This man is in his forties, with a swarthy complexion and medium build. He is wearing the green cloth shirt and trousers of a servant in the imperial government. He has a long green cloth handkerchief on his left arm. One end of the jujube stick is inserted into the cuff of the armpit and the other end is held in the hand.
In the palm of his hand, covered with a green cloth handkerchief, he mixed in with a group of servants and servants and entered the Houzai Gate. He came to the outside of the North Gate and looked to the left and right. There were long corridors sandwiched between high red walls.
The chamberlains and servants who came in either entered the North Middle Gate or went to the corridors on both sides, chatting and laughing, walking in a hurry. No one paid attention to the middle-aged man standing against the wall——
The man waited for a moment on the left side of Beizhong Gate. He was tapped on the back and a deep voice said: "Follow me." The man who spoke kept walking towards the corridor on the left. The man quickly followed, coming from behind.
Look, the person leading the way in front is wearing a green cloth and a soap ribbon. He is neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin. There is nothing special about him. He walks very fast and turns outside the wall of Shangyi Prison.
To the south, there is another long road. On the right is a wall. From the top of the wall, you can see the top of the Longevity Mountain. On the left are the Du Zhijian and the Yin Shou Prison. People are coming in and out at this time. At the end of the road is the palace.
The city's moat is two feet wide, and the water shines silver under the moonlight——
"Follow closely."
The chamberlain leading the way turned around and shouted softly. The man hurriedly walked a few steps. There were only two steps between the two of them. They walked straight south along the east side of the moat. After walking about two miles, they reached the Donghua Gate on the east side of the palace city.
The soldiers of Yanshan Vanguard and Yulin Vanguard were changing shifts, and the bells rang from time to time. It seemed that everyone was watching, and the guards were the most guarded, but in fact they were the most lax. The torches and lanterns were dazzling, and people could not be seen clearly. The man followed the eunuch and passed through Donghua Gate smoothly.
.
The chamberlain leading the way stopped by the river inside Donghua Gate and said to the man behind him: "Go north along the river to the north gate. Break in all the way and beat anyone who dares to block you with a stick. Just fight, we can save you.
." After that, he left the Donghua Gate.
The face of the chamberlain who led the way was blurry, and the man never saw clearly what he looked like, but now that he was here, he didn't care much anymore, and strode to the gate of Ciqing Palace. The palace gate was dark and dim, but no one was guarding it. The man took out his right hand
The jujube stick in his left sleeve. Holding the stick, he ran in quickly and broke into the second door. He heard an old eunuch ask: "Who is that?"
The man waved the jujube stick in his hand and shouted: "Beat, kill." He rushed over.
The eunuch shouted hurriedly: "Li Jian, someone is breaking into the palace. Stop him!"
A eunuch coughed and staggered out of the ear room, stretched his arms to stop him and said: "Where did this madman come from -"
Before finishing the sentence, there was a "pop" sound, and eunuch Li Jian was hit with a stick on his left shoulder. He screamed in pain and fell to the ground. The man jumped over him and rushed straight to the door amidst the screams of the two gatekeepers.
Pass under the eaves of the palace.
Three more chamberlains rushed over and shouted: "Catch the murderer, catch the murderer!"
The man jumped up to Danqi, waving his stick to prevent the chamberlain from approaching. He retreated into the palace. There were several palace lanterns lit on both sides of the palace. The lights were dim, and the footsteps and shouts made the empty hall seem eerie.——
At the other end of Chuandian is Fengchen Palace. When the eunuch Zhong Benhua heard the shouting from Chuandian, he hurriedly led five or six young firemen to block the exit of Chuandian and screamed: "Catch the assassin, catch the assassin,
Protect me. Protect me.”
Wei Jinzhong also ran over after hearing the news. He held a wooden stick in his hand. The man saw that there were many people here. He wanted to turn around, but a group of servants gathered at the entrance of the palace. No matter how deserted the East Palace was, there were dozens of people on duty.
There are still waiters.
The man waved the jujube stick in his hand "Huo Huo" and shouted: "Beat, beat, kill." Looking forward and backward, the short stick was waving wildly, and more than a dozen servants on both sides were pressing towards him. The man couldn't help but retreat, and was forced to the southwest of the hall.
A corner.
Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian's two brothers also followed, and the servants holding sticks stood in a row. Zhu Youxiao did not see the men surrounded, only heard shouting, and asked hurriedly: "Master Zhong, Wei Banban, are you coming out?"
What happened?"
Zhong Benhua turned his head and shouted: "Don't come over, go back to the palace quickly, Auntie Ke, Auntie Ke, take them out of here."
However, Zhu Youxiao had already crawled to the legs of the two little firemen, looked inside, and shouted: "Xiao Ao, Xiao Ao——"
Zhu Youjian, who was standing behind Zhu Youxiao, also shouted: "Xiao Ao, Xiao Ao——"
Ke Yinyue and several palace maids ran over and pulled up the two imperial grandsons. Zhu Youxiao was still shouting: "Xiao Ao, Xiao Ao over there -"
Ke Yinyue half dragged and half hugged Zhu Youxiao: "Where is Xiaomao? Go back, go back." He asked Eunuch Zhong: "Eunuch Zhong, is there an assassin?" He tiptoed and glanced at the crowd -
But at this moment, a little girl of five or six years old walked out of a dark corner of the hall. She was wearing a red and white gauze skirt. Her forehead hair was cut flat and relatively short, her eyebrows were not pressed down, and she had a fair side exposed.
His forehead looked a little dull, his face was rosy, he held a small round fan in his left hand, and rubbed his sleepy eyes with his right hand, and said in a sweet voice: "The two brothers have found Xiao Lao, why is it so dark?
"
This little girl is the third daughter of Crown Prince Zhu Changluo, named Zhu Hui'ao. Zhu Changluo's first two daughters all died in infancy. Among the daughters now, Zhu Hui'a is the eldest, and there are two others, one has just been weaned and the other is still in infancy.
Among them, Zhu Huimao's mother Feng Shixuan is no longer alive. Zhu Huimao and Zhu Youjian were raised by Dong Li. Although she was the daughter of the prince, she was not canonized like Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian at this time, so she could not be called
For the princess——
At dusk that day, Zhu Hui'an was playing hide-and-seek with the two royal brothers Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian. Zhu Hui'an hid and let the two royal brothers find her, so she walked alone to a deserted corner of the palace and sat quietly.
There, she waited for the two royal brothers to find her. After waiting for a while, she accidentally fell asleep. She was woken up at this moment. She stood up and saw so many people surrounding her, including a man waving a wooden stick.
She didn't feel scared even when she was near, and said: "Brother found Xiao Lao. That's Xiao Lao's defeat. Xiao Lao is not a scumbag. Just give that box of butter-soaked snails to my brother."
Although there were so many people in the palace, it was quiet at this time and the only voice was the little girl speaking. Eunuch Zhong and others were too nervous to make a sound. The little girl Zhu Hui'an was only a few steps away from the man who broke into the palace.
If that man was hit with a stick, Zhu Hui'an's head would definitely explode.
The man wielding the jujube stick was also a little dazed, and then shouted: "Don't come here, or I will kill this girl." He stepped over, reached out and grabbed Zhu Hui's arm, and lifted the little girl up.
One foot landed crookedly on the ground, and the little girl burst into tears immediately, shouting: "Brother, brother——"
The palm of Zhong Benhua's staff was full of sweat. Although he knew that an invasion of the palace would happen in the near future, he had no idea when and who he was. Now that he saw this man holding the little princess hostage, he couldn't help but be frightened, thinking how could this be faked and come true.
, shouted: "Bold maniac, let that girl go!"
Suddenly he saw a figure flashing, but it was the twelve-year-old Zhu Youxiao who rushed up and pulled the man's arm hard. He shouted: "Let go of my sister——"
Zhu Youxiao has always been very protective of his younger siblings. The man was about to hit him with a stick. Eunuch Zhong, who was standing at the front, was shocked. He couldn't think about it anymore and rushed over. He hugged Zhu Youxiao with one hand and held him up with the other hand.
, with a "crack" sound, the jujube stick hit his forearm. Wei Jinzhong and Han Ben, who followed, struck each other with their two sticks, knocking the man to the ground.
Eunuch Zhong endured the pain in his right forearm, picked up brother and sister Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Huimai and moved aside. Seeing Wei Jinzhong and several strong servants beating the man with their sticks, Eunuch Zhong calmed down and shouted: "Don't hit him."
Kill him and hand him over to the palace guards for interrogation."
At this time, Wang An accompanied the prince Zhu Changluo from Fengchen Palace. He was guarded by more than a dozen chamberlains. He asked if it was an assassin who broke into the palace. Zhu Changluo, who was plump and fat, was shocked and angry. He was shaking all over and was speechless for a while.
, Wang An hurriedly comforted him: "Don't be angry, Qiansui Master. Since the assassin has been captured, he will hand it over to the palace guards. I believe that the mastermind behind the scenes will be traced."
Wei Jinzhong and Han Ben used a few people to find ropes to tie up the man. Zhong Benhua asked Ke Yinyue and several palace ladies to quickly take away Zhu Youxiao, Zhu Youjian and Zhu Huimao. A palace lady picked up Zhu Huimao.
. Zhu Hui'an was still crying, and Zhu Youxiao comforted his sister and said: "Xiao Ao, don't cry. You won. My brother will give you a box of butter-soaked snails."
"Really!" Six-year-old Zhu Hui'an suddenly burst into laughter, but then asked: "Didn't my brother find Xiao Ao? Why did Xiao Ao win?" His tone was still sobbing slightly, but his face was already stained.
laugh.
Zhu Youxiao said: "My fifth brother and I have been looking for you for a long time, but we can't find you. It was the assassin who found you."
Zhu Hui'an said "Ah" and shrank into Gong'e's arms, looking very scared.
Ke Yinyue took Zhu Youxiao's hand and said softly: "Don't talk nonsense." Looking back towards the palace, Zhong Benhua and Wei Jinzhong had already escorted the eunuch out of the palace.
Ke Yinyue thought: "Where did this assassin come from? Such a useless assassin?"
…
Prince Zhu Changluo, who was standing in the palace, finally stamped his feet and cursed: "It's too much to bully others!" He then said: "I want to see my father immediately."
Wang Andao: "Don't be anxious, Lord Qiansui. If you go to see Lord Wansui this night, you may cause disturbance. It won't be too late to report the matter tomorrow morning. Let the commander and the censor patrol the city interrogate the assassin first. This matter is very important. Please forgive those people."
Don’t dare to engage in malpractice for personal gain or confuse right and wrong.”
…
Eunuch Zhong, Wei Jinzhong, and Han Ben used three people, as well as two ebony cards and two small firemen, to escort the intruder out of the second door. One of the two old eunuchs guarding the door rushed in to give a warning, and the other
I went to Donghua Gate to report the news to the palace guards. Zhu Xiong, commander of the Yanshan vanguard, rushed over with his people. In front of the gate of Ciqing Palace, he met Eunuch Zhong and others escorting the assassin out. Zhu Xiong greeted him and said: "Eunuch Zhong
,How is this going?"
Eunuch Zhong's right arm became more and more painful. He stretched out his hand to touch it and found that it was obviously swollen. He didn't know if it was broken or not. He said angrily: "Commander Zhu is so leisurely and asked what happened to the Za family. Look, the assassin broke into the palace and almost got injured."
It’s time to reach Thousand Years Old Master.”
Zhu Xiong was sweating coldly. Tonight, his Yanshan vanguard was on duty at the Donghua Gate. The Ciqing Palace area was also within the patrol area, but an assassin broke into the East Palace. As a commander, he was guilty. He ordered the sergeant to kill the assassin.
He escorted him over and asked in a low voice: "Eunuch Zhong, is His Highness the Crown Prince not frightened?"
Eunuch Zhong sneered: "Such a murderer armed with a stick rushed into the palace and injured many servants. Do you think the prince would be frightened?" As he spoke, he lifted up the sleeve of his right arm. Under the light of the torch, his forearm was red and swollen, and the stick was
The traces are vague.
When Zhu Xiong heard what Eunuch Zhong said, he knew that the assassin had not hurt the prince, so he felt relieved and said: "Eunuch Zhong captured the thief bravely, which impressed my subordinates. This assassin was immediately handed over to the imperial censor for interrogation, and he must be traced out."
——”
Before he could say the words "the mastermind behind the scenes", Zhu Xiong, the commander of the Yanshan Guards, shuddered and his hair stood on end.
Eunuch Zhong asked: "Who is the censor who is on duty tonight to patrol the imperial city?"
Zhu Xiong said: "It's Liu Tingyuan, the censor of Shaanxi Province."
Eunuch Zhong nodded secretly: "Liu Tingyuan, Yao Zongwen is a party to Concubine Zheng. It's a coincidence. Let's see how Liu Tingyuan tries the case." He said: "The prince ordered me and a few others to watch the trial of this assassin. There will be a report tomorrow morning.
Wen Sheng Your Majesty."
Zhu Xiong said: "Yes, Eunuch Zhong invites you, and several other uncles please."
Eunuch Zhong asked Han Bennyong and several other chamberlains to return to the palace to report to the prince. He and Wei Jinzhong followed Zhu Xiong outside Donghua Gate. After hearing the news, Censor Liu Tingyuan rushed over and took the assassin to Guanglu Temple for interrogation, but he refused.
Asking Zhong Benhua and Wei Jinzhong to participate in the trial, Eunuch Zhong said: "Liu Yushi, the two of us are not participating in the trial, but just observing. As soon as there are results, we will report them to the crown prince."
There was a shocking case of assassins breaking into the East Palace. Liu Tingyuan already felt that the situation was not good. Now the situation was unclear. Naturally, he did not want Zhong and Wei. The two East Palace officials were restrained. He immediately quoted the Ming law and refused to listen to Zhong and Wei. Eunuch Zhong
Said: "Okay, Liu Yushi enforces the law impartially. The Zajia family has nothing to say. Now the living assassin is handed over to Liu Yushi. Don't try it for a few times and then die. The Zajia family and Dawei are waiting in front of Guanglu Temple.
.”
Liu Tingyuan remained calm and asked the sergeant to escort the assassin in. Eunuch Zhong and Wei Jinzhong sat on the ground in front of the gate of Guanglu Temple. Eunuch Zhong's arm hurt badly, so Wei Jinzhong went to the Royal Pharmacy and invited two internal servants with medical skills to come to Eunuch Zhong.
After treating the injury and squeezing it, it was found that the forearm bone was broken. Eunuch Zhong applied medicine to his right forearm and bound it with a splint. He then used a cloth belt to hang his right arm and neck. Eunuch Zhong protected it loyally.
The main image jumps out——
Liu Tingyuan interrogated the assassin all night and walked out of Guanglu Temple at dawn. Eunuch Zhong had a pain in his right arm and had not slept all night. He looked depressed. Seeing Liu Tingyuan coming out, he hurriedly asked: "Liu Yushi, has the assassin confessed?"
Liu Tingyuan said: "I have written the preliminary memorial and will submit it to the Holy One for review now."
Such cases that occurred in the palace did not need to be referred by the cabinet and could be handed over directly to the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
Eunuch Zhong asked: "Liu Yushi, what does the first trial say?"
Liu Tingyuan ignored him and went directly to Donghua Gate.
Wei Jinzhong said angrily: "This is really contempt for us, the people of the East Palace. Eunuch Zhong, let's go back and report back to the young master."
Eunuch Zhong blushed and stared at Liu Tingyuan's back. Feeling deeply the humiliation of being looked down upon, he thought to himself: "Liu Tingyuan, one day I want you to look up to the Zajia family."
————————————————————
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