In the Chongzheng Hall, facing Zhao Zhen, Yan Shu, Du Yan, Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, Fu Bi and Ouyang Xiu, Su Jin's conclusion was like a bomb, which made the monarchs and ministers dizzy.
"Your Majesty, my lords, according to my investigation, there are two points of evidence for reaching this conclusion. The first is the scar on the neck of the deceased. The necks of the five deceased all have a thin scar, which is swollen and bruised. It is true that It's fatal, but it's definitely not the result of suicide."
Du Yan said coldly: "How can you tell that since there are traces of hanging injuries on the neck and they are fatal injuries, how can you conclude that they committed homicide rather than suicide?"
Su Jin said: "Privilege Du, please be patient. I have my own reasons. The reason is the weirdness of this scar. A thin scar goes deep into the texture. It is indeed fatal. But besides this scar, there are A faint bloodstain was wider than the fatal wound. I made a comparison and found that the faint bloodstain on the outer circle was caused by the white silk on the body. As we all know, Bailing hanged herself to death, and the scars left behind were wide and colorful. Very lightly, people who hang themselves choose Bai Ling to commit suicide. They just want to suffocate to death, suffer less pain when they die, and the death condition is not very sad; but the thin blood stain in the middle is definitely not caused by Bai Ling, but It was caused by forcefully tightening things like hemp rope or straw rope. Two different scars appeared on the neck of the deceased. It was obvious that someone strangled the deceased with hemp rope or straw rope first, and then hanged himself with white silk hanging around his neck. The illusion of death.
Everyone suddenly realized that Su Jin was right. The scars caused by Bai Ling's self-hanging were not very obvious. The soft and loose Bai Ling would only leave a wide mark on the neck instead of a thin blood mark. This was indeed inhumane. Attention to details.[
"Moreover, the white silk threads used by the five deceased people to hang themselves were all made of the same material. They were five strips torn from one white silk thread. This is even more unbelievable. This white silk thread also has its provenance. I ordered people to check the origin of this white silk thread. The material is the first-grade white silk produced by the Hongyun Cloth Store in the capital. Only people with a well-off family will buy this kind of white silk in the capital. It is mostly used for funerals and the sales volume is not large. I took the portrait of the deceased to give it to The clerks at Hongyun Cloth Shop identified it, and they all proved in unison that they had never seen these five people, which shows that the white silk was not bought by the five people."
Du Yan said: "Maybe they sent someone to buy it instead of going there themselves."
Su Jin smiled and said: "It is also possible, but the shopkeeper confirmed that not a single foot of this kind of white silk was sold at Hongyun Cloth Village in the month before the incident. Could it be that these people had agreed to buy the same kind of white silk before coming to the capital. Is it possible to plant white silk as a reserve for suicide? It is obviously not possible."
"In addition, if they sent someone to buy it, who did they send? It must be their entourage, but none of their entourage remembered that they had purchased this thing for their master; and they confessed that on the day of Laba, Several of the deceased received letters, and then they said they were going to Xingguo Temple to worship Buddha and offer incense, and they did not allow their entourage to follow them, and then they stayed away all night. Who was the person who sent them the letter? This is the key to this case."
Du Yan said no more, and the evil look in his eyes disappeared; Zhao Zhen and others nodded repeatedly, but they were also secretly frightened. It seemed that there must be someone behind this incident, and they did not hesitate to kill five people in a row to create chaos. The viciousness of people's hearts and their unscrupulous ways of doing things are truly frightening.
"If the murderer who killed these five people behind the scenes could have gotten away with his previous mistakes if he didn't look for them carefully, then the low-level mistakes he made later will really reveal his flaws, regardless of the scars, and Bai Ling's origins.
Not to mention, Liumeicun was nearly sixty years old, but the place where he hanged himself was on a jujube tree at the intersection of Nanmen Street and Baoci Temple. This tree was seven to eight feet high and one foot and three feet above the ground.
Talented people have branches growing all over the place, and the lower branches are cut off to prevent them from blocking pedestrians and horses on the road. This white-haired man from Liumei Village hung himself from a branch one foot or three feet high with the strength of a chicken. How did he do it?
of?"
Zhao Zhen and others suddenly realized it, and they all showed relief. Su Jin smiled and continued: "The bark of the jujube tree is smooth and the stems are slippery. It takes a lot of effort even for an old person to climb up, let alone climb up the tree.
He hanged himself with a white silk scarf on a branch and hung it around his neck. He would never have been able to do this. According to witnesses at the scene, when they saw the deceased in the morning, there were no stools or escalators on the ground to help him. This made the matter even more obvious. Someone
The corpses of Liumei Village were transported here and then hung on the jujube trees to fake the appearance of hanging themselves; the people behind the scenes thought they were smart, but in fact they couldn't be more stupid."
Du Yan's face remained as usual, and he laughed a few times, but cold sweat ran down his spine. After that, he said nothing about the discussion about the people behind the scenes, until everyone resigned and left, and then he hurried to Shengyun Zhai near Zhuque Gate.
…
"Idiot, idiot." Xia Song cursed, not sure whether he was scolding himself or Du Yan who was standing in front of him.
"Su Jin, Su Jin, you are the one who is causing trouble to me over and over again, you little beast."
"Brother Xia, stop scolding me. This is not Su Jin's fault. The flaws are too obvious and your men are too sloppy in their work. Isn't that clear enough to make them suspicious?" Du Yan stamped his feet.
Xia Song said: "Don't worry, I still have a back-up plan. Even if they learn that there is someone behind this matter, there is no evidence to find me. Even if the emperor understands, the people will not understand the inside story. The news in the city continues to spread, so that the people can
Everyone starts talking about it, so that the whole atmosphere will be beneficial to us. In addition, I have already thought about the third step. This time I will give them a fatal blow."
Du Yan said: "What are you going to do in the third step?"
Xia Song sneered and said, "If we can't do it head-on, we'll take a detour. Recently, many people have jumped out when Fan Zhongyan and others gained power, so we'll start with them."
Du Yan said: "Brother Xia, please speak more clearly. It makes me confused and I can't use my strength."
Xia Song said: "Of course Privy Du will know everything, and this matter needs your full mediation in the court, but I need to tell you that this time it will be a dead end. If we can't bring down Fan Zhongyan and the others, we will both be doomed. If
If we succeed this time, Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, Fubi and others will be able to turn over forever."
Du Yan gritted his teeth and said: "Although I am the Privy Council Envoy now, I have been sidelined for a long time and have already retreated. Naturally, I will try my best. Brother Xia can rest assured."
Xia Song said: "That is the best. This third strategy will not only bring down Fan Zhongyan and others, but I will also ask Yan Shu to give up his position. When the time comes, you will be the prime minister and I will be the privy envoy. When the two of us are proud and proud,
Here we are.”[
Du Yan said happily: "What clever trick is so effective?"
Xia Song smiled and said, "The Imperial College said that Shi Jie seems to be more active recently, right?"
/
Du Yan spat and said: "That old guy hugged Fan Xiwen's thigh and flattered him hard. After the four admonishers dismissed the prime minister, deputy prime minister and brother Xia from office, he wrote a poem called "Qingli Shengde Poem" and flattered him.
What else can you say, 'Insects swarm, monsters hide and disappear. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, heaven and earth are prosperous.' What else can you say?
The emperor understands the sage and distinguishes between loyal and evil. He promotes good people and eliminates demons and monsters. The advancement of all the virtuous people is like a mausoleum. The departure of great traitors is like a distance.' This does not mean that you, brother Xia, are monsters or insects.
Is he a traitor? There are a lot of compliments on Fan Zhongyan, Fu Bi, Han Qi and others by name, which is extremely disgusting."
Xia Song sneered and said, "I'll take advantage of him. Doesn't he like to write letters and compliment each other with Fu Bi and others? I'll let him talk the trouble out of his mouth."
Du Yan whispered: "What does Brother Xia mean?"
Xia Song looked outside the study, gently took out a piece of letterhead from the secret compartment of the desk and handed it to Du Yan, saying, "Look whose handwriting this is."
Du Yan took a closer look and was startled: "Why, you and Shi Jie actually exchanged letters secretly?"
Xia Song chuckled and said, "How can I have a relationship with him? Do you think this word is his?"
Du Yan looked at it carefully and said: "It is indeed his handwriting. He has always boasted that his handwriting has the power of Xizhi to move clouds and flowing water. Look at his zigzag. The dots are like a crown, the tail is like a snake, the head is wide and the body is thick, and the ink is thick.
Pen, this is his handwriting. Where did you get his letters?"
Xia Song smiled and said, "You can read the content before talking."
Du Yan frowned and read the contents of the letter carefully again. He was so frightened that he trembled all over and said with a pale face: "Is this... is this going to...?"
Xia Song glanced at Du Yan disdainfully and said, "What, are you scared?"
Du Yan wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "No, no, I'm not afraid. Can people believe this?"
Xia Song sneered and said: "You have been an official for so many years, how come you can't even figure out the holy will? As an emperor, this is the most taboo thing. I would rather believe it than believe it. Once this letter is
Exposure will definitely arouse the emperor's suspicion, and then there will be a good show."
Du Yan whispered: "Is this letter really written by Shi Jie?"
Xia Song said: "This was written by one of my maids who likes to copy. It's almost real. That maid has already been dealt with by me. God knows that you know it and I know it. All that's left to do is to bribe Shi."
Ask the messenger boy to inform you with this letter, and then you can submit this letter to the emperor, and then sit back and wait for the good news."
Du Yan murmured: "It's too risky, too risky. If the letter is found to be a forgery, you and I will have our homes confiscated and our families destroyed."
Xia Song glared and shouted: "How long do you think your good life can last? In a few months, the Fourth Admonition Officer will pull you down from your position as Privy Councilor, and then you and I will be thoroughly investigated.
Until the place of death and burial.”
The muscles on Du Yan's face alternated between blue and white, and the muscles were tangled. After a long while, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "It's done. The fish will die and the net will be broken. That's it."
Xia Song laughed, patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, everything will go smoothly as long as I'm here. Before that, there are still things to deal with. Let the emperor put another big stone in his heart first."
Du Yan said: "What's the matter?"
"Liang Jian, the remonstrator of the Yushitai, came to my house yesterday for a small gathering. He proposed to impeach someone."[
"who?"
"Teng Zijing, the magistrate of Jingzhou, is a fellow Jinshi scholar of Fan Zhongyan. The two have a close relationship. The evidence is conclusive that this person abused public funds in Jingzhou. If he succeeds in impeaching this person, it will be equivalent to telling the emperor that Fan Zhongyan and others are not as they thought."
Their relatives and friends did not abide by the laws and regulations as stipulated in the New Deal, so as to insinuate that Fan Zhongyan was shielding and tolerating his friends' unfair treatment, the emperor would definitely be dissatisfied with them. If we take the opportunity to send this letter again, we will definitely receive it.
Wonderful effect.”
"Brilliant, really brilliant! Tomorrow morning I will ask Liang Jian to impeach Teng Zijing, and the show will begin." Du Yan smiled widely, with ripples on his fat face.