The coroner and the concubine doctor pursue the murderer in the Dali Temple

Ke Yuwen laughed loudly, "Murdering the prince? Who has evidence to prove that I murdered the prince? You will all be wiped out in a flash, and I can say whatever I want."

"So, you are determined not to leave me any chance of survival?" Xiao Mubei's voice was as cold as ice.

Ke Yuwen slowly approached the cave entrance. "My Lord, if you want to blame someone, blame yourself. Why did you come to Southern Xinjiang at this time? And why do you have to care about the affairs of Jumu Village?"

"So, you admit that you were the one who destroyed Jumu Village?"

"So what if I did it? Who made the people in this village so ungrateful? I asked them to hand over 70% of the profits from Feizixiao to the court to develop the salt mine, but they refused. Isn't it also beneficial to the country and the people if I develop the salt mine? In the future, this salt mine will be next to Jumu Village. Are you still worried that it won't bring them any benefits?"

Chu Yunxi was extremely angry after hearing this. This man was so shameless that he could even make the claim of being blinded by greed sound so righteous.

"Benefit the country, the people or yourself? Are you going to hand over the salt mine to the court? Aren't you going to embezzle it and sell it for personal gain?" Chu Yunxi sneered, "Just because the villagers are unwilling to hand over 70% of the Feizixiao profits, you sent people to destroy Jumu Village. Are you qualified to be the parent official of Qingluo Town? The villagers worked hard to grow lychees, why should they give you 70% of the profits?"

"If it weren't for the soil and water in southern Xinjiang, would they be able to grow such high-quality Fei Xiao? If I hadn't offered Fei Xiao as a tribute to the imperial court, who would have known that Fei Xiao is so abundant here? These people are ungrateful. I'm willing to give them 30%, which is already a bargain for them."

Ke Yuwen's voice also rose, and he obviously didn't think he had done anything wrong. After he said these words, he took a breath and laughed at himself, "Forget it, they are all dead, I won't bother with them. Your Majesty, there was a landslide here a few days ago, and I had no choice but to bury explosives and prepare to blast the mine again. You have also made a contribution to the development of the salt mine. Such a large project always requires some sacrifices. In the future, when the salt mine makes a profit, I will bring people to pay tribute to Your Majesty."

After that, Ke Yuwen was about to take his men away, but Xiao Mubei called out, "Wait a minute."

Ke Yuwen paused, "Does the prince have any last words?"

Xiao Mubei said: "Since I can't escape death, Master Ke might as well let me be a clear-headed ghost."

"What else do you want to know?" Ke Yuwen sneered, "Don't try to delay time. I know General Wu's army is stationed a hundred miles away. It's too late to ask for help now."

"It's too late, so what are you afraid of, Lord Ke? I just don't want to die unclearly. Who is he?" Xiao Mubei pointed at Qingshan. "When I become a ghost in the future, I have to know who to take revenge on."

Qingshan laughed loudly and took a step forward. "I am Hong Qingshan, the head of the Qingcheng Stronghold near Qingluo Town."

"They are indeed bandits, Lord Ke. You officials and bandits are colluding with each other to bully the people and take their lives lightly. You are really good at this."

Xiao Mubei's voice was cold. Ke Yuwen felt a little uneasy when he was stared at. Just as he was about to say something, Xiao Mubei asked again: "How many people were buried here in the mine accident a few days ago?"

"There are only about a hundred people." Ke Yuwen said nonchalantly.

Chu Yunxi's anger rose when she heard him speak so lightly. She couldn't help but take out her needle crossbow, wanting to shoot to death this crooked official who took people's lives so lightly.

Xiao Mubei noticed Chu Yunxi's unusual movements, and hurriedly held her hand, and continued to ask: "Ke Yuwen, you privately opened a salt mine, and improper operation caused a landslide, a mine collapse, and more than a hundred miners died. Do you plead guilty?"

Ke Yuwen seemed to have heard a joke. "My Lord, what difference does it make whether I plead guilty or not? Can you still arrest me and take me back to the Dali Temple?"

Xiao Mubei ignored his sarcasm and continued, "You colluded with bandits, massacred civilians, and killed 78 villagers in Jumu Village. Do you plead guilty?"

"I admit it, so what?" Ke Yuwen's face darkened. "It's getting late. Your Highness may as well add another crime to my list. I murdered the prince and the general. I admit it as well so that I can send your Highness and your wife off to their deaths."

Xiao Mubei smiled coldly, "There's no need to add this charge, because... you don't have the ability to do it!"

Ke Yuwen's face changed, and he instinctively realized that something was wrong. However, before he could turn around, he heard deafening shouts of killing behind him. Ke Yuwen and Qingshan looked back in horror, and saw a large number of soldiers rushing down from the mountains on both sides. They were so powerful that there were at least nearly a thousand people.

"This...how is this possible?" Ke Yuwen opened his eyes wide and looked at the soldiers rushing towards him in disbelief.

Hong Qingshan suddenly reacted and directed the people beside him, "Quick, go light the fuse."

The man hurriedly ran, but after taking two steps, he suddenly fell down for some unknown reason and lay motionless.

Ke Yuwen and Hong Qingshan were shocked. They didn’t see how the person fell. Could it be that someone used a hidden weapon?

In the mine, Chu Yunxi put down the needle crossbow and said, "I really want to give Ke Yuwen an injection."

Xiao Mubei curled his lips, "It's such a pity that he can't see such a wonderful scene."

Seeing that the soldiers were about to rush over, Ke Yuwen and Hong Qingshan finally panicked. Hong Qingshan wanted to touch the fuse himself, but suddenly he heard the sound of wind in his ears. His martial arts skills were pretty good, so he twisted his body and avoided Chu Yunxi's needle.

But at this moment, a purple-robed guard fell from the sky and blocked his way. A sharp sword came straight towards Hong Qingshan's face. Hong Qingshan had to retreat. Another purple-robed guard fell down, and the soldiers also rushed over. The two sides immediately started fighting.

The Purple Guards were just up there and saw Hong Qingshan opening the mechanism. They knew where the mechanism was, so someone went to open the mechanism at the entrance of the salt mine and released Xiao Mubei and the others.

Ke Yuwen hid aside, squatting there and shivering. Xiao Mubei walked up to him, squatted down as well, and looked at Ke Yuwen's deathly pale face.

"Ke Yuwen, since you have confessed your guilt, just follow me back to the Dali Temple to stand trial. Do you have anything else to say?"

Ke Yuwen's teeth chattered as he stammered, "Your Majesty, I...oh no, I know I was wrong. Please...please, Your Majesty, spare my life."

Xiao Mubei's face was expressionless, and he said calmly: "When you killed those villagers, did you ever think of sparing their lives? When those miners were buried, did you ever think of seizing the time to search and rescue, maybe you could save some people? Ke Yuwen, killing you a hundred times is not enough to appease the public anger. You are responsible for more than a hundred lives. How dare you ask me to spare your life?"