The land of the imperial capital is expensive, probably to save space, the prison of the Ministry of Punishment was not built on the ground, but dug underground. The prison was not ventilated for a long time, and various smells mixed and lingered for a long time. This kind of place, even with Juan Li
He was very stoic and didn't want to stay any longer, but now he could sit in it and spend the entire day sitting there.
Huan Li hated the Zhou family very much, but at the same time, he also knew the Zhou family very well.
When he was a child, two people once said to him: If you hate something very, very much, what you have to do is not to stay away from him, but to understand him.
One of the people who said this was his mother, and the other was Zhou Dalang's wife, Mrs. Zhou.
His mother also said, "Only if you know your enemy well enough, when you can, you can eliminate him with a thunderous blow!"
Mrs. Zhou didn't say these words, but Huan Li remembered the look in Mrs. Zhou's eyes at that time. Half of the pear blossoms hung on her thin shoulders, the spring breeze lifted the hem of her gauze skirt, and her face was more beautiful than the pear blossoms in March.
, at the same time, her eyes were colder than the winter snow.
Huan Li remembered this look for many years.
Mrs. Zhou often went in and out of the Hou Mansion. Zhou once confessed, "The Bodhisattva in Taiping Temple is the most spiritual. My sister-in-law told me."
This sentence cannot convict Mrs. Zhou. The person who was seduced by her sister-in-law and personally wrote the Eight-Character Nightmare Curse for Princess Xin'an was Zhou herself. This is irrefutable proof. Princess Xin'an also met Mrs. Zhou for the first time.
At that time, Princess Xin'an said, "How could Mrs. Zhou's charm marry into a family like the Zhou family?"
Huan Li has a very delicate temperament. Zhou Dalang has been selling pork with Zhou Laotu since he was a child. Although he is good-looking, he can't escape the market atmosphere. Mrs. Zhou is a woman whose appearance and temperament are not inferior to those of the ladies he has seen. Everyone is a lady.
Her temperament is not even something that ordinary wealthy women can have. It is a temperament that has been nurtured by the family for many years and provided by gold, jewels and jade.
Huan Li always felt that Mrs. Zhou was very strange. She was trusted by the Zhou family, but she treated Zhou and her two children lightly. Zhou Dalang was very considerate to Mrs. Zhou. Every time Mrs. Zhou came to the Hou Mansion,
, they were all picked up and dropped off by Zhou Dalang himself. Mrs. Zhou also treated Zhou Dalang’s children very considerately. Yes, Mrs. Zhou was not the original wife.
Zhou Dalang's first wife left early and remarried Mrs. Zhou.
As for Mrs. Zhou's origin, I only heard that she was a failed official daughter, and there was no one left in her natal family.
Huan Li has met Mrs. Zhou many times. When she was wearing silk and jewels, she never saw Mrs. Zhou happy. Now that she is in prison, she is not even worried at all.
Compared with Mrs. Tuesday and Mrs. Wednesday who were careless, Mrs. Zhou was calm and calm. She asked the female cell leader for a coarse cloth to surround the toilet area. The toilet was required to be cleaned every day.
In other words, I honestly thought that I was still a young lady from a rich family! Mrs. Zhou asked her to clean the toilet.
She could also wash her hands in the toilet, ask for some pig pancreas soap, and lick her hair. This made her more tidy than other Zhou women in the prison.
From the very beginning of the two meals a day, Mrs. Zhou was the only one who ate not a single grain of rice.
She was so calm and calm, as if she was not in a prison of the Ministry of Punishment.
Huan Li comes to the women's prison every day just to see Mrs. Zhou. Isn't this woman worried about her husband?
The result of Huan Li's observation is: he doesn't care.
Huan Li watched for three days. On the fourth day, he came out of the women's prison and went directly to Du Changshi. He wanted to interrogate Mrs. Zhou personally. Du Changshi had just returned from Mu Anzhi and when he heard what Huan Li said, he thought to himself
Isn't this kid just pretending to be a public servant and thinking about something privately?
Du Changshi thought about it in his mind, and he also knew that Huan Li was from a wealthy family and could not be like this. He nodded, "Let's interrogate it. His Highness said that the Zhou family must speak within three days. You must be able to find out something
Something that will make a great contribution."
Huan Li did not conduct the interrogation behind Du Changshi's back, but used Du Changshi's interrogation room.
A blazing candlestick was burning above his head, and several red-hot soldering irons were inserted into the charcoal basin. A row of iron racks next to it contained various instruments of torture. Although these things had never been used, Du Changshi didn't like to have his arms broken.
He thought the punishment of the legs was rough and uncivilized, but he liked the atmosphere very much. It was said that it could make prisoners feel depressed and panicked.
Du Changshi admired Mrs. Zhou's determination.
Du Changshi is accustomed to using ice and water torture, which is to tie the person to a bench and hang a piece of ice above his head. When the ice melts, the water drips down... This punishment does not sound scary at all, but it is basically necessary to survive for an hour.
No. Mrs. Zhou didn't survive an hour either, but she waited until it passed without saying a word.
Even when Mrs. Zhou was kneeling in the middle of the execution hall, her spine was straight.
Huan Li did not ask about the case involving the Zhou family, but said in detail, "The Zhou family came well prepared. Now the Zhou family and his son have brought Magistrate Li and Tongzhou Pier in. You should know that Magistrate Li is the Marquis of Yong'an."
The Tongzhou Wharf is an important wharf connecting the North and South Grand Canal. How many ships and goods depart or arrive there every day. The Zhou family only takes care of the job of transporting grain, and they are already so fat that people will salivate. If the entire Tongzhou Wharf is involved,
, must be a major case that alarms Chao Gang. We will no longer have the energy to deal with the Zhou family's case, not because we are unwilling, but because there are more important cases ahead, and the Zhou family's case will inevitably be shelved."
"If the Marquis of Nan'an is willing to help, the official position cannot be kept, but peace is still possible. You will be reunited as husband and wife soon. Congratulations. You should be happy for the Zhou family, right?" Huan Li asked Mrs. Zhou softly.
Du Changshi saw the strangest reaction in his life. When Mrs. Zhou heard that her husband's family was about to be safe, she suddenly raised her head and stared angrily. Her autumn-like eyes were now filled with blood, and the hatred in her eyes seemed to be burning.
The fierce fire seems to be about to devour the person who told this matter immediately!
Huan Li knew that he had made the right bet. He suppressed the ecstasy in his heart and said calmly, "If you miss this opportunity, there will be no second chance!"
Mrs. Zhou's voice was hoarse, "I want to take a bath."
Du Changshi looked on coldly, and Huan Li responded, "Okay."
Mrs. Zhou went to take a bath. Du Changshi didn't like being in the execution hall, so he held the hand stove and called Huan Li back to his room. Among the rooms of the punishment department, Du Changshi's room was ranked among the top five, and
Different from Tang Mo's jade-like buildings, Du Changshi's house is low-key and comfortable.
They are as large as a table and a case, as small as a stroke of ink, all showing exquisite elegance. In particular, Du Changshi loved camellias the most. Two precious camellias half as tall as a man stood on the ground. These two flowers are like their owners, affectionate and noble.
of blooming.
Juan Li took the money and sent the boy to the famous Suzhenfang in the imperial capital to buy four kinds of vegetarian dishes. One was jade mushroom rolls, the same was cabbage with gold edges, the same was three-color silver hook, the same was braised radish with braised mushroom sauce. The soup was famous at Suzhenfang.
Bamboo steamed jasmine soup.
Du Changshi glanced at her and said, "Do you also know what Mrs. Zhou likes to eat?"
"Of course I know. I asked the maid about it. Mrs. Zhou is always on mushrooms and doesn't like the smell of meat." Huan Li also asked Du Changshi for some ambergris. Mrs. Zhou loved to smoke this incense.
Du Changshi couldn't help but want to ask, do you really have no other thoughts about Mrs. Zhou?
Yes, Huan Li walked up to Du Changshi's beloved camellia, picked up the flower scissors, and cut off two or three flower branches without saying a word. Du Changshi, who was distressed, shouted, "What are you cutting my flowers for?"
Jumping over to see his precious flowers!
"There are no other flowers except this camellia." Huan Li found a white jade vase with a narrow mouth on the ancient shelf. He trimmed the flower branches and arranged them in an orderly manner. He handed the vase of flowers to the boy and said, "Put them together."
Go over there and put it on the left hand side, she likes flowers."
Du Changshi lost his breath and vomited blood. Do you want to interrogate the criminal or do you want to show kindness to the woman?
He decided that if Huan Li couldn't even be found out, he would call Huan Li good-looking!
The warm water covered her body, and Mrs. Zhou buried her face under the water little by little. She had thought countless times if she would be happier if she died like this.
Won't!
If she died like this, if she left like this and went underground, she would still not be willing to accept it!
She has been waiting for these years, looking forward to these years, and preparing for these years, isn't it just to wait for this day?
Mrs. Zhou bathed twice in a row before leaving the tub. The maid helped her dry her hair. A moist face was reflected in the mirror, with wet hair hanging down. There were no obvious fine lines between her eyebrows, but she knew that,
These eyes are old, without the clarity of youth, and the happiness that has long since disappeared.
The maid wiped her hair until it was half dry, and the food was placed on the table. Mrs. Zhou moved over to eat. Before she even touched her chopsticks, she knew that this was Su Zhenfang's craftsmanship, but it was still not as good as the cook she was used to. That cook
It was a famous chef that Zhou Xing had hired. He was originally a famous vegetarian cook in Jizhou. Zhou Xing paid a large sum of money and arranged errands for the cook's children and grandchildren, so that the cook was willing to serve at his house.
The cooked dishes are also good, especially the vegetarian dish, which is the best and most suitable to her liking.
Mrs. Zhou was a little dazed. She thought of many people, including Zhou Xing who treated her considerately, Zhou Bo who praised her for being virtuous, Zhou Xing's children who regarded her as their mother, Zhou Zhuo and Zhou Yue who respected her as their eldest sister-in-law, and
...that Zhou Cai who is as stupid as a pig.
It turns out that some people have fangs that grow outside. When they return home, they will put away their sharp teeth, as if they had never bitten and sucked the flesh and blood of others.
Mrs. Zhou didn't have much appetite, but she still ate as much as she could. When her stomach felt full, she gracefully stopped using her chopsticks. The maid helped her put her hair into a bun, and she put on her rouge.
When Mrs. Zhou returned to Du Changshi's house, Du Changshi said in his heart that even if Huan Li had other ideas, he felt he could understand it. Mrs. Zhou was wearing a sky-blue winter coat with furred edges, because
It was cold, so she wore a silver rat-skin shawl. She was a woman in her thirties or forties. The lingering beauty between her eyebrows made this woman so unique.
Huan Li asked Mrs. Zhou to sit down and talk. At this time, except for a slight redness in her eyes, Mrs. Zhou could no longer see the ferocity she had just shown.
Her first words were, "I want to see His Highness the Third Prince."
Du Changshi said, "Who are you? You want to see His Highness the Third Highness."
"I won't say a word until I see His Highness." Then, she really stopped talking.
Huan Li looked at Du Changshi, and Du Changshi looked at Huan Li. Huan Li said, "I believe everything you say is true." Then he went to personally invite the Third Highness to come over.
After Mu Anzhi came over, Mrs. Zhou asked directly, "To what extent will His Highness try the Zhou family's case?"
Mu Anzhi never accepts threats. He looked at Mrs. Zhou coldly and said, "Although I have no obligation to explain to you, every case handed over to me will be tried to the end. This is not about whether you have to confess next."
The condition of the Zhou family's crime is my Highness's personality! My Highness will not accept any threats or exchange of conditions. If you say so, you will say it. If you don't, you will go back to the prison!"
"Huan Li and this gentleman are believed to be His Highness's confidants, and they are not afraid of deceit. I am willing to bet my whole life on whether His Highness is trustworthy!"
Mrs. Zhou confessed much more than Mu Anzhi imagined. Where did the handkerchief with the word "Li" embroidered on it come from, what the little thief said back, how did the Zhou family plan to fake their own death, and how did they mess up this mess?
Mrs. Zhou knows everything about water!
There is no need to even write down Li Zhizhou’s self-defense. Together with how the Zhou family seduced Li Zhizhou’s nephew into a trap, Mrs. Zhou has conclusive evidence to clear Li Zhizhou’s nephew of his grievances!
What really put the Zhou family beyond redemption was that Mrs. Zhou explained how greedy the Zhou family had been in the position of grain transporter over the years, how much money they had made from grain and grass, where the money went, and where the accounts were. Mrs. Zhou
Tell them all!
Everything that Mrs. Zhou confessed directly shocked the court, and even provided new evidence for the Nanyi Army Food Case that had not progressed. At the same time, it truly dragged the entire Nan'an Marquis Mansion into the abyss of the Nanyi Army Food Case!
The author has something to say: ps: It’s been a long time since I updated, good night everyone~~~~~~~~
Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated the nutrient solution between 2019-12-07 21:40:38~2019-12-08 00:23:11~
Thanks to the little angel who threw the mines: xy, 39721704, Xiaolin Feidao, Xiao Qiao 1;
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: amyliang 35 bottles; Xiriling, Diving, Meikai 30 bottles; 496367 20 bottles; Cat Eats Flowers, ll, Lantai Thirteen, Kai Ma 10 bottles; nothing2730, kinky 2 bottles; susu
, Guan Guan, Gal 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!