"In the 31st year of the Jing lunar calendar, on the ninth day of the fourth lunar month, it was the ugly time. When the jailer in Tianlao was inspecting the cell as usual, he found King Qian lying on the ground. The jailer was startled and immediately blew the whistle. Waiting for the warden to take the When the key came to open the cell door and investigate, the man was already out of breath."
The location is the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. To be precise, it is Tianlao, a special prison area.
The prisons in the Ministry of Punishment are all for felons, while the Tianlao is for special prisoners among felons. The special prison area is even more unusual, and is a place specially used to detain royal family members.
It is actually very troublesome to deal with the crime committed by the royal family. Although the law ostensibly applies to members of the royal family other than the emperor, the actual situation is that members of the royal family also enjoy many preferential treatment even in the Ministry of Punishment. Even if they are guilty of capital crimes, they enjoy basic dignity before death.
For example, the special section in the Sky Prison is very clean. It is definitely not as dirty as ordinary cells. On the contrary, it will be very tidy and even have some special beds, tables and stools. There will also be a curtain to cover the toilet.
Even the food is as satisfying as possible. You can even ask outsiders to bring in some books, paper and pens to pass the time.
Torture is rarely seen in the royal family. Even if it was necessary, people from the royal family would do it themselves, and not let people from the Ministry of Punishment get involved.
But although the trouble is troublesome, the people in the royal family have always been very disciplined. They may be high-profile or arrogant, but they rarely break the law and keep their bottom line very well. Therefore, the special prison area in Tianlao remains vacant all year round.
It was just that King Jing and King Qian had a big fight on Junhou Street some time ago. Not only did the monks and guards around them use all their magic, but they even took out their bows and crossbows. As a result, the houses on both sides of Junhou Street were greatly affected, with many collapses and injuries. Several, but luckily no one died.
This incident aroused the emperor's anger and ordered the Ministry of Punishment to investigate. So King Jing and King Qian were arrested and put into separate custody in the special prison area in the sky prison.
Everyone knows that this is an extraordinary period, especially the matters between the prince and the prince are even more sensitive. Ma Xuanlin, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, repeatedly warned no one to try this case. After waiting ten and a half months, he issued another memorial, saying that the two princes knew that they were wrong, and also compensated the injured person's medical expenses and housing. He also gave some more as compensation for the reconstruction. I think the emperor should be able to get the matter over with.
But who would have thought that before the memorial was filed, something big happened in the prison.
King Qian, who was imprisoned in the T-shaped cell, died.
The warden of the prison area was so frightened that he peed his pants. Then King Jing, who was also in the special prison area, was closely protected by the royal guards who came in hastily. However, without the emperor's order, King Jing still had to stay here and could not leave, even in prison. You can't even take half a step out of the room door.
At the same time, the Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Ma Xuanlin, who arrived in a panic, was a little crazy. He felt like someone was in trouble at home. Who could be so unscrupulous? Why are you so aggressive in his territory?
Looking at the stiff corpse lying on the ground, Ma Xuanlin had the urge to resign. He knew that if he couldn't handle this matter well, he might be involved in it in his life.
While reporting urgently to Zuoxiang's Yamen, he also sent news to the palace. At the same time, Ma Xuanlin also called for his most capable generals. He must find out the clues before the emperor's inquiry arrived, at least ask Can he still have some words to answer his words? If you don't know what to ask, if you offend the emperor, you may be beheaded in anger.
So Ma Xuanlin now hurriedly went to the left prime minister Ye Lansheng to discuss countermeasures, and the matter of the dead person was left to the Major Case Department of the Ministry of Punishment.
The officer in charge, "Iron Face" Xue Gui, rushed over after receiving the news. His eyes seemed to be filled with frost. A look in his eyes made people subconsciously avoid looking. Coupled with the cold mask on his face, most people did not even dare to stand. beside him.
"Who has been here before?"
"The food delivery person came once at the beginning of Xu, and then came again when Xu Zheng was approaching to collect the bowls and chopsticks, and delivered a pot of fruit wine according to King Qian's previous instructions. But everyone was outside and no one came in. .
After the accident, the warden opened the cell door and came in, along with two doctors and three of King Gan's guards who came after hearing the news. "
Xue Guidu is here, and his adjutant Li Qing will naturally not be absent. Now after Xue Gui walked around the cell, Li Qing just came back from the preliminary understanding of the prison area and quickly gave a report to Xue Gui.
The scene is very important, but now let alone the footprints, even the placement and arrangement of many objects in the cell have been moved. For example, when King Qian was found, King Qian was lying on the ground, but the warden who came over lifted King Qian onto the bed in order to save him, using pills and spells. It turned out that the dead could not survive. Yes, the scene was also severely damaged.
"There are no signs of poisoning on the surface of the body, and there are no obvious odors, injuries, or signs of struggle. He died...peacefully?" Xue Gui stood beside the bed and just briefly inspected King Gan's body. As expected, he found few direct clues.
"Where's Wu Zuo? When will he arrive?"
"We're already waiting outside. But sir, do we really want an autopsy? This is King Qian. Should we report it first and then make any plans?" Li Qing was a little worried. Because the prince died, and the royal family was very particular about the human body after death. If you let the deceased perform an autopsy, even though it is to solve the case, it will still be a big trouble if they are investigated.
But Xue Gui shook his head and said: "We can't wait. It's almost an hour since the body was found. If it was a homicide in such a strict place, there would be several methods, and poisoning is one of them. . Some poisons will dissipate on their own if left in the corpse for a long time, so you have to wait while it’s hot. You should know all of this, right?"
"My subordinates know, but..."
Xue Gui interrupted: "Okay, let's call Wu Zuo in."
Seeing that his master had already made a decision, Li Qing stopped trying to persuade him, turned around and went out, and soon led two men in their fifties in.
Xue Gui raised his hand to stop Wu Zuo's politeness, pointed to the corpse on the bed and said to them: "That is King Qian, His Majesty's second son. The cause of death is currently unknown and you need to figure it out. Don't let go of any doubts on the corpse. Let's get started. .”
The bodies of the two craftsmen trembled visibly. Even though they were veteran craftsmen who had handled hundreds of corpses, they were still instinctively nervous when they heard that they were going to handle the corpse of a prince. But they know the rules of the Major Case Division. You can do whatever you are asked to do. If you procrastinate, perfunctory, or resist, you will be left with a lot of trouble, so you can only bite the bullet.
Starting from taking off clothes, one person checks each person's records and fixes the leaks at the same time. From the inside out, after a full hour and a half of tossing, the last autopsy results arrived in Xue Gui's hands.
