Chapter 82: Detective Li Yuanfang, I’ll leave the case to you!
Li Yan expressed his submission.
Wu Minzhi hated Mrs. Rong Guo very much, and Empress Wu also hated this nephew very much.
And regardless of whether Wu Minzhi's mother and sister were harmed by Empress Wu like Ye Shi, Wu Minzhi probably would not have the slightest fondness for Empress Wu.
This is enough for three generations.
Li Yan was disgusted in his heart, but when he thought about what he was going to do next, he became even more excited.
How many people in the world can compete with Wu Zetian?
Then let’s take a look at your plug-in!
Empress Wu didn't know that a minister was peering into her heart, so she came to Master Puguang of Ci'en Temple, a disciple of the holy monk Xuanzang, and asked him hello.
After chatting with the abbots of several other temples, he looked at Wu Minzhi again and said calmly: "Minzhi, what's wrong with you?"
Wu Minzhi didn't dare to talk about grandma anymore. Others didn't know, and Empress Wu didn't know the dirty things inside, so she quickly pretended to be scared: "There is a ghost who wants to harm me...he wants to harm me...wuwuwu...it's so scary!"
Empress Wu immediately looked at the group of monks: "Have you found the ghost that harmed the Duke?"
The monks and Taoists began to answer, using a series of religious terms. In the confusion, Li Yan heard two words between the lines, no.
Wu Hou was expressionless, neither happy nor angry, but a heavy sense of depression had come.
Everyone was sweating coldly and under great pressure.
Li Yan naturally kept silent.
But again, his dress was so eye-catching that Empress Wu couldn't help but notice him.
The sharp gaze turned around again: "Li Yuanfang, you cleverly solved a murder case in Liangzhou. You are very intelligent and can handle big things. What do you think?"
Li Yan said: "I think there must be something fishy about this matter!"
Empress Wu's eyes lit up: "Oh?"
This sentence is nonsense many times, but not here.
Because Li Yan said that something was fishy, his meaning was very clear.
The house is not really haunted, it may be man-made!
Empress Wu became interested: "Raise your head and tell me your views in detail."
Li Yan raised his head, met Empress Wu's scrutinizing gaze, and said: "This place is at the foot of the emperor, protected by the real dragon, and there are many Taoist priests and eminent monks to drive away the evil atmosphere. If you say that ghosts and evil spirits can harm people unscrupulously, I don't believe it."
.”
Empress Wu quickly glanced at the Taoist monks present, nodded and said: "Not bad!"
Ancient religious beliefs played an important role in consolidating political power. The reason why Taoism and Buddhism flourished was largely due to the deliberate promotion of Taoism and Buddhism by rulers in order to squeeze out the growth space of those obscene and evil sacrifices.
The people at the bottom are superstitious. If they don't believe in Taoism and Buddhism, they may believe in some random things and engage in horrible things like blood sacrifices, which can really shake up local rule.
Li Yan understood this truth, but the prince told him these words specifically to pave the way.
The prince is sure that Empress Wu will definitely agree with this, because she will not blatantly undermine Buddhism and Taoism.
Li Yan's words undoubtedly won the favor of a group of masters, and the solemn atmosphere suddenly relaxed.
Seeing that Empress Wu's expression softened, Li Yan said again: "If it's not a ghost, it's man-made, then it's a case!"
"Who is the perpetrator? Why did they threaten Duke Zhou? Why was Duke Zhou so frightened that he went crazy? These are all areas that need to be investigated!"
"If the real culprit can be caught, then the prince will know that the ghost is fake, and the disease will naturally be cured..."
Empress Wu watched him talk eloquently, with approval between her brows.
Leaders are always happy to see an effective subordinate.
She nodded and said, "Do you have any clues?"
Li Yan shook his head: "I just arrived at the Duke's Mansion today and haven't investigated yet. There are no clues."
Empress Wu raised her eyebrows: "According to your wishes, if you conduct an investigation in the Duke's Mansion, you can find traces of the murderer?"
Li Yan immediately crossed his arms and saluted: "I dare not make any assertions, but I am willing to do my best to find out the truth and restore innocence to the innocent!"
Empress Wu stared at Li Yan.
If this guy works so hard, he must have a plan.
Considering that the internal defense has been re-established and the candidates are about to be announced, his goal is actually very obvious.
"You want to take advantage of the situation at a young age? You are not greedy enough!"
In Empress Wu's opinion, unless you are a relative of the emperor or a relative of the emperor, under the age of fifteen, being able to become a sixth-rank official, no matter how much merit you have, is already a great gift.
If you want to go one step further and become a fifth-grade dignitary who can protect future generations, you should wait at least another ten years!
Of course, I won't give it to Ji Yi, but I can reward him with more cloth and money, and he will be promoted to two more ranks.
After deciding on the merits of solving the case, Empress Wu spoke again: "Li Yuanfang, since you have recommended yourself, I will give you this opportunity. Do you want Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment to jointly investigate the case?"
Li Yan hesitated for a moment, but before he could answer, Empress Wu had already smiled and said: "It seems that you don't want to. It doesn't matter. There are many people with mixed thoughts, which may not be conducive to the resolution of the case. I believe in your ability, and I will leave the case to you."
,how?"
Li Yan thought to himself that you believe nothing. The temptress has been PUA all day long. He thought I couldn't tell, so he immediately replied in a loud voice: "Thank you, Queen!"
Empress Wu nodded with satisfaction and walked to the imperial chariot.
She came here to ask whether the strange ghost was disguised by someone else. If there was any doubt, she would immediately ask Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment to investigate the case.
But if others don't know it, how can she not know that there are too many ulterior things in Wu Minzhi, a bad guy?
If we really want to investigate extensively, it would be troublesome if we find out something else.
Now that Li Yan has recommended himself, he has given her a new choice.
This guy is young, what he did in Liangzhou is amazing, and his abilities are absolutely outstanding.
The Duke of Wei's palace has declined again, so it's easy to handle if something goes wrong.
The only one to worry about is the prince.
Fortunately, the two of them had only met for a few days, so there wouldn't be much deep loyalty, and it was even less likely that the prince would say that kind of thing to someone he had only known for a few days.
Empress Wu thought about it in detail. After returning to the imperial chariot, she looked down at everyone, and finally showed Li Yan a smile that she thought she was approving: "Detective Li Yuanfang, don't let me down!"
…
"Farewell to the queen!"
At this time, hundreds of people inside and outside the hall were paying homage to Empress Wu.
"People say that a son is better known than his mother, but in fact, his mother is better known than his son."
The others were granted amnesty, but only Li Yan thought that Empress Wu's reaction was basically as the prince expected.
The terrible image of the Queen in history has suddenly weakened a lot of mystery.
Facts have proved that Empress Wu is also a human being, and she will make mistakes as a human being.
The prince's method was very simple. He invited himself out of the Daming Palace and went to the Duke of Zhou's Mansion to visit his cousin.
How could Empress Wu allow these two people to meet? After getting the news, she immediately came first in person.
Therefore, before Li Yan came to Zhou Guogong's mansion, he knew that he would meet Empress Wu, and then he would recommend himself.
The prince understands Empress Wu, and the people Empress Wu likes to use most are those who are easy to control first and then have strong abilities.
Li Yan fits both categories. He is still an outsider who has just arrived in Chang'an for a few days, so he is very suitable.
Of course, there are no absolutes in the world, and Empress Wu may refuse, and then we will have to think of another way.
At this time, everything was calm. Li Yan successfully staged a show of "I investigate myself." Not only did he gain the power to investigate the case, but the monks headed by Master Puguang and the Taoist priests headed by Taoist Wan Zhen also came forward to pay homage, with friendly expressions: "
Thank you to Donor Li (a good believer) for rescuing us!"
With this person coming forward, catching ghosts has become a case investigation, and their responsibilities have been reduced a lot, so they are naturally very grateful.
At this time, Li Yan did not forget his identity as a delivery expert: "Master's words are serious, Taoist priest's words are serious, I will treat you to tea in the future!"
When everyone had left, the last person who came to talk was Ming Chongyan: "Li Shanxin is such a wonderful person!"
Li Yan looked at him. Whether he took the initiative to fight before or came up to talk to him now, Ming Chongyan seemed not afraid of offending the Duke of Zhou.
Has this magician ever been so upright in history?
Li Yan was a little puzzled, but he stretched out his hand so as not to hit the smiling man. He smiled naturally and said, "Thank you, Master Ming, for being polite, otherwise I would have made a fool of myself."
Ming Chongyan smiled: "Li Shanxin is not a member of my Taoist family. To have such attainments in the Taoist family is already extraordinary. There is no need to be too humble! Farewell, Immeasurable Heavenly Lord, I am a poor Taoist!"
Watching him leave, Li Yan strode back to the main hall and immediately said loudly: "The Duke was stimulated and went crazy. There must be a reason. All the slaves present that night gathered together. I want to ask one by one, what did you hear?
What! Especially what did the Duke say before he got sick!"
Wu Minzhi's pupils shrank, he quickly lowered his head and secretly gritted his teeth: "Damn it, this Li Yuanfang is well-deserved!"
Li Yan's sharp-shooting method of investigating the case shocked and horrified him, but he couldn't stop it.
Because in order to supervise Li Yan, Empress Wu left several eunuchs who were standing by the side, watching all this indifferently.
Li Yan was relaxed, but Wu Minzhi could only suffer silently.
Soon, a group of slaves gathered in the front yard.
They were indeed the first people to rush to the scene after hearing the noise in the room that night.
Li Yan glanced around and landed on the leader Zhu Wu: "Start with you, tell me!"
Zhu Wu stepped forward and said: "When we rushed in, Mr. Guo was screaming, saying there was a ghost, and then he fainted."
Li Yandao: "Is that just that? Zhu Wu, I want to remind you that giving false testimony is as guilty as the perpetrator. You should be careful what you say!"
Zhu Wuwei hesitated slightly, but still said: "The situation was chaotic at that time, this is all I remember."
In fact, they heard some ridiculous content, but who wants to say it?
After all, the Duke didn't do anything to them, so he naturally pretended to be deaf and dumb.
They didn't want to say it didn't matter, so Li Yan watched Wu Minzhi from the corner of his eye and used his talent again.
Wu Minzhi's emotional villain has an open mouth, raised eyebrows, dilated nostrils, and the whole face shows a fearful posture.
“Emotional feedback—fear!”
"The reasoning begins!"
"I'm afraid that the secret I told you that night will be leaked."
"Correct reasoning!"
…
"Damn it, if I had known earlier, I should have killed them all, killed them all!"
Wu Minzhi was really scared at this time.
There was nothing I could do about it, what he said that night was too exaggerated.
If you want to have explosive points, you have to have explosive points. If you want to be solid, you must have solid hammer.
If you really judge the crime, even ten heads are not enough to chop him off.
What Wu Minzhi is most worried about is that the two women in blood clothes are not ghosts at all, but living people.
Mrs. Shu San is missing.
Afterwards, he asked his servants to search for Mrs. Wu's body, but they couldn't find it.
If Mrs. Shu Sanniang and Mrs. Wu are not dead, and someone behind the scenes instructs them to pretend to be ghosts, and they can tell the story about the Yang family, it is obviously a long-planned revenge.
There is also the unspeakable scandal of Mrs. Rongguo...
Precisely because he was full of fear, Wu Minzhi pretended to be crazy and acted foolishly, preparing to shirk his guilt.
It also helps to feel guilty and relieve worries.
Of course, given his surly nature, this won't last long.
Once you find that you can't do anything to others, you will quickly fall back into your old ways and even get worse.
He originally thought that at that time, he would kill all the servants in the house who heard his secret, but he did not expect that Li Yuanfang came to investigate the case.
It seems that he is not dead. After asking three or four servants, Li Yan suddenly pointed at Wu Minzhi who was listening carefully behind him: "Why is Zhou Guogong still here? Send him to the backyard to have a good rest."
Wu Minzhi immediately resisted: "Hey hey hey... I don't want to go... Hey hey hey... I don't want to go!!"
Li Yan said flatly: "Take it down!!"
The servants hesitated for a moment and then raised the chariot.
A patient really shouldn't listen to the details of solving a case in the main hall. What if he hears something sensitive that aggravates his condition?
As a result, Li Yan waved his hand, and Wu Minzhi was forcibly sent to the backyard, as if the Duke of Zhou's mansion had changed its owner.
The torture began.
"Those losers won't let anything slip, will they?"
"Li Yuanfang won't find anything, right?"
"Why did the queen let Li Yuanfang investigate the case? Does she want me to die?"
"Yes, yes, she has always hated me very much. She must want me dead!"
"I cultivated power and did my best for her, but this evil woman is so vicious?"
He walked up and down his room, muttering.
Terrible thoughts kept popping up in my mind like mushrooms after a rain.
"Go to the front yard and take a look, and report the situation to me at any time! Go quickly!!"
The more Wu Minzhi thought about it, the more anxious he became, and his eyes became redder. He called his maid and gave instructions.
"Yes Yes!"
The personal maids knew that Wu Minzhi was not crazy, and he was not afraid of them knowing.
Because I have already prepared to clean it up afterwards.
The life of a maid is cheap, and there are many prostitutes outside. The Western Market collects them at will, and there is a new batch.
And this group of maids, who were accustomed to being shouted at by him, were already scared out of their wits and immediately hurried to the front yard.
Then keep passing the situation back.
"It's okay if you didn't say it, it's okay if you didn't say it... Hehe, I want to reward them until this matter is over, in the past..."
"Li Yuanfang's interrogation hasn't ended yet?"
Wu Minzhi's face was alternately happy and worried, and his heart was in a state of ups and downs.
The good news is that those slaves were tight-lipped and didn't say anything they shouldn't have said.
The bad news is that Li Yan has been investigating the case and even expanded the scope to summon all the servants from the Duke's mansion to the front yard.
He was extremely patient, sitting in the main hall and interrogating one by one.
Officials from the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple did not come. Li Yan was the inner guard, so he could naturally mobilize the manpower of the inner guard.
There were not many people, that is, Wang Xiaojie came with veterans from the Weiguo Palace, and there were people specially recorded the confessions. Everything seemed very professional.
Until the sun sets.
Until night falls.
Wu Minzhi looked at the darkness outside and couldn't bear it anymore: "Why hasn't he left yet?"
The maid was trembling, but her expression was full of surprise and incomprehension: "Li Wuwei said... he has to work overtime all night..."
Wu Minzhi's eyes suddenly widened and he said with a trembling voice: