"The imperial court has issued an edict that Mr. Huang has gone to Nanjing to count the number of yellow records. There is no word on when he can return to Songjiang."
The next day, in front of the Songjiang government office, the disciple told Zheng Haizhu politely.
Zheng Haizhu thought to himself, what a coincidence.
Originally, with some personal connections, it was okay to ask Huang Zunsu to say hello. But in front of Mr. Zhifu Zhuang, I don't have such a big face now.
Even if Mr. Zhuang remembers that he is a commoner who has helped Songjiang to suppress bandits, the trial in Shanghai County has not started yet. If he brings the son of a gentry from other provinces to ask for an interview so rashly, does it not imply that the court under the jurisdiction of Songjiang Mansion is unclear?
mean?
Seeing that Zheng Haizhu did not hide his embarrassment and frustration, Zhang Dai hurriedly said: "I am very grateful to the girl. Please go back home first. I will go to Shanghai County to see you today."
Zheng Haizhu cheered up and said, "Master Zhang, if you don't think I'm in the way, I would also like to see the situation around the nunnery."
Zhang Dai was willing to still have this enthusiastic and astute "local snake" accompanying him, and at least he spoke with a local accent when asking questions, so he happily hired a carriage and drove to Shanghai County in less than half an hour.
As soon as I walked across the river, I heard a man who looked like a wandering boy shouting happily: "The nun is being interrogated. The county master is interrogating the nun. Come and see. Come and see."
Both of them were surprised. Is the county government so obsequious in handling cases?
When the crowd arrived at the yamen gate, the hall had already ascended inside.
"Brother, Miss Zheng!"
A young man in bright clothes ran towards him, it was Zhang Yanke.
Zhang Yanke was out of breath from running, but he did not lose the energy to curse: "The trial is starting like it's burning. Could the person who died be the county magistrate's brother-in-law?"
After saying this, he stretched out his hand, and the servant Agui who was following him hurriedly handed over the steaming Songjiang Prefecture's special breakfast Ye Xie soft cake.
Zhang Dai looked at his cousin who was devouring his food: "You haven't had breakfast yet?"
Zhang Yanke said: "You went back to the inn last night and told me about Sister He. I fell asleep in the middle of the night, but I didn't sleep well. Later, I dreamed that when I changed back to wearing crotchless pants, Sister He told me while wearing shackles.
I was about to leave, but there was no way to feed me. I woke up and thought about it, I might as well take a boat to Shanghai County to see Sister He. I didn’t want to hear someone say that as soon as I got off the pier, the county boss wanted to interrogate the nun caught yesterday.
.”
Zhang Dai's eyes moved.
My third brother, not only in Shanyin, but also in Shaoxing, is famous for his proficiency in eating, drinking, prostitution and gambling. The elders sigh when they mention this kid behind their backs. Only Zhang Dai has a clear mind and knows that his third brother is actually a soft-spoken man.
A very emotional child.
Zhang Yanke swallowed the soft cake, looked at the people on the three floors inside and outside, and turned around and said: "You can't see or hear here. Do you want Miss Zheng to sit on my shoulder and watch?"
He had learned from Zhang Dai last night that Zheng Haizhu visited the prison as a favor and was really grateful to this young woman.
But he was used to being glib, and as soon as he opened his mouth, his good intentions turned out to be nothing but meat.
Zheng Haizhu looked as usual.
She remembered Zhang Yanke in history, who eventually died on the Jiangnan front line against the Qing army. He was a bloody man. Today, she saw Zhang Yanke's care and concern for his old friend. It was really difficult to have a bad feeling for this ancient dandy.
Before Zhang Dai could reprimand her brother, she took over Zhang Yanke's words and said calmly: "Young Master Yanke, you are too polite. You don't need to give me a shoulder. Just give me a penny. I will take you to the front to listen."
…
Zheng Haizhu had been looking for an acquaintance just now, and now she finally saw Liu Captou's young apprentice standing by the door, eating sesame cakes. He hurriedly approached and asked with a smile: "Little grandpa, where is your master?"
"In the hall, waiting for the county magistrate to ask questions."
This little detective is also smart. Yesterday he had identified the woman in front of him as the God of Wealth. At this moment, he caught a glimpse of a faint flash of silver light in Zheng Haizhu's hand and hurriedly added: "Sister, whatever the matter, feel free to talk to me."
speak?"
Zheng Haizhu stuffed money into him and said: "Take me and the two young masters in to hear the lawsuit and find somewhere that is too conspicuous."
The little catcher glanced sideways at Zhang Dai and Zhang Yanke, shook the money into his belt, and without saying a word, he raised his short stick, shouted kindly and slowly, and poked left and right, neither lightly nor hard, and was squeezed like a pig.
A gap was opened in the crowded crowd, and Zheng Haizhu and the Zhang brothers were brought to the side wall of the court hall.
There were still people standing in front and behind, including a few scholars wearing robes and headscarves, which made the Zhang brothers, who were also well-dressed, less conspicuous.
Zhang Yanke praised from the bottom of his heart: This little girl my brother picked up is good, she has a bright mind.
After the three of them stood still, they all looked solemn and looked towards the hall.
At this time, in the courtroom, besides Sister He, there were two other people kneeling in front of the blue-robed magistrate.
Among them, the one who was replying to the magistrate spoke with a Huizhou accent, saying "my master" and claiming to be the servant of the deceased Master Yang, Yang Amo.
According to what Yang Amo said, his master wanted to move the nun to a villa in Yangzhou after several exchanges with him, but the nun was unwilling and insisted on entering the Yang family's house.
"You're talking nonsense!" Sister He turned around and shouted loudly, "What I discussed with your master was about engraving books. You suddenly made up these things after the death of the master. Could it be that you had a hand in killing Mr. Yang?"
"Pah——", the magistrate knocked on the gavel and shouted: "No roaring!"
Then he ordered the official to show a piece of yellow paper stained with ink to Sister He, and asked solemnly: "Prisoner, the poem and note on the deceased's body, is the paper from your nunnery? Did you write the words?"
Sister He leaned forward, took a closer look, and said a few words to the official. The official reported it to the magistrate with a straight face.
The people in front of and behind Zheng Haizhu were all curious.
"What are you writing about?"
"I guess it must be something sexy."
"Didn't you say that the dead were fished out of the river? Can you still read the words clearly after being soaked in water?"
"What do you know, you idiot? The merit books in monk temples and nunneries are all made of high-quality paper allocated by the county. The ink is very transparent. Unless it is boiled in boiling water, the writing will fade completely. If it is just soaked
A day or two of cold water will at most make it blurry, but you can still see clearly."
While everyone was chattering, they only heard the magistrate saying solemnly: "The good church will be known next week. The prisoner's wife used the pages of the merit book in the nunnery to write obscene words and gave them to the deceased: The fine silk blew into the courtyard, shaking the spring.
Like a line."
Zheng Haizhu was stunned for a moment, and thought to himself, it turned out to be this sentence, and couldn't help but look away.
I happened to see Zhang Dai, a senior theater fan, with an angry and disdainful look on his face, muttering in a low voice: "How can this be obscene language? This is from the scene of the dream in "The Peony Pavilion"."
Sure enough, Sister He defended herself without any sign of weakness in the hall: "Your Majesty, this sentence is the original sentence in Tang Gong's "The Peony Pavilion". That day, Mr. Yang and I were discussing the font of the engraving in the bookshop, because the Song font also has different characters: tall, short, fat and thin.
Since the book review was written by a young lady from my old employer’s family, I naturally suggested using the delicate calligraphy. Mr. Yang asked me to write a sample for him to see. I just received the merit book from the county, so I wrote “Tear it up.”
Mr. Yang, ask him to hand it over to the engraving workshop."
