Rebirth of the Tang Dynasty's strongest consort

Chapter 318
Changsun Wuji stared at the three characters "Fang Yiai" written in a thin gold script for a long time, seeing the proficiency in the handwriting, he was startled for a moment, then a strange look burst out of his eyes.

"Housekeeper! Go and find out the humble room inscription written by He Zudao himself, which was sent by the left servant of the Ministry of Officials!"

After ordering the housekeeper to find the authentic work of "He Zudao", Changsun Wuji held the life and death document in one hand and the mounted "Humble Room Inscription" in the other, and compared the two sides carefully with squinted eyes.

After pondering for a while, Changsun Wuji's mouth turned sly, and he muttered: "Fang Jun and He Zudao's handwriting are exactly the same!"

After some thought, Changsun Wuji collected the documents of life and death and the inscriptions of the humble chambers, sealed the ranks of the military examinations and the records of the case with yellow wax, and sent officials to the Daming Palace.

Changsun Wuji got up and looked out the window, the seeds of doubt took root in his heart, thinking that Fang Jun might be He Zudao, the uncle Guo's eyes were full of complacency, "Fang Jun, you and He Zudao are not the same. Just one person, if only one person! The correctional room and Qin's family will kill you!"

Just when Changsun Wuji was secretly complacent, the messenger from the procuratorate knocked on the door, cupped his hands and said, "Prime Minister, Ma Yushi invites you to the procuratorate, saying that Wu Zuo has found the cause of Xiao Rui's death."

Knowing that the cause of Xiao Rui's death had been found out, Changsun Wuji's eyes raised a trace of trepidation, "Okay! Take a two-pronged approach, discipline Fang Jun or He Zudao whether there is death or not!"

Changsun Wuji came to the procuratorate's office, and as soon as he entered the door, he saw Ma Zhou sitting beside him drinking tea with his head bowed.

"Master Ma, what did Wu Zuo say? Why did Xiao Rui die?"

The tone was full of anticipation and asked Ma Zhou, but what Ma Zhou used to reply to Changsun Wuji was a bucket of cold water.

Ma Zhou put down the teacup in his hand, caressed his long beard under his chin, and said in a low voice, "I have done an autopsy, and Xiao Rui died of the plague."

It's not that Ma Zhou was disappointed by Xiao Rui's death. At this moment, he is completely immersed in Xie Yaohuan's identity. When he thinks that Xie Shutong, who is disguised as a man, is the confidant of Empress Changsun, Ma Zhou, who is the supervisory censor, feels a little inexplicably. Anxious, he vaguely realized that the case of Xiao Rui's sudden death might involve the mother of the East Palace, or Qin Qiong. Anyway, this matter is definitely not as simple as it seems on the surface.

When Changsun Wuji learned of Xiao Rui's cause of death, he couldn't help but feel very disappointed, "Plague? He was bitten by a mouse? Where is Wu Zuo?!"

After summoning Wu Zuo, Changsun Wuji held a trace of luck, and asked coldly, "I ask you, did Xiao Rui die from the plague?"

"As far as the presiding judge is concerned, Concubine Xiao did indeed die of blood fever caused by the plague, but" Wu Zuo hesitated to speak halfway through his words, but his eldest grandson Wuji who was sitting on the side was anxious.

"Just what! Say it!"

"It's just that Consort Xiao was imprisoned for less than three days. Judging from the usual deaths from the plague, his onset time was much earlier."

"Furthermore, Concubine Xiao is under special supervision in the prison. In the confessions of the jailer and the cell boss, he did not mention that Concubine Xiao once said that he had a high fever again. I think the high fever persisted when the plague blood fever first broke out."

After Changsun Wuji found a breakthrough from Wu Zuo, he raised his hand and interrupted Wu Zuo, "According to what you said, Xiao Rui's death is a bit strange?"

Although Wu Zuo is just a low-level official, he also knows that the royal family and nobles are involved in this case, so he is naturally cautious when speaking, "It is absolutely true that Concubine Xiao died of the plague, but the onset was too sudden and there was no warning. , which is a bit strange."

Wu Zuo's ambiguous words were enough for the eldest grandson Wuji who wanted to find out the wrongs, "Okay, you go to the concubine's place to sign and sign. You have worked hard on this matter. I have ten taels of gold here. You go get a drink!"

Changsun Wuji took out an ingot of horseshoe gold from his waist, put his hand on the table, and said to Ma Zhou, "Master Ma, let's go to the back hall to discuss this matter."

After finishing speaking, Changsun Wuji walked out of the room quickly. He was born in a noble family and he was a bit of a cleanser, so he didn't want to stay in the place where dead bodies were parked and full of strange smells.

The two came to the back hall one after another, sat on the principal and deputy seats, first held tea and sipped tea, and were silent for a while, and the two who had their own concerns did not exchange a word.

In the end, Ma Zhou was the first to break the deadlock, and asked with some hesitation, "Did the prime minister arrest Xie Zhongju into the Procuratorate?"

"Xie Zhongju? Oh, Mr. Ma is talking about He Zudao's school boy, right?" Changsun Wuji said leisurely after putting down the teacup, "That's right, that little book boy's bones are very hard. I used all the sticks and sticks. But he still wouldn't let go."

Ma Zhou had seen the tragic situation of Xie Zhongju after being tortured before, and he wanted to explain Xie Zhongju's true identity to his grandson Wuji, but he was afraid that this uncle Guo, who had a long-standing enmity with "He Zudao", would take the opportunity to make trouble. After thinking about it, Still keep this matter in the bottom of my heart.

Changsun Wuji saw that Ma Zhou was hesitant, and he didn't respond for a while, so he continued: "Tomorrow, I will let Xiao Rui die violently. On the night, the imperial guards who were on duty in the cell came to identify him. Forgive him for not escaping justice!"

"To be honest, Xie Zhongju was mentioned in prison before I was dismissed from office, but he is very similar to the person in the portrait." Ma Zhou thought about the pros and cons. Attitude, I still mentioned the most crucial detail, which is also the detail that Changsun Wuji cares about most but has temporarily forgotten, "According to the confession of the imperial guards, two people disguised themselves as internal courtiers and entered the prison on the night of Xiao Rui's sudden death. Only Xie Zhongju was brought to justice, but the other was never found."

Changsun Wuji was preoccupied with thinking about the connection between Fang Jun and "He Zudao" before, but was suddenly reminded by Ma Yiyi, and he couldn't help calling out to the sky to open his eyes, "Another person? Right now, the Holy Majesty is furious because of Xiao Rui's sudden death. Why don't we?" Let Xie Zhongju be interrogated now, and the real evidence is placed in front of him, so there is no fear of his sophistry!"

"This." After a little hesitation, Ma Zhou thought of Tang Taizong's attitude when he gave the oral order before, and then nodded in response, "Okay, my officer will order the yamen servant to be promoted to the prison, and Xie Zhongju to be transferred to the prison."

Xie Zhongju was carried by the yamen servants to the lobby, looked up and saw Changsun Wuji and Ma Tuesday sitting in the hall with crowns and belts, knowing that the two of them wanted to name their accomplices, Xie Zhongju gritted his teeth again, and even did a good job Mentally prepared to be crippled under heavy punishment.

A gavel resounded in the lobby of the procuratorate. The eldest grandson Wuji was sitting on the seat, looking at the haggard Xie Zhongju, and said coldly: "Xie Zhongju, now he has been arrested by Huaying Graphics, don't you still want to make excuses? Say you Your accomplice, I can punish you lightly!"

Seeing that Changsun Wuji came to threaten him and say that "He Zudao" is an accomplice, Xie Zhongju snorted coldly, but he was not willing to do what he wanted.

Seeing that Xie Zhongju bowed his head again and remained silent, Changsun Wuji wanted to execute the sentence, but he remembered the little book boy's attitude of preferring death to surrender, knowing that using the shovel and the stick would not help him, so he couldn't help but make trouble.

The eldest grandson Wuji has been walking in Shangshu Province for many years, and he is a good hand at reviewing official documents, but when it comes to going to court for interrogation, it is still a new daughter-in-law getting on the sedan chair-the first time.

Just when Changsun Wuji was secretly worried about this matter, a petty servant flashed out from the side, and walked up to Changsun Wuji with his robes lifted, and only murmured a few words in his ear, saying that the uncle Grandpa smiled and nodded to him in praise.

Ma Zhou was sitting on the vice seat, looking at the subordinate official with a flattering expression, he couldn't help frowning slightly. He also knew this subordinate official. How about it, but the tricks used to torture people are surprisingly many. Two years ago, Liu Wenjing's two sons intended to rebel, and he was the one who gave the painting a confession under heavy punishment.

Changsun Wuji was reminded by Cai Shaobing, after a few sneers, he slapped the gavel and said, "Come on! Tell him to taste it."

In the middle of speaking, the eldest Sun Wuji, who was only interested in being happy, forgot what Cai Shaobing said before. After some thoughts to no avail, he simply winked at Cai Shaobing and signaled him to guide the yamen servants to punish Xie Zhong.

Cai Shaobing cleared his throat, straightened his waist, and pointed to Xie Zhongju in a somewhat aggressive manner, "Come on, go get the heavy shackles! Let the jade girl climb the ladder, the fairy offer fruit, the phoenix spread its wings, and the ape wear a crown!" Make it out, let him taste it one by one!"

Hearing the four tortures mentioned by Cai Shaobing, Ma Zhou's face changed drastically. Having worked with this cruel official for several years, he naturally knew the severity of these four punishments. Looking at Xie Zhongju, there was a bit of sympathy in his eyes In his opinion, it is absolutely impossible for Xie Zhongju, a female classmate, to escape under these four severe punishments. When she is punished, she will probably reveal her accomplices, and until now Ma Zhou also secretly believes, "Why not?" "Zu Dao" has already visited relatives and returned home, and the other person who went to visit Xiao Rui in the prison last night is very likely to be his congenial young friend!

(End of this chapter)