madnovel Chapter 69: Li Wu's Death and His First Meeting with Zheng Jun
Chapter 69: Li Wu's Death and His First Meeting with Zheng Jun
Early in the morning, Shen Yan was still practicing his martial arts in the courtyard.
He heard urgent knocking at the door.
"Lord Shen, open the door quickly!"
"Chen Xiaoshuan? You're here so early?"
Shen Yan opened the door and saw Chen Xiaoshuan, who was panting heavily.
"That...that nameless prisoner in cell A is dead."
"What?!"
Shen Yan was shocked: "Li Wu is dead? Who killed him?"
He naturally knew who the nameless prisoner was.
In the prison, only Li Wu was without a file, and many of the young jailers did not even know his name.
"Has Warden Zeng been notified?"
Chen Xiaoshuan was speechless for a moment, as Shen Yan had been in charge of the prison affairs during this period.
They had long forgotten that there was also a prison warden named Zeng.
Judging from his expression, Shen Yan knew that they probably hadn't notified him.
"Go and inform them immediately."
After saying that, he strode towards the prison.
Arrived at the Heavenly Prison.
Shen Yan went directly to cell number A to check on Li Wu's condition.
They confirmed that he had stopped breathing and his body was stiff.
He thought to himself, "He's really dead."
He went to the office and asked the jailer who was on duty last night.
Last night, the jailer in charge of Li Wu's place was Sun Dashun. He was stammering and his words were unclear.
Shen Yan's expression changed.
"Were you so busy gambling last night that you didn't even come to check on the cells?"
Sun Dashun knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly and begging for mercy.
It turned out that something unusual had indeed happened at Li Wu's place last night; the prisoners around him had all been knocked unconscious.
After waking up, they all said they heard Li Wu talking to someone the night before.
He peeked out, but before he could see anyone, he fainted.
Sun Dashun was still begging for mercy. He and Sun Fugui were alike, both gambling addicts.
Shen Yan had no time to pay attention to him at the moment. Li Wu's identity was mysterious, and the jailers did not know his background.
They didn't understand why they were imprisoned in the dungeon.
Shen Yan, having overheard the conversation, knew quite a bit about Li Wu's past.
Sun Dashun thought that Shen Yan was angry and blaming him for not paying attention to his duties.
Little did they know how much was involved behind the scenes.
Shen Yan summoned Li Jianzhong to examine the cause of Li Wu's death.
for a long time.
Li Jianzhong stood up and said calmly, "This prisoner has been imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison for more than ten years. In addition, his dantian and qi sea have been destroyed and his meridians have been severed. His body has long since collapsed."
Given that he may have experienced some kind of shock last night, going through extreme highs and lows, it's not surprising that he passed away from heart palpitations.
Upon hearing Li Jianzhong's words, Shen Yan's expression softened considerably.
"Did he really die of heart palpitations, and not poisoned or killed by other means?"
Seeing that he didn't believe him, Li Jianzhong rolled his eyes at Shen Yan.
"If you want to determine whether you really died of heart palpitations, just cut open your chest cavity and you'll know."
Shen Yan smiled and shook his head, saying, "Then forget it. As long as it wasn't caused by human intervention, that's fine."
He sent someone to the Ministry of Justice to report the matter.
As long as it wasn't murder, and he died on his own, then it can't be blamed on the prison.
Zeng Wenyuan also arrived at the prison soon after, seemingly aware of the seriousness of the matter.
"Lord Shen, what caused this prisoner's death?"
"Death from heart palpitations was not caused by external forces."
He patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good, that's good."
He naturally knew a bit about Li Wu. Although he didn't understand the inside story, he was clear about Li Wu's identity.
Hearing Chen Xiaoshuan's words, he broke out in a cold sweat on the bed.
The two men arrived at the cell, warmed themselves by the fire, and waited for the Ministry of Justice officials to arrive.
After a prisoner dies, officials from the Ministry of Justice must verify his identity before his name is added to the register.
If the body still has family members, someone will be sent to take it away; if there are no family members, it will be dumped in a mass grave outside the city.
Soon, officials from the Ministry of Justice arrived at the imperial prison.
The visitor was Ding Anzhi, who, accompanied by the coroner, went straight to the place where Li Wu had laid out the body.
The morgue in the imperial prison had a lingering stench of decay.
In the past, when a prisoner died, the clerks and jailers from the Ministry of Justice would go together to the scene.
With Ding Anzhi's arrival today, Shen Yan and Zeng Wenyuan naturally had no choice but to follow him.
After practicing the "Longevity Technique," Shen Yan's five senses became acute, and the stench of the morgue was nauseating.
Fortunately, it's winter now, so the smell is even better.
Ding Anzhi ordered the coroner to examine Li Wu's cause of death, although the prison guards said he died of palpitations.
He dared not be careless and had to personally lead a team to inspect the site before he could feel at ease.
"Be serious, see if it was really death from heart palpitations."
The coroner sensed the importance Ding Anzhi placed on the matter and dared not be careless.
for a long time.
The coroner then looked up and replied to Ding Anzhi.
"Your Honor, the prisoner had no external injuries and showed no signs of poisoning. He certainly died of palpitations."
Ding Anzhi nodded and said to Shen and Zeng Wenyuan:
"Don't let this get out. Send two people to guard this place. Don't deal with the body yet."
Zeng Wenyuan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his words.
The coroners from the Ministry of Justice examined the body and concluded that the responsibility did not lie with them.
But before Shen Yan and Zeng Wenyuan could even sit down and catch their breath,
The Imperial Guards then led the palace eunuchs to the imperial prison.
Shen Yan and Zeng Wenyuan hurriedly went out to greet them, and upon seeing the person who had arrived...
Zeng Wenyuan was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he would have sat down on the ground if Shen Yan hadn't helped him up.
Shen Yan looked at the leader of the Imperial Guards, whose clothes were so luxurious that he had never seen them before.
I guessed he must be a high-ranking official.
After a soft inquiry to Zeng Wenyuan, he answered in a trembling voice:
"This man is Zheng Jun, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
Shen Yan was also taken aback. He hadn't expected it to be Zheng Jun. As the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, his strength was undoubtedly formidable.
"No wonder he has a long and steady breath, walks with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, and his strength is unfathomable."
Zheng Jun overheard their whispers but didn't say anything.
He said directly, "Take us to see the prisoner's body."
Shen Yan walked in front, leading the way for Zheng Jun and the eunuchs.
Zeng Wenyuan was already exhausted and was supported by the prison guards as he followed at the back.
Seeing his reaction, Shen Yan couldn't help but sigh inwardly:
"Zheng Jun only showed his face and Zeng Wenyuan was so frightened; it seems he has committed quite a few murders!"
We arrived at the morgue.
Zheng Jun turned to the old eunuch beside him and spoke with great respect.
"Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Wang."
"It's alright, it's just about getting to know someone."
Eunuch Wang stepped forward to examine Li Wu, and upon seeing his face, he was suddenly filled with emotion and said:
"More than a decade has passed, and the prince consort still looks so dashing and spirited. It's truly enviable."
He examined Li Wu's body carefully again and said to Zheng Jun:
"He is indeed the prince consort, there's no mistake."
Zheng Jun nodded and spoke to the Imperial Guard beside him.
"Take the body away."
Strangely, Zheng Jun did not leave, but remained in the same spot.
He looked at Shen Yan and Zeng Wenyuan, but did not speak.
Zheng Jun possessed an extremely powerful aura and imposing presence.
Even just standing still and quietly watching the two of them put immense pressure on them.
Zeng Wenyuan kept wiping the fine sweat from his forehead.
Zheng Jun finally spoke after a long while.
"Do not let anyone else know about the prisoner's death. If anyone else finds out, everyone in the prison will be executed."
"Yes, sir."
"You can keep this to yourselves. Everything will remain the same. The jailers should behave as usual, and do not show any abnormality."