Tao Zhoufeng sat in the Administration Hall, holding two bamboo sticks, hesitating.

He carved two marks on each of the two bamboo sticks, held them in his hand, and looked over and over again.

Should I go to the church or not?

Just as Lord Tao closed his eyes and threw out the bamboo stick, a burst of Lunyin suddenly came from outside the door.

"Sir, sir, the imperial edict has arrived."

Tao Zhoufeng opened his eyes and rushed out of the door, almost flashing to his old waist.

The imperial edict said that the murder of Ma Lian was involved in the case of haunted Liu's mansion, and the Ministry of Justice immediately suspended the trial. The two cases were made one case, and the three departments of the Ministry of Justice, Dali Temple, and the Censorate.

Tao Zhoufeng breathed a sigh of relief. Soon, Chen Shaoqing from Dali Temple brought two chief clerks and one of the chief clerks to report the files of the two cases.

Chen Shaoqing bowed to Wang Yan and said with a smile: "Mr. Wang has offended him. In addition to the file, he will be ordered to take him back to Dali Temple."

According to the law of this dynasty, there are major cases and important criminals that are tried by the three departments, and they are all handed over to Dali Temple for detention.

Wang Yan said with a straight face: "Mr. Shen is doing business, and it is too polite to say that he offended him. Lord Deng personally served the emperor to the place where the crime was in the incident. I believe there may be a conclusion in my heart. I will listen to all the criminals who want to be transferred."

Chen Shaoqing politely exchanged a few more greetings, and then went to prison to raise Wang Xuan.

Wang Xuan had never been punished since he was a child. He was imprisoned this time in prison. He was unkempt, his beard was unshaven, and his eye sockets were concave. He was led by several yamen runners, lowering his head, not looking at Wang Yan on the roadside. Chen Shaoqing was deliberately surprised and said, "Oh, why did you treat Young Master Wang like this? Hurry up, arrange to wash up first."

Wang Yan said coldly: "How can a suspect in a prison be cleaned up? The Ministry of Justice does not have such rules."

Wang Xuan looked up and said proudly: "Yes, when this unjust prison is released, I should take good care of it! I hope Dali Temple will not misjudgment the unjust case."

Chen Shaoqing smiled and said, "This time it is the Trial of the Three Divisions, the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate. None of them can be convicted of your crimes alone by Xiaozi Wang. Please rest assured."

Wang Yan frowned and looked at Chen Shaoqing who was about to leave: "Why didn't Lord Shen mention Chen Chou and the other two scholars in the prison?"

Chen Shaoqing raised his sleeve: "Mr. Chen was ordered to transfer Wang Xuan to the other person, Lord Wang, say goodbye."

When Lan Jue heard rumors about these two cases in the court, he was puzzled. It was originally just a case of a candidate being killed, but it was surprisingly terrifying.

What made him even more confused was that Zhang Ping hurried out that day, and at night, he came back hurriedly and told him that he wanted to take a few long holidays.

Lan Jue is correct.

The next day, the manager came to Lan Jue and told him that the servant in the kitchen went to the rice shop to buy food. He saw Zhang Ping carrying a bag and taking a donkey cart out of the city gate. It was not yet dawn and the city gate had just opened.

The servant thought Zhang Ping had swept the things from Lan Mansion and ran away secretly, so he hurried back and told the person in charge, and the person in charge quickly told Lan Jue.

Lan Jue said vaguely: "Ah... I know this. There is something wrong with him at home and he has a leave of absence."

Lan Jue couldn't help but guess where Zhang Ping went and what to check?

After Zhang Ping left, Lan Jue entered the palace under the imperial edict. Emperor Yongxuan sat in the dragon chaise of Qinzheng Hall, and there was a smell of oil in the room.

Lan Jue said: "Since the government is busy, please take care of the dragon body."

Emperor Yongxuan rubbed his temples and said, "Oh, these days, it's the Grand Master, Deng Qing, and Liu Qing. Every time I was about to go and take a break, they came. By the way, Lan Qing... What's wrong with Zhang Ping?"

Lan Jue said: "He took leave, and it seemed that something happened at home and he left the capital."

Emperor Yongxuan yawned and said, "Oh, I feel that it's a pity that I've lost the exam in this life. But his affairs will have to be settled before they can be discussed. He wants to go to the test institute and take a look. It's not convenient for me to agree to him. When I told Lan Qing that day, what happened later?"

Lan Jue said: "In this life, I went to the path of a housekeeper in my family and sneaked into the test institute to see it. It was because I was not in control of my family and asked the emperor to sue him."

Emperor Yongxuan raised his hand and said, "Forget it, there is no need to seriously consider such a small matter." He yawned, "How is the marriage of my uncle?"

Lan Jue didn't expect that Zhang Ping would be in such a fortune, but he was involved in this case and didn't know whether it was a blessing or a disaster.

He only knew nothing and didn't ask. The two cases were combined into one, and after the trial of the Three Divisions, because both Dali Temple and the Censorate had to review the files, the prisoners had to re-record their confessions, and the evidence had to be re-verified, and the identity files of relevant personnel had to be retrieved from the local area. Even the location of the murder case was read again, and after a long time, the trial was delayed for a long time before it started.

On the day of the trial, Lan Jue was busy examining the wedding flowers of King Huai's wedding. The original style was made and presented to the empress dowager for a look, but the empress dowager said that it was not as good as she thought, and she had to change it. The entire Ministry of Rites was overwhelming.

Lord Gong is old and can't run anymore, so he goes to the palace to show his style, waiting for the empress dowager and the emperor to do all the things he wants to do.

After finally seeing a look at a style, Lan Jue breathed a sigh of relief. When he left the imperial city, he met Wu Jingxin, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy who had reviewed the papers with him. Wu Xueshen said to him with a frown: "Master Lan, have people from Dali Temple or the Censorate come to you?"

Lan Jue was stunned. Wu Xueshu looked at his expression and whispered: "Does Lord Lan not know yet? Who would have thought that an attempt was killed and involved such a big deal, even you and me would not be able to live in peace."

Lan Jue said: "...Lan is really confused, I hope Lord Wu will answer the questions in detail."

Wu Xueshi sighed again and said, "It's the case of Ma Lian being killed. The trial started today. The Ministry of Justice found that Ma Sheng was the younger brother of Ma Hong, the criminal in the Chen Zishang case six years ago. The Ministry of Justice caught another test, Chen Zishang's younger brother. The Ministry of Justice judged that it might be Chen Zishang's younger brother who killed Ma Hong and avenged his brother. Dali Temple said that the judgment of the Ministry of Justice was wrong. The person who killed Ma Lian was actually the youngest son of Taishi Wang, Wang Xuan."

Lan Jue was stunned again: "This is..."

Mr. Wu looked at the horizon: "I found that when I entered the Dali Temple, Ma Lian's behavior was a bit strange. At night, a candidate heard a crying in the empty test room. A candidate had an epileptic seizure during the exam and was carried out of the examination room. Mr. Deng felt that this matter was related to Ma Lian's murder, so he blocked the examination institute to check. It turned out that someone had made a mark under the bed in the test room, which was suspected to be related to fraud in the scientific examination. Someone leaked the question in advance... Ma Lian was able to win because of fraud. Fortunately, Lord Lan, you also liked Zhang Ping that day and had never recommended Ma Lian, otherwise you would be unable to explain it."

Lan Jue said: "It's really a blessing. However, Lord Liu strongly recommended Ma Lian that day. If the Ministry of Justice found out that the real thing, Ma Sheng's brother was the Grand Tutor Yun that day... Lan would not understand it anyway."

Mr. Wu sighed: "Mr. Zhu and Mr. Gao who came out of the test paper have been taken to question by Dali Temple, and Liu Bing is unable to protect himself. The two prison officials are already in prison. An imperial examination has caused such a big fuss. Alas, if Mr. Li did not make a temporary decision and no longer recommend the tester named Zhang Ping, he might not have been in such a mess today."

Shake his head and leave.

The next morning, as soon as Lan Jue got off the court, he saw Chen Shaoqing of Dali Temple leading a few public men to guard his sedan chair.

Lan Jue knew it in his heart and smiled and said to Chen Shaoqing: "Is Lord Shen going to put shackles on Lan or shackles? Do you want Lan to take off his official uniform first?"

Chen Shaoqing bowed and said, "I dare not, I dare not. Today, the three departments will try the case of Ma Lian being killed. I want to ask Lord Lan to ask about it for one thing, but I just testify in the classroom."

He personally picked up the curtain of the carriage beside him and asked Lan Jue to get on the carriage, and went straight to Dali Temple.

The court where the three officials held a trial was located in Dali Temple.

Lan Jue went to the hall and saw Deng Xu and Bu Yifan, the Censorate's doctor, sit upright in the hall, kneeling down at Chen Chou, Wang Xuan and two other scholars, standing at Liu Bing.

The officials of the three officials in the hall below the level of Lan Jue were all evasive. Tao Zhoufeng did not sit with Deng Xu and Bu Yifan, but sat behind a small table beside him, with a sad face. Wang Yan stood beside Tao Zhoufeng, his face redder than usual, as if he had just had a fierce argument with someone. When he nodded and smiled at Lan Jue, he was a little reluctant. Lan Jue first greeted Deng Xu, Bu Yifan and Tao Zhoufeng, and then smiled and said with a smile: "Lan is involved in the case, you don't have to be too polite."

Deng Xu said: "Where is there, I just ask Lord Lan to be a witness, and there is no such thing as being involved in the case." He ordered someone to move a chair and let Lan Jue sit. Lan Jue stood opposite Wang Yan and bowed to the hall and said: "Mr. Deng and Lord Bu have any questions about what you want to ask the officials, please tell me."

Deng Xu said: "Mr. Lan, when reviewing the examination papers on that day, was Liu Bing's behavior a bit abnormal among the reviewers?"

Lan Jue said: "The officials did not notice anything abnormal. On that day, Lord Liu Bing had a slight dispute with Lord Li Fangtong because he recommended the candidate. This is common in the review of the paper. The examiner's choice of the exam paper is like a craftsman choosing a beautiful jade. If he encounters words that he is particularly close to, he often cannot put it down."

Deng Xu said: "In other words, Lord Lan did not realize that Liu Bing recommended Ma Lian after accepting a bribe?"

Lan Jue frowned slightly: "The examination papers were always selected and then checked the candidate's name in Kaifeng. In the past, there was also a copy of the test paper. Later, because some test papers were sloppy and there were easy to be omitted in copying, the late emperor changed the system and no longer copied it. The examiner did not know which paper he reviewed at the beginning. The test papers Lun that Lord Liu read were almost reviewed at that time."

Liu Bing looked at Lan Jue with gratitude.

Deng Xu nodded: "Then Lord Liu, this temple doesn't understand why you have such great ability but can review the papers of Ma Lian."

Liu Bing stared at Deng Xu and said, "The officials don't understand why Lord Deng said he just said that I accepted a bribe and recommended Ma Lian just now. Lord Tao and all the presiding officials have read Ma Lian's test paper. He is quite talented. Lord Deng has no evidence, so why does he slander the officials?"

Deng Xu said: "Since Lord Liu was invited to the hall, there will naturally be evidence."

With a wave of his hand, the Duan Chengguan in the hall presented a stack of bills.

Deng Xu first took the stack of notes: "These notes were bought by Ma Lian from Hu Shang in Beijing. Among them, there was an eight-treasure jade elephant. It was found exactly the same in Lord Liu's house. Your servant has already recruited them, and they are all there. As for Ma Sheng's article, he is quite talented..."

Deng Xu picked up the key again: "Before the scientific examination, Ma Lian stored a box in Zhenbaozhai. The paint seal on the box had a date. In the box was the examination paper of Xianshi. Lord Liu may not know that in this imperial examination, the examination paper of Xianshi was changed once. After the paper was released, Gao thought it was not very good, so he asked to reprint it again. The one in Ma Lian's box was not replaced with the old paper. How could a mere candidate have a paper that would be abandoned without using it? The candidate of No. 356 had epilepsy, but it was also Xianshi. It was such a coincidence."

Dali Temple went to check the candidate with epilepsy, but he was already stupid and was full of babbling, unable to even say a complete sentence.

Dali Temple went to check the official responsible for the sealed test questions again, and found that one of them disappeared the day before Dali Temple went to check. The crying in the middle of the night, the patrol officer at the time said that there was a minor official who heard a bat in the air examination room and mistakenly thought there was a ghost. He went inside to check, and then burned a lantern. He was scolded by the patrol officer and was so scared that he cried.

Everyone who was patrolling the venue was able to testify.

Deng Xu knew that this matter could not be such a coincidence, but he had no evidence, so he could only press it for the time being.

He picked up another stack of bills on the case: "This is a stack of silver bills, with a huge amount. Ma Lian is a poor scholar, and he will never have such a family business. Wang Xuan, what is the origin of this stack of bills? Should you know?"

Wang Xuanran said: "I don't know what Lord Deng means."

Deng Xu put down his silver notes: "The whole story of this case is already in my mind. Mr. Wang, there is a ghost market outside the city, you are the banker. Ma Lian was hired by you and did some things that were involved in the case of the ghost of the Liu Mansion. These money are his rewards. Moreover, he obtained the examination paper from the Xian Ministry and gave it to Liu Bing with a heavy gift, and was recommended. Ma Lian was killed and was silenced."

Wang Yan stepped forward and said, "Mr. Deng, the subordinate officials have objections. What the master said is just a reason. Since Ma Lian is Ma Hong's younger brother, why did he change his household registration and come to the capital? If he spends money to buy the test paper, bribe the examiner and leave evidence, it is equivalent to leaving behind a disaster that ruins his future. Why did he do this? Chen Chou is Chen Zishang's younger brother. On the day of the incident, there was a time for the crime to be committed. There is obviously a major suspicion, so why did the adults ignore the investigation of our Ministry of Justice and skip it?"

The atmosphere in the hall was a bit stalemate, and Wang Xuan said quietly: "Brother, don't contradict Lord Deng. Others will say that you are trying to protect me. I have never done it, but I have never done it. Does such a person need me to commit murder? I believe that the emperor and God are fair!"

Lan Jue couldn't help but think that if he were Grand Master Wang, he would definitely want to kill these two stupid sons at this moment.

He was also wondering what the truth was.

Ma Lian is Ma Hong's younger brother, and Taifu Yun has a grudge against him to kill his brother. Judging from the evidence listed by Deng Xu, Ma Lian's actions are like...

When the hall was still stalemate, Shen Shaoqing hurried to Deng Xu and whispered a few times.

Deng Xu's expression became gloomy and finally frowned and said loudly: "There is one person who has learned the real murderer and the origin of this case, and has been approved by the emperor and is specially allowed to come to court."

Everyone looked at each other. Lan Jue turned his eyes to look outside the hall. He saw a dusty figure walking through the courtyard and entering the lobby. After a few days, he lost a lot of weight again. His skin was black and red, his eyes were getting more and more concave, and there was a circle of blue stubble on his face.

Chen Chou suddenly twisted excitedly, his voice full of crying: "Brother Zhang, Brother Zhang, you are here..."

Wang Yan frowned, and the officials of the other two departments were not clear about this. Deng Xu said: "Zhang Ping, since you have been asked to get the emperor's imperial approval, you are particularly allowed to go to the court. If you don't know who the real murderer is, what the consequences of deceiving the king will be, you should also know."

Zhang Ping said respectfully: "The students know that the students have found who the real murderer is, and the evidence is conclusive."

Deng Xu sneered, "Oh? That happens that our temple has disagreements with the Ministry of Justice. Our temple thinks that Ma Lian was involved in the trial fraud and was silenced. The Ministry of Justice said that Ma Lian's death is related to the Chen Zishang case that year. I don't know which party you call the real murderer."

Zhang Ping raised his eyelids, looked at Deng Xu, then looked at Tao Zhoufeng and Wang Yan. Wang Yan snorted and turned his gaze. Zhang Ping said, "The results obtained by the students are consistent with the Ministry of Justice. Ma Lian's death was due to the Chen Zishang case that year, and it had nothing to do with the fraud in the trial."

Wang Yan turned his eyes to him in surprise, and Deng Xu was even more surprised and changed his color slightly and said, "Zhang Ping, are you sure?"

Zhang Ping said word by word: "Student is sure," he looked at Wang Yan again, "In fact, the murderer in this case has long been arrested by Mr. Wang of the Ministry of Justice and has been locked up in the Ministry of Justice."

Chen Chou was no longer looking shy, and Deng Xu said with no expression: "Who is the real culprit?"
Chapter completed!