When Sima Lu died, he died in his study. When the servants came to the study to treat the master to dinner, they discovered that the master had a big hole in his chest and had been dead for a long time. The rules in Sima Lu's family were very strict.
No servant could enter his study, and even his wife rarely came near it. If the servant hadn't called for a long time without seeing a response from the master, and smelled a bloody smell wafting from the study, he rushed in to check.
No one knows about Sima Lu's death yet.
People from Taiyuan Prefecture arrived immediately, and then people from the Ministry of Punishment also arrived. The on-site investigation concluded that someone broke into the house and committed the murder. An autopsy was conducted and it was found that the fatal injury was a knife that penetrated the front and back of the chest. Judging from the wounds,
The perpetrator must be a strong person, otherwise he would not have such great strength to pierce Sima Lu's body with a thick knife.
Sima Lu's wife cried so hard that she fainted several times. The servants panicked, and the entire mansion was shrouded in a layer of gloom.
The Minister of Punishment was assassinated. This case was considered the largest criminal case since the founding of the Northern Han Dynasty. The entire criminal department of the Northern Han Dynasty was put into operation, including people from Taiyuan Prefecture, the Eight Gate Inspection Department, the Punishment Department, and Dali Temple.
The streets were full of people standing. This case was too big. The Minister of Punishment was assassinated, and the Minister of Punishment was currently idle at home. There was no one in charge of the Punishment. Several people in charge of the Punishment did not dare to delay and reported directly to the Military Aircraft Department.
Logically speaking, the Military Aircraft Division does not care about criminal matters, but this case is too big for anyone to make the decision, so we can only ask the adults of the Military Aircraft Division to make the decision.
At this time, Emperor Xiao had woken up. Li Dongchang and several imperial doctors were standing by, and the old prime minister Lu Sen was sitting on a small stool beside the bed.
Emperor Xiao was still very weak and his face was very pale. He had just drank a small bowl of porridge and felt slightly better. Seeing the way Lu Sen hesitated to speak, Emperor Xiao knew that he must have something to say, but he was worried about his health.
It was hard to speak. Emperor Xiao knew this old prime minister well. Apart from being a bit pedantic, this man was dedicated to his work and was an example of a loyal minister.
"My dear, just tell me if you have anything."
He smiled lightly and said.
Lu Sen turned around and glanced at the several imperial doctors and Li Dongchang. Li Dongchang couldn't say anything. The several imperial doctors discussed it and said to Lu Sen: "Your Majesty is weak and cannot speak much. Prime Minister, please be as brief as possible."
Li Dongchang sighed and said: "The common people need to prepare some medicines. They have to go back to the pharmacy to find them. Please excuse yourself first."
Emperor Xiao smiled and nodded. Lu Sen stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Lu Sen, thank you sir." He sent Li Dongchang to the door. Li Dongchang turned around and hesitated, finally sighed and walked straight away. He walked out of the palace gate.
After that, he did not go back to his medicine hall but went directly to Prince Zhong's mansion. Unfortunately, Prince Zhong had already gone to the Gyeonggi camp outside the city.
Lu Sen returned to the dragon bed, sorted out his words, and then said slowly: "Your Majesty... the Minister of Punishment, Sima Lu... was stabbed to death at home."
Emperor Xiao's eyes sharpened, and his expression was suffocated.
After a while, he sighed quietly and said: "Let's bury him according to the national rites. Sima Lu was granted the title of first-class just earl, and his wife was given the title of first-class imperial concubine. I remember that Sima Lu's son was still young, and his name was Sima Jun.
Virtue, right? First, add a hussar captain to the East Palace to accompany the prince. I strictly order the Taiyuan Prefecture to cooperate with the Ministry of Punishment in investigating the murderer and not to slack off!"
Lu Sen leaned down respectfully and said, "I remember, I will do it now."
After saying that, Lu Sen was about to stand up and leave. Emperor Xiao stretched out his hand to hold him and asked: "Old Jiu... where is Prince Zhong Liu Ling now?"
Lu Sen said: "Back to Your Majesty, Prince Zhong went to the Ministry of War in the morning to recruit 10,000 soldiers and horses of the Gyeonggi Camp, 6,000 soldiers and horses of the Forbidden Army, and 14,000 garrison troops gathered at the Gyeonggi Camp. At this time, it should be
Order troops at the Gyeonggi camp."
Lu Sen hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not tell Emperor Xiao about Liu Ling's assassination.
Emperor Xiao nodded, as if he was tired. He was silent for a while and said: "When Prince Zhong comes back from the Gyeonggi Camp, let him come into the palace to see me."
Lu Sen responded, bowed and retreated. After he left, Emperor Xiao waved his hand and said, "You all go down too, I want to sleep for a while."
Several imperial doctors did not dare to disobey and retreated to guard outside the palace. However, no one dared to go further. Several people were discussing how to use medicine in the corridor. Not long after they left, a black figure suddenly appeared from the roof.
He went up and fell down. This man had excellent qinggong and fell to the ground silently.
The man in black knelt down directly on the ground and looked up at Emperor Xiao. His eyes were full of sincere concern, but soon he hid this look and regained his composure again.
"Your Majesty... you..."
Emperor Xiao smiled softly and said: "I'm fine, don't worry. I'm just angry at the corrupt situation in the south. I'll just rest for a few days. Lang Qing, how did you go about the investigation I asked you to do?"
Lang Qing, commander of the Qilin Guard, said: "Your Majesty, nothing has been found out about the Longting Guard, but there is one thing that is very strange."
He paused and said, "This afternoon, Prince Zhong Liu Ling was assassinated on his way to the Gyeonggi Camp while leading his troops!"
Emperor Xiao sat up suddenly, and a layer of sweat suddenly appeared on his face. He was extremely weak, but at this time he completely forgot that his body could not be excited. His face was full of surprise and anger, and he couldn't help but cough when he was about to speak.
After making two noises, he covered the corners of his mouth with his sleeves, wiped away a trace of blood without leaving a trace, and then hid his hands behind his back.
Lang Qing knelt down and took a step forward and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, Prince Zhong seems to have hired two top masters to protect him. Those assassins killed and injured six or seven people, and one of them escaped. The ministers chased him from a distance, and saw that the man was injured.
Entered... the residence of Sima Lu, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishments. But the strange thing is that he never saw that person coming out. The minister had sent someone into Sima Lu's residence to act as a servant before. When he saw that something was wrong and rushed in, Sima Lu
Lu is already dead. But the assassin seems to have disappeared out of thin air."
He thought for a while and said: "There must be a secret passage in Sima Lu's mansion. Your Majesty, do you need to investigate it in detail?"
When Emperor Xiao heard that Liu Ling was fine, he felt relieved. He thought for a moment and said, "Don't mention this matter to anyone. Sima Lu lived an innocent life, but I must give him an innocent identity after his death. The secret way
You can send people to investigate the matter, but don’t expose it. As for the assassin, we must track it with all our strength and kill him if found!"
Lang Qing said: "Your Majesty, there must be someone behind the assassin. If he kills..."
Emperor Xiao waved his hand and said, "Forget it, let's call it a day."
He slowly lay down and said thoughtfully: "As of the death of Sima Lu, we don't want to investigate this matter for the time being. If we want to investigate... we have to wait until Prince Zhong returns from the south. In addition, you are from
Select a good player from the Qilin Guards, and secretly follow Prince Zhong southward to protect his safety. Even...even if he is defeated on Monday, he must be brought back to me safely!"
Lang Qing said: "Wei Chen understands!"
Emperor Xiao seemed to be tired. He said weakly: "Go ahead. If you need anything, come see me directly."
Lang Qing kowtowed and disappeared in a flash.
Emperor Xiao was lying on the bed, but his heart could not calm down. Now he was blaming Liu Ling a little. It was Liu Ling who helped him own the country of the Northern Han Dynasty, and it was Liu Ling who put this heavy burden on his shoulders. Now
Think about it, if he had not ascended the throne as emperor, he might have had an easy life.
Immediately, Emperor Xiao smiled helplessly.
Lao Jiu, if you were to sit in my seat, would you do better than me?
No matter what, even if this country is lost, Lao Jiu, you have to come back to see me safely. The worst case... the worst case is that we two brothers will wander around the world, so what can we do?
Emperor Xiao felt more and more tired. Perhaps it was the effect of the medicine. He really couldn't muster any energy. As soon as he closed his eyes, he gradually fell asleep.
Li Dongchang came out of the palace and hurried to Prince Zhong's Mansion. The guards in the mansion knew him and let him in without stopping him. However, Li Dongchang didn't know until he met Liu Mei'er and Minhui that Liu Ling had brought him in.
The soldiers left the city and went to the Gyeonggi camp. Thinking of Emperor Xiao's condition, Li Dongchang sighed secretly and had no choice but to go back to his medicine hall and began to consult medical books and ancient books, hoping to find some solution.
Let's talk about Liu Ling, he was ambushed by assassins on the way, and it was a near miss. He handed the captured assassin to Yue Qilin, the admiral of the Eighth Gate Inspection Department who hurriedly arrived. After explaining a few words, he led the five hundred forbidden troops towards
The Gyeonggi Camp rushed over. When Yue Qilin heard that Prince Zhong had been assassinated in broad daylight, he broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, the guards around Prince Zhong were very capable, and those bad guys did not succeed.
He took hundreds of yamen from the Eight Gate Inspection Department, and escorted the common people present at the time, including several royal censors at the donation point, and the officers back to the Yamen of the Eight Gate Inspection Department. But his yamen was not a court.
, there was no prison, and it was overcrowded for a while.
The most pitiful thing was not the common people, nor the noble censors who were going to be tried together, but the man Xie Dashan who beat gongs and drums to donate money and food. He originally wanted to put on a good show for Prince Zhong.
, in order to get a chance to prosper, who would have thought that it would be so unlucky to encounter someone assassinating Prince Zhong!
What made him saddest was that he was the one who brought those assassins!
Many people confirmed that the assassins dressed in ordinary people's clothes were his servants brought by Xie Dashan. Yue Qilin was angry at that time and did not interrogate him. He first had Xie Wancai beaten thirty times, until he was beaten.
Xie Dashan's skin was torn and his flesh was torn, and blood flowed all over the ground.
Xie Wancai is in trouble. Although he is the largest wealthy gentry in the city, in order to show his frugality, he does not have many servants in the house. When he came this time, because there was not enough manpower, he asked the housekeeper to hire
Several people were helping to unload the cart. Who would have thought that those people would be daring assassins who wanted to assassinate Prince Tadashi?
The beating was unjust, and what made him even more sad was that his original hope of currying favor with Prince Zhong's palace was completely lost this time.
Although it was later confirmed that the assassin had nothing to do with Xie Wancai, it was still difficult to escape the death penalty. He was taken from the Yamen of the Eight Gate Inspection Department to Taiyuan Prefecture, and was beaten again before he could speak. Not long after, the Punishment Department
People came for interrogation, and after being brought to the Ministry of Punishment, Xie Wan was crying without tears. The Ministry of Punishment is full of evil officials who eat people without spitting out their bones. How come there are so many of them who are not human beings?
instrument of torture!
In the end, after Liu Ling returned to the city, he sent someone to send a message to the Ministry of Punishment, saying not to implicate innocent people and to let the unsuspecting people go. Only then did Xie Wancai save his old life, but when he came out
, is already completely covered with skin. (To be continued)
