Volume 1 Zhangqiao Iron Coffin Chapter 47: Earth-shattering (Part 1)
"That's enough!" Qiu Yongnian jumped up from his seat, pointed at Xu Zun and shouted, "Xu Zun, I have done my best for you, don't be ungrateful.
"Those who were appointed to the county government were indeed appointed by Qiu, but Qiu followed the rules. They all had legal procedures and complied with the conditions for recruitment by the county government.
“As for their origins, they have nothing to do with Qiu.
"A large number of them were introduced by the chief clerk Liu Zhang, and I don't know their backgrounds.
"Besides, Xinye County has such a large population. What's suspicious about a few more outsiders coming here to do business? Why do you have to link it to me?
"Also, your talk about the carriage is pure nonsense and imaginary. If you say so, does that mean that our Xinye County Government has become a criminal base?
"Sir!" He turned to Cai Kun and said excitedly, "Xu Zun has no respect for the law and slandered the court officials. He has a vicious heart and deserves death. Please, sir, make a decision for me!"
"Hmm..." Cai Kun, who had been silent for a long time, nodded slightly and pointed at the household registration books and said to Xu Zun, "Xu Zun, they are right. These household registration books alone cannot prove anything! Do you have any more powerful evidence?"
"Yes," Xu Zun said, "That was just a small warm-up. The real show is coming next!"
"You...what can I say about you?" Cai Kun took a deep breath and blamed, "Since you still have evidence, why don't you get straight to the point and prove it to us?"
"Not good!" Xu Zun said solemnly, "If I don't warm up a little, I'm afraid what I'm going to say next will scare you!"
"You..." Cai Kun frowned, picked up the teacup beside him and said angrily, "Okay, then you continue!"
After saying this, he pretended to leisurely take a sip of tea, but he was actually very anxious inside.
However, Cai Kun's words were undoubtedly equivalent to tacit approval of Xu Zun. Qiu Yongnian's forehead suddenly broke out in cold sweat. He was neither sitting nor standing, looking extremely embarrassed.
"County Magistrate Qiu," Xu Zun turned to Qiu Yongnian again and launched a new round of attack, "Do you remember the two corpses that Lord Cai showed you at the beginning of the court session?
“Last night, a group of four of them sneaked into the cemetery with oil drums, intending to burn the four bodies stored in the cemetery.
“Fortunately, I had anticipated this and had Lord Cai ambush the guards in advance, so they were captured on the spot.
“Unfortunately, Liang San and Cheng Wen committed suicide by taking poison on the spot, and in the end only the other two were captured alive!
"Lord Cai, am I right?" Xu Zun asked, looking up.
Cai Kun, who was sipping tea, almost spit out the tea. He quickly pressed the lid of the cup and nodded in agreement:
"Yes, it is true. The other two are being interrogated. They will confess soon!"
ah?
oh?
After hearing the conversation between Xu Zun and Cai Kun, everyone was stunned.
No one could understand why Xu Zun and Cai Kun were singing the same tune. How could this be a trial scene?
If Xu Zun hadn't been wearing handcuffs and shackles, I would have thought he was the presiding judge!
"County Magistrate Qiu," Xu Zun said to Qiu Yongnian with a hint of pride, "You never expected that, did you? In fact, there is no guerrilla general in Gu Nan County, and no East Palace guards who can recognize the assassin.
"All of this is a trap set for you by Lord Cai and I!
"You really got fooled! Humph," Xu Zun rubbed his palms, "You have plotted against me so many times, and finally I got you back at me once. How is it? How do you feel?"
After hearing Xu Zun's words, everyone became even more confused.
However, no one noticed that Qiu Yongnian's body was shaking uncontrollably.
"Xu Zun," Qiu Yongnian suppressed his shock and said through gritted teeth, "I don't understand what you are saying."
“Yes,” Li Yan, the governor, could not help but say, “Xu Zun, he doesn’t understand , and neither do I.
"Why did those people go to the charity cemetery to burn the bodies? What's the point of doing that? And why did you say that this matter has something to do with Magistrate Qiu?"
Li Yan's question was also the question of everyone present.
Even Cai Kun, the leader of the Inner Guard, leaned half of his body out, looking eager to know the answer.
"Qiu Yongnian sent people to the funeral home to burn the bodies," Xu Zun said, "not because he wanted to burn all of them, but only wanted to burn one of them."
As he spoke, he walked up to the four bodies lying flat in the courtroom, and with a swish, he lifted the white cloth covering one of the bodies.
Under the white cloth, the Taoist priest's body suddenly appeared.
The Taoist robes on the corpse had fallen off, the face was distorted and hideous, and it was already severely decayed.
The strong stench of corpse wafted out, forcing the officials to cover their mouths and noses.
"Xu Zun, don't talk nonsense," Qiu Yongnian scolded, "Why do you say that I sent someone there?"
"Yes, Xu Zun," Cai Kun, who was sitting in the main seat, reminded, "Even though I deliberately set a trap in front of County Magistrate Qiu, and then something happened in the charity cemetery, you can't just say whatever you want!"
"This..." Qiu Yongnian's face turned black and cold sweat broke out on his cheeks.
Cai Kun's words were obviously full of innuendo.
"Xu Zun, let's get down to business," Cai Kun urged, "Tell me quickly why they insisted on burning the Taoist's body?"
"The answer is very simple," Xu Zun pointed at the corpse and said, "This person is not a Japanese assassin at all!"
"What?"
"ah?"
"No way?"
All the officials present got up from their seats, leaned forward, with deep confusion in their eyes.
"Not a Japanese assassin?" Cai Kun frowned and thought, but he still couldn't figure it out.
"Please look, sir," Xu Zun reached out and grabbed one of the Taoist's legs, pointing to the stitched toes and said, "Both sides of his toes are swollen, and it is obvious that the stitches have not yet healed.
"Looking at the suture holes, there is still abscess flowing out, which means that his toe was not healed yet, and the sutures were removed in a hurry..."
"Oh, I see!" Cai Kun had already realized, "The assassination happened eleven years ago. If the injury on his foot was caused by the Ministry of Justice, he should have healed long ago!"
"Ah?" Li Yan's eyes widened. "So... this Taoist priest is not an assassin?"
After Li Yan finished speaking, he suddenly felt much more at ease.
If this Taoist priest is really not a Japanese assassin, doesn't that mean that the Iron Coffin Case has nothing to do with the assassination of the Queen Mother, and their Tangzhou Prefecture does not need to be implicated?
"It's not just the toe injury, all the injuries on his body are new!" Xu Zun said, "the earliest is no more than one year old."
"Eh? No, no!" Unexpectedly, Chen Taiji suddenly raised an objection, "Xu Zun, I have been in the Ministry of Justice for many years and have examined countless corpses. If we only look at the healing rate of wounds, we can only distinguish new injuries within a few months.
“Unless the patient is a minor, an injury that has healed for a year cannot be distinguished from an old injury.
"Also, our Ministry of Justice is not a clinic. How can we be so careful and meticulous when suturing a prisoner?" He pointed at the corpse and said, "It's possible that his toe is just an old wound that has not healed and is infected. We can't conclude that it is a new wound."
Hearing Chen Taiji's words, everyone nodded .
As the Chief Censor of the Ministry of Justice, Chen Taiji was not only proficient in corpse examination, but also an authority.
If he can't tell the difference, how can Xu Zun tell the difference ?
So, everyone turned their curious eyes to Xu Zun, wanting to see what Xu Zun had to say?
"Chen Yushi," Xu Zun said after thinking for a few seconds, "If I can't prove that the deceased's injuries were new within a year, then you can't prove that these injuries were old injuries from eleven years ago, right?"
"This?" Chen Taiji thought about it and nodded.
"In that case, we're even," Xu Zun said happily, " Let move on to the next topic!"
