Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 583 The Logic of Never False Accusations!

Zhao Wenyuan gave them no chance to catch their breath, and shouted sternly, "Report the truth immediately!"

The neighbors, intimidated by the official's imposing manner, immediately lowered their heads and stammered, "Sir... Your words are reasonable. If it is truly so... then we commoners indeed have no way of knowing..."

"Good!" Zhao Wenyuan slammed his hand on the table in front of him and immediately ordered, "Enter the questions and answers from just now into the case file and have them sign and affix their fingerprints!"

"My lord!" Xi Zhaoxue, watching from the side, was extremely anxious and couldn't help but call out.

"No one is allowed to interrupt in court!" Zhao Wenyuan's gaze swept over her like lightning, and he rebuked her with unparalleled authority: "Xi Zhaoxue, I will question you later, and you will have plenty of opportunities to explain yourself."

"If you dare to make any more noise now, don't blame me for using torture on you!"

Xi Zhaoxue had no choice but to suppress her anger, bite her lip, and remain silent.

After the neighbors tremblingly pressed their fingerprints, Zhao Wenyuan waved to signal the constables to take them away.

Then, he turned his gaze to the doctor who had remained silent and asked, "Since you are a doctor, you must have personally examined Xi Yunlang's injuries."

"And tell me in detail, where was he injured?"

"How serious are the injuries? Are you still able to walk?"

The doctor bowed and replied, "Your Excellency, I have indeed examined it carefully."

"Xi Yunlang had large bruises on his chest and back, a mixture of blue and purple, which showed that he had been hit hard and his injuries were not serious."

"I prescribed him several doses of herbal medicine to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, and also applied a special plaster."

"This is the prescription I wrote back then. Please take a look, sir."

After speaking, the doctor took out a prescription from his bosom and held it high above his head.

A yamen runner stepped forward, took the document, and presented it to Zhao Wenyuan.

Zhao Wenyuan took the document, glanced at it, and then casually handed it to the clerk beside him. He then asked, "So, Xi Yunlang's injuries were all blunt force trauma from fists and sticks, and there were no wounds caused by swords or other sharp weapons?"

The doctor replied, "That's right!"

Zhao Wenyuan then asked, "You just said that his injuries were on his chest and back, which means that his legs were not injured?"

The doctor paused for a moment, but still answered truthfully: "Your Excellency, that is indeed the case. Xi Yunlang's legs have no injuries."

"That's it." Zhao Wenyuan's voice suddenly rose, and he asked again, "Since his legs are completely intact, then he should be able to get out of bed and walk without any problems?"

"This..." the doctor hesitated for a moment.

Before he could think it over, Zhao Wenyuan immediately demanded in a stern voice, "Yes or no? Tell me the truth immediately, no ambiguity!"

The bailiffs on both sides of the hall slammed their fire-and-water clubs heavily on the ground, chanting in unison, "Majesty!"

An atmosphere of solemnity instantly filled the entire hall.

Forced by the situation, the doctor hurriedly said, "His bruises are deep, and the pain is unbearable when they are pulled."

"I can barely get out of bed, but I'm afraid I won't have the strength to support a long journey."

Zhao Wenyuan seized on the issue and pressed on: "If he relies solely on willpower and exerts all his strength, how far can he actually go?"

"This... I really can't say for sure," the doctor said, bowing his head. "I am just a doctor, not a god."

"Logically speaking, someone with such severe injuries shouldn't be able to go very far."

"However, people's physical constitutions vary, and there are many who are physically strong and have a strong will. Even with more serious injuries, they can still travel dozens or even hundreds of miles. There are many such examples among the soldiers in the army."

"Conversely, those with weak constitutions may not be able to travel long distances even if they are unharmed."

"As for Xi Yunlang's physical condition and whether he can persevere in his journey despite his injuries, even a divine physician would find it difficult to make a definitive judgment."

"Good!" Zhao Wenyuan shouted, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. "So this means that you can only determine that he was injured, but you cannot conclude from this that he could not possibly have traveled under cover of night to commit the crime fifty miles away and then returned overnight, right or wrong?"

The doctor grew anxious and argued, "Sir, this is too much to ask of an ordinary person, let alone someone who is already injured!"

“It’s just ‘difficult,’ not ‘absolutely impossible,’ right?” Zhao Wenyuan once again posed a fatal question.

Cold sweat beaded on the doctor's forehead. Under the other person's aggressive gaze, he could only lower his head in dejection and say, "Yes."

"Enter it into the record!" Zhao Wenyuan instructed the clerk without turning his head.

In fact, he didn't need to say anything more. All the officials of the Provincial Surveillance Commission were in the hall, and the clerk had already recorded every word of the court hearing in detail, without daring to slack off in the slightest.

The doctor opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something more, but Zhao Wenyuan ignored him.

He took the confession that had just been transcribed from the clerk, examined it, and handed it to the doctor, saying, "This is the record of the interrogation just now. You have read it carefully. If there are no errors or omissions, then sign and affix your seal."

The doctor took the statement and read it word by word. His once strong fingers were now trembling slightly as he held the pen.

He glanced at Xi Yunlang and his sister below the hall, then turned to look at the officials sitting in the hall. He then raised his head even higher, looking at the four-character plaque "A Clear Mirror Hangs High" hanging above the hall.

The four characters seemed to glow in the dimly lit hall, yet they were also incredibly glaring.

A fleeting, indescribable mocking smile crossed his lips, eventually turning into a barely audible sigh. He lowered his eyes, no longer hesitating, and picked up a pen to sign his name on the confession.

The bailiff quickly brought ink and had him press his fingerprint on it.

Zhao Wenyuan then waved his hand, signaling to take him away.

Immediately afterward, Zhao Wenyuan's gaze sharpened like a knife, piercing Xi Zhaoxue, and he shouted sternly: "Xi Zhaoxue! You keep saying that your brother is seriously injured and bedridden, unable to move, and there is no way he could have gone fifty miles away to commit violence."

"But you heard the testimonies of the neighbors and the doctor clearly just now!"

"None of your neighbors can prove that your brother did not go out at night."

"Doctor, we cannot definitively say that your younger brother has no ability to undertake long-distance marches!"

"In other words, your so-called irrefutable evidence cannot prove that your brother was definitely not present at the time of the incident!"

"Without any evidence, do you really think you can clear your brother's name of murder based solely on your own words?"

He approached Xi Zhaoxue step by step, his voice growing more imposing: "Not only do you deny it, but you also dare to disturb His Majesty's presence and make baseless accusations against an official of the court! Xi Zhaoxue, what is your crime?!"

Zhao Wenyuan's angry shout was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, echoing throughout the hall.

Xi Zhaoxue's delicate body trembled slightly, not only from fear, but also from the rage aroused by these distorted words.

She bit her lower lip hard, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of her lips, but her clear eyes stubbornly met the other person's gaze without uttering a word.

In the courtyard outside the main hall, the commotion among the onlookers grew increasingly noticeable.

Xu Miaojin frowned. She felt that the magistrate's way of handling the case was strange in every way, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She turned to look at Zhu Yuntong beside her and whispered, "Brother Yuntong, this magistrate is clearly just making excuses!"

Zhu Yunwen simply stared silently at everything in the hall, his gaze deep, without uttering a word.

His gaze passed over Zhao Wenyuan's flamboyant figure and landed on Shen Mo, the seemingly composed but actually all-powerful Provincial Inspector. In the hall, Zhao Wenyuan, pleased with himself for successfully suppressing Xi Zhaoxue, turned and strode with his official gait to the entrance.

Facing the dense crowd of people in the courtyard, Zhao Wenyuan cleared his throat, raised his voice, and said loudly:
"Fellow villagers! You who are here today have all heard and seen clearly how this county magistrate conducted the trial!"

"Recently, rumors have been circulating that the government is biased towards Tan Nu and is framing Xi Yunlang. This is pure nonsense!"

"They are people with ulterior motives, trying to mislead people, criticize the laws of our Great Ming Dynasty, and slander the officials of the court!"

"As everyone knows, the Xi and Tan families are ordinary people, not wealthy or powerful families."

"Whether it's this county official or other officials, they have no connection with them, so how can there be any talk of favoritism?"

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"Such remarks are a blatant insult to the laws and regulations of our court!"

"This case is of utmost importance and has already reached the ears of the emperor."

"Today, this county magistrate is acting on the Emperor's orders to conduct a public retrial in broad daylight, in the main hall!"

"Just now, in front of the Provincial Governor, all the superiors, and many elders and fellow villagers present, I have already made it clear that Xi Zhaoxue has no concrete evidence to prove that her brother Xi Yunlang was not at the scene when the incident occurred!"

“The county just tried the case, but no punishment was used. All the cases were based on reasonable deductions, and the witnesses all admitted to them and signed and fingerprinted them.”

“You have all seen this with your own eyes.”

"It is clear that Xi Zhaoxue's previous attempts to protest her innocence were nothing but unreasonable trouble-making!"

"The original judgment by the government was not a miscarriage of justice!"

"Anyone who maliciously spreads rumors and undermines the foundation of the nation will be severely punished once verified!"

"You must know, in the courtroom..."

When he said the phrase "a clear mirror hangs high," he emphasized it, and a confident expression appeared on his face.

Just as the courtroom was filled with an air of official authority and the crowd below remained silent, a clear and resolute female voice pierced the suffocating silence like a sharp sword:

"Your Excellency is mistaken! I have witnesses to prove it!"

Zhao Wenyuan's words were interrupted, and he looked displeased, but then he heard Xi Zhaoxue continue in a loud voice: "On the night of the third day of the fifth month, I was worried about my younger brother's injuries and could not sleep at night. I was unable to move around easily, so I went into his room to check on him several times. Each time, he was lying peacefully on his bed!"

"May I ask you, sir, does he have wings on his ribs, enabling him to fly fifty miles to commit murder and then instantly return to his bed?"

Zhao Wenyuan snorted coldly and rebuked, "You are his blood-related sister. In a moment of panic, you would naturally defend and exonerate him."

"Can your testimony be considered valid?"

"Oh?" Xi Zhaoxue smiled sadly and retorted, "The words of relatives are not to be trusted. Then on what basis does the official believe that my brother is the murderer?"

"Based on baseless speculation, to conclude that he could still travel a hundred miles in one night while seriously injured?"

She stepped forward, looking directly at Zhao Wenyuan: "If such absurd speculation can lead to a conviction, then can I also say that you, sir, are also suspected of committing the crime?"

"After all, the distance from the county government office to the deceased's home is twenty or thirty li shorter than the distance from the woman's home."

"According to your reasoning, how should you prove your innocence?"

Her gaze was like a knife, her words like a sword, aimed directly at Zhao Wenyuan.

"well said!"

In the deathly silent crowd, someone couldn't contain themselves and cheered loudly.

This voice was like a lit fuse, and an uncontrollable chorus of agreement immediately rose from the crowd.

Zhao Wenyuan's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red. He turned around abruptly, his triangular eyes flashing with a fierce light as he swept his gaze across the crowd like a hawk.

The cheers and applause were immediately silenced by the fierce gaze.

Clearly, although the people felt wronged, they were ultimately afraid of the authority of the government.

Zhao Wenyuan did not pursue the matter further, as stirring up public anger at this point would be counterproductive.

Seeing that he had calmed the crowd's commotion, he was about to slowly withdraw his gaze before making his move again.

"boom!"

A loud bang sent dust flying down from the beams.

Shen Mo, the provincial inspector who had been listening silently, now had a grim expression and slammed his gavel down heavily.

"Outrageous! You unruly commoners of the Ming Dynasty dare to frame an official of the court with absurd and foul language in the courtroom!"

"Do you know that based solely on these words, I could charge you with contempt of court and falsely accusing an official of the court!" Shen Mo shouted angrily.

"Is it only permissible for officials to set fires, but not for ordinary people to light lamps?" Xi Zhaoxue stood tall without fear, meeting Shen Mo's icy gaze, and said loudly, "He imposed a fabricated charge on my brother. Am I not allowed to retaliate in kind? Is this what you call 'a clear mirror hanging high', sir?"

As a woman who dared to stop the emperor's carriage to plead her case, she had long since developed an unyielding and proud spirit.

Shen Mo let out a cold laugh, his voice devoid of any warmth: "Just now, Magistrate Zhao presided over this case, and all of us present witnessed it."

“Magistrate Zhao questioned the witnesses step by step, with each step linked to the next. Everything he said and did was in accordance with the laws of the Ming Dynasty. How could there have been any coercion or inducement?”

His gaze turned cold as he stared at Xi Zhaoxue: "The evidence is clear, the case is ironclad, yet you are using your silver tongue to confuse the public. You are simply trying to make a scene in court and turn a lie into a fact."

"Do you really think that the laws of my Great Ming Dynasty are just decorations that a shrew like you can trample on at will?"

Xi Zhaoxue's eyes were cold and she retorted without backing down: "In your opinion, sir, I am the elder sister of the murderer, so my testimony is not credible."

"Then I humbly ask you, sir, is there any irrefutable evidence to prove that my brother is the real murderer?"

"Of course!" This time, it wasn't Shen Mo who responded, but Zhao Wenyuan, who was sitting to the side.

He abruptly stood up, strode into the hall, straightened his official robes, then turned around sharply, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and bowed deeply towards the capital, Jinling, his voice booming like a bell: "I, Zhao Wenyuan, have been appointed by imperial decree to serve as the magistrate of Shan County, Yanzhou, Shandong!"

"One who eats the king's food must serve the king faithfully!"

"From the day I took office, I swore to uphold justice and abide by the law!"

"In all cases adjudicated by this official, I have always upheld the law impartially and investigated every detail with utmost clarity!"

"This is the fundamental principle of being an official, and it is also my lifelong creed!"

"My heart is as clear as day!"

……

(End of this chapter)