Lu Wenzheng has been working hard on the case between the soul and Yuan Zhen these days.
Since that day when Ding Mengxuan testified against his soul in Ding's house, his soul had no intention of making excuses anymore.
What's more, at this time, Ling Yun, Yuan Ping, Yang Zhen and others found a lot of evidence in Qingyun Temple; Mr. Xu Zhi also carefully investigated and studied the origin and life experience of the soul. It can be said that the evidence is conclusive and ironclad.
At this time, Yuan Zhen and Xin Xin only felt that they were at the end of their road and speechless.
Yuan Zhen and Xin were both able to take things and let them go, and they confessed to the crimes they committed: the kidnapping of Ms. Ding was indeed planned by the two of them.
Taoist Priest Yuan Zhen said: "The person I really have an enmity with is the Marquis He Yuting. In order to retaliate against him, I kept my name anonymous. It can be said that I have been waiting for twenty years.
"Finally, the opportunity came. Ever since Ding Jiwu, the eldest son of the Ding Mansion, asked me to treat Miss Ding, I realized this.
"I know very well about He Yuting's interpersonal relationships. I know that he and Ding Jinzhi are related to each other. If I kidnap his future daughter-in-law and use it to blackmail him, it should be effective.
"In order to achieve our goal, we lured Miss Ding and others to the Immortal Bathing Pond. We kept the guards of the Ding Mansion away from her, and we chose to take action when the sun was setting and everyone was relaxed.
"Everything was going very smoothly, but unexpectedly, Cheng Yaojin suddenly appeared at the banquet, an assassin disrupted the situation...
"Because it was not Shen Shizheng at the time, I expected that Haier might not be able to act as scheduled, so I already guessed that it would be difficult to succeed; and then I received a letter from Haier."
The spiritual interface said: "Father won't let me take risks, but I am very energetic and unwilling to ruin the plan I have painstakingly planned. So the second time I kidnapped Miss Ding and threatened Xiang Luo was all my idea; it doesn't matter. About my father."
He glanced at Ling Yun again and said: "As for what happened next, there is the testimony of Commander Ling and Miss Ding, so there is no need for me to be wordy."
Lu Wenzheng said: "Now I want to ask, why do you have any grudge against He Yuting, and why do you want to take such painstaking efforts to avenge him?"
Yuan Zhen felt sad for a while and said with grief and anger: "The hatred for killing my father and the hatred for taking away my wife. If it weren't for him, my family would not be ruined!..."
"how do I say this?"
Yuan Zhen sighed and said: "My family is unfortunate... Please don't ask Mr. Lu anymore."
Lu Wenzheng said: "You don't have to be secretive. We have already found out about the origin and life experience of the Taoist Priest. The Taoist Priest's original surname is Du, and his wife is Ge. She was the wet nurse of Mr. He in the Prince Consort's mansion, right?"
Yuan Zhen was stunned at first, and then smiled bitterly: "That's right. In this case, Mr. Lu must also know about the scandalous behavior of that bitch and He Yuting, right?
"At that time, I divorced her in anger, and the despicable prince-in-law later expelled her. She was desperate, so she felt revenge and ran away with the eldest son of the prince-in-law, He Chenglin.
"The prince-in-law lost his son, and it was like the sky fell and the earth collapsed. He Yuting became so angry that he ordered his minions to break into my home and torture me to extract a confession.
"My old father who was bedridden was frightened and died of illness; I couldn't bear the torture, and I took my four-year-old son through hardships to escape from the tiger's mouth..."
Thinking back to the unbearable past events, Yuan Zhen felt like a dull knife was stabbing his heart inch by inch, making him breathless in pain.
Lu Wenzheng asked: "So, the soul in front of you is your biological son Du Zhenghai?"
Yuan Zhen said: "Yes. Now that everything is clear, Pindao makes a request to you before your judgment:
"This case was all planned by Pindao, and I should be considered the mastermind; Haier just acted according to my wishes, and Xintong and others had nothing to do with this case. I beg you, Sir, to sentence Pindao severely and let them go..."
Lu Wenzheng didn't wait for Yuan Zhen to finish speaking, and already said: "Let's hear the verdict:
"Although Yuan Zhen and Xin Xin hijacked the official's family members, one of them failed to hijack; the other two happened for a reason and were pitiful; and they had a good attitude towards pleading guilty. Based on the principle of lenient punishment, Yuan Zhen is now sentenced to five years' hard labor. Four years in the heart, and one year in prison for Xintong and others involved in harboring the suspect. Can you be convinced?"
Everyone burst into tears of gratitude and kowtowed repeatedly. Because before this, Yuan Zhen and others thought they would die.
Just before Lu Wenzheng was about to give the order to retreat, the guard guarding the door came in and reported: "Your Majesty, Lord He is arriving outside!"
Everyone was shocked; Yuan Zhen's heart sank suddenly, and he was wondering if he was overjoyed just now.
At this time, He Yuting, surrounded by his family, came to the hall in a swaggering manner.
Although Lu Wenzheng didn't welcome him from the bottom of his heart, he had to stand up to greet him and asked him to sit down.
He Yuting said: "No need. I am here to listen to the court. I wonder what sentence Mr. Lu will give to these prisoners?"
Lu Wenzheng turned to Xu Zhi and said: "Mr. Xu, please give the verdict just now to the Marquis for his review."
He Yuting took the verdict and browsed through its lines.
At this time, Ling Yun noticed that in addition to He Luwei, the housekeeper of He Mansion, and several close martial arts family members who came with He Yuting, there was another person who was particularly eye-catching.
Jiang Chun, the martial artist of Ding Mansion. His face was as dark as water, and his eyes were flickering, making people a little confused.
After reading the verdict, He Yuting said: "Master Lu, is this how you judge these criminals?"
Lu Wenzheng said: "This government acts according to the rules and makes judgments according to the law. I wonder what the Marquis thinks is inappropriate?"
He Yuting said: "If the sentence is based on these crimes, of course I have no objection. It's just that Mr. Lu has not fully examined the criminal's crimes, right?"
Lu Wenzheng said: "I don't understand what the Marquis means."
He Yuting said: "The criminal also committed other crimes."
Lu Wenzheng said: "Where is the evidence?"
He Yuting said: "When Miss Ding was kidnapped that day, Taoist Priest Yuan Zhen was drinking with the two young masters of the Ding family. Moreover, an assassin appeared at this time and disrupted the situation - does Mr. Lu think this is suspicious?"
Lu Wenzheng said: "Master He, are you saying that the murderer of the eldest son of the Ding family has not been found? Lord, please be patient. The next step of our government is to concentrate all our efforts on investigating this matter."
He Yuting said: "The murderer is right in front of us, why should we investigate?"
He pointed at Yuan Zhen and his son and said, "What happened that day was clearly planned by them: Yuan Zhen dragged the young master of the Ding family back, and arranged for assassins to kill people to mess up the situation; while letting the mind commit murder and rob people - isn't this Is it a matter of public opinion?"
The soul said angrily: "How can there be such a thing?"
Lu Wenzheng said: "Where is the evidence that the Marquis said so?"
He Yuting said: "Jiang Chun, weren't you also present at the time and hunted down the assassin personally? Please tell me what happened that day."
Jiang Chun said expressionlessly: "At that time, the assassin suddenly appeared, fled after assassinating Master Ding, and went to pursue him. One of the assassins resisted stubbornly, and was dying when they were captured. Before he died, he confessed that he was a member of the Tianxiao organization. , appointed by Taoist Priest Yuan Zhen."
Yuan Zhen shouted: "No, he is just talking nonsense. Pindao has nothing to do with the Tianxiao organization at all!"
He Yuting said: "Now that the evidence is conclusive, why are you still trying to quibble? Master Lu, hasn't it been proven now that Yuan Zhen, the evil spirit, was indeed organized by Tian Xiao! He assassinated Mr. Ding and kidnapped Miss Ding. Such a crime can be said to be This heinous crime deserves death!"
Yuan Zhen repeatedly cried out that he was wronged.
He cursed loudly in his heart: "He Yuting, you are despicable and shameless! In order to cover up your despicable deeds twenty years ago, you resorted to such despicable methods. Don't you just want to kill people and silence them? You..."
He Yuting shouted: "Palm mouth!"
The servant of the He Mansion stepped forward and raised his hand to strike, but was stopped by Ling Yun's move of Bai Hong Jing Tian, chopping his hand.
He Yuting felt uncomfortable as soon as he saw Ling Yun, "Ling Yun, what do you want to do?"
Lu Wenzheng said: "Master Marquis, how can we abuse lynching in the lobby? How to deal with the prisoners is the responsibility of this government, so I won't bother you, sir."
He Yuting said: "Then I ask you, how to judge a group of prisoners?"
Lu Wenzheng said decisively: "The original verdict is upheld!"
He Yuting said angrily: "What?"
Lu Wenzheng said: "Although Jiang Chun testified that the assassins had confessed that Yuan Zhen and his son were members of the Tianxiao organization, his one-sided statement is not enough to be accepted.
"Besides, all the people involved in the assassination died from the hibiscus flower poison organized by Tianxiao. The evidence has been destroyed. No conclusion can be drawn before new evidence is found; therefore, this government can only uphold the original verdict."
When He Yuting saw this, he became furious and said: "What a wise man, Mr. Lu. Farewell!"
He walked away with his men. Leaving everyone confused and suspicious.
When everyone's doubts were finally dispelled and they were ready to stick to their principles and fight to the bitter end, suddenly the palace's father-in-law Feng Lin came to Lu Mansion with several palace officials, took out the imperial edict and read aloud:
"In accordance with the destiny of heaven, the emperor called and said:
It is now discovered that Qingyun Guan Yuanzhen and his gang have colluded with Jianghu bandit-like Tianxiao organization to plot evil, assassinate court officials, kidnap courtiers and their families, and injure people fatally. Their crimes are extremely heinous, and they are hereby sentenced to:
1. Sealed the Qingyun Temple, captured all the gangsters, and turned them into official slaves;
2. The bandit leaders Yuan Zhen and Xinzhen will be beheaded outside the Wuchao Gate tomorrow to show the public, so as to set the record straight and not to cause any delay. Admire this! "
Everyone's heart dropped, and they had no choice but to kowtow and accept the order, thanking the Lord Long for his kindness.
Ling Yun felt very uncomfortable. what is this? Only now did he truly appreciate the power of He Yuting.
He won't reason with you at all. With just a few words of flattery and seduction, you can win the decree and arrangement of all rights and wrongs.
Arrange the fate and stay of the people he wants to arrange as he pleases. Still the heart scolded me happily: extremely despicable and shameless.
He was so angry that he forgot to kowtow and thank him. Seeing that he was losing his temper, Xu Zhi stabbed him.
Eunuch Feng left, and everyone was aggrieved. Everyone was scolding He Yuting, and everyone was helpless.
Master Lu then decided to meet him in person, hoping that the Holy Emperor would take back his orders.
Although everyone feels that there is little hope, the Holy Master is the king of a country, the true dragon emperor, and his words are true. How can he take back his words? But Lu Wenzheng still went with a glimmer of hope.
The emperor, together with the thirteen-year-old prince Zhao Ting, was questioning the prince on the Four Books and Five Classics. He was getting up, and he was very disappointed when he saw Lu Wenzheng coming.
He listened patiently to Lu Wenzheng's explanation, and said a little impatiently: "He Aiqing has explained this to me clearly. Since Yuan Zhen is a gangster, how can he let it go? You don't have to excuse him, I mean You can't change your decision, just do it according to your will."
Lu Wenzheng said: "It's not that I am excusing Yuan Zhen, but that he was indeed wronged. He made such a hasty decision before everything was clear. Isn't it a waste of human life? Please take it back, Your Majesty!"
The emperor was annoyed by the entanglement: "Lu Wenzheng, how brave are you! You dare to force me to retract the imperial edict. Are you trying to rebel? Someone -"
Seeing His Majesty Long Yan furious, Lu Wenzheng felt a chill in his heart.
The young prince Zhao Ting, who was standing by, suddenly said: "Father, I suddenly remembered a famous saying: 'Writers die for admonishment, and warriors die for battle. I don't know what it means?"
The emperor was startled.
When Zhao Ting saw his father pondering, he slapped his forehead and said, "I understand. Mr. Lu risked his life to remonstrate and offended you. What you want to do with him is to 'remonstrate to death', right?"
The emperor said: "Nonsense, who said I would deal with him?"
Zhao Tingdao: "Did I understand it wrong? Father, how should you explain it?"
The emperor was upset and waved Lu Wenzheng down.
When Lu Wenzheng retreated, he let out a long breath. He had to be grateful to this smart and kind little prince for saving his life.
But thinking of the failure of the purpose of this trip, Chu Ji's heart was filled with dark clouds again.
As soon as he returned home, he immediately heard another news: the Royal Forest Army had ordered to raid Qingyun Temple!
A Fangwai Danqiu, which was originally very popular, was abandoned in such a mysterious way? What about the Taoist disciples who were originally in the temple?
According to eyewitnesses: Except for a few well-informed "Thirty-Six Stratagems", the rest were all captured by officers and soldiers and turned into official slaves!
When these news reached the ears of Yuan Zhen and Xin Xin, both father and son were heartbroken and burst into tears.
What hurts them the most is the family they have lived in for more than 20 years and for which they have a deep affection, and the brothers in Guanzhong who are deeply affectionate and inseparable from them.
Although the two were imprisoned in different places, they had a clear understanding.
When Lu Wen was accompanied by Xu Zhi to visit the two of them, what he said in his heart was: "I can die, but please let my father go..."
Yuan Zhen also begged Lord Lu to let his son go in the same tone.
Seeing Mr. Lu frowning and saying nothing, Yuan Zhen said again: "Mr. Lu, I am begging you: the kidnapping was all planned by Pindao alone. He is just an ignorant child. Even if he is wrong, he will not be punished by death. ah!
"I admit all the charges that have been brought against me, whether they are right or wrong. Even if I am cut into pieces, I have no complaints. But Hai'er cannot die. Once he dies, the Du family will have no descendants! I beg you, Mr. Lu. , you let him live..."
Later Yuan Zhenji burst into tears.
No one can understand Lu Wenzheng's feelings at this time; thousands of helplessness and anger are condensed on the tip of his frowning eyebrows.
Finally Xu Zhi spoke: "Taoist Master, you have tried your best."
Yuan Zhen felt his head roaring and fell down involuntarily; he didn't hear a word of Xu Zhi's next words.
