It's night, approaching Haizheng [ten o'clock in the evening].

Huang Tieyan, the general magistrate of Tongzhou, welcomed Jiao Shun and others into the inn, and while leading the way, he introduced: "The prisoner and his party checked in here yesterday evening. They originally planned to leave for Beijing early the next morning, but they didn't want to check in the middle of the night.

When he entered the room, he discovered that the prisoner had hanged himself from a beam in the room."

"The state government office received the notification around midnight the next day. The magistrate did not dare to neglect the news and immediately ordered his subordinates to come to protect the discovery site. After the subordinates arrived, the Tianzihao guest room where the prisoner lived was occupied by ten people.

Six government officials worked in two shifts to guard the room, and the door was always open and never closed. Even if someone wanted to sneak in through the window, there was no way he could escape the gaze of the guards."

When he said this, he had already led Jiao Shun and everyone in Dali Temple up the stairs to the second floor - and during this process, the officers of Dali Temple had also begun to explore the layout in front and behind the inn.

Jiao Shun's footsteps stopped outside the door of Tianzihao guest room. While looking at his belt that was still hanging in the air and Wang Ziteng lying quietly on the bed, he said casually: "Since I discovered it during the ward rounds in the middle of the night, why did I find it the first time?"

Did you notify the state government on the second day?"

Huang Tieyan spread his hands: "The officer in charge of the escort claimed that it was caused by a moment of panic. After all, the prisoner was a first-class official in the dynasty, and Tongzhou was not far from the capital, so they did not expect the state government to handle the case. The so-called notification also meant

It was just a matter of convenience while reporting the news to the capital."

According to normal procedures, it was time to send someone to interrogate the escorting personnel.

But when Jiao Shun heard this, he just nodded slightly, and then said with a smile: "When Yipin died in Tongzhou, it was rare that the state government could stay calm in the face of danger. If it had been me, I'm afraid I would have made a mistake while busy."

"My lord is joking."

Huang Tieyan hurriedly cupped his hands and said: "I am very nervous now, but Tongzhou is no different from other places. Every year, there are always prisoners looking for opportunities to commit suicide here. I have experienced a lot, so I can barely be panicky."

Jiao Shun nodded and said nothing else.

Huang Tieyan waited for a while and saw that he had no words, so he couldn't help but take a peek.

The people in Dali Temple behind were also a little restless - they were already at the scene of the eucalyptus discovery, so what's the point of not entering?

After a while, Jiao Shun suddenly turned around and asked with a smile: "What are you guys doing in a daze? I'm just accompanying you to monitor. The one who is really responsible for the investigation is your Dali Temple."

Only then did those people realize that Jiao Shun was waiting for them to enter first.

In fact, this is how it should be. The leader of the Dali Temple is a prime minister of the fifth rank. In terms of rank, he is on the same level as Jiao Shun. Logically speaking, he should be able to compete with him.

It's just that the person who escorted Wang Ziteng was an official from Dali Temple. He felt that he was here to make amends for his sins, and subconsciously his momentum was weakened by three points. In addition, the person who accompanied him to monitor was a first-rate close minister like Jiao Shun, so he didn't

Consciously, he regards himself as an existence attached to his tail.

Now being exposed by Jiao Shun's words, he felt his face getting hot. He coughed and said, "Since Mr. Jiao is accompanying us for inspection, he should come in with us."

After a pause, he added: "Just don't touch any of the furnishings in the house."

Jiao Shun did not refuse and signaled Jia Lian and Jia Baoyu to wait outside the door, then walked into the house with Na Si Cheng.

After entering the house, the Si Cheng did not rush to inspect the scene and the body. Instead, he first called his accompanying deputy and ordered him to take a group of escorting officers to the next door for questioning, and then led a few old officials to search around.

As for the corpse, two noon workers took turns to come forward to examine it. When one was doing the autopsy, the other was turned away to avoid suspicion. It was not until his companion finished checking the records that they exchanged places.

This is the rule of Dali Temple when it comes to important inspections. The two autopsy reports will be handed in separately. If there are any conflicts, the handling officials can discover them in time.

And when the body is sent to the capital, according to the rules, another Wu Zuo will be found to conduct a re-examination so that the three parties can confirm the evidence.

Jiao Shun saw that the people in Dali Temple were performing their duties, so he stood silently among them, first looked around, and then his eyes fell on Wang Ziteng's body.

The face of the hanged man was naturally not much better. His face was pale and livid, his eyes and tongue were protruding out of the frame, and there were dried blood on the corners of his mouth. Even from a distance of many feet, you could smell the stinking smell on his body.

It should be due to incontinence of urine and feces before death.

Jiao Shun covered his nose with a handkerchief, feeling quite sad.

He had actually met Wang Ziteng only a few times, but he had a very deep impression on him. Because of Wang Ziteng's sharp and high-spirited temperament, he had never seen him in Rongguo Mansion.

Even in the officialdom, there are only a few senior ministers in the central position who can compare.

But who would have thought that it would be like this when we meet again.

As he was watching, he suddenly noticed someone standing silently behind him. Jiao Shun looked back, but it was Jia Baoyu who had walked in at some point and was looking at his uncle on the bed with a sad face.

Jiao Shun was originally worried that Wang Ziteng's death would scare him, but now it seems that he underestimated his courage.

Just as he was about to raise his hand and pat him on the shoulder, and say a few words of condolence and resignation, he suddenly heard Jia Baoyu's trembling voice: "Autumn, autumn lines..."

Jiao Shun's outstretched hand suddenly froze, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes, thinking that this guy is really a talent. When he saw his uncle's body, he thought of the beautiful maid.

At this time, I heard Baoyu continue to tremble: "Qiu Wen looked like this after he died."

Oh~

This was his fault. The blame was that he was not very scared. It turned out that he had already seen a similar scene before.

"Alas~"

At this time, he suddenly heard Baoyu let out a long sigh, his whole body became relaxed, and he murmured: "No matter how powerful you are, you can't escape from a humble mantou."

Is this to achieve ‘Longchang Enlightenment’?

Jiao Shun didn't dare to let him continue to think about it. Otherwise, if he started making noises about becoming a monk after returning home, how would he explain to Aunt Xue and Mrs. Wang?

Immediately, he pushed his shoulder and said: "Brother Bao, why don't you buy two new clothes first and prepare to replace them after the autopsy - the Taiwei was a distinguished person during his lifetime, and he must leave a dignity after his death."

Jia Baoyu was sent away, while Jiao Shun continued to stay on site to supervise.

About half an hour later, the Dali Temple Prime Minister who was leading the team temporarily escaped. With two autopsy reports and the interrogation transcript sent from the next door, he turned to Jiao Shun and said: "Master Jiao, come and see, according to the results of the autopsy, the criminal

There are obvious signs of hanging on the official's neck, and his eyes and tongue are protruding, which is consistent with the symptoms of death by suffocation. There are no other external injuries on the body, and there are no signs of poisoning for the time being."

Immediately afterwards, several more confessions were presented: "The confessions of the several escorts are generally similar. Although there are some differences in some details, they are basically unclear in memory, and it does not seem to be deliberately fabricated."

After a pause, he further explained: "If the confession had been verified in advance, these discrepancies would not have occurred."

Jiao Shun nodded slightly while reading. After reading, he raised his head and asked: "Does the escorting officer know these common sense about breaking eucalyptus?"

"this……"

Si Cheng suddenly became speechless.

This common sense is suitable for ordinary people, but it may not be so accurate for people who are also experienced in criminal punishment.

Jiao Shun didn't hold on to this point. He shook the confession and autopsy report in his hands and asked, "Besides, is there anything unusual about it?"

"It's unusual."

Because Si Cheng found fault with him, he did not dare to be negligent and perfunctory at this time. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying: "Usually officials who commit suicide will write an apology letter before committing suicide, or leave a few last words, but

This time there was no similar writing around the prisoner."

This is indeed a doubtful point.

However, Jiao Shun felt that this approach was more in line with Wang Ziteng's proud character.

But he didn't point this out.

He is still not sure what the emperor is thinking. If he is planning to make this matter a big deal, having this doubt will make it easier for him to cause trouble in the future.

Next, the people from Dali Temple began a second investigation and interrogation.

This time the scope of the investigation was wider, and the subjects of the interrogation expanded from the escorts to the innkeepers, waiters, guests, and Tongzhou officials guarding the door.

It was only then that Jia Lian came in reluctantly, and together with Jia Baoyu, he directed the boys to clean Wang Ziteng's body and change into clean and tidy clothes.

This busy night didn't come to an end until noon of the next day.

The investigation results showed that, except for a few doubtful points, the vast majority of evidence proved that Wang Ziteng indeed committed suicide.

In addition, the issue of the escort personnel accepting bribes and neglecting their duties, which gave Wang Ziteng the opportunity to hang himself, has basically been settled.

The next step is to transport the corpse back to the capital, and then ask the emperor for instructions to see if it is necessary to continue a thorough investigation - to investigate, in what direction should the investigation go; if not, how to characterize the case.

While they were discussing with the Dali Temple Prime Minister who was leading the team, they wanted to temporarily find a coffin for the prince. Under the guidance of Huang Tieyan, the Tongzhou magistrate came to the door and said that the official ship had been prepared and could set off at any time.

Although Jiao Shun and others came by car and horseback, it was better to take a rest on the official boat after working hard all day and night than the bumpy and hard work on the road.

Therefore, he thanked Zhizhou for his kindness, asked for a willow coffin, and loaded Wang Ziteng's body on the ship.

The official ship was not very big, but because of Jiao Shun's status, he still got a separate guest room.

He washed briefly, lay down on the bed with all his clothes on, and was tired after thinking about all sorts of things. Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door.

"What's up?"

"master."

Shuan Zhu, who was guarding the door, immediately replied: "The people from Dali Temple said they found changes in the body, and would like to ask you to come over and have a look."

Has the body changed?!

Jiao Shun's heart trembled. Could it be that Wang Ziteng really didn't commit suicide, but was assassinated?!

The matter was serious, so he jumped up quickly, put on his official uniform and boots, opened the door and walked out, straightened his sleeves and asked, "What happened to the body?"

The two officials standing behind Shuan Zhu bowed together and said: "Young men don't know. I only heard from above that there were changes in the body. I asked you to go and check it out quickly."

Jiao Shun nodded and was about to walk to the morgue room when he suddenly stopped. He turned back to look at the two officials and asked strangely: "What are you doing at Dali Temple? On the way here, you met the people who just boarded the ship."

Why haven't I seen you before?"

The two people were obviously a little panicked, but they still held their hands and said, "I think you are busy, so you didn't notice the two of us before."

"is that so?"

Jiao Shun's eyes were full of suspicion. If he were an ordinary person, he would have no impression. But among the two people, there was one with a hook nose. He was sure that he had never seen this person along the way.

And their demeanor and demeanor are also...

"Do it!"

At this moment, the aquiline-nosed official suddenly shouted loudly, and then pulled out a dagger with blue light from his sleeve and stabbed Jiao Shun in the chest.

Caught off guard, Jiao Shun tried his best to retreat, but in the end he was not as quick and decisive as the hooked nose. Seeing that the dagger was about to stab his chest, he suddenly straightened up and fell back, and at the same time, a thick-soled man's head fell.

The boot was raised high and kicked on the hook-nosed wrist!

"ah!"

The hook-nosed man let out a scream, and the dagger in his hand flew out of his hand, nailing it to the wooden ceiling above his head with a clang.

Before Jiao Shun could breathe a sigh of relief, another officer came over with a dagger and slashed at Jiao Shun's ankle.

Jiao Shun hurriedly drew his legs to dodge, but he raised his foot and kicked him towards the vital point between his legs.

In the midst of the crisis, a figure suddenly jumped up and hugged the official, dragging him back fiercely.

But Shuan Zhu finally woke up and hurriedly rushed to protect his master.

The official was unprepared for a moment and took two steps back while being held by him. Immediately, his eyes flashed fiercely and he stabbed his dagger backwards with his backhand.

At this moment, there was a sudden evil wind, and something hit him with a slap on his face.

The fake officer hurriedly raised his hand to block it, not wanting the thing to hit his wrist, but the hard object at the front did not slow down and slapped him hard on the face, causing thousands of peach blossoms to bloom!

But it turned out that Jiao Shun took the opportunity to take off his belt and use it as a whip, and what hit the fake official in the face was the golden tiger-swallowing buckle on his belt.

The fake officer was in severe pain and his eyes were blinded by the blood on his forehead, so he had no choice but to stab with a dagger, trying to prevent Jiao Shun from attacking.

Unexpectedly, his companion finally pulled out the dagger on the ceiling and rushed out from the side, but was unexpectedly stabbed in the arm.

The hook-nosed man immediately screamed again, dropped the dagger, covered his arm and shouted in a hurry: "Where is the antidote?! Where is the antidote?!"

As soon as these words came out, Jiao Shun took a breath of cold air. The dagger was actually coated with poison!

Then he hurriedly waved his belt, slapped his head and covered his face with another round of lashings. When the officers on the ship heard the news and came over, the two of them had already been beaten to pieces by him.

It wasn't until the two of them were tied into rice dumplings that Jiao Shun finally dared to relax, leaned against the wall and sat softly on the ground, gritted his teeth and asked, "Tell me, who sent you here?!"

The official, whose face was covered with blood, snorted coldly, held his head high and refused to answer.
Chapter completed!