Li Qinzai felt a little regretful.
In fact, Di Renjie was more expert in deciding cases and interrogating things than he was. Unfortunately, by coincidence, Di Renjie had been transferred to Bingzhou Biejia before the incident.
Moreover, what Di Renjie did was more important, so Li Qinzai had no choice but to interrogate him in person.
There is no need to force a confession, nor is it necessary to use torture. What Li Zhi wants is the truth, not false answers.
After obeying Li Zhi's order, Li Qinzai realized that he was already at the center of the storm.
Palace affairs have always been kept secret, and the slightest touch will result in being shattered to pieces, especially when it comes to witchcraft, and there are even more mistakes.
When Li Qinzai entered the palace in the afternoon, he saw groups of eunuchs and maids being kidnapped outside the palace gate. Most of these eunuchs and maids were actually innocent, but whether they were innocent or guilty, most of them could not save their lives.
And if Li Qinzai finds out the truth, more people will die. Tens of thousands of people were implicated in the witchcraft disaster during Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. If this happened in the Tang Dynasty, it would be inevitable.
Rubbing his tired cheeks, Li Qinzai sighed: "Let's interrogate Guo Xingzhen."
Not long after, Guo Xingzhen, who was also heavily shackled, limped into the execution room.
Guo Xingzhen had been severely tortured, and his body was covered with whip marks. One arm was hanging weakly, and it looked like it was broken. He looked very miserable.
After entering the execution room, Guo Xingzhen looked at the person in front of him, and was shocked to find that it was Li Qinzai who had had a conflict with him in front of the Jinshui Bridge in Tai Chi Palace a few days ago. Guo Xingzhen was frightened, his knees softened uncontrollably, and he knelt in front of Li Qinzai. before.
Li Qinzai looked at him coldly, with scrutiny in his eyes, and he could see every tiny movement of Guo Xingzhen.
"Master Guo, long time no see." Li Qinzai said with a smile.
Guo Xingzhen trembled, a look of despair appeared on his face.
He was involved in such a horrific case, and the torture he received in the morning had left him half dead. The person who was interrogating him now had an old grudge against him, so it was impossible to survive today.
"Li, County Uncle Li... Pindao was wrongly accused." Guo Xingzhen's explanation sounded feeble.
He was the only Taoist priest who often visited the palace, and he got very close to Empress Wu and Fan Yunxian. From Fan Yunxian's residence, he found magic weapons, puppets and the emperor's birth talisman...
Even Guo Xingzhen himself couldn't help but wonder whether he did it. The personal and material evidence is so complete that it is irrefutable.
Li Qinzai stared into his eyes and said slowly: "Let's not talk about the art of hating victory. I would like to ask, which nobleman in the palace do you often come in and out of? Are you closely related to this nobleman? This nobleman needs a Taoist priest to come into the palace to help you." very?"
Guo Xingzhen hesitated for a long time, gritted his teeth and said: "Pindao... was summoned to the palace by Empress Wu. When the king was deposed and Wu was established, the empress hanged Empress Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu. Since then, the empress often had nightmares about Wang. The Queen and Concubine Xiao Shu asked for her life."
"The queen felt deeply uneasy, so she often called poor people into the palace to perform exorcisms for the queen and suppress the souls of the dead."
Li Qinzai suddenly asked curiously: "Is it effective?"
"Ah?" Guo Xingzhen opened his eyes in confusion.
"I'm asking, is your method of exorcising evil spirits for the queen effective?"
Guo Xingzhen endured the pain in his body and said: "Perhaps I am not very spiritual. I have practiced this method countless times for more than two years, but the Queen still often has nightmares."
Li Qinzai said: "In other words, you are actually a charlatan, and you deceived the queen, right?"
Guo Xingzhen was shocked and said hurriedly: "No, I am a Taoist who came from Xihua Temple and learned the art of exorcizing demons since I was a child. I once practiced Dharma for Prince Hong to exorcise evil spirits. It was quite effective. I was praised by the emperor. I am definitely not a charlatan." !”
Li Qinzai smiled noncommittally and said, "Does Master Guo know your situation at this time?"
Guo Xingzhen said sadly: "I know, I can no longer defend myself."
"Do you often come in and out of the palace just to exorcise the queen?"
"Yes, I dare to swear in the name of the Patriarch of the Three Qing Dynasties that apart from exorcising evil spirits for the queen, I have never done such a treasonous and unethical thing. How can someone from outside the palace be involved in this palace dispute? Do you hate your fate? Has it grown?"
Li Qinzai said calmly: "Perhaps you have caught a glimpse of the secret of heaven and will soon ascend to heaven. Before you leave, you will do something big and let the emperor help you to reach the sky..."
Guo Xingzhen: “…………”
Did this man just eat arsenic? Why are words so poisonous?
Li Qinzai sighed leisurely and said: "As for me, I actually don't like interrogating prisoners. Before you, I just interrogated Fan Yunxian. I told him to give his relatives of the nine tribes a chance to live and to explain everything honestly."
"As long as you take the initiative to admit that you are responsible for the art of hating victory, your and Fan Yunxian's lives will not be saved, but you and his relatives from the nine tribes will be spared. I just gave Fan Yunxian the opportunity, and now I will give it to you, Master Guo, Do you want to consider pleading guilty?"
"The Art of Weary of Victory has made a big fuss, and countless people will fall to the ground in the Tai Chi Palace. In order to avoid committing crimes, I hope you will take the initiative to confess. I don't want to torture you, and I don't want to make you bloody and bloody. Let's cooperate with each other. Now, if you admit this, the world will still be at peace, Master Guo, what do you think?"
Guo Xingzhen was stunned for a moment, then shook his head decisively: "No, Pindao will never plead guilty to something he has never done. Someone framed me, how could County Uncle Li kill innocent people by mistake?"
Li Qinzai smiled: "Don't be in a hurry to answer me. You can think about it after you go back. When the matter reaches this point, whether you admit guilt or not is a dead end."
"If you take matters into your own hands before you die and save a few truly innocent people from dying, you will accumulate great merit and you may not necessarily be reincarnated as a prime minister in your next life."
Guo Xingzhen seemed to have a much stronger temper than Fan Yunxian. Hearing this, he shook his head firmly: "No, I will never plead guilty. I didn't do it, so why should I plead guilty? Even if I am wrongly killed, I still want to leave a clean reputation in the world."
Li Qinzai looked at him deeply for a long time, then stood up and said: "Okay, aside from your ability to pretend to be a ghost, you are still a man."
"You go back to your cell first and weigh the pros and cons tonight. I'll hear your answer tomorrow."
…………
After walking out of Dali Temple and taking a few breaths of fresh air, the depression in my heart gradually eased.
Song Sen, Liu Asi and other tribes were waiting outside the gate of Dali Temple. When they saw Li Qinzai coming out, Song Sen hurriedly greeted him.
"Uncle Li County, what's the result?"
Li Qinzai said with a faint smile: "Old Song, I, the chief judge, am not in a hurry. Why are you in a hurry?"
Song Sen smiled bitterly and said, "Just when Uncle Li was interrogating the criminals, news came out from the palace that Zongzheng Temple had just executed ninety-six eunuchs and maidens. They were all implicated in the matter of being tired of winning."
"Although I am not in my position, I still hope to end this case as soon as possible, otherwise the murders will become bigger and bigger, and the emperor's reputation for benevolence will be stained."
Li Qinzai was startled and said, "Have you killed more than ninety people?"
"Yes, the open space in front of Zongzheng Temple was filled with blood. The heads were carried away in bamboo baskets, and the corpses were sent to the mass graves outside the city one after another. It was so scary!"
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