Traveling through ancient times, the empress insisted on having a child with me

Chapter 137 Xu Hongtu appeals for justice at the Meridian Gate

In the back hall of the Investigation Bureau, where Wu Kun usually worked, Tu Yuan briefly recounted what happened in Ruyin County, and then handed over all the files including the confession.

Wu Kun read several interrogation statements in succession, all of which were trivial matters, and he suddenly became impatient.

"You looted the Xu family compound, and this is all you came up with?"

Tu Yuan suppressed his laughter and said, "Sir, you can take a look at the last file first."

Wu Kun then pulled out the last file, but he had not read half of it when his whole body suddenly trembled and he almost dropped the file.

"you……"

"you……"

Wu Kun opened his mouth several times, but was forced to hold it back. Finally, he managed to squeeze out a few words: "Do you have any evidence?"

"There is a witness named Xu Lang."

"How can there be no physical evidence for such a big case? Nonsense." Wu Kun breathed a sigh of relief and changed his tone to a serious one: "Tu Yuan, you were also transferred from the Ministry of Justice. You will get into trouble if you do this."

Tu Yuan came closer and lowered his voice and said, "Master, this is what I think. If we can solve this major case, our Judicial Investigation Department will soar to the sky. The predecessor of this Judicial Investigation Department... is the East Factory."

Just the word "East Factory" touched Wu Kun's heart. Isn't this the purpose of Prince Ning? If the Jishisi could have the power that the East Factory had back then...

Wu Kun swallowed his saliva, leaned forward, and put a hand on Tu Yuan's arm: "Don't spread this matter for now, I will think about it again."

Tu Yuanyi bowed and said, "I understand. How should we deal with the more than 1,000 prisoners from the Xu family in Ruyin? Please give me your instructions, Sir."

Wu Kun frowned. It was hard to say whether the more than 1,000 people in the Xu family were prisoners. "Brother Tu, you've worked hard on this trip. Go back and have a rest for now. I'll make a decision after I sort out these files."

Tu Yuan knew that Wu Kun was going to ask Prince Ning for advice, so he bowed and took his leave.

He guessed correctly. Even Prince Ning did not dare to make a rash decision on such a big matter. After listening to Wu Kun's report, the fan in Prince Ning's hand could no longer turn.

After a long time, the tea in Wu Kun's hand had gone cold. When he was about to take a sip, King Ning suddenly slammed the table and said, "Let's handle this case."

Wu Kun shuddered and almost threw the cup away, spilling tea all over his hands.

"Your Majesty, this case may involve a lot of people. What if..."

"No one can escape this. This is treason and collaborating with the enemy. This crime is unforgivable. How can I allow these thieves who stole my country to go unpunished?"

Wu Kun was stunned by these righteous words, but King Ning hadn't finished yet: "However, this matter still needs to be investigated secretly. Before we get the actual evidence, we must keep it strictly confidential."

"Ah this..."

Wu Kun looked embarrassed: "Your Highness, they have already raided the Xu family compound in Ruyin. Now there are more than a thousand people in the Xu family, and I don't know what to do with them."

Prince Ning had just stood up excitedly, but upon hearing this, he sat down immediately and pointed his fan at Wu Kun: "You... you, you, how do you do things? You dare to raid the Xu family without even any evidence?"

Wu Kun felt a little aggrieved, thinking that it was you who said you would take care of everything.

Prince Ning was silent for a while and then said, "Well, then let's escort all the Xu family members to the capital."

Wu Kun was stunned for a moment: "Your Majesty, the other evidence of the Xu family's crimes is not enough to implicate the entire family..."

Before he could finish his words, Prince Ning interrupted him with a wave of his hand: "Can't you fabricate some charges to pin on the Xu family? While the Ministry of Justice is investigating the case, you can secretly investigate the private sale of arms. Do you need me to teach you this?"

"Yes, I understand."

The Xu family compound was raided, and Xu Hongtu got the news earlier than Wu Kun. This news was like a bolt from the blue, and he fainted on the spot.

When he woke up, he immediately wrote several letters and asked people to deliver them to the Xu family members who were serving as officials in various places. The Xu family of Ruyin was facing a life-and-death situation.

In addition, Xu Hongtu knelt outside the Meridian Gate early the next morning, causing officials who came to court to talk about it.

At the beginning of the morning court, an imperial censor came out to report the reason why Xu Hongtu was kneeling outside the Meridian Gate.

Lu Xi frowned immediately. She wanted to ignore Xu Hongtu's life or death, but the Ruyin Xu family was, after all, the most prominent aristocratic family in Dasheng, and the aristocratic family faction had great power in the court. Her attitude towards the Xu family would be regarded as her attitude towards the aristocratic family.

Xu Hongtu was clearly trying to use the power of his aristocratic family to force Lu Xi.

In order not to disappoint the aristocratic faction, Lu Xi had to pretend to be ignorant of the matter and had someone bring in Xu Hongtu, even though he was extremely reluctant.

"I, Xu Hongtu, pay my respects to Your Majesty."

"Stand up." Lu Xi suppressed his anger: "Censor Fan said that you knelt outside the Meridian Gate and cried out your injustice. What injustice did you suffer?"

Before Xu Hongtu opened his mouth, he kowtowed twice. When he raised his head, there was a large red spot on his forehead.

"Your Majesty, my hometown in Ruyin was attacked by the Criminal Investigation Bureau at night for unknown reasons, resulting in more than a hundred casualties. Now, more than a thousand members of the Xu family are being held in the Xu family compound, and their fate is uncertain."

Xu Hongtu had only said a few words when his face was already covered with tears and he choked up: "I really don't know what crime my clan member committed to bring disaster upon the entire clan. Your Majesty, please tell me. If my clan member really committed an unforgivable crime, I am willing to die to atone for it."

Lu Xi's eyebrows were almost wrinkled together. Xu Hongtu was clearly threatening to commit suicide. The civil and military officials in the court were unaware of the truth and thought that I had done something to him.

"Is this true?" Lu Xi could only play dumb: "Why did the Criminal Investigation Bureau search the Xu family? Fang Pingshan?"

The Judicial Investigation Division is nominally under the Ministry of Justice, and Fang Pingshan is the Minister of Justice. When he heard His Majesty's mention of his name, he felt very dissatisfied. This Judicial Investigation Division is just under the name of the Ministry of Justice, and actually has nothing to do with my Ministry of Justice. Why would they come to me when something goes wrong?

As he left his shift, he glanced at Prince Ning, and his meaning was very clear: if you don't say anything, I can sell the Criminal Investigation Bureau.

Prince Ning naturally knew the answer and stepped forward quickly: "Your Majesty, although the Judicial Bureau is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, it is not actually under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice. I think if you want to clarify this matter, you need to summon the Judicial Bureau to the palace."

Lu Xi waved his hand and said, "Then let the Publicity and Judgment Department take charge."

Xu Hongtu cried out for injustice at the Meridian Gate. This matter had long reached Wu Kun's ears. Knowing that he was involved in this matter, he had been waiting outside the Meridian Gate. When he heard the emperor summoning him, he quickly straightened his clothes and went to the palace to meet him.

After a round of greetings, Wu Kun first presented the organized files, and then said: "Your Majesty, since the establishment of the Judicial Bureau, it has been investigating old cases. Ling Chuan, the chief of the Xuzi Office of the Judicial Bureau, was ordered to go to Ruyin to investigate the Huang family's massacre in Hexi Village, but was besieged and hunted by the Xu family of Ruyin. As a result, no one knows whether he is alive or dead. I sent the Judicial Bureau to Ruyin County to investigate, which led to the seizure of the Xu family compound."

"You...you are slandering me. You are slandering me. Haha..."

Xu Hongtu spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.

Lu Xi frowned: "Call the imperial physician."