The first work of the imperial prison

The summer wind is invading, the cicadas are irritating, the heat is always unbearable, and the sultry heat when the rain is brewing is even more so, making people wish to go back to winter immediately, at worst, wear more clothes, it will not be so uncomfortable. I can't breathe.

Ye Baiting still has a bit of bitter summer, her appetite is not very good, she is lazy and doesn't like to move, she will have diarrhea if she eats something cold, and being controlled by Qiu Xunqing and not allowed to eat more, life is even more difficult.

Fortunately, there is a Liangshui Pavilion. He doesn’t do business every day, so he goes to nest in the pavilion. It’s much more comfortable. My sister came over to take a look and touched his thin face: “It’s okay, at least it’s not as thin as before. so many."

There is nothing important about Beizhen Fusi recently. The third prince... has made some progress, but the progress is a little slow. The other party is recuperating, and he is very peaceful. Mandu couldn't get in touch for a while.

The guards in Jinyi each have their own errands, Shen Jiang also runs outside with the day, and he is promoted and his wife is happy. He is full of radiance and energy. He doesn't want to rest at all, but he is too busy and has no time to come and talk to the young master. idle.

Since Beizhen Fusi had nothing to do and no new cases, Ye Baiting simply didn't go back and stayed directly at Qiu Yiqing's house, vowing to lock him up with Liangshuiting.

After living here for a long time, I gradually got to know the people here, such as the old butler with gray hair.

The old butler is An Nong, an old man in the mansion. He can see that he has practiced martial arts. His legs and feet are sharper than young people. His eyes are also hale and hearty. .

He is young and looks young, but his mentality is not young at all. He is worried about everywhere in the house, and he has to take care of everything. He is most worried about hatred and suspicion, and loves Ye Baiting the most. It has already topped the list of the elderly's favorite characters.

He can do anything, nothing can be difficult for him, and he is especially good at playing tricks. Seeing Ye Baiting sitting bored and Qiu Yiqing not at home, he will think of various ways to make Ye Baiting happy, as if he is afraid that Ye Baiting will run away if he is bored. It seems that you can even go to the kitchen to cook. Is it just the taste... Maybe it's not that particular.

Ye Baiting got along with him for a few days, and found out that the old housekeeper and Qiu Yiqing had a special sense of intimacy. Although Qiu Yiqing didn't come back often before, and now the two of them don't talk much, their bond is very deep. The old housekeeper should be Qiu Yiqing. Those left behind by the elders.

He likes chatting with the old housekeeper very much. When Qiu Suqing is not around, he will chat with the old man. The old housekeeper has rich experience and can chat for a few words no matter what. What to drink, or some mysterious treasure... nothing he can't talk about.

If there is an old man in the family, there is still a treasure. The wisdom and experience of the old man are so precious, especially those witty little stories. Ye Baiting couldn't stop listening to them. The friendship between the two grew rapidly. He is young.

Who would have imagined that Qiu Yiqing would even eat the old man's jealousy, and he would act according to rubbing at any time. Whenever he was around, he would separate them. Every time he came back, he would drive the old housekeeper away. Poor old housekeeper A lot of age, gray hair, staggering feet, aggrieved and pitiful walked away, turning around every step, wiping his eyes with his sleeves and pretending to cry.

Ye Baiting: ...

He could actually see that the old housekeeper was happy, he deliberately pretended to be funny, and he was really emotional, not because of him, but because of hatred.

He doesn't know what Qiu Suqing was like when he was General An, but he shouldn't see too clearly what he was like when he was a commander. Gao, it’s the same for others. At first, the Jinyiwei of Fusi in Beizhen was full of complaints from his training, so he sent a group to assassinate him at night. It's dark, and the whole person is not angry. Who can like it?

It's all right now, although I'm still upright and serious, with strict discipline, but the whole person's temperament has become restrained, the sharpness of his body is still there, and his work habits will not change, but the whole person looks harmonious, his state is better, and he is more active Upward, people want to get close, respect is greater than awe.

After walking around the house for a few times, the land is familiar, such as where is the guest room, where is the study, where is the storeroom, where is the kitchen, and where is the garden... He knows it clearly, it is really big here, and it is very quiet inside. There is a small garden, a small bamboo forest, and a small pond. After walking around, there is nothing missing.

Under the leadership of the old housekeeper, this time Ye Baiting tried the new clothes made for him by the mansion, the new dishes the chef developed for him, looked at the ledgers that had been boxed in the study early, and the books hidden in the deepest part of the mansion. The storeroom, the pile of jeweled treasures...

The old butler is very ambitious. Every time he takes him to a place and sees a lot of things, he expects his surprise performance, and he just slams Fang Qiu and says - this is the country that the general has laid down for you!

When I saw the first one, Ye Baiting was really surprised and surprised, who doesn't like a beautiful baby?When I saw the second one, I would still admire and exclaim in my heart. When I saw the tenth one, I would already compare it in my heart, thinking that this one is not as good as the previous one, and that one is not as bright as this one. When I see more...then I become expressionless. , but that's it, the first No.19 seems to be better.

There's really no way to perform surprises.

Forget about the ledger, although he can read it, but it is annoying to do digital work. After he vaguely understood what the old housekeeper meant, he just pushed it clean. He didn’t go anywhere except the cool water pavilion, and he didn’t care about anything. .

Ye Baiting also noticed a problem, people here would not call Qiu Yiqing the commander, they would call him the general.

There are basically no maids in the house, no young girls, there are a few cooks under the kitchen, and there are also a few women who are in charge of cleaning and some shopping. Arguing with people outside, Ye Baiting guessed that they should be family members of the army, and most of them are men who are gone, so I am sorry to be sheltered by Qiu Xingqing in vain, so they came to help with things.

Ye Baiting also noticed that there are many veterans, some of whom are disabled, retired from the ranks, and some of them are good at a certain skill, and they work as martial arts masters and train recruits newcomer.

Ye Baiting suddenly thought, Qiu Yiqing...has personal soldiers.He was indeed parachuted into Beizhen Fusi and served as a commander, but General An came back from the border, how could he be alone?

In the past, it's not that Qiu Yiqing never mentioned these two words to him, but he ignored them. Thinking about it now, where are these people and what are they doing?

Whether General An has personal soldiers and where they are placed, it doesn't matter to the people of the capital whether they know it or not. Anyway, they are a great force to protect the capital, but for some people who want to rebel, it is the biggest obstacle.

The night raids that the third prince engaged in before, and the incident was so big, may not mean to test these people, after all, knowing yourself and the enemy is the only way to win a hundred battles... But the effect is of course not as expected. Great, it didn't make more tragedies happen, and there was no need for Qiu Suqing's personal soldiers to come out.

Knowing that Ye Baiting found out about this, the old steward even slipped his mouth, saying that it's all right, the emperor knows about the general's affairs, but it's just a big secret, so it's not easy to explain it to outsiders.

Ye Baiting understood the look in the eyes of the old housekeeper, and knew that if he asked a few more words, the other party would also answer, but he didn't continue to ask, military secrets, he shouldn't get involved too much, he was just a coworker, do his job well That's fine, if necessary, Qiu Yiqing will let him know.

……

During the Ghost Festival, Ye Baiting went out to visit his father's grave with his sister.

At that time, the father was charged with corruption, his own son Ye Baiting was imprisoned for being implicated, his adopted son He Yiming ignored him, and his elder sister was still far away and couldn't come back in time. , the grave mound is not big, and the location is not very good.

Ye Baishao lit the joss sticks, placed the sacrifices, took Ye Baiting to kowtow a few times, and then said slowly: "I know father shouldn't sleep here, but before his stigma is removed, I don't want to move the grave either, I want to Watching his coffin walk across the long street innocently, and be buried with his mother."

Ye Baiting has integrated a lot of emotions from his predecessor, and he can vaguely see them in the past. He also has his own judgment on his father's perception. He knows why Ye Baishao firmly believes that his father is innocent, because in the past years, during the process of growing up, Ye Junang gave them the impression that Just like his name, there is a gentleman who stands proudly in the world. His character and strength are reflected in his dealings with people and in the things he has done. I would never do such a bad thing.

"Sister, don't worry, the commander and I are thoroughly investigating this matter. In the not-too-distant future, father will be given justice."

He picked up the jug and poured a glass of wine, which was in front of the grave.

If the soul of the dead has a spirit in the sky, he will definitely recognize that he is not his son. I wonder if everything he has done today can comfort him for a moment, and whether his future choices will be blessed by him...

Ye Baiting will not arbitrarily accuse himself of all the arrangements of fate, he only hopes that the way forward and all the choices he makes will be worthy of his heart.

After going to the grave, Ye Baishao took his younger brother and left: "Okay, don't be so straight-faced, Daddy wants you to be happy the most. Since childhood, when you were how old, when Daddy came home, you smiled and shook your little one. He walked over with short legs, opened his arms to hug him, and called daddy softly, saying that daddy worked hard, and that was his happiest moment. He said that no matter how tired, tired or uncomfortable outside, as long as you hug him like this, he will feel like the sky. It's all clear, and he's got another 500 years to go...don't be unhappy, huh?"

Ye Baiting lowered his eyes: "Yes."

"Things have passed. The first thing we should do is to live a good life. When we have spare time and the right time, we will do this. This is what Dad wants to see, so we don't have to worry, and we can't be innocent of his expectations. Others don't understand that he can, but we can't..."

Ye Baishao said this to Ye Baiting and also to himself.

The two siblings walked through the vast wilderness together, with the soft breeze blowing their hair and clothes, neither of them spoke anymore, as if there was no need to say anything, as they understood each other in their hearts.

When he got to the side of the main road and was about to get into the carriage, Ye Baishao remembered something, and looked at Ye Baiting with a serious face: "So how is your progress? Have you tried the commander, what do you think of you, and when will you marry? Are you born?" The body is not good, and the growth process is too spoiled. Dad was most worried about you when he was alive. I am afraid that there will be no one who knows what is cold and hot. No one can take care of you in every detail. Life is getting worse and worse. Alone... When will you be able to gain some strength and comfort your father's spirit in heaven?"

Ye Baiting: ...

"I'll do it as soon as possible, okay?"

"That's about the same," Ye Baishao saw his younger brother's expression was not perfunctory, let him go, and said earnestly, "If you have any troubles, just talk to my sister, as long as you are willing to do things, the rest will be handled by my sister, don't be afraid ,do you know?"

"Ah."

Ye Baiting nodded, took out a wooden hairpin, and handed it to her sister: "The third prince handed it to me that night. Later, when I went to Zhuzhilou, I wanted to return it to you, but found that I forgot to bring it."

It is a peach wood hairpin, a gift from Shizhou to Ye Baishao.

"I'm still lost."

Ye Baishao took the hairpin and put it in her hair casually, because there was no mirror, she had to straighten it up a bit, and asked her younger brother, "Does it look good?"

Although it was rare, Ye Baiting still saw the shyness in her sister's lowered eyebrows: "It's very beautiful."

……

July is hot, this year's summer comes late, and it seems to be longer than in previous years. The days are moving forward so slowly, and it seems that July will slowly end.

Ye Baiting spends the summer in Liangshui Pavilion every day. He reads books, chats, tastes delicious food, and occasionally finds someone to come over to play a game of chess or a game, and the days are gone.

This kind of feeling is really good, carefree, people are at ease, have food and clothing, wind and ice, relatives and friends, night life with quality and quantity... If there is a day like this, it will be very good .

I hope this kind of life lasts for a long time, and Qiu Yiqing can live to seventy or eighty and don't give up.

It would be great if my sister could urge the marriage without any stitches.

Ye Baiting doesn't hate it. To him, it's a kind of sweet trouble. Marriage...Although Qiu Yiqing mentioned it, he didn't say it recently. I want to wait for things to settle down, such as cleaning up the big trouble of the third prince, and other daily official duties are not so important, so I can be a little lazy with peace of mind, and don't have to worry about others taking the opportunity to make trouble, and getting married will become uncomfortable.

When will the third prince be settled?Two months, three months, half a year?It is estimated that I can't wait for a year. It is impossible for the people trained by Qiu Xunqing to stretch their hips like that, and they can't touch anyone for so long, and the third prince can't wait for that long. Maybe he will continue to be a demon after he recovers from his injuries.

So when is the day of getting married?Winter...will it be a bit cold?

On the night of July 26, Qiu Xunqing came back with a different look from before.

Ye Baiting was lying on the table, but when he saw his appearance, he sat up: "What's wrong?"

Qiu Yiqing sat beside him, asked for a kiss first, and then asked, "Do you still remember Mrs. Cai?"

Ye Baiting nodded, Ying Puxin's wife, he not only remembered Cai, but also remembered the couple's romantic story, especially the impressive 'Qixi Moon'.

"Didn't she go back to sort out her deceased husband's belongings and look for clues about your father in the correspondence?" Qiu Xunqing picked up Ye Baiting's tea cup and drank it dry. "At present, all the clues have been gathered in Jinyiwei. Xing Mingda."

Ye Baiting: "Xing Mingda? Has something to do with my father?"

Qiu Suiqing's head: "Father-in-law and Ying Puxin met when they were traveling in other places, and it felt like they had forgotten their old friends. Afterwards, letters kept coming and going, and they talked about a lot of things, regrets and emotions about the past, and even some secrets, but these secrets It didn't go too deep, the way the letter is written, I feel that the father-in-law must have some kind of knot, this Xing Mingda is also the name he mentioned."

Ye Baiting thought about it carefully, and then went back to recall, including the content of chatting with her sister all the time, this person's name never appeared. If his father was really familiar with this person, they shouldn't know about it.

No, wait.

"Father-in-law?" Ye Baiting looked at Qiu Yiqing with raised eyebrows.

Qiu Yiqing was quite at ease: "Sooner or later, I will call like this."

He also took the opportunity to come over, stole a kiss, clasped Ye Baiting's waist with his big hands, as if to give him strength: "I will accompany you to investigate the truth of this case, don't be sad and be influenced by emotions."

Ye Baiting took a deep breath: "...OK."

"Then I continue?"

"Yeah." Ye Baiting nodded, "But I have no impression of Xing Mingda, and I've never heard my sister mention it."

"Don't worry."

Seeing that Xiao Wuzuo's mouth was a little dry, Qiu Xunqing refilled him with tea and fed him: "My father-in-law has always been an official outside, and his performance evaluations have always been excellent. He didn't stay in Beijing, probably because the atmosphere in the officialdom was not good. How good, he doesn't want to be in the same boat, or has any other worries or knots, outsiders don't know about it, and he has never told anyone about it."

"This Xing Mingda has always been an official in Beijing. Through investigations over the years, his behavior trajectory has never intersected with his father-in-law. I ordered Jin Yiwei to investigate far away, only to find out that the two were classmates. Mingda was studying in an academy, and for a while they had become friends, but as a young boy studying, there were always congenial feelings, and sometimes faded away, after leaving the academy, the two of them had no contact with each other..."

"I have read the investigation files, and it seems that there is no conflict or betrayal. It seems that the two people have no fate, have never met again, and there is no need to contact more, but the last person I met before my father-in-law passed away was him. .”

Ye Baiting frowned slightly: "My father's death..."

Qiu Xunqing: "I checked carefully and compared all the details before and after. There is no doubt about the death of my father-in-law. At that time, I had not entered the Beizhen Fusi. But there are a lot of unspoken rules, as do the guards at the lower level, some things are not done very brightly, but because the father-in-law is of high character, the people at the lower levels did not deliberately make things difficult, because his physical condition is not very good."

"He was sick when he was imprisoned. Summer fever is prone to disease. He was unlucky, and he was a little seriously ill. At that time, there was no imperial doctor here, and the people in the prison had no family members to go out and spend a lot of money to get in. Seeing a doctor is difficult, and he himself doesn't care much about his illness, he only mentioned that he wants to see people, but he has been an official outside the country all year round, and he has no foundation in the capital, and some people obstruct him and deliberately obstruct him, so he can't see anyone."

Ye Baiting mused, his mind kept thinking, what was his responsibility, he missed it at the time, now Qiu Yiqing is the commander, it is very convenient to check these, no one should lie to him, and he dare not.

"Who does my father want to see? Who stopped him?" He narrowed his eyes slightly, "He Yiming?"

Qiu Yiqing nodded: "He Yiming should have been bewitched by the third prince before then. As an adopted son, as long as he manages properly, he can easily see his father-in-law, and it is even more convenient to intercept his father-in-law's messages. Whom does his father-in-law want to see, except him?" No one knows, of course he didn't try his best, and then he was so quick that he exposed more "evidence" on his own, making the crimes that were still doubtful and not worthy of death even if he was sentenced to a bigger crime, even you To be implicated...father-in-law vomited blood at that time."

Ye Baiting closed his eyes: "So it's not that my father doesn't worry about me, it's not that he doesn't want to take care of me, it's that he can't take care of me...he's very sick."

"Yes."

Qiu Yiqing's voice was low: "When he was sober, he tried to think of a solution, but it was useless. He Yiming's actions were too fast and too ruthless. The case was directly sentenced, and you were sent to prison. Father-in-law even saw He Yiming. In the last waking moment before his death, he saw Xing Mingda, and died shortly thereafter."

"So you mean..." Ye Baiting lowered his eyebrows, "Even if Xing Mingda didn't personally kill my father, the cause of my father's death is probably related to him?"

Qiu Suiqing's head: "Xing Mingda entered the imperial prison that day. He came in the name of a business official, but he didn't say that he wanted to see his father-in-law. It seems to be a coincidence. He also gave the money on that day. After clearing the place, others didn't care about it." I don't know what happened, if it wasn't for an old jailer who had diarrhea and didn't know about 'rewarding silver', when he returned to his post, he happened to see Xing Mingda leaving the door of his father-in-law's prison, and he didn't know that they had met before."

Ye Baiting looked at Qiu Yiqing: "He Yiming was bewitched by the third prince, and he specially delivered this fatal blow to my father. What about Xing Mingda, could he also be related to the third prince? My father... Could it be that he accidentally Offended the Third Prince?"

Qiu Xunqing really wanted to give him an answer, but he couldn't: "There is no evidence for this matter, so we can't make a conclusion, but we can look in this direction."

"Before that, we analyzed the clues. My father may be protecting something. This can be found out. Is it true?"

"It has not been confirmed yet. No matter how old you are, it is impossible to entrust all the secrets. The clues in the father-in-law's letter are very vague, and there is no more left behind before he passed away. We still need to pay attention to this matter."

"Where is Xing Mingda now? Is he still an official in the capital?"

"He is currently in the Tongzheng Envoy. He is a counselor. From the fourth grade, although the official is small, he is extremely important. All the pre-case reports of the emperor, except for the secret memorials, must be sorted out by the Tongzheng Envoy."

"Then if he belongs to the third prince, wouldn't he be very dangerous?"

"Yes. But with his authority, he shouldn't be able to do too much. The most he can do is ask for some leftover information and pass it on to the third prince. It's too late tonight. At that time, we will ask him again for questioning, now you should be obedient and sleep first, this matter will definitely come to light."

"……it is good."

Ye Baiting slept very well last night. It may be that Qiu Yiqing's shoulders are too broad and his arms are too warm, or it may be that what he wanted to do finally saw the light of day. In a daze, he seemed to dream of Ye Junang's face. With a gratified smile on his face, he patted him on the shoulder, telling him to relax and take his time...

You are Daddy's big baby, Daddy will watch you in the sky and bless you, don't be afraid of anything, just go forward step by step.

Waking up refreshed, Ye Baiting felt that this time it would go well, and he was waiting to ask that Xing Mingda something about the destructive and crippled enemy!

Unexpectedly, before noon, instead of waiting for Qiu Xunqing to come, he saw Shen Jiang who was in a hurry.

"Master, that Xing Mingda is dead!"

"Dead?" Ye Baiting stood up instantly.

"That's not what happened," Shen Jiang's expression was unprecedentedly serious, "He died in the palace, at the imperial banquet given by the emperor, and you said that this incident caused trouble, what shall we do!"

It is said that Shen Jiang is already a thousand households, and he is fully qualified to enter the palace to see him, but his mentality has not changed yet, he is a little timid, and what can be done easily with the royal family?If there is a murder case, the scene must not be immediately sealed off, so that mosquitoes cannot fly in?So what if he is a thousand households, even first-rank officials of the imperial court may not be able to get in!

Ye Baiting thought for a moment: "Where's the commander? He should be on the scene by now?"

If nothing came back, Shen Jiang would not have known about it.

Shen Jiang nodded: "Well, the commander is in the palace, but he won't be able to come out for a while. Send a message to let Sili be ready to call at all times. I see that the murder case is urgent, so I have to speak to the young master."

Ye Baiting's eyes were clear and organized: "In short, such a case will definitely be handed over to Beizhen Fusi, right?"

Shen Jiang nodded fiercely: "Then it must be handed over to us, otherwise, who can do it? Someone really dared to snatch it, and the commander is on the scene, can someone snatch it away?"

Ye Baiting lowered his eyes: "So the corpse will be handed over soon."

"It should be. It's just that the process in the palace doesn't know how to go, fast or slow."

"Since the corpse will come, we will investigate sooner or later, so you don't have to worry about it," Ye Baiting said, "I can't see the scene for the time being. You always know who died. You need to know your relationship, what you've been doing recently, and who you have grudges with. ...You can send someone to carry out this matter immediately, but you just need to remember that the harem has no intentions, and the wind should not be leaked, so keep a low profile first."

Shen Jiang immediately had a backbone: "Yes! I know how to do it!"

Ye Baiting got up: "I'll go back to Beizhen Fusi immediately, if you have any doubts, you can come to me to discuss."

"Yes!"