"The facts couldn't be clearer," Sima Xin said leisurely while holding the information, "Pan Wending, because you hated Qiu Zhennong for occupying Zuixianju, you teamed up with Li Dashu and his daughter to create this trumped-up case.
"First," he pointed at scholar Liu Wenbin, "you built a carriage that was exactly the same as that of Qiu Zhen's farmhouse, and then asked Li Dashu's daughter Ailian to strip naked and jump into the market, causing her to be kidnapped and defiled by Qiu Batian. And the illusion of abandoning the market naked!
“Then, you asked Old Man Li to come to the Yamen to file a complaint, but forced him to commit suicide by taking poison in prison, thereby bringing the County Yamen in, creating the illusion that the County Yamen and Qiu Zhennong were colluding and killing people together.
"Next, you killed Ailian cruelly, and burned down Old Man Li's house, destroying the body and destroying all traces, so as to blame Qiu Batian and make everyone think that this was Qiu Batian's death. Kill and silence.
"So, the villagers were furious and public opinion spread. You encouraged the villagers to go to the county government and the state government with you to file a complaint, in order to expand the momentum of public opinion. You wanted to use the court's methods to deal with Qiu Zhennong, so as to achieve your goal of regaining Zuixianju. .
"Pan Wending, your plan is really vicious!" Sima Xin shouted loudly, "You also know that Qiu Zhennong's uncle is the current minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. It is difficult to achieve anything by relying on the county government and the state government alone. Therefore, you spent a lot of money to send a letter to the emperor. , filed an imperial complaint!
"In this way, if the Minister of Civil Affairs does not dare to interfere, you can force the court to turn white into black and put Qiu Zhennong to death to avenge you, right?"
"Ah!? Sir, sir... it's unfair, it's unfair..." After hearing this, Liu Wenbin hurriedly knelt down, shouting that he was wronged, "Little man, little man is just a scholar, how... how could he do this? Something, this must be someone making false accusations against the villain, please be aware of it, be aware of it..."
"What a fool!" Sima Xin slapped the table, "Tell me first, are you Pan Wending or Pan Longshan's son?"
"This..." Liu Wenbin thought about it secretly. After realizing that he could not quibble, he could only nod and admit, "Yes, I am Pan Wending, the son of Pan Longshan. Zuixianju originally belonged to our family."
oh……
When Liu Wenbin admitted his identity, the scene was in an uproar.
Those who followed Liu Wenbin to complain all involuntarily took a few steps back and left.
"I have no choice," Liu Wenbin argued, "If Qiu Batian knew my identity, he would definitely send people to hunt me down. I had no choice but to change my name.
"But please be aware, sir," he continued, "even if I am Pan Longshan's son, I just came to Xuanwu Academy to study, and I didn't do anything for revenge?
"I...I...not bad," he admitted, "Uncle Li is indeed an old friend of Zuixianju, and I only went to see him to catch up on old times.
"Also, it is true that Ailian and I love each other and have made a lifelong commitment to her.
"Although I already have a wife at home, Ailian said she didn't care and was willing to be my concubine.
"Moreover, Uncle Li also acquiesced in this matter. Our Pan family is kind to him and he is very happy to allow his daughter to marry me.
"Originally, everything was fine," Liu Wenbin suddenly shed tears and said gloomily and angrily, "but the appearance of Qiu Batian took away everything from me. It was he who killed the Li family and his daughter. I hope you will do it for me." It’s the people who make the decision!”
"You!? You bastard bastard," Qiu Batian couldn't help but yelled, "I don't know you birdies at all, so why did I take this from you? If I had known you were so unreasonable, I shouldn't have kept him in the first place. Looking at you...so am I..."
Snapped!
Sima Xin slapped the crowd hard, interrupting Qiu Batian's words.
But when he saw Sima Xin frowning and glaring angrily at Qiu Batian, he said in his heart: What a bastard who knows no good and no life or death. I tried my best to save you, but you insist on jumping into the fire pit!
After being interrupted, Qiu Batian realized that he almost said something wrong, so he quickly lay on the ground, not daring to say anything again.
"Bold Pan Wending, you still have to quibble," Sima Xin turned to Pan Wending and shouted, "Old man Li and his daughter are so good to you. One is willing to be naked in public and suffer humiliation; the other is willing to take poison and commit suicide in prison. Repay the favor with death.
"But not only did you not care about their lives, you even killed Ailian with your own hands, destroying her body and destroying all traces of it. Such beastly behavior of yours is the real outrage of both humans and gods, and cannot be tolerated by heaven!
"Come on, get it for me!"
"yes!"
The officers brought by Sima Xin quickly stepped forward to hold Liu Wenbin down and put shackles and handcuffs on him.
Seeing this scene, everyone present was extremely stupid. No one could have imagined that such a bizarre thing would happen, and the plaintiff turned into the defendant.
This person who has been working hard to complain turns out to be the real murderer! ?
Song Zhili and Chen Houlu were not stupid. The two county magistrates saw it clearly. Although Liu Wenbin had not confessed yet, the facts were already obvious.
They both felt like the world was spinning and their legs were weak. If they weren't worried about their appearance, they would have collapsed to the ground.
They both couldn't figure out why there was such a big gap between reality and ideals.
They prepared for a political struggle, but in the end it was just a personal grudge.
"My lord, my lord, it's unjust, it's unjust," Liu Wenbin was still arguing hard, "I really didn't do that! Mr. Li and his daughter were kind to me, how could I do such a thing? Besides, you also Without evidence, you can’t convict me!”
"Evidence, haha..." After hearing this, Sima Xin smiled again, "Then tell me, what evidence do you want? Human evidence or physical evidence?"
"I..." Liu Wenbin was caught off guard by the question again and murmured, "What evidence do I want? There is no evidence at all!"
"Oh...I understand," Sima Xin said with a smile, "You think that the death of Mr. Li and his daughter means there is no evidence of death, right? Then you are too naive!"
"Huh?" Liu Wenbin raised his eyebrows, obviously very surprised.
When Sima Xin spoke like this, he obviously had the evidence.
"Let's talk about the carriage first," Sima Xin glanced at the information in his hand and said, "It is not easy to make a carriage that is exactly the same as the Qiuzhen Farmer's, nor can it be done with a small amount of money.
"You have to find a capable car-making workshop. It can't be in Yanping County, and it can't be too far away. So," Si Maxin said, "just a little inquiry will tell you that the best car-making workshop is only in Qingyuan." There is one in the county.
"Pan Wending," Sima Xin asked, "Do you need me to call the boss and the assistant of the workshop to confront you?"
"..." There was fear in Liu Wenbin's eyes, as if he was seeing a monster.
"Let's talk about that poison," Sima Xin added, "The poison that Old Man Li took is called Yidianhong. This highly toxic poison is only sold in a few pharmacies.
"You said, if I call all the pharmacy clerks to identify them, it shouldn't be a big deal, right?"
"..." Liu Wenbin was speechless, and his expression became even more embarrassing.
"In addition," Sima Xin said, "after locking you in, I have already searched your residence. Among them, there is a hat that is more interesting, because at the Yong'an market where Ailian was abandoned naked, someone confirmed that that hat The coachman driving the carriage is also wearing the same hat, do you think... is it a coincidence or not?"
"..." Liu Wenbin's lips trembled, despair already showing in his eyes.
"Also, let's talk about witness," Sima Xin pointed to the outside of the lobby, "Pan Wending, look back, who is that?"
Liu Wenbin looked back and felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
But I saw a young rural woman standing outside the lobby. The woman was holding a child of about six years old in her arms...
After seeing the mother and son, Liu Wenbin's psychological defense had completely collapsed. He immediately collapsed to the ground and cried bitterly:
"Sir, stop talking. I...I admit...I plead guilty..."
…
