TGCFNM -Chapter 485 The Trial of Prefect Yang

The next day.

Chu Ling changed into the prefect’s official robes. Seeing how obviously ill-fitting they were, she tugged at them in disgust. “I can understand being temporarily appointed, but the official uniform being this sloppy?”

Cui Xi helped adjust the edges. “Miss, just make do with it.”

Chu Ling exhaled, resigned. Fine, just like this then.

“Your honor!” Outside, Wan Sanjin called, “Everything’s ready.”

Chu Ling responded, adjusted her official hat, and stepped out of the room.

At the prefecture, as Chu Ling had anticipated, Fu Qingyu and Young Master Xiao had already arrived.

The two occupied opposite sides of the room, evenly matched in presence, though both wore somewhat grim expressions.

Young Master Xiao, poisoned by the soporific smoke, looked pale and weak, almost sickly.

Fu Qingyu pinched the bridge of his nose, dark circles under his eyes, clearly sleep-deprived, with a trace of frustration he could not suppress.

Wan Sanjin carefully glanced at their expressions and lowered his head obediently. After all, their current state had some connection to him.

When Chu Ling strode in, she noticed Xiao and Fu’s conditions but pretended not to see and moved past them. Then, with a sharp rap of the gavel, she began the trial.

“I, under imperial order, investigate the Luozhou granary case, bringing forward the accused: Scholar Du and Captain Hu.”

Soon, Scholar Du and Captain Hu were brought up. Chu Ling struck the gavel again and coldly proclaimed,

“According to my investigation, Scholar Du and Captain Hu, as Prefect Yang’s trusted aides, have been amassing wealth at the expense of the people. Under Prefect Yang’s orders, they colluded with grain merchants to raise prices, falsified imperial decrees, and increased taxes, collecting more than their due!”

“Do you admit your crimes?”

Scholar Du and Captain Hu immediately kowtowed, crying and begging Chu Ling for mercy.

Chu Ling did not continue interrogating them but shifted to another matter. “Now, Scholar Du claims Prefect Yang committed suicide out of guilt. Yet my investigation shows that Prefect Yang was murdered.”

Wan Sanjin handed over the autopsy report. Chu Ling opened it and read aloud to the assembled citizens:

“Prefect Yang did not die by suicide. He was first strangled to break his throat, then staged to appear as if he had taken his own life. Focusing on this discrepancy, I interrogated Scholar Du and Captain Hu and found their statements consistent, as if prearranged.”

“To uncover the truth, I stayed at the prefecture to search carefully and finally found Prefect Yang’s ledger hidden in his study. The ledger shows frequent dealings between Prefect Yang and four major grain merchants—Zhou, Wang, Zhao, and Qian—with clear records of bribes received. Strangely, there is no mention of the granary.”

Chu Ling looked at Xuanwu.

Xuanwu stepped forward with hands clasped. “Reporting to Master Chu, a granary was indeed found outside the city, but it was hidden, and the guards could not provide any clear information. Thus, it is uncertain whether it was Prefect Yang’s private granary.”

Chu Ling nodded. “From Prefect Yang’s ledger, the grain merchant surnamed Wang had the most frequent dealings and the largest amounts of silver. Therefore, I have reason to suspect that the granary outside the city belongs to this Wang, but the strange thing is…”

Fu Qingyu asked, “Master Chu, what is strange?”

Chu Ling furrowed her brows. “Merchant Wang is a businessman. It’s normal for a merchant to cooperate with Prefect Yang to trade grain for silver. What is abnormal is why he would set up a private granary, which, according to Xuanwu, stores a substantial amount of grain.”

Young Master Xiao spoke weakly, “Master Chu, do you mean that Merchant Wang was stockpiling grain for the rebels?”

Chu Ling nodded. “Exactly!”

Fu Qingyu frowned. “Then we should focus on investigating this grain merchant Wang!”

Young Lord Xiao also nodded in agreement. “Yes, that should be investigated.”

Chu Ling glanced at the two of them. “You are correct, and what’s more, the account book clearly states that the grain merchant Wang comes from Cangning. So if we are to investigate, we should start from Cangning. But at this moment, we discovered something odd.”

Chu Ling gestured for Wan Sanjin to step forward.

Wan Sanjin cleared his throat and recounted how they had discovered the blueprints that Prefect Yang had hidden, and how they had located the silver he had stashed away.

Just as Wan Sanjin finished, Xiao Hua came in carrying a large chest alone. In front of everyone, she lifted the lid, revealing it filled to the brim with silver ingots.

Chu Ling also produced a small box and took out the topmost blueprint. “This blueprint shows a route map—a hidden route from Luozhou to Liangzhou used for transporting grain. So in reality, we should investigate Liangzhou, not Cangning.”

Fu Qingyu was clearly taken aback.

Young Lord Xiao frowned. “I see… it was hidden this deep?”

“Besides the silver we dug up at the two locations, there’s another stash hidden right in the prefecture office. So I would like to invite Young Lord Xiao and Mr. Fu to supervise personally, and lead the townspeople in retrieving it. This will prove that what I said is true—these items were indeed hidden by Prefect Yang.” Chu Ling finished speaking and rose, inviting them to the back office.

Young Lord Xiao was slightly puzzled—they hadn’t really doubted the origin of the silver, had they?

Chu Rou, however, was already pushing the wheelchair and preparing to enter, instructing Zhuque to stay behind.

Zhuque’s expression was cold as ice, but he remained.

Once Young Lord Xiao left, Fu Qingyu had no choice but to follow, along with a few curious townspeople.

Chu Ling gave Wan Sanjin a meaningful glance, and Wan Sanjin followed along with Xiao Hua.

Not long after they left, Zhang Dong hurried over carrying a porcelain jar. In a low voice, he said, “Sir, this is from Coroner Su.”

“Prepare a basin of water,” Chu Ling instructed quietly.

Zhang Dong acknowledged and went to do so.

Outside, only a few townspeople remained, but Chu Ling continued the trial. She turned back to Du Shiya and Chief Hu, and struck the judge’s gavel.

“You all heard what I just said, didn’t you?”

“Prefect Yang was clearly murdered, yet you colluded and claimed it was suicide. Tell me, what was your intention?”

Du Shiya trembled, nervously glancing at Chief Hu.

Chief Hu wailed loudly, “Sir, I swear, it’s injustice! I didn’t know! Whatever the maid in the office said, I believed it! How could I dare inspect the body myself, sir!”

Du Shiya also cried out, “Sir, it’s injustice! It’s injustice! I am not a coroner! When I saw it, the Prefect… he had committed suicide out of fear!”

At this moment, Zhang Dong brought over a basin of water. Following Chu Ling’s signal, he placed the medicated water right in front of the two of them. Before they could react, the entire basin was poured over them.

There were no screams, no signs of pain—but strangely, both felt as if their faces were shedding a layer of skin.

Chu Ling stood and walked toward the stage, scrutinizing their expressions. Her voice was icy as she said, “So, you are not Du Shiya and Chief Hu. Then who exactly are you?”