Chapter 9: Jiangnan has nothing 1
In the spring of the 26th year of Yuanqing in Dayu, Empress You was pregnant with a dragon child and was about to give birth. As Empress You's brother, Duke of Qing You Hu set about paving the way for the upcoming future crown prince.
You Hu's ancestral home is Qingzhou, and all the officials in Qingzhou City were promoted by him. For many years, Qingzhou City has formed its own party, plundering the people's wealth and using drought as an excuse to squeeze the national treasury for disaster relief. On the top, there is the chief envoy of the Imperial Observatory, Shen Jingyun, who deceives the emperor, and on the bottom, there are local officials in Qingzhou who block the ears of the people. In the middle, the painter Ruan Wenqing comes to Qingzhou City every spring to quarry and grind stones to pass on the news. For many years, everything in Qingzhou City has been smooth, and no unfavorable news has been spread.
Natural disasters have an end, and if he continued doing this, it would attract attention, so You Hu decided to stop.
But who could take on such a big case and silence the people? You Hu thought about it again and again, and set his sights on Lu Fang, who had just emerged in the court. Lu Fang was born in poverty and was determined to do more practical things for the people, even at the cost of his own life.
A person like Lu Fang, once he finds out something is wrong in Qingzhou City, he will investigate it thoroughly and would rather get deeply involved than give up.
You Hu recommended Lu Fangwai to be the governor of Qingzhou, which led Lu Fang to gradually realize his mistake and then stop. That year, when Lu Fang's hands were covered in blood and he thought he had gained the trust of the people in Qingzhou, he got the opportunity to go to Chang'an to meet the emperor and ask for disaster relief money.
Later, a major case broke out. Although Lu Fang was not the highest-ranking official in the Qingzhou case, he was the one with the most serious crimes and had done the most evil.
Seven imperial guards led people to Qingzhou City and took the suspects to Chang'an. All those who knew that You Hu was the real culprit died on the way "from plague".
After this matter was settled, You Hu was still the high and mighty Duke of Qing and the uncle of the future crown prince.
But after all, one can control one's own life, but it is difficult to control the destiny of heaven. Empress You died in childbirth, and the prince also died young. You Hu's years of planning were in vain. He was deeply traumatized and asked to leave Chang'an and live a quiet life in his fiefdom Yancheng.
Time passed like a white horse, and in a blink of an eye it was the 32nd year of Yuanqing.
In Liuye Residence, Zhao Ji poisoned and killed the painter Ruan Wenqing out of jealousy. This news was discovered by spies in the city, which immediately aroused You Hu's years of anxiety.
In order to avoid being discovered, Ruan Wenqing still went to Qingzhou City in recent years, and in recent years he lived in Zhao Ji's house under the name of Zhao Ji. You Hu suspected that Zhao Ji had discovered something and attacked Ruan Wenqing. To be on the safe side, he sent a pigeon to seven imperial guards overnight, and that night he entered Ruan's house with a lantern burning with incense, and killed 31 people.
Later, You Hu bribed Wei Youya, stole the token of Prince Min, and sent seven imperial guards to Yancheng to plot to kill them. Wei Youya was so sad about the death of his daughter Wei Wan that he drowned himself in the Wangsheng River, saving him a lot of trouble.
At this point, everyone related to the Qingzhou case was no longer allowed to speak. You Hu never expected that he would lose in the end.
Lost to the obvious justice of heaven, lost to the hearts of the people throughout the ages.
The truth of the case once again caused an uproar in Chang'an City. You Hu's testimony was presented before the emperor. Emperor Xuanhe attached great importance to it and ordered the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice to jointly try the case.
Most of the people involved in this case are no longer in this world, and the case's ins and outs were clear, so it was not difficult to figure out. It just took some time to go to Yancheng to check the list of death row prisoners who were dragged away by You Hu to take the blame.
As for Lu Fang, the one who was used by You Hu and lured into hell step by step by him, the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice jointly wrote a petition to win a little reputation for Lu Fang after his death.
Emperor Xuanhe was silent for a long time, gave him the posthumous title of "loyalty and righteousness", and issued an edict to posthumously confer him the title.
The case committed by Duke Qing involved too many people and it took more than a month of efforts from all parties to finally conclude the case. On July 28, Duke Qing You Hu hanged himself in prison.
The cell where he died was the same cell where Lu Fang was imprisoned. Even the place where he died was exactly the same.
Emperor Xuanhe rewarded all the staff of Dali Temple. The three people of the Detective Department were promoted one level each, and they were only below Chengjue in Dali Temple. Meng Fan was not originally included in the Detective Department. In Zhou Zhenzhen's words, he was an extra-staff member of the Detective Department. According to the normal promotion standards of Dali Temple, he could not be promoted. Emperor Xuanhe rewarded him with 1,000 taels of silver.
Meng Fan cried for half the night holding the silver, but his tears were worthless.
Except for him, everyone inside and outside the yamen was filled with joy. Zhou Zhenzhen changed into the newly bestowed official uniform and ran to knock on the door of Cheng Jue's private room.
Cheng Jue looked her up and down with a smile. The crimson-purple official robe made her skin look even whiter, and she really looked like a young female official.
He waved his hand to Zhou Zhenzhen, and she ran over. Her black hair was tied up on top of her head, without any other decorations. It looked pretty, but it still lacked something.
Cheng Jue took out a long box from the side and opened it. Inside was a jade hairpin that was crystal white. The top was carved into the shape of a butterfly with its wings slightly spread, looking lifelike. This jade hairpin was made from a whole piece of jade, so it could be carved into such a large butterfly pattern. It was the treasure of Mingjinfang, the largest jade shop in Chang'an City.
Zhou Zhenzhen liked the hairpin as soon as she saw it, and Cheng Jue personally put it in her hair. The butterfly found the most beautiful flower and landed on it.
He is the butterfly and she is the flower.
"I told you before that I would give you something else. How about it? Do you like it?"
Zhou Zhenzhen nodded: "I like it...but it's too expensive."
Cheng Jue stretched out his hand and said calmly: "Then give it back to me."
Zhou Zhenzhen immediately covered her hairpin and took two steps back, her eyes rolling around: "How can you take back something you gave away? It's impossible..."
He said seriously, "Then answer me a question and I won't take it back. How did you come up with the question that Duke Qing asked?"
She had been unwilling to confess, and Cheng Jue's curiosity was secondary. He just didn't want her to know anything that he didn't know.
Zhou Zhenzhen pursed her lips and spoke when Cheng Jue thought she would not speak: "Although the Duke of Qing has a wife at home, he has no children. When I went to Yancheng before, I also asked people around the Duke of Qing's mansion. He treated this lady very coldly. The two have lived in separate rooms since they got married. I have always wondered why You Hu committed the Qingzhou case? Why did he stop? Qingzhou is already like an iron barrel. If he had not recommended Lu Fang to go there, it is very likely that no one would ever know the secret of Qingzhou City. Lord Cheng once said to me: 'All the related things are connected, even if it is not the truth, it is close to the truth.' You Hu stopped when Queen You was pregnant. You Hu left after Queen You and the little prince passed away one after another. You Hu is a man of great power and wealth. Even if Queen You passed away, he still has power. How could he be willing to go to Yancheng to live a leisurely life? Unless he is heartbroken because of the loss of his loved ones..."
Before she finished speaking, Cheng Jue already understood.
Empress You became depressed after she became pregnant and died after giving birth to a son. You Hu and his wife never slept together, and there were no other concubines in the palace...
"Crazy, really crazy." Cheng Jue pressed down the corner of the table. He had never thought that there would be such a thing. "So you used this incident as a clue to hypnotize You Hu?"
"That's right, but this matter cannot be made public. I was also afraid that if it were spread, it would be bad for you to protect the royal family's reputation, so I hid this part when writing the testimony." Zhou Zhenzhen looked at him and asked tentatively, "Master Cheng, you won't blame me, right?"
"How could that be? I should be praising you for remembering my words so clearly and making such great progress." Cheng Jue grabbed her hand and pressed it against his chest, his eyes full of affection, "Praise the girl in my heart for being diligent, studious, innocent and kind."
Zhou Zhenzhen widened her eyes and looked at him in disbelief. Her mind was in chaos for a moment, and then it became empty, waiting for him to add color, stroke by stroke.
"Master Cheng, you...what do you mean by this? I...I..."
Her reaction made Cheng Jue a little flustered. Could it be that she had no interest in him? That was why he was so scared?
Cheng Jue rarely reacted so slowly, standing there thinking of a countermeasure. Zhou Zhenzhen came back to her senses and saw Cheng Jue hesitate. She thought he suddenly realized that she had no good reason to regret it, so she immediately became anxious, hooked her soft arms around his neck, and hung on him: "Since you said it, you can't regret it. I heard it clearly just now, and I remember every word in my heart. You can't deny it."
She used to think that it was enough to just stand beside him, not daring to be too aggressive, as any more fantasies would be a blasphemy to him in her heart.
But who knew that he would say such a thing.
He said she was the girl of his heart.
She had never thought that this day would come. Before she was at the end of her rope, she had already seen a ray of hope. She burst into tears, for fate had finally treated her well this time.
Cheng Jue put his arm around her waist and held her to his chest, feeling completely relieved. Feeling the wetness on her shoulder, she was about to say something when the door was slammed open and Meng Fan hurried in: "Master Cheng, today Lin... I'm sorry, sorry..."
Seeing the two people hugging each other, Meng Fan immediately covered his eyes and turned away. Cheng Jue's forehead veins jumped, and then he put Zhou Zhenzhen down and asked coldly: "What's the matter?"
"Lin Yuxiao didn't come to the yamen again today. I went to his house to look for him, but he wasn't there either. I have to change into new official uniform and go to the palace to express my gratitude later, but he hasn't come yet. What should I do if I miss the time?"
Cheng Jue lowered his eyelids and said after a moment: "No problem, I will go find him."
He wiped away the tears on Zhou Zhenzhen's face with a handkerchief, stroked her cheek gently and said, "Wait for me to come back."
There is a mountain called Cuiwei Mountain on the outskirts of Chang'an. On weekdays, many people go to the temple on the mountain to burn incense and visit the Junzi Cliff behind to enjoy the scenery. But at the end of summer, no one wanted to come here, so it was very deserted.
Lin Yuxiao was dressed in a thin white shirt, sitting quietly on a flat stone, with a pot of wine beside him and a wooden sculpture in his hand.
The footsteps were slow, approaching in the wind. He did not turn around, but just moved to the side to make some room for the newcomer: "Master Cheng, please have a drink with me. I have been in the Dali Temple for quite some time, but I have never had a drink with you, Master!"
Cheng Jue sat over. The wine was very cold. It slid down his throat and took a long time to warm up.
Lin Yuxiao then turned his head, bent one leg, put his hand on his knee, and looked at him lazily: "How did Master Cheng guess that I was here?"
Cheng Jue smiled desolately: "Brother Lu Fang's pursuit in this life is nothing more than to be an open-minded gentleman. This is Junzi Cliff. The matter is over. It is normal for you to come to Junzi Cliff to comfort the gentleman."
Lin Yuxiao narrowed his eyes slightly, bent his legs to half cover the wood carving, and stroked the lines on it with his fingertips. He said innocently, "I don't understand what Master Cheng said."
"I once told Zhou Zhenzhen that sometimes being too obsessed with existing clues can easily lead to getting lost. It's better to be a bystander, or to infer the cause from the current result, or to boldly assume the cause and develop along the line. Zhou Zhenzhen chose the former, and she eventually hypnotized the Qingzhou City case to the world. In fact, I chose the latter very early. Very early on, I vaguely realized that there was always someone who was ahead of me in everything. I was led by him all the way, and the final result was to open up an old case and restore Lu Fang's reputation after his death. If this person is the cause of all things, then the final result is his original purpose."
Cheng Jue shook the wine pot and continued, "Someone wanted to overturn Lu Fang's case, so they first told the flower girls in the city how to poison by touching sandalwood and purple orchid grass, and let Zhao Ji, who was determined to kill Ruan Wenqing, know about it and put it into action, in order to induce You Hu to kill the Ruan family. When Wei Wan died, I met Wang Zhen, the imperial physician who had been taking care of her. Wang said that Wei Wan had a weak disease since her mother's birth and had always been in poor health. When she died of this disease, she would definitely exhaust her heart and die slowly. But Princess Changping waited until the last moment to go to Prince Min's Mansion to find Wei Youya. When Wei Youya returned to the princess's mansion, he didn't even see his beloved daughter for the last time. This was really wrong. Thinking about it carefully, someone also gave Princess Changping advice to make Wei Youya heartbroken and confused, so that the princess could divorce her husband and escape from the sea of suffering. In the end, the restless Wei Youya died in the River of Rebirth."
"Master Cheng said this, but do you doubt me?"
Cheng Jue shook his head and put the wine jug aside: "It's either suspicion or you."
Lin Yuxiao's eyelids moved, and a smile appeared on his thin lips: "Master Cheng, it is too hasty to draw conclusions based on speculation alone."
"Thirty-two, seven, and one. These three numbers are the ones you carved on the table you usually use. Thirty-two represents the thirty-two people in the Ruan family, including Ruan Wenqing. Seven represents the seven imperial guards who went to Qingzhou to escort people. One is Wei Youya, who you added later. People's habits are difficult to change. If I'm not mistaken, you should have left traces on the things you often use in the Hanlin Academy and at home."
