Aoyama Chronicle

The person Zhong Yiwen asked Dafang to invite over was none other than his cousin Wu Yuanheng, who is now a small official in Dali Temple.After Wu Yuanheng won the top three Jinshi in the palace examination, he did not leave the capital, but entrusted someone to stay in the capital directly as an official.Now they are the judges of Dali Temple, and their official positions are seven ranks. They can be regarded as better mixed among the Jinshi on the same list.

The husband and children of Wu Yuanheng's family have already come to Kyoto, and they have a good relationship with Zhong Yiwen.Zhong Yiwen asked him to come over, but Wu Yuanheng didn't ask any further questions, and came over as soon as he got home and took off his official uniform.

"Ah Wen, why are you in such high spirits today, remember to invite me over for a drink?" Before Wu Yuanheng came in, the voice from far away came over.

Zhong Yiwen got up and went out to welcome Wu Yuanheng in: "Cousin, Qin Fei and I went to participate in the spring hunting yesterday, and came back after hunting some wild game, so I wanted to invite you over for a change. Let me introduce you, cousin. Is my friend."

Wu Yuanheng entered the door only to find that there were two strangers there.However, he was not too surprised, after all, Zhong Yiwen and him are not together every day, and it is normal for Zhong Yiwen to know other friends.Wu Yuanheng didn't know Bai Jingqing and Cao Mingdong, but based on his first impression, he knew that these two people were definitely not ordinary people.

"This is Bai Jingqing. He was No.3 in the same list as me in the last Qingzhou Examination. This is General Cao Mingdong Cao. Brother Bai, General Cao, this is my cousin Wu Yuanheng, who is now in Dali Temple serves as judge." Zhong Yiwen introduced the three of them to each other.

Who is Wu Yuanheng, who has been in the officialdom for so many years, how can he not see that Bai Jingqing and the others are asking for something.Wu Yuanheng didn't know Bai Jingqing, he only thought that he and Zhong Yiwen were from the same discipline.Zhong Yiwen has a good relationship with Li Zhang, No. 2 in the provincial examination, and Wu Yuanheng knows it well.This No. 3 Bai Jingqing, although Wu Yuanheng is not familiar with him, but he was able to enter the door of Zhong's house, so the relationship between the two is not bad.Wu Yuanheng had heard of Cao Mingdong, and after thinking about it for a while, he knew what Cao Mingdong was talking about.

After the three greeted each other, Zhong Yiwen directly led them to the wine table.As for the eldest princess and Bai Jingqing's husband, Cao Mingxi, Qin Fei was notified to entertain them.

At the wine table, Zhong Yiwen didn't need to greet him, Wu Yuanheng knew his drinking capacity very well, he only had a drink at the beginning, and Wu Yuanheng called A Qi to come over and replace Zhong Yiwen with boiled water.Wu Yuanheng was even more like a master than Zhong Yiwen, he took the initiative to greet Cao Mingdong and Bai Jingqing.

Bai Jingqing is not a talkative person, and she doesn't speak much at the wine table.On the contrary, although Cao Mingdong was born as a general, he was not vulgar, he spoke no less than Wu Yuanheng, and drinking was even more refreshing, directly drinking one cup at a time.After a while, Cao Mingdong and Wu Yuanheng became friends. You come and go, no worse than old friends for many years. In addition, the two are about the same age, and soon the two began to call each other brothers.Wu Yuanheng was originally a straightforward person. In the past two or three years in Kyoto, especially after working in Dali Temple, although he was good at both sides, he only knew the hard work.Now that I meet Cao Mingdong, I immediately feel that I have met a confidant, and I feel that a thousand cups are not enough.

The appetizers on the wine table were all brought back by Zhong Yiwen and Qin Feichun, only a few dishes of stir-fried dishes were added.This kind of game, paired with good wine, easily makes the atmosphere harmonious.

Zhong Yiwen did not directly help Bai Jingqing and Cao Mingdong inquire about Xuzhou Tongzhi's case.Cao Mingdong knew what Zhong Yiwen meant, so it was much better for them to inquire by themselves than Zhong Yiwen who didn't know much about the situation.Moreover, Zhong Yiwen had already given them a chance to get acquainted with Wu Yuanheng.If they want to continue to know the progress of the case, it is impossible for them to come to Zhong Yiwen every time, and they need to ask Wu Yuanheng directly in the future.

After drinking for three rounds, Cao Mingdong finally asked Wu Yuanheng: "Brother Wu, I don't know if you are a wise man in Dali Temple, have you noticed the case of Tongzhi Xuzhou?"

"Brother Cao, Xuzhou Tongzhi Master Cao is your clan uncle, right?" Wu Yuanheng asked Cao Mingdong directly.

Cao Mingdong didn't expect that Wu Yuanheng knew about it, so he nodded, "Yes, Mr. Cao is my uncle in name, but in fact he is my second uncle."

"Oh!" Wu Yuanheng understood the reason why Cao Mingdong was so active in seeking information. Few people really know about this relationship. Xuzhou Tongzhi Cao Fengzhong is actually the younger brother of the general Cao Yunzhong. It is rumored that they are only of the same clan, "You guys I'm Arwen's friend, so I'm not wary of you. If you want to know the specifics of the case, I can tell you, but Mr. Cao's case is not something that Ah Wen and I can help. Mrs. Bai Cen's wife You should know what Lang Yu's identity is. This case is directly taken over by the superiors, if it is not related to Ah Wen, I would not dare to disclose it to you."

"Cousin, is there any high-ranking official interfering?" Zhong Yiwen asked a little strangely.

Wu Yuanheng really wanted to slap Zhong Yiwen, it turned out that this kid didn't know anything at all.He was actually called over like this, if he was discovered by his superiors, it would be difficult for him to do well in Dali Temple.

"Sure enough, it was the Yu family who came forward!" Cao Mingdong sighed.

Bai Jingqing's face was ugly: "Mr. Yu has long been displeased with my aunt, how could he not make trouble now at this opportunity! Mrs. Yu is actually the elder brother and younger brother of the current queen's mother, and the youngest son of the grand master. The power of the Yu family Monstrous, even though the third prince has been deposed, the Yu family is still an important minister in the court of Yan Kingdom."

The relationship with the grand master, the queen's brother and brother!No wonder this case was covered so tightly, Cao Mingdong and the others didn't find anything.However, because of the matter of the third prince Yan Tianren, Grand Master Yu almost regarded Zhong Yiwen as a thorn in his side.If it wasn't for the fact that he no longer had any real power, and Shen Ying often helped him, and His Majesty would love him from time to time, even if Zhong Yiwen was the number one scholar, he would have been suppressed by the Grand Master Yu.

In this case, Zhong Yiwen must not come forward directly, otherwise he is afraid that Grand Master Yu will find out about his relationship with Bai Jingqing, and it will only cause more trouble later on.

Cao Mingdong and the others naturally knew Wu Yuanheng's worries, and they also understood that it was unrealistic for Zhong Yiwen and Wu Yuanheng to come forward in person, so they were not unhappy: "Brother Wu was able to inform us of the specifics of the case. We are very grateful. We just want to know the details first. Whatever happened, the rest is up to us.”

Wu Yuanheng nodded in agreement, and gave them a rough account of the case trial in the files of Dali Temple.

What Wu Yuanheng told was not very different from what Cao Mingdong and the others knew, but there were many more details.I have never been able to figure out why Cao Fengzhong and Zhang were identified as the murderers, and there is an answer.

It turned out that apart from the dagger directly proving that the suspect might be Zhang, Bai Cen's death also had another evidence, which was a private letter between Zhang and Cao Fengzhong.The letter was not complete, and it seemed that some of it had been torn off by someone, but the remaining complete letter plus only half of the letter was torn off, and a servant discovered it, and the contents inside directly indicated that Zhang and Cao Fengzhong had an affair.Cao Fengzhong admitted that he and Bai Cen had a conflict that night, and Mrs. Zhang went to persuade the fight.But Cao Fengzhong said that he left the White Mansion very early, but unfortunately no one in the White Mansion knew when he left, and Cao Fengzhong himself drank a lot that night, so he was so drunk that he didn't know when he left.In addition, the clothes that Cao Fengzhong changed after returning home were stained with a lot of blood, which made Cao Fengzhong unable to argue.Even though Cao Fengzhong did not admit that he had written those letters, after comparing the handwriting, those letters were indeed written by Cao Fengzhong, so the prefect of Xuzhou believed that Cao Fengzhong was the murderer.

After Cao Fengzhong was imprisoned in Dali Temple, he was taken care of by the people above, and he was not questioned much, and he was forbidden to visit him. He was treated like a death row prisoner.Mrs. Zhang has an imperial order, and is not the principal offender. The treatment is a little better, but she is also prohibited from visiting.

"Could it be that they plan to drag this case on and finally sentence him directly?" Cao Mingdong slapped the table angrily.Fortunately, he still remembered to control his strength and didn't directly slap the table apart.

"No!" Wu Yuanheng shook his head, "Brother Cao, if you think this way, you are wrong. In fact, it is beneficial to keep the case unconscious. At present, all the personal and material evidence is not good for Mr. Cao. If the trial is direct, I am afraid Mr. Cao You will be beaten into a trick. Dali Temple is not polite at all when interrogating criminals."

As expected of an old man with rich experience in the officialdom, Wu Yuanheng immediately understood what Cao Dongming and the others said as soon as he said it. Thinking about it carefully, it seems that this is really the case.

Cao Mingdong was a little puzzled: "What's going on here?"

Wu Yuanheng directly picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp before saying, "If you want to reverse the case for Mr. Cao, you have only one way now, go to the Li family!"

"The Li family?"

Wu Yuanheng's suggestion has gone beyond what he said at the beginning of only telling the inside story of the case, but Wu Yuanheng did not explain in detail Cao Mingdong's doubts, and his hint was obvious enough.

Zhong Yiwen thought carefully about those officials surnamed Li in the court, and finally nodded clearly, admiring his cousin Wu Yuanheng's acumen in the officialdom.

"The third prince has already appeared during the spring hunting. I'm afraid the wind in the court will change again. If you want to save Mr. Cao, you have to hurry up." Wu Yuanheng reminded again.

Zhong Yiwen nodded, that's right.

The Li family that Wu Yuanheng mentioned was none other than the Li family of the owner of Qingzhou Mingyue Tower, the natal family of the Seventh Prince, and Li Zhang's family.Now Dali Temple Minister is none other than Li Zhang's elder brother Li Wen.Although the Li family is not as confident as the Yu family, but now the Seventh Prince Yan Tianxin is deeply favored by the Emperor, and many officials intend to ask the Holy Majesty to make the Seventh Prince the crown prince.Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that there is a gap between the Li family and the Yu family.Grand Master Yu no longer has any real power, no matter how virtuous and respected he is, it is impossible for him to dictate to Dali Temple under the control of the Li family.Li Wen deliberately suppressed Cao Fengzhong's case from trial, probably because he didn't have any good intentions.It happened to be a big favor to Cao Mingdong and the others.

It's just that now that the third prince, Yan Tianren, showed his face at the Spring Hunting Event, and blocked an arrow for the Holy Lord, I'm afraid it will be similar to what Wu Yuanheng said.At that time, even the Li family will not be able to suppress the case from trial.

Cao Mingdong is a smart person, and Wu Yuanheng's reminder is very clear, as long as they inquire a little bit, they can understand the meaning of it.Cao Mingdong didn't ask too much anymore, and he stood up with Bai Jingqing and toasted Wu Yuanheng, which was regarded as his thanks.

Zhong Yiwen didn't take the initiative to ask to help Cao Mingdong and the others, but just transferred two of Qin Jiu's brothers who were born in the capital to help them investigate the situation.