Chapter 87

Liu Weijian led ten people from the Imperial City Office and went to Chang'an first...

He Tan began to take over the case.

Upon receiving the imperial edict, he quickly had Fu Xiaozhuang, who was in the Hua Prefecture prison, transferred to the Chang'an prison. This person was the key to solving the case.

Then the interrogation began, but Fu Xiaozhuang refused to confess the truth. He Tan could not use severe torture like County Magistrate Cai. So he had the eldest son of the Lu family brought in.

The eldest son of the Lu family also refused to admit anything.

However, after repeated investigations, He Tan began to get some useful clues. Just then, Liu Weijian and his group arrived in Chang'an and explained the situation.

Shi Gan's eyes lit up because he recognized a familiar name, Wang Ju. But at this point, He Tan did not know Wang Ju's role in the entire case; he only mentioned it casually, saying that this jade salt might have been invented by Wang Ju, a student of Zhang Zai from Yan Prefecture.

But in Shi Gan's mind, various scenes from the battle at Wang Family Fort immediately came to mind, and he laughed, "The case will be easy to solve."

Liu Weijian and He Tan were puzzled.

"With this young man, it's like having ten judges."

"Shi Gan, why do you say that?" Liu Weijian asked curiously.

Shi Gan scratched his head. The young man was truly remarkable, but the battle was a military matter, and the young man did not like it. He also spoke some strange principles. Now he was a student of Zhang Zai, and with his wisdom, he might succeed in the Donghua Gate naming ceremony. Therefore, Shi Gan did not want to delay Wang Ju's future, so he only said, "Eunuch Liu, let's go to Yan Prefecture immediately. Once we get to Yan Prefecture, the case will be solved."

But in his heart, he thought, "What a pity, if the late emperor had lived longer, this young man would have had a bright future." Then he laughed to himself, "Even without the late emperor's help, would the young man's future be simple?"

Liu Weijian was still asking for the reason.

"Eunuch Liu, I am a rough man and can't explain it. Once we get to Yan Prefecture, you'll understand."

Liu Weijian was half-believing, half-doubting. Anyway, the Zhu family also needed to be investigated, so they decided to go.

The group then traveled to Yan Prefecture.

Liu Weijian went to the Zhu family, while Shi Gan went to find Wang Ju, and found him at the prefectural school.

"Kid, we really have a connection."

"Uncle, you're here again." But Wang Ju was not too surprised; instead, he was secretly delighted. This time, the arrival of the Imperial City Office people was a good thing.

"Brother, I heard you became a disciple of Zhang Zai. Why didn't you go with him to Weizhou?"

"I originally planned to go with my teacher to Weizhou, but Governor Cheng wrote a letter asking me to return to Yan Prefecture."

"Governor Cheng is not being fair," Shi Gan commented justly. What could be learned at the prefectural school? One had to learn from Zhang Zai.

"Not exactly. If you walk around the prefectural school, you'll see. Our dynasty has been established for over a hundred years, and Yan Prefecture has never produced a Jinshi. Therefore, everyone has lost their ambition. Governor Cheng wants me to set a good example and change the face of Yan Prefecture's students."

"Is that so? Wang Xiaolang, I need to discuss something with you."

"What is it?"

"It's about the wrongful case involving the Zhu family."

"I know about it." Wang Ju explained everything in detail.

"Was it definitely the Ding family who orchestrated it?"

"Exactly. Otherwise, the eldest son of the Lu family wouldn't know about Xiangyu, let alone have seen her."

"Thank you." Solving the case was urgent, so Shi Gan quickly found Liu Weijian. Liu Weijian also obtained some intelligence from the Zhu family. Since the Ding family was the suspect, they needed to act quickly to prevent them from fleeing. They immediately raided the Ding family, arresting the couple and the brothers.

Then the interrogation began, but none of them confessed at first.

However, with Cheng Kan's presence, he separated them and first interrogated the head of the Ding family, then Ding Jia. The breakthrough was with Ding Jia, as the head of the Ding family was a seasoned criminal, but Ding Jia was still young.

"Your father has already confessed, why won't you?"

"You can read, look at this. It's an imperial edict. The case has even alarmed the emperor. Do you dare to hide anything? I think your role in this case is minor, just some bad ideas. At most, you'll get a flogging. But deceiving the emperor is punishable by public execution."

"..."

"..."

The main reason was that Liu Weijian had brought the imperial edict. Under Cheng Kan's pressure, and most importantly, due to Ding Jia's resentment towards the eldest son of the Lu family, Ding Jia's mental state broke down, and he finally confessed, even revealing his IOU.

With this confession, the next steps were easier. The head of the Ding family, seeing his son's confession, had no choice but to confess everything.

Of course, with this confession, the eldest son of the Lu family could not deny it either.

But a new problem arose: who was the scholar?

Cheng Kan knew the scholar was likely from the south of Shaanxi, but the mastermind behind the scenes must be from Yan Prefecture, otherwise, there wouldn't be a girl named You'er who resembled Xiangyu.

Who could it be?

However, it was not easy to handle. Would the Niu family admit it? They definitely wouldn't.

Unlike the Ding family, who were directly involved, a scare and a threat made Ding Jia confess.

But in front of Liu Weijian, he did not say anything. He let them rest and then thought for a long time. Suddenly, he also thought of Wang Ju. In Yan Prefecture, Wang Ju was clear about everything. He was the one who framed the Zhu family and the one who cleared their name, but the nature was different. Therefore, he had Wang Ju called in.

"Wang Ju, I let you have peace, but you caused trouble with a couplet and now this."

"Governor Cheng, you really wronged me this time. The Ding family targeted the Zhu family. If they targeted me, would they go through so much trouble? And just a couplet and a bow, would they really want to kill someone? If so, wouldn't the Ding family have enemies everywhere?"

Indeed, it had nothing to do with Wang Ju. The Niu family targeted the Zhu family, and the Ding family wanted the share to rise again.

"You are wrong. The mastermind is not the Ding family."

"Really?"

Cheng Kan explained the situation.

Wang Ju smiled. "Governor Cheng, that's simple. The young man from the Ding family has already confessed. Why not guide him to testify that he saw the scholar at the Niu family's place, or have the head of the Ding family do the same? The case has alarmed Lord Han. Can't they be arrested?"

"They won't admit it even if they are arrested."

"That depends on how you look at it. If the punishment is easy, scare them a bit, and they will definitely pay to avoid disaster. Governor Cheng can use this money for good deeds, giving the people of Yan Prefecture a better life. If Governor Cheng is unwilling, immediately order someone to go to Chang'an and arrest the second son of the Niu family, sending him to the Supreme Court. He might confess, or he might not. If he doesn't, even the Supreme Court will have a hard time making a judgment."

"You, young man," Cheng Kan laughed and said, "When Zhang Zai met Lord Fan, Lord Fan told him to read. I also say the same. Study hard. At least now, stay away from military affairs and intrigue. It's not good for your future. Or when you become a local official, that's the time to show your talents."

Wang Ju looked at Cheng Kan suspiciously. This was sincere advice, but when did Old Cheng change his ways?

He didn't know about Sima Guang's influence behind the scenes.

So Cheng Kan immediately had the head of the Niu family and his main managers arrested and interrogated.

The head of the Niu family did not admit it.

"Even if you don't admit it, I can send a fast horse to Chang'an to arrest your son and send him to the Supreme Court," Cheng Kan said coldly.

The head of the Niu family was stunned and suddenly had an idea. "Governor Cheng, I am willing to donate ten thousand guan for good deeds."

This idea was originally a desperate move by Li Yewai, but Cheng Kan had made it a common practice. It was unclear whether it was a good or bad precedent.

"Ten thousand guan to buy me off?"

There was a chance. The head of the Niu family said, "Fifteen thousand guan."

"Do you want me to deceive the emperor?"

"Twenty thousand guan."

Cheng Kan did not speak and ordered the bailiff, "Ride to Chang'an immediately and arrest him."

"Thirty thousand guan." The head of the Niu family was about to cry. Thirty thousand guan would bankrupt them. This Cheng Kan was a killer without a knife!

Cheng Kan finally relented.

The Niu family fell, though they avoided prison.

But Cheng Kan said to Liu Weijian, "Eunuch Liu, take the father and son of the Ding family to Chang'an first. I will slowly find the scholar."

Liu Weijian thought it made sense. With so many people and no leads, it would be difficult to catch the scholar. So he took the father and son of the Ding family and returned to Chang'an.

With the confessions of the father and son of the Ding family, and the involvement of the governor of Yongxing, as well as the eunuch, who was like a special envoy, the eldest son of the Lu family finally broke down and confessed. The idea was from Ding Jia, so he had to shift some of the blame.

He had not thought of this evil plan at first. He only asked his aunt to persuade his uncle, who then persuaded County Magistrate Cai. He also sent many gifts and had County Magistrate Cai put pressure on the Zhu and Zhao families, the nouveau riche of Yan Prefecture, to make concessions.

Ding Jia came up with the evil plan.

According to his plan, he and Ding Jia bought a girl who resembled Xiangyu. The eldest son of the Lu family treated her kindly. This girl, You'er, did not know her tragic fate and thought she had come to paradise. Then the eldest son of the Lu family casually mentioned that a silver snake on the hairpin would look beautiful. This was to set up a trap for the future, otherwise, how could he get the share if Zhu Jun was executed?

Then You'er and another maid went to catch the silver snake. The crucial part was that night, when the maid and You'er stood together, and Ding Jia deliberately praised the hairpin, deepening the maid's memory.

Then they got Ding Jun drunk and had You'er help him in. The person who killed was indeed Fu Xiaozhuang, a pre-selected candidate. The Fu family was struggling, and even his mother's illness could not be treated. So when the eldest son of the Lu family offered fifteen hundred guan, Fu Xiaozhuang immediately agreed. But only five hundred guan was paid upfront. On the execution day, Fu Xiaozhuang's wife, Yu Shi, would come to see him off, and then a servant would deliver a thousand guan to her in front of Fu Xiaozhuang. Otherwise, Fu Xiaozhuang could cry out his innocence on the execution ground.

That's why He Tan repeatedly tried to persuade Fu Xiaozhuang, but he refused to speak.

Zhu Huan came and forced him to hand over the share, then overturned the case. At this point, County Magistrate Cai also realized something was wrong and found him that night.

The eldest son of the Lu family promised to handle it smoothly and sent a gift worth nearly two thousand guan. County Magistrate Cai, a mere Jinshi, had only become a county magistrate at over fifty. The salary was not much, similar to Zhang Zai's in Yunyan County. With no hope of promotion, he saw the gift and thought Zhu Huan was a bumpkin. Once the person was released, what could he do? So he took the gift and left.

As for Prefect Zhou, he was innocent, at most slightly negligent.

With this, the truth of the case was revealed.

But the case also caused a stir. A prefect, two county magistrates, a legendary story, and many people were eagerly awaiting the court's judgment on the two county magistrates...

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