No one could believe that the high-ranking owner of Dongchang Factory would sit together with his ordinary captain to talk about the future development of Dongchang Factory.
Looking at Xiao Chen, Lin Shangli's face was full of smiles: "When Wang San died, Xiao Lizi took several eunuchs and the school lieutenant to the scene to identify it as an accident. And how did you find out from it?
, is this a premeditated murder?”
Xiao Chen stood up in a hurry and said, "Your Majesty, Mr. Factory, at first, I thought this was just an accident. It was only when I went to the scene with an attitude of disbelief that I discovered Ni Duan."
"Don't be restrained, sit down and talk." Lin Shangli waved his hand.
"As the owner of Dongchang Factory, one of my subordinates died unexpectedly, but I didn't find out in time that this was a conspiracy. It was my dereliction of duty. I still want to learn from you in this regard."
Lin Shangli said with a smile.
"The factory owner is joking, you can just leave the front-line case handling to us. All you need to do is strategize in our East Factory."
"No, no, no." Lin Shangli shook his head, "I don't have to go to the front line to handle cases, but I should still know something about the discovery and use of clues. Otherwise, I, the factory owner, can do it without any professional knowledge.
It’s not up to standard.”
"Actually, it's not complicated. Everything has its own rules. If it doesn't conform to the rules, you should pay more attention to it."
Xiao Chen laughed.
Although he can discover the problem and investigate it step by step, if he is asked to tell it, he really can't explain it.
"Specifically for the case you investigated this time, how did you discover the problem?"
Lin Shangli put one arm on the table and held his thigh with the other hand. He stretched his neck and looked at Xiao Chen quietly, waiting for his next answer.
"That's it..." Xiao Chen said that there was water at the base of the wall, and the height exceeded the standard. He spoke out his doubts and judgments about it.
Duan Tianming, who was on the side, couldn't help but admire him when he heard it.
Although I also handled a lot of cases when I was in Jinyiwei, most of them were reported by someone or designated by superiors to investigate.
I have never experienced such a thing like this, discovering a huge conspiracy through clues.
"Okay, okay." Lin Shangli sat up straight with a happy look on his face, "The involvement of this case is definitely not small. If we can solve all the cases, you will be the one responsible for the execution of thousands of households in the East Factory."
"Master Factory Lord," Xiao Chen raised his hand and confessed, "I don't care much about being in charge of the punishment of thousands of households. As long as I can be a captain of the East Factory, have something to do, and have food to eat, I will be satisfied."
Already."
"Do you think being in charge of punishing thousands of households means becoming an official? That is a burden, a heavy burden to be responsible for the safety of the imperial court. Are you afraid that you cannot bear this heavy burden, or that you do not regard the imperial court as a
My own people?"
Lin Shangli's face was straight and he said seriously.
"I don't dare. I'm just afraid that I won't do well." Xiao Chen said hurriedly.
Seeing Xiao Chen's answer, Lin Shangli's expression softened a little.
"There's no rush in this. Let's handle this case beautifully first."
In a small courtyard surrounded by Dongchang captains, there is a windowless room. The iron door has only a round hole on it, which is large enough to accommodate the entry and exit of a small bowl.
In the easternmost house, there were a total of eight Dongchang captains standing in front and behind.
Everyone held their knives tightly and paid careful attention to the movements around them.
This is the Dongchang, a place where felons are temporarily detained. It is also a place where no one except Dongchang personnel is allowed to approach.
Xiao Chen walked over slowly.
The captain guarding the door had already opened the door in a sensible manner.
As a ray of sunlight shone in from the door, Duan Shixiong, the magistrate of Changping, covered his eyes with his shackled right hand and looked towards the door.
It seemed that those light, unemotional eyes were too dazzling for him.
The neat quilt on the bed showed that Duan Shixiong had not slept all night.
Walking into the door, the half bowl of meat and vegetables at the door had already frozen into ice cubes along with the steamed buns in the bowl.
"What, are you going on a hunger strike and seeking death?" Xiao Chen said coldly, looking at Duan Shixiong who looked indifferent.
"What crime did I commit that you arrested me for?" Since Jiang locked himself in this dark room last night, no one else has come in.
At this moment, seeing Xiao Chen again, Duan Shixiong couldn't help but start roaring loudly again.
"Do you know who the Dongchang eunuch you killed was? He is my eldest brother, the eldest brother who gave me a second life. I wish I could skin you right away and twitch your muscles to relieve the hatred in my heart. But,
I know that you are just a participant, not the real mastermind, so as long as you tell me everything you know, I guarantee that you can get out alive."
Sitting down on the neat bed, Xiao Chen's face was unusually calm.
"What Dongchang eunuch, I don't know." Duan Shixiong tilted his head, as if he was too lazy to talk to Xiao Chen.
"Okay, then let me ask you, how did you know that there were two murders in Qinghe Store and that someone from the court had dealt with it? Don't tell me that you just happened to pass by. Let's not mention that Qinghe Store is only a short distance away from Changping Prefecture.
Bailidi, during the Chinese New Year, who would leave their jurisdiction and go to a remote town to see the winter scenery?"
Xiao Chen's words blocked any possible objections he might have said.
"This, I've heard about this too." Duan Shixiong hesitated.
"Who said that?" Xiao Chen smiled faintly.
"When you go out on the street, listen to what people on the street say." Duan Shixiong continued to quibble.
Xiao Chen stood up: "Since you are seeking death, I have no choice. I can let you go back, but what is waiting for you is not Wusha from Changping Zhizhou, but the poisonous tea from your father-in-law, Yanqing Guard Commander Huang Anliang
.”
Duan Shixiong's face twitched obviously.
Last night, he could clearly see the color change of the silver ring on Xiao Chen's finger. Xiao Chen didn't need to say anything, but he also knew that someone had poisoned the cup of tea.
However, from the moment his father-in-law entered the door, he had been watching his every move.
At that moment, my life depended entirely on my father-in-law, how could I dare to look elsewhere.
"Don't play any tricks on me. My father-in-law has always been in my sight. There is no chance of poisoning. You just want to use those cheap tricks to drive a wedge between us." Duan Shixiong let out a soft snort.
, eyes full of contempt.
"Anyone who enters Dongchang, I have tens of thousands of ways to get him to speak. And this kind of persuasion is only available to everyone once."
Looking at Duan Shixiong who was slumped on the ground and not caring, Xiao Chen said calmly.
Duan Shixiong felt a chill down his back.
Although he had never experienced Jin Yiwei's various methods of interrogating prisoners, he had heard of them.
Even a tough man will become as docile as a sheep after walking through the Jinyiwei Prison.
All prisoners who were forced to confess by Jin Yiwei wanted to die in the end, just for the sake of happiness.
Even death, which normal people fear, has become an expectation for those prisoners. This shows how cruel and terrifying the methods used to extract confessions are.
"But, but I really didn't see my father-in-law poisoning the tea bowl?" Duan Shixiong's body began to tremble, but he was still making his final quibble.
"I didn't say that the poison was given by your father-in-law. I only said that he wanted you to drink the bowl of poisonous tea." Seeing Duan Shixiong relax a little, Xiao Chen sat on the neat bed again, eyes wide.
Look at him.
"My father-in-law didn't poison me. How did he know that the bowl of tea was poisonous? He didn't want to harm me. You're talking nonsense. You must be talking nonsense."
Duan Shixiong, who had disheveled hair, was a little confused at first.
"How does your wife, Mrs. Huang, treat you?" Xiao Chen smiled faintly and changed the subject.
"My wife?" Duan Shixiong's face showed confusion, as if he was remembering those old events.
"Before I took office as the governor of Changping, my wife married me. Although he was born in a much more noble family than me, he never despised me. His food, clothing, housing, transportation, and daily care were all taken care of in every possible way," Duan Shixiong said.
However, from his eyes, Xiao Chen did not see the proud look in the eyes of ordinary loving couples when they talked about each other.
"How many years have you been an official in Changping Prefecture?"
"Eight years."
"So, you have been married to Mrs. Huang for more than ten years?" Xiao Chen said calmly.
"Well, it's been about ten years."
"You are forty-five years old this year, which means you will be over thirty when you get married."
"Yes, I have no intention of starting a family without achieving fame."
"Okay, okay, I didn't expect that you are still a person who puts his career first. You were in your thirties when you got married. How old was Mr. Huang at that time?"
Xiao Chen asked again.
"Twenty-seven years old." After telling Huang's age, Duan Shixiong's eyes turned to one side, as if he was avoiding something.
Xiao Chen stood up and walked to Duan Shixiong: "In our Ming Dynasty, ordinary people, women can get married at the age of fifteen. Even though the Huang family is the daughter of the commander of the Yanqing Guard, she will definitely not leave the court until she is twenty-seven.
Could it be that this Huang family had married once before?"
Hearing this, Duan Shixiong turned his head to one side and lowered his head slightly.
He remained silent for a long time, as if he didn't want to mention it.
"Say, this is your only chance." Looking at his head lowered, almost touching his chest, Xiao Chen reminded him lightly.
As if he had gathered enough courage, Duan Shixiong raised his head: "Before marrying me, my wife did marry someone else."
"Who is who? Since we already have a family, why did I marry you again?"
"It's a Qianhu from Yanqing Guard. After that Qianhu died, my father-in-law mentioned this marriage to me." Duan Shixiong's head lowered again.
"Do you know the cause of death of that Qianhu?"
"He violated military discipline and was executed by his father-in-law." Duan Shixiong's voice was very low, almost like a mosquito buzzing.
Originally, Duan Shixiong didn't want to mention Huang's past to anyone.
As a magistrate of the Ming Dynasty, his first wife was a widow. If others knew about this, they would definitely laugh at him secretly.
Therefore, this incident became a scar in his heart. Although his father-in-law was the commander of the Yanqing Guard with real power, he always had a grudge against the Huang family.
If things go on like this, even if Mr. Huang is acquainted with him, in his eyes, it is like a lump in his throat, making it difficult to swallow.
However, because he was afraid of his father-in-law's strength, he had always treated Huang as a guest, and his etiquette in front of others was not bad at all.
"Huang Anliang, executed his son-in-law with his own hands?" Xiao Chen didn't believe it.
"No. My father-in-law just gave an order." Duan Shixiong said obediently.
"What's the difference? However, have you ever thought about it, Huang Anliang can order the execution of his first son-in-law, why can't he poison his second son-in-law with poisonous wine?" Xiao Chen said loudly.
It seemed that these words completely stimulated Duan Shixiong's fragile nerves. He held his head with both hands, rubbed his already messy hair, and shouted loudly.
"Stop talking, stop talking. I don't want to mention these things..."
