amaotonovel Chapter 1127 Court Hearing
Chapter 1127 Court Hearing
Jiangzhou City, the Prefectural Government Office.
The evil deeds of the Living Buddha Temple were exposed to the public, and the monks and abbot Pudu of the Living Buddha Temple were all arrested.
Now everyone realizes that the Living Buddha Temple has always been a tool for Pudu and others to plunder and kill. All the incense that everyone has been burning for so many years has been for evil people. The numerous skeletons, large amounts of gold and silver, and the man-eating toads secretly raised in the Living Buddha Temple are horrifying.
This case shocked the entire city of Jiangzhou...
However, the news that Zhang Qian, the prefect of Yuzhou, had gone to Jiangzhou to serve as the presiding judge spread throughout the streets and alleys.
News of Empress Jiang's arrival in Jiangzhou also spread.
Everyone speculated, "The Empress appointed the Prefect of Yuzhou as the presiding judge. Could it be that Prefect Wu was implicated by the Living Buddha Temple?"
"I heard that some of the victims' families have reported Prefect Wu for protecting the abbot of the Living Buddha Temple and accepting bribes. However, the case has not yet been investigated, and the Empress cannot directly dismiss him from his post."
“Prefect Wu is an honest official; how could he possibly conspire with a monk to murder someone…”
"The so-called honest officials are all pretenders. They appear upright on the surface, but who knows how many bad things they have done behind the scenes. Only a fool would believe that an official is honest. It is said that Prefect Zhang of Yuzhou is also an honest official, but only they themselves know whether he is really honest or not."
"I heard that Her Majesty the Empress came to Jiangzhou from Yuzhou to investigate a case. She only discovered the crimes of Pudu and others when she arrived at the Living Buddha Temple. The Living Buddha Temple was burned down last night."
The common people were full of sarcasm, saying, "Not a single official is a good person. It's always us ordinary people who suffer. There are even monks who get married and have children. You've never heard of that, have you?"
So everyone huddled together again and started gossiping about the monk getting married.
Jiang Fenghua had not received any news from Gongsun Ling and Feng Qingyu, who had originally agreed to meet in Jiangzhou City.
She knew that if they hadn't heard from her, something must have happened.
Sure enough, Ao Xue hurriedly returned, "Master Feng and Miss Lanlan are no longer in the inn. I asked the innkeeper, but at first he wouldn't say anything. Later, when I took out my sword, he finally told the truth."
It is said that a group of people suddenly arrived at the inn at Chenshi today, including a woman wearing a white hooded robe. Later, they followed the woman. Strangely, they followed her voluntarily. When I went to their room to check, I found bloodstains. The innkeeper said that the dead person was one of their people.
The woman in the long robe told the innkeeper to dispose of the body and not to report it to the authorities, or she would burn down the inn and wipe out his entire family. The innkeeper, terrified, secretly moved the body to the back mountain and buried it.
Ao Xue added, "I've already examined the body. It's Qian Shun. His eyes, like Master Wan's, were gouged out alive."
“I checked. There were traces of sleeping powder left in the inn. Everyone inside was drugged. Mr. Gongsun should have gone with them.”
Jiang Fenghua asked in confusion, "They won't follow others on their own unless they've been drugged and controlled."
“It’s an illusion,” Ao Xue said again. “With Master’s medical skills, she couldn’t possibly be controlled by a drug unless it’s beyond her ability. She once told me about a kind of magic in the Western Regions that can bewitch people’s minds and make them lose control of themselves. That’s an illusion.”
Jiang Fenghua then asked, "What news is there from Wan Qianshan and Bai Yuhan?"
Ao Xue said, "Mr. Gongsun was the one who kept in touch with them, but now that he has been taken away, they have lost contact with him."
At this moment, Hongxiu brought people in, "Your Highness, servants from the Bai and Wan families have arrived."
One of them was Bai Yuhan's maid, and the other was Wan Qianshan's servant. They came looking for her after hearing that the Empress had arrived at the Jiangzhou government office.
"Your Majesty, something must have happened to my young lady! What should we do now?" Chunxiang said.
"What exactly happened?" Jiang Fenghua said in a deep voice, "You need to explain yourselves clearly."
Yuanbao also said, "My young master and Miss Bai secretly climbed over the wall into the Wu family's old house and didn't come out after that. They were nowhere to be seen even when it was light. When we knocked on the door, a steward named Wu came out and said he hadn't seen anyone. Later, we went to the inn to look for Master Feng, but we still couldn't find anyone."
Jiang Fenghua asked, "When did you go to the inn?"
“We waited outside the Wu family mansion until dawn but the young lady and young master didn’t come out. We had no choice but to go to the inn. However, when Young Master Wan entered the Wu family last night at midnight, he sent a message to Mr. Gongsun. We were able to contact him then, but we lost contact with him later.” Yuanbao added, “We searched everywhere but couldn’t find the young master and young lady. Our men have been guarding outside the Wu family mansion, but they haven’t come out.”
Jiang Fenghua's thoughts raced as she pondered: So it wasn't that they exposed her uncle's whereabouts. How did the woman in white know they were at the inn? Could it be because they were carrying the golden toad?
Yue Anying and his guards had never left their sight, so it couldn't be Yue Anying.
But someone connected to Yue Anying must have taken them away.
-
Here, the monks were taken back to the yamen and confessed everything.
It was all instigated by Pudu. They weren't even real monks. Pudu used to be a bandit nicknamed "Over the Mountain Tiger." He came to the Living Buddha Temple seven years ago and became its abbot.
He once led a group to rob caravans, killing countless people. He was arrested, imprisoned, and executed by the government. Now, however, he has become the abbot of a temple and has amassed a fortune over the past seven years.
Among the human bones in the temple were many of the original monks and abbots of the Living Buddha Temple, whom this group of bandits had killed and seized.
When these facts were revealed, there was an uproar outside the hall.
Everyone pointed at Wu Yirong, saying, "You were the one who handled the case of the tiger that crossed the mountain back then, and you were the one who executed the person. How can the person still be alive now, and even become a monk and amass wealth in the temple? Prefect Wu, give us an explanation."
"That's right, what Master Pudu? He's clearly a man-eating villain from the mountains."
"He killed so many people. He was clearly a ruthless bandit, yet he became a monk. Prefect Wu must give an explanation."
Zhang Qian gave a forced smile and said in a serious tone, "Silence, everyone, listen to what Lord Wu has to say."
Immediately, everyone fell silent.
Wu Yirong had actually wanted to run away for a long time, but he had been guarded ever since he arrived at the Living Buddha Temple.
His smile froze. "It's been so many years since the case, I don't even remember. Let Pudu tell me himself, who he is, what his name is, and why he did evil?"
Pudu glanced at Wu Yirong and said, "This humble monk has long been a monk and does not remember what other name I have. My Dharma name is Pudu, Amitabha."
Wu Yirong spoke sternly and righteously, "I see you won't speak the truth unless I use torture. So, I will use torture."
At this moment, the Empress walked into the crowd, and the hidden guards lined up on both sides to quickly clear the way.
The Empress said in a deep voice, "Indeed, torture is necessary. Wu Yirong, even now you still refuse to explain your dealings with the bandit Guoshanhu. It will be easy for me to investigate the old case from seven years ago, as well as Guoshanhu's real name and who else is in his family."
Pudu knew his death was imminent; he had done too many bad things and deserved to die long ago. The only thing he couldn't let happen to his family was his family.