Meng Zheng's smile grew broader. "There are two charming young ladies in the Kaifeng Prefecture."
"Ah!" Yan Tongshu shouted. "Meng Zheng, I'm going to fight you!"
Meng Zheng clamped his legs on the horse's belly and galloped away at full speed. Knowing he couldn't catch up, Yan Tongshu could only fume in place.
Meng Zheng's laughter drifted on the wind. "My lord Yan, one day when you and Zhang Jiu stroll together like sisters, you'll surely become the dream fairies of the young men in Bianjing!"
Yan Tongshu clenched her fists. "Zhang Jiu, he's teasing us. Let's beat him up."
Zhang Jiu pursed her lips and smiled lightly. "Yes, yes, my lord Yan."
However, before Zhang Jiu could make a move, Meng Zheng and the Divine Guards had already left.
Yan Tongshu clenched her fists tightly and silently swore revenge in her heart.
After venting her anger, she looked up and found Qin Yi staring at her intently. Yan Tongshu pulled the reins and rode up to Qin Yi. "Your Majesty, do you have any orders for your subject?"
Qin Yi pursed his thin lips, his eyes filled with a complicated look.
He asked, "Are you three... quite familiar with each other?"
Well, of course!
The three of them—she and Zhang Jiu served in the Kaifeng Prefecture, and Meng Zheng was in charge of the Divine Guards, assisting the Kaifeng Prefecture in protecting Bianjing. With such a close connection, it was only natural for them to get to know each other well.
Yan Tongshu was confused. "Your Majesty, your subject doesn't understand what you mean."
Qin Yi frowned, as if pondering a great problem. He asked, "Are you also friends?"
Yan Tongshu nodded.
Qin Yi asked, "Do you usually address them by their given names like this?"
Yan Tongshu answered honestly, "In formal occasions, we still use official titles. But in private and relaxed moments, we call each other by our names. Everyone does it like this."
"I see..."
Qin Yi lowered his eyelashes slightly, as if in deep thought.
Yan Tongshu had absolutely no idea what he was thinking. She simply said, "Your Majesty, let's go back early and conduct the night interrogation to finalize the case."
"Alright." Qin Yi replied absent - mindedly and turned his horse around.
He rode in front, while Yan Tongshu and Zhang Jiu followed behind.
After a while, Qin Yi slowed down his horse and made a gesture for Yan Tongshu to come forward.
Yan Tongshu rode closer. "Your Majesty, do you have any orders?"
Qin Yi's lips twitched, and he slowly said, "We are also friends."
Yan Tongshu was confused again. So what?
Qin Yi pursed his lips. "Call me by my name."
Yan Tongshu fell silent.
Qin Yi said firmly, "I allow you to call me by my given name in private."
The air instantly turned dead silent.
At this moment, it was Yan Tongshu's turn to look at Qin Yi with a complicated expression.
Did this dog emperor know what he was doing and saying?
Yan Tongshu took a deep breath. "Your Majesty, this is not a private moment."
Qin Yi's gaze remained fixed on Yan Tongshu's face. After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and spurred his horse forward.
As the emperor increased his speed, Yan Tongshu had no choice but to follow suit.
After a hasty journey, they finally returned to the Kaifeng Prefecture and held the trial right away.
Yan Tongshu still sat in the chief judge's seat, while Qin Yi sat on the side as an observer.
Li Fulin and Zhang Jiu sat in the deputy - judge seats.
In the courtroom, the torches illuminated the place as brightly as day.
Ten suspects were brought in and lined up on their knees on the ground.
Yan Tongshu sat upright behind the table and coldly demanded, "Yan Qichu, you ten have committed crimes such as operating illegal gambling dens, abducting women, indecent assault, murder, and stealing military supplies. Do you admit to these crimes?"
Yan Qichu exchanged a look with Chu Jincheng, and they both sneered disdainfully. "My lord Yan, we were caught red - handed. We admit to operating the gambling dens, abducting ten women, and stealing the scrapped military supplies. But for the other crimes, do you have any evidence? What do you mean by indecent assault? And who did we kill? Whom did we assault indecently?"
Everyone wanted to live. When Yan Qichu said this, the other nine echoed him. "Yes, show the evidence. Without evidence, why should we admit it?"
Yan Qichu slowly raised his eyebrows and said arrogantly, "We just felt like having a drink and playing some games with a few girls today. What's the big deal? At most, we'll pay a fine and serve a couple of years in prison. Are you going to make us pay with our lives?"
Yan Tongshu's face darkened. "You mean, it was just this one time today?"
Yan Qichu scoffed. "Could there have been other times?"
Chu Jincheng also chimed in, "If there were really other times, it just means there are many other boring people like us. We admit to this time, but the others have nothing to do with us."
"Yes, my lord Yan, you can't pin other people's crimes on us just to solve the case." Yu Youjin led the others in an uproar.
Yan Tongshu's face grew even colder.
"Clang!"
Qin Yi gently placed his teacup on the table.
The courtroom suddenly fell silent.
Yu Youjin and the others cowered in fear.
Yan Qichu gritted his teeth.
They were all afraid of the emperor. They knew they couldn't escape punishment, but they would never admit to the death penalty.
No matter what, they had to save their lives first.
Yan Tongshu fixed her cold gaze on Yan Qichu and asked again, "Are you sure it was only this one time?"
Yan Qichu raised his eyebrows. "Just this one time."
"Bold!" Yan Tongshu slapped the gavel and shouted angrily. "His Majesty has come in person. You're on the verge of death but still refuse to repent. Guards, bring in Xie Qiang, Bi Ke, and He Ji!"
Yan Qichu's face changed slightly.
The sound of clanking chains grew closer.
Soon, Xie Qiang, Bi Ke, and He Ji were brought in, wearing chains.
The three of them saw Yan Qichu and the others kneeling on the ground and immediately rushed towards them, crying, "Young masters! Save us! Save us! We were just doing things for you!"
As soon as they said this, the ten of them dodged like they were avoiding snakes and scorpions. They quickly pulled up their sleeves and kicked the three men away. "I don't know him."
"I don't know these people either."
"This is a frame - up."
A cold smile flickered across Yan Tongshu's lips. "A frame - up? If it's a frame - up, why did they abduct the village girls with Yu Youjin and Li Zhang tonight? If you don't know them, why did you give them money?"
Yu Youjin stuck out his neck and shouted, "What evidence do you have?"
"No evidence is needed," Yan Tongshu's voice was extremely cold, and each word hit the courtroom heavily. "Because the Divine Guards lying in ambush outside tonight saw it with their own eyes, and it was also personally experienced by Miss Wenya, the kidnapped girl, and Assistant Magistrate Zhang of the Kaifeng Prefecture."
Yu Youjin's throat tightened, and most of his confidence was gone. He still stubbornly insisted, "Well... it was only this one time..."
Yan Tongshu ignored him and turned her gaze to Xie Qiang and the other two kneeling on the ground. "What do you say? Was it only this one time?"
Yan Qichu and the others showed threatening looks in their eyes. Yan Tongshu calmly said, "His Majesty is here. Confession will lead to lenient treatment. If you lie in front of the emperor, the crime of deceiving the emperor will result in the execution of nine generations of your family."
Xie Qiang trembled all over.
They were just errand - runners, spies, and record - keepers. At most, they would serve a few years in prison. How could they be involved in the execution of nine generations of their family?
Why should they take the blame for these young masters!
Xie Qiang crawled forward a few steps on his knees and cried, "I confess! My lord, I confess!"
He shed tears and his voice trembled. "Your humble servant is Xie Qiang, the son of the village head in the fishing village. I was no good at studying since childhood and have been loafing around the streets all day long. Four years ago, I had a bit too much to drink and was boasting to some people on the street. I said that my father was the village head and that I was the king of the village. I could go into any girl's room at night as I pleased."
"Those people didn't believe me. They said that if I really did that, I would have been sent to the yamen long ago. So I lied to them, saying that there were many weak and lonely girls in the village. They were gentle and timid. Some had lost their fathers and their mothers had remarried, while others had alcoholic fathers. They had no one to stand up for them. Even if I got into their beds, they could only endure it and didn't dare to say a word..."
Bi Ke nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes. I was there too at that time. Xie Qiang was just talking nonsense when he was drunk. We didn't take it seriously at first. Who knew that someone with an ulterior motive overheard us. The next day, he called us over and gave us a lot of silver. He asked us to go back and find out in detail how many such girls there were in the village, where they lived, and what their family situations were. He didn't tell us his intention at that time."
He Ji cowered into a ball timidly. "Well, the village head in the fishing village is Xie Qiang's father. He was always warm - hearted and loved to help others. Everyone trusted him very much. There was often a household register of the villagers in his house. Xie Qiang just had to look through it and he knew everything. Bi Ke and I are just ordinary people. We didn't know anything. We usually flattered Xie Qiang to get free drinks."
"After Xie Qiang collected the names and addresses of those girls, he gave them to the middle - man. That man gave him a large sum of money. Bi Ke and I were envious, so we asked Xie Qiang for advice. Xie Qiang said that the other side seemed not satisfied with these girls and wanted more. He introduced us to his friends from the neighboring villages."
"Those people were either the sons of the village heads or the sons of the local chiefs. We were used to flattering Xie Qiang, so it was easy for us to flatter others. So when we went to their houses to visit, we secretly looked at the household registers and wrote down all the names that met the requirements. The next day, we went to check the people on the list one by one."
Hearing that the two of them were pushing all the blame onto himself, Xie Qiang got so anxious that his voice cracked. "My lord, it wasn't my idea. If I were that smart, I wouldn't have achieved nothing at nearly thirty years old. It was them who wanted money and came up with the idea themselves."
Yan Tongshu knocked on the gavel. "Don't shirk your responsibilities. Keep talking."
"Yes." Xie Qiang lowered his head fearfully. "The year before last, in July, that middle - man found the three of us again and ordered us to lead the way to 'check the quality of those girls'. That's when we met the people behind it."
Yan Tongshu asked, "Who did you meet?"
Xie Qiang stretched out a trembling finger and pointed at Chu Jincheng.
Chu Jincheng's face turned ashen and his teeth chattered. "Nonsense! I don't even know him!"
"Really?" Yan Tongshu's voice was not loud, but it carried a chilling coldness. "Chu Jincheng, how dare you still be stubborn in front of the emperor? Do you know how to write the words 'deceiving the emperor'?"
Chu Jincheng gritted his back teeth tightly and didn't dare to say another word.
Xie Qiang continued, "At first, Young Master Chu and the others didn't trust us, so only he showed up. After we led the way for the first time, we were in the same boat. So they were not so on guard against us. We gradually got to know the other young masters too."
Bi Ke hurriedly added, "Especially Young Master Yan. He is the legitimate son of Prince Ming. We thought that with such a high - ranking official position, he would never get into trouble."
"Shut up!" Yan Qichu shouted sternly. Due to his overly excited emotions, the muscles in his shoulder suddenly tightened, tearing the wound. Blood gushed out wildly, soaking half of his robe.
Yan Tongshu just glanced at it casually and then shifted his gaze. "Do you have any evidence?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" The three of Xie Qiang almost said in unison, "We have the silver notes they used to bribe us."
After the three of them finished speaking, He Ji, who seemed to be the most timid, said, "Apart from the silver notes, that Young Master Chu and Young Master Yan have a very strict habit of making plans. Every time before they went to check the goods in advance, they would make a plan in advance to save time. Once, after Young Master Yan finished looking at it, he tore up the route plan and threw it into the river. Some pieces were caught by the stones. I picked them up, dried them, and always kept them in a book at home. There are Young Master Yan's words on it."
Yan Tongshu sent the yamen runners to follow and let Xie Qiang and the others go to get the clues.
Chu Jincheng was not convinced. "These are just confessions! These people have been bought by our enemies! This is a frame - up, a slander!"
"Really?" Yan Tongshu asked casually. Chu Jincheng suddenly got stuck.
Yan Tongshu was so calm that Chu Jincheng felt that they had nowhere to hide.
Yan Tongshu retorted, "Since it's a frame - up, why are you so anxious? After the plan is retrieved, we can compare the handwriting and find out the truth, can't we?"
After a pause, Yan Tongshu continued, "Summon Fatty Ding and Zheng Cai."
Yan Qichu's body suddenly swayed. "How did you..."
Yan Tongshu glanced at him contemptuously. "Do you think that the people from the Kaifeng Prefecture, the Divine Guards, and the Divine Might Army were all idle when you were causing trouble?"
"Let me tell you!" Yan Tongshu slammed the gavel in his hand, and the sound echoed through the room. "I and the emperor personally led people to check the military roster of the imperial guards. We screened out all the 56 people who met the conditions for the crime and investigated them one by one. There were still 40 people left. Since dawn today, all these 40 people, including you, have been under the surveillance of the imperial guards and the Kaifeng Prefecture."
"After confirming the identities of you ten people, all your private property, your individual bedrooms in the army, and your bank accounts in the bank have all been searched. Even the bedrooms where you live with your parents have not been spared. You can keep denying it and see if you can escape the punishment of the law!"
Yan Qichu and the others showed expressions of horror, and the blood instantly drained from their faces.
They didn't receive any wind in advance. They never thought they would be arrested tonight. So there were many things at home that they didn't have time to clean up.
Not only about this incident, but also many other private secrets that couldn't be exposed.
"But... but..." Chu Jincheng's lips were as pale as paper. During the long journey of being escorted to the Kaifeng Prefecture, the blood on his clothes had long since dried and stuck to his body. Now, with a cold sweat breaking out, the painful wounds on his body felt like being burned by fire.
He panicked fearfully. "How can you search without permission?"
"I permitted it."
With just a single sentence from Qin Yi, Chu Jincheng was like a man whose backbone had been pulled out. He completely fell silent.
Fatty Ding and Zheng Cai were brought up. The two of them confessed everything without any resistance.
After Fatty Ding finished talking about Zheng Cai's habit of buying five dan of Wu - shi powder every year, Zheng Cai, knowing that he was doomed, pushed all the blame onto Yan Qichu. "My lord Yan, Your Majesty, I'm just a servant. I dared not disobey my master's orders. I can testify that it was Young Master Yan who asked me to buy the Wu - shi powder. It was also Young Master Yan who asked me to smear the Wu - shi powder on the grapes. Oh, yes, there is also Wu - shi powder on the grapes tonight. My lord - "
He raised his finger and pointed at Yan Qichu, wailing and shouting, "It was all ordered by Young Master Yan! It has nothing to do with me! I really tried to persuade him at the beginning! But he wouldn't listen! Four years ago, he was kicked in the groin by Sikong Minghua. Since then, he has been in a slump, with a completely changed personality and an unpredictable temper. We were really too scared to..."
Bang!
Ignoring his wounds all over his body, Yan Qichu lunged forward and punched Zheng Cai to the ground.
"Shut up!"
He straddled Zheng Cai and punched him again and again like a madman. "You bastard, how dare you slander me! I'll kill you!"
After a brief moment of shock, the yamen runners quickly stepped forward and pulled Yan Qichu away.
Zheng Cai lay on the ground, on the verge of death.
Yan Qichu was held by the yamen runners by his arms. The wound on his leg started to bleed again, but he didn't seem to notice at all. With the blood - streaked whites of his eyes and bulging eyeballs, he looked like a fierce ghost at everyone.
Chu Jincheng, Yu Youjin and the others were all stunned.
So, it wasn't that Young Master Yan had remained chaste to his sister - in - law that he never touched women. It was because he couldn't.
So, the reason why his sister - in - law hadn't gotten pregnant after so many years of marriage wasn't her problem.
So that's how it was.
Suddenly, they all understood.
They understood why Young Master Yan had taken them to play all sorts of crazy games but never allowed them to touch the abducted women.
Since Young Master Yan couldn't touch women, he couldn't stand the sight of them doing so.
It was also precisely because he was impotent that he had a perverted mind. That's why he had come up with such a gambling game and was so angry when he heard that Yu Youjin had slept with Miss Yuanyang.
They had gathered around Yan Qichu to curry favor with him and Prince Ming in order to secure a good future for themselves.
But now, not only was their future gone, but their lives were also in jeopardy.
Yan Tongshu calmly said, "Yan Qichu, Zheng Cai had confessed before entering the courtroom."
Yan Tongshu picked up the confession signed and stamped by Zheng Cai. "Even if you pretend to be crazy and beat him to death, I already know everything. By now, the bodies you buried over the past three years have been found and are on their way to the Kaifeng Prefecture."
Zheng Cai was Yan Qichu's personal servant and the most trusted of his confidants. If he confessed, there were no more secrets.
Moreover, plenty of evidence could be found in these people's rooms.
Just then, a soldier of the Divine Might Army reported, "My Lord Yan, in the bedrooms of Yan Qichu, Chu Jincheng and ten others, we found many items related to the victimized girls. Each person had three items, which have been confirmed by the victims. They are the personal belongings of the girls who were violated in the first, second and third years respectively."
These scoundrels even kept "souvenirs"!
Yan Tongshu clenched his fists tightly.
The soldier of the Divine Might Army continued, "In the hidden compartments of the wardrobes of Yu Youjin and Li Zhang, we found the route planning map for this abduction. Since these two were responsible for abducting innocent women this time, they had the planning map. After comparison, the handwriting and writing habits on the planning map are consistent with Yan Qichu's handwriting left in the army. The small - character annotations are consistent with the handwriting of Yu Youjin and Li Zhang. In their correspondence with each other, ten letters mentioned this case, and they said they had a great time and were looking forward to the quality of the girls selected this year."
As soldiers, they were used to making detailed plans and deductions before each operation to prevent any accidents. This ingrained habit had unexpectedly become iron - clad evidence of their crimes.
The soldier of the Divine Might Army added, "We checked the bank accounts of these ten people one by one. In the past three years, all ten of them had large - scale bill acceptances three days before July 16th. These banknotes are the same as the ones found in the villa of the criminals in this case. Among them, the expenditure in Yan Qichu's account matches the quantity and time of the purchase of Wu - shi powder."
The Divine Might Army handed all the seized items to Yan Tongshu.
Yan Tongshu opened the route planning map and the ten letters and held them up. "Yu Youjin, Li Zhang, this route planning map was found in your rooms, and there are your personal annotations on it."
Yu Youjin and Li Zhang completely lost their hope.
Especially Li Zhang, the son of a high - ranking official. The villa where they committed the crimes was rented in his name with the money pooled by the ten of them. He was doomed anyway.
They only used the villa for a few days a year, and the rest of the time, he would bring his friends there to show off.
At that time, he thought he had gotten a great deal.
Yan Tongshu said again, "Chao Gai, Xue Baojian, Wei Jian, these three letters are your correspondence."
The three of them were silent and didn't dare to say a word.
At this time, the yamen runners of the Kaifeng Prefecture carried three corpses into the courtroom. Each corpse was covered with a white cloth and placed heavily under the courtroom.
Yan Tongshu looked at Yan Qichu and questioned, "This is only this time's case. Then where did these three corpses come from?"
The veins on Yan Qichu's neck bulged, but he still insisted, "Someone secretly buried them. I, Yan Qichu, am the son of Prince Ming. I have many political enemies. Someone bribed Zheng Cai to bury three female corpses in the backyard where we played, intending to frame me. It's not convincing..."
Yan Tongshu raised his eyebrows and said sharply, "How do you know they are female corpses? Have I ever mentioned they are female corpses from the beginning to the end?"
Yan Tongshu said word by word, "Yan Qichu, I've always been referring to the buried corpses."
Yan Qichu showed a flaw. His hanging hand couldn't help trembling. The pain from the broken shoulder bone suddenly hit him hard at this moment, almost engulfing him completely.
Yan Tongshu snorted, "The evidence is conclusive. At the brink of death, you still want to distort the facts. Do you think that if you don't admit it, I can't solve the case and pass the sentence?"
"I refuse to accept it!" Yan Qichu clenched his fists and trembled all over. "Even... even if I made a slip of the tongue, your so - called evidence can at most prove that we were involved in abducting women. Did we kill anyone when you arrested us today? Why do you say that these three female corpses were killed and buried by us?"
Yan Tongshu calmly asked, "Weren't they killed by you?"
"No." Yan Qichu said firmly, and a sneer even appeared on his lips. "Those three people were not killed by us. I swear they were not killed by our own hands."
"Ha."
As if remembering something, Yan Qichu suddenly sneered contemptuously. "Lord Yan has gone through so much trouble. With Assistant Magistrate Zhang's personal experience, the letters, the planning map, the Wu - shi powder and the corpses. But what can these prove?
They can only show that we did some absurd things. Can they prove that we killed someone? Have we ever killed anyone with our own hands? Lord Yan, you've done all these, but do you have any eyewitnesses? Do you have any plaintiffs? You have nothing. Are you judging the case based on imagination now?"
Yan Qichu was very confident.
He believed that no one would stand up and admit that they had killed someone, and even fewer would admit that they had suffered such great humiliation.
Reputation, shame and fear were chains that they could never break free from in their lives.
Moreover, those women were hand - picked by him. They were naturally timid, stupid and ignorant. Even if you killed them, they wouldn't dare to stand up and testify against him.
Those people are just natural weaklings. They deserve all this.
It's because they are weak.
Yan Tongshu pursed his lips slightly and said, "How do you know there aren't?"
