A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 142 The Truth Revealed to the World (28)

The next day.

Lu Xun officially entered the court.

The Huai'an Marquis's Mansion, which had been quiet for many years, suddenly produced a fourth-rank official, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and a reclusive and mediocre heir named Lu Xun.

The entire court was shocked!
The emperor announced the public trial of the case of the hanging corpse at the temple gate in the Golden Hall and bestowed upon Song Shuyu an imperial gold medal.

After the court session, Song Shuyu had just stepped out of the Golden Palace when he was stopped by Eunuch Qin.

"The Empress Dowager issued a decree yesterday, punishing the Second Young Master to copy the Classic of Filial Piety three hundred times and kneel outside the Shou Kang Palace for five hours. I wonder how the Second Young Master is doing with his copying? When will he come with me to receive his punishment?"

Song Shuyu's lips curled into a long smile. "Was the Empress Dowager's decree of punishment made public?"

"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, out of consideration for the family's reputation, did not make it public, but privately gave the Second Young Master a minor punishment as a warning, urging him not to go astray in the future." Eunuch Qin bent down an inch.

Song Shuyu's smile became even more meaningful. "In that case, please have Eunuch Qin report back to the Empress Dowager. I will only accept public punishment. As long as the Empress Dowager's decree is issued to the Duke's mansion, I, Song Shuyu, will immediately obey!"

Eunuch Qin's expression changed, "Second Young Master, you..."

"Qin Huai, have you forgotten that you came from my Song family?" Song Shuyu slowly leaned down, staring at Eunuch Qin's fat face, her words chillingly cold. "You better see clearly that my Song family is the Empress Dowager's support, not her kept slaves! If we cannot coexist peacefully, what will happen if we turn against each other?"

Eunuch Qin hurriedly knelt down, wanting to plead, but Song Shuyu was too lazy to waste words. He directly presented the imperial gold token and said sternly, "His Majesty has decreed that anyone who obstructs my official duties shall be executed without mercy!"

After speaking, he strode away.

Qin Gonggong slumped to the ground, his face drained of color. If the Empress Dowager continued her mad criticism and made things difficult for Song Shuyu, the Empress Dowager and the Song family would sooner or later fall apart, and it would be a matter of life and death for both of them!

……

Jingzhao Mansion.

The trial was scheduled to begin at 9:00 AM. People started arriving half an hour early to watch, and by the exact time, the crowd was packed three or four layers deep, so much so that people were even squatting on the rooftops and trees opposite the yamen.

The officials on the jury and those supervising the trial were all deeply impressed by the spectacle.

Song Shuyu welcomed the three into the yamen and casually said, "We bear the expectations of the Emperor and the hopes of the people. If we were to harbor criminals, we might not even be able to leave the yamen of the Jingzhao Prefecture! Vice Minister Liang, don't you agree?"

Liang Ruoming, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, was suddenly called upon. Caught completely off guard, he was stunned and stood there dumbfounded. "Huh? Wh-what?"

Song Shuyu laughed, "I noticed that Vice Minister Liang seems a bit distracted? It's alright, I'm just kindly reminding everyone that among those onlookers, there are quite a few righteous people who are relentlessly criticizing him, and there are also quite a few who are overly emotional, carrying hoes on their shoulders, bricks in their hands, baskets full of rotten vegetable leaves, and buckets full of swill and stinking water, ready to rid the people of this scourge at any time!"

Liang Ruoming was extremely embarrassed. He subconsciously looked back at the sea of ​​people outside and felt his scalp tingle.

He was promoted by the Empress Dowager, who also intended to marry his daughter into the Duke's mansion to ensure the Liang family's continued wealth and prosperity. Naturally, he was supposed to serve the Empress Dowager, but given the current situation…

Liang Ruoming swallowed hard. He was afraid he was not worthy of having Song Shuyu as his son-in-law!

Two high-ranking officials of the third rank were engaged in a power struggle, while Ji Yue, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, was a fourth-rank official. Although he couldn't easily intervene, he was happy to watch the drama unfold. Lu Xun, however, didn't focus much on Liang Ruoming, because he knew that Song Shuyu wouldn't give Liang Ruoming the opportunity to make decisions!

From the moment he entered the yamen, he couldn't help but look around. He both wanted to see Mu Qingcheng and was afraid to see her. Therefore, his gaze was averted, giving off a rather furtive feeling.

However, he did not see anyone along the way, which made him feel both relieved and disappointed.

The group first went to the council hall.

Song Shuyu introduced the general situation of the three cases to be publicly tried today, as well as the order of the trials.

As the appointed time approached, all the officials from the Jingzhao Prefecture in charge of the investigation arrived. Song Shuyu glanced at them briefly and then prepared to summon the court to proceed.

But he suddenly stopped, looking at each of the officials on duty, and asked, "Where is Coroner Mu?"

The officials looked around and realized that Mu Qingcheng was not there!
Song Shuyu frowned. "Secretary Lin, did Coroner Mu report for duty this morning?"

"Your Honor, Coroner Mu left the office last night and has not returned yet," Lin the clerk replied truthfully.

Song Shuyu was immediately uneasy. He had stayed with his grandmother all night and had not gone to the Ningyuan General's Mansion. This morning, he had to rush to the morning court to deal with the Empress Dowager. Only now did he realize that he had forgotten to send someone to the Ningyuan General's Mansion to find out what was going on!
However, the General's Mansion is heavily guarded, and Mu Qingcheng is highly skilled in martial arts, so there shouldn't be any accidents!

After comforting himself in this way, Song Shuyu finally felt a little relieved. He ordered, "Immediately send someone to invite Coroner Mu. In court, I need Coroner Mu to assist me in handling the case!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Upon receiving the order, Lin Shuban quickly left the council hall and dispatched the constables on duty to carry out the task.

It is exactly 9:00 AM.

As the bailiffs, wielding black and red fire sticks, stood on both sides of the hall shouting "Majesty!", Song Shuyu, the Prefect of the Capital, took his seat in the presiding judge's position. Then, Lu Xun, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and Liang Ruoming, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, sat in the lower right jury positions, while Ji Yue, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, sat in the lower left supervisory position.

Dressed in a purple official robe, Song Shuyu exuded both authority and dignity. He slammed his gavel and declared loudly, "Today, I am here by imperial decree to try the cases of the hanging corpse at the temple gate, the murder of Li Mu, and the concealment of a corpse at the Mu residence. Given the inseparable connection between these three cases, I have decided to try them together! Guards, summon the suspect, Liu Pei, to the court!"

The constables waiting outside the courtroom immediately rushed off!

Before long, two constables escorted Liu Pei to the scene. Liu Pei's neck and feet were chained, making him walk very slowly.

He entered the courtroom, gave Song Shuyu a deep look, and then knelt in the center, kowtowing and saying, "This sinner, Liu Pei, pays his respects to all my esteemed officials!"

Song Shuyu said, "Liu Pei, what crime have you committed? Confess the truth to avoid being flogged in court!"

Liu Pei looked up, his eyes filled with deathly stillness. He said, "The criminals murdered Li Mu, a compiler of the Hanlin Academy, and dumped his body in the courtyard of the Li residence."

Upon hearing this, the officials all looked shocked. The crime of murdering one's father-in-law was no ordinary murder; it was equivalent to patricide and was punishable by death by a thousand cuts. How could he confess so readily? Shouting that he was innocent and denying it to the death would have been the normal thing to do. After all, if the authorities hadn't caught him in the act, he would still have a chance to plead his case!

Song Shuyu was both surprised and surprised, but it also seemed reasonable. He then asked, "Liu Pei, did you do both the murder and the disposal of the body all by yourself?"

(End of this chapter)