The first work of the imperial prison

In the night sky, shining candlelight, Qiu Yiqing not only called Shen Jiang and Ye Baiting, but also the person involved in the case, Mrs. Tong.

As for the others, there is no need to call, the Empress Dowager and Concubine You are all present, including the two father-in-laws.Empress Yue and Emperor Yu'an attended the lantern lighting ceremony together today. Knowing that others will cause trouble, and their own people are prepared, of course they will not miss the person who should be missed.

It's just that when people are present, their expressions are different.

The empress dowager is mature, her expression is very stable, she is not panicked at all, just now the person who scolded Emperor Yu'an and committed suicide made such a big commotion, she didn't take a step back, and she didn't need anyone to help her, she can sit comfortably now Be steady, and even smile at the officials and people below.

Xichang Changchang Gongban and An stood next to the master, their expressions were less serious than usual, there was no panic or fear.

Concubine You covered her lips with a handkerchief, she rolled her eyes, looked at Emperor Yu'an and Empress Yue more, not because she was afraid, but as if she was very interested in what happened tonight, her sitting posture was extremely beautiful.

Fu Lixing stood beside her, looking at her nose, nose, and heart, as if he couldn't see anywhere else, and didn't want to look anywhere else.

Tong Shi was simply a little scared, no matter how smart and capable she was, she was also a woman who lived in the inner house, and everyone in the seat was distinguished, how could she dare to be presumptuous... So she kept her head down, not daring to lift it up.

Qiu Yiqing: "Today, Qianhu and Wu, Fusi of Beizhen, will work together with the emissary to straighten out the case, solve the events of the past, and solve the doubts about the emperor's life experience. Although the emissary does not know who the person who caused the trouble just now, he probably knows , Where did he come from—someone has been planning to rebel in the name of the 'Third Prince'!"

In one sentence, it caused a lot of discussion among the people.

"What's going on, why is there a third prince? Where did he come from?"

"That's right, didn't the emperor just welcome the queen into the palace this year, and he hasn't given birth to a little prince yet. Where did the third child come from?"

"Even if you give birth, it's too late to grow up to the age to rebel!"

"What exactly is going on……"

After a while of whispering, the common people found that apart from them discussing, none of the officials present seemed to speak. Did these people actually know!

It is true that the officials present are of high authority, Lu Ziguang is well-informed, and knows a thing or two, and some are just like the common people, confused and shaken in their hearts, but after all, they are people in the officialdom. No matter how shocked, it is impossible to show everything on the face like the common people, and keep it in the heart, without revealing it at all.

But they were even more surprised that no matter who the third prince was, he was an ignorant person who wanted to plot a rebellion. The commander dared to speak out about him in front of everyone. He was not afraid to build up the opponent's momentum and draw out even bigger question?To deal with this kind of person, shouldn't they be tracked down quietly, suppressed secretly, or even assassinated!

Then quietly glanced at the emperor sitting on the seat, sitting very steadily, without a trace of worry in his expression, this is a gesture of support and indulgence.

Could it be... have you been prepared?

Some people breathed a sigh of relief, the political situation is unstable, and it is difficult to be an official. I just hope that nothing will happen today and I can get through it.

After the scene was quiet again, Qiu Yiqing said: "In a good life, there are always people who don't want to live a good life. They hide evil intentions and plot things. What they want to mess up is my big country, and what they want to be bad is my people's peace. Their hearts are good." punish!"

The atmosphere was too serious, everyone didn't speak, but they all had the same thoughts in their hearts, and they especially wanted to shout out, that is, their hearts are to be punished, they should be beheaded, they should be killed!

After finishing speaking, Qiu Yiqing turned to Concubine You Taigui: "Do you think so, Concubine You Taigui?"

Attending the Lantern Festival with the Emperor today, Imperial Concubine You is also well-dressed, although the late Emperor is long gone, she is now a widow, she should not be bright, but there is no way, who told her to love beauty?If others don't like it, they can say it if they want to. She is tired of hearing these words in the past, and she doesn't care anymore.

Facing Shang Qiu's blue eyes, she smiled slightly: "Look at the commander who asked this question, how can you ask a woman in my palace about family and country matters? Do you think this palace should know?"

Qiu Suqing's cold eyes did not change: "The emissary did not pursue the crime, but the facts, but only asked whether this kind of thing should not be tolerated, and immediately executed. You are a woman in the deep palace, and you are also a commoner of Dazhao. Why, so Can't answer simple questions?"

"The commander is very angry today, and it's not my fault. What's the truth with me?" Concubine You Taigui was very steady, with a smile on her face, "Didn't you mean to solve the case? Xing Mingda first, then Xing Mingda Mrs. Han Ninghou, in the end, even Yin Mengqiu, a female official, died, and there were murders in the palace. I was curious, why did you just start, but didn’t say anything? Or—”

She smiled: "Or there is no evidence at all, just to bluff people, so far?"

"The commander is naturally not bluffing. It's just that these murders involve too many past events. In the past, Concubine You Taigui knew about everything in the palace. Our commander asked this question. Unexpectedly, Concubine You Taigui was very curious... ..."

Ye Baiting stepped forward to salute, and raised his voice: "Ten years and three years ago, on the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, this 'Third Prince' was 11 years old, and he had already done something that endangered Dazhao. Suburban official road, meeting with a team of Oirats in an alliance, last year's thunder and fire bomb case in the capital, everyone present should remember, where did these thunders and fires come from?

There was silence.

Not only the third prince, but also collaborating with the enemy and traitorous country!

Concubine You Taigui obviously doesn't know what Jin Yiwei has found out, what he has in hand, she is really curious now, and wants to talk about these things, it's a cliché...

But Qiu Yiqing didn't give her another chance, but turned to Ye Baiting: "It's up to you to tell everyone what happened back then."

Everyone was wondering why Ye Baiting raised his hand when a lawyer was asked to explain the case, "Do you know this bracelet with a small bell hanging on my wrist?"

Some people shook their heads, others nodded——

"I know! Those are not small bracelets, they are the special shackles of the prison!"

Ye Baiting nodded: "That's right. Many people in the capital know me. They know that I was in Beizhen Fusi and followed the commander to investigate the case. It can be considered that I have made some contributions. Many people also know that I came out of the imperial prison. Up to now, I have not yet been free. I have recruited talented people from the emperor, and I have recruited talents of all kinds. Ye was very lucky. Under the command of the envoy, he personally wrote a letter to the emperor's case, and the imperial pen personally approved it. I just got this. Bracelets and bells instead of shackles', a chance to atone for one's sin."

Speaking of this, Ye Baiting paid big salutes to Emperor Yu'an and Qiu Yiqing respectively, and then continued: "From now on, I can go out of the prison to conduct autopsies and investigate cases, but no matter where I go, I have to be guarded by Jin Yiwei. If I have a different intention and flee outside Beijing, as the commander of my guarantor, I will be punished for the same crime—a prisoner who escapes from prison can be executed.”

The crowd was silent, and dared to use the edict to inmate prisoners, just because of their talents, how generous the emperor is!Dare to be a guarantee for a criminal, and lose the same crime, how courageous the commander is!

"You must be curious, why should I tell you about this past?" Ye Baiting took a deep breath, "Because my father, Ye Junang, was hated by the third prince because of this incident 13 years ago. Because I was imprisoned, I was implicated in this matter, and I couldn't get out, because I worked hard to go to this day, to walk in front of people, just to complain about the unspeakable suffering of the past, the injustice I suffered on my body, so that the facts can be brought to light, Let the souls of the dead rest in peace!"

In the crowd, in the corner where no one saw, Ye Baishao burst into tears.

No wonder... no wonder my younger brother told me that I must come to the opening ceremony of the lantern show today. It turns out...it's tonight.

Ye Baiting: "In my father's case, there was a 'great justice', which provided a lot of evidence. Afterwards, he was the only one who was not implicated, and he was promoted to He Yiming, the adopted son of the Minister of Criminal Affairs. I think everyone has heard of it."

When everyone heard it, it turned out to be this case, so they had really heard of it!

"My father was imprisoned for 'corruption'. It was only three days since the case started. The details of the appeal and the details of the trial process were not clear yet. He Yiming produced many plausible letters between my father and the Wala people. , implying that this matter is not as simple as corruption, but collaborating with the enemy and betraying the country, saying that my father had some secret deal with Walading. Since then, the trial has been unbelievably fast. He was weak and went with my father in a few days, and my father and son were also imprisoned for the crime of 'collaborating with the enemy'."

Ye Baiting's eyes are bright: "My father is a clean and honest official. He has been an official outside the country all year round. Except for returning to Beijing to wait for transfer, he has never stayed in the capital, so many people don't know him. But if there is corruption, why? When the government ransacked the house, didn’t they confiscate a large amount of gold, silver, jewelry and other property from my house? A truly corrupt person would have only books left in his family, and the public account could not even afford a third-tier house in the capital? If there were any collaborators Why are those letters so secretive? If it wasn’t for the commander’s personal investigation, it’s still not clear? He Yiming said that the recipient of the letter is a Wala, but you can name any person and talk about Wala. It’s a Wala. Is the other party an official or a businessman? The identity may be verified and compared. Why didn’t they follow up and only listen to He Yiming’s one-sided words? Even if He Yiming really exterminated his relatives righteously and made meritorious deeds in exposing him, he also grew up in my house since he was a child, and my father raised him by himself The beloved child has never lost a single thing, the grace of nurturing, I remember that in the "Dazhao Law", it is clearly stated that the government should consider the case, why can he not touch himself at all, and he was promoted to the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment after a sudden transformation?"

The details of Ye Junang's case, due to He Yiming's promotion and the disappearance of the previous head of the Beizhen Fusi, have become extremely difficult to find out. But it was guessed and could not be verified.

One day without understanding Ye Junang's motives for not speaking, one day can't piece together the truth, the logic is not perfect, the evidence is not complete, and any grievances are in vain. Fortunately, they found it.

Ye Baiting pursed her lips tightly, suppressing the anger in her heart.

The people at the scene were also quite shocked. That's right, which one of the truly corrupt officials has searched the people's fat and people's anointing, rich people's riches, and ransacked the house without confiscating anything, but the judgment of the case is problematic!It is said that Master Ye colluded with Wala, there must be traces of this person's contacts with others, except for letters, other evidence, and witnesses, are they all lost or dead?Live to see people, die to see corpses!When you open your mouth and close it, you say collusion, there is no other evidence, this is an isolated evidence, can it count?

So He Yiming is really a white-eyed wolf!Raising him for so long, the kindness and righteousness are beyond heaven, even if the other party is really a villain, you are aware of it, can't you persuade him to rein in the precipice and find a way to stop it?Don't say anything, just throw the 'evidence' to the court, let others sentence Master Ye, and the whole family is ruined because of this... What kind of adopted son is this, this is the enemy's family!

All kinds of grievances and grievances are turning in the eyes of the common people, but the officials present are thinking more, which is indeed a bit abrupt... It is self-confidence that you can achieve the desired result, otherwise you will definitely not do this, lose your official position and lose your morals, how will you mess up in the future?

If he relies on... who is he relying on?Who gave him the direction of framing, this letter from the Oirats, and who asked him to do it?

Qiu Yiqing raised his voice: "There is a case in Enke this year, and everyone here knows that someone tried to cheat and manipulate the imperial examination by clever means, and the culprit has been caught. It is He Yiming and Shen Jiang—"

"Subordinates are here!"

"Can this person confess the truth?"

"Return to Commander! This person is serving his sentence in prison and will be executed in a few days according to the law. He confessed to the fact of cheating in the imperial examination case, and he also regretfully admitted to the case of Lord Ye. The so-called letters of 'collaborating with the enemy and traitorous country' are all forged , All his actions at that time were only for his own selfishness—these are his confessions, everyone, please read!"

Shen Jiang had prepared these things a long time ago, and now he took them out, unfolded them himself, and displayed them in front of the crowd.

Among the common people, those who can read and write read the words while reading, and everyone understands them. This is really the case!

The facts are clear, the logic is smooth, and the evidence is solid!

"White-eyed wolf! Bah!"

"This life is a kindness, and raising is also a kindness. Don't say that filial piety is greater than the sky. After so many years of licking the love, you can break it up casually. Can you bite back!"

"Why hasn't this beast been killed yet? Do you have to wait until after the autumn? Why don't you kill it!"

"Lord Ye is a good official... You may not be familiar with the people in the capital, but I was a merchant, went to too many places, and met bandits. If this Lord Ye was not honest and upright, my caravan would have thirty or forty people. People, all have to..."

What the common people read is the story and the past, but the officials present read it more carefully, looking at the richness of the evidence and whether the logical chain is round.

In fact, whether it is a false accusation or an unjust case rehabilitated, it is very easy to forge a confession. The difficulty is that the details are rich, and all logical chains are in place. No matter how suspicious you are, you can't make a mistake.

There must be traces of people's actions, and there must be reasons to be investigated. If you deliberately forge confession evidence, it must be blunt. There are many loopholes found, but if there are real things, what the criminal has done, as long as you investigate, there will be a lot of details. The deeper the investigation, the more things you can find, which proves that he has done these things...

Experienced officials could tell at a glance that He Yiming's confession and what happened to the deceased Ye Junang must be true.

They also pay more attention to details than ordinary people. For example, the two people repeatedly mentioned in this confession—Jiang Jihong, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and Fang Zhisuke, Lang Zhongfang, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, both disappeared mysteriously when Jin Yiwei was investigating the case of the Ministry of Officials. , have not been found yet.

Ye Baiting has been paying attention to the expressions of the common people and officials, and seeing someone seems to have come to his senses, he said: "Before the North Town Fusi investigated the case of official position trading, although Jiang Jihong, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, was not the murderer, but the official position trading system is It was built by him alone, and Fang Zhizhu, the official doctor, seems to have nothing to do with the case, but in fact he is the ultimate beneficiary, and these two people are the culprits of all the evil deeds today."

The people were a little confused, and the officials were surprised, it turned out to be them?But why?Could it be...

Ye Baiting's eyes were full of moonlight, as if a fire was burning: "Because the two of them are the so-called third prince and his confidantes, they are the ones who really colluded with Wa, colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country!"

"What? They are the third prince and his confidants?"

"But they are officials, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, in charge of the promotion and dispatch of all officials in the court, have they been caught by the third prince long ago!"

"Mother, hello...then where did the third prince hide before? Why didn't everyone know?"

"Are you stupid or not? The young master just said that these two people are the third prince and his confidant. This third prince must have kept his name incognito, and he has been lurking in secret for a long time!"

"You're stupid, so what if you're lurking. When you arrive, you'll be caught by the commander? A mouse in the gutter is a mouse, and they can't get on the stage. They dare to bring about disasters and return to ruin the prosperity and peace of the world. They deserve to die!"

"Everyone, don't worry, just listen to me carefully—"

Ye Baiting pressed his hands together, motioning for everyone to listen to him, and pointed at He Yiming's confession: "Fang Zhizhu is the alias of the so-called Third Prince Ding, and Jiang Jihong is his confidant, who builds up organizational power for him, and plans for him. People, the two started their business from the beginning of business, the name of "Longfeng Commercial Firm" must have been heard by everyone, it is these two people's foundational power and capital."

"If it is an ordinary family, the business of the firm is enough to spend, and there is still a lot of savings. However, the two of them are planning a lot. How can this money be enough? They began to think of tricks, using cargo ships to bring black incense and sell it, forming a deeper and wider relationship. sales chain."

"Ordinary people may seldom hear the word Wuxiang, but doctors who practice medicine know it. Some officials, because of their extensive reading, will also know that it is a harmful thing. When a seller sells it to you, they will say It is something that helps you relieve pain. It can be used as medicine to make you ecstatic, but it will not tell you that it will lure you into addiction, destroy your body, poison your five internal organs, destroy your mind, and make you unhuman. Humans and ghosts are not ghosts, and you will never be able to live without it for the rest of your life, it is a poisonous thing, and you must never touch it."

"But the third prince took things like this for granted. For the sake of a lot of money, he didn't treat the people under him as human beings, and he didn't treat the common people as human beings. All he had in his eyes was profit!"

"He used waterways and flower boats to let this thing spread in Beijing, and at the same time, he used this place where fish and dragons were mixed together to make a bridge to facilitate the sale of official positions, and tried to secretly manipulate the imperial examination. My foster brother He Yiming was bewitched by the third prince himself. , repeatedly violated the ban in the direction of cheating in scientific examinations, even at the expense of killing people..."

"Let's take a look--these are the case files checked by our Beizhen Fusi. The facts are all there, the evidence is conclusive, and every piece of evidence is evidence of the Third Prince's organization!"

Following Ye Baiting's words, Shen Jiang dug out several large files of closed documents from the box sent by Jin Yiwei, spread them out on the table in front, and let the common people and officials read them.

The scene was silent at first, and everyone was eager to read the confession, evidence, clues... After that, it exploded like a drop of water into boiling oil.

"Grass! This bastard is using poison!"

"What is Wuxiang? I've heard of it. If you get it, you can't get rid of it. Some people lose weight, some people go blind, some people even have black teeth, they can't live for a few years, and it's a disaster for the whole family. I've seen it with my own eyes, a child who was so filial and good before, got involved with that thing, and the whole family got into it!"

"It sounds good. What makes Dazhao return to orthodoxy and pray for prosperity and peace is all fake! He doesn't care about the life and death of ordinary people. He just wants money and power!"

"If this world is really stolen by him, what future will there be!"

Ye Baiting waited for the scene to quiet down before saying again: "The reason why the third prince wanted to frame my father is because my father knew his secret 13 years ago."

secret?what secret?

There are too many secrets tonight, too exciting, and too irritating!

The people, together with all the officials, pricked up their ears, ready to listen.

"Thirteen years ago, the Third Prince and the Wala people were connected by someone in the harem and had a private meeting in the suburbs of Beijing..."

When Ye Baiting mentioned this time and this place, he looked at Concubine You Taigui: "You Taigui Concubine really doesn't plan to say anything? You didn't give me the face of the commander just now. If you still don't want to cooperate now, don't do it later." I blame Jin Yiwei for not being merciful to you."

"So... you asked me about something that happened 13 years ago?"

Concubine You Taigui seemed to have just realized it, and the corners of her eyes raised a charming arc: "The commander is also, if you said it earlier, if you said it earlier, the palace would know what it is? But... in the early years, I was well-informed in the palace and had many eyes and ears. People, but I am not alone, Jin Yiwei is not going to ask others?"

She glanced at the Empress Dowager with a vague gaze.

In fact, even if she didn't move, everyone knew what she meant by what she said and who she was alluding to.

This obviously did not intend to cooperate, but Ye Baiting was not disappointed either. He had no expectations for what was expected, so he looked at the Empress Dowager: "Do you have anything to say?"

"13 years ago..."

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes slightly, and thought for a while: "It happened a long time ago, I'm old, I can't remember clearly, but the Ai family remembers that Princess Pingle was unable to come to the New Year's Eve banquet that year, saying She was seriously ill, and in the next spring, before the Huachao Festival came, she would be gone."

Finally, it comes to the princess again.

As soon as everyone's hearts fell, they mentioned again, what happened to the eldest princess that year?What about the emperor, where is the emperor?Did something happen too?

Everyone thinks back, the emperor seems to have returned to the palace 12 years ago?At that time, he was still young, and he could not even be called a full-grown boy. The first emperor suffered a stroke and collapsed in the inner palace. He could not even go to court. The emperor, who was thrown to the temple when he was two years old, came back and made him the prince and let him supervise the country.

But he is an immature child, has not received the emperor's education, and has no foundation in the court, and there are two big mountains in the harem. It can't be done, his life can be said to be like walking on thin ice, trembling, how he made it all the way, how many hardships, I'm afraid only he knows.

The first emperor suffered a stroke for a few years, and he was the titular prince of the country for a few years. In the early years, everyone around him was manipulated. Whoever he wanted to see, what he did and what he said were all up to him. It wasn't until after he ascended the throne that his talent was revealed...

The eldest princess may not be the emperor's mother, but it is a fact that she has raised him for more than ten years, and their bond is not too deep.

What happened that year?

Was it the eldest princess' accident that left the emperor no longer to rely on, and was forced to be thrown into the man-eating palace at a young age?

Ye Baiting knew what the people present were thinking, and also released another important fact——

"On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month in the 13th year, the third prince met the commander and the emperor in the city before meeting with the Wala people."