turmoil

Zhou Mao, the Duke of Pei, was also born in the general family, and he was named a first-rank Duke for his hard work. He was one south and one north with the old Dingbian Marquis. Thirty years ago, he was also a great young hero.It's a pity that the late festival is not guaranteed, and a pair of eyes are confused by the world of mortals, and finally fall into the stereotype of the word "greedy".

That night, the prison door opened, Zhou Mao hadn't reacted yet, his head was covered with a black cloth, and he dragged himself out.Even though he was sent to imperial prison, he is still a first-rank Duke and has the relationship with a virtuous concubine in the palace. Jin Yiwei treated him politely, did not put him in the shackles and did not torture him, but just locked him up.

This happened suddenly, and Zhou Mao struggled subconsciously: "You... who are you? What do you want to do!"

No one responded, Zhou Mao was roughly pulled into the carriage, drove for about two incense sticks, and then dragged into a house and thrown on the cold stone floor.

Zhou Mao struggled for a while, and finally took off the hood, and saw a grand teacher's chair on the open space, with a person sitting on it.A small window was opened high in the wall, and a beam of light fell on it, illuminating his face just right.

"Pei Guogong," the man stroked the pattern on the wooden armrest, and nodded politely to him, "Meet you again."

Zhou Mao's heart skipped a beat, but he said with a fake smile on his face, "So it's Commander Zhang...Why, are you trying to interrogate me?"

Zhang Jingche shook his head: "Your Majesty has decreed to hand over this case to the San Judicial Department. Strictly speaking, this case has nothing to do with Jin Yiwei."

Zhou Mao was overjoyed at first, and then calmed down. He looked around, showing a guarded look: "Where is this place? Here... This is not a prison, nor is it a three-law department!"

Zhang Jingche looked at his hand, it was a scholar's hand, with slender phalanges, pale knuckles, and neatly manicured nails, one can imagine its demeanor of holding a brush and pointing the country.

But now it sinks into the mud and is forced to stir up a storm of mountains and rivers.

"Pei Guogong has good eyesight," Zhang Jingche said indifferently, "I invited the Duke here today because I just have a few questions, and I want to ask him privately."

Pei Guogong looked at him vigilantly: "What do you want to ask? If the Jinyi Guards are indicted...you even found the account book, so why ask?"

Zhang Jingche stood up slowly, with one hand behind his back, and walked closer.Under the hem of his clothes were exposed a pair of boot toes, which had not been dusted much and were brand new. The upper was embroidered with an auspicious cloud pattern, which looked like a woman's handicraft.

"I just want to know," Zhang Jingche asked unhurriedly, "How did Concubine Shu die?"

Duke Pei's pupils shrank suddenly.

"Someone told me that the reason why Concubine Shu's fetal gas was disturbed was because a little maid said she slipped her tongue." Zhang Jingche raised his head to the sky, with a half-smile, "I don't understand why You Yunwei's trip is extremely confidential. Not many people even the important officials in the court know, where did the little maid get the supernatural power to get the news so quickly?"

Pei Guogong's forehead was dripping with cold sweat, and he looked at Zhang Jingche with contempt and disgust: "You brought me here with great fanfare, and that's why?"

Zhang Jingche tilted his head to look at him, and raised his eyebrows with great interest: "I also ask Mr. Pei Guo to clarify my doubts for me."

Duke Pei raised his head and laughed loudly: "I said that you and Concubine Shu have a very close relationship, and most likely have a previous relationship, but unfortunately the emperor just doesn't believe it!"

He paused, and changed his expression of resentment: "If he had listened to it earlier, our Duke Pei's Mansion would not be where it is today!"

Zhang Jingche didn't change his face: "Without me, there are others... What am I? The emperor holds a knife. If you use it well, you can't put it down. If you don't use it well, you can break the blade and change it. What's a pity?"

Pei Guogong sneered: "You are quite self-aware!"

"I have never lacked self-knowledge, and the one I lack is you!" Zhang Jingche whispered softly, "Collude with King Ping, embezzle people's land, privately sell sea salt... The Tian family dare not be so presumptuous, Lord, you are really worse than the emperor!" Prestige."

Zhou Mao's cheek muscles twitched slightly, and suddenly he shouted violently: "He Liu Yanzhao was supported by me alone. Without the Duke of Pei, how could he be today? That kid is ungrateful, crossing the river and tearing down the bridge! It's fine if he doesn't make my daughter the queen, but let him A lowly court lady pressing on my daughter's head... It's a great shame!"

Zhang Jingche restrained his smile, and looked at him coldly: "So...you killed her?"

Duke Pei was taken aback for a moment, then laughed loudly: "That's right, I killed her... However, I didn't want her life, I just didn't want her to give birth to a royal heir, who would have thought that she would be so useless, Had a miscarriage, and died... Haha, God's will, who is to blame?"

Zhang Jingche said solemnly: "This is the emperor's eldest son, and even his first child after he ascended the throne. It is naturally extraordinary... Although Concubine Shu is favored by the Queen Mother, she comes from a humble background. She is not worthy of giving birth to a noble son, let alone her mother Zigui, am I right?"

Zhou Mao snorted coldly: "The empress has no children. I see that the emperor treats empress Jian mediocrely. Heirs are the foundation for women in the harem. Whoever gives birth to the eldest son will be the future master of the six palaces... Concubine Shu blocked my daughter. How can I tolerate her!"

Zhang Jingche sighed softly: "Yes, the harem is a place where people eat people. Everyone is staring at other people's vitals, wishing they could tear off a piece of flesh... I warned Jing Su a long time ago, but it's a pity that she didn't listen... She won't listen!"

When Zhou Mao heard the word "Jing Su", he suddenly thought of something, and his eyelids twitched: "You have devoted yourself to concubine Shu, even at the risk of ruining your future... What is your relationship with her? !"

"Finally remembered to ask." Zhang Jingche turned around, his fingertips flashed coldly, but he was holding a cold and sharp knife, "I grew up with her, and she called me...Brother."

Zhou Mao suddenly opened his eyes wide.

"It seems that Pei Guogong remembered it," Zhang Jingche said with a pleasant smile, "Yes, I am the eldest son of Zhang who killed the prince of Huainan, I thought I saved Jing Su, who knows that she just left the wolf den , and fell into the dragon's pool and tiger's lair again... Do you think it's funny? Haha, hahaha!"

He looked up to the sky and laughed, the laughter gradually became crazy, and cold tears fell from the corners of his eyes.Shocked and frightened, Zhou Mao backed away with his legs upside down, trying to stay away from this lunatic.

Zhang Jingche suddenly stopped laughing, and turned to look at him quietly: "When my mother passed away, she entrusted Jing Su to me. She only had this one thought, and I only had this one thought, but you crushed this thought." Tell me, what should I do with you?"

Zhou Mao looked at him in horror, as if he was looking at Shura who came suddenly to kill him.

"No, you can't touch me!" He was shackled and couldn't stand up, so he could only back away with his hands and feet on the ground. The chains made a clanging sound, and he shouted hoarsely in panic, "I...I am today Your father-in-law is a first-rank Duke granted by the late emperor! If you touch me, the family will not let you go, and the emperor will not let you go either!"

Zhang Jingche looked at him condescendingly, and tested the sharpness of the blade with his thumb: "Don't let me go... Do you think I will let them go?"

An hour later, Zhang Jingche walked out of the dungeon. This was originally a dilapidated house in the west of Beijing. The owner's family was assigned by the whole family for offending the late emperor. Without exception, men, women and children all died on the way.Perhaps it was caused by people's hearts. Not long after, rumors of ghosts spread from the house, scaring people into panic. No one dared to take over it. After being abandoned for many years, Zhang Jingche took it under his control and became You Yunwei's stronghold in Beijing.

Guard You Yun, who was guarding the door, didn't look sideways, as if he didn't see the blood on Zhang Jingche's hands, he just bent down, leaning on the copper vat on the porch, slowly washing the blood on his hands, and soon dyed the water in the vat red up.

Xu Shen watched from the side, his heart skipped a beat: "Commander..."

Zhang Jingche raised his head and smiled at him: "It's okay, let's go."

Not only was there blood on his hands, but the center of his brows was also smeared with blood, a little red as big as a grain of rice, which complemented his gorgeous and treacherous appearance.However, Xu Shen felt chills all over his body, and the ending sounded with imperceptible tremors: "You, you are..."

Zhang Jingche lowered his eyes and concentrated on washing his hands: "Go ahead and pretend you don't know anything. If you are asked about it, you can go to Marquis Dingbian..."

The more Xu Shen listened, the more he felt that something was wrong. He just felt that this person seemed to be explaining the funeral, so he hurriedly interrupted: "My lord, you..."

Zhang Jingche made a "silence" gesture at him: "Shh, listen."

Xu Shen didn't know why.

Zhang Jingche said softly, "It's windy...it's going to rain."

You Yunwei withdrew very neatly, as soon as they left, Jin Yiwei chased after them.The leader of the team was Zhao Qianshi. He looked at the empty courtyard, and then at the desolate Zhang Jingche under the independent corridor. He rarely showed hesitation: "Commander Zhang..."

At that time, Zhang Jingche finally washed his hands, was taking out the handkerchief from his arms, and slowly wiped his red fingers: "It came very quickly."

Zhao Qianshi gritted his teeth: "Two hours ago, Duke Xu Mao of the Pei Kingdom was taken away from the imperial prison. The brother in charge of guarding said that it was an order from the commander..."

Zhang Jingche didn't allow him to finish his sentence, and responded simply: "There is such a thing."

Zhao Qian took a step forward, staring at him with burning eyes: "The emperor has already ordered this case to be handed over to the Tribunal for trial, but the commander transferred the repeat offender without authorization... May I ask, where is Mr. Pei Guo now?"

Zhang Jingche casually pointed behind him.

Zhao Qianshi made a gesture, and two rows of Jinyi guards swarmed in. Immediately afterwards, ghost screams came from the room, and someone rushed out staggeringly, throwing up violently while holding on to the porch pillar.

Zhao Qianshi was startled, and rushed in three steps at a time. As soon as he crossed the threshold, he saw Zhou Mao, which was intact and spread out on the shelf. You can see the majesty of the past.

He turned his head tremblingly, even though he was well-informed, he also felt a surge of sour water in his throat at that moment, and he almost retched: "You, how dare you..."

Zhang Jingche smiled softly: "I heard that as long as a hole is made on the top of a person's head and then poured with mercury, the flesh and skin can be separated... I tried it today, and it still works."

Zhao Qianshi couldn't bear it anymore, rushed to the corridor quickly, and vomited together with the others.

This is the biggest case since the new emperor came to the throne. It even overwhelmed Xu Mao, Duke of Peiguo, for annexing people's fields and perverting the law. After the trial by the San Judiciary, he secretly transferred the person out of the imperial prison, and even used extremely cruel methods... to flay him alive!

When the news came out, the whole court was shocked, not to mention the civil servants, even the military generals who had experienced the battlefield felt cold and had the urge to vomit.

The new emperor who heard the news was naturally furious. At the same time, he did not forget to block the news so as not to spread rumors and confuse people's hearts. However, the news was accurately transmitted to Jiaolan Palace an hour later.

Knowing the fate of her father and brother, Concubine Xian stood in a daze for a long time as if struck by lightning, and then suddenly fell straight backwards.The personal maid rushed to catch her, and saw Concubine Xian's face was pale, with endless blood stained on the gorgeous skirt.

That night, Concubine Xian had a miscarriage. This was the second child lost since the new emperor ascended the throne. Needless to say, Empress Dowager Wu was in grief.However, the saddest thing is Concubine Xian. She has experienced the blows of losing her father, brother, and son. Weak, and finally passed away.

Only half a year after the new emperor ascended the throne, he lost two high-ranking concubines and two children successively. The palace has not been withdrawn for more than a month, and the people don't know why. For a while, there are many rumors, and it is said that the new emperor is not worthy of virtue, so this disaster will happen .

What is more difficult than the rumors in the market is the anger in the court.Mr. Pei Guo may be greedy, or he may have committed a heinous crime, but how to convict him and deal with him will be tried by the three judges, so what is Zhang Jingche?He is just a commoner-born sycophant, relying on the new emperor's reliance, he dared to disregard the imperial decree and laws, and lynched and punished criminals. How is this different from despising the imperial power and disregarding human life?

All of a sudden, memorials flew into the Hall of Qinzheng like a snowflake, impeaching Zhang Jingche for abusing his power, disregarding human life, and even disobeying orders and committing crimes against his superiors. Too much.

Speaking of heartache, the impeachment official took off his hat, grabbed the ground with his head, and wept bitterly: "The commander of the Jinyiwei, Zhang Jingche, is mean-spirited and interprets the holy meaning. He should be a model of righteousness and peace of mind for the people of the world!"

Sitting upright in the hall, Liu Yanzhao's face was gloomy. At this moment, no one could tell what the new emperor was feeling. They could only tell instinctively that he was in a bad mood.

This bloody storm was fierce, but the people in the center of the vortex were very calm - Zhang Jingche was very clear about what he had done, and also knew the consequences of doing so. On the day when the bodies of Pei Guogong and his son were found, he followed Zhao Qian After returning to Jinyiwei North Town Fusi, he imprisoned himself in imperial prison.

When Liu Yanzhao arrived at the imperial prison, Zhang Jingche was dressed in plain white prison clothes, sitting firmly in the dry grass.Hearing footsteps, he opened his eyes with an unpredictable calm on his face.

Liu Yanzhao's cheeks were tense, and his eyes were almost cold: "Open the door!"

Jin Yiwei didn't dare to neglect, quickly opened the cell door, and hurriedly retreated.Liu Yanzhao rushed in aggressively, grabbed Zhang's collar and said, "Okay... how are you!"

Zhang Jingche raised his eyelids, it was clearly an inferior gesture, but he forced out the aura of "looking down on Wushuang".He turned his wrist, and the folded fan came out unexpectedly, and he knocked on Liu Yanzhao's forearm. The numbness hit Liu Yanzhao's forearm, and Liu Yanzhao let go from his elbow to his shoulder involuntarily.

Liu Yanzhao was stunned for a moment, and then furious: "You... You committed such a heinous crime, yet you are so arrogant! Do you really think I dare not kill you!"

Zhang Jingche straightened his ruffled skirt, and gave him a cold look. At that moment, the lonely anger and unwillingness that had been borne for many years finally showed on his face.

"Of course you dare!" He said coldly, "You are the emperor, and all the people in the world are ants under your feet. Whoever dares to say no?"

He paused, and suddenly sneered: "But, Your Majesty, even if it is an ant, it will hurt to bite!"