dognovel Chapter 379 The Queen's True Affection
Chapter 379 The Queen's True Affection
If we bring up the past again, I don’t know how many people will be implicated.
Dou Cong even suspected that he did not check the almanac before going out. Everything seemed to be directed at him.
After thinking for a long time, Dou Cong finally felt relieved.
He was not responsible for this case. At that time, he was only the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple and had not been promoted to the position of Dali Temple Qing. However, he still has some impression of this case when it is mentioned now.
Xie Ci'an picked up the file and flipped through a few pages before glancing at Dou Cong, who was standing nearby like a frightened bird. "I wonder if Lord Dou still remembers this case."
Dou never expected to be called out so soon.
Although he was sure that he didn't do it, he was almost scared to death and his legs were weak before he confirmed it.
He forced himself to stand before the Emperor and Empress, "Your Majesty, Empress, I do remember this case. At the time, I hadn't yet been promoted to Dali Temple Minister, and was only serving as Dali Shaoqing. It happened that soldiers were on patrol when they passed by the brothel and heard a commotion. They went inside to investigate and found that someone had been killed. They arrested the perpetrators on the spot. Later, they found out that it was Lord Wu and the sons of other ministers. This matter implicated many ministers, so the lower-level officials did not dare to investigate, so they directly handed the case over to Lord Zhang, the then Dali Temple Minister, for trial."
"I remember that the trial went quite smoothly, and several young masters confessed voluntarily. They said that while they were playing there, a beggar broke in and provoked Young Master Wu. He even competed with him for a woman. The two of them started arguing, and then several other young masters stepped forward to help. During the argument, Young Master Wu accidentally picked up a fruit knife on the table and stabbed the beggar in the abdomen. The beggar died on the spot, and the other young masters were also terrified."
"Master Zhang even sent someone to the brothel to inquire about the incident. The madam and several servants all said that the beggar had provoked the incident and that Master Wu's son had accidentally killed him. Since the provocation came first and Master Wu had accidentally killed him later, the case was not severely punished. Later, Master Wu and several other masters voluntarily paid a small amount of money and the beggar was released."
Hearing this, Xie Ci'an slapped the table. Compared to Gu Jianchu's slap, Xie Ci'an's slap was even more powerful. The whole table couldn't help but shake, and the teacup on the table almost fell to the ground. "Nonsense, a murder lawsuit was settled by them just like that."
Dou Cong and the other ministers who were watching the excitement in the hall all lowered their heads and dared not say a word. Even their breathing became quieter and quieter, for fear that they would be spotted by Xie Ci'an and dragged out to be beheaded.
This time, it was Gu Jianchu who held Xie Ci'an's hand and comforted him, "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. This matter was handled by Lord Zhang and has nothing to do with Lord Dou."
Dou Cong looked at Gu Jianchu with gratitude.
The Queen is such a good person. If she has feelings for him, she will really help to beg. Besides, no one except the Queen can speak in front of Xie Ci'an. What if the Emperor wants to implicate him without thinking? He won't be able to even cry out that he is wronged. Fortunately, there is the good Queen.
Xie Ci'an's anger dissipated slightly, and his gaze fell on Guyu again, "What's the hidden story?"
"I went back to the brothel where the incident occurred and asked the other girls there. Initially, I didn't get anything. But after I left, a girl ran out after me and told me something."
"The girl said that the person killed by Master Wu wasn't a beggar at all, but a scholar."
The moment Guyu finished speaking, the ministers looked at each other in confusion. They were all smart people, so what was there that they didn't understand?
The young man from Lord Wu's family is a notorious playboy. He doesn't study all day and just hangs out with his friends. I'm afraid that something bad has happened and Lord Wu must have deliberately tampered with the testimony to protect his son.
"The girl said that Master Wu had taken a fancy to her best friend who had gone to the brothel with her. Her best friend had just been redeemed by a scholar and was about to go out and live a good life. Unexpectedly, she ran into Master Wu and was favored by him. He wanted her to be his concubine, but she refused, so they started arguing. During the argument, the scholar happened to come to pick up her best friend, so they had a conflict over her best friend. Master Wu unilaterally beat the scholar for a long time, and then he stabbed him to death. The young men who came to help were so scared that two of them ran away."
"Later, the government came, but the verdict they gave was that Master Wu had gotten into a fight with a beggar and accidentally beat him to death. When her sister heard this, she became anxious and went to find the brothel's madam. She discovered that she had helped to fabricate a false testimony. The madam also advised her not to get into trouble with the government over this matter, but her sister refused to listen and insisted on seeking justice for the scholar. She left and never returned."
"She said she even went to the Dali Temple to inquire, and the people there said no girl had ever gone to ask for justice. She then realized that something had happened to the young woman, or that she had died on the way to seek justice for the scholar."
"She also said that sisters from the same place have the best relationship. She wanted to avenge the sisters, but she was outnumbered. However, she was diligently collecting evidence. One time, she met a servant of the Wu family and brought up the matter indirectly. When she found out that the servant knew about it, she deliberately got him drunk and then found out that the sisters were murdered by Lord Wu to silence them."
"According to the clues provided by this woman, I specifically found the person she provided and handed him over to the Imperial City Administration for interrogation. He confessed everything without much punishment. He said that Lord Wu had them arrest a girl from a brothel and threatened her that if she didn't tell anyone about the scholar, Lord Wu would give her money and a new identity. She could start a new life somewhere else, no longer have any connection to the brothel, and wouldn't be looked down upon."
"I didn't expect that the brothel girl was such a hot-tempered person. Not only did she refuse to agree to Lord Wu's suggestion, she even started a scene. This really annoyed Lord Wu, so he decided to kill her. He had them strangle her to death, then dump her into the water and dispose of her body. From then on, no one knew the truth. Lord Wu then spent a fortune to go to the Dali Temple to redeem his son. He also told Master Wu to keep a low profile at home for a while before going out, as it wasn't convenient for him to show up right after the matter was resolved."