bestfiction Chapter 287 Fire at the Morgue
Chapter 287 Fire at the Morgue
Upon hearing this, Liu Zi looked towards the kitchen, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Yu Wan noticed this and glanced sideways at Xi Zhu behind her.
Xizhu understood and immediately went to the kitchen to get two meat patties.
Liu Zi's eyes lit up, and he quickly said:
"I saw it! I saw it! Sister, Lord Su is amazing. Even if all those men in black attacked together, they couldn't beat him."
"But for some reason, those men in black fell down one by one, and then a lot of Imperial Guards came and took Lord Su away."
Yu Wan's heart sank.
Did he collapse on his own?
It seems these people came prepared, risking their lives to frame Su Mu.
Su Mu did not kill them; most of these people committed suicide by poisoning themselves.
If that's the case, this matter is probably not over yet.
Su Mu was, after all, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Since the person behind the scenes did not choose to assassinate him but instead framed him, there must be solid evidence.
Those men in black who committed suicide by poison were undoubtedly the key to the entire incident.
If the coroner can verify that the men in black all committed suicide by poisoning, then the elaborate frame-up orchestrated by the mastermind behind the scenes will be completely wasted.
Therefore, the person behind the scenes will definitely try every means to deal with these corpses.
With this in mind, Yu Wan made a quick decision and immediately got up to write a letter.
She handed the letter to Xizhu, saying, "You must deliver this letter to Prince Chen's residence immediately and ask Prince Chen to arrange for someone to handle it."
Xizhu accepted the order without hesitation. Clutching the letter, she hurried out the door and ran all the way to Prince Chen's residence.
At the same time, news of Su Mu killing someone in the street spread like wildfire, quickly reaching Emperor Wenjing's ears.
Emperor Wenjing was furious and immediately slammed his fist on the table, exclaiming, "Su Mu, as the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, should have been enforcing the law impartially, yet he killed someone in the street! What kind of behavior is this!"
Liu Haifu, who was serving nearby, was so frightened by Emperor Wenjing's sudden outburst of anger that he trembled and quickly lowered his head.
He lowered his head, a barely perceptible hint of worry flashing in his eyes.
His Majesty is currently displeased because Su Mu is relentlessly pursuing the matter of Prince Yong. Now that Lord Su has committed 'murder in the street,' His Majesty will likely seize this opportunity to lash out. Lord Su is probably in grave danger this time.
As it turned out, Liu Haifu's worries came true.
Although Emperor Wenjing admired Su Mu's integrity and uprightness, an emperor would never allow a subject to disobey him, even if he knew it was wrong.
Emperor Wenjing immediately issued an edict ordering the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate to jointly investigate the case and rigorously examine Su Mu. If the evidence was conclusive, he would not tolerate him!
Once this decree was issued, the Minister of Justice and the officials of the Censorate understood everything.
Anyone with a brain would understand that, given Su Mu's character, there is absolutely no way he would do something like killing someone in the street.
There must be something fishy about this, but the emperor chooses not to see it, so those of us who are his subjects should be even more inclined to turn a blind eye.
Many people still feel it's a real pity.
Su Mu is indeed a rare talent, but when the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die.
This time, Su Mu is doomed.
What the Ministry of Justice and the Censorate need to do now is to solidify the evidence and silence public opinion.
When Consort De learned of this, a smile finally appeared on her face, which had been gloomy for days.
She leaned against the chaise longue, holding a gold-embroidered fan, gently covering her lips, and said with a coquettish smile, "Su Mu, no matter how capable you are, you still fell into my hands."
The palace maid Ruyi, who was standing nearby, smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise and has seen through the Emperor's thoughts."
"With just a little trick, Su Mu was doomed. The Emperor was already dissatisfied with Su Mu because of the Prince Yong incident, and now that he has been charged with 'murder in the street,' even if he had nine lives, he would not be able to escape the blame."
Consort De narrowed her eyes, revealing her ruthless intent. "I gave him a way out, but he refused. He opposed me at every turn and even tried to kill my son. This time, I will make him know the consequences of opposing me!"
Ruyi said, "Your Majesty is wise. How can a fool like Su Mu be compared to Your Majesty? In Your Majesty's presence, he is nothing but a clown."
Consort De's smile deepened after being coaxed by Ruyi's words.
She waved the gold-embroidered fan in her hand more and more merrily.
"Without Su Mu, that mad dog, biting Xuan'er, once this storm passes, we can pretend nothing ever happened."
Ruyi smiled and nodded, "His Highness Prince Yong is of noble birth and will surely enjoy peace and prosperity under the Empress's protection."
Consort De smiled and shook her gold-embroidered fan. Her eyes flickered, and she instructed, "Go and tell the Minister of Justice that Su Mu, the Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review, has disregarded the law and acted recklessly. Tell the Minister of Justice to expedite the trial of this case. We cannot let the perpetrators go unpunished."
Ruyi immediately understood Consort De's meaning and quickly curtsied, saying, "This servant understands and will go to do it right away."
Having finished speaking, she was about to leave when Consort De beckoned to her and said in a low voice, "Come here, I have something else to ask you to do..."
On the other side, the twelve corpses "killed" by Su Mu were all sent to the Ministry of Justice's mortuary by Zhou Suquan.
The mortuary of the Ministry of Justice was located at the very back of the Ministry of Justice compound; it was a solitary, dilapidated little courtyard.
Some sections of the walls surrounding the courtyard have collapsed, revealing jagged, broken walls.
The yard was overgrown with weeds, and under the cover of night, it looked particularly eerie.
The people of Dazhao have always been very wary of such places. On ordinary days, only the coroner responsible for examining the corpses and the lowest-ranking officials are allowed to enter and exit the mortuary.
At this time, only an elderly official, over fifty years old, was guarding the courtyard.
As night fell, the entire morgue seemed to be shrouded in a gloomy mist.
The old official went to bed early, and in order to get a good night's sleep, he drank a full pot of strong liquor before going to bed.
Right now, he was lying in bed, snoring loudly, the sound echoing throughout the courtyard.
Suddenly, a faint rustling sound came from all around. The sound was so subtle that it sounded like the wind blowing through the grass, or like someone moving quickly around.
Moonlight filtered through the dappled leaves, casting eerie, flickering shadows, like countless eyes peering into the darkness.
Several dark figures sneaked into the room where the corpses were kept.
Several dark figures, like ghosts, silently sneaked into the room where the corpses were kept.
Their faces were covered with black cloth, revealing only pairs of eyes that gleamed with a cold, sinister light, their gazes filled with ruthlessness.
These shadowy figures moved swiftly; as soon as they entered the room, they immediately poured the kerosene they had brought onto the corpses, their movements practiced and decisive.
Then, one of them took out a tinderbox, blew on it without hesitation, and the flames instantly flared up, igniting the oil-soaked corpse.
Flames instantly rose up, the raging fire threatening to engulf the entire room, and a pungent smell of burning filled the air.
The old official opened his eyes, his vision blurred by the smoke, and was immediately met with blinding flames.
His eyes widened in horror, the effects of the alcohol instantly vanished, and without even bothering to put on his shoes, he rushed barefoot outside.
"Oh no! There's a fire! There's a fire!"
"Someone come and put out the fire!"