Chapter 369: 103. Testimony

103. Testimony

"What is your surname and given name?"

"Magistrate Ouyang, given name Rong, courtesy name Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan."

"Place of origin."

"Luling, Nanlong County, Magistrate Ouyang Clan."

"Position."

"Grade 6 (Junior) Jiangzhou Registrar, formerly served as Grade 7 Longcheng Magistrate... passed the imperial examination in the first year of Jiushi..."

Two voices, one questioning and one answering, echoed through the spacious main hall.

Chenjun Xie Xie Lingjiang was not wearing his official robes; he stood in the hall with his hands behind his back, replying calmly and fluently.

After a round of questioning.

The familiar voice from directly above the hall paused slightly, then asked the critical question:

"Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan, at the Xicheng Gate, you publicly executed Vanguard Commander Zhu Zhu Lingxu. Was this intentional, or accidental?"

Magistrate Ouyang Rong affirmed: "Intentional."

"Good, since you say it was accidental, how do you prove... Eh? Wait, what did you say!" The questioner at the head of the hall suspected they had misheard.

"Intentional." Magistrate Ouyang Rong nodded, speaking bluntly: "With the expedition imminent, the commanding general fled in fear of punishment, attempted to deceive the city defenses, and even dared to assault a garrison official. Neither city regulations nor military law can tolerate this. Kill without pardon. If it happened again, I would still drop my sword; the beheading was intentional."

"This... Brother Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan, your words..."

At the very head of the hall, Jiangzhou Commandant Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin, who was in charge of the interrogation, could not help but show a look of difficulty and muttered in a low voice.

The scribe in charge of recording the testimony beside him could not help but pause his brush, glancing sideways at Commandant Yuan, his eyes asking for instructions on whether this statement should be recorded.

Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin, who had been pulled in today to take charge of the interrogation on short notice, also had a headache. He quietly looked around, and taking advantage of the fact that the cold, palace-attired young woman was not there, he said cautiously:

"Brother Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan, these words are somewhat inappropriate. Following procedure is one thing, but the testimony is very important. Generally, the crime is determined by the confession, and the confession is the most crucial... How about... How about I ask again?"

Magistrate Ouyang Rong looked at the Great Commandant Yuan, who was wearing his official hat properly today.

"Ahem."

Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin cleared his throat, then put on a serious expression and spoke loudly again, echoing through the hall:

"Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan, I ask you again: at the Xicheng Gate, you publicly executed Vanguard Commander Zhu Zhu Lingxu. Was this intentional, or accidental?"

"Intentional."

"..." Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin and the scribe.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong knew Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin was doing this for his own good; he nodded at his friend, then shook his head.

Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin sighed helplessly; why was he so stubborn?

"A fine 'intentional'."

A cold voice came from outside the hall. Rong Zhen walked into the hall with her sleeves tucked, saying expressionlessly:

"Record it."

Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin hurriedly looked straight ahead and sat upright.

The scribe immediately straightened his expression and recorded the testimony in full.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong's expression remained calm.

The palace-attired young woman walked past Magistrate Ouyang Rong in the center of the hall without looking at him, walked to the head of the hall, stood beside Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin's official desk, turned around, and looked down at Magistrate Ouyang Rong coldly.

Inside the hall, the atmosphere dropped to freezing point. For a time, no one spoke.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong felt more and more that this cold woman was like a refrigerator; wherever she went, the temperature dropped.

"Ahem."

Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin covered his mouth with a fist, coughed, and asked seriously:

"Lady Historian, has the interrogation of Prince Jiangzhou Cishi been completed and the testimony recorded?"

Rong Zhen ignored him, took the testimony file from the scribe, lowered her eyelashes, and scanned it rapidly.

Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin had a thick skin and did not feel embarrassed.

It was already late at night, past midnight.

A day and a half had passed since Zhu Zhu Yuheng led the vanguard army to defect;

Five hours had passed since Zhu Zhu Lingxu was beheaded by Magistrate Ouyang Rong at the city gate.

Prince Xunyang City had now entered a state of emergency combat readiness.

Every household was ordered to close their doors and was not allowed to go out at will. On the streets were squads of patrol soldiers standing by in full battle gear, led by female officials and palace attendants.

A strict curfew was implemented throughout the city.

Several of Zhu Zhu Lingxu's trusted subordinates had already been taken into custody.

The generals of the vanguard camp outside the city had all had their fish tallies confiscated by the Army Supervisor Rong Zhen, who held the Emperor's mandate to "act as circumstances require." In such a large military camp, without this thin and petite palace-attired young woman's word, not a single soldier could be mobilized for the time being.

The Jiangzhou main hall was the same.

Rong Zhen and other female officials took direct control.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong, Wang Wang Lengran, and other officials involved in the Jiangzhou main hall were temporarily relieved of their duties and had to hand over their official seals.

They needed to undergo interrogation by the state's criminal official, the Commandant, and the resident Censor day and night, recording testimony regarding the vanguard's defection, Zhu Zhu Lingxu's fleeing in fear of punishment, and other matters.

Only after clearing their suspicions could they leave.

The Jiangzhou main hall at this moment, even though it was the middle of the night, was still brightly lit, with officials of all levels present, bitterly working overtime.

The remains of Zhu Zhu Lingxu, with his corpse, head, and arms separated, were roughly pieced together and placed in the open-air courtyard, covered with a piece of white cloth.

Outside the main hall, it was surrounded and guarded by heavy troops.

Before the incident was generally investigated and characterized, not even a mosquito could fly out.

It was not just the brightly lit Jiangzhou main hall; from the low-key and silent Prince Xunyang Wang Fu in Chaisang Ward in the north of the city, to the heavily guarded Prince Xunyang Ferry Pier on the riverbank in the south of the city, one wondered how many people in the entire Prince Xunyang City were suffering from insomnia tonight.

However, from the handling of this sudden situation, one could roughly see the degree of control the Wei Clan Empress in Shenjing Luoyang, who acted as the referee, had over Prince Xunyang City, thousands of miles away.

That night when Guo Yu and Meng Meng Shouguang falsely transmitted news from the Xiang Wang Fu, if Magistrate Ouyang Rong and Li Su Xian's family had dared to leave the Prince Xunyang Wang Fu.

The fate of being directly beheaded at the city gate like Zhu Zhu Lingxu would probably have been reserved for them, without even room for explanation.

And the state of being fully taken over and strictly prohibited by female officials tonight would also not have been absent.

This was the cruelty of political struggle; it did not value the process, only the result, and valued established facts.

As for the process, as long as no handle was left behind, giving people a chance to weigh and measure it, it was fine.

This was the game rule that Li Su Guoer sighed about in front of the ruins of Juxian Garden that night.

It was just that at this moment, this monstrous "treatment" had fallen on the heads of Zhu Zhu Lingxu, Wang Wang Lengran, and other Wei Clan helpers.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong pursed his lips, withdrawing his gaze from Zhu Zhu Lingxu's white-cloth-covered corpse in the courtyard outside the door behind him.

He happened to collide with the gaze of Rong Zhen, who was looking at the confession.

The two looked at each other.

She asked coldly:

"I told you to put down your sword; are you deaf?"

"I heard, but I'm not familiar with Lady Historian, so I didn't quite recognize you."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong nodded and praised: "However, Lady Historian's shout was indeed a bit frightening. My hands shook when I was executing the prisoner. Fortunately, the sword was sharp enough not to disgrace the mission of a garrison official."

"So, you are still very proud?"

"I dare not." He paused and said sincerely: "There is still room for improvement; I must guard against arrogance and rashness."

Rong Zhen was not here to bicker; she was too lazy to quibble and directly took out a "heavy" red cloth and threw it on the table.

Everyone looked over; inside were the broken pieces of Chen You's short sword, which had snapped into four sections.

The palace-attired young woman pointed at the broken sword and asked indifferently:

"Zhu Zhu Lingxu snatched Chen You's sword to assault you, but how do you explain the state of this sword?"

"That's a question."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong smiled:

"Is Lady Historian blaming my neck for being too hard, or blaming the sword for not being sharp enough to cut my neck? Hmm, no matter what you are blaming, you are certainly not blaming Commander Zhu for the assault, but blaming me for having too hard a life.

"Bringing personal likes and dislikes into the investigation of a case is not very good."

"Neither like nor dislike." Rong Zhen said coldly: "I don't help anyone."

You don't help anyone, but you give everyone a foul face.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong nodded: "This sword belongs to Commander Chen. You must have already read his testimony, Lady Historian, so why ask me again?"

Rong Zhen frowned slightly:

"He testified that this sword was a sword of peace that had been blessed at Donglin Temple and was used as a decoration and a peace talisman in daily life. However, he said that this temple was recommended by you casually."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong nodded:

"That's right. I once stayed at Donglin Temple when I was ill, so naturally, I am familiar with it and recommended it first.

"However, a sword of peace is meant to be peaceful and kind; it can't kill people. This is very normal."

He nodded seriously.

Rong Zhen was expressionless.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong coughed:

"Well, as for why the quality of this sword is so poor, it must have something to do with Donglin Temple, which was responsible for the blessing. By the way, the abbot of Donglin Temple, the high monk Da Hui, is in the city. Lady Historian, please feel free."

He reminded her.

Rong Zhen squinted at Magistrate Ouyang Rong.

She was responsible for interrogating Chen You and found no lies. As for the high monk Da Hui, Shan Dao, she had actually gone to ask him, but this old monk was also a master of Tai Chi, and his proficiency was even more outrageous than Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan's.

He talked to her about the Zen principle of "dependent origination and emptiness," saying that the Buddha's sword requires affinity to kill... or save people.

This high monk Da Hui even promoted his business of praying for children to her.

Rong Zhen had already given him face by not tearing down his broken temple.

After all, he was a high monk designated by the Emperor to protect the country and was involved in the construction of the Donglin Great Buddha, so Rong Zhen could not use special means to force an interrogation.

Therefore, it was very difficult to prove that he had been instructed by Magistrate Ouyang Rong.

But on second thought, even if this "peaceful" short sword was a foreshadowing deliberately set by Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan, what could it prove?

At most, it showed that Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan held hostility toward Zhu Zhu Lingxu, had been on guard all along, and even engaged in fishing law enforcement to take the opportunity to behead him.

But the hostility between the two was already known to everyone privately.

Zhu Zhu Lingxu still fled in fear of punishment and was still suspected of assaulting the city gate garrison official; this could never be washed away.

Thinking of this, Rong Zhen had no interest in wasting time with these two foxes, one big and one small.

The most important thing right now was to investigate the defection of Zhu Zhu Lingxu's eldest son leading the vanguard army. This was the source of the earthquake, and the Great Zhou imperial court far away in Shenjing Luoyang would inevitably be shaken to its foundations.

Rong Zhen pursed her lips.

At present, Zhu Zhu Yuheng had already fled to Hongzhou City to seek refuge with Cai Qin.

Rong Zhen could not go to find him to interrogate the reason for the defection.

What's more, he had already defected, so why ask for the reason? It was already a capital crime, kill without pardon.

As for Zhu Zhu Lingxu, he was dead, and his fleeing in fear of punishment had already been confirmed. What else could be said?

Moreover, for such an old fox to choose to flee, it already showed that he was either guilty or knew he could not argue his case, so he could only flee.

So even if he were alive, with Wang Wang Lengran and other Wei Clan members protecting him, it would only be to serve as a scapegoat for the Wei Clan during the court struggle. His fate would not necessarily be better than being beheaded at the city gate; perhaps he would even end up committing suicide in prison by stabbing himself three times in the back.

On the other side where Rong Zhen had just come from, the Persian merchant Li Li, Jiangzhou Jiangzhou Cishi Wang Wang Lengran, and others insisted during interrogation that it was Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan's conspiracy.

As for the reason, they could not produce any at all. In their anxiety, someone even said that only Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan could do such a thing. It was unclear whether this was a compliment or an insult.

So this pile of testimony looked more like a counter-bite.

Rong Zhen suddenly asked: "The day before Zhu Zhu Lingxu died, you took a day off. Where did you go?"

Magistrate Ouyang Rong frowned: "You ask about such private matters?"

"You can be even more presumptuous." Rong Zhen nodded, her cold eyes like knives.

A strand of hair fell from Magistrate Ouyang Rong's temple. He raised his eyebrows slightly, deciding that a good man should not fight with a woman, and temporarily yielded to this woman's tyranny:

"Well, I was at the Prince Xunyang Wang Fu. The heir invited me to appreciate the zither. In the newly renovated Juxian Garden, a banquet was set, saying we wouldn't return until we were drunk..."

"So you stayed for a day and two nights."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong smiled embarrassedly.

"Are there any witnesses?"

Magistrate Ouyang Rong thought for a while: "That day, there should have been quite a few people who saw me walk into the Wang Fu and never come out. Lady Historian can go and ask them."

"Good."

Rong Zhen snorted coldly, walked out of the hall, and left a sentence.

"Continue."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong watched her leave.

Yuan Watching Yuan Huaimin breathed a sigh of relief and turned to continue interrogating Magistrate Ouyang Rong.

Subsequently, a batch of new Censors arrived one after another to take over the interrogation.

A night passed quickly.

Early the next morning, Rong Zhen went to the Prince Xunyang Wang Fu to inquire of the heir Li Su Dalang and others.

The result was an affirmative answer, and there were even quite a few maids who, when passing by Juxian Garden, saw Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan's red-clothed figure playing the zither at the pavilion from afar.

However, due to private reasons, the maids could not get close and could only watch the red shadow from afar. It was Princess Consort Wei Mei and the little princess Li Su Guoer who personally delivered tea and snacks.

And both mother and daughter testified for Magistrate Ouyang Rong.

Rong Zhen was silent.

In the following two days, the entire Prince Xunyang City fell into dead silence.

The news of the vanguard's defection and Zhu Zhu Lingxu's beheading by the garrison official for fleeing in fear of punishment had already reached Shenjing Luoyang. At present, it was in a window period, and the reaction from Shenjing Luoyang had not yet arrived.

At the same time, Rong Zhen and other female officials also submitted the course of events and the testimony of the involved officials one after another.

Everyone in Prince Xunyang City was quietly waiting for the reaction from Shenjing Luoyang.

Everyone knew that that was where the real big storm was brewing.

Just as people were panicking, the Jiang Nan Circuit Pacification Ambassador and Prince Xunyang Prince Li Su Xian personally went out to the Jiangzhou main hall to talk privately with Rong Zhen and other female officials.

No one knew what was discussed.

However, that afternoon, the blockade of the Jiangzhou main hall was lifted.

The main gate slowly opened, and a group of officials, still shaken, walked out one after another to return home temporarily.

However, they were still ordered not to leave Prince Xunyang City by even half a step.

After all, it was a state of war, and with the great enemy Cai Qin in Hongzhou, Prince Xunyang City could not be paralyzed for too long.

Especially Jiangzhou Registrar Magistrate Ouyang Rong, who was also responsible for the construction of the Jiangzhou Great Buddha.

Perhaps this was also the reason why Rong Zhen loosened her mouth.

Thus, order in Prince Xunyang City was roughly restored and returned to the right track.

However, before the instructions from Shenjing Luoyang arrived, it was still loose on the outside but tight on the inside.

Under the sunset of dusk, Magistrate Ouyang Rong walked out of the Jiangzhou main hall and boarded a carriage that had been waiting for a long time.

Inside the carriage, Chenjun Xie Xie Lingjiang was wearing plain white men's sword clothes today, no longer the red clothes she wore when Magistrate Ouyang Rong took his leave. She looked at Magistrate Ouyang Rong, who had bloodshot eyes, and could not help but touch his cold hand:

"Is Senior Brother alright? Drink a sip..." She handed over ginger soup.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong shook his head. Being interrogated continuously by Censors and old criminal officials, even though his status as Jiangzhou Registrar made everyone afraid to use torture, it was also very mentally exhausting. Those were all experts in investigating cases, and Magistrate Ouyang Rong had kept his heartstrings taut, not telling the whole truth and not telling any lies.

After boarding the carriage, he first instructed Yan Yan Liulang outside: "Keep an eye on Li Li and Wang Wang Lengran. If there are signs of them leaving the city, report immediately."

Chenjun Xie Xie Lingjiang suddenly asked:

"Eighth Grade?"

Magistrate Ouyang Rong nodded and took a sip of ginger soup.

He felt the mythical spirituality flowing in his body, just like the warm current of ginger soup going down his throat:

"Ninth Grade is called Scholar, Eighth Grade is called... Craftsman."

Chenjun Xie Xie Lingjiang did not speak and took out a handkerchief from her sleeve.

The beauty leaned forward and gently wiped the tired but firm face of the young man who had been promoted to a "Craftsman" sword wielder.

The carriage swayed, and the two were in perfect harmony, silent and tacit.

(End of chapter)