Rebirth with my ex-husband

Chapter 93

The couple stayed in the prefect's mansion for half an hour and then left.

Although Magistrate Wu and his wife warmly invited them to have lunch before leaving, Gu Shixing said that he had to offer sacrifices to his ancestors tomorrow and had many things to prepare today, so he did not stay for lunch.

After hearing this, the prefect and his wife decided not to keep the host any longer.

Before leaving, Su Yun made an appointment with the wife of the governor and the wife of the prefect. After the Qingming Festival, she would send them invitations to the tea party at the old house, asking them to come and support her.

The wife of the prefect and the wife of the magistrate wanted to curry favor with Su Yun, so they naturally agreed.

After leaving the prefectural government and returning to the old house, Su Yuncai asked Gu Shixing: "The two cases in Longde Prefecture and Zizhou that you mentioned in the prefectural government are really related to the case in the Lingchuan Yang Mansion?"

Gu Shixing drank the tea and shook his head slightly.

Su Yun was surprised: "You actually cheated them, aren't you afraid that they will find out?!"

Gu Shixing looked calm, without any sign of nervousness on his face: "I was well prepared when I came here. Besides, both places are thousands of miles away from Lingchuan. Moreover, such tragic incidents did happen in these two places, and the murderers were not caught. These are just coincidences."

Su Yun frowned: "Then the murderer's method of committing the crime is also similar?"

Gu Shixing looked at her and chuckled: "Although it is a coincidence, how can there be such a coincidence?"

Su Yun was surprised and asked, "Aren't you worried that they will really send people to Longde Prefecture and Zizhou to investigate?"

But then he thought, Gu Shixing was not the kind of person who didn't have a plan, so if he could say that, he must have his own plan.

She was startled for only a moment, then calmed down the next moment, with only curiosity remaining in her almond-shaped eyes.

Gu Shixing smiled lightly and explained to her patiently, "First, the distance is far. If we really want to investigate in detail, it will take at least half a month to go back and forth. Second, those who are guilty of their crimes dare not investigate too obviously. They dare not ask the government office, so they can only ask some ordinary people. Cases like this are controversial in the market. If you ask ten people, there will be ten different stories. It will take at least a month for them to investigate thoroughly."

"Within a month, I will be able to find out when the Zi, Chou and Yin hours have come."

Su Yun raised his eyebrows slightly, somewhat unsure whether he could find out.

"Don't disbelieve me." Gu Shixing reached out and gently touched her forehead, slowing down his speech: "It wasn't your husband who handled the case at the beginning. If your husband had handled it, then Judge Xu would not have been wronged, and he would not have lost his life because of it."

Gu Shixing had a relaxed and confident look on his face.

Su Yun joked: "Why do I feel that my husband likes to brag more and more now?"

He tilted his head to look at her and said truthfully, "So that you can know my strengths."

She hasn't even crossed the threshold of pointing out his shortcomings before marriage yet, and Su Yun couldn't help laughing out loud, but after laughing, she didn't doubt his abilities.

Seeing that she had calmed down, Gu Shixing became serious and said, "Actually, if you look into this case carefully, there are still many doubts. But someone deliberately framed her. Regardless of whether the governor was involved or not, it shows his inaction."

"I went to the prefectural governor's mansion today. Judging from the attitude of Prefect Wu, he was either hiding it too deeply or he was content with the status quo. He was not actively trying to make meritorious deeds and did not want to get into any trouble. So even though he put a lot of effort into the case back then, he was still blinded by one thing."

The current situation is that everyone who participated in the case of Pan Xu is a suspect, and the most suspicious ones are Magistrate Wu and his son-in-law.

"But it's been several years since this case happened. Will it be difficult to find clues?" Su Yun said worriedly.

Gu Shixing shook his head: "Cases like this are more likely to be overturned after a few years. It's not because of anything else, but because the mastermind of the frame-up will feel guilty. Over time, they will be suspicious and suspicious. Whenever there is a little disturbance, they will think that what they have done will be exposed. After a period of time, the tail will always be exposed."

Su Yun also felt that what Gu Shixing said made sense and no longer had any doubts.

In the following few days, each of them was busy with their own things.

As for the ancestor worship, thanks to the help of his aunt and Su Yun's experience, it went smoothly without any problems.

On the second day after the ancestor worship ceremony, Su Yun prepared an invitation to the nobles of Lingchuan to visit his house the next day.

After several interactions, the relationship between Su Yun and the governor's wife and her daughter gradually improved.

While Gu Shixing asked people to investigate the whereabouts of Zhou Zhen's chief clerk, he also began to seriously investigate the Yang family's massacre case.

Judge Zheng, who was following Gu Shixing and waiting for orders, gradually put aside his doubts and was sure that the prince of the Marquis Zhongyi's Mansion came to investigate the murderer of the Yang Mansion massacre.

……

That day, the wife of the prefect invited Su Yun to visit the garden, and Su Yun agreed.

Su Yun wanted to give the governor's wife and her daughter the illusion that she only had the looks but no brains.

So every time I dress up, I have to dress flashy, with bright clothes and exquisite makeup.

Gu Shixing would stare at her for a long time every time he saw her like that, but when he knew she was going out like this, he would frown for a long time.

It seemed that he thought she was dressed too flashily and would attract many men.

Every time Su Yun saw him frowning, she would hurry out without letting him comment.

Besides, after Su Yun had spent several times with the governor's wife and her daughter, the other party also regarded her as a woman who won the favor of the prince of the marquisate because of her beauty, so she gradually relaxed her vigilance towards her.

Mrs. Zheng, the daughter of Governor Wu, was a chatty person. She was always talking and would never stop talking about any topic at the tea table.

When talking about Prince Gu coming to Lingchuan and investigating the Yang family massacre, the topic somehow turned to the cases that happened in Lingchuan in recent years.

Someone casually mentioned the case of Judge Xu.

The seventh aunt who came with Su Yun made an excuse: "That Xu Tongpan looks strong, but I never thought he would be in collusion with the bandits."

Su Yun smiled faintly, took a sip of tea, and said nothing. When she came, she had already informed her seventh aunt, and if anyone mentioned Xu Tongpan's matter, she would find a topic to continue the conversation.

Another lady cracked melon seeds and said, "This is the truth. You can only judge a person by his appearance but not by his heart. Who knows how much evil is in a person who looks good?"

Aunt Seven sighed again and said, "Earlier, our master also had contact with Xu Tongpan. When the news of Xu Tongpan's arrest came out, I was so worried that I couldn't sleep for several nights, fearing that my master would be implicated."

Many of those present had some friendship with the wife of Judge Xu, and when they heard this, they felt the same way.

Su Yun glanced at the prefect's wife calmly. The prefect's wife's expression did not change much, and she was still talking to the older woman next to her.

Madam Zheng, who had been chatting most enthusiastically just now, did not change her expression much, but she did not join in the conversation.

Su Yun retracted her gaze, picked up a piece of dessert and took a small bite, then said at the right time: "It's so boring to keep talking about these things."

Everyone was surrounding Su Yun, and when they heard her say that she was bored, they quickly changed the subject and started talking about which store had the best rouge and powder, or which shop had the best silk patterns.

Speaking of this, Su Yun seemed to be interested. He put down the cake in his hand and began to ask: "You are talking so well. When will you take me to see it?"

Madam Zheng on the other side saw that the topic had been changed, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled attentively and said, "How about I take the prince's wife to have a look tomorrow?"

Su Yun smiled and nodded, "Of course that's good."

Madam Zheng saw that the Crown Prince's wife was only interested in rouge, powder, silks, satins, and jewelry. When she thought about what her husband said about wanting to be friends with the Crown Prince's wife, she found it difficult at first. She thought that although she was not the daughter of a prefect, her husband was just a small magistrate, and the Crown Prince's wife from Jindu would certainly look down on her. But now it seems very simple.

*

The judge sent by Gu Shixing to investigate Zhou Zhen's chief clerk not only found the person, but also brought him back secretly.

The judge of the Dali Temple said: "I asked Zhou Zhen to tell his family that he was out visiting friends, and I also arranged for someone to watch the Zhou family to prevent the news from leaking out."

Gu Shixing nodded and asked, "Where are the people?"

"He was blindfolded and taken into the secret room."

Although the foundation of the Zhongyi Marquis' Mansion was already in Jindu, the old home in Lingchuan could also be considered a retreat, so secret rooms and secret passages were built when the old house was renovated.

Gu Shixing stood up from his seat, walked slowly out of the study and went to the secret room.

In the secret room, Zhou Zhen, who was escorted there, did not dare to remove the black cloth covering his eyes casually. Not only his body but also his heart was tense.

Ever since he resigned from the position of chief clerk, he has been living a peaceful life as a teacher in his hometown and has not done anything wrong in recent years. But suddenly a judge from the Dali Temple came to him and he was shocked, thinking that his corruption when he was the chief clerk was exposed.

But on second thought, I am not a corrupt person, so why would the judge from the Dali Temple come to arrest me personally?

Although he felt it was impossible, it was never a good thing for the judge from the Dali Temple to come looking for him, not to mention that he was asked to deceive his family about going out, but actually leave with that person.

It's not that I didn't doubt the identity of the person who came, but it seemed that the person was not someone to be trifled with. For the sake of my family, I had no choice but to follow him.

The carriage traveled for about a day and a night, and I vaguely realized that I had returned to Lingchuan, but I still didn't dare to ask anything. Even though I was brought here blindfolded, I didn't dare to act rashly.

It had been about a moment since he arrived here, and no one else had come in except the person who brought him here. After a while, there was a sound of the iron door opening, and he swallowed his saliva, his palms sweating with nervousness.

Just when Zhou Zhen was tense from the inside out like a full bow, a cold and indifferent voice came from not far in front of him: "The blindfold can be removed."

After hesitating for a long time, Zhou Zhen still pulled down the black step tremblingly, and saw a strange man with a handsome face and wearing a moon-white straight robe standing a few steps away.

The man stood tall, with his hands behind his back, his face expressionless, even his eyes were pale. The man's temperament was out of tune with this dark room.

Zhou Zhen was stunned for a while before he came to his senses. He asked anxiously, "I wonder why this gentleman came here to look for me?"

Being able to order the judges of Dali Temple around, the young man in front of him must be someone very important.

Gu Shixing was silent for a few moments, then asked calmly, "Why did you suddenly resign from the position of Chief Clerk three years ago?"

Zhou Zhen didn't expect the other party to ask this question. He was stunned again, and his palms were sweating more. He said dryly: "I'm old, so I'll retire..."

Before he could finish his words, the other party's eyes suddenly became cold, and that cold look made him dare not continue his speech.

"Tell the truth." Gu Shixing's face turned a little colder.

Zhou Zhen clenched his palms, pursed his lips for a long while, and said stubbornly: "What I just said is the truth."

Gu Shixing narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Is that so? If so, there is no point in saying more. You accepted bribes when you were the chief clerk. Even if you resigned from the position, you cannot escape the blame. The governor will sentence you."

Hearing the words "accepting bribes", Zhou Zhen was startled. He suddenly looked up at the young man in front of him. After a long pause, he said in a daze: "Since Your Excellency already knows that I accepted bribes, why do you still ask me why I resigned from the position of Chief Clerk?"

Gu Shixing raised his eyebrows when he heard this: "This matter has not been exposed, why did you suddenly resign from this position?"

Zhou Zhen thought that his bribery had been exposed and there was nothing to hide. He said, "Some colleagues didn't want me to get involved any further, so they asked me to resign and go back. He then kept the matter to himself."

"Who is that person?"

Zhou Zhen glanced at the person in front of him, pursed his lips and said nothing, as if he didn't want to betray that person.

Gu Shixing took out the token of the Dali Temple Shaoqing and said calmly: "If the Dali Temple knows about the case but does not report it, it will be regarded as an accomplice."

When Zhou Zhen saw the token and heard these words, he was so shocked that he was stunned for a long time before he asked tremblingly, "May I ask you, what case are you investigating?"

Gu Shixing took back the token, glanced at him calmly, and replied slowly: "No."

Zhou Zhen was silent for a while, and hesitated for a while, but finally said: "That man is the son-in-law of the current Lingchuan governor, Zheng Zhijing."