Suspect in Jinling

The Secretary of the Zhenfu made clear footsteps on the quiet corridor with the hard soles of his boots, step by step with a distinct sense of oppression.

This is the on-duty hall of the deputy commander of the town government department. It is small in size, but it is more private and comfortable. Jiang Xingzheng and three other hundred households sat on the chairs and waited solemnly. nice.

The Cigu case began to get out of control. No one thought that this little person who could be crushed to ashes by raising their hands could cause such a storm. The upper eunuchs were furious. There were senior Jinyiwei sent from the north to sit and supervise.

It is said that the person who came was once a secret sect sent by the imperial court to the Taiping Sect. He has fought against the Taiping Sect for many years. He has outstanding abilities and has a lot of underground information. Therefore, before he arrived in Jinling, there were several discussions within the town government department.

Jiang Xingzheng stared straight ahead expressionlessly, his right thumb scratched the pear wood handrail restlessly, the sound of footsteps outside the door became clearer, suddenly, his elbow was lightly bumped by a colleague beside him, he woke up , stood up together with his colleagues quickly——

Accompanied by Lu Duanxian, a handsome middle-aged man walked in.

This person is about seven feet four and about 45 years old. His face is much younger than expected. He is dressed in royal blue clothes with a heavy brocade sash around his waist. His steps are dignified and majestic.In contrast, Lu Duanxian, who is also regarded as a high-ranking official, is like a villain who follows his steps and is flattering. , turned his gaze, and scanned the faces of the four hundreds of households in the value room with radiance, and said loudly: "The matter is urgent, so we can save unnecessary greetings. My surname is Li, Shangmeng Xialiang, thanks to the court's trust and respect." I came to Jinling to solve the case of the Taiping Sect, and we will start work in the future, and I hope you will cooperate."

Lu Duanxian had a flattering face, Jiang Xingzheng and others shouted in unison, and the voice shook the room: "The subordinates must fully cooperate with Master Li!"

Li Mengliang slightly raised his hand, motioning for everyone to sit down, and then he shook his clothes and took the first seat. Lu Duanxian sat beside him, accompanied by a smile, and took the initiative to hand over the prepared official documents to Li Mengliang, Li Mengliang Pressing the palm of the hand, without looking at it, he called the name directly: "I have a good grasp of the situation in Jinling, Jiang Xingzheng—"

Jiang Xingzheng stood up and looked ahead: "Here!"

Li Mengliang: "Is the Shigu case a misjudgment? Is she a member of the Taiping sect?"

Jiang Xingzheng clenched his jaw, his teeth clenched like steel: "According to the current evidence, the case is very likely to be a misjudgment."

Li Mengliang slammed his palm on the table and asked sharply, "Since it was a misjudgment, why was the arrest so arbitrary!"

Jiang Xingzheng had no face to defend, his Adam's apple rolled in horror amidst the cold questioning, and his cheeks tightened tightly——

For a moment, the duty room fell into a palpitating silence, Lu Duanxian swallowed in fear, and the rest of the households trembled violently, staring at their toes, not even daring to breathe.

I don't know how long this unbearable atmosphere lasted. Suddenly, the deep oppressive feeling was suddenly lifted, and a breath of air penetrated the tight space. Li Mengliang said in a deep voice: "That's all."

Jiang Xingzheng was slightly taken aback, and cast his eyes in disbelief. This was the first time he met this man's eyes.

Li Mengliang: "This is the end of the matter, and it's useless for me to be angry. The next time you encounter the same situation, remember to check carefully."

Jiang Xingzheng showed a dazed look, thinking: I... have another chance?

But Li Mengliang stopped looking at him, scanned the room for a week, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, listen well, now is the critical period for the town government, everyone should go back and restrain their subordinates, and if anyone asks, they must speak the same words It is said that Yuan Cigu is indeed a Taiping believer, and there are indeed heresy, remember it!"

This order sounded as absurd as deceiving one's ears, but no one dared to express any objection. They all said yes, only Jiang Xingzheng did not respond, and stared blankly at this man who said nothing.

The colleague looked at him anxiously, called his name softly, and whispered urgently: "Xingzheng! I heard you, answer me!"

Li Mengliang looked directly at Jiang Xingzheng, and Jiang Xingzheng also looked at him. Suddenly, Jiang Xingzheng's thin face drooped obediently after a shudder, and he lowered his body, kneeling on one knee to salute, "My lord, this subordinate is not I am afraid of admitting my mistakes, but I am willing to take responsibility. Now that the case has entered the judicial process of the three courts, it will be concluded soon, and the government will deny it, so what is the benefit of the situation?"

Li Mengliang's deep pool-like eyes suddenly became serious. He looked at Jiang Xingzheng who was ignorant of current affairs calmly, his eyes gradually became intriguing.He opened his mouth slowly, calmly, and said bluntly: "The judgment of the Sanfa Division is not good for the Zhenfu Division. This official will find a way to solve it, but you mere young people should not always think about heroic sacrifice. A hundred households have neglected their duties. Small, the face of the town government secretary is a big deal."

As he spoke, he turned his eyes coldly and faced everyone: "I will only stay in Jinling for one month. I am not here to pursue responsibility, but to solve the problem. At present, the court has received reliable information that important leaders of the Taiping Sect are on the way. Gathering towards the accompanying capital, this place is an important place for the country. Once the Shigu case is exploited by Xiaoxiao, it will be very difficult for the town government secretary to carry out important tasks in the future. The hard battle is coming, and I hope that you will be aware of it and share it Which is more important!"

His voice was not loud, but a surge of excitement suddenly rose in the chests of several young Baihu. Confused, but still couldn't help cast a scorching gaze on Li Mengliang——

The tip of Lu Duanxian's nose was sweating, and he leaned forward meaningfully and asked, "Master Li, you mean to work hard on the Cigu case? I just don't know, is there a turning point for this matter?"

He felt that the matter was exhausted, and it was not an exaggeration to say that the evidence was overwhelming. Now that there is no new strong evidence, how can this be overturned?

"Naturally there is a turning point."

Li Mengliang said bluntly, his eyes were as clear and sharp as a deep pool, and he made a final decision under the scorching gaze of everyone: "Wait five days, the turning point is on the way."

·

"This is the current progress of the Hubu case."

The weather at the end of May was already hot and dry, but the one-person straight house in the back hall of Yingtian Mansion was rarely relieved, and the cool breeze blew through the hall, making people's mood calm down.

Qian Jin pursed his lips nervously, looked at Kuang Tou for a while, looked at Fourth Master for a while, and looked at Sha Xiangyue for a while, holding a huge abacus in his hand, and beside him was a mountain of copybooks.His tax line investigation was carried out in secret. For two months in a row, only a counting hand from the household house helped to check it. The fourth master is Kuangtou's boss. It is not surprising to see the progress of the work, but Sha Xiangyue is an outsider, so we came together today , he murmured in his heart: Kuangtou has always distinguished between public and private, so he brought him here because of any relationship involving him?

Fourth Master rolled up his own wide sleeve robe, frowned and put down the file in hand, sighed deeply, turned to Qian Jin and said, "Very good!"

This person is usually smiling and looks leisurely, but once he puts on a straight face and enters the state of affairs, his refined and gentle manner will be restrained, his slanted eyes are turning like sharp swords, his eyes are piercing, not angry but majestic .

Sha Xiangyue was still looking at the copy in his hand. He looked at it very slowly, frowning and looking very focused. After Kuang Jian beside him flipped through the file in his hand, he raised his head and asked Qian Jin: "Now Have you checked everything? Is there anything unfinished?"

Qian Jin said frankly: "It is still the last step. Some of these materials are not first-hand, and some of them are found out along the line of investigation of a man named Wu Guan. If Wu Guan's yellow book can be retrieved, cross By comparison, all the evidence has become complete."

Sha Xiangyue raised her head suddenly, her eyelashes twitched slightly, "Wu..." He got stuck, but quickly continued: "Is there any other files left by Wu Guan's investigation of this case back then?"

Qian Jin nodded heavily: "Yes! It is the Yellow Book of Houhu! It is the largest collection of editions in the world, but...the subordinates do not have permission to read it..."

Shaxiangyue knew the name of the Yellow Book of Houhu early on. The most confidential official documents in the world are stored here. It is located in the north-east of Jinling City, the accompanying capital, and is placed among the five islands of Xuanwu Lake. It's just that the government locks the lake all the year round, and the common people There was no way to check it, Sha Xiangyue suddenly turned her head, and anxiously grabbed Kuang Jian's sleeve: "How do you look at that?"

"I don't have permission for this either." Kuang Jian shook his shoulder, sighed silently, turned to look up at fourth master: "fourth master, please help me."

The fourth master was originally here to accompany the kidnapper today. If he hadn't been in charge, it would not have been easy for Sha Xiangyue to see Qian Jin's investigation. The matter is very complicated, there are a lot of forms to fill out, and you and Wu Yuan will have to wait for half a month."

Sha Xiangyue nodded vigorously: "Yes, I can wait."

Qian Jin turned his eyes to Sha Xiangyue curiously. He was a bit stubborn and not very good at observing words and expressions, but at this moment he could still feel the shock in Sha Xiangyue's heart. He didn't understand why a craftsman would take this case So concerned, for a while, Zhishe fell into a brief silence. Just as he was about to say something clumsily, there was a burst of messy footsteps outside Zhishe, followed by Zhang Hua's anxious knock on the door: "Kuang head!"

Zhang Hua was usually calm and rarely panicked. Kuang Jian hurried out when he heard the sound: "What's wrong?"

Zhang Hua said solemnly: "The brothers from the Ministry of Punishment suddenly sent a message saying that Cigu should be released tomorrow, but I don't know why, she and the thirty people were suddenly dragged to Caishikou..."

Kuang Jian's face changed instantly, and his voice trembled: "When? Who is the leader!"

On the Daping of the Zhenfu Division, Jin Yiwei is gathering——

The first column of Jin Yiwei has already set off with Lord Lu, and the second column is being organized by the captain of Jin Yiwei, forming a neat formation.

Today's sky is very blue, over the black and white tiled walls of the town's government office, casting patches of shade, in the center of the Daping, Li Mengliang, dressed in blue, is talking with an old inner eunuch, he talks and laughs happily, with a leisurely demeanor, The voice was neither thin nor thick, neither high nor low, which coaxed the old inner prisoner to laugh loudly. Jiang Xingzheng stood on the side with an older colleague, did not listen to their conversation, and only quietly looked behind the inner prisoner On a bright yellow box.

No one knew what was going to happen, but they heard that Yuan Cigu and the thirty key criminals had been released from the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice and went straight to Caishikou.Jiang Xingzheng's face turned pale, he didn't understand how such a dangerous move would end.

At this moment, the old inner eunuch looked at the sun from a distance, turned his head and smiled and said, "Master Li, are you going to leave now?"

Unexpectedly, Li Mengliang also smiled and said: "I won't go as an official. Mr. Lu is the secretary of the Jinling Township. I am only in charge of supervision. Let him read."

Jiang Xingzheng's eyes widened in bewilderment when he heard the words, and he looked at Li Mengliang.

Li Mengliang didn't look at him, only the eunuch smiled leisurely, and said appreciatively: "Lord Li, you are a decent person."

Li Mengliang smiled, didn't respond to this compliment, and raised his voice: "Yang Kui! Jiang Xingzheng!"

The two hundred households subconsciously stood up: "Yes!"

Li Mengliang ordered loudly: "Guard the father-in-law's safety!"

The two hundreds of households immediately claimed that Jiang Xingzheng's figure was as straight as a pine and a cypress, and he was about to lead the team when he turned around. When he bypassed Li Mengliang, he suddenly heard a cold and low voice: "Everything is ready. You just go and see. Don't meddle!"

This sentence was said very fast and very low, Jiang Xingzheng's heart beat violently, and he turned to look at Li Mengliang, but Li Mengliang had already moved away, leaving him with a calm back. Hearing this, Li Mengliang has already given the final order to the team majestically: "—Let's go!"

"It is still impossible to confirm the leader of the team. We only know that the person appointed by the Ministry of Punishment is Lord Lu Duanxian, the governor of the town government!"

In Yingtian's mansion, Zhang Hua hurriedly reported to Kuang Jian.

Kuang Jian put her hands on her hips and was very puzzled: "Then what do you mean you can't be sure?"

Zhang Hua: "Because there are several teams of soldiers in the escort, including the soldiers from the east of the city, Masi, Bingbeidao, and Jinyiwei. These people seem to be afraid that someone will cause trouble, so the three teams escorted together."

Kuang Jian's heart skipped a beat.

who is it?It is not surprising that Lu Duanxian ordered the Jinyiwei, but who ordered the Wucheng Bingma Division and Bingbeidao?The elite of the Gongmen sent the prisoners to the execution ground. The most important thing is that there was no warning before the incident. How many people in Jinling City have such a skill?Have such energy?

"Go find Zhu Shi!"

It is not suitable for deep thinking at this time, Kuang Jian thought sharply, and grabbed Zhang Hua's arm vigorously: "Let Zhu Shi take the family members of the prisoners to Caishikou as soon as possible, and stop them with complaints, hurry! Bird message!"

Zhang Hua nodded heavily, and immediately took the order to leave.Kuang Jian felt a chill in his heart, and under the shadow of the scorching sun, he suddenly had an extremely ominous premonition.

The fourth master also strode out after hearing the sound, his eyes were piercing: "What's going on? Is the town government secretary going to beheaded first and then played?"

The matter is serious, and some people do not obey the rules. The fourth master also noticed that this matter is unusual: Kuang Jian finally brought the Cigu case into the Sanju District, and if there is another disturbance at this time, it will never be a small matter.

Sha Xiangyue and Qian Jin stepped out worriedly, and the fourth master Kuang Jian quickly looked at each other with a very ugly expression on his face.

Fourth master made a decisive decision: "Go and tell your lord that he is at the house today!"

Kuang Jian nodded, and immediately went to the valet's room. Fortunately, this is the back hall, and the distance is very close, but before he turned around, he stamped his feet again: "...My lord!"

"What's the hurry!" An old and majestic voice came from the other end of the corridor, followed by the sound of steady and heavy steps.

As the governor of Yingtian Mansion, Li Min has faster eyes and ears in the mansion. He strode forward, his eyes swept over the faces of several subordinates, passed by Sha Xiangyue, and then looked at Kuang Jian: "There is no Chinese military governor's mansion." , the garrison yamen did not participate in it, if you want to save someone at this time, go to the garrison yamen to find Master Li Xian."

Kuang Jian was taken aback.

Where could Kuang Jian's tricks be seen by Li Min? Li Min said directly: "In the beginning, the garrison yamen ordered the Taiping Sect to search, but now you can resist him when you go to him. You know how to send flower carvings in private, now you know how to avoid suspicion?"

Kuang Jian didn't have time to feel ashamed, so she nodded solemnly without hesitation: "Yes!"

In the scorching sun and the crowded streets, a young woman's cry suddenly burst out——

Caishikou, which is adjacent to the central street of the ancient imperial street, Bingbeidao, Jinyiwei, and Wucheng Bingmasi each wear their helmets and armour, and more than a hundred masters form a three-sided wall formation to surround them. Above, more than [-] criminals in red knelt down on the ground. One of the thin women was dragged out, and she fell down in the center to be tortured. On the high platform behind her, Lu Duanxian and a fair old lady had sex Sitting on the head, Jiang Xingzheng and other hundreds of households stood on the left side of his side, and a rare monk stood on the right side, watching the woman who was being tortured and the crowd gradually gathering with cold eyes.

The woman's ankle was clamped, and the young bannerman of Jin Yiwei held the punishment board and slammed it on her calf one after another, muttering: "Yuan Cigu, now the town government has the evidence that you know the Taiping sect. With so many faces, are you going to admit it? Are you going to admit it or not!"

The people in the audience were separated by the guards, and some of them didn't dare to look at them when they got close. They opened one eye and closed the other eye with a tangled expression. Soon, someone in the crowd recognized the woman who had attracted attention before. Ci Gu, hesitating, hesitating, showed expressions of daring to speak out, and whispered to the people around him: "This case is not over, why hasn't she been released yet!" Looking at the executioner He chased after him closely, and his eyes were even more angry.

"How can this girl stand such a beating!" Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted!

Just at this time, suddenly there was a strong force pushing the crowd in from the west. A young man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks was holding a piece of paper with sweat on his head, and shouted impatiently while stamping his feet: "Stop, stop! What is the government doing?" Can be beaten into tricks! Stop!"

When everyone saw him, someone recognized him immediately and yelled to make way for him!

The person who came was none other than Zhu Shi. He just got the news about Kuang Jian in the wooden workshop, and when he heard that the situation had changed, he dropped the wooden pieces and ran over!At this moment, he didn't have time to think about it, so he yelled towards the high platform at the top of his voice!

The crowd was like a drop of water suddenly pouring into the boiling oil, and suddenly became chaotic!

"Who wants to make trouble?!"

Xiaoqi on the high platform took the lead and shouted angrily!Jin Yiwei and Bing Beidao heard the words and suddenly threw their armor and drew their knives!

"It's not making trouble, it's not making trouble!"

Behind Zhu Shi, a wave of relatives of the prisoners rushed over like a stream flowing into the sea, responding in horror!Among them were middle-aged people and old people, out of breath, dancing and shaking the pleadings, begging for mercy while pleading: "Master Mingjian! This is a lawsuit, they are not criminals, they have been sentenced by the Ministry of Criminal Justice before! They can't be arraigned." man!"

The small flag on the high platform had been instructed early on, and seemed to be waiting for this group of people to come. Seeing the relatives of the prisoners arriving at this moment, they immediately raised the whip in the air, and with a "pop", the execution ground fell silent. He shouted loudly: "Of course the government won't torture her into a trick. Since they tortured her, they have obtained important evidence!"

Talking about teaching people to stop criminal responsibility, he bowed in the direction of Lu Duanxian as if asking for instructions.Then he leaned over, picked up Zigu and crawled on the ground, and asked loudly, "Yuan Cigu, are you from the Taiping sect?"

The iron chain was pulled and rattled.

The girl on the ground was forced to lift her filthy face, and the sweat mixed with dust fell to the ground. Zhu Shi squeezed nervously at the front of the crowd, looking at her with distressed eyes.The little girl no longer had the round full moon face of a month ago. She was being pulled at the back of her head, her breath was weak, she gritted her teeth, and said loudly, "I, no, yes!"

Xiao Qi violently stretched her arm, and asked loudly, "Then how did you get the lotus on your arm?"

Cigu choked up, teeth clenched like steel: "It was tattooed when I was a child!"

"Is that man a Taiping believer?"

"I have no idea……"

"That lotus is something that only Taiping believers can embroider. How could that person not be a Taiping believer tattoo you a Taiping lotus?"

Zigu answered loudly: "...I don't know!"

The horse's hooves slammed.

Kuang Jian didn't care that he was in the urban area, so he galloped all the way from Yingtian Mansion to the garrison yamen, and rushed into the gate without waiting for the concierge to introduce him——

In the Daping of the Zhenfu Division, the surroundings are rarely clean and no one is around. Li Mengliang looked up at the trajectory of the sun, and quietly fixed his eyes——

On the execution platform, Xiaoqi put down Zigu's hair, turned back to Lu Duanxian and the old eunuch, bowed respectfully, and then took out the prepared tray: "Okay, then let's talk about what you know, you The wonton stall at Guyu Street is under the big banyan tree, right?"

The shiitake mushroom was erected and tied to a flag pole. Warm blood dripped from her feet, slid over the stakes, and then dripped onto the wooden boards. It looked extremely miserable.She nodded with difficulty: "...Yes."

Through the white cloth, Xiao Qi took out a spoon-shaped piece of wood with distaste, and asked, "This thing is from your stove, right?"

Zigu nodded with difficulty: "...Yes."

Speaking of which, Xiaoqi raised the object in his hand and showed it to everyone: "What is this, please explain."

Cigu could only say: "This is the stuffing tool for mallet wontons."

Xiaoqi: "Others' meat is cut, why is your meat beaten with a stick?"

Under the scorching sun, Zigu's legs and feet were in unbearable pain, and sweat dripped down her cheeks, "My lord!... Is this related to the case? The villain just beat her with wood to make her heart feel better." Tender and tender, the wonton tastes better!"

Xiaoqi: "Hey, don't rush to make excuses, the government has investigated it, and it won't wrong good people—you see, there are small holes in the gavel, which can be filled with powder. The government learned from the neighbors of Shigu , Yuan Cigu always puts seasoning powder into a wooden mallet and then beats the meat into a puree. Many people have asked about her stuffing recipe, and some people even spend money to buy her recipe, but she has never sold it. !"

Cigu suddenly became excited: "I went to Yangzhou master to learn this, of course I can't sell it!"

"Naughty!"

The ferocious Xiaoqi suddenly yelled: "You still refuse to admit that it's 嚒. Others sell wontons while filling the pan, but you never dare to meet outsiders when you prepare them. You must reconcile the stuffing at home." The meat paste is prepared and then sold in the market, your production method is completely different from others, and the seasoning recipe is completely unknown to others, and even the stove in your home is not a normal stove, but a gossip shape!"

Suddenly there was a low exclamation from the crowd, and some perceptive people already showed panic and heard the overtones!

On the other hand, Zhu Shixi, who was on the stage and under the stage, was bewildered. He didn't know what this man was talking about. Xiao Qi sneered, and suddenly faced the crowd, throwing the gavel on the ground, "Everyone, Jinling!" People, the town government secretary has found out that this woman is proficient in spells and gossip, the wonton stand is just a cover for her to seduce souls, and this wooden mallet is a ghost object she uses to seduce souls. There are many similar objects. Wrapping out the stuffing is just to steal the energy of the guests!"

"Nonsense! Nonsense!"

Cigu suddenly became agitated, she screamed hoarsely, stepping on her bloody feet, struggling intermittently: "I don't, I don't!"

Zhu Shi was completely stunned, and the relatives of the prisoner were also stunned, completely unable to understand why there was such a trend!

When Jin Yiwei saw that the prisoner went mad, several powerful men immediately stepped forward with torture sticks, beat her in the lower abdomen, and told her to be quiet!And the mallet for smashing stuffing was thrown on the ground viciously by the small flag, and the Taoist-looking person immediately stepped down from the stage, and quickly stretched out his hand to sprinkle cinnabar, realgar and chicken blood!At this time, the people suddenly realized why there are eminent monks and Taoist priests standing on the execution platform of the government!

Zhu Shi defended loudly, picked up the crumpled certificate in his hand and cried loudly, saying that Zigu was wronged, she was wronged!But no one came to listen!There is nothing he can do about it!Zigu shook his head desperately, screaming incessantly, and a pool of blood soon accumulated on the soles of his feet——

Jiang Xingzheng was stunned on the high platform, staring blankly at the chaotic scene in front of him, and couldn't help but walk down. Seeing this, the small flag underneath immediately moved up to the stage without a trace, and stopped him softly: "Baihu, Mr. Li has instructed, Don't interfere with this matter, I can do it."

The sky was clear and clear, and the sky that day was blue and cool.

Jiang Xingzheng suddenly settled on this song treasure, and suddenly, his whole body was covered with cold sweat.