Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Everyone present was shocked that the murderer could be in this courtroom.

The first one to react was Liu Jin, who immediately led several strong men to guard Zhu Youtang's left and right sides, while the Jinyi guards led by Wang Xiang seemed to be facing a formidable enemy.

The eyes of important ministers such as Li Yu, the Minister of Personnel, and Li Si, the Minister of Hubu, were blank, and they looked to the left and right with caution, mostly looking for the murderer.

The reactions of Ruian Bo Wang Yuan and Chang Ning Bo Zhou Yu were thought-provoking. They silently turned their heads to look at someone standing next to them.

The people in the hall were eating melons crazily. They originally came to watch this horrific massacre, but unexpectedly the emperor came in person. Now there was a big turn.

What shocked them the most was that at this moment, the painter Bai Zihua identified the perpetrator of the crime that day in this courtroom.

The atmosphere in the courtroom seemed to be lacking oxygen for a time, and it was eerily quiet.

However, no murderer jumped out to admit his crime. Everyone couldn't help but look at each other, and then silently turned their respectful and puzzled eyes to Zhu Youtang above.

Zhu Youtang handed the selected portrait to Liu Jin, and Liu Jin showed the portrait to everyone present. The appearance of the murderer was obvious.

Huh?

This portrait is vividly drawn, not only showing the person's facial features, but also showing the character's demeanor, like a young man who is determined to kill.

When they saw the portrait displayed by Liu Jin, everyone understood why the emperor just said those words, and immediately turned to look at Huichang Hou Sun Ming.

"You don't think the person in the painting is this prince, do you?" Sun Ming felt the gazes around him, and immediately looked unkindly at Li Yu, the Minister of Civil Service, and others.

impossible!

Naturally, the people in the hall couldn't see the portrait clearly, but when they saw everyone in the hall looking at Sun Ming, the Marquis of Huichang, they all shook their heads in unison.

Not to mention that it is impossible for the dignified Marquis of Huichang to do such a cruel and inhumane thing. Even if the Marquis of Huichang really wanted to do it, he would send his men there instead of personally leading the team to exterminate the family.

"Hou Huichang, don't you think this person is very kind-hearted?" Zhu Youtang saw that Huichang Hou wanted to pretend to be confused, so he asked directly.

"Your Majesty, the person in this portrait is indeed somewhat similar to my brother Sun Duo, but this painter must have framed my brother, or it may have been caused by poor painting skills!" Sun Ming pointed to the person kneeling on the ground. The painter Bai Zihua seemed to be angrily accusing him.

Huh?

The people in the hall watched the development of the situation, but they knew that Ganqing was the brother of Huichang Hou Sun Ming and had serious suspicions. Sun Ming's brother Sun Duo was even the real murderer.

Zhu Youtang remembered that Sun Duo and the person in the painting "can't be said to have nothing to do with each other, they can only be said to be exactly the same", so he looked at Bai Zihua who was kneeling on the ground and asked: "Bai Zihua, what do you say?"

"Your Majesty, the common people only painted based on the facts. I don't know whether they are similar to Huichang Hou's brother!" Bai Zihua shook his head gently and said without arguing.

Li Yuqing, the Minister of Civil Affairs, stroked his beard and became even more convinced that Bai Zihua was not innocent. Sun Duo, the brother of the Marquis of Huichang, was now under serious suspicion.

"Your Majesty, as long as Sun Qianhu is called to court, we will know whether it was Sun Duo who led the blood laundering of the house!" Li Si, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, saw a major breakthrough in the case and immediately stood up and suggested.

Many of Wu Xun's children will be integrated into the Jinyiwei system. Sun Xianzong of the Sun family once lived in the Jinyiwei capital and commanded Tongzhi. Now Sun Duo is the deputy Qianhu of the Jinyiwei North Qianhu Office.

The proposal of Li Si, the Minister of Household Affairs, was immediately supported by the accompanying ministers, but they all agreed to bring Sun Duo over to go to court with the painter Bai Zihua.

Zhu Youtang knew that the power involved in this case was very large, so he calmly ordered Wang Xiang: "Wang Xiang, you will send someone to bring Sun Duo here immediately!"

As a local third-grade yamen, Shuntian Mansion naturally does not have that much authority to arrest the dignified deputy Qianhu. It can only be done by Jin Yiwei.

The king took the order and immediately sent Mou Bin to arrest the person.

"Your Majesty, this matter is too ridiculous. Please take it back. My brother has studied the books of sages since he was a child and worshiped under the disciples of great Confucians. How can he do such a crazy thing?" Sun Ming, the Marquis of Huichang, knew that the matter would involve him. Even if you make a request.

Shuntian Prefecture Yin Song Cheng seemed to already know it, and said calmly: "Wealth and silk touch people's hearts!"

"Whether it is yes or not, we will know when we meet later. There is no need for the Marquis of Huichang to stop him! My dear friends, you must be tired after standing for so long. Sit here for a while. Song Qing will accompany me to the back house for a walk. The witnesses will be brought to the side. The hall will be under strict supervision!" Zhu Youtang decided to take a walk and made arrangements.

Li Yu, the Minister of Personnel, and others were actually not tired from standing, but now that the emperor had spoken, they naturally had to sit obediently on the empty chairs prepared earlier.

Huichang Hou Sun Ming and other Qi Xun seemed restless at this moment, but things had developed to this point, especially since Sun Duo had been found out, so they could only act on camera.

Shuntian government office is located in Rizhongfang in the north of the city. Since it is a model for government offices in the world, it has the most standard government office layout and occupies a large area.

"Your Majesty, please come inside!" Song Cheng seemed to do anything without changing his face, and made a respectful gesture of invitation.

Although Zhu Youtang knew the layout of Shuntian Mansion from online novels in his previous life, he had a different feeling when he actually set foot here.

Go around the screen, pass through the Gongyin Gate at the back, and enter the second hall area. The second hall usually hears ordinary civil cases, but it seems very quiet here.

Enter through the door on the east side of Santang and you will arrive at the Santang area.

The west side of the third hall is the study room, and the east side is the signing room. Located in the center of the north is naturally the courtroom used to hear private cases, and the signing room is the daily office space of Shuntian Fuyin.

Jin Yiwei has already taken the first step to clear this place, so naturally there will be no idlers.

Zhu Youtang stood outside the corridor and liked the elegance and tranquility of this courtyard, but he could faintly hear the sound of some weaving coming from inside.

"Your Majesty, please come in here!" Song Cheng arranged things, hurried over and pointed to the door of the signing room.

Zhu Youtang walked into the signing room and glanced briefly.

Here is the layout of the outer hall and the inner room. The outer hall is a tea room for entertaining guests, and the inner room is an office area. The bookshelves at the back are filled with various files.

Zhu Youtang did not go to the inner room, and was not interested in the official affairs of Shuntian Mansion, so he asked lightly: "Song Qing, did you just send someone there?"

"Exactly!" Song Cheng's eyes were clear and he responded seriously.

Zhu Youtang's interest was still in this current case, so he asked seriously: "Do you think you can find evidence of guilt?"

"I don't know! It's just that according to my investigation, the evidence should be in it!" Song Cheng's expression did not change, and he shook his head seriously.

Liu Jin frowned slightly and looked at the monarch and his ministers suspiciously.

He knew that on the day Song Cheng met the Holy Spirit, the monarch and his ministers chatted for a full cup of tea in the Yangxin Hall, but he was not present at the time as to what they talked about specifically.

Zhu Youtang frowned slightly and asked curiously: "Song Qing, you know that this case involves so many things, are you really not afraid?"

"When I study and become an official, all I seek is justice!" Song Cheng knew that he had stirred up a hornet's nest, but he responded without any fear on his face.

Zhu Youtang glanced at Song Cheng lightly, then walked out: "Song Qing is really easy to pursue, then do you know what I want?"

"I'm stupid!" Song Cheng couldn't guess what Zhu Youtang was thinking, so he handed over his hand respectfully.

Zhu Youtang looked up at the sky above the courtyard and said with great certainty: "What I want is for the country to be strong and the people to be prosperous!"

A strong country and a prosperous people?

Song Cheng's body trembled slightly. Although it sounded like a cliche, since he had heard too many lofty ideals since he was a child, he felt strongly in his heart that the emperor was moving towards this goal.

Although he has not been in contact with the ancient Yao and Shun, has not witnessed the prosperous age of Kaiyuan, and does not know what the nearest prosperous age of Yongle is like, he feels that he will be able to see a splendid prosperous age of Hongzhi.

It's not that I think Zhu Youtang is a wise king because he has been promoted repeatedly, but he came to the conclusion through his own contact and observation.

The reason why I was able to hear the case so smoothly today was due to the support of this wise gentleman. Otherwise, how could I have peeled off the cocoon in such an orderly manner.

"I heard that Song Qing is as honest as water, wouldn't you mind if I came to the back house to take a look!" Zhu Youtang's eyes fell on the door passing through the back house, and he made a request.

Song Cheng was stunned for a moment, and then explained: "It seems that I am weaving cloth, which may hinder the Holy Vision!"

"No problem!" Zhu Youtang suddenly became interested and stepped inside.

In fact, at this moment, he still felt a little uneasy. After all, this was like a Schrödinger's cat game, and too many wise ministers in history could not stand the test.

The Hongzhi and Zhongxing dynasties praised by later generations were all virtuous ministers rarely seen in a century, but the fact is that the Ming Dynasty ushered in the craziest period of mergers and acquisitions by big landowners, and countless people could only become tenants.

The back house is where the family members of Shuntian Prefecture live. The courtyard inside is very clean and quiet because there are few servants. There are also chickens and vegetables in the open space.

In the west wing, there was the sound of weaving. A beautiful woman was skillfully operating the loom, and her belly was slightly bulging.

The beautiful thin maid Xiao Tao had just finished feeding the chickens and was about to deliver water. She saw the emperor approaching and just glanced at the handsome emperor, then she knelt down to greet him.

When Zhu Youtang saw this scene, he knew that the information was not deceptive.

Although all the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty were greedy, it is undeniable that there were officials who could keep themselves clean, and this black-faced young man could at least uphold his official integrity until now.

"Your Majesty, please greet me!" When Yun Niang learned that Zhu Youtang had arrived, she also panicked and stopped what she was doing and saluted.

Song Cheng's unchanging expression seemed to have a touch of warmth, and he introduced it to Zhu Youtang: "Your Majesty, this is Zhuowei Yunniang. I can stick to my official duties. It is fortunate that she can take care of my family for me." Business!"

"You are indeed a good wife! Yun Niang, did you weave this cloth?" Zhu Youtang nodded in approval and then turned his eyes to the cotton cloth on the shuttle loom.

"yes!"

"How long have you been knitting?"

"This piece of cloth has been woven for two days!"

"How many days will it take to make the cloth?"

“One and a half days is enough!”

When asking questions here, Liu Jin walked directly into the main room. The maid Xiaotao had already seen it, but she didn't dare to stop it, and she knew that there was nothing valuable to steal in this house.

When Liu Jin came out, he also showed his hands to Zhu Youtang.

"This cloth is going to the Royal Cloth Shop!"

"Exactly!"

"Let me write a line of words!"

Zhu Youtang suddenly became interested and decided to inscribe on the white cloth that had not yet been woven.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the words!" Yun Niang felt happy in her heart and pretended to be a thank you.

Zhu Youtang seemed to be on a whim, so he wrote on it with a pen: "One porridge and one meal, remembering the difficulty of getting there; half a thread, half a strand, constantly remembering the difficulty of material resources."

Song Cheng originally thought he was going to destroy half of the cloth, but after seeing the line of words on it, his eyes couldn't help but show admiration.

Regardless of whether he can succeed in creating a prosperous era in the end, today's emperor is indeed a wise king who cares about the people. It is no wonder that he will support himself in uncovering the truth about the murder of the Qian family.

After Zhu Youtang handed the pen to Liu Jin, he gave instructions: "Liu Jin, please go back and ask the cabinet to draw up an edict! Yun Niang can run the house internally and be a husband externally. She will grant Yun Niang the fourth rank imperial concubine, a hundred cloth tickets, and jade." A happy couple!"

Today's cloth tickets can be said to be real money and have become the hard currency in the capital. One hundred cloth tickets can be said to be a huge sum of money.

"Your Majesty, this reward is too heavy!" Song Cheng glared and pretended to stop him.

Zhu Youtang stretched out his hand to help the moved Yun Niang up, and said calmly: "I want my ministers to be honest, but actually I don't want my ministers to be poor! But the court is not rich now, so this gift is for Yun Niang Yes, Yun Niang should also put the baby in her belly first and worry less about it from now on!"

Although he had thought about high salary to support integrity, it turned out that high salary could not support integrity, and today's finances did not allow it, so increasing rewards was a stopgap measure.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!" Yun Niang's tears fell. She realized that her husband had really met a good monarch, and it was no wonder that she had been devoted to the case day and night recently.

Zhu Youtang did not stay here for long. When he learned that Sun Duo had been taken to the court, he returned to the court to continue hearing the case.

After Song Cheng learned about Zhu Youtang's generous gift, he seemed to have no worries anymore. He was shocked and called the witness Bai Zihua to the court again.

Zhu Youtang had returned to the throne to drink tea silently, knowing that the real drama was about to begin.

When Song Cheng saw Bai Zihua being brought up, he pointed at Sun Duo who had just been captured and asked, "Bai Zihua, do you recognize this person?"

Everyone present knew that this would be a crucial piece of evidence, and they immediately looked at Bai Zihua with bated breath.

Bai Zihua turned to look at Sun Duo, and immediately fell to the side as if frightened. He pointed at Sun Duo and said fearfully: "Yes, yes, he was the one who led the people to destroy the entire Qian family. He was the one who killed my son!"

The case finally ushered in a major breakthrough. The person who massacred the Qian Mansion turned out to be the brother of Sun Ming, the Marquis of Huichang, a person who would never have thought of it beforehand.