The first work of the imperial prison

In the afternoon of spring, the sun was fine, and the warm pavilion was bright and comfortable.

Ye Baiting and Qiu Yiqing sat next to the small table, Shen Jiang stood in front of the small whiteboard, holding a charcoal pencil, and wrote on it the name, status, and general information of the person involved in this case...While writing, he kept saying: "The soldiers outside said that the father-in-law of the East Factory and the West Factory just came here, did they come to ask for trouble? Did they bully you?"

Ye Baiting smiled: "There is no bullying. There are commanders and envoys in charge of the town. Our Beizhen governor, who dares to go one step further? Not only did he not bully, but he also gave a lot of useful information."

"Useful... related to the case?" Shen Jiang paused, "Have they changed their temper? How dare they get involved in the matter of our Beizhen Fusi?"

With a smile in his eyes, Ye Baiting looked at Qiu Yiqing: "Isn't that our commander is very charming, no matter who he is, he can surrender."

Qiu Yiqing's deep eyes flicked over the face of Xiao Wuzuo: "...so narrow."

Ye Baiting's ears were burning when he saw him, coughed, looked away, and said to business: "You all just came back from outside, you must be tired, why don't I start today and talk about the case first?"

Qiu Yiqing pushed the teacup in front of Xiao Wu Zuo: "Come."

Ye Baiting took the record page of the document just now: "The two factory owners are talking about Ying Baisu, the eldest daughter of the Hou family, and the second wife Cai..."

In order of priority, he first explained the matter of Ying Bai Su in detail.

After listening to Qiu Yiqing, she was silent for a moment: "The mother-in-law of the Shi family is dissatisfied with Bai Su, and the relationship between the husband and wife is not good...There should be reasons for this."

Ye Baiting nodded: "Yes."

Because on the wedding day, it is impossible for Ying Baisu to be red.In this era, no one is willing to marry a daughter-in-law who has lost her virginity. Ying Baisu may have thought of countermeasures, but this kind of result is almost inevitable. As long as she is unwilling to give up her wealthy life, she has to endure her mother-in-law's pickiness and her husband's indifference.

But the mother-in-law can't go too far, let alone tell the truth, this kind of thing is too embarrassing, Ying Baisu is still backed by Ying Gonghou's mansion, she has enough confidence, a married woman has her husband's surname on her head, and she is no longer Ying's family, but If you deliberately treat him harshly, you will be dissatisfied with the Marquis Mansion. The Marquis Ying Gong's Mansion is not only well-mannered, but also shameless, and will definitely be held accountable...

Therefore, Ying Baisu's life maintains a delicate balance. People who are ahead and behind are considered passable, but others don't know what they think in their hearts. At least this kind of life is not happy and smooth.

Shen Jiang was very surprised: "Butler Xu Kai? I can't tell, even the eldest daughter of the main family dares to touch her, she is definitely not such an honest person! He might have used the secret channel of the Hou's mansion!"

Ye Baiting reminded: "The secret passage was dug out six years ago when the bandits happened. At that time, Ying Baisu was already married. How can you use this secret passage?"

Shen Jiang: "Yes..."

Ye Baiting: "But she was taken home, have you used it in the past few years..."

Shen Jiang received the look: "I'll check! As long as I find this, I can know whether they have an affair now!" After speaking, he remembered something again, "Young Master, before, you can't rely on the intimate distance, Judge the relationship between two people? Will it work this time?"

"I haven't seen Ying Baisu and Xu Kai appear at the same time, what the picture looks like together, but even if I saw it, it's not easy to analyze..."

Ye Baiting explained: "Family, friends, and people who are too familiar are not so particular about the distance, except for some special, overly intimate actions, such as tidying up the corners of clothes. Others are not accurate and inconvenient to confirm."

Unlike the previous household affairs case, no matter how familiar people in the workplace are, they all have a certain level of hierarchy and competitive relationship. It is difficult to be particularly close, especially if they are of the same sex.

Qiu Yiqing tapped his knuckles on the table: "Hou's residence should only answer that Bai Su is allergic to chrysanthemums. If this behavior is aimed at Bai Su, Xu Kai has no more love for her, and knowing this, there may be something wrong." action."

So the next step is to confirm Xu Kai's willingness, which is the first thing that must be done.

Ye Baiting nodded: "Let's look at the second wife, Mrs. Cai..."

After he finished talking about Cai's past, Shen Jiang was a little bit embarrassed: "This one... is a bit miserable."

Ye Baiting: "Mrs. Cai is a brave and tenacious girl. Her living environment at that time was almost too hard to survive. But if she wants to agree to this kind of thing, if she is willing to sell herself to get the so-called 'glory and wealth' , 'Peace and peace', when being betrayed by the gambler's father, she could promise eight hundred times, but she didn't agree, but this time, the old marquis, she agreed, why?"

"Because the wealth given by Master Hou is extraordinary?" Shen Jiang touched his chin, "That is the Hou's Mansion in the capital, with extraordinary power."

Ye Baiting: "But she is not someone who bows down for wealth."

Qiu Xunqing: "Do you suspect that the old Hou Ye used other means?"

"Maybe there are also the parties themselves, let's push the boat."

Ye Baiting's idea came from her sister's reminder that people are different, and women are also different. Was Cai's 'forced' at the beginning really forced?

"The Cai family is not a flower raised in a greenhouse. From past experience, I can't see the desire and preference for wealth. Even if she agrees temporarily and is forced to marry and enter the house, does she have many ways to get out? Why didn't she go?"

He felt that this was the real point: "Why did she cry when she saw the portrait of a beautiful woman painted by her husband? Knowing that her husband's death was not accidental, but may have been murdered, why is she so persistent in finding the murderer?"

People can lose their memory and temporarily forget, but the thinking and habits engraved in their bones are not so easy to change.

Qiu Yiqing lightly tapped the table with his fingertips: "...the Cai family is likely to fall in love with Ying Puxin."

Then Ying Puxin's death is very important. Will he have doubts about her husband's accidental death? Will he have guessed who the murderer is, or even investigated? Will he want revenge? Was the memory loss acted on his own? , just to kill the enemy with your hands, but also to clear yourself of suspicion, without getting a single leaf on your body?

There is a certain truth in what Dongchang father-in-law said.

Ye Baiting told Qiu Yiqing and Shen Jiang about the medicine 'Chen Yuan Duan': "...it can artificially cause temporary amnesia, and the medicine is the key. What kind of medicine is used when taking the medicine, you must also take the same medicine when you want to recover. The problem worth noting is that after taking this medicine, I will forget who I am, and I don’t know that I have taken the medicine, let alone what medicine can bring back my memory. If it is because of this The drug amnesia, the treatment method, must be hidden in a place that only she can find, or it must be given to someone close to her."

"The girl next to her, Xiao Xing, may need to pay attention."

Shen Jiang nodded and wrote it down: "But in Ying Yutong's study room, there are bloodstains on the wall where Mrs. Cai's head was bumped. If her amnesia is caused by medicine, how can that bloodstain be explained?"

Ye Baiting's eyes flickered: "So now we need to determine what is the cause of her amnesia. When I watched the scene, I felt very strange why such an injury was caused, but there was no sign of struggle at the scene... If the victim voluntarily where?"

If Mrs. Cai was willing to bump into it in order to create a false appearance, wouldn't there be no signs of struggle?

"Makes sense..."

While talking, Shen Jiang turned around and re-covered new character relationships and doubts on the small whiteboard.

"Next, let's analyze the intimate relationship." Ye Baiting looked at Shen Jiang, "Have you found any clues about the love between Shizi and his wife? For example, what did Shizi do for the eldest lady, which moved the eldest lady very much?" Category?"

This Shen Jiang doesn't need to flip through the small books at all, and can answer immediately: "No, everyone said that the son and wife were childhood sweethearts, and they had a good relationship since childhood. Said, Madam is very good, she has countless compliments, but she basically doesn't care much about Da Furen, she even forgets Da Madam's birthday, and sometimes the old Hou Ye scolded him, so he can remember and make up a present."

"So..." Ye Baiting's eyes flickered slightly, "Then in this family, who gives the eldest lady the most things?"

Now Shen Jiang had to open his small book and read: "It seems to be... old master? He is old now and has a lot of free time. Every time he goes out and comes back, he always brings some souvenirs, but not just for The eldest lady is alone, and all the female family members in the mansion have a share. There are a few times when he went out to see the fashionable clothes and materials, and bought them back for the eldest lady to look at. Madame and the third madam don't like it, so they all stay with Da Furen..."

Ye Baiting propped his elbows on the small table: "For love, different people express it in different ways. Sometimes the external expression is not necessarily the truth. Love is deeply responsible, and some emotional expressions are hidden. The form appears... Everyone, think about Shizi's character, isn't it very serious, well-behaved, or even too rigid?"

When mentioning his wife, he always praised her, but he didn't put any effort into it. He even forgot his birthday. Is this kind of feeling true?

"I went to Ying Gonghou's mansion with the commanding envoy, and met the prince twice. Every time, he had a picture of reprimanding Mrs. Lu." Ye Baiting stretched out a finger, "One is that Ying Yutong died on the day of the incident. , Mrs. Lu was hurriedly called by Jin Yiwei for questioning, she didn't change her clothes immediately, and when she left, she passed by the prince, and was scolded by the prince, saying that the clothes were inappropriate, remembering that she hurried to change into the mourning clothes."

He stretched out his second finger: "The other day when I was questioning the Da Furen, when I met the old Hou Ye, I happened to hear the son and Mrs. Lu talking away from others, and he was still reprimanding her, saying that she was not dressed properly."

"The former is understandable. The incident happened suddenly. There is nothing wrong with reminding me. The latter is a little subtle. The son's voice was very urgent at the time, as if this was a problem that must be solved immediately. He also said that others would misunderstand. He was in a hurry, really. Is it the clothes themselves that are out of order, or 'worried that others will misunderstand'?"

Shen Jiang listened and frowned: "That's right, even if Mrs. Lu is misunderstood as ruthless, and even has an affair with someone outside, what does it have to do with Shizi? Why is he so anxious?"

Qiu Xunqing: "I remember that at that time, the prince blamed Lu's underwear for wearing it incorrectly."

Ye Baiting: "Not bad."

Shen Jiang didn't understand: "If you wear the wrong clothes, you are wearing the wrong clothes. What does it matter if you don't have a shirt inside?"

Qiu Yiqing glanced at him lightly: "I may notice that our underwear is wrinkled and comfortable, but I never know what you wear every day."

Shen Jiang reacted a little slowly: "Huh?"

Qiu Yiqing: "There is no man who always pays attention to women's underwear."

Because don't look at evil, and don't get along with etiquette.

Unless the person you care about will always care about it from time to time, or the person next to your pillow, because you are too familiar, you can see it subconsciously.

Shen Jiang understood, but he also felt that he was forced to eat dog food again.

Ye Baiting coughed: "Mr. Lu seems to be very courageous, daring to quarrel with the prince, and the old Hou Ye is not too scared in front of him. What is the reason?"

If it is said that her natal family is powerful and her waist is strong enough, it is not necessarily true. She resisted the marriage with great force back then, and she did not escape the end of marrying into the Hou's Mansion. In terms of herself, it is obvious that she cannot challenge the Hou's Mansion, but she is If you do it, it will be fierce.

"The husband is unreliable, and she doesn't like it either. It's obvious - there are people who are entangled with her between the old master and the son."

Ye Baiting felt that based on the current situation, the possibility of a son is even greater.

Shen Jiang flipped through the small notebook: "...Yes, Mrs. Lu must have had an affair with someone! Just a few days ago, the servants heard the sound coming from the courtyard of the third room, saying that it was a female ghost who was so beautiful, like It was doing that kind of thing, saying that the female ghost did not mention Mrs. Lu, because the third master was not at home that night, only Mrs. Lu was resting in the yard alone, and said that similar voices often appeared, this is not the first time this kind of thing happened , Some people have even seen... calling for water at night, and the traces of the bedding that was changed the next day, it is obviously doing that kind of thing!"

At night, the lights are dark, and outsiders can't come in. Besides your own family, who else can do things with the Lu family?

"There are only two masters and men in the mansion, except for the old Hou Ye who is the eldest son, no, there is also Xu Kai, he dares to do such a thing..."

But Ye Baiting shook his head: "I don't think it's the housekeeper. The positions of servants and masters are not the same. The Marquis Mansion has strict rules. No matter how brave Lu Shi is to have an affair with the housekeeper, don't you have to keep a low profile so that no one will notice?" ?”

Shen Jiang: "That's right... If the master is having an affair, it doesn't matter if the servant finds out. No one dares to take care of it. It will be different if the servant is cheating. If he finds out, he will be beaten to death!"

Qiu Xunqing: "This is the main point of the next investigation."

Ye Baiting talked about another one: "Madam Wang's side is much simpler. I have been to her room with the commander. The small reception hall is very different. The decoration is quite unique, and some hints are very strong. If she and the commander Her husband is not in a good relationship, so who is she doing this with?"

Shen Jiang flipped through the small book: "The news we found is that the deceased Ying Yutong had unreasonable thoughts about her, but he didn't dare to show too much on weekdays. I dare not say too much to my sister-in-law..."

"Not only did he dare not speak too much, but he would even be reprimanded by the eldest lady, the whole Hou family knows about this." Ye Baiting's eyebrows flickered slightly, "If these two people are in an affair, might they behave like this? If not, Ying Yutong is not afraid of anything, any woman dares to tease her, so why not only Da Furen?"

If you really have an affair, you will definitely cover it up and don't like to make it public, and there is a problem that you don't like it. From the perspective of the eldest lady's status, will you take a fancy to the third master?What are you looking at him for?Playful or stupid?The fact now is that the third master is dead... It is more likely that he will be silenced because of his secrets.

The third master only cares about her, but he doesn't dare to provoke her too much, there must be other taboos.

Qiu Suqing's eyes darkened: "Behind Mrs. Wang, there is someone Ying Yutong can't afford to provoke."

Ye Baiting: "Who is the most authoritative person in the Hou Mansion? The old Hou who seems to be indifferent, or the successor son?"

Shen Jiang thought for a while: "Then it should... still be the old Hou Ye. It is very important for people like them to pass on the rules. Up to now, the big things going around outside are still based on the face of the old Hou Ye. The prince is not so good in front of others. Freedom, unless one day, he really receives the imperial edict and takes the position of Lord Marquis."

There is no certainty, any accident can happen, right?Especially for the big family, all kinds of new things happened frequently. Just looking at the royal family, not every prince can be the emperor. There are very few people who have been crowned princes in the past, who have really reached that step.

Ye Baiting: "Think about it again, is there a few times in the confession description, the old Hou needs to communicate with the son about the time and the next day's itinerary?"

Shen Jiang nodded: "That's right! The prince himself said it, and the servants I asked also said it!"

Qiu Yiqing: "The great madam, Mrs. Wang, also said it herself."

Ye Baiting narrowed his eyes, and his voice was meaningful: "Is it just the itinerary to confirm the time of communication? Is it for the convenience of going out when I ask my son for the secret passage key, or is it convenient to use the secret passage to travel to other yards or do other things?"

Shen Jiang slapped his thigh fiercely: "That's right, knowing that the son is not here, wouldn't it be more convenient to mess with other people's wives! After the time is right, you will know when the son will come back, and you will know when the time comes, and you will never be caught... ..."

Hiss, as expected of the master of Ying Gonghou's mansion, he is so good at playing!

"This...wouldn't it be a bit too shocking?" Shen Jiang couldn't believe it. The father-in-law and daughter-in-law picked up ashes, and the uncle and sister-in-law got together. This kind of thing is too disgusting. The big family really dare What are you doing!

"I have something even more shocking."

"what?"

"Almost everyone in the Hou Mansion is old. The old Hou looked at the relatives. Why is the wife of the son, Wang Shi, who is a childhood sweetheart and cultivated feelings since childhood?" Ye Baiting twirled his fingertips lightly. "As far as I know, the family background of the Wang family Not bad, but it's not so unattainable, you need to maintain the relationship from an early age, tied together by in-laws, is this daughter-in-law really married to your son?"

These words were really shocking, and Shen Jiang started biting his fingers: "No, I didn't marry her for my son. Could it be that he fell in love with him and prepared to marry him early?"

But if you think about it seriously, it seems to make sense.

Regardless of ordinary families or those in the noble circle, those who betrothed their children from an early age are generally good friends of the family. They didn't know each other, they didn't have any contact, they got close only after the Wang family was established, which is indeed different from the previous pattern.

And getting married in the noble circle is intended to be married, and the situation in the court is changing. Hedong for 30 years and Hexi for 30 years. If you want to go well and go steadily, it is not necessarily a good thing to discuss marriage too early. Are you retiring or not?If you don't quit, you pinch your nose and admit it, then the child will be raised for nothing, and there may be another relative in the future. If you quit, do you want to lose your reputation?Although most people are selfish and dislike the poor and love the rich, but you are selfish and dislike the poor and love the rich to the point of view, isn't it just hanging up the sign - come and scold me?

No matter how you look at it, it's not a good idea for Shi Zi to order this family since childhood.

He is the son of the eldest son, the eldest son, and he has been placed with high hopes since he was born. For his benefit, the old Hou Ye even prevented his second son from entering Beijing, and married an orphan girl who suffered a lot and committed crimes for his second son!This logic is inconsistent and unreasonable!

Could it be that the old Hou Ye is really doing it for himself... He still cares about the eldest lady, takes care of him more carefully than his son, and gives gifts to stuff...

Shen Jiang felt that he couldn't think too much about it, the more he thought about it, the more he felt dirty, disgusted and want to vomit.

Ye Baiting actually has a bad appetite, what do these people think of their homes?Is it where they play casually?Father, son, brother, uncle, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, don't they deserve half a point of respect in their eyes?

The appearance is gorgeous and rich, but the inside is rotten. This is the rule for them as a wealthy family and people in the aristocratic circle?

Thinking about it further, this is the rule of Ying Gonghou now, but what about before?If you have never been exposed to it, and you have never been used to it, where did the old master cultivate the values?Certain things can be passed on from generation to generation.

He closed his eyes and calmed down: "Now it can be basically concluded that it is the eldest lady Wang. The husband and wife have a bad relationship. The person who is close to her must not be the eldest son. The third child, Ying Yutong, can also be ruled out. Except for the old lord, There is no second person."

Qiu Yiqing: "There are also people who are close to the Lu family. It may be the old master, or the son. At present, the possibility of the son is even greater."

"As for whether the old Hou Ye and the prince have got involved with other people, such as what role the Cai family plays in this family, whether they are clean or not... It is unknown at present."

"The housekeeper, Xu Kai, must know the secrets in the mansion, otherwise it would be impossible to live so well."

"That's right!" Speaking of this, Shen Jiang raised his hand, "The servants of the Hou Mansion will change a batch every few years. Xu Kai, who can stay for more than ten years, can be counted on one hand. Xiao Xiangyi The eldest daughter, she has made such a big mistake and has not been killed, he must have something in her hand!"

Ye Baiting: "The reason why the third child of the deceased was lustful and sensual is now explained, because the family he grew up in is such a rotten state. He has been influenced by his ears and eyes, and he has grown crooked from the root. He really doesn't feel that there is something wrong with him. Others Call him because others don't understand, and don't be afraid of causing serious troubles. Anyway, family members will wipe his ass. Lu suddenly changed his aesthetic preferences. He obviously loves beauty. The details of his grooming are exquisite, but his clothes are dull and straight. Probably because the position of the person she likes is different, she respects the rules, so she also learns to respect the rules, and when others like the dignified and elegant person next to her pillow, she learns to be dignified and elegant..."

Shen Jiang: "Why do you like it? Does this family really like it?"

Qiu Yiqing thought for a while, and said: "Before Lu Shi, he was not from the Ying family."

"She grew up in a different environment." Ye Baiting lowered her eyebrows. "She dared to resist getting married so hard. No matter what the most important reason was at the time, she had a certain yearning for love."

Shen Jiang touched his chin: "That's right..."

Ye Baiting said again: "The eldest lady Wang is very different. Although her surname is not Ying, she has been with Ying Gonghou for a long time and got used to it. She is familiar with everything here. There must be many small contradictions in her past experience, and things she can't figure out. , but they were all subtly resolved. Her journey was smooth and smooth, she married steadily, and gradually became a competent mistress, a housewife. She may not realize it herself, but this is what others want her to grow into. , She thinks that she is being herself, has the greatest initiative and control, and all decisions are her own choices, but in fact, she has been arranged by others, and her path is chosen by others and pushed her to go."