Qi Ning had a smile on his face, but everyone could see that there was no smile in the young marquis's eyes, but instead they were extremely sharp and filled with a terrifying chill.
Cao Sen was stared at by Qin Ning's eyes. His back was already sweating, and cold sweat was also oozing out from his forehead.
"Master Hou, I am humble...!"
"There is no Marquis in the lobby of the Ministry of Punishment." Qi Ning's voice was slightly cold: "Everyone remembers that the person sitting here is the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, which is what you call the Lord of the Ministry."
Cao Sen hurriedly said: "Lord, Beizhi... After Beizhi went home last night, he did... indeed kept checking the files...!"
Qi Ning smiled slightly, nodded and said: "Everyone heard clearly, Cao Sishen told this officer that after leaving the Yamen last night, he went home and checked the files until ten o'clock. Because of this, he was nearly a month late today. Time." He sat up straight and said slowly: "If you stay up late due to official duties and are a little late today, I will punish you severely. I think many people will be dissatisfied. In fact, I am not an unreasonable person...!" He He bent down and took out a small wooden sign from under the table in his hand. The small wooden sign looked very unique and was tied with a red ribbon. Qining raised the small wooden sign and said with a smile: "Do you know this?" What is it?"
When the officials saw it, many people looked astonished.
"I think some of you have already recognized this brand." Qining smiled and said: "It is not a sin for a man to be romantic. There is an alley in the North City called Zhiyan Alley. The name sounds very sexy, but in fact, it is in that alley. , what’s more exciting, there is a good place called Zhiyan Pavilion!”
Many officials suddenly looked strange, and some even smiled knowingly.
"I don't need to say more about what kind of place Zhiyan Pavilion is." Qining said: "There are dozens of girls there. They are thin, fat, and charming. Each girl has a brand. This brand The owner is considered a red card in the Zhiyan Pavilion." He threw the wooden sign at Cao Sen's feet and said calmly: "Cao Si Shen, tell everyone, how does this girl look like?"
When Cao Sen saw the sign, his face turned pale. When the sign landed at his feet, cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He bent down, picked up the wooden sign, took one look, trembled all over, and raised his head. Shou wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"Yesterday, you, Chief Judge Cao, did leave the Criminal Department Yamen at midnight." Qi Ning stared at Cao Sen with burning eyes: "But you didn't go home." He didn't know when there was a piece of paper in his hand, and he looked at the paper and said: " You went directly to Baixi Tower in the east of the city and met a wealthy gentleman from Kuaiji, his name was Wu Xianzhong...!" He looked up at Cao Sen and asked, "Did I say the name correctly?"
Cao Sen's face was pale at this time, and he was trembling all over. He no longer had the composure he had before, and kept wiping the cold sweat on his forehead with his sleeves.
"You stayed in Baixi Tower for more than an hour, during which time you called two singers." Qining said in a brisk voice: "After leaving Baixi Tower, you went directly to Zhiyan Pavilion, which Cao Sishen is very familiar with. You have to go there four or five times a month. In the past two months, you have been hanging out with a girl named Yuxue, and last night was no exception. In Zhiyan Pavilion, you stayed until midnight , and then left. All the expenses there were paid by the wealthy gentleman named Wu Xianzhong. Not only that, yesterday Wu Xianzhong gave you a generous gift, estimated at about eight hundred taels of silver, and Wu Xianzhong also promised to give you You buy a private house, and then redeem the girl named Yuxue and place her in that private house." At this point, Qining sighed and asked: "Cao Sijun, if what I said is inaccurate You can refute it now."
At this time, Cao Sen only felt that his legs were weak, and he had no strength for a moment. He fell to his knees on the ground, opened his mouth, and was speechless.
All the officials in the lobby were shocked. When they saw Cao Sen's reaction, they knew that what Qi Ning said was true. They were shocked that Qi Ning actually knew Cao Sen's whereabouts last night.
"Cao Sen, if you don't say anything, do you disagree with what I said?" Qi Ning smiled and said, "If you think what I said is wrong, I can ask Wu Xianzhong to come over immediately. Although you went to Zhiyan Pavilion last night Not many people know about it, but there are still a few witnesses. If you are willing, I can send them over now, including that girl Yuxue. In short, I will never let you be wronged. What do you think?"
At this time, Cao Sen finally came to his senses, fell to the ground, and said in a trembling voice: "Hou... no, no, no, sir, humble position... humble position deserves to be damned, humble position last night...!"
"It's not a sin for a man to live and drink, I just said this." Qining sighed, "But you deceived Shangguan in public. You were obviously a drunken man who lived and drank, but you spoke openly in the lobby of the Ministry of Justice and told us that you stayed up late to do errands. Cao Sen, you are really brave."
"Beizi... I'm guilty. I'll never dare to do it again. Please... I beg you, sir, to spare me this time. I'll never dare to do it again...!" Cao Sen lost all his arrogance at this time and was trembling all over. Kowtow repeatedly.
Qi Ning sneered and said: "So, you are admitting that what I just said is not wrong. This is very good...!" He turned to Chu Mingwei and asked: "Master Chu, what is the crime for deceiving Shangguan?"
Chu Mingwei looked solemn, cupped his hands and said: "Report to the Lord, this will be punished according to the truth. According to the crime Cao Sen committed, at least fifty sticks. In addition, he will be dismissed from office and will not be used again!"
"Rewards and punishments should be clear, no matter which yamen should be like this, let alone the punishment department yamen in charge of punishment." Qi Ning said lightly: "Cao Sen, do you understand what Mr. Chu said?"
Cao Sen raised his head and said: "Lord Bu Tang, Beizhi... Beizhi is indeed at fault, but... But Beizhi has been in the Penal Department Yamen for more than ten years, and... And it was Lord Qian who single-handedly promoted him...!" At this point, he realized that he was wrong. It is impossible to take back the words.
"Lord Qian?" Qi Ning caught her and asked, "Are you talking about Qian Raoshun?" He laughed and said, "I know that there are many people in the yamen of the Ministry of Punishment who are thinking about Qian Raoshun one day. If Mr. Shun Qian can make a comeback, I might leave the Penal Department Yamen at some time, I don’t know if that’s the case?”
There are indeed many people in the Criminal Department Yamen who have such thoughts. When they heard Qining say it bluntly, they all felt a shiver in their hearts.
"However, I still advise you. The Holy One issued an edict and personally dismissed Qian Raoshun. If Qian Raoshun can make a comeback and be re-employed, wouldn't it mean that the Holy One's decree is not wise enough?" Qi Ning said coldly: "Qian Raoshun One case is still under review. As a minister of the Ministry of Punishment, this person knew the law and violated it. He engaged in malpractice for personal gain, tortured him to extract a confession, and even concocted a perjury. How can he be spared lightly for such a serious crime?"
Qi Ning's voice was fierce, and all the officials present did not dare to look at Qi Ning for a moment.
"I just want to make it clear to you that I have no control over how you lived in the past, but how you live in the future must be in accordance with the imperial court's regulations." Qi Ning said lightly: "Someone is thinking, I, Qin Ning, You don’t have to worry about whether coming to the Ministry of Punishment will break the regulations of the Ministry of Punishment. The emperor has decreed that I will be in charge of punishment. I will naturally act in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Punishment. Everything is governed by law. , whoever breaks the regulations will be dealt with according to the law."
Originally, many officials were thinking about whether to come out to propose marriage for Cao Sen, but after hearing Qi Ning's words, they immediately hesitated.
Many people have similar plans to Cao Sen. They all feel that Qian Raoshun helped the Sima family a lot during the Imperial Mausoleum incident. Sima Langui is the Duke of the town and the chief minister of the dynasty, so he should not leave Qian Raoshun behind. Regardless of Shun, the possibility of a comeback was extremely high, so he was thinking that if Qian Raoshun really made a comeback, he really couldn't get too close to Qining.
But at this time, he suddenly understood that Qian Raoshun might not be able to make a comeback because of the obstruction of the Jin Yi Qi family. The most important thing is that Qi Ning is now the official Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and he is now in charge. At this time, because of Qian Raoshun's heart, It is really unwise to reject this young prince in line with the idea of making a comeback.
Everyone present knew what happened to Cao Sen. Qi Ning obviously expected that Cao Sen would deliberately embarrass him today, so he made preparations in advance and deliberately punished Cao Sen in front of everyone today. .
Cao Sen knew that a disaster was imminent, but he still held on to the last bit of luck and handed over his hands to the surrounding officials: "Everyone, please... I also ask all of you who have been my colleagues for many years to help me plead for mercy from the Ministry of Justice. Cao has been in the Ministry of Punishment for many years, and he also It's considered conscientious, but just because... Just because I'm one hour late today, I... I have to be punished like this, it's really...!" But he didn't go on.
At this time, all the officials around knew clearly that Qining wanted to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys, but no one dared to be implicated. They turned around and did not look at Cao Sen.
Qi Ning sneered and looked at Chu Mingwei. Chu Mingwei knew it well and said in a deep voice: "Come here, take Cao Sen down and give him fifty sticks!"
Cao Sen knew in his heart that if he was hit with fifty sticks, he would be disabled even if he was not dead. At this moment, he made up his mind and said loudly: "My lords, today... today you are going to watch me being punished? Today, I, Cao Sen, will suffer such a heavy blow because I am late. Punishment, tomorrow... Tomorrow, you may also suffer injustice due to other trivial matters. Isn’t there anyone in our Punishment Department Yamen who dares to speak out?"
Not only would he receive fifty sticks, but he would also be dismissed from office, and his future would be ruined. At this time, in a desperate situation, he simply shouted in public, hoping that the officials of the Ministry of Punishment would join forces to fight against Qi Ning.
It's just that at this time, knowing that Cao Sen is in danger, who would go to swim in this muddy water.
At this time, several officials from the Ministry of Punishment had already entered the hall and were about to drag Cao Sen down to be tortured. Hearing Cao Sen shouting, Qining raised his hand and said, "Wait a minute!" He leaned forward and stared at Cao Sen with a knife-like gaze. : "Cao Sen, I wanted to save face for you because of your many years of service in the Ministry of Justice. Since you are shameless, there is no need for me to keep it for you." He took out a file from under the table. , handed it to Chu Mingwei, sneered and said: "Master Chu, you are the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and I will leave this case to you!"