Chapter 94: One person is missing from the meeting
Of course, Sun Shaozong did not go to the "west wing bridal chamber" at night, but spent the night in the outer room of the main hall - ever since Ruan Rong became pregnant, the two of them had been living separately temporarily, mainly because they were afraid that Sun Shaozong would not sleep well at night and accidentally hurt the fetus in her belly.
No words were spoken that night.
But before dawn the next day, Sun Shaozong heard his maid come to report that someone had brought him a message in the middle of the night, telling him that he did not need to report to the government office that day and could go directly to the governor's office of the river to discuss matters.
As expected, Zhou Da was right!
The Hedao Yamen was located in the outer city, quite a distance away from the Sun Mansion, so Sun Shaozong hurriedly washed up, filled his stomach, went to the inner room to inform everyone, and hurried out of the courtyard.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked out of the hospital, he ran into his cheap elder brother Sun Shaozu.
Seeing his solemn expression, Sun Shaozong thought that he had heard that he was going to fight the flood and was about to tell him something, so he quickly put on an attitude of brotherly friendliness and waited with his hands down.
Unexpectedly, the cheap elder brother came up and asked only one question: "Is the one you brought back yesterday a good fertility?"
Sun Shaozong: “…”
This cheap elder brother is really obsessed with his 'son'!
After a few perfunctory words, Sun Shaozong was able to get away. He called Zhang Cheng to harness up a carriage and headed straight for the outer city in the rain.
When he arrived at the Governor's Office of the River, it was still more than a quarter of an hour before 7 a.m. He thought that he should have come early as it was raining heavily. However, when he was led to the back hall by the clerks, he saw that the armchairs on both sides were almost full.
The person sitting in the middle was naturally the Minister of Works and Governor-General of the Rivers, Wang Yan, who had met Sun Shaozong once before.
Seeing that Jia Yucun was sitting on the right, with Zhao Liben, the Salt and Iron Magistrate who was also in charge of river works, and Xu Huaizhi, the magistrate of Wanping, sitting not far behind him, Sun Shaozong went forward to meet Wang Yan, and then quietly sat in the empty seat between Zhao Liben and Xu Huaizhi.
After that, several groups of officials arrived one after another. Those above the seventh rank at least had a seat, but the lower-ranking officials below the seventh rank could only wait in the corridor.
Seeing the end of the morning and the beginning of the evening, Wang Yan, who had been silent for a long time, cleared his throat and asked loudly, "Are all the people who are supposed to come today here?"
A green-robed official holding a list of names immediately appeared from the side and bowed, saying, "Reporting to the Minister, this meeting has convened the Ministry of Works, the River Channel, Shuntian Prefecture, the Patrol Battalion, and the City Defense Battalion, a total of 127 civil and military officials. 124 of them have arrived so far, and two others have reported illness. The only one missing is Xu Mingtang, the ambassador of the Yongding River!"
Wang Yan's face suddenly darkened. If someone else was late, it would be fine, but Xu Mingtang, as the 'river embankment ambassador of the Yongding River', was the first to bear the brunt of this flood prevention matter and was the most important person!
Moreover, he was originally an official stationed at the Hedao Yamen. At present, the troops sent by the "brother units" to support him had all arrived, but he, the master, had not yet arrived. How could this make sense? !
Pah~
Wang Yan slammed the coffee table and said angrily, "Someone, bring me Xu Mingtang..."
"My Lord, something bad has happened! My Lord, the Governor, something bad has happened!"
Before Wang Yan could finish his words, several petty clerks in black robes rushed in in a panic, shouting, "Master Xu Mingtang was... killed by someone!"
Boom!
There was an uproar inside and outside the hall!
Seeing the natural disaster approaching, the "river embankment ambassador" who was responsible for repairing and protecting the embankment was suddenly killed. Who would believe that there was no trick? !
Even Wang Yan was dumbfounded and speechless for a long time.
"Mr. Minister, shouldn't I ask this first?"
It was only after Jia Yucun carefully reminded him that Wang Yan finally came to his senses. He slapped the table again and stood up and shouted, "Quiet, everyone, be quiet!"
After suppressing the chaotic discussions, he gritted his teeth and questioned the clerks: "Please tell me clearly, who exactly harmed Lord Xu?!"
The clerks looked at each other, and finally one of them, who was thin and elegant, took the initiative to speak: "Reporting to the Minister, after Lord Xu left for home yesterday, he hurried back soon after, saying that there was urgent official business to be handled overnight, and ordered us not to disturb him at will."
"Since Lord Xu has given the order, we naturally dared not disturb him. But this morning, when the meeting was about to begin, Lord Xu had not come out yet. I felt something was wrong, so I called two colleagues to check. But as soon as we entered the room , we saw Lord Xu hanging from the beam. He had been hanged for a long time!"
" Hanged?"
Wang Yan frowned and asked, "Then how do you know he was murdered?"
The clerk hurriedly said, "I originally thought that you committed suicide, but later I found that even if the stool was straightened, it was still more than a foot away from the toes of Master Xu!"
After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but burst into an uproar again.
Wang Yan's face darkened even more. This deliberate disguise of suicide must be to cover up something - and Xu Mingtang happened to be the ambassador of the Yongding River...
"Minister."
At this moment, the Salt and Iron Tongpan Zhao Rongheng suddenly stood up and recommended : "Since there is a murder case, why not let Sun Tongpan of my government go and investigate?"
Wang Yan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he hurriedly bowed to Shuntian Prefecture and said, "President Sun, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you!"
It was obvious that this case was very complicated. Sun Shaozong originally didn't want to get involved, but Wang Yan, as the Minister of Works, said "thank you for your help". How could he refuse?
He could only glance at Zhao Rongheng and said, "Since your Excellency has ordered me to do so, I will go and see what is going on."
Having said that, he asked the clerks to lead the way to the scene of the crime.
All the officials in the hall and outside the hall, seeing that it was the 'divine judge' who personally came out to solve the case, wanted to go over and see it with their own eyes, but Wang Yan was there with a gloomy face, so who dared to offend him?
Not to mention how impatient everyone is.
However, Sun Shaozong followed the clerks through the hall and courtyard and arrived at a courtyard in the northwest corner.
Seeing that this structure was even more open than the Criminal Law Department, Sun Shaozong couldn't help but ask curiously, "May I ask what rank this Lord Xu is?"
It was the thin clerk who took the initiative to explain: "Generally, the 'river embankment ambassadors' are of the fifth rank or fifth rank, but the Yongding River is close to the capital, so it is incomparable. So our Master Xu is of the fourth rank, and his position is just below the river governor and commander."
Tsk~
No wonder they are all willing to be officials in Beijing. The Yongding River is just a small tributary, but as it touches the capital, it is more valuable than the big rivers.
As they were talking, they had already arrived at the door of the main hall. The thin clerk pushed open the door and saw a noose hanging high on the beam in the middle...
