Although Qianru didn't really agree with Mr. Gu's style of investigating cases, there was nothing wrong with naming Su Wuzhe as the suspect.
Su Wuzhe is mediocre and vicious, with innocent blood on his hands. Such a person should have been severely punished long ago.
Therefore, Qianru tried her best to cooperate with Mr. Gu's questioning and spoke up about everything she knew.
Gu Changming asked for a while, then thoughtfully walked to the recorder and picked up the confession and read it carefully, "Are you sure that more than a year ago, around October of the sixth year of Zhengde, Su Wuzhe was killed by King Luo on the execution ground?
In the name of executing An Tai and you?"
"Did I say that?" Qianru was confused. She didn't remember that she said that, so she quickly corrected her.
After hearing this, Gu Changming said: "In the case of the guilty prince An Xingdao, Su Wuzhe just obeyed orders and did not have the power to kill or kill at will. What's more, the censor An wore official uniforms and showed his identity, and there was the censor doctor Hu Yong.
Testify that you are innocent, but he still insists on killing you. Didn't you have any doubts?"
Gu Changming's words touched her heart.
However, the review of Antai's case was strongly advocated by King Changsun of Gui, and this was likely to involve clique disputes.
Therefore, she must be careful, otherwise there will be endless troubles.
"Ms. An, you dare to file a complaint, are you still afraid of telling the truth?"
Gu Changming simply grabbed her weak spot.
It is difficult for Qianru to go against her conscience. After all, the opportunity to overturn the case in Dali Temple is not something that can be obtained casually.
She nodded and said: "Yes, I have suspected it. But you can't just rely on a momentary guess to determine the suspect. I think it was possible that Su Wuzhe was jealous of the murder at that time, and I have the same name as the eldest lady of Anhou Mansion.
, so there was a big misunderstanding!”
"I have also heard about that matter. It is said that Su Wuzhe let you go after Hu Yong sent someone to ask for an autographed letter from Prime Minister Yi, confirming that the daughter of the guilty prince had been buried in Xiaogushan in the south of the city."
"Yes, that's exactly it."
Gu Changming shook his head and sighed, but did not comment.
That expression made Qianru full of suspicion: Is he implying that An Tai's death was actually related to King Luo?
At this time, Gu Changming ordered Shangguan Yuan to be brought in.
Based on the files from more than a year ago, inquire about the circumstances at the time of the incident.
Shangguan Yuan answered fluently.
"At the beginning of the first month of the seventh year of Zhengde, I escorted Mr. An to Gui County out of friendship. That night we stayed at Mengqiao Station, and Mr. An slept next door to me. It was very cold at night, and I didn't sleep all night.
About the time the rooster crows, the sound of horses crowing can be heard outside.”
Shangguan Yuan was a young boy who joined the army and fought on the battlefield. He was very vigilant. When he heard the sound of a horse, he stood up and went out to investigate with a gun in hand.
At this time, dozens of masked men came over with knives to kill.
Although there were many masked men, his martial arts skills were not high, so he mopped them all down in just a few strokes.
Therefore, he underestimated the enemy for a moment, fell under the influence of poisonous powder, and was assassinated.
When he got up from the pile of corpses, the inn had been burned down, and An Tai had also perished in the flames.
"Shangguanyuan, at that time you were a third-rank You Xiaowei general. Why did you have to personally protect An Tai when he went to Gui County? What's the secret behind this?"
"At that time, Mr. An promised to betroth his daughter An Qianru to me, so I took advantage of the break at the beginning of the year to escort him to Gui County as my future son-in-law. That's all."
Gu Changming then summoned another witness, General Fang Zhenbang of Yiwei Zhonglang.
Fang Zhenbang testified that on the morning of the first day of the seventh year of Zhengde, Shangguan Yuan once asked him, who was on duty in the inner palace, how the emperor planned to deal with An Tai.
After receiving Fang Zhengbang's testimony, Gu Changming asked Qianru again.
"Mr. An, that morning, before the imperial edict was sent, did Shangguan Yuan come to inform you? What did he say at that time?"
Qianru has told the truth.
Fang Zhenbang retorted, "I didn't say that. What I told Shangguan Yuan was that Mr. Hu reported the case to the emperor, and the emperor did not intend to pursue it. However, King Luo felt that such a handling was difficult to convince people, unless Mr. An could convince people with his merits.
, suggested that the emperor send him to Gui County for inspection."
"Shangguanyuan, is what Fang Zhenbang said true?"
"Yes. The reason I made up the lie was because something big had just happened in the An family, and everyone was as frightened as a bird. At that time, the imperial edict was already on the way, and everything was a foregone conclusion. An Tai was going to Guijun, leaving behind a pair of weak and helpless children.
"
Gu Changming interrupted Shangguan Yuan and asked Fang Zhenbang out.
Then, the orderer presented an exhibit from more than a year ago.
Several small bells that were burned and deformed.
Qianru suddenly remembered that her younger brother Zhixuan had given An Tai a bunch of small bells when they parted last year.
An Tai was very precious at that time and held her close to her in her arms.
Unexpectedly, this string of small bells would become the only evidence of his identity after his death.
Seeing that she knew her, Gu Changming asked Shangguan Yuan what she said.
"According to the records, An Tai was charred when he was discovered. His body was completely naked and his face was unrecognizable. How could such a small bell survive under such circumstances?"
After that, Gu Changming ordered someone to fetch a pot of charcoal fire and threw a bunch of small bells bought at the market into it. In a moment, the little bells melted.
"The bells were pressed under the bodies, so a few survived. This was witnessed by the local official."
Gu Changming saw that Shangguan Yuan was a little agitated, so he comforted him with a few words, "This officer is just doing a routine matter. According to the file inquiry, what you said is consistent with the new confession recorded directly by Lu Si, and can be accepted."
After speaking, Gu Changming ordered someone to present another piece of evidence, which was covered with a white cloth, but he didn't know what it was.
"Shangguanyuan, when you stayed at Mengqiaoyi, what self-defense weapons did you have on you?"
"I have a gun beside me, and Mr. An has a dagger."
"What are the characteristics of that dagger?"
Shangguan Yuan thought for a while, "Mr. An said that the dagger he accidentally picked up twenty years ago was evidence of a murder case. The dagger looks ordinary, but the word 'Liu' is engraved on the blade."
"Did you find this dagger at the crime scene?"
Shangguan Yuan shook his head and was surprised when he saw the officer uncovering the white cloth covering the evidence and taking out a dagger with the word "Liu" engraved on it!
Gu Changming said that Lu Sizhi brought this back from Mengqiaoyi.
Half a year ago, there was a heavy rain in Mengqiao Station and the nearby mountain collapsed. This dagger was found together with a female corpse.
Because the location is very close to the inn, less than two miles away, and the case has not been solved yet.
Lu Sizhi checked the relevant files and accidentally discovered that the death date of the female body was very close to the date of Mr. An's murder.
Moreover, the dagger was very similar to the one mentioned in Shangguan Yuan's confession, so he brought it back together with the file of the female corpse case.
"So, Mr. Gu, what exactly do you want to explain?"
"Don't worry, General Shangguan. According to the investigation, we found that after the inn was burned down, there was still no news from a clerk.
And you didn't witness An Tai's murder with your own eyes, but you just concluded that the burnt corpse was An Tai based on a few bells.
Therefore, I have reason to suspect that An Tai may still be alive.
Or, there are other unknown situations hidden in it.”
After some reasoning by Gu Changming, the case became more complicated.
Qianru had a vague feeling that a storm was coming, but Shangguan Yuan said that Gu Shaoqing was a well-known expert in solving cases. If he tried the case sooner or later, the truth would come to light.
She only said: "I hope everything is as you said."