Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

The clerk began reading the recorded statements and asked, "Do the deceased's family members have any objections to these statements?"

"If there is anything missing, or if you disagree with anything, you can point it out on the spot."

The family members looked at each other, and none of them had any objections.

Chen Dong questioned each person individually and took extensive notes, filling in many details for the case.

Next, the perpetrator's family members were interrogated, and their statements were almost identical.

Chen Dong suddenly pointed at Chen Hong and asked the murderer's father, Mao Zhirou, "How did you manage to get the provincial inspector to help cover it up?"

Mao Zhirou replied, "He was bribed with five thousand strings of cash in private, and he also intimidated him by mentioning important officials in the court."

"Nonsense!"

Chen Dong slammed his fist on the table and roared, "This man comes from the Chen family of Houguan, whose family has been engaged in maritime trade for generations. Does he really need your five thousand strings of cash?"

"His family's businesses, if not the top two in Fuzhou, would certainly be in the top five."

"For a mere five thousand strings of cash, he risked his life to cover up a murder for you?"

"Although the Chen family of Houguan had no connections in the court, they had many relatives by marriage who served as local officials."

"He himself was born in the same year as His Majesty and has already risen to the position of Provincial Surveillance Commissioner. Would he be afraid of you just bringing up a few important officials to intimidate him?"

"Let me tell you, this case is no longer as simple as a murder."

"Even if your family has moved to Shanzhou, and you are the authentic Mao clan of Jiangshan, you can't afford to be a member of that clan!"

"Recruit from the truth!"

Mao Zhirou said with a mournful face, "That's really true. Everything I said is true."

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was named Wu Mao. When Zhao Yuan was the Prefect of Jinzhou, Wu Mao served as the Inspector General, which was equivalent to Zhao Yuan's Secretary General.

Chen Hong is a vice-provincial level official, so even if he is convicted and arrested, it is difficult to force a confession out of him.

The person in front of me, Mao Zhirou, does not hold an official position.

Wu Mao said in a low voice, "Should we use torture?"

Chen Dong said, "His Majesty has strictly ordered that no confession be obtained through torture."

Pan Liangui said, "It's getting late, let's continue the trial tomorrow."

"After dinner, the three of us went through the case files together to see if we could find anything."

"Okay,"

Chen Dong slammed the gavel.

"Court adjourned! All of you, guard them carefully, lest they attempt suicide."

One person has already died. After the case became public, the beautiful widow involved committed suicide out of shame.

As for Jiao Yifeng, who hit the pillar today, she has been rescued, but is still in a coma due to excessive blood loss.

Chen Dong, Pan Liangui, and Wu Mao, along with a group of officials handling the case, quickly finished their dinner and then gathered together to analyze the case files.

Not only today's testimony, but also the files from previous trials.

As darkness fell, the group gathered together.

Chen Dong said, "The inspecting censor hasn't interrogated him yet; he might be the key figure."

In the Censorate of the Ming Dynasty, there was an official position called Censor.

When they were sent to inspect local areas, they were also called inspecting censors or patrolling censors.

To prevent cheating, the Ministry of Rites was responsible for organizing and preparing the imperial examinations, but officials of the Ministry of Rites were not allowed to preside over, supervise, or grade the papers.

Similarly, to prevent cheating, the provincial examinations were organized and prepared by the Provincial Administration Commission.

The duties of presiding over, supervising, and grading the exams were assigned to the inspecting censors.

Pan Liangui nodded and said, "I thought the cheating in the imperial examinations was in the county or prefectural examinations."

"It seems highly likely that there was cheating in the provincial examination, and that the censor in charge of the cheating was leading the way."

"He was caught red-handed and had no choice but to ignore the injustice."

"Moreover, the Ying family of Guixi, to which this person belongs, is related by marriage to the Zhang family of Dexing and the Mao family of Jiangshan."

"He had motives to help the Mao family, and the Zhang family was behind him..."

"It's still not right,"

Wu Mao hesitated,

"What does all this have to do with Chen Hong?"

"He comes from a family of officials and is very wealthy from maritime trade. As long as we don't get involved, who dares to do anything to him?"

Why did he help suppress the murder, getting himself so deeply involved?

After careful consideration, Chen Dong said, "Let the Ministry of Personnel assist in the investigation to see if any of the family members or relatives of the officials involved hold any important positions in Fuzhou."

"Since Chen Hong wasn't involved at the scene of the crime, it's highly likely that it happened in his hometown!"

.......

Chapter 3300 The Trouble Caused by the Rebellious Son

"Your Majesty, Xu Fuyan, the Minister of Justice, has been kneeling outside for a whole day."

"He had fainted earlier but was revived, and after resting for a while, he knelt down again," the eunuch said in a low voice.

Zhao Yuan rubbed his forehead: "Bring him in."

Xu Fuyan was already old and had been kneeling and waiting all day, which nearly killed him. He was helped in by two eunuchs.

Zhao Yuan said, "Please take a seat."

"I dare not sit," Xu Fuyan said.

Zhao Yuan said to the eunuch, "Help him sit down."

Xu Fuyan, tears streaming down his face, said, "I am ashamed to have failed the Emperor's grace!"

Zhao Yuan asked, "How much are you involved?"

Xu Fuyan replied, "I was completely unaware of this, but my unfilial son..."

Zhao Yuan remained silent, believing that Xu Fuyan was unaware of the situation.

Because Xu Fuyan is already old, he will have to retire after working for a few more years.

If all goes well, he will definitely be promoted to Grand Secretary upon retirement and return home in glory as an honorary Vice Prime Minister.

But he's lucky to have such a good son.

Who can be blamed for failing to properly educate one's children?

The first former Song official to pledge allegiance to Zhao Yuan was Gao Jingshan.

The first former Song officials to pledge allegiance to Zhao Yuan were Xu Fuyan and Liu Jian.

Xu Fuyan held a higher official position in the Former Song Dynasty than Gao Jingshan.

Zhao Yuan really didn't want to see this situation. He wasn't a cold-blooded emperor; he was much more compassionate than other emperors.

"Tell me about it," Zhao Yuan sighed.

Xu Fuyan recounted in detail: "I was completely unaware of this matter until His Majesty ordered a joint trial by the three judicial departments, and I, as the Minister of Justice, was ordered to recuse myself..."

“I have three sons. One son is an official in Shandong, and another son is an official in Hunan.”

"Only that youngest son is ignorant and incompetent, and he has always followed me around."

"He was also one of the first to pledge allegiance to the government. He had already taken up a post in Hanzhong, but after so many years, he is still just a minor official in the capital."

“I was ordered to recuse myself from the joint trial by the three judicial departments, and I guessed that it was related to that bastard son. No matter how I questioned him, he would not admit it.”

"I was secretly relieved, thinking that it was just that the Xu family and the Mao family were related by marriage."

“Until yesterday, when that wicked son learned that many officials had been arrested and brought back to the capital, including officials from the Ministry of Justice, he burst into tears and confessed to the old minister.”

"This unfilial son is audacious and reckless. He took a beautiful concubine from the Mao family and also accepted three thousand strings of cash from them."

"A woman, three thousand strings of cash, and he actually dared to interfere in a murder case!"

"He invited Pan Zongdan, a senior official in the Ministry of Justice, to a banquet in his name, asking Pan Zongdan to help suppress the case."

"It's difficult for a mere junior official in the Ministry of Justice to completely suppress a murder case. This wicked son..."

"That unfilial son actually used the pretext of delivering medicine to me to sneak into the Ministry of Justice with the review document prepared by Pan Zongdan, steal the official seal, stamp it, and even forged my handwriting to sign his name!"

Xu Fuyan became more and more agitated as he spoke, and when he talked about stealing the seal and forging the signature, he was so angry that he was trembling violently.

Often, the truth is simple and unadorned.

Just like in real-world business battles, it's possible to simply bribe a cleaning lady to pour boiling water on the rival company's cash cow and destroy it.

The Minister of Justice's own son came to deliver medicine to the Minister; which official in the Ministry of Justice dared to stop him?

When Xu Fuyan saw her son bringing medicine, she would only think that her son was very filial. She would never have worried that her son would steal the seal and stamp.

With a junior official from the Ministry of Justice helping to cover things up, and the Minister of Justice's stamp and signature, a murder case could be easily suppressed!

Chapter 3301 For the Dowry

Zhao Yuan said, "Your son is beyond saving. You should claim illness and go home to await the investigation."

If they dare to steal seals and forge signatures, what else wouldn't they dare to do?

Xu Fuyan's son is probably guilty of numerous crimes and has secretly amassed a fortune.

And there are probably more than one corrupt official in the Ministry of Justice.

.....

The trial continued the following day.

The first person to be interrogated was Ying Shan, the censor in charge of the inspection.

This person is not old, just turned thirty, a true young talent.

He calmly walked into the hall, bowed to the presiding judges, and then quietly waited for the interrogation.

Chen Dong said, "You are the first person in the Inspectorate to commit a crime."

Ying Shan replied, "I am certainly not the only one committing crimes within the Censorate."

"The censors of the new dynasty have too much power, and countless people come to curry favor with them. There are always a few who cannot resist the temptation."

"But if they aren't given that much power, the censors won't be able to investigate effectively in the local areas, and they'll just become useless people who report based on hearsay."

“You’re absolutely right,”

Chen Dong said expressionlessly,

"Once this case is closed, I will conduct a self-investigation within the Inspectorate!"

"Please feel free to ask whatever you wish to know, esteemed officials."

Ying Shan's composed demeanor made it seem as if he had not come to be judged, but rather to have tea and a chat.

Wu Mao couldn't help but say, "Don't you feel any remorse at all?"

Ying Shan said, "I regretted it a long time ago, but it was too late."

"You have to take responsibility for what you've done, no matter how big it is. Refusing to admit your guilt will only bring shame upon yourself."

“You’re a sensible person, yet you’ve done something foolish,” Pan Liangui said with great regret.

Chen Dong said, "Tell me everything you know."

Ying Shan suddenly closed his eyes, as if recalling the past: "The first time I accepted a bribe was in Guozhou (Lingbao)."

“There are gold mines in the mountains of Guozhou. The people mine them and the government collects the gold; this has always been the case.”

"The gold mines there are scattered, and they are discovered from time to time, but none of them are large mines. The imperial court did not set up a supervisory office to collect gold, but instead appointed a sub-prefect to supervise gold affairs."

“Bi Nan, the prefect of Guozhou, colluded with Shi Jingquan, the mine owner, to secretly mine the newly discovered gold mine, but failed to report it to the government and evaded gold tax.”