Chapter 1022: A case that can only be accomplished in this world
"Brother, please take me with you to handle this matter, Uncle Cheng. I promise to handle it well!"
"Didn't you follow Tao Taoist to seek immortality?"
"Brother... Taoist Tao has not returned yet, and Li Shizhen, who was punished by him with a small amount of punishment and severe punishment, became a miracle doctor... What if, I mean what if, Taoist Tao is not that powerful, what should I do?"
"Then go back and take the college exam. As the younger brother of a prestigious Jinshi, you can't even get the title of scholar. How can I save my face if word spreads about it?"
"Isn't my brother a fellow Jinshi?"
"What did you say!"
He Maocai's beard was blowing and he was furious. Kong Wu's powerful arms directly lifted He Jing up.
"Brother, have mercy on me, brother, have mercy on me!"
He Jing's face turned pale, he was really afraid that this mighty-looking clan brother would knock him to the ground with his thin arms and thin legs, causing him to fall into pieces.
He Maocai was a Jinshi in the top three in the 20th year of Jiajing, and was born with the same Jinshi background.
This title is actually quite disgusting. Jinshi is so glorious, but it has become the same as Jinshi, which means the same as being a scholar. But this just shows that the two are different and a defective product.
The Ming Dynasty was not as good as the Song Dynasty. Zhang Dun in the Song Dynasty was dissatisfied with his reputation and could take the exam again in the next subject without receiving any honors. Once he passed the imperial examination in the Ming Dynasty, he had no chance to take the exam again.
Not only did he not have a chance to attend the Hanlin Academy with Jinshi, but there were no noble officials in the capital, so he was basically sent to other places, either with outstanding achievements or with high-level operations. He Maocai did not do both, and he offended his superiors, so he was transferred to the Nanjing Ministry of Punishment in despair.
A famous retirement resort.
He was not willing to do this for the rest of his life, so he had to study carefully in the hope of making a name for himself. He also wanted to seize the opportunity of Uncle Chengyi's invitation to investigate the secret methods of the thieves along the Qinhuai River and make contributions.
"Stay well, if you dare to cause trouble for me, I will come back and remove your legs!"
After scaring the idiot He Jing to the point of peeing, He Maocai threw him away, strode out, got on his horse, and headed for the Qinhuai River.
When he arrived at the agreed place, he first called out the spies and asked if anything unusual had happened in each building and boat in the past two days.
These people were all local snakes, and after reporting everything in detail, He Maocai had an idea in his mind, straightened his clothes, and waited with excitement for the arrival of Uncle Cheng.
Although Liu Shiyan is not comparable to his ancestor Liu Bowen, since the Tumubao Incident, many nobles and nobles of the Ming Dynasty have died. Together with the military generals, they can only survive by relying on civilian officials.
But the so-called civil servants are high-ranking officials who stand at the top of various ministries, and are high-ranking officials from various places, not a small person like him who is pushed to the margins.
A camel is bigger than a horse. In Nanjing, which has a dense network of people, Liu Shiyan's energy is definitely not small, and it is good to make friends with him.
"My dream once was to encourage my old disciples, but now it seems that I can't be too ambitious!"
Just when He Maocai was correcting his attitude towards life, the sound of horse hoofbeats was heard, and two horses appeared in front of him through the darkness of the night.
He took a closer look and couldn't help but be stunned.
The leading rider was none other than Cheng Yi Bo Liu Shiyan. He had no bodyguards and only brought an extraordinary man with him.
What made He Maocai's heart sink was that Liu Shiyan's face was heavy and his brows were furrowed. After meeting him, he said, "Master He, does Tianxiang have any clues?"
He Maocai's brain was spinning rapidly and he cupped his hands and said: "Returning to my uncle, Tianxiang is indeed a bit weird. There is a prostitute named Du Jiuniang. She dislikes the old bustard for being greedy and unrighteous. She has long had the ambition to be a good person, but she is entrusted to an evil person. She sheds tears all day long.
She is suffering from illness, and I heard that thieves have recently appeared around the boat where she is, plotting against her."
When Liu Shiyan heard the first part, his expression was already heavy, and when he heard the last part, he was even more puzzled: "What does it have to do with thieves?"
He Maocai said: "This woman has outstanding talent and beauty. She has fascinated many princes and grandsons. They all spent a lot of money and stored it in the treasure box in their hands to accumulate a huge wealth. In order to be good, she fell out with the old bustard. She had no protection and is now dying.
"If you have a huge wealth, you will be coveted by everyone. I'm afraid the thief is the one who came for me from the madam. If he doesn't get the person, he won't let go of the wealth!"
Liu Shiyan said angrily: "These old bustards are really knocking at the bones and sucking out the marrow. They are extremely hateful!"
After saying that, he felt a little quiet behind him, turned around and asked in a low voice: "Mr. Li, do you think there is a thief deliberately pretending to be someone else?"
She acted like me and deceived Du Jiuniang. This poor woman wants to take revenge, find the wrong enemy and make me and my husband the scapegoat?"
Li Yan frowned slightly: "Uncle, don't worry, I already have some clues about this matter, but there are still some things I can't figure out."
He did not completely believe Chen Jingqi's statement. It was not that Chen Jingqi deliberately deceived him, but that the seventh young master heard it from hearsay and did not experience it himself.
He didn't completely believe Liu Shiyan. This person was indeed not a hypocritical person, but it was not completely impossible for him to give up after starting chaos.
For this sincere uncle, it might just be a drunken debauchery, a random promise, and he didn't take it to heart at all, but for a fireworks woman, being able to marry into the Earl's Mansion is undoubtedly the best destination and a life-saving straw.
So this story makes sense from Liu Shiyan's perspective.
But it doesn't make sense from Du Shiniang's perspective.
In ancient times, the status of women gradually declined throughout the dynasties. This was true for ordinary women and also for prostitutes.
Everyone in the Tang Dynasty knew that a lady still had a certain degree of autonomy and could cooperate with the madam to open a small courtyard of her own. However, in the Song Dynasty, the jurisdiction of official prostitutes was strict, and this kind of autonomy was no longer possible. In the Ming Dynasty, exploitation and oppression could be seen everywhere.
Du Jiuniang's ability to attract Mr. Wang and Sun and seize a treasure box of wealth from the hands of the old bustard shows that this woman's methods are extremely complicated. She can bewitch Mr. Wang and Sun, and she also has to be all-round and considerate to the people around her. If Liu Shiyan just made a promise after being drunk, she would be confused.
, how could Du Jiuniang, who had read countless people, easily entrust her with her life, and then throw herself into it after she couldn't get what she wanted?
As for the thief, he pretended to be Liu Shiyan and deceived her for a long time, and finally Du Jiuniang couldn't stop.
Not to mention that if an honorable person has been lingering in the land of fireworks for a long time, there must be witnesses, and whether it will conflict with the real whereabouts of Liu Shiyan, even this requires too much effort.
If you can really disguise yourself as Uncle Cheng, there are so many things you can do. There is no need to use a clever person to get a famous prostitute. It can be done in one fell swoop.
This story of chaos and abandonment seemed a bit strange to Li Yan. At this moment, he glanced at He Maocai, who looked very fierce: "Master He, can you grasp the whereabouts of this group of thieves? Check out the movements of Du Jiuniang's boat in the past few days.
,How many people are coming in and out?”
He Maocai did not dare to eavesdrop on Uncle Cheng Yi's whispers, but he secretly looked at this person. He felt that this person was definitely not a follower. Now that he saw him, he was even more sure. He immediately said: "Please wait a moment, I will ask.
Report it immediately!"
Li Yan nodded: "Excuse me."
He Maocai hurried away and returned in half an hour with news: "Almost no one has been in or out of Du Jiuniang's boat these days. Only a few outsiders have been brought in to feed this woman and a few of her personal maids."
Liu Shiyan was slightly startled: "Are there only a few women in the boat?"
He Maocai knew what was strange about him, and lowered his voice and said: "I heard that Du Jiuniang has an old sweetheart who works in Jinyiwei. She has come here many times during this period. It can be seen that the lingering love has made the thieves jealous."
Liu Shiyan's expression changed, but he also understood: "So those thieves are waiting until Du Jiuniang dies of illness before taking the treasure box?"
He Maocai said: "That's exactly it."
Li Yan said: "How long have the thieves been here? How did they judge that Du Jiuniang was about to die of illness?"
He Maocai said: "They must have bribed the maids around Du Jiuniang. According to my reports, these thieves have shown signs of killing each other in the past few days. It seems that they have waited too long and have differences over financial allocation!"
Li Yan nodded slightly: "Excuse me, Mr. He, please bring the madam here."
He Maocai went again.
But Liu Shiyan looked at the painting boat moored on the bank of the Qinhuai River in the distance and couldn't help it: "Mr. Li, shouldn't we first determine the method of cursing my wife?"
Li Yan said: "Since this woman is as seriously ill as my wife and is dying, it is a kind of evil spell that hurts both sides. As for activating the medium, I am afraid they deliberately collected the hair of the lady and used it to curse. The method is vicious. It seems that Du Jiuniang hates her."
I found out about your ladyship and thought that it was her jealousy that prevented my happiness."
Liu Shiyan's body trembled when he heard this, and his eyes turned red: "What an unreasonable disaster, what an unreasonable disaster! I don't recognize this Du Jiuniang at all, but...
I pity my wife for having to suffer such torture."
Li Yan asked: "If this woman uses a curse to poison your lady, should we do it directly? Or should we hire someone else?"
Liu Shiyan blurted out: "Of course I'll go to Chaotian Palace and Shentan Temple to invite Taoist priests!"
Li Yan then asked: "In that case, why didn't uncle invite me earlier?"
Liu Shiyan composed himself and showed a look of disgust: "The Taoist priests of Baiyun Temple have also been famous for a long time. However, after the battle, Xian Nei not only did not get better at all, but also vomited blood. I felt at that time that these Taoist priests had a false reputation, how could they cause harm again?
Her body?"
Li Yan had heard a similar statement from the housekeeper before, and after confirming it from Liu Shiyan again, he had an idea.
At this moment, He Maocai brought the madam, and while Liu Shiyan stepped forward to ask about the specific situation, Li Yan whispered: "Xiaoqian!"
Xiaoqian floated out.
Li Yan took out a stack of banknotes and gave them to her, and while Xiaoqian was counting the banknotes over and over in ecstasy, he whispered something in her ear.
Xiaoqian lowered her head, obviously unwilling. Li Yan said: "This is to save people. If you become a good ghost, you will have merit in the future."
Xiaoqian then reluctantly floated to the boat, and soon she floated back, lying on her back skillfully, and actually said something new: "It's Zhang San, it's Zhang San."
The soft voice echoed in his ears, but for Li Yan, it was the most conclusive evidence: "It's really like this. The underworld ghost really saved someone's life this time. And such an incredible case can only be found in