Not to mention Liu Yujing, even Zou Chengyi was shocked to the point of cardiac arrest by the almost sinister smile on her face.
This was a world apart from the Fengluan they knew.
Wasn't she supposed to be a living Bodhisattva who saved lives and healed the wounded?
A living Bodhisattva? More like a living Yama!
After a few seconds of silence, Zou Chengyi slowly said, "She is not a prisoner. You cannot torture her!"
Nan Shiying responded with an "Oh," and pointed at the man, "Then skin him."
Zou Chengyi's expression turned cold, and the deep furrow in his brow trembled slightly. Fengluan's perversity was beyond his imagination. How could one person be so obsessed with skinning?
Zou Chengyi could no longer tolerate it and shouted at Nan Shiying, "Fengluan, you are still a suspect. Mind your status."
"Yes, yes!" Nan Shiying nodded with a smile.
Silence fell upon the court.
Liu Yujing and Feng Quan stood on the left, Nan Shiying on the right, with the profusely bleeding culprit in the middle, and a woman attempting to smash herself against a pillar not far away.
Zou Chengyi felt a splitting headache. He reviewed the entire matter.
According to the criminal, Fengluan was the mastermind behind everything, orchestrating all events. This was plausible but had its inconsistencies.
First: Physical evidence!
If Fengluan's words were true, then this physical evidence was fabricated.
Along with it, the entire case would be overturned.
Second: The herbs, the herbs used to refine "Floating Half-Day Powder"!
Whether it was the man's earlier statement that he bought the herbs from a former colleague, or his later accusation of Fengluan providing him with the poison, there was a third party involved.
That Wang Er, who had committed suicide by poison on Sishui Street.
If, as per the man's first statement, Wang Er was a former colleague from his security escort agency, then Wang Er's appearance in this matter wouldn't be out of place. However, if the poison was refined by Fengluan, Wang Er's appearance seemed superfluous. After all, if Fengluan refined the poison, he wouldn't be purchasing large quantities of herbs for its repeated refinement, as their initial speculation upon searching the apothecary was that the poison refiner would need a substantial amount of herbs for continuous refinement.
So, was Wang Er a part of this elaborate trap, or merely an unfortunate soul who stumbled into it?
Third: Motive!
Fengluan truly had no compelling reason to kill Liu Ling!
Based on this, Zou Chengyi felt that there were definitely more hidden details behind this matter.
For instance, the handwriting!
When Fengluan wrote the prescription, only he and the coroner were present. Later, only Feng Quan and a few ministry officials had seen it, making it quite simple to identify the suspect!
"Guards, go and fetch the coroner and the two officials, Zhang Yi and Sun Minglong!" Out of the four officials in the Ministry of Justice, only these two had handled that prescription.
Zou Chengyi did not instruct Feng Quan to do this; Feng Quan understood the reasons for various matters, but he had no opinion on it.
Seeing that Zou Chengyi had no intention of continuing the interrogation, Nan Shiying glanced around and walked to the pillar, leaning against it with a listless, dejected demeanor, as if boneless.
There was not the slightest hint of the person who had just pointed at someone and incited Zou Chengyi to skin them.
Zou Chengyi glanced at her but paid no mind to her disrespectful behavior in court.
Liu Yujing, however, had calmed down. While the grief of losing his son had affected his judgment and clouded his mind, he was, after all, a Minister, a high-ranking official who was a close confidant of the emperor. He wasn't so foolish as to let anger and hatred cloud his judgment.
Even though he still wished to tear Fengluan limb from limb, he forced himself to suppress the raging murderous intent.
Regardless of whether she was the true culprit who killed his son, he could not rush to execute her!
...
The bailiffs soon brought in the officials and the coroner.
"My Lord!"
Zhang Yi, Sun Mingliang, and the coroner bowed to Zou Chengyi. Looking at the scene before them, they felt somewhat uncomfortable. The smell of blood filling the air made their hearts palpitate.
Zou Chengyi looked at the three before him, no, four people.
Whether it was Zhang Yi, Sun Mingliang, Feng Quan, or the coroner, they were all veterans of the Ministry of Justice. He did not wish to see any of them involved in such a deed.
"Please wait here for a moment."
Zou Chengyi was waiting for the bailiffs sent to Tongji Apothecary and the Nan residence.
Shortly after, the bailiffs returned with the prescription issued by Nan Shiying. They presented the prescription to Zou Chengyi.
Looking at the prescription, whose handwriting was clearly different from the one in his hand, Zou Chengyi remained silent for a few seconds before raising his head, a hint of weariness in his eyes. He handed the prescription to Zhang Yi and the others.
"Take a look!"
Zhang Yi took the prescription and distributed the extra copies to Sun Minglong and the others. They took the prescriptions and examined them again. Except for Feng Quan, who had been standing in court and was aware of the entire sequence of events, Zhang Yi and the other two were completely bewildered.
They couldn't understand the purpose of Zou Chengyi's instruction to examine these prescriptions.
Zou Chengyi carefully observed everyone's expressions. He couldn't discern any clues. He then threw the poison recipe at their feet: "Compare them!"
Sun Minglong crouched down, picked up the recipe, and placed it next to the prescription. He became even more confused.
"My Lord, these are entirely different handwriting. What are we supposed to compare?"
"Yes, my Lord!"
"Isn't this the poison recipe Fengluan wrote earlier? What do you mean, my Lord?"
The three looked up and asked in confusion.
Zou Chengyi didn't answer immediately. His sharp, knife-like eyes swept across the individuals. The gaze that seemed capable of piercing through flesh and revealing the soul made the three of them a little nervous. However, apart from nervousness and confusion, Zou Chengyi detected no guilt or panic in any of them.
Could it be that it wasn't them?
Nan Shiying raised her gaze, looked at them, and said with a playful smile, "My lords, are you truly unable to understand, or are you pretending to be ignorant?"
It wasn't until Nan Shiying spoke that Zhang Yi and the others noticed the person behind the pillar.
Seeing her nonchalant and sarcastic expression, Sun Minglong frowned, his face flushed with anger, and shouted, "Who are you to dare disrespect the court!"
Nan Shiying raised an eyebrow and looked at him.
"I am Fengluan!"
Sun Minglong was slightly taken aback. This was Fengluan? He had previously heard that the lord personally led the bailiffs to the prince's mansion to arrest her. Now, looking at her appearance, she didn't seem like a murder suspect at all!
Sun Minglong looked towards Zou Chengyi.
Zou Chengyi glared at Nan Shiying and slowly said, "The handwriting on this prescription also came from Fengluan."
"So?"
Zhang Yi and the other two were still puzzled.
Zou Chengyi forgot that, besides Feng Quan, no one else knew about the physical evidence.
Zou Chengyi fell silent.
Nan Shiying sighed and said to Zou Chengyi, "My lord, listen to me and use torture!"
"You see, with so many people talking, you can't possibly keep any news quiet. Now that you've summoned them, you can't get any answers, can you? Although I also feel that torture is not good, it is effective!"
"Skin..."
"Silence!!"