Aoyama Chronicle

Cao Mingdong and the others came to visit Zhong Yiwen the next afternoon, and to Zhong Yiwen's surprise, Bai Jingqing also came.After three years of separation, after being baptized on the battlefield of life and death, Bai Jingqing appeared more mature and restrained.The originally hesitant and melancholy face also became resolute.It is difficult for Zhong Yiwen to reconcile the tough-looking Bai Jingqing of today with his appearance back then, and this person has really changed too much.

"Brother Bai!" Zhong Yiwen was really surprised and delighted by Bai Jingqing's arrival, "Did you come to Kyoto early, why didn't you come to see me to catch up on the past?"

"I just arrived this morning!"

Zhong Yiwen believed that Bai Jingqing would not tell lies, so he laughed, ordered Housekeeper Chen to prepare tea and snacks, and led the group into the living room.Zhong Yiwen also specially asked Steward Chen to call Qin Fei and the two little buns over, and introduce them to Bai Jingqing and Cao Mingdong.

Both the eldest princess and Cao Mingxi prepared gifts for the two little buns in advance.Their husbands and children soon went out to admire the newly blooming peonies in the yard, and left the living room to Zhong Yiwen and the three of them.

Bai Jingqing's complexion was not very good, and she didn't know if she hadn't had a good rest after the long journey, or she was bothered by something.Bai Jingqing is not a person who can beat around the bush.He and Zhong Yiwen asked a few words about the situation in the past two or three years, and then immediately talked about today's topic.

"Brother Zhong, I actually came here today to ask you for a favor!" When Bai Jingqing said this, she felt a little embarrassed.He is older than Zhong Yiwen, but it happens that Zhong Yiwen helps him every time.If it wasn't really helpless this time, and was persuaded by Cao Mingdong and the others, Bai Jingqing might not come to Zhong Yiwen.

Zhong Yiwen had a feeling that he guessed right, nodded: "If there is anything, as long as I can help, I will definitely not shirk it!"

"Let me tell you!" Cao Mingdong took the lead, "Master Zhong must have heard about this Xuzhou Tongzhi, and that is why we are here today."

"Xuzhou Tongzhi?" Zhong Yiwen is really not very clear about this matter, but he has heard a little bit in his impression, "Could it be that Mr. Cao?"

"Yes, that's him. He is our clan uncle in name, but in fact he is my second uncle. Now he has been framed, his official position will not be guaranteed, and he may be sentenced to death. We came back this time for the second uncle It’s a pity that I couldn’t find the way when I arrived in the capital. Now I can only ask Mr. Zhong for help!” Cao Mingdong is now a general of the third rank, who is much higher than Zhong Yiwen, but he is not an official in the capital. Can't say anything at all.It's not that Cao Mingdong didn't think about suing the emperor directly, but if his second uncle's case was not investigated clearly, even if he sued the emperor, it would be useless.Now they can only find someone to help delay the trial, investigate first, collect all the evidence, and then reverse the case in one fell swoop.

Zhong Yiwen was a little curious, Xuzhou Tongzhi was already a big official, how could he be framed so easily.What's more, this Xuzhou Tongzhi seems to have been taken to Kyoto for trial at Dali Temple, and there are many detours in it.

Bai Jingqing said, "Brother Zhong, do you still remember the adult who told us a story at the banquet after the Qingzhou provincial examination three years ago?"

Zhong Yiwen thought about it, finally remembered, and suddenly realized that it was that adult!Speaking of which, during the grand banquet, that adult unintentionally helped Zhong Yiwen out of the siege once.Zhong Yiwen remembered that he told a story about his childhood sweetheart, and he also persuaded Zhong Yiwen to stick to his choice.At that time, Zhong Yiwen felt that this lord seemed to have something to say.

"Actually, the story Mr. Cao told at the Juzi Banquet was not a story, but the truth!" Bai Jingqing gritted her teeth, with an inexplicable emotion on her face, "The person in the story he told is actually me. My father, Bai Cen, and my Ah Mo. My father Bai Cen is the dean of Huaishan Academy, the largest academy in Xuzhou. The matter between him, my Ah Mo, and Yu Shi is not a secret in Xuzhou, and many people know it well. This issue."

oh!It's no wonder that when Xuzhou Tongzhi heard about this rumor, those Xuzhou students would try to react like that.Bai Jingqing is amazing, she can endure such an occasion.

"Actually, that rumor is incomplete. My father and Ah Mo grew up together as childhood sweethearts, and they had a marriage contract since they were young. But my Ah Mo doesn't like my father. The person he really likes is Master Cao. I Ah Mo and Mr. Cao are in love with each other, but because they are engaged to my father, they are not together. My father has always been nice to my Ah Mo at the beginning, but then he doesn’t know where he came from Hearing about this, she was extremely indifferent to my aunt, and even married a common wife, Mrs. Yu." Bai Jingqing sighed.

The baby girl really killed people!Zhong Yiwen was very emotional, absolutely not ordering a doll kiss for the little baby at home, it must be!

However, Zhong Yiwen couldn't figure out what Bai Jingqing meant by self-reporting her family ugliness.Could it be that Xuzhou Tongzhi's incident this time has something to do with Bai Jingqing's family?

Cao Mingdong is a discerning person. Looking at Zhong Yiwen's appearance, he knew that Zhong Yiwen probably had doubts. He explained: "My second uncle's crime this time is to seduce a married man. After the adultery is discovered, he murders the imperial court official."

"Huh? Could it be that the married man is Brother Bai's?" Zhong Yiwen was startled.

Bai Jingqing's face was very dark, and she wanted to refute something, but in the end she didn't say anything, just nodded.

"Which court official did the murder?" Zhong Yiwen was still a little unable to react, and suddenly a flash of light flashed in his mind, "Could it be that the murderer was Brother Bai, your father?"

The deans of colleges in various places are not white, but officials with fame. Most of them belong to the Qingliu school, but at least they are also civil officials of the fifth rank.Bai Jingqing's father, Bai Cen, is the dean of Huaishan Academy, and he is no exception.The crime of murdering an imperial official is not a small one, no wonder Cao Mingdong and the others are so anxious.

"My grandma and Uncle Cao were both framed!" Bai Jingqing said convincingly, "My grandma and Uncle Cao have always been innocent, there will never be any adultery between them, and they will never murder my father !"

This is a family conflict that has risen to an official dispute.Zhong Yiwen signaled Bai Jingqing not to be in such a hurry, and to speak clearly to the general first: "Brother Bai, calm down first. General Cao, let me ask you, how long has this happened?"

"Twenty days have passed!" Cao Mingdong replied.

It's been 20 days!This will be a lot of trouble.

"How did this case happen, and how was it discovered? I have heard that Mr. Cao has been imprisoned in Dali Temple for trial. Where is Brother Bai's Ah Mo now being imprisoned? Xuzhou or Kyoto?" Zhong Yiwen really didn't know anything about this matter.

Cao Mingdong glanced at Bai Jingqing, and answered instead of him: "We also hurried to the capital after hearing the news from Yanzhou. So far, we have only heard a little about this case. It is said that it was on the second day of President Bai's birthday. The book boy next to him discovered that Dean Bai died in the study early in the morning, with a dagger stuck in his chest. Someone identified that the dagger belonged to Dean Bai's husband, Mrs. Zhang. In addition, the night before, Dean Bai's birthday , Mr. Cao was invited into the study, and the two quarreled directly in the study, and Mrs. Zhang went over to stop the fight. I don’t know what happened after that. Mr. Bai’s other husband, Mrs. Yu, reported to the government , The prefect of Xuzhou believed that my second uncle and the Zhang family had jointly murdered the imperial court official, and escorted the two of them to the capital for trial."

Zhong Yiwen nodded, expressing his understanding, but thought for a while: "Brother Bai, General Cao, I guess this is not as simple as you think, and the guesswork of a few servants cannot be used as evidence. I'm afraid there is something beneficial Evidence is what makes the prefect of Xuzhou think so."

"Why don't we know?" Cao Mingdong was annoyed, "But now we can't find anyone to help, and even these details are hard to find. No one knows anything more specific."

"It seems that the most important thing now is to find out what happened?"

As for this, Zhong Yiwen didn't think it was a big problem.He himself has nothing to do with Dali Temple, but there are people on his side who are related to Dali Temple.Although he is not a high official, he handles almost all the cases in Dali Temple, so it is very convenient to ask him about the specific situation.

"Brother Zhong, is there a way to find out?" Cao Mingdong's face beamed with joy.Sure enough, it was difficult for a strong dragon to suppress a local snake, and they couldn't find out the news, but Zhong Yiwen was able to find a way.

"Thank you, Brother Zhong!" Bai Jingqing bowed to Zhong Yiwen, he was really grateful to Zhong Yiwen.

Zhong Yiwen waved his hand: "Brother Bai, you don't have to be so polite, it's just a matter of raising your hands. I'll ask someone to invite him over first, and I'm afraid I won't be able to see it until a little later. If Brother Bai and General Cao are not in a hurry, you can wait."

"No hurry, no hurry. We still have time!"

It was too late for Bai Jingqing and Cao Mingdong to thank Zhong Yiwen, so how could they be impatient because of the wait.It has been a few days since Cao Mingdong came to this capital, and countless people have visited him, but there has been no progress, and all he knows is these scattered news.Only today did he have the opportunity to learn about the specific situation. Of course he would wait, even if he waited until midnight, he would persist in waiting.

Zhong Yiwen also knew that they should be anxious about this matter, so he didn't delay, so he directly called Da Fang over, and asked him to invite someone to the house for a gathering.

Turning around, Zhong Yiwen asked Steward Chen to prepare a table of food and wine.Although it's important to talk about things, it's getting late now, so Zhong Yiwen simply planned to eat and talk together when he arrived later.