Chapter 51: Reinforcements Arrive

  The second piece of evidence presented in the public hall is not easy to refute. The soft sword worn by Fei has never left his body and can cause wounds that seal blood with cold air, directly proving that he is the murderer. Fei is a proud person who does not bother to use excuses such as losing his sword or borrowing a sword to avoid suspicion, which is also what Peng Yinnian expected.

  Because when discussing various important matters in Changping Prefecture, Zhu Muzi analyzed the temperament of each of the parties involved in the case and the possible situation that might arise afterwards. When the situation gets out of control, what kind of follow-up method should be used to make up for it.

  Up to now, Peng Yin had no choice but to admit that Zhu Muzi had guessed most of the situations in the public hall, only with slightly different methods. The prince's mansion turned out a hidden stake, Zuo Qingquan made false evidence to overthrow Han Xiang's testimony, and it was not easy to cover up the physical evidence again.

  Zuo Qingyuan indeed fabricated evidence and perjured himself. He had been on duty at the Imperial Guard camp all along, and sometimes patrolled the mountain path outside the Luanyunpo. But with his keen eyes and ears, after seeing Li Peinan point him out, he knew it was time to render meritorious service to his lord and young master.

  He did not disappoint and stood up for it.

  Moreover, he also brought with him a hundred elite cavalrymen under his command to surrender to Li Peinan in the public hall, indicating that they would defend the Crown Prince's mansion to the death. He beckoned with his hand, and the hundred soldiers followed his gesture and stood under the eaves on the left side of the public hall, facing the direction of Li Peinan's seat.

  In an instant, the courtyard was divided into two opposing camps, facing each other left and right.

  Peng Yin saw the changes outside the rolling shed and urged Fei Yi: "The evidence of the murder weapon is conclusive, what else can you say, young master?"

  "It's not just my sword that can cause Lord Bi's injury. According to what I know, the Ministry of Justice's archives have records of a soft sword called 'Moonlight' that also has the effect of sealing one's breath with cold energy."

  Li Peinan raised an eyebrow as he listened, but didn't say anything.

  "Can we bring that young master here as a witness?" Peng Yin asked in a low voice. "Let me verify it."

  Fei Yi replied indifferently: "The Moonlight has been lost, only the written records remain. If you don't believe me, I can send someone to bring a copy of the transcript for verification."

  Peng Yin sneered: "So it seems this murder weapon has become a non-existent thing?"

  "Believe it or not, it's up to you, I speak without reserve, and say all that needs to be said, with a clear conscience."

  A guard from the rivers and lakes stood beside the public case and said in a low voice: "Your Honor, I have also heard rumors about this sword. Whether or not it is true, Your Honor can take the opportunity to send Minister Min Xiaoxiang to fetch a copy of the book and drive him out of the government office."

  After being reminded by the guard, Peng Yinxin suddenly remembered something that Zhu Muzi had specially emphasized. Before leaving, Zhu Muzi said that his old friend and classmate was serving under the Crown Prince and they had an old relationship, if there was a fight in the public hall, he must first ensure his friend's safety.

  When Zhu Muzi entrusted this matter, his face was extremely serious and there was no smile. Peng Yinxin put the name of Min Xiaoxiang in his heart and weighed it, and actually weighed out some weight. From this, he also realized that it's not easy to deal with Min Xiaoxiang, and Zhu Muzi might be like his father, who would throw down his burden on the spot.

  Peng Yin Xin asked the guard, "Which one is Minister Min's son?"

  The guard in the Imperial Guard looked at Li Peinan's side for a moment and said, "Looking at his clothes, it seems to be that scholar."

  Peng Yin stood up from the new station, and on the green brick stone platform, he raised his hand to Li Peinan: "Just now, the second young master proposed sending someone to retrieve a copy of the evidence. I wonder if the little attendant in front of the prince can take on this task?"

  Li Peinan glanced at Min An and nodded, his eyes deep with meaning: "Alright." In fact, this was exactly what he had been worried about afterwards, but unexpectedly Peng Yinxin had already solved it for him.

  Min An walked forward and bowed to the two young masters, indicating that he was taking his leave. Li Peinan looked at him and added a sentence: "Remember what I said earlier." Fei Yi followed closely behind and reminded him: "Did you understand? This matter cannot be ambiguous."

  Min An nodded and stood in front of the roll shed waiting. According to the rules for reviewing special cases in the public hall, if someone is sent out to retrieve evidence, it must be agreed upon by both the plaintiff and defendant, and an official must escort them the entire way. Li Peinan and Peng Yinxin looked at each other and then gazed out at the county officials waiting outside the warm pavilion, finally fixing their eyes on the impartial chief clerk.

  The clerk looked left and right, and his colleagues retreated a step in unison, highlighting his figure. The clerk had no choice but to walk to the public case, take over the fire sign and documents signed by Peng Yinxin with a red pen, and leave the county government office with Min'an.

  As soon as they left the main hall courtyard, the imperial guards quickly took their positions again and filled in the gaps on the walkway, with a dull clang of armor scraping together.

  Min An was secretly anxious about the volatile situation inside.

  The chief clerk handled the matter in a public and impartial manner, urging Qin An to hurry to the capital on horseback. They had to personally obtain the copy themselves, which took several days of back-and-forth travel. However, Qin An did not want to waste time and repeatedly persuaded the chief clerk to let him go collect evidence instead. The chief clerk refused, saying that he was responsible for the task. Qin An asked what would happen if they didn't wait for physical evidence to be presented and a fight broke out in the county government office. The chief clerk replied indifferently that as long as he completed the tasks assigned by his superiors, he wouldn't have to bear any responsibility, no matter how serious the consequences were.

  Min An sighed: "Sir, you are really confused! Sir, previously sent a songstress to the mansion, and tried every means to win the favor of the young master. Can't it be made clear that what sir needs is the power of the young master's house? Now that the young master has encountered difficulties in the county government office, if he were to be dispatched by Lord Peng with troops to suppress him, and the young master's house were to be destroyed, could sir escape being implicated?"

  The chief clerk couldn't help but pull the reins, stopping on the road out of the city for a moment's thought. At this time, the sound of horseshoes rushing came from behind, and Min An turned his head to look back, seeing that on the mountain path leading to the suburban barracks, dust was flying everywhere, and several military figures flashed by like lightning. One of them noticed the movement on Min An's side and turned his horse around to run towards him.

  "What's taking so long?" The guard officer shouted loudly, making excuses, "The master is still waiting for the evidence to be presented!"

  Min An raised his hand on horseback: "May I ask if the military master is going to the military camp in the suburbs? Is it intended to mobilize troops over here?"

  "It's none of your business." The guard officer retorted rudely and whipped the horse's rump under Min An, "Lord Peng has his own arrangements, you hurry up and leave the county to handle matters."

  Min An's heart was hanging on the galloping horse. Although the guard officer did not respond to his words, his actions had already proven his conjecture, and the county government indeed rioted, and Peng Yin was afraid that he could not suppress the power of the prince's mansion, and even sent someone to seek reinforcements.

  Peng Yin led the young emperor's bestowed title, holding the secret edict of Empress Qi Lian, naturally able to mobilize the 2,000 guards outside the county city. The commander of the guard, Du Wei, had previously been killed by Li Pei Nan with a single sword strike while carrying the banner of rescuing Wang Huai Li, and the military power fell into the hands of the deputy general. The deputy general heard the protection officer's order, who would not listen to the proposal, immediately brought 2,000 soldiers to surround the county government office again, and once again confronted Li Pei Nan's controlled military force.

  There's a saying: new grudges and old hatreds are settled together. The deputy commander is just waiting for this kind of opportunity to turn the tables.

  Min An, who had already run out of the county town, understood the connection and became more anxious. He looked back and saw that the chief clerk had caught up with him, and behind him were two horses, which were the cavalry sent by the guard officer to supervise Min An's work along the way.

  Before the cavalry arrived, Min An grabbed the reins of the county clerk's horse and said urgently: "The county government is already in an uproar, sir, think carefully, which side do you want to stand on?"

  The accountant was still hesitant, and Min An hated that he only patted him on the shoulder and said: "A wooden brain that doesn't open! In the future, this world will fall into whose hands?"

  "The Li family."

  "Whose power is the greatest in the Li family?"

  "Crown Prince."

  Min An let go of the reins and said clearly: "This is it, sir. You must seize this opportunity to make a contribution. Next, I will help you shake off the two cavalrymen behind us. Sir, take the documents and pass through the checkpoints all the way, and rush into the prince's mansion to call for reinforcements. Don't hesitate at all."

  The steward thought for a moment and finally nodded. Min An threatened again, "If it doesn't work out, be careful that the king will flay your skin!"

  Two moments later, the four horses galloping on the official road had just opened up a little distance when Min An suddenly fell to the ground with a thud and rolled down the grass slope. The two cavalrymen were shocked by the sight, immediately reined in their reins, jumped off their horses and ran towards Min An.

  Min An finally stabilized his tumbling body, lying on the grass and saying: "Thank you two gentlemen for your concern, I am really weak and cannot bear the long journey, why not let Master Zhu go get the evidence first?"

  Two cavalrymen didn't even look at the movement on the official road on the slope, letting the chief clerk go far away with one horse, and still asked anxiously: "Is the young master all right?"

  Min An wiped the blood from his forehead and smiled weakly: "Two military officers are so concerned about me, is it entrusted by the guardian officer?" Earlier, Peng Yin's new initiative to ask him to go out and collect evidence made him avoid the fight in the county government office, he felt strange in his heart, but at that time the situation was urgent, he just pressed down this doubt.

  The cavalry did not respond, and Min An said: "It's clear that the guard officer is going to follow Mr. Peng's orders again, I really can't understand why Mr. Peng would care about a small person like me, so I thought about it over and over, but only found one reasonable explanation: there must be someone behind who asked Mr. Peng to do this. Can you two military officers tell me who that person is?"

  The two cavalrymen looked at each other, hesitated and said: "Little Marquis is probably thinking too much, the guard officer only instructed us to take good care of Little Marquis, but didn't say anything else."

  Min An smiled and said, "It seems that the two military officers also don't know the twists and turns inside. I might have thought too much." As soon as he finished speaking, he let go of the hand grasping the grass root and slid straight down to the bottom of the mountain slope. The autumn grass was soft and slippery, quickly sending him to the foot of the slope. He dragged out a miserable cry, attracting the cavalry to search for him, before struggling to get up with his arm, and running towards the chaotic burial mound.

  Thank you for the hand grenade from Yiyi (*^__^*)

  Thank you, Pig Ear's two landmines (*^__^*). Thank you, H, Rong Yiyu, Qingqing, and Tomorrow MM's landmines (*^__^*). l3l4