A female coroner arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Chapter 329 Corpse Hidden in Wine Jar (9)

The emperor stood with his hands behind his back, his tone indifferent, "What you meant by your last sentence was..."

“Your Majesty, a single jade peace pendant is insufficient to identify the true culprit. At present, it can only be considered a clue, and the possibility of framing cannot be ruled out.” Mu Qingcheng was not intentionally biased towards Song Shuyu, but rather speaking truthfully from a professional perspective of investigation, “Criminal cases require a comprehensive determination of the murderer through autopsy, trace evidence examination, a closed chain of evidence, witness testimonies, and many other aspects, rather than a single piece of physical evidence.”

The Empress Dowager gave a cold laugh. "Emperor, since this murder case involves Song Shuyu, as Song Shuyu's subordinate, according to the law, Mu Qingcheng should recuse himself and not participate in the investigation or autopsy, right?"

"Your Majesty's words are quite right." The Emperor nodded slightly, his cold gaze sweeping over the assembled officials. "This matter involves Song Shuyu, the Prefect of the Capital, and is no small matter. The truth must be uncovered to uphold the integrity of the law! Zhou Chun, issue an edict summoning Qin Songyang, the Minister of Justice, Lu Xun, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, and Ji Yue, the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, to come here immediately!"

"Yes!"

Zhou Chun agreed and immediately sent people to the three judicial offices to convey the imperial decree.

Today's farewell banquet was a busy affair for the three judicial departments. Apart from Liang Ruoming, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, who attended the banquet, everyone else had taken leave.

Upon hearing the emperor's decree, an unnatural expression flashed across Liang Ruoming's face, and his gaze kept glancing at Song Shuyu, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Guo Xuan began another round of sorrowful weeping, so sincere and heart-wrenching that it touched the hearts of the women watching, who softened and their eyes reddened, momentarily forgetting the disgusting smell of drinking corpse wine.

With the Empress Dowager watching, Mu Qingcheng could no longer move the corpse, lest she violate the rule of avoiding suspicion and become even more passive. She could only observe the condition of the corpse's head, face, neck, and hands with her eyes and memorize it.

The three judicial offices arrived quickly; the eunuch delivering the imperial edict had already explained the situation on the way. The three men came to see the emperor with solemn expressions. The emperor's indifferent face showed no sign of anger or disappointment. He simply calmly issued an edict: "This case will be jointly investigated by the three judicial offices. Song Shuyu, the Prefect of the Capital, will be suspended from his duties and stay at home to cooperate with the three judicial offices in the investigation. He shall not leave the capital until the truth is clear. The administrative affairs of the Capital Prefecture will be temporarily handled by Xu Chunshan, the Junior Prefect of the Capital."

"Your Majesty, Song Shuyu is a murder suspect. How can he be released back to his residence?" Guo Xuan questioned, banging his head hard on the ground. "I beg Your Majesty to reconsider!"

The emperor glanced at Guo Xuan and asked, "Minister Qin, tell me, according to the law, how should this be dealt with?"

"Your Majesty, we currently only have the jade peace pendant as physical evidence, and Song Shuyu has given a different account. Given the insufficient evidence, the Ministry of Justice can summon Song Shuyu for questioning at any time without detaining him," Qin Songyang replied matter-of-factly.

Guo Xuan suddenly remembered something and exclaimed, "No, that's not right! Just now, Master Mu said that my daughter's time of death was within an hour, which is since the start of the banquet. I remember that Song Shuyu left for a long time in the middle of the banquet. He could have changed his clothes in the side hall next door. Why did he take so long?"

“During that period of time, I, I met Lord Song…” Liang Ruoming’s voice was very soft, but it sounded quite abrupt among the quiet officials.

Everyone's spirits were lifted!
The emperor gave Qin Songyang a look.

Qin Songyang immediately asked, "Where have we met? With whom, where, and what happened?"

(End of this chapter)