It is said that Qiu Liang's people found a secret passage under the ruined house, which was huge. Qiu Liang stood in front of a large shelf, which was full of pottery jars. Qiu Liang said: "I just opened a few jars at random to take a look.
They are all filled with ashes." He waved his arm back and said, "From the screen wall outside, to the courtyard above, to here - it is full of ferrets. Those rooms are neatly arranged, as if they are prison cells."
Jia Cong glanced back: "Then... who are the people being imprisoned?"
Qiu Liang shook his head: "I don't know."
Jia Cong turned around: "Look, these people must have been dead for many years. Mr. Qiu, can you please ask the builders to come and take a look and guess how many years this house took to be built? The Emperor went up to the mountain to hunt before he could take charge himself...
...Um, I went hunting in the east. Could it be that the late emperor built this place?"
Qiu Liang said: "Yesterday, I asked the landowner to ask. He heard from a nearby Jigu family that this house was fifty or sixty years old. I don't know who lived in it. Only this old hunchbacked servant went out to buy some firewood, rice, oil and salt.
"
Jia Cong thought: "In addition to the old servants, there are so many dead soldiers in there. A lot of firewood, rice, oil and salt are consumed, and there is also excretion... The person who pours Yexiang must also collect a lot of goods. Mr. Qiu, if this is a prison
, why is there no toilet? There are so many prisoners, and those who empty the toilet will be very tired." Qiu Liang heard that it made sense, so he ordered people to pay more attention to the toilet and the like during the detailed inspection.
Jia Cong looked down at the old servant again: "This man has no beard."
"Um?"
"Bi'an is not something that ordinary people would carve for fun." Jia Cong said, "It usually squats in the Ministry of Justice or the prison. No matter how you look at it, you think it is a sacred beast specially used by the royal judicial department. I suspect that this place was built by the late emperor. Even...
The late Emperor, I am." He pouted at the hunchbacked old servant, "The person the Emperor trusts most is probably the eunuch."
Qiu Liang said: "But this person recognizes me."
Jia Cong looked at him: "You are always an important minister of the Shu Kingdom. Is it strange that I recognize you?"
Qiu Liang said: "If he has been here for decades and has never been to my Yamen, how can he recognize me?" Jia Cong was stunned. Qiu Liang's face was as dark as water, "I am in the capital and command the Five Cities Military and Horse Division.
Over the years, many people have seen me."
Jia Cong touched his chin: "Do you think... he is from the capital?"
Qiu Liang was not a high-ranking gentleman. He walked casually to the old servant's body and bent down to touch it - he was shocked: "It's really a eunuch!"
"Ha?!" Jia Cong clenched his fist, "My guess is really accurate! Does anyone recognize this eunuch? Send the portrait to Beijing to find someone to identify it. Aren't there many eunuchs in the Forbidden City?"
Qiu Liang thought, "I'd like to give it a try." Then he stood up and looked sideways at Jia Cong. Jia Cong blinked blankly. Qiu Liang sighed softly, "You are a kid running around, and you are familiar with every household, which is also good.
"
Jia Cong proudly pointed to his nose and said: "What an important resource sharing project! Apart from me, others may not be able to do it." Qiu Liang shook his head.
In the next few days, Qiu Liang led people to conduct a thorough inspection of the entire house; Jia Cong followed along to join in the fun. There were a total of 7749 rooms underground, of varying sizes. Except for those underground, the ones on the ground were all ordinary household items. From above
Not a single piece of paper was found. There were 237 urns in total, all filled with ashes; and Qiu Liang's people found another 263 in a large room full of debris in the backyard.
There was only an empty jar, which showed that Hayahara had prepared five hundred. Jia Cong held up the torch and carefully looked at the walls of each room underground, and found several scratch marks in each room.
There are many quilts in the house, and they are all in a mess. A few are on the bed, most are on the floor, and there are also quilts and mattresses folded on the ground. After checking the number, we can see the dead soldier and the hunchbacked old servant, plus two costumed men.
The number of people who escaped with the corpses of Shu soldiers was exactly the same as the total number of quilts. However, except for two old quilts, the rest were obviously the same, and even the quilts were in the color of rich peonies. Then someone found someone in the attic.
Adding up the quilts made by Rich Peony and those made by others, there are seventy beds in total.
There are only thirteen toilets in the whole house, two old ones, one half-old one, and ten new ones; there are no toilets. But the person who collects night incense said that the house can only accommodate two people every day, and it has always been like this, and there has been no sudden increase in the number of toilets.
.
Jia Cong then returned to the Yamen with Qiu Liang and sat down to discuss. Qiu Liang glanced at Jia Cong and said, "Speak first."
Jia Cong coughed: "Five hundred urns in the underground prison were purchased at one time. This number was probably casually mentioned by the person who made the decision at that time. The prisoners locked here may not be ready to be released, and they are all serving life sentences. Each room has only
A small bed, a table, a lamp and the four treasures of the study room. It can be seen that they treat the prisoners quite well, and they are not like pig pens where four or five people are crammed into each room. There are more than 200 jars containing ashes in the room.
Less than fifty. I think it should be like this. This prison is not tailor-made for a certain group of prisoners, who will be thrown out when they die of old age, but is intended for long-term use. There are not many prisoners who meet the conditions, and it is unlikely that it will be full.
Forty-nine rooms.”
Qiu Liang thought for a while and said, "I didn't expect these things. Well, it makes sense."
Jia Cong continued: "The prisoners were burned to ashes and put in jars after death, but they did not leave their names. It was obvious that they were not ordinary prisoners. A total of 237 prisoners were imprisoned before and after. After they were all dead, the guards
The old eunuch knew that there might not be new prisoners coming in the future."
"How can I see it?"
"He disposed of all the toilets used by the prisoners." Jia Cong said, "There is a folk custom that the bedding of the dead will be burned for fear of being contaminated with ominous atmosphere. It seems that the toilet has not been heard to accompany the owner, so there should not be one.
The prisoners buy a new one and burn the other one after death." Qiu Liang nodded. Jia Cong added, "However, the eunuch is very diligent. Even though he knows that there is an empty cell below, he still cleans it clean. Especially those urns, wiping the outside.
It is extremely clean. There are still unused ink notes left in the cell. The prisoner's status is not low, and he is a scholar." Qiu Liang nodded again. "There are patches on the green bricks on the walls of each room that have been scratched with knives.
The traces of passage must have been carved by the prisoners. The guarding eunuch carefully scratched off all the traces. It can be seen that the prisoner wanted to leave some clues and give them to anyone; and one of the eunuch's errands was probably to get these prisoners'
No information will ever be known."
Qiu Liang waited for a moment, but when he saw that he was silent, he asked, "What else?"
Jia Cong spread his hands: "No. It's hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice. There's not even a piece of paper. I'm pretty good at seeing this."
Qiu Liang glanced at him: "How capable do you think you are?"
Jia Cong curled his lips: "I'm not a catcher..."
Qiu Liang said: "Don't you see that those jars are not signed, but they are made extremely finely?"
Jia Cong was at a loss: "Exquisite? Isn't it just an ordinary pottery jar? It's bare and doesn't even have any patterns."
Qiu Liang said: "There is really no pattern, but it is very delicate. Such a good jar obviously shows that the master who made the jar put a lot of effort into it, how could it not be signed?"
Jia Cong touched his chin: "Oh... so the jar is custom-made? What about the lamp holder and inkstone?"
"People in the antique shop said that the inkstone is an ancient style, about fifty or sixty years old. There is no signature on it."
Jia Cong clapped his hands: "It's as old as the house."
"The lamp holder is from thirty or forty years ago and has no signature. The brush and ink strips are signed by two calligraphy and ink workshops in Chengdu. They are not cheap and were made more than ten years ago."
"The inkstone is made of stone, and the lamp holder is made of copper, which are not easily consumed. These two items and the urn jar are all custom-made. And the brushes and ink strips are all consumables." Jia Cong thought, "This place must belong to the late emperor. Oops, that's not right.
!”
"oh?"
"Those dead soldiers!" Jia Cong said, "With so many dead soldiers, don't you need to pay tribute? Why did the person who poured Yexiang say it was only enough for two people?"
Qiu Liang smiled and said, "Ten toilets are new."
Jia Cong thought for a long time: "These dead soldiers are not here. There are only an old hunchbacked eunuch and another person here all year round. There are only two old toilets, and he and I each use one. They have also prepared
There is an unused toilet, which is only used when outsiders come. However, a few days ago, for some reason, a group of dead soldiers came to live in this house. There were not many free beds in the house, so the leader slept on the bed and the others slept on the ground.
However, the guarding eunuch was very cautious. Although he bought ten new toilets, he did not dare to let the person who poured out the night fragrance know. The toilets of the dead soldiers were all poured out by themselves. "
Qiu Liang nodded: "That's right."
Jia Cong scratched his head again: "It seems... about ten years ago, this place was prepared to receive a group of prisoners. I never thought that those people would not come." He glanced sideways at Qiu Liang, "Seventy quilts are not enough.
Very few. Which workshop made it? How to buy it and how to transport it?"
Qiu Liang said: "We haven't found out yet."
Jia Cong heyed twice: "About ten years... isn't it just stuck at the point when the late emperor was critically ill and the four generals rebelled against the capital?" Qiu Liang said "hmm". Jia Cong calculated, "This underground prison should be the place where the late emperor was.
Built with scraps of brush and ink... more than ten years ago, it can be seen that the last batch of prisoners who died were more than ten years ago. The eunuch guarding the prison prepared seventy new beddings, probably because he guessed that the late emperor was coming.
Collapse, after the Supreme Emperor takes power, a new group of prisoners will be added here. Even if there are forty-nine prisoners, there will be no need for seventy beds. Is there anyone who is afraid of the cold and needs two beds? There is room for preparations.
It can be seen that this prison is not short of money. The guarding eunuch recognizes you, Mr. Qiu, which means that he has been to the capital in the early years. Wan Sheng makes a bold guess: since this kind of cell is the secret of the Tian family, the guard will definitely not leave if nothing happens. Right."
"That's the logic."
Jia Cong blinked: "The late emperor abdicated and became the Supreme Emperor. Now when the Supreme Emperor ascends the throne, Master Qiu, will you be an official in the capital?"
Qiu Liang's eyes moved: "Here."
Jia Cong held his cheek and said, "Could it be that time when the guarding eunuch went to the capital? Originally, the late emperor wanted to pass the prison to Prince Yi Zhong after his own death, but suddenly it was passed to another son." Qiu Cong said.
Liang nodded slightly. Jia Cong was silent for a while and then said, "Um...when did Master Qiu become friends with the King of Shu?"
Qiu Liang frowned: "What do you mean?"
"There are so many officials, big and small, in the capital, and the Wucheng Military and Horse Department is not a great government office. How come he recognizes you?"
Qiu Liang smiled: "If the world is not divided and I follow the king of Shu and lose, the emperor will not be able to kill my entire family and I will not be sent to prison."
"That's right." Jia Cong shook his head, "Your Jingtian Houfu is not a family that the emperor cannot touch. Oh, there is no family in the world that the emperor cannot touch! Who is this sneaky prison prepared for?
?Wouldn’t it be cheaper to be imprisoned in imperial prison blatantly? Shu is so far away from the capital."
The two of them sat across from each other and stared at each other, unable to guess. Qiu Liang organized the Huizi documents and went to reply to the King of Shu and the Crown Prince first. Jia Cong boasted that he came from the era of information explosion, and he could only do things he could not think of, so he sat down
He was stunned in the Yamen, guessing various possibilities. Until Qiu Liang came back from the Prince of Shu's Mansion, he still couldn't figure it out.
After hearing Qiu Liang's investigation and their guesses, the King of Shu and the Crown Prince were also surprised and confused. The King of Shu could not guess who could be held in this underground prison at all, while the Crown Prince guessed why Mr. Mei wanted to lure Jia Cong there.
Who stuffed the dagger and the letter in the crack of his door? After all, everyone was confused now, so Qiu Liang sent Jia Cong to go back and rest first, and think about it tomorrow.
Jia Cong wilfully returned to Jia's horse shop and reported everything that happened during the day to the third mistress. He also asked Mr. Mei if he had any news. Chen Ruijin shook his head: "No. Liu Feng had people check that dim sum shop. Although.
It's a time-honored restaurant in Chengdu, and it just hired a new dim sum chef half a month ago. The dim sum chef received an urgent message from home a few days ago, and his mother was seriously ill, so he hurried back."
Jia Cong rolled his eyes: "It turns out that dim sum itself is setting a trap for me."
Chen Ruijin thought: "It is obvious that the house was built by the late emperor. What kind of muskets did those dead soldiers use? Do you know the model?"
"I know, I recognized it at a glance." Jia Cong said, "It's not a new model, it's a muzzle-loading gun, the Diao Chan Model 6." Because the military industry of the Taiwan government is under the control of the female minister Wu Xiaoxi, she gave the names of the guns.
.She then named the firearm after the beauty and numbered it.
Chen Ruijin said: "Where is the encoding?"
Jia Cong was stunned: "Coding? Oops! I forgot about the coding!" The firearms sold by Red Bones all have codes. If you find the code, you can find out when the firearms were sold and who the buyer was.
Others didn't know where the code was, but Jia Cong knew it. Chen Ruijin pursed his lips and looked at him for a long time. Jia Cong raised his hands and said, "I will find an excuse to look at the evidence tomorrow."
Chen Ruijin sighed: "Sister Lin specifically told me before leaving the island that you are clear when you think about things, but you are often confused when doing things."
Jia Cong touched the back of his head and said with a flattering smile: "Mistake, mistake! You must pay attention and be careful next time!"
Chen Ruijin shook his head and said: "One of the two people who escaped disguised as the corpses of Shu soldiers must be the bald and thin old man. You can identify which house belongs to him tomorrow, and then check for traces in that house. This person
Consider him an important leader."
Jia Cong thought for a while: "I'm not good at this. Even if I investigate carefully, I may not be able to find many clues. I want to... call Dong Yu and I to come and help."
Chen Ruijin also thought for a while: "It's okay. He is very capable, and he is better than others after all." She smiled lightly, "Since I have imprisoned more than two hundred people, there is always a smart one who can leave traces on the guarding eunuch.