Chapter 150 The Ninth Prince Solves the Case
Pfft... Someone couldn't hold back and laughed first.
Immediately after, the entire Golden Throne Hall erupted in thunderous laughter.
Eunuch He Shun's shoulders shook with laughter, and even Emperor Ren quickly covered his mouth with his sleeve to avoid losing composure.
Wang Shushi only then realized he had been tricked!
"You... how preposterous!"
He pointed at Shen Yulou, trembling with anger, almost spitting out a mouthful of old blood.
Shen Yulou, with his hands tucked, said indifferently.
"A dignified Grand Tutor, yet you can't even discern such a simple homophonic wordplay, and you still dare to claim you're cultured?
What are you if not a dumb ass?
Letting you teach the Imperial Heirs is truly misleading them.
In my opinion, you might as well come to my Imperial Heirs Residence and specialize in grinding, making rice flour for the young Imperial Heirs. I think your physique is quite suitable for it."
"Hahahahaha!"
The laughter in the court grew louder.
Wang Shushi felt the world spin, his vision went black, and he almost fainted on the spot.
Humiliating!
Lost all face!
He was a scholar, yet he was so insulted by Shen Yulou!
Simply outrageous!
Emperor Ren suppressed his laughter and waved his hand: "Enough! Your humble servant has witnessed the Eighth Prince's progress, Minister Shen's excellent guidance is indispensable!"
Wang Shushi was speechless, his old face looking worse than if his father had died.
Seeing this, Li Deguang knew that the Eighth Prince's line was completely broken. He steeled his heart, stepped forward again, and said with a crying voice.
"Your Majesty! Your humble servant wishes to impeach Shen Yulou for his third crime!
He committed violence on the street, beat an Imperial Heir, forced him into servitude, and made our royal family lose all face!
His crime deserves death, please punish him severely, Your Majesty!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the laughter in the hall abruptly stopped.
Everyone's expressions became complex again.
Teaching the Eighth Prince was indeed meritorious, but stripping the Ninth Prince's pants and spanking him on the street... that act was indeed too outrageous.
This incident had caused a huge stir in the Imperial City.
Emperor Ren's face also grew serious; he naturally knew about this matter and was somewhat displeased with Shen Yulou.
He looked at Shen Yulou.
"Minister Shen, regarding this matter, what is your explanation?"
Shen Yulou's face was calm.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Your humble servant calls this 'teaching according to aptitude'.
Nine dragons give birth to nine sons, each different.
Naturally, different methods must be used for different Imperial Heirs.
As for the Ninth Prince, no matter how much Your humble servant says, it would seem pale and powerless.
It would be better, Your Majesty, if you would honor us with your presence, along with all the esteemed officials, to see for yourselves, and then you will know why Your humble servant acted in such a way."
Emperor Ren became interested: "Oh? Where is Old Ninth now?"
The nearby eunuch immediately replied: "Reporting to Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Ninth Prince is currently at the yamen, assisting the Prefectural Magistrate in handling a case."
What?!
Emperor Ren stood up in surprise.
The entire court of civil and military officials nearly had their eyes pop out.
The Ninth Prince?
That demon king who only knew how to cockfight and walk dogs?
Went to the yamen to handle a case?
What's wrong with the world today?
Has it become fantastical?
"Interesting!"
Emperor Ren waved his hand, "All ministers, follow Your humble servant out of the palace in plain clothes to see how Old Ninth handles cases! Do not make a fuss! Do not let him know."
...Half an hour later, at the entrance of the Imperial City Yamen.
Emperor Ren, with a group of plain-clothed officials, mingled among the dense crowd of commoners, craning their necks to peer inside.
They saw the entrance of the yamen in chaos, with the commoners in an uproar, surrounding the public hall so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass.
"Our righteous official! A life has been lost in broad daylight! You must uphold justice for us!"
"Catch the murderer! Punish him severely!"
The Prefectural Magistrate was covered in sweat, banging his gavel for a long time, his throat almost hoarse, yet he had no clue.
This case was too tricky; the deceased was an ordinary vendor, honest and law-abiding in life, and had not offended anyone.
When he was found, he had been killed with a single knife, and no clues were left at the scene.
Such a cold case was the most difficult to handle.
Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, a clear yet somewhat childish voice rang out.
"All of you, make way for This Prince!"
They saw the Ninth Prince, Ninth Imperial Prince, dressed in an ornate robe that seemed out of place here, emerge from the back hall.
He slammed the gavel, and although his posture was still a bit awkward, his imposing manner was not weak at all.
"This Prince is the current Ninth Prince! This case shall be tried by This Prince!"
Emperor Ren and the officials in the crowd all became interested.
Ninth Imperial Prince went through the motions of questioning everyone, but also found no clues.
The Prefectural Magistrate leaned into his ear and whispered.
"Your Royal Highness, there are too many onlookers. Perhaps we should postpone it for now and try again tomorrow, to avoid causing a disturbance."
"No!"
Ninth Imperial Prince flatly refused, "The murderer is among these people! Today, he must be caught! Otherwise, what if another murder occurs tomorrow?"
The Prefectural Magistrate hesitated to speak.
The Ninth Prince's intentions were good, but this case was truly difficult to try.
The deceased had simple social connections and no enemies.
The murderer was likely robbing for money or acting randomly, making it impossible to start.
However, the Ninth Prince was full of confidence.
He announced loudly to the commoners: "Everyone, rest assured! Before tomorrow, This Prince will definitely catch the true culprit!"
After saying that, he ordered everyone to withdraw, leaving only an old lady who had appeared near the crime scene.
This old lady was over eighty, with dim eyes and poor hearing.
The Prefectural Magistrate had questioned her for a long time before, but couldn't get anything out of her.
After the commoners left, Emperor Ren and his entourage could no longer hide and walked in.
The Ninth Prince and the Prefectural Magistrate were a bit surprised and quickly went to pay their respects.
"Your son pays respects to Imperial Father!"
"Why has Imperial Father come?"
Emperor Ren waved his hand: "Dispense with the formalities, Your humble servant is here today to see you handle the case. How do you plan to interrogate this case?"
Ninth Imperial Prince chuckled: "Imperial Father, don't rush, Your son will keep you in suspense first."
Saying that, he immediately ordered the yamen runners to bring the old lady a bowl of steaming meat porridge and a few white flour steamed buns.
The Prefectural Magistrate said, "Your Royal Highness, keeping her is useless. She can't hear, she can't see clearly, and nothing can be asked of her!"
Ninth Imperial Prince, however, was confident: "This Prince has a brilliant plan. This old lady is famished and emaciated. This Prince will let her fill her stomach first."
Everyone watched as the old lady finished her meal, waiting to see how the Imperial Heir would interrogate her.
Unexpectedly, Ninth Imperial Prince said, "You may leave, there's nothing more for you here. You can go home."
The old lady understood, then kowtowed several times to Ninth Imperial Prince in gratitude, and then walked out of the yamen with faltering steps.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
What kind of trial was this?
Treating someone to a meal?
Ninth Imperial Prince looked at the puzzled gazes of the crowd and explained.
"Esteemed officials, please consider, it is currently mealtime, and ordinary commoners are all cooking at home.
Only one person, with a guilty conscience, would be restless.
That is the murderer in this case!
He will surely worry about what this old lady saw and what she said.
Therefore, whoever is the first to run to the old lady's house to inquire about information, that person is the murderer!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire scene fell silent!
Even Wang Shushi and Li Deguang were shocked, their mouths agape, their faces filled with disbelief.
This strategy... is quite brilliant.
Emperor Ren and the officials exchanged glances, and four words were visible in each other's eyes.
Quite interesting.
The Prefectural Magistrate knelt down directly, his gaze towards the Ninth Prince filled with shock.
Was this still that demon king who only knew how to carry cages and train birds?
This approach to solving a case was even more cunning than his, an old hand who had worked for decades!
"Your Royal Highness is brilliant!" The Prefectural Magistrate's admiration was genuine.
Ninth Imperial Prince, flattered, puffed out his chest, and waved his hand.
"Basic operation, no need to thank."
Everyone paused.
"Your Royal Highness, what does that mean?"
"I don't know, I learned it from Mr. Shen."
Everyone:...