Chapter 574 Yuan Xian’an’s Trial
The sharp-eyed reporter Wan from Shuntian Political News, who has been working on the criminal investigation line for many years, is quite familiar with the officialdom. He glanced around and took a close look at the officials present. He had an idea in his mind and could not help but be secretly shocked.

Reporter Deng from Luanhe Daily who came later was not familiar with this area and knew few of the officials who came in.

How can I write this report when no officials in any government office know about it? I will definitely be scolded by the editor of the newspaper when I go back.

He was scratching his head anxiously, and suddenly he saw that the reporter Wan from Shuntian Political News sitting in front of him was a senior from Chongyi Public School, who had been invited back to the public school to give lectures to everyone.

Later, I met him twice at alumni gatherings and had drinks with him once.

He seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw and pulled the collar of reporter Lawan.

The term “journalist” is also a new term, and its origin is unknown. Anyway, it became popular with the popularity of newspapers, which required a large number of journalists to edit them.

“Brother Wan, Brother Wan!”

Reporter Wan looked back.

“It’s me, Xiao Deng. I’m a reporter for the Luanhe Newspaper and a graduate of the second year of Longqing at Chongyi Public School.”

When reporter Wan heard that it was a junior from Chongyi Public School, enthusiasm appeared on his face. He poked his companion next to him and said, “Exchange seats with my junior. I will buy you a drink when I get back.”

My companions knew that the students of Chongyi Public School and Yinian Public School were the most united. They were unwilling to do so, but they did not dare to offend reporter Wan, so they awkwardly changed seats with reporter Deng.

“Brother, I am new to this job and I don’t know anything. I hope you can help me.”

“That’s fine. We all graduated from Chongyi Public School. It’s normal for us to help each other. Just ask. If you have any questions, just ask.”

“Brother, I don’t know any of the officials sitting in this room. I don’t know how to write this case.”

“Don’t worry, just go there more often. When you have nothing to do, come to the Tongpan Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Metropolitan Procuratorate. You will be familiar with them after going there many times. As journalists, we rely on going there more often, seeing more and remembering more.

Now I will introduce you. The chief judge is Mr. Yuan, the magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture. Do you know him?”

“I know this.”

“On his left and right are the co-examination judges, the judges of the Tongpan Office, one surnamed Liu and the other surnamed Zhao. Tongpan Yuan came in person, and the two of them were just decorations, they only moved their hands when signing the case, and they will definitely be deaf and dumb later.

In front are three clerks who are responsible for taking notes of the case. You can think of them as emotionless brushes that can write on their own.

But the one in the middle, whose surname is Mao, also graduated from our Chongyi Public School. He graduated in the 46th year of Jiajing and was a student of the Law Department of the Imperial Academy.

You have a chance to meet him. The clerk is not of high rank, only the eighth or ninth grade, but he is very well-informed. If you want to know any news about the Tongpan Office, you can ask him. “

Reporter Deng wrote it down immediately.

“Thank you, senior brother.”

“Don’t be polite! Let’s continue. According to the “Fan Law”, when hearing a civil case, the plaintiff sits on the left side of the court, and the defendant sits on the right side.

When trying a criminal case, the prosecutor sits on the left, and the defendant, or the criminal, has to kneel in the court.

Today we are hearing a criminal case, so the prosecutors are on the left. Look, the one in the lead, wearing a green robe with a white pheasant patch, is the top prosecutor of the Central Procuratorate of the Ministry of Justice, Zhang Yucheng, the judicial doctor.

“Zhang Yucheng?”

“Yes, it’s an old criminal name.

Before the reform, he was the head of the Ministry of Justice. He had sentenced thousands of people to death, including princes of the royal family, nobles, civil and military officials, and famous scholars.

A soul-sucking pen, no one is unknown under its pen, and people call it the Jade-faced Judge. “

Reporter Deng took a deep breath. Just hearing the nickname and thinking about it made him excited.

It looks like today’s trial will be extremely exciting.

“The three people on Doctor Zhang’s left and right are his assistants. He is the one taking the lead today. These three people are insignificant. You should pay attention to the two people on the far side.”

“The two wearing the new uniforms? Please give me some advice, Senior Brother.”

At the desk on the left side of the court, there were two people sitting in the front row, wearing uniforms similar to the standard military uniforms of the second year of the Longqing reign.

Navy blue, top and trousers, belt, round-brimmed hat, red collar badges, and the symbols on the epaulettes are similar to military ranks, but the military ranks are yellow on a red background, while this one is silver on a blue background.

One is two bars and three stars, and the other is one bar and three stars.

There was an armband on his left arm with the words “Beijing Police Administration” inscribed on it, and a small rectangular piece of stiff cloth with a white background on his left chest, with the two people’s names embroidered on it.

“They were wearing new police uniforms. Minister Wang of the Ministry of Justice was jealous of the new military uniforms, so he asked someone to design a set like this for use in his reformed police department.

However, currently only the police departments near Gyeonggi and Zhili have them.

You see, the police ranks are written on their shoulder straps: second lieutenant, first lieutenant, captain, senior lieutenant, major, lieutenant colonel, colonel, senior colonel, and above that are brigadier general, major general and lieutenant general, which sound very similar to military ranks.

It is said that the highest rank in the police department is Lieutenant General.”

“Were these police ranks also changed by Minister Wang?”

“Yes, but I heard that it was Shangshu Wang who came up with it first, and it was too complicated. When the emperor found out, he called him to the West Garden, and the two of them discussed it and decided to change it to this.

Did you see that? The outermost shoulder strap has one bar and three stars. He is a captain, Liang Siping, the head of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Beijing Police Department’s direct branch.

The man sitting inside him, with two bars and three stars on his shoulder straps, was a colonel, Yan Wei’an, the deputy chief of the Beijing Police Department who was in charge of investigating and solving cases. In name, they were investigating the case, so they should have been with them and ready for questioning at any time.

By the way, Junior Brother, do you remember that this Yan Dushi once went to Chongyi Public School to teach and was our instructor? “

Reporter Deng’s eyes lit up. “Brother, now that you mention it, I remember it. Instructor Yan, we all called him King Yan Luo at that time.”

“Hehe, just remember it. Call him instructor when you have the chance and build a relationship with him. For us journalists, writing is one thing, but what’s more important is being well-informed.

The people in the police department are the most well-informed in the capital. You have put Yan Du in touch with them, and you will benefit greatly from it!”

Reporter Deng was excited. He felt that he had made the right decision to come to the trial today.

“Thank you, Senior Brother. After the trial, I will treat you to a meal.”

“Haha, no problem. No problem. I’ll continue introducing you.”

“Thank you, senior brother.”

“On the right are rows of seats, and those who come here are people from various government offices.

The two men in bullfighting uniforms are from the Imperial Guards. Don’t listen to what people say. I’ll tell you the truth. The entire case was handled by the Imperial Guards. The people from the Beijing Police Department were just running errands.”

“I see. That’s why they are here as well.”

“That’s right.

The two officials next to them wearing green robes with egret patches are the Sizhi directors of the Central Supervisory Office of the Censorate. One is surnamed Wen and the other seems to be surnamed Wu.

The two men next to them, wearing green robes with egret patches, were the chief prosecutors of the Dali Temple. One of them seemed to be surnamed Wang, and I was not very familiar with the other one. The Dali Temple was in charge of cases that affected the whole country, so we had little contact with them.

There are two more. One is wearing a green robe with a white pheasant patch. He is a doctor in the office of the Ministry of Justice. His surname seems to be Zhang. The other one is wearing a green robe with a yellow oriole pattern. He should be his subordinate. Doctor Zhang should be here to watch the proceedings under the order of Minister Wang of the Ministry of Justice. “While the two were talking, Yuan Xian’an saw that everyone was seated, slammed the gavel, and shouted, “Bring the accused prisoner!”

There was a rustling sound on the front porch, and someone stood up nervously.

A few minutes later, twelve police officers, two each escorting six prisoners in prison uniforms, came in and knelt in front of the hall one by one.

With a bang, loud and uniform exclamations broke out from the front porch and the front yard.

A lot of people stood up on the front porch again. The people in the front yard couldn’t see clearly and could not help but squeeze forward, squeezing people and stepping on people’s feet. Soon, shouting and yelling were heard.

Yuan Xian’an slammed the gavel and said, “Get the noisy person out of here!”

The police officers who were maintaining order immediately rushed into the crowd in the front yard and carried out the four people who were making the most noise.

Yuan Xian’an once again shouted in a stern voice: “If anyone makes noise and disturbs the court again, they will not only be driven out, but also be beaten with a stick ten times on the spot!”

When the courtroom was quiet, Yuan Xian’an said, “The trial of Lin Youcai’s poisoning will now begin. Clerk, start calling the names of the criminals.”

“Yes!”

A clerk in a green robe stood up in front, holding a notebook and began to call the roll.

“Jia Youshan!”

A prisoner kneeling in front of the hall replied dejectedly, “Yes!”

“Jia Youshan, a native of Nanpi County, Hejian Prefecture, Zhili, was a Jinshi in the 44th year of the Jiajing reign and a former editor of the Hongwen Academy.” The clerk gave a brief description of Jia Youshan’s appearance and finally said, “Before the trial, this court checked the fingerprints of Jia Youshan’s left and right thumbs, and they are exactly the same as the fingerprints recorded when he was arrested in the file.”

The clerk called out the names of all six prisoners in the same manner.

These six people include the compiler of Hongwenguan, the Right Zanshan and Right Zhongyun of Zhanshifu, the reader and compiler of Hanlin Academy, and the Right Candidate of Tongzhengsi.

Among them, Huang Huaibi, a reader in the Hanlin Academy, was Lin Youcai’s cousin-in-law and the main culprit in this case.

After the clerk called out the names of the six prisoners, Yuan Xian’an said, “Judge, please submit the indictment.”

Zhang Yucheng stood up and read the indictment aloud.

“On June 21, the first year of the Wanli reign, Lin Youcai, the former eighth-rank official of the Audit Department of the Ministry of Revenue, was dismissed from his post due to dereliction of duty and negligence in government affairs. The Ministry of Revenue’s Personnel Bureau deliberated and reported to the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue for approval.”

Reporter Wan and Reporter Deng pricked up their ears to listen to the case described in the indictment.

In fact, the case is not complicated, otherwise the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division would not have solved the case so quickly.

It was nothing more than that when Huang Huaibi heard that Lin Youcai was dismissed from his post for contradicting Zhang Juzheng, he immediately ran to Lin’s house with a few friends, ostensibly to comfort him, but in fact to persuade Lin Youcai to file a complaint with the emperor and embarrass Zhang Juzheng.

Lin Youcai is not a fool.

He was in the wrong to begin with, and was indeed delaying government affairs, and he also contradicted his superiors, so he would be punished no matter how he appealed.

Going to file a complaint with the Emperor again would be tantamount to seeking death.

Huang Huaibi and others took turns to use their eloquent words to instigate Lin Youcai and made all kinds of promises.

What do you mean by guaranteeing you nothing? Even if you are imprisoned, I can still get you out. After that, I will find you a lucrative job in Nanjing where Zhang Juzheng cannot reach you.
Lin Youcai is such a cunning person, will he believe it?
Believe it or not!

He first pretended to agree and accepted the “travel and settling-in fee” of two hundred silver dollars collected by his cousin’s husband and others. Then he pretended not to pack his luggage, refunded the booked boat ticket, went out for a walk on the street, and came back.

Huang Huaibi and others who were waiting for Lin Youcai to file a complaint with the emperor and be severely punished so that they could take advantage of the opportunity to rush forward were dumbfounded. Aren’t you deceiving us who are kind and honest?
Huang Huaibi and others who felt hurt thought that a man cannot be a hero without poison, and that a dead Lin Youcai was more useful than a living one, so they prepared a table of farewell wine and sent it to Lin’s house, but the wine was poisonous.

Lin Youcai died of poisoning soon after drinking.

Huang Huaibi and others pretended to have rushed over after hearing the news and instigated the family members to make trouble.

But the Lin family members were not stupid. They knew something was fishy about the matter and decided to report it to the police first.

Huang Huaibi and his companions had no other choice but to hire a dozen rogues to steal Lin Youcai’s coffin and carry it to the Ministry of Revenue to cause trouble. However, they were stopped by the police before they could leave the town. Then the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division took over.
The key is to find convincing evidence.

In the indictment, Zhang Yucheng mentioned the owner of a pharmacy and pointed out the main culprit in buying the medicine, Jia Youshan, one of Huang Huaibi’s good friends, who bought three taels of arsenic under the guise of poisoning rats.

Arsenic is a highly toxic substance and is not sold in most pharmacies. Those that do sell it will keep records to avoid being implicated in lawsuits.

There is the handwritten signature of Jia Youshan on the pharmacy’s account book. Of course, he used a pseudonym, but the handwriting is recognizable.

The indictment also includes testimonies from Lin Youcai’s wives, concubines and servants, which prove how Huang Huaibi and others deceived Lin Youcai, and confirm that it was Huang Huaibi’s servants who delivered the wine and food.

The National Police Agency found arsenic poison in the sealed remnants of the Lin family’s wine jars.
Then came the confessions of Jia Youshan and four other prisoners.
Huang Huaibi refused to confess, but it didn’t matter because there were enough witnesses and evidence to prove that he was the main culprit.

While reading the indictment, Zhang Yucheng asked his assistant to show the testimony and physical evidence to everyone.

Later, Liang Siping, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the National Police Department, was asked to narrate the process of investigating the case.

Everyone listened attentively, and the Lin family members couldn’t help crying, cursing Huang Huaibi and others while crying.

People on the front porch and in the front yard couldn’t help but talk about how these scholars were so cruel and cowardly that they only knew how to send others to die but didn’t dare to step forward themselves.

When instigation failed, he actually dared to kill someone. Now he had the courage.

Reporter Deng expressed his doubts to his senior, Reporter Wan: “Senior, these people are at least Jinshi Hanlin, educated people, how could they act so rashly and even kill people in the end?”

“Junior, if you listen to the seniors talking about the cases they handled in the past, you won’t think much of it.

In the past, when solving cases, people mostly tried to smooth things over. How could it be so easy to solve a case? Haven’t you heard? In the past, solving a case depended on the criminal turning himself in or his relatives reporting it.

In addition, these Hanlin scholars had all had status in the past, and most of the censors of the Five Cities Military Department were from the same class as them. With just a greeting, the case would be passed over smoothly.

They treated it as a suicide by taking poison, and then made some more noise to embarrass the cabinet and vent their anger.

The reason Huang Huaibi and his people are so stupid is that they still use the old almanac to calculate today’s good or bad luck, but that is not accurate at all.

The new policies and new atmosphere have not been adapted to by those who are still sitting on the sidelines.”

After Zhang Yucheng finished reading the indictment, presented the testimony and physical evidence, he also summoned four witnesses to testify in court.

An hour later, Yuan Xian’an asked the six prisoners if they had anything to appeal?
The four pleaded guilty on the spot and asked for a light punishment.

Huang Huaibi and Councillor Guan refused to plead guilty and kept muttering something.

“Those who are clean will be clean themselves!”

“The sky is clear!”

Fuck you!

Yuan Xian’an slammed the gavel and the whole room fell silent.

“Now I declare.”

(End of this chapter)