"What do you mean, you killed your own mother!" Zhong Shen looked at Wu Ziqing with wide eyes.
Wu Ziqing stood in the cage, shaking his head repeatedly and saying: "It happened for a reason. My mother wanted to kill me first, and I accidentally hurt her."
Zhong Shen turned around, pulled up a chair, and sat in front of the cage: "Don't be impatient, please speak slowly!"
"Today, I came home, cough cough, and my mother asked me to drink wine, cough cough..." Wu Ziqing had a dry mouth and kept coughing while talking.
Zhong Shen ordered: "Hurry and get some water for Wu Yushi!"
Wu Xu also pulled up a chair and sat down: "Don't just drink it for him, let's drink some too!"
Zhong Shen nodded and said: "Drink, drink, make tea quickly!"
Wu Xu shook his head and said: "What's the point of drinking tea? I have good plum blossom wine."
Zhong Shen nodded and said: "Cook it, cook it quickly!"
Qiao Shungang said: "I just did my night patrol and bought some pastries and sunflower seeds!"
Wu Xu said: "Bring it here!"
Zhong Shen shouted: "I have mutton in the main hall. It's in the back kitchen. Bring it all! Share it with the brothers!"
Everyone ate mutton and cakes, nibbled on melon seeds, drank plum blossom wine, and listened to Wu Ziqing's story.
What does this look like!
Is this here to review a case, or is it here to listen to a book?
This is the jail of Zhang Deng Yamen. Do you think this is a hook bar?
Xu Zhiqiong was so angry that he ate two kilograms of mutton!
They are so outrageous!
But it's no wonder that they, a filial son in the capital, killed his mother in the street, is really a strange thing in the world.
Hearing the tension, Zhong Shen opened his mouth and stared, and the wine in his mouth leaked everywhere.
Even if I went to Qiaotou Wa City and found the best storyteller, I still couldn't tell such a wonderful story.
Wu Ziqing wanted to defend himself, but he had no choice but to kill someone in desperation.
But this kind of defense was meaningless, and everyone listened to it as a strange story.
After hearing about Chou Shi from Zi Shi, Zhong Shen was satisfied and left the prison.
"I didn't expect that even though I couldn't bring him down, he actually fell down on his own," Zhong Shen laughed and said, "Zhiqiong, you have merit, your yamen has merit, I will be rewarded!"
Jiang Feili felt uncomfortable being around: "It's not their fault, it's obviously his luck that happened to him."
Zhong Shen snorted and said: "You bumped into it too? I also gave you the errands, but you said you didn't care. You hurt a Yuchilan, look at your arrogance! Isn't Zhiqiong injured? His martial arts
Don't you feel bad for thousands of households? But Zhangdeng Yamen is not pretentious, and others will die! You will get a reward if you deserve it!"
Jiang Feili was indignant and silent, and Xu Zhiqiong said to Wu Xu: "Qianhu, I want to check Wu Ziqing's residence to see if there is any evidence of corruption and perversion of the law."
He wanted to check the "Etiquette", but he couldn't explain it clearly.
Before Wu Xu could speak, Zhong Shen spoke up: "Why are we still investigating him? Killing his mother in the street is a question of execution. Adding another crime will not make him die again."
Wu Xu said: "What the commander said is that there is no need to investigate further."
Xu Zhiqiong said: "Wu Ziqing is known as the most honest official in Yushitai. If we can find out the evidence that Wu Ziqing was corrupt and perverted the law, it will save Yushitai from getting entangled in the future."
You are right, the most honest officials are all corrupt officials, so what arrogance does Yushitai have?
But Wu Xu still shook his head: "Just kill him. There is no need to fall out with Yushitai."
Zhong Shen widened his eyes and said, "Why don't you have to? Yushitai doesn't pay attention to me, the Imperial City Secretary. I want to kill Yushitai's majesty. I'll leave this matter to your Yamen. If I investigate
If you provide evidence, I will reward you heavily!"
Xu Zhiqiong received the order, but Wu Xu remained silent.
Xu Zhiqiong slept in the cabin that night and arrived at Wu Mansion early the next day.
Before the bloodstains in front of Wu Mansion were washed away, Xu Zhiqiong led several white lantern men directly into the gate.
Huang was the only one who made the decision in the family. When she saw a group of lantern-carrying men, Huang wanted to kneel down. Xu Zhiqiong shouted: "No kneeling!"
Mrs. Huang was usually afraid of being beaten, and she didn't have the grace of a seventh-grade lady. Xu Zhiqiong was not allowed to kneel. She bent her knees, neither kneeling nor standing. She squatted on the spot, trembling.
"Call everyone in your family to the courtyard."
"Sir, we didn't break the law." Huang wanted to kneel down again.
Xu Zhiqiong frowned and said, "Who said you broke the law? This is a rule, do you understand?"
Before the government searches, irrelevant personnel must be removed to prevent hiding, entrainment, and obstruction.
Huang gathered everyone in one place. Xu Zhiqiong took a look and asked, "Is everyone here?"
He didn't see the little girl.
Huang did not dare to answer, so Xu Zhiqiong shouted: "If one of you is missing, I will chop off your heads!"
Mrs. Huang trembled and quickly asked her maid to release Miaoying from the woodshed.
She was so scared of being beaten that even Wu Ziqing was imprisoned, but Huang didn't dare to let her daughter out.
Miaoying's head was covered with dust and her face was stained with mud.
She was a little afraid of light and did not dare to look at people. She put her hands in her sleeves and did not cry or show any expression.
Xu Zhiqiong frowned and said, "What's your name?"
Miaoying remained silent, and Mrs. Huang answered from the side: "She is my little daughter, her name is Miaoying."
Xu Zhiqiong asked again: "How old are you this year?"
Miaoying still didn't answer, her face was expressionless and her eyes were dull.
not good.
This child has been tortured for so many days and has developed mental problems.
Cry a little, cry a little.
Her sleeves were moving and there was something hidden inside.
what?
It's not a knife, is it?
There is a black air on her head, and her heart is full of resentment. This girl is really going crazy.
What should she do if she goes crazy and kills people?
Chu He also saw something unusual and shouted angrily: "Why don't you answer my question?"
This tiger roar frightened everyone, and many servants knelt down on the spot.
Huang held Miaoying in her arms and said, "Denglang, my girl is eight years old. She, she doesn't like to talk."
"Did I ask you?" Chu He shouted again, "Is she mute?"
Mrs. Huang did not dare to say anything. The little girl lowered her head and moved her sleeves again.
Chu He stepped forward and said, "What's hidden in your sleeves? Take it out for me!"
Miaoying took two steps back and looked at Chu He expressionlessly, her hands still tightly together.
Chu He gritted his teeth and said, "Why are you staring at me?"
Mrs. Huang protected her daughter and said: "Deng Lang, my daughter is ignorant and naughty. Deng Lang, I beg you..."
Chu He refused to say anything and went up to pull Miaoying's arm.
Miaoying avoided Chu He and kicked Chu He!
Chu He had no intention of being serious at first, but now he was irritated: "What do you want to do, girl?"
He reached out to hold Miaoying down, but Xu Zhiqiong shouted: "Stop!"
Chu He stepped aside, and Xu Zhiqiong stepped forward and said, "Let it out quickly, don't suffocate it to death."
Xu Zhiqiong knew what she was hiding up her sleeve.
Miaoying stared at Xu Zhiqiong, still expressionless.
Xu Zhiqiong squatted down and said with a ferocious expression: "If you don't let it out, you will really be suffocated to death!"
Miaoying took her hand out of her sleeve, and there was a mouse inside.
The mouse's tail was caught in the trap and could not break free.
Miaoying is weak and cannot break the mouse trap.
She just held the mousetrap in her left hand and the mouse in her right hand, hiding it in her sleeve.
Chu He covered his nose and said, "This girl is so disgusting!"
"What are you doing with this thing? Throw it away!" Huang went to grab the mouse, but Miaoying refused to let it go and held on to the mouse.
Xu Zhiqiong said with a smile: "What are you afraid of, kid? You can play if you like. Let me see."
Miaoying still refused.
Xu Zhiqiong said: "I'll help you let it out."
The two pairs of black eyes looked at each other for a moment. Miaoying slowly stretched out her hand and handed the mousetrap to Xu Zhiqiong, but she still held the mouse in her hand.
Xu Zhiqiong opened the mouse trap, and the mouse was free and ran towards the wall.
Squeak!
The mouse barked.
Xu Zhiqiong turned sideways, looked at the mouse, and murmured: "Live, live well."
Miaoying looked at Xu Zhiqiong, blinked her eyes, tears flashed in her eyes.
She seemed to have heard this before.
Xu Zhiqiong continued to watch the fleeing mouse until the mouse disappeared. Xu Zhiqiong rubbed his cheeks with his hands.
He rubbed it several times and shook his head.
Miaoying rushed towards Xu Zhiqiong fiercely, causing Chu He to tremble: "What are you going to do?"
Gu Shen
The little girl hugged Xu Zhiqiong's leg.
Hold tightly.
She cried without making a sound, her tears kept falling.
Mrs. Huang came up and pulled her daughter: "Why are you seeking death? Come back quickly!"
Xu Zhiqiong waved his hand and said, "That's it, that's all. I think this girl is hungry."
He took out a lotus leaf bag from his arms and gave it to Miaoying.
There were steamed buns wrapped in lotus leaves. Xu Zhiqiong bought them on the road for her, and they were still steaming.
The little girl took the steamed bun and still hugged Xu Zhiqiong's leg.
She cried silently, wiping her tears with her sleeves and still hugging Xu Zhiqiong's legs.
Tears were smeared on the dusty face, which was dark.
The black air on my head has dissipated.
…
Xu Zhiqiong ordered his subordinate Bai Denglang to search carefully. He stayed in the yard and asked Huang a few words alone.
"Does Wu Ziqing like to read?"
"I like it, I have to read it every day."
"What is his favorite book to read?"
Huang thought for a long time: "I usually like to read "Etiquette" the most."
""Etiquette"? Isn't that what children read?" Xu Zhiqiong pretended to be surprised, "Do you know where that book is?"
"They are all placed in the study room."
"You come and get it with me."
Mrs. Huang took Xu Zhiqiong to the study, but they searched for a long time but couldn't find it.
She took Xu Zhiqiong to the bedroom again, rummaging through the cabinets and even the hidden compartment under the bed, but she couldn't find it.
Mr. Huang was so frightened that his face was covered with sweat: "Master Denglang, I really don't know where he put the "Etiquette"."
Xu Zhiqiong sighed and said, "That's it, let's go back to the yard."
When they arrived at the yard, Chu He walked over and whispered to Xu Zhiqiong: "There is a hidden grid in the wall of the east wing."
Xu Zhiqiong followed Chu He to the east wing and broke open the secret door on the wall. Within the secret compartment, yellow and white objects were seen.
Bai Denglang counted them on the spot and found that in the hidden compartments, there were three thousand taels of gold, twenty thousand taels of silver, and more than fifty thousand taels of copper coins.
The gold and silver were all converted at the official price of one to four, which amounted to a total of 82,000 qian, which was converted into the currency of Xu Zhiqiong's previous life, which was almost 41,000,000 yuan.
An old lantern man told Xu Zhiqiong that among seventh-grade officials, this was considered an average level.
What a generation of honest officials, what a reputation.
Xu Zhiqiong was not surprised by this. This man was working for the Sixth Princess, but he asked the Sixth Princess what she could do to win people's hearts.
He dared to reach out to the Sixth Princess, and he would never be polite to others, but his methods were more subtle.
Seeing the real money being moved into the yard, Huang's body went limp and fell to the ground.
The master and his servants were even more surprised. They usually didn't even see any meat when eating. How could they have imagined that the master's family was so rich.
In fact, the Huang family does not need to be afraid. The laws of Daxuan are different from those of the previous dynasty. As long as it is not a serious crime of treason, family members will not be implicated, of course, except for conspiracy between husband and wife.
Looking at Huang's status in the family, we know that she is not qualified to conspire.
It is true that Mrs. Huang didn't know about it, not even when the old lady was alive.
All she knew was that no one except Wu Ziqing was allowed to enter the east wing of the front yard.
Wu Ziqing was stingy and lived a miserable life. What was he going to do with the money he collected?
Could it be related to Nufu Cult?
The purpose of Xu Zhiqiong's trip was to find the "Etiquette", but unfortunately he could not find it this time.
Where did he hide that book?
Xu Zhiqiong ordered Bai Denglang to put a seal on the Wu Mansion and take everyone back to the Yamen for questioning. None of the maidservants knew about it, so they were released on the same day. Huang and his two daughters questioned him for one more day, but they still couldn't find anything. Taking a clue, they were released the next day.
In fact, there was nothing to ask at first. Wu Ziqing was killed and Yushitai was suppressed. This was the result Zhong Shen wanted.
Poor Mrs. Huang, a seventh-grade wife, couldn't get out even ten copper coins. The Wu Mansion was sealed off, and the mother and daughter had no place to live, so they planned to spend the night squatting under the bridge.
Can you make money by squatting for one night? Shouldn't you be waiting to beg for food?
Xu Zhiqiong lent their mother and daughter five taels of silver and asked them to stay temporarily in Tong Qingqiu's house.
…
Unable to find the etiquette training, Xu Zhiqiong was unwilling to give up and went directly to Wu Ziqing in the prison to inquire.
After being interrogated for two days, Wu Ziqing came to an end and said, "Who am I to tell you? It means death anyway. What good does this do to me?"
Xu Zhiqiong said: "If you don't tell me, I will find it sooner or later. Anyway, it is in your house. If you tell me, at least these days will be easier."
Wu Ziqing sneered: "What can you do to me? Torture me?"
It was really hard for Xu Zhiqiong to torture him.
All the charges have been proven. What is the purpose of using torture at this time? If someone asks, how should you explain it?
I want to ask him for a book called "Etiquette".
"Etiquette" is everywhere in the streets. What do you want from this?
This "Etiquette" is extraordinary. There are records of the Nufu Cult in the book!
How did you know?
If Wu Xu asked, it would be easy to tell. There is no need to hide anything from each other.
What if Zhong Shen asks?
Xu Zhiqiong couldn't explain it clearly again.
But it doesn't matter, there is no need to torture him, there are other ways to torture him.
"How many days have you been starving your daughter?"
Wu Ziqing said with a serious expression: "My daughter knows filial piety well and is willing to go on a hunger strike to be her grandmother!"
At this point, you are still so shameless!
Xu Zhiqiong nodded: "You should learn filial piety from your daughter. From today on, I will help you go on a hunger strike!"
Xu Zhiqiong ordered the jailer not to give him food. Wu Ziqing gritted his teeth and said: "It would be better to starve to death, and avoid the humiliation of the execution ground. Wu is a man of iron, how can he bow his head to such a young person like you!"
What a backbone!
Wu Ziqing prides himself on having an iron frame, but his stomach is not iron-clad. After being hungry for a day, he resorted to it.
"In the bedroom, under the desk, there is another secret compartment, and the "Etiquette" is hidden in the secret compartment."
"There is a page in the Book of Etiquette, which says that a husband has no anger and a family has no rules. What is this?"
"It's the Nufu canon."
"Are you from the Nufu Cult?"
"I am an Inner Sect believer."
"Are there separate inner and outer doors?"
Wu Ziqing nodded: "If you get the canon, you are an inner sect believer. I only have one page and I bought it for 8,000 guan."
Xu Zhiqiong exclaimed: "Just buy one page for eight thousand strings?"
"It's better for acquaintances to help, otherwise it won't be worth a thousand dollars."
What canon is so valuable?
Xu Zhiqiong asked again: "Except for that page of canons, is the rest all the "Etiquette"?"
Wu Ziqing shook his head and said: "There is also an account book inside. I collected the money and recorded it all in the account book."
"Okay, okay, okay!" Xu Zhiqiong smiled, "You eat something first, and when I get the book back, let's talk slowly!"
Xu Zhiqiong wanted to go to the Wu Mansion immediately, but he didn't expect that Zhong Shen would hold a banquet to celebrate the success of the lamp-holder Yamen.
Xu Zhiqiong went to Mingdengxuan to ask for leave, but Wu Xu refused: "You are the guest of honor tonight. If you don't go, won't you lose the commander's face?"
Xu Zhiqiong simply told the truth to Ali: "Qianhu, I interrogated Wu Ziqing and asked the truth. He has an account book at home that can identify the bribers one by one!"
"I see," Wu Xu nodded and said, "I can't go."
"Can't we go now?"
Wu Xu frowned and said, "I said I can't go, but I just can't go!"
Xu Zhiqiong said: "Qianhu, that account book also contains a page of Nu Fu Sect's teachings, which Wu Ziqing spent 8,000 yuan to buy!"
"And there is such a rare thing?" Wu Xu smiled: "Then we can't go!"
Xu Zhiqiong was puzzled: "How can you say this?"
"Silly boy, how can you be so stupid, but you are still as stupid as you were then," Wu Xu looked at Xu Zhiqiong, "If I were not in the Yamen, who would I ask to protect you in the future?"
…
In the Yuyao Palace, the sixth princess Liang Yuyao's face was ashen.
Emperor Zhaoxing had just issued an order that Wu Ziqing would be executed in Lingchi two days later.
This person can't be fished out, and if something happens, it will be exposed.
She called Han Di and asked, "How is Tao Huayuan's injury?"
"Your Highness, I still can't get out of bed."
"Tonight you go out of the palace, set a fire, and burn down the Wu Mansion."