Duan Shixiong's eyes widened angrily, and he clenched his shackled hands tightly. The nail on his little finger sank deeply into the flesh of his palm, and a trace of bright red blood slowly appeared in his palm.
Ever since he took a concubine, his father-in-law Huang Anliang has never come to visit her.
Perhaps, as a third-rank imperial military attache with real power, his son-in-law dared to take a concubine. Whether in front of his colleagues or in the entertainment of his subordinates after dinner, this would be regarded as a laughing stock and used as a joke.
For this reason, Duan Shixiong believed that Huang Anliang had the intention to get rid of his concubine.
But to say that he would be eliminated along with his own daughter, Duan Shixiong would not believe it even if he broke his head.
"In your eyes, what kind of person is Huang Anliang?" Xiao Chen stretched out his right hand and patted his shoulder gently.
"In the past, I felt that he was a hero. His vigorous and resolute style was followed by the whole guard. Since Changping Prefecture was also within the Yanqing Guard's defense area, those Yanqing Guard sergeants who occasionally patrolled were all well-organized and had a good style of work. At that time
, I would also secretly rejoice that this is my father-in-law’s team.”
"what about now?"
"Now, I finally see his true face in Lushan. He is an insidious and shameless villain. But there is one thing that I still can't figure out and don't believe that he would do anything to the Huang family."
"Haha, a selfish person will sacrifice everyone except himself at the critical moment."
"How can I say this?" Duan Shixiong asked.
"Your father-in-law did not expect that I was able to find out this matter from you. In fact, before this, Yanqing Wei was already the target of my investigation. The reason why I asked him to see you off was entirely intentional.
After all, I just want to see his attitude towards you to judge your level of involvement in this matter."
"Then what is the result of your judgment?"
"It's not clear whether you are involved in this matter, but one thing is that you are all insiders. If you didn't know, he wouldn't kill you. If he didn't know, he wouldn't kill you."
Duan Shixiong shook his head, with a wry smile on his face. Dragging the heavy shackles, he took a step forward. He leaned his back against the wall and slipped down.
"No matter what, there is still no way to escape death. If I had known today, why bother in the first place." Duan Shixiong sighed, and the light in his eyes gradually disappeared.
"No, you are just an insider, and your crime will not lead to death."
"Your courage is destined to prevent you from participating in this matter; and your ability, with all due respect, does not qualify you to participate in this matter." Xiao Chen smiled faintly and kicked the straw on the ground with his foot.
Some straw branches and leaves remained on his fast boots, and he hurriedly stamped a few more times to shake off the branches and leaves.
"Haha," Duan Shixiong laughed bitterly, "I am more timid. You don't think I'm inferior to a woman, do you?"
"Yes, you are not even as good as your wife Huang. Her knowledge of this matter is much higher than yours?"
"Really? Just because she is Huang Anliang's biological daughter."
"Not only that, but also because of her character, which she inherited from her father, who is sinister but calm."
"How can we see it?" Duan Shixiong seemed unwilling to do so.
A woman can be described as calm, but I am only evaluated as timid. I have really failed as a person in my life.
"When Huang Anliang agreed to give you a ride, she started poisoning you. This was not a tacit agreement, but an agreement in advance. Moreover, how could a woman carry poison with her? It is a chronic but absolutely fatal poison.
Obviously, their purpose is to kill you without leaving any trace."
"So, she knows far more inside information than you do, so don't be dissatisfied."
"So what? Aren't you going to be silenced anyway?" Duan Shixiong had a trace of disdain on his face.
"Killing you is just a blink of an eye for Huang Anliang. But killing Huang, do you think Huang Anliang won't feel heartache? He also did it as a last resort to protect himself. Because he knew that the crime he was involved in
The conspiracy is huge and the crime committed is serious.”
"Isn't it just that he killed a rich man, robbed an inn, and accidentally killed three eunuchs? Isn't this just a conspiracy? I'm afraid this can't be the reason for Huang Anliang to kill his own daughter, right?"
"You are really stupid. I originally wanted to get something useful from you. It seems that you, who worked so hard to arrest me, are not bullshit in this matter."
Xiao Chen turned around and stamped on the thick partition wall.
There was a tremor, and the rough wall covering on the partition wall fell down together with dust, falling on Duan Shixiong's messy hair, making him look even more sloppy.
Looking at Xiao Chen who was a little excited, Duan Shixiong was stunned, reached out and patted his hair, then bent down to shake off the dust from the wall above, and said: "Isn't it?"
Xiao Chen shook his head helplessly, walked to the bed, and sat down again: "Tell me, tell me everything you know."
Deep in my heart, I have sent my greetings to all the eighteen generations of this heroic family.
He obviously doesn't know anything, but he still spends a lot of time playing tricks with himself. He is really an idiot.
"Okay, I'll say it." Duan Shixiong thought for a moment and said.
"That day, I received a death letter from Zhang Zhixian, a fellow villager in Shunyi County. I felt deeply saddened by his death. I was even more shocked by the cause of his death..." Duan Shixiong lowered his head and picked his fingers.
With the dirt between my fingernails, I began to recall the events of the day.
It turned out that Duan Shixiong was sitting in court that day, hearing a daily dispute between neighbors.
A government servant hurried into the lobby and placed a letter on the desk.
"Where did it come from?" Duan Shixiong turned his head and looked at the Yamen servant.
"Sir, it was sent urgently from Shunyi County."
After opening the letter and reading it, Duan Shixiong's face instantly turned pale.
Especially when he saw Zhang Zhixian died after his throat was stabbed with a sword, he couldn't help but touch his throat with his hand.
He hurriedly settled the dispute that was under trial. He picked up the letter and left the government office and returned home.
The concubine is pregnant and is resting in the room. In the main room, only Mrs. Huang is sitting at the table, doing needlework. From the look of it, it should be a baby's clothing.
Although Huang and Duan Shixiong had a lot of quarrels over the matter of taking concubines, after Huang Anliang's reprimand, they became more open-minded.
Looking at the baby clothes in Huang's hands, Duan Shixiong was quite moved.
He placed the letter from Shunyi on the table, picked up the teapot on the table, raised his head and drank.
On weekdays, although Duan Shixiong is timid and afraid of getting into trouble, he still presents a gentle and elegant image. There has never been such a bold tea-drinking style.
After taking a look at his pale face, Huang put down her sewing.
"Master, you look pale and your blood is unstable. Has something serious happened?" Huang asked with concern.
Putting down the teapot in his hand and looking at Mr. Huang who cared about him, Duan Shixiong said: "Zhixian Zhang of Shunyi is dead. His throat was stabbed with a sword."
Huang was stunned for a moment, then her expression returned to normal. She pushed the needlework at hand toward the wall, rested her right arm on the table, and looked at Duan Shixiong.
"Zhixian Zhang died unexpectedly. According to the Ming Dynasty's laws, I must go and deal with it. Are you afraid that the murderer will be harmful to you?"
"No, the murderer had committed suicide on the spot by taking poison. However, I couldn't help but feel a little timid when I heard that Zhang Zhixian's throat was stabbed to death."
As he spoke, he pushed the letter in front of Mr. Huang: "This is a letter from Shunyi. Madam, please take a look."
Picking up the letter, Huang pushed aside her bangs that were somewhat blocking her eyes, read it calmly, then put the letter back into the envelope and pushed it back to Duan Shixiong.
"In my opinion, this matter is not that simple. It is really dangerous for the master to go here. Otherwise, report the matter to father and see what the old man's opinion is. If it doesn't work, arrange some sergeants to come over and go with the master.
Shunyi County, this may be much safer."
Thinking of his father-in-law, who was the commander of the Yanqing Guard, Duan Shixiong seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw.
Even the chief police officers in Shunyi County were killed together. These police officers in their own state government had some ability to save their own lives.
If he could get a sergeant from the Yanqing Guard to go with him, he still didn't believe it. Even if the murderer had accomplices, how could he be a match for the sergeant from the Guard?
"Okay, then I will go to my father-in-law's house in person now." After saying that, Duan Shixiong immediately stood up, took out the horse from the stable in the backyard, took two servants, and headed towards the Yanqing Guard station dozens of miles away.
.
When they arrived at Yanqing Guard, the guards in the military camp recognized that this was their uncle and hurried in to report.
A moment later, Duan Shixiong arrived at Yanqing Guard's camp hall.
At the top of the camp, my father-in-law sat with a kind face.
He was dressed in loose cloth with no airs at all. If it weren't for the armored Qianhu sitting below, he would have thought he was an uncle next door with a nice smile.
"Shixiong, what's the matter with coming to the guardhouse in such a hurry?" Huang Anliang pointed to the chair next to him and motioned for him to sit down.
"Father-in-law, please take a look." He handed the letter to Huang Anliang with both hands and sat down on the chair.
Perhaps it's because it's freezing outside, but not only the seat of this chair, but also the armrests are feeling warm.
After reading the letter, Huang Anliang still had a kind look on his face.
Pushing the letter in his hand towards Duan Shixiong: "Hasn't the government already handled the murder case in Qinghe Store? How come there are still people going to Shunyi County to ask for the peace notice? But whatever, since he wants it, you just follow him
If you wish, just ask the county magistrate to write a notice to calm the people."
"There is nothing wrong with this notice to calm the people. It's just that when I think of the county magistrate Zhang who was stabbed in the throat and died, my legs can't help but tremble. Can my father-in-law send some soldiers from the army to go with me to Shunyi County?
"Duan Shixiong asked cautiously.
"Nonsense. The sergeants and generals of the Yanqing Guard are all performing their duties. How can they leave at will? Besides, the murderer has already committed suicide by taking poison on the spot. What are you still afraid of?"
"Okay, if that's the case, then I'll go back and go to Shunyi County early tomorrow morning to deal with this matter."
Even though Duan Shixiong had a hundred reluctances in his heart, since his father-in-law had already said what he said, he didn't want to continue looking at people's faces and stood up to leave.
"Wait a minute." Just as he was about to step out of the door, Huang Anliang's voice came from behind.
Duan Shixiong was overjoyed. Could it be that my father-in-law has considered my safety and is preparing to send sergeants to protect my safety?
He turned around quickly and looked at Huang Anliang pitifully.
"Since someone comes to ask for a peace notice, it means that the government that handled the Qinghedian murder case is perfunctory. When you go, don't mention the government's handling of the matter, just give him a peace notice and send him away.
