Shuntian Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice recused themselves, and the case was eventually transferred to Dali Temple. This time, the court session moved from Shuntian Prefecture to Dali Temple and was no longer open to the public.
"Reporting to Your Lordship, these sachets were found in Miss Zhan's luggage. The fabric and style do not match the one found in Yao Damin's home," a constable presented a tray with more than ten sachets.
The constable pointed to a sachet placed separately. "Your Lordship, this blue sachet was retrieved from the Zhe family. According to the maid Luliu's testimony, this sachet was a reward from He Nuan."
Chang Siqing looked at the three sachets lined up on the desk. At first glance, they all appeared to be the same color, but upon closer inspection, differences could be discerned. The sachet retrieved from the Zhe family was identical to the ones remaining in He Nuan's luggage in terms of fabric and embroidery.
The only discrepancy was the sachet found by Liu Shilang in Yao Damin's home, concealed within a thick cloth curtain. This was the "ironclad evidence" Liu Shilang used to accuse Zhan Feiyu.
"Take the sachets for the Prefect Bai and Vice Minister Liu to examine." After inspecting them, Chang Siqing had the sachets presented to the observing officials, including Prefect Bai.
A quarter of an hour later.
Liu Shilang sneered and tossed the sachets back onto the tray. "It's entirely possible to swap these sachets within a day and a night. These prove nothing," he said sarcastically.
Noble families typically used various types of sachets when rewarding their servants. For favored servants, the rewards would be more substantial, with at least two taels of silver ingots in the sachet. For ordinary servants, the sachets might contain a small piece of silver, usually worth two to three hundred wen. The sachets themselves were different to distinguish between them. Liu Shilang's statement was reasonable.
Prefect Bai stated in a deep voice, "After the incident, Yufeng Tower was sealed, and the constables from Shuntian Prefecture maintained strict guard. After this sachet was found in Yao Damin's home, Liu Shilang also dispatched constables from the Ministry of Justice to guard it."
Therefore, if Yao Damin's sachet originated from Zhan Feiyu, she would undoubtedly have similar sachets, which the constables would have found during their search. However, the fact was that the more than ten sachets found were not the same as the one from Yao Damin's home.
"Prefect Bai likely forgot that Miss Zhan's two guards are masters who can fight a hundred men. It would be easy for them to evade the constables' sight and destroy evidence," Liu Shilang retorted. The constables from Shuntian Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice were only capable of dealing with ordinary citizens; masters like He Sheng and He Nuan were impossible to guard against.
Sun Fucheng, also an official from Shuntian Prefecture, offered his opinion, "Lord Liu believes Miss Zhan ordered her guards to destroy the sachets. But this is merely your one-sided assertion. Without witnesses or the destroyed sachets, are you going to convict her based on this?"
"Hmph, why bother destroying them? Simply toss them into the stove and burn them to ashes," Liu Shilang said with a grim expression. If he were the presiding judge, the case would have been concluded long ago.
However, the case had been transferred to Dali Temple, and Chang Siqing, that old fox, was adept at playing both sides. Without concrete evidence, he would not easily close the case.
Sun Fucheng smiled and said no more. Without evidence, all accusations were mere speculation.
"Lord Chang, although these sachets cannot serve as physical evidence, Yao Damin confessed before his death. As the saying goes, a dying man speaks the truth." Liu Shilang ignored Prefect Bai and the others, considering them officials from Shuntian Prefecture who were colluding and acting in concert.
"The employees of Yufeng Tower also saw He Nuan take out a sachet of the same style. Now there are two testimonies that leave no room for anyone to quibble!" Liu Shilang's sharp gaze suddenly fell upon Zhan Feiyu. "You claim to be innocent. Do you have any evidence to prove your innocence?"
Whether it was Chang Siqing or other officials from Dali Temple, they did not want to get involved in the conflict between Shuntian Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice. Therefore, although Chang Siqing was the presiding judge, it was not yet clear whose side he would favor.
"Lord Chang." Zhan Feiyu, having been addressed, walked to the center of the court and looked at the blue sachet identified as evidence. "This sachet was found by constables from the Ministry of Justice in Yao Damin's home. Inside the sachet were five banknotes of one hundred taels each."
"Indeed," Chang Siqing said meaningfully, looking at Zhan Feiyu. Regardless of how Liu Shilang attacked, she remained calm and unhurried, indicating she had a plan.
Zhan Feiyu then turned to Liu Shilang. Seeing that he did not object, she continued, "So, there is no dispute that this sachet was given to Yao Damin by the mastermind. As long as the true origin of the sachet is discovered, the identity of the mastermind can be determined."
"Miss Zhan has a clue?" Chang Siqing was genuinely interested. In fact, it was clear that Liu Shilang was framing her. No matter who bribed Yao Damin, they would have directly given him five hundred taels in banknotes, so why go through the trouble of putting it in a sachet?
Furthermore, after Yao Damin received the five hundred taels, he would have likely subtly informed his parents or wife and children. Otherwise, if this sachet was sewn into the thick cloth curtain, after winter passed, it would be washed and put away, and then taken out again next winter. It would likely remain undiscovered for ten or even eight years.
Chang Siqing had interrogated the seven members of the Yao family yesterday. Having handled cases for many years, Chang Siqing was certain that the entire Yao family, old and young, had no idea about the banknotes hidden in the cloth curtain. Therefore, the most likely scenario was that someone had sewn the sachet into the cloth curtain beforehand, and then the constables from the Ministry of Justice had found it.
"Reporting to Your Lordship, I am not skilled in needlework. Perhaps we could find a skilled embroiderer to examine it, and they might discover some clues." Zhan Feiyu smiled leisurely. She had not even seen the blue sachet up close until now, so saying too much would be too contrived.
Upon hearing this, Chang Siqing picked up the blue sachet and examined it closely again. Well, as an official of the court, he also did not understand the fabric or embroidery of the sachet.
A moment later, the three most skilled embroiderers from the three embroidery shops in the capital were summoned to the hall. To prevent collusion, the three embroiderers were brought in one by one, and their replies were all the same.
"Your Lordship, this fabric is the most common indigo cotton cloth," embroiderer Li said matter-of-factly. "There are five types of indigo: woad, dyer's knotweed, Japanese indigo, Indian indigo, and amaranth indigo. In the cold weather of the capital, woad and dyer's knotweed are generally cultivated. In the Jiangnan region, Japanese indigo and Indian indigo are cultivated. Due to different raw materials, the dyed colors also vary slightly."
In the hall were three sachets: the one found in Yao Damin's home, the one found in Zhan Feiyu's luggage, and the one retrieved from the maid Luliu.
Embroiderer Li pointed to the latter two sachets and said again, "These two sachets, both in terms of fabric and embroidery, were made by the same person. The color is also the same, originating from the south. This blue sachet, however, comes from the capital or nearby prefectures."
Chang Siqing and the other lords present were all energized. According to the testimony in the case file, He Nuan confessed that these sachets were bought from a cloth shop in Xingwen Prefecture, Shannan Circuit, where thirty sachets were purchased at once. Therefore, more than ten sachets remained in the capital.
"In May of this year, continuous heavy rain in the capital caused a reduction in woad production, leading to a severalfold increase in cloth prices," Embroiderer Li said, pointing to the blue sachet found in Yao Damin's home.
"Therefore, ordinary people no longer buy indigo cloth. Only wealthy families, who do not care about the increase in cloth prices, continue to use such indigo cloth."
A piece of ordinary cloth cost between two hundred and five hundred wen. However, the woad crop was damaged by the heavy rain, causing a sharp decline in indigo dye, and the price of blue cloth soared to two taels of silver per bolt.
For ordinary people, there was no need to spend extra money on blue cloth when other colors were available. The cloth shops had previously received sachets sold by embroiderers, but after the price of blue cloth rose, the sachets sent to the shops were all in colors like purple, ginger yellow, and dark red.
However, the wealthy families in the capital did not lack money. Since the expensive blue cloth was not sold in small quantities, it was sold in bolts to these families.
Embroiderer Li's statement also indirectly confirmed one point: the sachet in Yao Damin's home could not have been bought by He Nuan from the cloth shop. Therefore, the mastermind must have come from a family in the capital that had purchased blue cloth and made it into sachets.
"Embroiderer Li, have you ever seen a sachet or embroidery of this style?" Chang Siqing's gaze fell back on the blue sachet. If Liu Shilang was framing her, then this sachet should have been the same as the ones found in her luggage, not from the capital.
At this moment, Liu Shilang's expression changed drastically. He quickly lowered his head to hide the shock in his eyes. This blue sachet had been swapped!
How was this possible? The sachet was clearly found in the thick cloth curtain in Yao Damin's home. Unless someone had acted beforehand and swapped the sachet.
Or perhaps, on the way back to the Shuntian Prefecture yamen, the sachet was swapped. But regardless of the reason, Liu Shilang understood that it was impossible to convict Zhan Feiyu with this.
"Reporting to Your Lordship, the style and embroidery of this blue sachet are very common. Unless an identical sachet is found, it is impossible to compare the embroidery." Even though Embroiderer Li was skilled in needlework, she could only recognize embroidery done by masters. However, such common styles and embroidery were impossible to identify.
With numerous families in the capital, even Dali Temple could not go from house to house comparing sachets. The case had reached a dead end.
"Your Lordship." At this moment, Zhan Feiyu spoke again. She completely ignored the gloomy gaze Liu Shilang cast at her. "Your Lordship, I have only been in the capital for a few days and have not made any enemies. My conflict with Miss Zhe was merely a minor dispute between young ladies. It is not to the extent of hiring assassins or framing me."
"Indeed," Chang Siqing agreed with a nod.
No matter how arrogant and overbearing Zhe Jing was, this case involved not only the death of Yao Damin but also the near assassination of Bai Zhaohui. Furthermore, the blue sachet found in Yao Damin's home came from the constables of the Ministry of Justice. Zhe Jing, a young lady from a noble household, did not possess such capabilities.
"However, Liu Shilang, as the chief judge, intended to convict me based solely on hearsay. Therefore, I boldly infer that someone is framing me, and this sachet may have come from Lord Liu's residence." Zhan Feiyu's words were astonishing, directly implying that Liu Shilang was the mastermind.
"Presumptuous!" Liu Shilang stood up abruptly and rebuked her sternly, "Slandering a court official, what crime do you deserve!"
Despite Liu Shilang's official demeanor, Zhan Feiyu dared to stand in the Dali Temple court, naturally showing no fear. She directly confronted the furious Liu Shilang.
"I heard that Lord Liu and Prefect Bai had a past grievance, and it involved the life of Lord Liu's nephew. An eye for an eye. It is reasonable that Lord Liu instructed Yao Damin to assassinate Bai Zhaohui!"
When it came to the motive for this case, Liu Shilang's deduction that Zhan Feiyu intended to marry into the Bai family by saving Bai Zhaohui's life was indeed far-fetched. Zhan Feiyu's stated motive was more believable.
"Lord Liu likely did not expect Bai Zhaohui to be saved by my guards. You were worried that this case would eventually lead back to you, so you used the excuse of recusal to become the chief judge. Then, you used the constables from the Ministry of Justice to frame me with the blue sachet. After all, if I hadn't meddled, Bai Zhaohui would have died, and your old grudge would have been avenged."
"You are spewing venom!" Liu Shilang was furious. He pointed an angry finger at Zhan Feiyu, his face contorted with rage. But when he thought about the blue sachet coming from the capital, Liu Shilang felt his vision darken, and a great sense of unease enveloped him.
"Lord Chang." Prefect Bai also stood up and suggested to Chang Siqing, who was in the chief seat, "Miss Zhan's deduction is reasonable. I request that you send someone to investigate Lord Liu's residence."
The constables of Dali Temple received the order and returned in less than two quarters of an hour. They were accompanied by the maid in charge of needlework and the embroiderer from Liu's residence, as well as the housekeeper, Granny Ping.
"This is clearly a frame-up!" Seeing the more than twenty blue sachets, some new and some old, in the constables' hands, Liu Shilang's face turned ashen. He felt a suffocating pain in his chest and glared murderously at Zhan Feiyu, wishing he could tear her to shreds.
Regardless of Liu Shilang's fury, the constables reported the situation to Chang Siqing in detail.
"Reporting to Your Lordship, these sachets were indeed made by the maid Hongyu and the embroiderer Tian Shi..." Although Granny Ping was the housekeeper of the inner chambers, she was terrified when she appeared in court and saw Liu Shilang's pale face. She did not dare to conceal anything. "These sachets were used to reward servants. They were in the Madam's, young master's, and young lady's courtyards."
After Granny Ping finished speaking, Chang Siqing asked Embroiderer Li to compare the fabric, style, and embroidery of the sachets. He also had the maid Hongyu and the embroiderer Tian Shi demonstrate their needlework on the spot. "Your Lordship, these sachets were indeed made by these two."
Who would have thought that Liu Shilang would turn out to be the culprit by the end of the trial? Truly, life is unpredictable.