A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 161 The Truth Revealed to the World (47)

"Please calm down, sir. Conviction is inevitable, but I am interested in the stories behind these three cases within cases."

When Mu Qingcheng spoke, he intentionally pushed Song Shuyu to the side, placing him between him and the corpse, so that Song Shuyu wouldn't accidentally glance at it and be psychologically traumatized.

Song Shuyu's anger remained high. "What's there to calm down? Did I not give them, father and son, a chance to plead their case? I reasoned with them, appealed to their emotions, and presented them with witnesses and evidence, yet they still stubbornly refused to listen and deliberately opposed me!"

The two exchanged a glance, and Mu Qingcheng instantly understood.

She immediately lowered her eyes and boldly suggested, "Sir, the case can only be closed after the motive for the murder has been thoroughly investigated; otherwise, it would not be in accordance with the rules."

"Rules are rigid, but people are flexible! I have the evidence. Regardless of why they killed or disposed of the body, I sentence both father and son to death. Liu Xiao is to be demoted to a lowly status and exiled three thousand miles away, to be a slave for all eternity. As for Madam Liu, what's the point of trying to cure her poison? Disposing of a body is a serious crime, but considering she's just a woman, I'll spare her death sentence. She can accompany Liu Xiao into exile; they might not even make it a hundred miles before dying on the way..."

"Please have mercy, Your Excellency!"

Before Song Shuyu could finish speaking, Liu Pei kowtowed frantically, tears streaming down his face, "Please, Your Honor, have a lenient sentence for my mother and younger brother! Please, Your Honor!"

Song Shuyu sneered, "Have mercy? Who do you think you are? Do you have more influence than Vice Minister Liang? Why should I have mercy on you? I have already been more than merciful by not giving each of you three a fifty-beat beating. Don't push your luck!"

Ignoring everything else, Liu Xiao grabbed Song Shuyu by the hem of his official robe and asked urgently, "My mother has been poisoned? How could she have been poisoned? Who poisoned her? How is my mother now?"

"Ask your father!" Song Shuyu's anger remained undiminished. With a single glance, the constable immediately pulled Liu Xiao's hand back.

Liu Xiao turned and clung to Liu Changqing's body, tears streaming down her face. "Father, what exactly happened? What do you want to do? My mother can't be hurt, my brother can't die, I... I just don't understand, why has our family of six come to this point of destruction?"

Liu Changqing shoved Liu Xiao away and angrily shouted, "Why are you courting death? Can't you just stay at home? If you're exiled three thousand miles away, do you think you'll still be alive?"

"Father, the whole family is going to die, Yiyi is dead too, what am I supposed to do alive? Become a wandering ghost?" Liu Xiao was heartbroken, and in a moment he made a decision. He kowtowed to Song Shuyu and said, "Please, Your Honor, sentence me and my family to the same death. I will be eternally grateful!"

"No!"

"Brother, you can't!"

Liu Changqing and Liu Xiao spoke up almost simultaneously, their expressions changing drastically, both shocked and anxious!
Without hesitation, Song Shuyu agreed immediately, "Sure, a family should be together, so that they don't try to control or threaten each other and make things difficult for me!"

Liu Changqing glared angrily, "Lord Song, you are treating human life like dirt!"

Just then, a yamen runner came to report: "Sir, Madam Liu has woken up!"

Song Shuyu raised his chin. "Summon Madam Liu to the court! Now, the entire Liu family is finally together! If Madam Liu also seeks death, it won't take much time for me to chop off another head."

"Yes!" The constable withdrew.

Liu Pei was practically going crazy. "Lord Song, must you force people like this?"

Song Shuyu, utterly disregarding his composure, spat out, "Bah! I have no patience for your games. You said you'd confess if I had evidence, but what happened? You went back on your word! Your despicable behavior is unworthy of my further words!" Seeing this, Mu Qingcheng tugged at Song Shuyu's sleeve and whispered, "Sir, I really want to know the motive for the murder. Could you... could you give me another chance to interrogate them? If the truth uncovered is favorable to Madam Liu and Liu Xiao, they might not face the death penalty, or even exile. Perhaps a few years in prison would suffice..."

"How dare you, Coroner Mu! Are you trying to abuse your power?" Song Shuyu shouted, his handsome face turning ashen.

Lu Xun, who had been observing the trial, suddenly felt a pang of anxiety, fearing that Mu Qingcheng would publicly humiliate Song Shuyu and be punished!
"Master Song..."

Lu Xun was about to speak up to plead for mercy, but before he could even open his mouth, he saw Mu Qingcheng kneeling before Song Shuyu, pleading softly, "My lord, please have mercy!"

"Even if I give you a chance, so what? You can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep!" Song Shuyu said with a stern face and unwavering tone.

Mu Qingcheng's eyes suddenly lit up. "My lord, I have another idea! How about I talk to Madam Liu about Liu Changqing's secret love notes? By the way, we should also share such unknown romantic affairs with Liu Pei and Liu Xiao!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Changqing's anger at Liu Xiao's injustice instantly turned into panic and shame for himself!
Liu Pei and Liu Xiao stopped crying midway through, both looking bewildered. "What hand-stamping?"

"Coroner Mu, you are despicable and shameless, and have no morals!" Liu Changqing was anxious to stop him, and his old face turned red.

Mu Qingcheng smiled and said, "Talking about morality with someone who has no morals? Liu Changqing, do you take me for a saint? You have your clever plans, and I have my countermeasures. Let's see who comes out on top!"

Liu Changqing nearly vomited a mouthful of blood, "You, you..."

Song Shuyu pondered, "Since Coroner Mu still has a trick up his sleeve, I will give him face and allow him to continue the interrogation. However, I must make this clear beforehand: if it proves ineffective, I will pronounce the verdict directly!"

"Thank you so much, sir!" Mu Qingcheng was overjoyed.

Song Shuyu reached out a hand to help Mu Qingcheng up, and then asked Lu Xun, Ji Yue and the others to return to their places.

Madam Liu was brought in in a wheelchair by the yamen runners.

The once plump and graceful Lady Liu, like a peony after wind, frost, snow and rain, withered and faded overnight.

"mother!"

"Mother, what's wrong? How come you've become so ill after just a few days?"

Liu Xiao was devastated. He rushed over, hugged Madam Liu's leg, and cried like a child.

With tears streaming down her face, Liu Pei murmured, "Mother, Mother..."

Madam Liu raised her hand to stroke Liu Xiao's head, her gaze gentle as water. "Xiao'er, I'm relieved to see you safe and sound." She then turned to Liu Pei, gently stroking his face with her other thin hand, her words filled with pity. "Pei'er, I'm deeply poisoned and won't live much longer. Don't worry about me anymore. You have a long life ahead of you. Don't talk about death until you're in dire straits. Do you understand?"

Liu Pei shook her head desperately, her eyes brimming with tears, "No, Mother, Pei'er won't let you die. You and your brother must live on!"

(End of this chapter)