of a brothel courtesan, paused only at this point, "Which Physician Gu?"
"The physician from the neighboring medical hall of the women’s academy, it’s called the Miraculous Hands Hall." Minister Xing, unaware of the Emperor"s relationship with Gu Jiao, added, "Physician Gu is the wife of Xiao Liulang."
Xiao Liulang was the newly appointed top scholar chosen by the Emperor, so the Emperor should have some consideration for him.
In fact, Gu Jiao was also the daughter of the Marquis Ding"an Estate, but she had never admitted it herself.
There was suddenly a hint of coldness in the Emperor"s eyes, "Why would a brothel courtesan approach a medical hall’s physician?"
The Minister of Justice said, "For a.s.sa.s.sination."
"a.s.sa.s.sination..." of the little miracle physician?
The Emperor"s expression became puzzled and serious, "You just said that the case of the Heavenly Music House is related to the imperial family. Could it be... that someone from the imperial family instructed that courtesan to harm Physician Gu?"
Minister Xing didn"t answer directly but took out the confession letter and the case file he had sewn into the wide sleeves on the way.
The Emperor took the confession letter and case file. He recognized that these were written by Xiao Liulang.
Xiao Liulang concurrently held the position of Chief of Records of the Ministry of Justice, or, in Gu Jiao"s words, he served as Minister Xing"s secretary and spokesperson. If he performed well, he could potentially rise to become the Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Justice in the future.
It was normal for him to write case files and confession letters.
Of course, not all confession letters were written by officials of the Ministry of Justice, some were personally written by the criminals.
The confession letter stated that Bai Kun had limited literacy, so Xiao Liulang, the Chief of Records of the Ministry of Justice, wrote on his behalf.
After the Emperor finished reading, he slammed the confession letter on the desk, "This is outrageous! Who interrogated the criminal?"
To avoid further complications, Minister Xing said to the Emperor, "This official personally interrogated him, and Xiao Liulang temporarily acted as the scribe on the side."
The scribe in the Ministry of Justice was generally filled by the litigation officials of the yamen. However, in the absence of these litigation officials, the Minister of Justice might appoint others to temporarily a.s.sume the role.
Xiao Liulang, coming from the Hanlin Academy, at least had the qualifications to serve as a scribe, even if he wasn"t a professional litigation official.
If someone else had handled the case, the Emperor might have wanted a reevaluation. However, both Minister Xing and Xiao Liulang were officials promoted by the Emperor, and the Emperor had considerable trust in them.
The Emperor wasn"t fully aware of Xiao Liulang"s skills in adjudication. If Xiao Liulang had handled the case alone, the Emperor might have suspected if he was being deceived. However, Minister Xing was an experienced official at solving cases, and he wouldn"t let a criminal fool him.
Could it be... an imperial princess really did this?
But that was absurd, wasn"t it?Raz P."s Thoughts
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