The prisoner was indeed a nun wearing a square hat and sea blue, with a slender figure and fair and wrinkle-free skin. He was at most twenty-seven or eighty years old.
"What a bastard!"
I don’t know which woman shouted the first sound, but she soon received echoes from her gay friends one after another.
The women cursed fiercely, like rising waves. Under the waves, the men discussed the case with great interest.
"I heard that he seduced a wealthy businessman from Huizhou, got drunk and stabbed him to death."
"Ah? You are usually quiet and delicate, but you are so cruel."
"Humph, that's because you are stupid. I have long seen that this nun is not simple. Do you think that a woman who can write, write poems and paint comes from Suzhou? Maybe she was a woman in the past.
Made."
"Brother, what is the envoy?"
"They are prostitutes. Those scholars pampered them and made up the name Wen Zou Zou. In fact, they are not all out for sale."
"Oh, hey hey hey..."
All the men laughed softly, feeling happy that they could have an intracranial orgasm so easily.
Zheng Haizhu turned around, quickly retreated along the edge of the crowd, and found Zhang Dai waiting in the corridor.
"Mr. Zhang, the government officials are escorting people over. Look at that female master, but is it Sister He you are looking for?"
Zhang Dai frowned and stared at the center of the whirlpool of the crowd.
"It's Sister He! How could she kill someone..." Zhang Dai muttered, about to push forward.
Zheng Haizhu grabbed him and said: "There are many Fulang disciples with dirty minds at the moment. This is not a place for a good conversation. Don't worry, sir. I know one of the government officials. Let's go directly to the county government office now."
Zhang Dai bit his lip and said "Okay", then turned his head to look around Sister He. Seeing that the various people onlookers did not take extreme actions like spitting or even throwing stones, he called the servants and followed Zheng Haizhu into the alley.
…
After Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, Songjiang Prefecture was divided into three counties: Huating, Shanghai and Qingpu.
The northeast of Fucheng where Zheng Haizhu and Zhang Dai came to is under Shanghai County and is far less prosperous than Qingpu in the west and Huating in the southwest.
The county town is not big, and the busy towns where officials, scholars, and businessmen live are even smaller. If you urinate on the street, the urine will flow to the end of the street.
Zheng Haizhu led Zhang Dai's master and servant, making three turns and two turns, and walked out of the alley. The county government was in front of them.
Under the big tree outside the yamen, Zheng Haizhu stood still and asked: "Mr. Zhang, I would like to ask, do you have a nickname? Sister He will know it immediately."
Zhang Dai said: "In our Shanyin people, the baby names of boys in our family are all monks, which means to ward off evil spirits. Because I am my mother's first child, Sister He always calls me the great monk."
"Okay, I understand. You are still waiting here."
"Miss Zheng, do you want some money?"
Zheng Haizhu stopped and thought to himself, the reminder is right, this rich young man is also very understanding of human feelings.
"Please, Mr. Zhang, please give me two or three pieces of silver. The more broken it is, the better."
The servant who followed Zhang Dai was very quick and in the blink of an eye he had taken out a handful of silver coins that looked like small paper balls and handed them to Zheng Haizhu.
Zheng Haizhu walked up to the gable of the county government office and saw the government officials coming.
"Go, go, go, get out of here, I'm following you like a fly for two streets, look at your mother-in-law's egg hair!"
The yamen servant, surnamed Liu, was cursing and driving away the last few onlookers. When he returned to the gate of the public house in the shadow of the setting sun, he bumped into Zheng Haizhu who had rubbed himself under the steps.
"Hey, Miss Zheng..." Captain Liu quickly put away the fierce look on his face, bared his buck teeth, forced a smile, and greeted Zheng Haizhu.
Liu Captou is an old government official in Songjiang Prefecture. From the end of summer to late autumn this year, he has already become familiar with Zheng Haizhu's face.
Not only was this girl a long-term maid of Mr. Han's family, but she was also paid a bounty by the prefect for killing bandits, and she often interacted with Mr. Huang's family.
That's like having a famous and talkative Xian'e beside the gods.
How could he, a handyman running errands on the mountainside, treat her as an ordinary citizen?
The words must be polite.
After finishing the ceremony, Liu Captou faced Zheng Haizhu's doubtful look and took the initiative to sigh: "Girl, Old Liu, I'm so miserable. I haven't been back to Songjiang Fucheng for more than half a month. Shanghai County is also evil. Originally, three or four
This yamen servant was gone and sick, and I was the only one left with a hairy mouth. The magistrate went to Futai to borrow someone, so Mr. Huang sent me here."
Zheng Haizhu comforted him softly: "As long as the monthly salary is not less, it will be good. Those who can do more work, and it is an urgent need for the officials. Both the government office and Mr. Huang can see it. Mr. Liu is afraid that he will be reused after returning to the west."
"Hi, thanks to Miss Zheng for your kind words." Liu Captou thanked him emphatically.
He was an old Jianghu, and with just a few words, he could tell that Zheng Haizhu didn't look like he was just passing by. There was a deep meaning in his eyes, so he turned his head and said to the young yamen servant behind him, "Press the person in first and lock him in the cell."
He raised his hand and moved Zheng Haizhu to the corner of the portico.
"Why did Miss Zheng come to the county today?"
Zheng Haizhu remained silent, moved his left hand leaning against the wall, and crushed silver into Liu Captou's palm.
Liu Captou was startled: "What are you doing? If the girl has something to do, just ask Old Liu."
Zheng Haizhu pursed her lips: "Master Liu, put it away first and buy a winter coat for my niece. If you don't accept it, I won't tell you what you want, so I will make you stand here."
Liu Captou thought to himself, this woman is very smart, don't make her displeased, she thought that I, Old Liu, was playing tricks on easy things and would only accept money to do things after asking about the situation, so the person who responded said "good, good, good" and retweeted and refused to accept it.
, with a flick of his wrist, the broken silver fell into his arm, and he coughed and said, "Girl, let's talk to Old Liu."
…
In Jiangnan in the late Ming Dynasty, the landowners and businessmen of the gentry class were extremely wealthy, but the public finances were about the same as those in the north, and they were stretched thin.
The county government cells in Shanghai County are worse than a cattle shed.
Fortunately, it is not a prison in the capital, so the smell of blood and gloom is not strong, only the lingering stench of feces, urine, and filth.
"Miss Zheng, just ask a few questions and come out quickly. The county magistrate is not here, but the chief registrar is in the mortuary watching the corpse for the autopsy. He will be over soon. I will help you look at the door."
Captain Liu finished his instructions softly and quickly left this row of dirty houses.
Zheng Haizhu turned around and gave another broken piece of silver in his hand to the cell leader recommended by Capt. Liu: "Buy me some wine for my brother."
The prison boss took it naturally.
In these days, the government even owed monthly salary, and everyone from petty officials and disciples to jailers like them were accustomed to asking for benefits from the people at any time.
Today, this decent woman was very generous with her actions. The prison boss's cold expression suddenly softened and he decided to take special care of her.
He took the initiative to lead Zheng Haizhu across the hall from his duty room, bypassing the outermost row of cells where ruffian male prisoners were held, and did a better job of avoiding the eyes and ears of others.
Turning into a deep and dark passage, the prison head pointed forward: "That's the room where the cat is tied up."
"Cat?" Zheng Hai looked curious.
The prison chief explained: "The prisoners in the murder case were all heavily handcuffed and had limited mobility. In the past, some were bitten so badly by rats that their skin and flesh were rotten away and their bones were exposed. Last month, Mr. Futai came to inspect the county government office.
When I saw him, he ordered the county magistrate to keep cats in the cells where death row prisoners were kept."
