"The guilty minister Shi Kailin, please see Your Highness!"
When they arrived at the city gate, they saw Shikelin tying his hands behind his back and kneeling on the ground with a thud.
Immediately afterwards, all the officials and soldiers standing behind him dropped their weapons and knelt on the ground together.
And behind them, standing were all the people of Jincheng.
Liu Qi slowly stepped forward and helped Shi Kailin up.
"Come here, untie Mr. Shi!"
Although Shikelin was guilty, what he did was still a man and worthy of his admiration.
Liu Qi gave him the courtesy he deserved, then walked in front, leading everyone through the crowd of common people and headed towards the prefect's mansion...
...
Sitting in the seat where Shi Kelin used to be, looking at Shi Kelin below, I didn't know what he was feeling.
Liu Qi took a deep breath.
"Master Shi, you can speak now."
Shi Kelin nodded, looked around, and then faced the prince.
"Things started on the eighth day of last month..."
Halfway through hearing this, Liu Qi took a breath of cold air and couldn't help but clenched his fists.
"Are you telling the truth?"
"Your Highness, you heard it right. The person who drove this officer to do this is none other than the son of the Minister of War, Hu Hui!"
Minister of the Ministry of War, Hu Tingyi. Equivalent to the second-in-command of the Ministry of War.
Not only does this person hold a high position, but his status is also very special.
The Hu Hui that Shi Kailin mentioned was married to Princess Yamen, the daughter of Concubine Liu, who was also one of his sisters, and he was naturally the consort of Daqing.
The father is a minister of the imperial court, the mother-in-law is the imperial concubine, and the wife is the princess of the imperial court. A real winner in life.
What a son of an official, what a relative of the emperor!
Liu Qi's body trembled with anger.
"Go on."
Shi Kailin spoke eloquently, and then revealed the silent truth of Ma Feng Village in front of everyone!
The cause of the incident was that Hu Hui came to Jincheng one day, fell in love with a civilian girl, and then forcibly defiled her.
Later, he was worried that the matter would be exposed, so he sent people to investigate and found out that the daughter was from Mafeng Village, Luzhang County.
His father didn't want to, so he thought of reporting to the local county magistrate, Ma Wei first.
But Ma Weixian was not there at the time, so his father returned.
In order not to expand the matter, the consort Hu Hui personally took people to Mafeng Village to offer huge profits in the hope that the father of the daughter would not report the case to the government.
The daughter's father refused, so the consort Hu Hui ordered his men to kill all the eighty-seven people in his Mafeng Village! !
Later, he ordered people to organize the scene carefully.
That's why, when Zhang Shi arrived, he saw that except for the absence of people, everything else was very clean, as if someone had cleaned it.
But what Hu Hui didn’t expect was!
After Ma Weixian returned to the county government, he learned from a government official that a villager from Mafeng Village had been here and said he had a case to report.
At this time, the officials from Jincheng happened to be there.
In a responsible attitude, Ma Weixian took several government servants to Mafeng Village.
It was discovered that eighty-seven of his family members were missing for no apparent reason, and I suddenly felt that something serious was going on.
On the eighth day of last month, I came to Jincheng alone.
When Shi Kailin learned of this, he was furious and determined to investigate the case thoroughly.
But that night, Hu Hui appeared.
He found Shi Kelin, coerced and lured him, and threatened that if the matter was not suppressed, he would be dismissed immediately when he returned to the court.
Jia He was worried about Shi Kailin and his own official position, so he persuaded Shi Kailin to just turn a blind eye to the matter. Don't know anything.
Skylin agreed.
But he didn't expect that this decision would lead him into the abyss.
The day after Shi Kailin agreed, Zhao Weixian disappeared. According to Jia He, he was killed by Hu Hui's order and buried on a back hill in Jincheng.
Shikelin panicked at that time. He knew that such an act was a serious crime.
Later, Jia He learned that Zhao Weixian had met the capital officials that day, and the capital officials also knew that Zhao Weixian was going to Mafeng Village.
With Shi Kailin's acquiescence, Jia He led people to kill the officials and silence them.
However, Shi Kailin couldn't bear it, so he saved the life of the official.
But in the end, even though he brought it back, Hu Hui still had his legs smashed and his tongue pulled out.
When he heard this, Zhao Wenhui, who was present, was already crying.
Liu Qi looked in his eyes and sighed softly.
I have to say that his father did die unjustly.
The matter has not yet been investigated clearly. Just because the matter was related to the prince-in-law of the dynasty, he was killed and silenced.
Fortunately, Zhao Weixian's family did not know about this, otherwise, if not for them, they would all have become dead souls.
Holding back the anger in his heart, Liu Qi spoke slowly.
"Shi Kailin, I would like to ask you, except for Jia He, do other officials know about this matter? Why were they not dealt with by Hu Hui?"
"Back to Your Highness, these people have a relatively good relationship with Jia He. After the incident, it was Jia He who took them and dealt with them together. Therefore, as they were considered accomplices, Hu Hui did not take action against them."
Liu Qi took a deep breath, nodded, and continued to ask.
"Okay, so my troops were walking along a small road and were intercepted by your men on the way. It was also Hu Hui's instigation, right?"
Shikelin said nothing and nodded heavily.
At this point in the questioning, the truth has been revealed. As for some details, just leave them to Zhang Shi.
At this time, Liu Qi clenched his fists with both hands, closed his eyes slightly, and leaned back, as if all the strength had been drained from his body.
Under the bright sky and the prosperous Daqing, such a shocking crime could happen!
If I hadn't insisted on my own opinion, I'm afraid this matter would have been sealed forever.
Who knows, that lovely Zhao Wenhui will also be implicated in this matter.
"Shi Kailin, although the mastermind of this matter was the consort Hu Hui, you helped Hu Hui cover up his crime and murdered the capital officials. Can you plead guilty?"
Shikelin raised his hands and lay on the ground.
"I plead guilty!"
"Okay, the king now pronounces that Shi Kailin's crime cannot be pardoned. He is removed from all positions and thrown into prison. All his officials and those involved in this matter will be questioned. Tomorrow at noon, he will be beheaded in public!"
"Master Shi, do you have anything else to say?"
However, facing the prince's sentencing, Shi Kelin smiled.
He kowtowed heavily to the prince three times.
"Thank you, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
Not only Shi Kelin, but everyone present looked at Liu Qi who was sitting in the seat with emotion on their faces.
Such a prince is truly merciful.
Just the fact that Shi Kailin kidnapped the fourth prince of the dynasty and defended Jincheng can be regarded as treason.
Whether it's him or his officials. This is a major crime to punish the nine tribes!
But the prince pronounced the sentence on them personally. This can be said to be an amnesty for Shi Kelin and others.
Other officials who followed Shi Kailin also kowtowed and thanked the prince for his kindness to them.
At this moment, Qin Wei suddenly led someone and ran into the hall.
"Your Highness, Jia He and others have all been found, but..."
