When everyone gathered their eyes to look at him, they saw that the man had a yellow complexion, his eyes were dull, his beard was of different lengths, and his tied up hair was still a little scattered.
"Long live the civilian Zhou Shiwu!" Zhou Shiwu didn't know the etiquette of the court, so he just cracked his head and pressed it tightly to the cold floor to show his piety, waiting for the emperor to ask questions.
"Raise your head!" Emperor Han raised his voice in a very majestic voice and glanced at Zhou Shisan coldly.
Zhou Shisan listened to the order and slowly raised his head, but he did not dare to be negligent in the slightest, and timidly avoided the emperor's sharp gaze.
"Are you the witness invited by Master Cui?"
"Exactly...yes!" Zhou Shisan tried his best to control his nervousness.
"Do you know the whole story of the case?" Emperor Han sat on the dragon chair and slowly leaned behind the soft pillow. "Report the truth truthfully. Any discrepancy or even half a lie will be punishable by beheading!"
"According to the order!" Zhou Shisan was still a little nervous and excited. He swallowed before continuing, "Cao Min was originally an ordinary prison guard in the Kyoto prison more than ten years ago. He has been working conscientiously until I heard that Wu Qingfeng was arrested for treason, and his family members were all imprisoned in a cell under the jurisdiction of Cao Min at the time. Wu Qingfeng was imprisoned alone in the sky prison. Originally, they were in peace with each other. They were just waiting for Annoying to be executed, and we were done. But it was not until August 22, the night before Wu Qingfeng was sentenced, that a man dressed like an official, with a veil on his face, walked directly into the cell and came to discuss things with me, so we After chatting alone in the concierge, he said that there are three important criminals inside, including you, the emperor..." Zhou Shisan blinked timidly at this point and did not dare to say anything further.
Emperor Han's eyes widened angrily and said: "Keep talking..."
"It was your Majesty's order to secretly exchange those three people." Zhou Shisan continued boldly, "At that time, the common people asked how to exchange, and the man said that he would find three prisoners at random and exchange them when no one was around. , and the person who switched the package had to cut his face with a knife until it was unrecognizable. Then the grassroots people remembered the three mothers and their children who were imprisoned for stealing cattle not long ago, and later the package was changed."
Xu Bingde, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, followed up and asked: "You are so bold and cunning, I think it is clear that you have neglected your duty. How can a person just go to prison and say that the person is cheating, and then you really helped to cheat the person?"
Emperor Han also asked noncommittally: "Yes! Did you confirm his identity at that time?"
"The common people don't dare to lie..." Zhou Shisan kept buckling, "Yes... the official in his hand at that time was the emperor's release token, otherwise the common people would not dare to release the person privately even with nine heads! And that They also said that this matter was confidential and could not be spread outside, and they left ten taels of gold behind before leaving."
"Master Cui just said that you have another accomplice. Where is he now?" Emperor Han continued to ask.
"Yes, there was originally another person. His name was Jin Wu. He was also a guard in the cell and was the most trusted deputy of the grassroots. Since it was inconvenient for me to do things alone, I asked him to help. After the incident was completed, I also divided five taels. Give him gold.”
Han Di gradually began to believe what Zhou Shisan said, "Then do you know who the person who asked you to switch the contract was? Why have you been missing for so many years? And..." Han Di paused, "The person who was switched. Who are the three people?"
The officials in the palace looked at Zhou Shisan, nervously waiting for his answer.
"The common people didn't know who the person who asked us to do things was until Wu Qingfeng's family was beheaded on August 23. We counted the beheaded heads that night, and we jailers were busy until late at night before going home. .When I just fell asleep, Jin Wu hurried to my house and said nervously that someone was following him, and had someone from Shangfeng sent someone to silence him? We were shocked and scared at the time, but fortunately both of us were We didn’t have any family members, so we packed up our belongings that night and found a place to add more. It wasn’t until dawn when the city gate opened that we disguised ourselves as woodcutter and left the city.” Zhou Shisan recalled the past with bitterness, and tears fell from the corners of his eyes. , "However, within a few miles of leaving the city, we were overtaken by the officers and soldiers they sent. At that time, we were hiding in a ruined temple. Jin Wu said that he was thirsty and wanted to get a bucket of water from the ancient well at the entrance of the ruined temple. I was resting in the temple at that time, and heard the sound of horse hooves outside the temple. I thought something bad, so I hurriedly hid in the collapsed wall. Unfortunately, Jin Wu was caught by them, and he was silenced on the spot. They expected me to be in the ruined temple, but after searching for a long time, they couldn't find me. Later, they learned from their conversation that they were subordinates of Li Shizhi, the minister of Dali Temple, and they were all from Dali Temple. In order to be able to I reported to Mr. Li and came up with an idea, which was to chop off a head and a left hand from Jin Wu’s corpse, and lie that they were chopped off from mine and Jin Wu’s corpses respectively..."
Li Shizhi couldn't listen anymore and quickly stopped Zhou Shisan from continuing and said angrily: "Absurd...Zixuwu..."
"Shut up!" Emperor Han shouted, "Let him continue." Emperor Han then continued to ask Zhou Shisan, "Who are the three people who were switched?"
Zhou Shisan was a little trembling. He didn't dare to reveal the identities of these three people because it was a matter of great importance. If they really revealed their identities, there would definitely be a bloody storm. However, if he didn't tell the truth, it would be difficult to leave the palace today. .
Emperor Han saw that Zhou Shisan was worried, so he said: "Just tell me, I will keep you safe."
Zhou Shisan was waiting for the emperor's words, "The three mothers and sons who were swapped out by the Wu family were also the three mothers and sons of the Wu family. The mother and son of the child who was swapped out by the Wu family were Wu Qingfeng's first wife, and the other two children He is their legitimate son..."
"What……"
As soon as the words came out, everyone in the Xuanzheng Hall was stunned at first, and then there was an uproar. If what the witness in front of me said is true, then what Li Shizhi committed was a serious crime of beheading. Not to mention the behind-the-scenes operation, the person who released Wu Qingfeng's bead was a big taboo.
Emperor Han still suppressed his anger, stared at Li Shizhi and asked: "Uncle...what do you have to say?"
Li Shizhi's face was livid and his expression was tense. He originally wanted to defend himself, but when he looked up at the emperor's cold gaze, he couldn't help but falter again and couldn't talk for a long time.
Seeing the opportunity, Xun Mou knew that the prime minister had messed up, so he continued to question Zhou Shisan: "How can you convince people with empty words? Your Majesty, it has been many years. With his red mouth and white teeth, I am afraid he is just sowing discord and slandering." It’s a frame-up! I think this week 13 was clearly bribed by someone with evil intentions to frame the Prime Minister."
"General Xun is right..." Everyone agreed, "This person has bad intentions and should be executed immediately..."
Emperor Han looked at Li Shizhi suspiciously, then looked at Zhou Shisan noncommittally, and continued: "Do you have direct evidence?"
Cui Hao didn't wait for Zhou Shisan to speak before he rushed to answer: "Your Majesty, the evidence is with me."
