Chapter 728: The Duke’s Perfect Counterattack in the Trial (1)_1
On the 14th of November, in the zi hour, a huge fire broke out in the depths of the Ministry of Justice’s Prison, destroying three old cells. Fortunately, only one suspect involved in the examination fraud case was imprisoned in the deepest part, and the fire was discovered in time by a patrolling Prison Head, who led the jailers to extinguish the blaze and rescue the suspect who had been fainted by the heavy smoke.
Not daring to take the matter lightly, the Prison Head immediately reported the cell fire. After an overnight inspection by the Head of the Department of Justice, a fire match stick left by the arsonist was found in the cell. Other prisoners also confirmed that they had heard noises outside the cell and mistook them for the patrol of jailers, paying no mind to it. Before long, the cell caught fire.
The Head of the Department of Justice interrogated thirty jailers overnight. All the jailers claimed that they had not entered the cell at the zi hour and all had alibis for not being present at the scene when the fire broke out, leading to the preliminary conclusion that the fire was arson, and it was suspected to be related to the recently widely rumored examination fraud case.
Once involved with the examination fraud case, it was not something that a mere Head of the Department of Justice could handle. Without waiting for dawn, he went to the Shilang of the Ministry of Penal Affairs’ residence and recounted everything that happened.
After listening to the report, the Shilang of the Ministry of Penal Affairs washed up, changed his clothes overnight, and hurriedly reported to the Minister of Criminal Justice. Smelling something unusual, the minister did not wait for the early morning court session that would begin in another two hours, but, bearing the starry night, rushed to the imperial palace to seek an audience with Emperor Huian.
After hearing the full account of the incident, Emperor Huian’s Dragon Face showed great anger and commanded the Ministry of Penal Affairs to cooperate with Jingzhao Mansion to thoroughly investigate the arson case, apprehend the real culprit, and punish them severely.
Compared with the Ministry of Penal Affairs, which was in disarray due to the fire, Lord Wei Yuan House under the moonlight appeared unusually quiet, exuding an ineffable sense of beauty.