Records of the King of Xin'an County

In the early morning of the next day, Li Hui took the guard of honor with him, and a group of dozens of people rode their horses to Dali Temple in a mighty manner.Due to the duties of the Dali Temple Secretary to try and judge cases, there are many criminals in the prison, so the guards inside and outside the courtyard are extremely strict.There are hundreds of guards guarding day and night, and the prison is even more heavily guarded. Not only are prisoners unable to fly, but even strangers need corresponding paperwork and fish charms to enter and exit.

After Li Hui arrived outside the Dali Temple, a middle-aged man walked out quickly to greet him, claiming to be one of the Dali Masters, and saluted him respectfully.Because this Feng Dali was receiving him, the soldiers let him go.Of course, guards of honor and others are not allowed to enter, so they can only wait outside.It was not an easy job to wait outside in the cold and windy, so Li Hui ordered his subordinates to find a restaurant in the nearest Lifang and sit there, and then went to pick him up outside the Tai Chi Palace at dusk.

After everything was settled, when Li Hui was about to follow Feng Dali into the room, he heard several calls from afar.He turned his head and followed the prestige, and saw Li Jing was urging his horse to come, his face full of haste: "Cousin, wait for me!"

Obviously, the king of Tianshui County still didn't know anything, and he looked confused and curious: "Cousin, what happened? I just received an order from my uncle this morning, ordering me to supervise... what case. Fortunately, I asked more I just said a word, and the people in the palace told me that you are also in charge of supervising the case, otherwise I don’t know what to do! I also asked my grandpa and grandma, and they didn’t know anything about it. What kind of case is this? Are you so anxious?”

"It's a big case about you and Yue Niang." Li Hui was very concise, "When you hear the prisoner's confession, you will know whether you have heard about it before." Li Jing, like his elder brother Li Wei, has always been happy Wu Yanwen.Naturally, the people he often associates with are not literati, but the clan's children and honorable descendants who are also good at martial arts.Although they have nothing to do with each other, literati also come from aristocratic families, and there will always be rumors in Chang'an City, but they haven't thought about it before.

Li Jing was startled, and asked puzzledly: "It has something to do with us? We don't even hang out together for entertainment on weekdays. What can connect us all?" He thought about it, but still couldn't get the answer, so he had to Following behind Li Hui, he walked into the public hall of Dali Temple.

The Minister of Dali Temple, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice and Zhongcheng Yushi were already sitting in the hall, and they got up when they heard the sound.They also received the sage's oral order, and prepared a slightly back position for Li Hui and Li Jing.Hu beds, mattresses, and supplies are all available, only need to add another hidden bag, and move a food table full of delicacies, and then you can comfortably "eat and drink while supervising the case".

The two cousins ​​looked at each other: it seems that the chief officer of the third department really regarded them as ordinary playboys, and only wanted to "entertain" them well.In fact, the so-called "supervised cases" are often just a formality. Only the treason cases that are really taken seriously need to be supervised one by one by credible people, and no mistakes are allowed.Whether this "supervisory case" is a formality or a real experience depends on the attitudes of the two of them, and also depends on their behavior today.

"On the court, naturally only what should be placed can be placed, otherwise it will damage the majesty of the court, and it seems to be incompatible with etiquette." Li Hui raised his eyes slightly, "What do you think?"

"Yeah, Hu bed, what do you think it looks like here? The two of us are here to supervise the case, not to watch the show." Li Jing answered tacitly, shaking his head, " Lords, don't treat us like ordinary young men. We are here to supervise the case according to the orders of our uncle, and we must not disappoint him."

After hearing this, the chief officer of the third department said a few words to express his apology, and then ordered people to remove those "should not be put" things.Xin'an County King and Tianshui County King were finally able to sit behind the desk, with a solemn and solemn demeanor.Li Hui asked for a pen, ink, paper and inkstone again, intending to record the words he thought were important at any time.Li Jing glanced at him, and not long after, slowly stretched out his hand, quietly tore a piece of paper from his desk, and spread it in front of his desk.

The trial was actually quite boring. Different prisoners gave similar testimonies, sometimes evaded each other, and sometimes begged for mercy with tears streaming down their faces. After a while, the scene where they wantonly slandered and Li Hui became angry was reproduced.Immediately afterwards, the Third Division summoned Du Chongfeng and other witnesses, and after confirming that all the testimony was accurate, they determined the crimes of the criminals involved—reverse assault and insulting the king of Xin'an County were the most serious crimes, insulting Princess Changning and the king of Xin'an County , Tianshui County King and other clan nobles are next.

"Assaulting and insulting the clan and the county king, slandering the noble lord and the county king, etc., all involve serious crimes of disrespect. But considering that the king was not injured, and the slander was not spread around, it cannot be judged as the crime of ten rebellions. The three divisions will conduct a joint trial, and those who are convicted of the two crimes of treason and rumors will be exiled for eight years and will not be allowed to be an official in the future; for insulting your lord and the king of the county, they will be sentenced to three years in exile and will not be allowed to be an official in the future." After the punishment, Dali Si Qing turned to look at Li Hui and Li Jing, "What do you two kings think?"

"I have no objection to the case of assault." Li Hui replied, watching the group of dejected disciples, "but the case of gossip, I think it must not be punished so lightly. The public thinks, 'the slander is not Spreading around'? Gu doesn't think so. Whether these rumors are known to everyone, you can call the disciples in Beijing and ask them."

"This..." Dali Temple Minister, Minister of Criminal Justice, and Yushi Zhongcheng looked at each other, "Jiaozi in Beijing is not a criminal, and it is really inappropriate to detain thousands of people into Dali Temple, and it is not in line with the laws of our Tang Dynasty Your Majesty was offended yesterday, so I can understand His Majesty's dissatisfaction with these cases. However, the criminal has already been tried and sentenced, so why bother to involve all the provincial examination cases? Why not let this case be closed?"

Li Hui raised his eyebrows: "I can also understand that you are eager to close the case as soon as possible. This case seems too small, and there is no need to labor for the trial. You must close the case as soon as possible and submit it to your uncle—you may wish Have you always thought this way? But what is the purpose of Uncle specially ordering Gu and Jing Xing to supervise the case? Don’t you think it’s clear in your mind? "

The chief officers of the third department remained silent—of course they knew very well that the sage did not want to end the case hastily—but it would be too far-fetched to say that such a case was "conspiracy".The sage just managed to find a reason for his daughter and nephew to come to the trial just because his daughter and nephew were burdened by rumors.They tried the case clearly, punished those who should be punished, and punished them severely, isn't that enough?

Obviously, the king of Xin'an County felt that it was not enough: "Yes, the criminals in the case of rebellion were handled properly, and I don't feel aggrieved. It's just that you don't want to know, where did the rumors spread?" said Forget it, he looked at the first nonsense that said that Princess Changning liked Wang Zixian, and asked indifferently: "Did you come up with such a rumor on a whim? And, it is said that Wang Zixian is a child of the Wang family in Qi County Did you also think of the person who is under the shadow of the King of Yue?"

Those who can pass the county and government examinations and get the eligibility to be sent by the state governments are too stupid to fail to seize such a godsend opportunity.Those two candidates were taken aback, and immediately shouted: "No! No! I am definitely not a rumor that I came up with, but... but I heard it at the literary conference before!" "It is said that Wang Zixian is Qi County There are other people who are descendants of the Wang family! There are also other people who say that Wang Zixian is related to the King of Yue and King Pu! The student just... just put these words together and thought about it carefully..."

The king of Tianshui County, who was a little drowsy at first, couldn't help being stunned, and couldn't help scolding angrily: "What are the children of the Qi County Wang family? Don't you even know that Wang Zixian is a descendant of the Langya Wang family? Could it be the surname of the world? Are all Wang's related to the Wang family of Qi County? This is really... really nonsense!"

Li Hui then asked: "Where did you meet at the literary meeting, and who did you hear it from? Could you identify it? Can someone testify for you? If you frame someone else indiscriminately, the crime will be aggravated; if the facts are as you said, I will say a few good words for you and reduce your sentence of exile for one or two years."

The two nodded hurriedly: "I can identify it! There were other people present at the time!!" "As long as the students are allowed to identify carefully, the students will definitely be able to recognize this dog!"

Yu Shi Zhongcheng took a deep look at the young county king who usually lived in seclusion, and said, "Your Majesty is only in charge of supervising cases."

The eyes of the Minister of the Ministry of Justice also moved between the two county kings, as if thinking of something.Dali Temple Minister couldn't help sighing: "Your Majesty, there is no need to ask any more questions. I will continue to try this case and get to the bottom of it."

"Gu is indeed only in charge of supervising the case, gentlemen, please continue. However, this is not random involvement, nor is it caused by Gu's personal anger. It's just that the sage is waiting for the truth, and Gu doesn't want to be insulted for nothing. Besides, there is no need for the other suspects to be summoned in the name of the criminal, it is enough to testify." Li Hui said, and fell silent again.

Li Jing finally sensed something was wrong from the few words he asked just now, and asked in a low voice: "Cousin, when will this case be concluded? Until the culprit who spread the rumors is found? Who are those people?" What kind of intentions do you have to tell such a vulnerable lie? Anyone who knows a little bit about the inside story will find this kind of lie extremely ridiculous!"

Li Hui pondered for a moment before answering: "...I'm just afraid that the world will not be chaotic. Jing Xing, many people only want to believe what they want to believe. As for the truth, they don't care. You and I are not the harm of rumors." Not hurt, but for Yue Niang and Zi Xian, it must not be ignored." A literati is famous, and a woman needs a name—even if she is talented, even if she is the princess of the Tian family, she cannot escape the shackles of fame.

He is clearly innocent, yet he is slandered for no reason. If he is careless for a moment, he may have to carry such taint for the rest of his life.As a close friend, as an elder brother, how could he tolerate it?He vowed not to give up until he found out the culprit and rectified the names of Prince Xian and Princess Changning!

"Think about it carefully... I seem to have heard a few vague words before, asking me why I suddenly recommended an unknown scholar, whether he is a relative of my own... I didn't think much about it at the time, and just a few words were confused. It's over." Li Jing thought for a while, and then said, "Someone winked and said what happened to Mr. Yan's family, but they didn't say anything carefully at that time..."

Li Hui secretly thought that this was indeed the case, so he told him: "Interrogate those people carefully, where did they hear these nonsense, and then inquire about where the rumors have spread." Even if it reaches Cheng Guogong Mansion, Yan Zhan shouldn't be such a fool who trusts casually?

After this day, the rumor case that was thought to be over soon intensified.The group of candidates taken away by the Yang family courtyard was just the beginning, and more and more candidates were brought to Dali Temple by the Jinwu Guards to testify.Of course, many of them were released quickly, but many of them never left the Dali Temple.

For a while, all the candidates in the capital who were going to take the Jinshi and Provincial Examinations were in danger, and they didn't dare to go to any literary or poetry conferences at will.Everyone kept thinking about who spread these rumors. With the efforts of nearly a thousand people, they could always think of clues.In addition, in order to justify their names and clear themselves of the charge of spreading rumors everywhere, the candidates who were temporarily imprisoned also had to dig out the hidden people layer by layer until there was nowhere to hide— —