Broken Iron Clothes

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He Xiao led the forbidden army to temporarily stay outside the city to clean up the mess. Yuan Mucheng went back to the city first, and went straight to the Dudu's mansion after entering the city.

Not long ago, Lu Tianrui brought Lai Chang, who had been replaced when the fire was extinguished, on the horse outside the city, and Zhou Qisi temporarily led the guard away at the city gate, and replaced him with the imperial army.Lu Tianrui took the opportunity to enter the city, led people around the road, walked all the way from Zuoli Lane to the back door of Dudu's Mansion, handed the people over to Zhou Qisi who entered the door later, and then went inside to wait for Yuan Mucheng.

The winter night is deserted, and there is no one on the street except the patrol team.Yuan Mucheng got off his horse outside the Governor's Mansion, and hurried through the door.

"Brother Lu—"

From a long distance, Lu Tianrui saw Yuan Mucheng, who was full of fishy smell, and went up to meet him.

"Why is it covered in so much blood?"

Yuan Mucheng smiled: "Small things, what about people?"

Lu Tianrui turned around and went to the side to get a wet cloth soaked in hot water, and replied: "I brought it back, and Qisi has already settled it."

"Okay, just wait for the last show tomorrow, and this matter will be over."

Yuan Mucheng unloaded the knife, took the wet cloth and wiped it casually.

The dried blood was hard to wipe off. He rubbed his face and neck red and didn't know how to hold back. Lu Tianrui looked at it, then took the cloth and dipped it in some wet water.

Yuan Mucheng accepted it cheerfully, and then said: "I saw Cui Cheng's eyeliner waiting outside before entering the door, but what's the use of just staring at the door, it's not like letting people go in and out of the Dudu's mansion several times."

"Restrain your arrogance, please don't relax until the last step," Lu Tianrui looked at him, and said, "Speaking of which, can that corpse really fool you?"

"I've got the brand mark, my body shape is about the same, and I have no head. Wu Zuo is not a relative of Lai Chang, so I can't tell anything." Yuan Mucheng turned the cloth over and began to wipe his hands. "Thanks to the Lord Shangshu for letting go." A murder suspect, otherwise it would be really hard to find a replacement, but he probably can't figure out how the person was replaced with his head."

Lu Tianrui said: "Yeah, who would have thought that someone would dare to bet on such a variable mountain wind. I regret not being able to see with my own eyes the appearance of a certain fool looking for an outlet in the mountains and plains."

Yuan Mucheng moved a little slower, and laughed: "I can't do this, but I happened to walk to that place when I was attacked outside the city before, and I thought it was appropriate, so someone dug a hole."

Lu Tianrui smiled and pulled the wiped cloth from his hand, threw it into the basin, and said, "Okay, after He Xiao comes back, you two should go back and wash as soon as possible, and I will take care of the rest."

Hearing this, Yuan Mucheng turned around, leaned back, leaned his back against the edge of the table and lazily raised his face.

"Don't, I still plan to sleep here tonight."

"That's good, I won't stop you, let's see what you wear to enter the palace tomorrow."

-

Cui Cheng was waiting for the news at the office of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, but the news from outside the city did not arrive, but the eyeliner outside the Dudu's mansion reported the letter first.

"What's happening in the governor's mansion?" Cui Cheng asked.

"After the curfew, Captain Zhou led the imperial guards on patrol. General Lu never showed his face in the Governor's Mansion. Just now, General Yun rushed back from outside the city and never went out again."

Cui Cheng had a heavy stone on his chest, and it was difficult to calm down his worries.

"None of the dead men who went outside the city has news. This Yuan Mucheng has come back, so there won't be any accidents."

Suddenly there was a notification from outside the door.

"Report!"

Cui Cheng's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "What's the matter?"

"Master Shangshu, General Lu sent someone to report that the team escorting prisoner Lai Chang was attacked outside the city. Deputy General He brought back a group of corpses from outside the city. The prisoner Lai Chang tried to escape and was beheaded on the spot by General Yunfei. , the body has also been sent back.”

"died?!"

It was dark before Cui Cheng's eyes, and the hand holding the table couldn't help shaking.

Yuan Mucheng is a lunatic!

-

The next day, the story of Lai Chang spread throughout the government and the public, and the West Palace was also leaked. The word reached the ears of the Empress Dowager, and she went to the Yingchen Hall and sat sideways to listen to the government.

Liu Zhaoyu was dressed in a brocade robe with dragon patterns, with the sun and the moon embroidered on each shoulder, and a ribbon hanging from his waist. He was sitting on a high seat reading a memorial, while the minister stood up and waited.

After a while, Liu Zhaoyu accepted the notebook and asked, "Cui Shangshu, has the identity of the dead man been found out?"

Cui Cheng made a bow and replied: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the dead are all wearing flying knives, so they should be Cen Yu's men."

As he spoke, Cui Cheng glanced at Lu Tianrui and Yuan Mucheng who were standing aside from the corner of his eye, then turned slightly, and said to them, "It's just that Lai Chang hasn't confessed, and the assassination case is still under trial, General Lu It is too risky to take the criminal outside the city to lure the enemy, and now that the only witness in the assassination case is dead, how will the trial department close the case?"

Lu Tianrui knew that Cui Chengding would hold on to the Dudu's Mansion, so he replied: "The Ministry of Criminal Justice is in charge of this case, and there has been no progress in the case for a long time. Lu wants to ask, if Lai Chang still does not confess after half a month, what is the plan of the trial department?"

"The criminal will be punished for the crime of regicide."

Cui Cheng regretted it as soon as he uttered the words. What Lai Chang committed was a capital crime. Even if he did not confess, his head would be lost sooner or later. By saying this, he first reduced most of the faults for the Dudu Mansion.

"Lu did the same thing." Lu Tianrui said calmly.

Cui Cheng frowned: "But half a month has not yet arrived, who can guarantee that Lai Chang will not confess in these few days, if he lets someone who wants to be released because of this, how can the general be held accountable?"

Yuan Mucheng answered, "If it wasn't for the fact that the dead man was drawn out last night, is Cui Shangshu planning to let the prison secretary be robbed again? Or maybe Cui Shangshu thinks that now that Lai Chang is dead, the Criminal Department can ignore the previous responsibility for negligence , stay out of it?"

Yuan Mucheng changed into his official uniform, which was a bit thicker than when he was fighting. From the outside, he looked tall and handsome with broad shoulders and thin waist, but under the clothes, he had a healthy body.Cui Cheng looked at him, and couldn't help but think of the headless body that was transported back, and it was also chopped up by the person in front of him at will.

The Empress Dowager, who was listening solemnly in the hall, had a stern expression on her face, her hands lightly placed in front of her body, and the jade finger guards on her fingers rubbed against the Chinese clothes inlaid with golden phoenix embroidery patterns, which were still polished.

She sat upright and made a sound: "The Ai family heard about Cen Yu's escape before, and the Ministry of Criminal Affairs was indeed at fault, and now Lai Chang was handed over from the Criminal and Prison Department. Although what Cui Shangshu said is correct, it should not be because of Witnesses were killed and the Ministry of Criminal Justice was exonerated.”

Cui Cheng hurriedly turned his eyes to look at the queen mother, and said: "Back to the queen mother, I dare not shirk my responsibility. Right now, I am just discussing the matter. This time, the Ministry of Punishment is also entrusting the person to the flying general according to the order. Although the criminal did not escape, he also It is true that he died under the knife of General Yi."

The Empress Dowager looked down at people from a high position, and she also meant to pursue responsibility: "General Yun is fighting outside, and he is used to beating and killing people. He doesn't know the severity of the crimes against people who are still awaiting trial, so he should be held accountable."

Hearing this, Lu Tianrui was about to open his mouth to defend, but was pressed down by Yuan Mucheng.He turned his head to look, but saw Yuan Mucheng went straight to the hall, lifted his robe and knelt down, saying: "Your Majesty, I failed to have a perfect plan to save Lai Chang's life, so I voluntarily plead guilty."

After hearing this, Lu Tianrui walked up to him and knelt down: "General Yunfei was entrusted by the minister to take the job of escorting criminals. He should not take full responsibility. The minister is willing to accept the crime, and I hope that your Majesty and the Queen Mother will read the crimes in Hongfei." The general has not been back for long and he has served as an escort, so please forgive me."

There was no sound in the hall, and none of the ministers who were watching wanted to speak for anyone. After all, this matter was like a rolling ball soaked in mud, only throwing dirt back and forth in the Ministry of Punishment and the Governor's Mansion.

Facing Yu Yan in front of him, Liu Zhaoyu raised his eyes to look down at the people in the hall, his eyes swept around lightly and then returned to the two kneeling.

"Although the culprit is dead, luckily no catastrophe has been caused, so the matter is closed. Cui Shangshu asked the chief judge to close the case."

The queen mother was slightly angry, but she wanted to save Liu Zhaoyu's face in front of all the ministers, so she had to lean slightly and whispered: "Emperor, such a hasty thing will lose the majesty of the royal family. There is no room for jokes in the court."

Liu Zhaoyu turned his head away and remained silent.

Although Cui Cheng knew that Liu Zhaoyu had a good relationship with Yuan Mucheng when he was young, he never imagined that Liu Zhaoyu would be so tolerant in this matter, he hurried forward and said: "Your Majesty, this matter is about the safety of the emperor, how can it be settled like this."

But Liu Zhaoyu said: "The Ministry of Criminal Affairs was negligent in the Cen Yu incident before, and the Ministry of War found out in time that no one escaped. At that time, I issued an order to waive the fine salary of the pro-guards, but I forgot to pursue the responsibility of the Ministry of Penalties. Now Lai Chang has fled and fled. The general also pays for crimes with merit, so what's wrong with not punishing or rewarding?"

Liu Zhaoyu lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, then reached out to turn over the notes on the case.

"Speaking of this, I remember it. Before and after the assassination case, there must have been a lot of criminals who escaped from the Prison Division. The Ministry of Punishment receives the imperial salary, and this is how it works for the people of Dali!"

Zhezi slammed to the ground hard. Liu Zhaoyu had never been so angry in the hall since he took the throne. god.

Cui Cheng knew that he had offended the emperor, knelt down and buried his head, and hurriedly said: "I am guilty."

Liu Zhaoyu flicked his sleeve: "I didn't put these things on the surface for the sake of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. How much of the words about the Ministry of Criminal Justice in the document handed over by the Overwatch Council should I explain to you here?!"

The Empress Dowager couldn't sit still, but she could only sit down due to etiquette. She gestured to Chang Yi who was beside her with her eyes, and Chang Yi stepped forward to persuade him: "Your Majesty, calm down."

But Liu Zhaoyu's heart fire can't be extinguished just by extinguishing it. Today, when the fuse was ignited, the sound of the explosion shook the Yao Palace three times.

"Is Lai Chang the only one who wants to kill me in this world? It is I who ordered General Lu to take him away. Since the calculation is so clear, why not convict me too!"

"I dare not!" Cui Cheng still buried his head in front of his knees.

"An assassination case is delayed again and again, and the matter is not dealt with. When everyone is dead, blame this person and that person. Why didn't someone from the Ministry of Criminal Justice make a sound when I was assassinated that day? Is the warden celebrating the new year with that blank confession?"

As he spoke, Liu Zhaoyu got up, and the jade box shook, making a sound of jingling.

"Retired, all retired. I don't want to bring up this case again. The Minister of Criminal Affairs is a high position, but not everyone can sit firmly. Cui Shangshu can do it for himself."

Liu Zhaoyu retreated from the palace, and the Queen Mother followed her, clutching her heart, everyone's heart trembled, only Cui Cheng couldn't lift his head, and fell on the ground for a long time restless.