Rebirth: From being expelled from the imperial court to becoming a high-ranking official

Rumors concerning the secrets of wealthy families are always talked about with relish.

Especially for those who are idle and have nothing to do in winter.

In just a few days, rumors about who poisoned whom and who between Jin Biao and his wife and falsely accused them of adultery had spread so widely that people even began to speculate on the cause of death of Jin Biao's previous wives.

“…..By the way, I heard that Jin Biao’s previous wives were also chronically ill. Could it be…” The person who spoke gave a look that said you know what’s going on.

Another person said, "Who can say for sure? It's really impossible. This rich family is really filthy. Not to mention the two wives, even the third wife, I don't know how she died."

"What you said is true! How could someone commit suicide just because she lost a child? How could a wealthy family let her commit suicide when she has a bunch of maids and servants serving her closely? Oh, tsk tsk ..."

The two people shook their heads and sighed.

As the rumors became more and more rampant these days, Jin Biao's expression became more and more ugly.

He hasn't been out much lately.

One reason is that there are a lot of rumors outside. Every time I go out to meet guests, even if people don’t ask directly, they can’t help but look at me with curiosity, and they can’t wait to rush over and ask directly what’s going on.

Another reason is that Wu Bantou has brought several men to interrogate the servants of the Jin family several times.

Although I was unable to get any information out of him, every day when I opened my eyes I saw a group of officials sitting in my front hall and questioning me one by one. How could I not be upset?

"Captain Wu, I don't know when we can set off for Xu Ning's mansion."

Looking at Wu Bantou's attitude, Jin Biao felt more and more that the matter might not be as simple as just having some doubts.

Jin Biao now just wants to go to Xu Ning's mansion as soon as possible. Once he gets there, he will know what happened so that he can find ways to cover it up.

"Mr. Jin, don't worry. I am also considering that the government office is different from the county office. The journey is far and it is inconvenient to travel. It is not good to bring everyone to the prefectural capital. If we ask locally, we can save a lot of trouble."

What Wu Bantou said made sense, but he actually couldn't stand it any longer these days.

They don't have to interrogate the suspect at his home, especially since they haven't gotten anything out of him.

But Zhang San and Li Si kept saying that the time was not right yet and begged him to delay it.

Wu Bantou turned around and went to find Zhang San and Li Si: "You guys should hurry up, we can't delay too long, or people who don't know will think we are delaying on purpose to ask for money."

"Don't worry, squad leader. The situation is almost right now. If there are any people who know about this or are related to this, it is probably time for them to show up."

Zhang San and Li Si sound calm, but in fact, aren't they also anxious?

Li Chang had arranged this matter before leaving.

Now that there's such a big fuss and rumors are spreading, it will be a difficult ending if we don't find conclusive evidence to convict Jin Biao.

There was no need to worry about Qin Yunhe's punishment, but it would be troublesome if they failed to complete their task and lost the meal coupon.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for someone to find the Jin family.

The first to react to the rumors were the family of Yang, whom Jin Biao married as a teenager.

When Yang Dalang arrived at the Jin family, he just happened to catch the end of another round of interrogation by Wu Bantou and others.

Originally, Jin Biao wanted to invite him to sit in the flower hall, but Yang Dalang refused, so he had someone move a chair to sit aside and watch Wu Bantou and others interrogate him.

Soon this round of routine interrogation was over. Wu, the squad leader, had already noticed the newcomer and came over to say hello.

"I don't know what this gentleman's name is."

Yang Dalang bowed and returned the greeting: "I am Yang Dalang, the elder brother of Jin Biao's first wife. I heard that you are officials from the prefecture?"

"That's right. We are the servants of the Magistrate's Office. We are here to investigate the case of Jin Yanshi."

"Yang recently heard some rumors that Jin Biao was suspected of falsely accusing his wife of poisoning. Is this true?"

Jin Biao was listening with sweat on his forehead but he didn't dare to interrupt.

Wu Bantou said, "I dare not say anything nonsense. At present, there are many suspicious points in the Jin Yan case. It seems that Yan was poisoned, but there is no evidence to prove that Jin Yuanwai poisoned his wife."

Yang Dalang nodded and said, "I wonder if I can let my servants go to Xu Ning's house to attend the trial?"

"Of course. The judge wants the people to be present when he hears a case in court."

Yang Dalang nodded and stood up.

Jin Biao said quickly, "Brother, you and my uncle haven't seen each other for a long time. Why don't you come with me to the flower hall and sit down and reminisce about the past."

"No need. You have remarried many times now, so you don't have to call me brother anymore."

After saying that, Yang Dalang stood up and left.

Looking at Yang Dalang's departing back, Wu Bantou knew that the rumors had taken effect, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Yang Dalang obviously just heard the rumors and had some doubts, but with this leader, I believe more people will think of something.

In fact, in his opinion, Jin Biao's second wife's family might be more likely to discover some clues, after all, they were dissatisfied with the death of their daughter before.

Unfortunately, they moved their family to the south.

Zhang San and Li Si have been hanging out in various teahouses, pubs and restaurants these days.

They themselves did not participate much in the spread of rumors. They mainly kept an eye out for any suspicious people appearing.

Now they saw a suspicious person.

The man looked like he was dressed in short clothes and probably did heavy work.

There were a few people in the tavern talking enthusiastically about the Golden Label case, while that man was listening quietly on the side, his expression changing constantly.

The reason why I thought he was suspicious was that his expression when he heard this was completely different from others.

What seemed to interest him was not the fun of the gossip but its content.

Zhang San and Li Si looked at each other, and it was obvious that the other party also felt that the man was suspicious.

Zhang San stood up, picked up a pot of wine and walked over to the man, chatting him up casually.

"The rumors are so outrageous now, saying that Mr. Jin killed this wife and that wife. Who would kill his own wife? Isn't this nonsense?"

As he said this, he poured a cup of wine and took a sip.

The man turned his head to look at him and then turned back, saying, "How do you know it's nonsense? There are so many things you haven't seen."

Zhang San was dissatisfied: "How could I not know?! I have met Mr. Jin, he is well-mannered and gentle, and he is such a good person. Before, his wife was sick and couldn't eat, so he went around looking for delicious food for his wife, hoping that she would eat something. How could such a person harm his own wife?"

"Hmph..." The man snorted and laughed: "You have only met a few people. There are people in this world who pretend to be loving in front of others, but will kill you at the same time!"

Zhang San raised his eyebrows: It seems that this person really knows something.

"How can you make up stories like an official from the government office? It's people like you who make Mr. Jin's family live in unrest.

"I have been questioning him at his home for so many days, but what have I learned? Nothing!"

The man turned around and looked at Zhang San: "Are those officers still questioning us?"

"Yes!"

"You didn't ask anything?"

"no, what happened?"

The man stood up and walked out without saying anything.

Zhang San gave Li Si a wink, and Li Si immediately stood up and followed the man.

The man left the tavern and walked towards the west of the city, and soon arrived at the gate of the Jin family.

The man had originally stopped far away, but unexpectedly one of Wu Bantou's men who was guarding the gatehouse came out for a stroll.

When the man saw the yamen runner, he hesitated for a moment and then strode over and asked, "Are you an official from the government?"

The yamen runner was stunned and said, "Yes, I am an official from the Tuiguan Yamen. What can I do for you?"

"I want to testify. I can prove that Jin Biao killed his third wife, Fang."