Three steps to find the real murderer.
Everyone was entertained.
Let’s not talk about whether you can actually find it.
You really have to find it in three steps. How can you win people's trust if you are so careless?
Isn't this funny?
The prince is like a fish on the chopping board. I have no choice but to let you do whatever you want, but that's not the case for us!
The attendant behind Da Zongzheng carefully reminded: "Your Majesty, don't you need to stop me?"
Da Zongzheng said calmly: "How long does it take to get to the palace from here?"
The attendant was stunned and said, "It's less than half a cup of tea."
Da Zongzheng said softly: "It has been more than a cup of tea since this person came forward."
The attendant blinked his clear eyes that were not stained with too much wisdom, "Then what?"
Da Zongzheng did not speak, but looked at Xia Jingyun with a rather emotional expression. It seems that this young man's position in His Majesty's heart is very extraordinary!
Da Zongzheng didn't speak, and the others had nothing to do with the prince, so they had no choice but to let Xia Jingyun do this "nonsense".
And the people Xia Jingyun invited were an eye-opener for everyone.
Well, it was really eye-opening.
I saw an old Taoist wearing a Taoist robe and holding a fly whisk slowly walking into the field.
Although the Taoist robe he wore was old, it was completely clean, his beard and hair were all white, and his tall figure exuded an air of immortality.
"Blessings and Immeasurable Heavenly Lord! Incredible merits!"
The old Taoist shook his fly whisk and bowed, "Dear gentlemen, this poor Taoist is being polite."
Everyone looked at me, and I looked at you, with confused expressions on their faces. They didn't know what kind of trouble Xia Jingyun was trying to make.
Daxia has been a country for many years. In the early days, Emperor Wu destroyed Buddhism, so Buddhism declined throughout Daxia.
There is only one White Horse Temple in Zhongjing City, so it is run cautiously because of its high status.
When Taoism was in danger of overthrowing in Daxia decades ago, it sent disciples down the mountains to help the poor. Afterwards, the situation in Daxia stabilized, and the Taoist leaders at that time were given titles and rewards. Therefore, the status of Taoist priests in Daxia was not low. On every major event, Taoist envoys are sent to hold ceremonies.
But why would you hire a Taoist priest for such an occasion?
Leading everyone to burn incense and pray to God for an oracle?
Xia Jingyun said: "His Royal Highness, gentlemen, I met this Taoist priest by chance on the street a few days ago. As soon as he looked at me, he said that I would get the first prize this year. I knew at that time that he was an extraordinary person! "
Seeing his serious nonsense, Qin Li couldn't help but smile, while many others shook their heads helplessly, feeling that a serious public trial full of treachery, intrigues, and countless talking points was being taken away by him. The tossing turned into a farce.
Zhongshu Shilang couldn't bear it anymore and said: "Your Highness, although you are the chief judge, the court should have the order of the court. In front of so many people, you are trying such a big case as the assassination of Fengyang Gong's grandson. You are condoning this person." Such nonsense, what a shame!"
"Hey! How can you talk?"
Xia Jingyun looked displeased, "Why are you so anxious? You are the real murderer, why are you afraid of being caught? Then ask Fengyang Gong, does he want to be decent or the truth?"
The old head of the Qin family had a dark face, but still showed off his acting skills, "As long as the real murderer can be found, I can do anything. But if Mr. Xia still can't find him after such nonsense, then don't blame me, the Qin family, for remembering you. It’s a stroke of luck!”
"Listen! Duke Fengyang completely agrees!"
Xia Jingyun opened his mouth as if he didn't understand the words, and then looked at Qin Sichao, "Presumably Mr. Qin is not afraid of shadows when he is upright, so naturally he will not refuse to help find the real culprit who killed Mr. Qian, right?"
Qin Sichao smiled helplessly, "I am willing to cooperate, but Gao Yang, you should first think about how to end this matter of strange power and chaos."
"Master Qin Gaoyi!"
Xia Jingyun also pretended to be obedient and only half-listened to what was said. He gave Qin Sichao a thumbs-up, and then bowed to the Taoist priest, "Taoist priest, I hope you can help me spy on the secrets of today's matter and find out the real culprit."
"Wait!"
The British Duke suddenly said: "When I was young, I also visited Sheng, and visited many Taoist disciples. I don't know where the Taoist master was born, and what is his Taoist name?"
The old Taoist priest smiled slightly and said, "For people outside the country, what is the name of my master? But since you are asking, Pindao is one of the twelve disciples of Yuxu Palace in Kunlun Mountain. His Taoist name is Taiyi."
"Kunlun Mountain Yuxu Palace? Never heard of such a place in Dao Sect?"
"I've never heard of it, but when you hear this name, it sounds so impressive!"
"It is indeed a common name in Taoist sects. I am afraid that this Taoist master is a hermit and an expert, and he goes down the mountain to wander by chance."
The British man originally planned to wait for the old Taoist priest to tell him a place he knew, and then test it out, but he did not expect that as soon as the other party opened his mouth, he would throw out the name of Yuxu Palace in Kunlun Mountain, which he had never heard of. It didn't sound like it was false, but he had no way to refute it, so he had to shut up.
Xia Jingyun cupped his hands and said, "This matter is of great importance. You nobles are also being cautious. This is not intentional. I hope the Taoist priest will not be surprised."
The old Taoist nodded slightly and said calmly, "It's okay. Is there anyone suspected?"
Xia Jingyun said: "Right now, there are only Mr. Qin and His Highness the Crown Prince."
The old Taoist turned his palms and found that his empty palms were already holding two cotton ropes. "Then please choose one each," he said.
No one in the crowd saw how these two cotton ropes were conjured, so they couldn't help but be a little more interested in this veteran.
Regardless of anything else, it’s good to watch it for fun!
The prince glanced at Xia Jingyun. Xia Jingyun nodded slightly to him. The prince simply walked down and chose one at random, showing great cooperation.
Again, he had been forced to a dead end and had no way to retreat. There was no other way but to believe in Xia Jingyun.
The prince was like this, so Qin Sichao had no choice but to choose another one.
The old Taoist lifted up the two ropes and saw that there was a copper coin on each end of the two ropes.
He was facing south, his eyes were slightly closed, and he was mumbling words, as if he was praying, and he seemed to be asking the gods for strength.
Then he opened his eyes suddenly, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and slowly said, "The poor man will be burned with fire. If he is a murderer, the rope will be unbroken and the copper coin will not fall!"
Then he took out a fire stick and lit two ropes from the bottom in front of everyone.
When the flame met the cotton, it ignited instantly and then climbed up.
Everyone looked at the old man's hands and subconsciously became nervous, as if they were waiting for the cards to be opened in a casino.
The rope on Lao Dao's right hand suddenly couldn't withstand the fire and broke silently. The copper coin fell to the ground and made a crisp sound on the bluestone.
That is the cotton thread belonging to His Royal Highness.
The prince immediately beamed with joy!
But in Lao Dao's left hand, the cotton thread belonging to Mr. Qin kept burning no matter what.
With the current level of science and technology and public awareness, it is indeed easy for them to believe with a simple worldview that this is an instruction from heaven.
The fire on the cotton thread has gradually extinguished, but the copper coins are still hanging firmly on the cotton thread, with no signs of breaking.
The old Taoist priest turned his wrist and put away the cotton thread, "Two noble men, the result has been announced."
Qin Sichao frowned slightly, as if he was pondering the mystery.
"absurd!"
As a loyal supporter of Prime Minister Qin, the Vice Minister of Zhongshu naturally could not tolerate such a result. He immediately slapped the table and stood up, "This is just a trick, how can it be used to convict!"
The old Taoist priest glanced at him indifferently, and the aloof indifference in his eyes made Zhongshu Shilang, a high-ranking official, stunned.
"The world is stupid and it is difficult to see the secrets of heaven. It doesn't matter, since I have been entrusted by Mr. Xia, I will practice another method."
He took out a piece of yellow paper from his sleeve, held it in his hand, and walked around in front of everyone in the hall. "Everyone, please take a look, is there anything fishy about this yellow paper?"
Everyone looked at it carefully with their eyes widened, but they couldn't figure out the reason, and they all shook their heads.
The old Taoist priest placed the yellow paper in front of him and asked someone to find three sticks of incense.
He held the incense in his hand, lit it with fire, and knelt down facing south, still muttering something in his mouth, as if he was burning incense and praying to God to lend him a pair of wise eyes, so that he could see this chaos clearly and truly.
"Blessings and Immeasurable Heavenly Lord!"
After a moment, he shouted loudly and placed the burning incense in his hand on the yellow paper.
A hole was quickly burned into the yellow paper, and then slowly ignited.
But the strange thing is that the fire that should have expanded like ripples is like a reef in the water, bypassing obstacles and spreading to other burning places.
After a few breaths, a burst of exclamation suddenly sounded, causing people outside the hall to crane their necks to look.
The unburned yellow paper suddenly took on a shape.
That's the shape of a word.
That character is written: Qin.
No one knows why this is, no one knows if this is the apocalypse. They only know that this is a result beyond their knowledge. This is like a scene of God's decree, clearly identifying Mr. Qin as the murderer of Mr. Qian. !
This situation is fatally convincing to those who still believe in the prophecies of ghosts and gods.
The Vice Minister of Zhongshu was also shocked. If it was once, it would be considered a coincidence, but what about twice?
Can you still say it is meaningless?
Eyes fell on Qin Sichao. He had been as still as a mountain. At this moment, his eyebrows were furrowed and he was staring at the word "Qin" on the ground that was swaying in the gentle spring breeze.
It seemed as if he didn't understand how the other party did it, and he seemed to be thinking about how to break the situation.
At this moment, Xia Jingyun took the initiative to speak.
"Taoist Priest, it is said that things only come in threes. If we want to truly win people's trust, we'd better come three times. After three times, if the results are the same, no one will have any objections."
The old Taoist priest raised his eyebrows and said, "Mr. Have you thought carefully about taking action again?"
Xia Jingyun had a serious look on his face, "For the sake of fairness, for justice, for the sake of comforting the souls of the dead, and for the purpose of apprehending the real culprit, I don't have to worry about any calculations in the future! I just want the light of the right path to shine on the earth!"
"In the death of Mr. Qian, I was a suspect at first, then the prince was suspected, and now Mr. Qin is suspected again. The first time he cleared my name, the second time it was the prince Zhaoxue, and the third time if he was indeed not Mr. Qin, he asked the Taoist priest Return Mr. Qin’s innocence!”
His words made many people shake their minds and couldn't help but think highly of him in their hearts.
Those who are really powerful and knowledgeable, such as King Qi, the old family leader of Qin, and the British Duke, naturally do not believe this nonsense, but they have to admit that on such an occasion, with such a free and easy posture in front of everyone, they have already He has the demeanor of a big-timer.
"Hahahaha, fate comes and goes, gathering and dispersing are uncertain. I have already predicted that you will have such a request!"
The old Taoist priest twirled his beard and smiled calmly, "Qingfeng, Mingyue! Bring the things up!"
As soon as the words fell, two Taoist boys aged 12 or 13 came up from outside the hall, each carrying a tray. There was something like a box on the tray, which was covered with red cloth so that no one could see what was inside.
The old Taoist priest asked someone to place a table in the middle of the hall, then put down the two trays, took out a small bottle from his sleeve, and said to everyone: "This is unique to my Yuxu Palace, and the head master personally refined it." The pure glazed mother bottle, the same bottle, is placed in each of these two boxes. This is the mother bottle, and those two are child bottles. Next, the old Taoist will use my Yuxu Palace secret method to practice. Please ask me later. You two gentlemen, please put your hands into the unsealed side of the box, just hold it once and touch the bottle, and the murderer's hand will immediately turn bright red."
As he spoke, he held the bottle in both hands, knelt on the ground, and muttered as before.
After chanting for a while, he suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Two noble ladies, please hold the bottle!"
Everyone looked at the prince and Qin Sichao.
The prince hesitated for a moment, and with the confidence given to him by the first two levels, he put his hand into the box.
Qin Sichao pursed his lips and put his hand in as well.
The old Taoist priest waited for a moment and then said: "You two nobles, please stop your hands and show your palms!"
The two of them withdrew their hands at the same time and showed their palms to everyone.
There was a buzz and discussion immediately started.
Because Qin Sichao, who had been convicted of murder twice before, had clean palms, but His Highness the Crown Prince, who was about to clear his grievances, had bright red palms!
The prince also noticed something was wrong in everyone's eyes. He turned his palm and looked at it. He was dumbfounded and subconsciously shouted: "Xia Jingyun, what's going on?"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
The Minister of Zhongshu finally found an opportunity and got over the shock in his heart, "Taoist Master Taiyi, can your family's Tianqi be different?"
Everyone was also talking a lot, looking at this immortal Taoist priest, their eyes were no longer in awe, but full of suspicion.
King Qi shook his head. Just now he thought there was something special about this young man, but who knew he would cause such a farce? I should have known that he should have been stopped just now, and they should not have been allowed to act like this.
The British man had a sneer on his face. Now he would be extremely happy with any scene that could make Xia Jingyun embarrassed.
As soon as this result came out, the prince was knocked down again, and Xia Jingyun's reputation was also discredited. It was like buying one, getting one free, wonderful!
The old head of the Qin family thought to himself that it was a waste of time. He was still young after all, but he was on Xia Jingyun's side, so he had no way to enjoy himself, so he had to continue to use his acting skills. He said with a puzzled and confused look on his face: "Mr. Xia, What's going on? Why are the results different again!"
The Minister of Punishment snorted, "Mr. Fengyang, do you need to say this? This immortal master who claims to be the Yuxu Palace in Kunlun Mountain is actually a wandering Taoist priest who cheated and kidnapped him. The bottle was put upside down and it was ruined. ! It’s ridiculous that we, such a large group of important officials in the court, are still accompanying him here like fools!"
Only the leader of the Black Ice Platform looked at Xia Jingyun hesitantly. Judging from the information he received, this young man had always done things step by step and was extremely experienced. How could such a mistake happen?
He looked at the old Taoist priest again and found that he also looked calm and not at all panicked. Could there be something fishy?
Gradually, these human spirits calmed down from their initial ridicule and surprise, because they also discovered that Xia Jingyun and the old Taoist priest were both strangely calm.
At this moment, Xia Jingyun finally spoke.
He looked at Mr. Qin and said, "Mr. Qin, I have to say that you are really smart. Unfortunately, you are not as smart as me."
He looked at everyone, "The reason why there will be a different result this time than before is because"
He reached out suddenly, pulled the red cloth covering the boxes, and threw the two boxes on the ground, revealing the true contents inside the tray.
"Because the two bottles inside have been covered with a layer of cinnabar by me! As long as you hold them, your hands will turn red! No exception!"
As he spoke, he held the bottle that Qin Sichao was supposed to be holding, and then let go and opened his hand to everyone, revealing the same bright red palm, and then looked at Qin Sichao, "Master Qin, I want to ask, why didn't you dare Are you going to hold the bottle? Are you afraid that the identity of your real murderer will be discovered?"
Qin Sichao, who had always been calm and calm, finally changed his expression. He suddenly realized that he had fallen into Xia Jingyun's trap!
The attendant beside King Qi whispered: "Your Majesty, does this mean anything?"
King Qi looked at Xia Jingyun with a completely different look than before, full of appreciation and admiration, and said leisurely: "This means four words: guilty conscience."
He twisted his beard and sighed, "All the dramas before this are just for this last moment. At such a young age, my grasp of people's hearts has reached such an extent. The next generation is to be feared, and the next generation is to be feared!"
The leader of the Black Ice Platform also had a feeling in his heart that it was indeed the case. Xia Jingyun's plan was indeed the same, always causing thunder in the plains, making it difficult for people to guard against it.
This last trick is actually not complicated at all. It can even be said to be cliché. If it were used directly, it would be impossible for a smart person like Qin Sichao to be fooled.
But the ingenuity of Xia Jingyun's design was that he used two feints in the front.
These two false moves seemed useless, but cumulatively, they put tremendous pressure on the real murderer, making him afraid to actually touch the bottle, making this common move suddenly become brilliant. , became a real killer move.
And something like this is enough to convince everyone.
At this time, the old Taoist priest waved his whisk and said leisurely: "The first two times were indeed the secrets requested by the poor Taoist, but this last time, they were just cooperating with Mr. Xia."
The prince also suddenly realized that his mood was rising and falling like a roller coaster, climbing from the bottom to the top again.
He laughed complacently, and said with a bit of boastfulness: "Gu Xingde sat upright and knew that he was not the real murderer, so he dared to hold the bottle for real, and was not afraid of the test. But some real murderers have a guilty conscience and committed the crime twice before." Under the miracle, I didn’t dare to gamble, so I had to pretend to reach out, but actually I didn’t dare to hold it! Therefore, the red hands are innocent, and the palms are innocent, but the hands are stained with real blood!”
He looked at Xia Jingyun with admiration, "Xia Gaoyang! You are so capable and thoughtful!"
Xia Jingyun was neither happy nor angry, and looked at Qin Sichao, "Master Qin, the matter has come to this, what else can you say?"
Qin Sichao slowly adjusted his mood, "I just don't want to be manipulated by this wandering Taoist and touch the bottle. Are you planning to convict me of this?"
Qin Sichao's words were just like the prince's previous self-defense, which seemed feeble and unconvincing.
But just like Xia Jingyun's rebuttal at the time, if you say this thing can convict, no one can really say anything, but if you say it can't convict, it does lack some key evidence.
As long as you hold on to it, there's really not much to say.
Therefore, after a moment of panic, Qin Sichao immediately adjusted his mood, saw the same loopholes, and decided to resist.
"Master Qin is worthy of being a dragon or a phoenix among men. At this time, he can still have such a strong state of mind."
Xia Jingyun smiled, "What a pity, I do have evidence!"
"You are very skillful in controlling your subordinates. You can get people to risk their lives for you, which makes the investigation of the case difficult. At the same time, you also rely on His Highness the Crown Prince's plot to plot against the Qin family, and you act in hiding, making it even more difficult to prevent, but!"
He looked at Qin Sichao and said, "There is a fatal omission in this, that is, these people under your command are not saints. They also have emotions and desires. They are willing to die for you. You must have helped them settle down their families so that they have nothing to worry about. worry."
"The Criminal Department, Heibingtai, Jingzhao Mansion, there are many experts in investigating crimes. They will naturally know to check the families of these people, but without exception, they found that these people have no family members, right?"
The leader of Heibingtai and Jing Zhaoyin both nodded. The Minister of Punishment remained tense and motionless, but Xia Jingyun did not pay attention to him. Instead, he continued: "The Third Division has many cases to investigate and there are many clues. You threw them out in time." There were clues that led them to the prince, so they didn't dig deeper. But unfortunately, I was imprisoned in the Black Ice Platform, and the people under me were willing to work hard to help me investigate. They also We really found something.”
"The owner of Fenghe Palace came to Beijing eight years ago, married a wife and had children. However, a year ago, the husband and wife turned against each other, and the wife took the children away and disappeared."
"That horseman has been with the Qin family for several years and has a wife and children. However, more than a year ago, because he took a new concubine, the couple turned against each other and his wife and children ran away without a trace."
"But my people found their whereabouts. They are now living in a remote village more than 40 miles outside the city. The village is hidden and far away from many important roads. It seems to be isolated from the world. This is the retirement home that the housekeeper of the Prime Minister’s Mansion has prepared for himself!”
"I believe that as long as we send someone to arrest him and interrogate him, the truth will come out in less than a day! Mr. Qin, do you still want to gamble?"
As soon as the words fell, the whole place was in an uproar.
Compared with the previous things, this evidence is the most direct!
If the groom's relatives are all adopted by the Qin family, then who does the groom take orders from? Who needs to say more?
You, the Qin family, can quibble and say that it was the steward's own behavior and has nothing to do with me, but do you think that your majesty and all the princes in the court are fools?
Combined with all the signs just now, everyone is almost certain that the mastermind behind the assassination of Qin Yuwen of the Qin family was the prime minister's son who had the same surname as the Qin family and had stayed out of the matter at first.
The leader of the Black Ice Platform silently lowered his head. With the all-pervasive intelligence network of the Black Ice Platform, he actually knew some clues, but he couldn't say it and didn't dare to say it.
Because speaking out is not necessarily a good thing.
Because His Majesty hoped that the prince would be overthrown, and such a case might not be able to bring down Prime Minister Qin, so he made his choice.
But he didn't expect that Xia Jingyun could find out such a secret and push it out so confidently. He was a little curious about how this matter would develop.
The same judgment also emerged in the British public's mind.
Now that things have developed to this point, the identity of Qin Sichao's real murderer has almost become clear.
But is this enough?
This crime was able to bring down the prince, because behind the scenes, there was His Majesty who wanted to use it as an excuse to depose the prince.
But will Your Majesty ask Prime Minister Qin to step down because of such a thing?
After all, it can be said that Prime Minister Qin did not know about this matter, and his son did something wrong, and then he was punished with three drinks of wine for the crime of dereliction of discipline.
Are there not many such things in history?
What's more, if His Majesty removes the Prime Minister of Qin in a hurry without a suitable replacement, the court situation that he has carefully built will be destroyed in one day!
Therefore, the British public gradually came to a conclusion, and he decided to give it a try!
Speak for Qin Sichao, save Qin Sichao, and do a huge favor to Prime Minister Qin, and then pave the way for wooing him in the future.
But things in the world are often like this. If you think well, you will fail in the first step.
When Britain spoke openly, he spoke out for Qin Sichao: "I think what happened today is that the public is justified and the mother-in-law is justified. It is better to report it back to Your Majesty and wait for another day to try again."
But as soon as he finished speaking, Xia Jingyun turned his head and looked at him with electric eyes, "Mr. British, don't you want to know how Lu Fengyuan, the most outstanding heir in the next generation of your Lu family, died?"
The British public was stunned when he heard this.
Qin Sichao's expression suddenly changed.
"It is true that the person who killed him in the street was Mr. Yuhu. But it was him who instigated him and Concubine Shu to participate in the Zheng family's rebellion!"
Xia Jingyun stretched out his finger and pointed straight at Qin Sichao.
"This is the Prime Minister's son who is hiding behind his back to stir up trouble! This is the man behind the Sishui Prefecture rebellion!"
The whole hall suddenly became quiet.
Big chapter! or2
(End of chapter)
