diskusbooks Chapter 214 This case is not under my jurisdiction
Chapter 214 This case is not under my jurisdiction
No sooner had Yinshuang finished speaking than three people stood at the prison gate.
The one in the lead was dressed in official robes, tall and long-legged, not particularly handsome, but exuding a sharp and imposing aura.
This imposing aura vanished upon seeing Su Mowan.
As soon as Song Chuwen raised his hand, one of the people behind him handed him a bowl of hot water, which was still steaming.
He took the hot water in his hands and said to Su Mowan, "Is this Consort Su from the Prince of Qin's mansion? Brother Mobai often mentions her to me."
"..."
How should she respond?
My brother often mentions you too?
Song Chuwen's words were quite abrupt. But one thing is clear: he probably didn't mean her any harm.
Furthermore, he referred to himself as "I" instead of "this official".
Su Mowan was naturally not intimidated and immediately said, "As you probably know, I'm here to see a friend, so I won't beat around the bush. Isn't the Imperial Prison a place where death row inmates are imprisoned? My friend hasn't even been interrogated by the authorities yet, so how did he get in here?"
Song Chuwen went inside.
His gaze first swept over Qingcheng, who was wrapped in a blanket, and then he handed the hot water in his hand to Su Mowan, saying, "I just found out about this myself, so I came over."
Taking the hot water, Su Mowan handed it to Yinshuang, indicating that she should take care of Qingcheng. Then she turned to Song Chuwen, who had a solemn expression, and said, "So, Minister Song has a solution?"
"Of course there is a way."
Song Chuwen looked at her and said, "This case is not under my jurisdiction, but for Brother Mo Bai's sake, it's not that I can't take action."
"..."
Su Mobai has quite a lot of influence.
After sighing, Su Mowan stated, "To be honest, Vice Minister Song, I would like to participate in the hearing of this case."
It was ostensibly an eavesdropping session, but in reality, it was surveillance.
She didn't trust Song Chuwen, fearing that he might not be conscientious in handling the case, or that he might hastily close it due to the influence of certain powerful figures.
Surprisingly, Song Chuwen neither asked for a reason nor objected.
"In that case, please come with me to Qingchengfang, Consort Su."
So easy to talk to?
With Song Chuwen leading the way, things should be much more convenient. Su Mowan glanced back at Qingcheng, said goodbye, and waited for Qingcheng to smile at her before turning to leave.
Before long, the group arrived at the gate of the Imperial Prison Temple.
Song Chuwen was not in a hurry to leave.
He stopped and turned around, asking, "As far as I know, that girl is a dancer. Why would Consort Su get involved for the sake of a dancer?"
Su Mowan met Song Chuwen's gaze.
She was seething with anger.
"Putting aside the fact that she's a very good friend of mine, let's just talk about this case. Isn't it heading in the direction of disregarding human life? When did the Ministry of Justice become a place where people can be convicted without any trial?"
That's really not a polite thing to say.
Su Mowan had no intention of giving Song Chuwen a friendly look.
No wonder there are so many wrongful convictions in the world, and so many people have died unjustly. Although this is just a small case and doesn't require the personal attention of the Vice Minister of Justice, it can be inferred from this that there are quite a few people who have died unjustly in the Ministry of Justice.
Qingcheng was lucky to know her. If she and Qingcheng hadn't known each other, who would have stood up for Qingcheng? She would have inevitably been hastily convicted and wrongfully imprisoned to death.
The more I think about it, the more outrageous it becomes.
Su Mowan was very grateful that the Seventh Princess had given her the news; otherwise, if she had found out by then, wouldn't she have been left only to collect Qingcheng's corpse?
Thinking of this, Su Mowan couldn't control her anger, and she became less polite to Song Chuwen as well.
Song Chuwen didn't mind her impoliteness.
He shook his sleeves and acknowledged Su Mowan's accusation.
“It was indeed an oversight by the Ministry of Justice. However, there seems to be more to this than meets the eye. Although I didn’t handle this case, it is usually done according to normal procedures. First, there is a court hearing, and then a conviction is made after the signatures and fingerprints are obtained. Has your friend offended someone?”
Song Chuwen's words were subtle, but the meaning was very clear.
Su Mowan had thought of that as well.
Not only that, she even figured out who was behind it all, but the most urgent thing was to find the direct culprit and prove Qingcheng's innocence.
Without evidence, Su Mowan would not easily tell Song Chuwen about her suspicions.
She said anxiously, "There's no point in saying more. Let's go to Qingchengfang now. Minister Song, please come forward."
Song Chuwen had already given her some pointers, which was enough to show that he hadn't gone against his own principles. Seeing that she was urging him to set off, he wasn't annoyed. He nodded and walked towards his sedan chair.
Su Mowan was traveling by carriage, so she walked ahead of Song Chuwen.
She originally wanted Feng Yue to send the Seventh Princess back to the palace first, but the Seventh Princess refused to leave no matter what she heard, so she had no choice but to take her along.
Qingchengfang and Wanhualou are on the same street, but Qingchengfang is at one end of the street and Wanhualou is at the other, so they are not as lively.
Moreover, Qingchengfang was not open to the public. Only when the imperial court entertained officials would they invite dancers to perform songs and dances, so they found such a secluded place.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the carriage stopped outside the gate of Qingchengfang.
Su Mowan got off the carriage first, then helped the Seventh Princess behind her. Once she was standing still, she looked up and scanned the entire Qingchengfang neighborhood.
He turned around and looked out onto the street, but there was still no sign of Song Chuwen's sedan chair.
She had to wait for him to come in before she could go in. While waiting, Su Mowan walked around the perimeter of Qingchengfang.
The Seventh Princess found it fascinating and followed behind, looking left and right. Several times, when Su Mowan stopped and stared at a certain point in deep thought, the Seventh Princess wanted to ask her a question.
But seeing that Su Mowan was engrossed in her own thoughts and oblivious to everyone else, she had no choice but to shut up and obediently follow along.
Su Mowan circled Qingchengfang three times in total.
On the first lap, I only took a cursory look at the layout of the surrounding buildings; on the second lap, I paid attention to the walls, windows, and tall trees nearby of Qingchengfang.
The third round involves focusing on problematic areas and then making reverse assumptions based on one's own guesses.
After completing the three laps, Su Mowan's expression became even more serious.
Fortunately, Song Chuwen also arrived. Seeing her standing by the wall on the side of Qingchengfang lost in thought, he called out to her, indicating that she could go in.
The seventh princess quickly moved closer to her and whispered, "Sister-in-law, what you just did—"
"Don't ask so many questions, just follow quietly, let's go in."
"...Oh, okay."
The seventh princess pouted.
The once quiet and deserted Qingchengfang seemed to be shrouded in a heavy aura of death after the incident.
The headmistress looked unwell. She forced herself to greet Song Chuwen, but couldn't hide the deep dejection in her eyes.
Both Qingcheng and Yuge are treasures of Qingchengfang.
Qingcheng is already famous, and Yuge is waiting to succeed her as the next head dancer of Qingchengfang.
The teaching nanny was someone who had put a lot of effort into training her.
Now one is dead, and the other has become the murderer.
How can I avoid feeling discouraged?
In particular, the palace is selecting people again this year, which has made the teaching nannies even more worried.
Song Chuwen didn't care about the teaching nanny's attitude, and simply had someone take him to Yuge's former room.
Su Mowan silently followed.
The headmistress hadn't seen Su Mowan before; she was originally standing behind Song Chuwen. But as Song Chuwen walked forward, Su Mowan, who was following behind, naturally came into the headmistress's view.
The headmistress was taken aback because the Seventh Princess was standing next to Su Mowan. Her eyes lit up and she stopped Su Mowan and the Seventh Princess.
She first bowed respectfully to the Seventh Princess, then eagerly asked Su Mowan, "Miss, where are you from? Would you be interested in learning to dance at our Qingchengfang?"
"..."
Su Mowan expressed no interest.
Even if it's not about wielding swords and spears, it should be about writing and painting.
It was also her fault for not letting Qinghe style her hair like a married woman. She had previously thought it was too complicated, so she simply let it hang loose without any hairpins or jewels, with a thin braid hanging down behind each ear.
The Seventh Princess glanced at the teaching nanny, said nothing, and smiled.
Seeing that she didn't respond, the instructor persisted, "Please forgive my abruptness, young lady, but to be honest, I've rarely seen someone with such talent as you. You're very suited for dance! If you're willing, I promise—"
"You don't need to make any promises. This is my sister-in-law, the apple of my third brother's eye. Do you think she can come and learn to dance from you?"
The Seventh Princess couldn't stand it any longer and gave him a swift end.
The headmistress looked at Su Mowan in surprise.
Su Mowan pursed her lips, smiled faintly, and remained silent.
This startled the headmistress quite a bit. She quickly looked Su Mowan up and down, thinking to herself, "What a pity," but apologizing repeatedly.
"Please forgive me, Your Highness! It was my fault for not recognizing your greatness!"
She even called out "Princess".
This was the first person to directly call her Princess Consort, and Su Mowan smiled faintly.
"It's alright. I came today to see Miss Yuge's room. Granny, please go ahead and do what you need to do."
Upon hearing this, the headmistress not only didn't leave, but exclaimed excitedly, "Your Highness, are you here to investigate a case?!"
Is this considered investigating a case?
Although she doesn't have much of a reputation, with Song Chuwen around, she can at least be an assistant in the investigation.
So Su Mowan nodded.
The dejection in the headmistress's eyes vanished, replaced by a hopeful plea: "Your Highness, you must clear Qingcheng's name! Qingcheng is innocent! This child is an orphan, and she's been able to endure hardship since she was little! I watched her grow up! I know her better than anyone! She's not the murderer!"
Seeing that she was too emotional, Su Mowan quickly comforted her: "Don't worry, Granny, as long as the person is innocent, they will definitely not be wronged."
Song Chuwen, who had already reached the second floor, was disturbed by the commotion of the teaching nanny and took a few steps back, leaning on the railing to look down.
Su Mowan had no choice but to solemnly say to the teaching nanny, "Nanny, don't get agitated. Lord Song is here to investigate the case. If you have any important clues, you can speak directly to Lord Song."
Song Chuwen upstairs raised an eyebrow.
He adjusted his official hat and said in a deep voice, "Yes, if you have any clues, you must inform me so that I can investigate the case as soon as possible."
The supervising nanny was extremely excited and thanked her twice.
She took Su Mo to the second floor, and then led a few people to the room where Yu Ge had lived before his death.
Yu Ge's body was no longer in the house.
Su Mowan asked Song Chuwen, "Where did you put it?"
Song Chuwen knew exactly what she was referring to and replied very honestly, "It should be inside the government office."
"Yes, yes, yes, the person is in the government office; we haven't had time to bring them back for burial yet!"
The teaching nanny nodded repeatedly.
Su Mowan looked around the room, then walked to the bedside and looked around before taking a few steps toward the windowsill.
She suddenly frowned and said, "Lord Song, I think we should go and see the body first."