Wang Duo is the supervisor of the imperial history, and works in the "Inspectorate" (evolved into the Imperial Inspectorate in the Ming Dynasty) in the three courtyards under the imperial history platform, and the grade is under the eight grades, and he is a sesame big official in the capital.

However, the supervision of the imperial history is inferior and powerful, and it can supervise internal and external officials, which is quite feared by the courtiers.

When he saw Yun Xuansu, he said, "Yun Niangzi, what happened when you sent someone to urge me so urgently?" ”

Yun Xuansu said: "Fifth uncle, there was a murder in Qinglong Temple yesterday, I suspect it is related to Yizhen, I don't know if he is still in the temple now?" ”

Wang Duo said: "I guessed that it was this matter, and I called someone to inquire early in the morning, and this monk showed no signs of leaving." ”

Yun Xuansu explained the cause and effect of the incident to Wang Duo, and when Wang Duo saw that Guo Hong was a child, he asked Lu Zhizhen on the side: "Since you are all disguised as big cannibals, why do you still think that Yizhen can recognize it?" ”

Lu Zhizhen said: "My junior brother is the son of the family teacher, known as the spiritual sense, and is quite famous in Nanyue, so let him say it." ”

Wang Duo turned to Guo Hong, looked carefully at the white spots on his face, and was a little convinced, this kid has a different appearance, maybe he is really a strange person.

Guo Hong ignored Wang Duo's subtle eyes, and said bluntly: "Uncle Yu took us to check in the morning, and something happened in the afternoon, and I heard Uncle Yu's voice in the tower, saying that this matter was the monk's fault." ”

Lu Zhizhen saw that Wang Duo was a little confused, so he explained: "Generally, it is difficult for souls to communicate with people, unless they are powerful ghosts, they can only say a few words, and there is no way to protect them, so they can't directly say the name of the enemy. ”

Wang Duo's body shook slightly, and his face was solemn.

Yun Xuansu also said: "This matter is inseparable from Yizhen, he is a great virtue of Chang'an Buddhism, otherwise how can he start in the temple without being noticed by others?" ”

Wang Duo nodded and said, "That makes sense. ”

Lu Zhizhen said again: "Next, I will ask Wang Yushi to come forward and urge Wannian County to thoroughly investigate this case, and must not tolerate adultery!" ”

Wang Duo said: "Okay, I happen to have official business to go to Wannian County, by the way, ask about it, but it's best to let the bitter master write a complaint and sue Qinglong Temple, so that the county order can take advantage of the situation." ”

Sure enough, it was the official who knew how to create public opinion, and the other people present nodded one after another, so Wang Duo dictated, and Lu Zhizhen wrote a complaint, and finally asked Liu Yanniang to draw a charge.

"There is another thing, several refiners said that they can summon the soul of their ancestors and see each other in yin and yang, and they hope that Yu Shi Gong and the Ming Mansion will know." Liu Yanniang said.

Wang Duo saw Yun Xuansu nodding, so he asked, "This matter still needs to be accompanied by the refiner before he can speak, I don't know which one is willing to go with me?" ”

Guo Hong took the lead and said, "I'll go!" ”

Yun Xuansu said: "Ride Wang Leopard's horse, and I will let Wang Wu accompany you." ”

Wang Duo rode away with Guo Hong and Wang Wu with the complaint and went straight to Wannian County.

Chang'an City is bounded by Jiankang Street in the middle, dividing the national capital into two counties, Wannian County in the east, Chang'an County in the west, and the half of the city from Dongshi to Ci'en Temple are under the jurisdiction of Wannian County.

Wang Duo rode north to Xuanyangli and entered the Wannian County Ya in the southeast corner.

Xuanyangli is adjacent to Dongshi in the east, Pingkangli is famous in the world in the north, which is a famous place for fireworks, and Qinrenli is in the south, and the Xianyiguan presided over by He Qiong's mother is in it.

Wang Duo handed over the horse to his entourage and took Guo Hong and the others into the gate, and the soldiers guarding the door saw that he was in official clothes and did not inquire.

Guo Hong followed all the way inside, and it was the first time he entered the official mansion, and everything was fresh.

Last time in Yuezhou, I always entered the inner house of the Assassin's Mansion directly from the back door.

The east wing of the door is the robbery hall, the street guards and thieves of Wannian County are gathered here, and are under the jurisdiction of the county lieutenant and the thief arresting officer, and the west wing room is the degree branch hall, which collects grain and taxes.

He came to the side of the second gate and went straight to the east corner gate, where he needed to be interrogated. If there is no official business related to the prefectural government, it is necessary to explain who you want to visit.

Wang Duo was a regular customer, and the gatekeeper knew him, greeted each other, and let him go directly.

The main entrance of the second gate is also called the instrument gate.

This door is usually closed, and only when the superior officials are greeted will the door be opened.

Another situation is that during major celebrations or public trials of important criminals, the door will also be opened when people go to the lobby for hearings.

Therefore, there are two corner doors on the east and west sides of the instrument gate, the east corner gate is the life gate, which is usually used by the subordinates and visitors of the yamen to enter and exit, and the west corner gate is the death gate (also called the ghost door), which is generally closed, and will only be opened when the death row prisoner asks for beheading.

Entering the east corner gate, it is still a courtyard, facing the lobby, and the two sides are curtain halls, each with more than ten rooms, where there are many office workers in and out.

The shogunate is where the staff work.

In addition to the county order on the five products of Chang'an and Wannian counties, there are also two county officials (from the seventh), two people from the main book (from the eighth grade), six county lieutenants (from the eighth grade), two people from the record (from the ninth grade), and a number of officials who do not enter the stream, so there are still a lot of personnel exchanges in the county government on weekdays.

This is very similar to the city and county governments of later generations.

Wang Duo came to the lobby and asked the messenger on duty, and learned that the county order was in the inner hall, so he asked people to go in and report, and after a while, the person came back and said that there was an invitation.

Wang Duo came to the inner house at the back through the second hall and entered the inner hall, which is the place where the county magistrate usually receives superior officials, discusses political affairs, and works and lives, and some cases related to secrets are also tried here, so the people call this place "three halls".

Here the retinue will not be allowed to enter.

Wang Bao and Wang Duo's relatives are all in the same house, they know each other, and they stay outside to wait.

Guo Hong followed Wang Duo in.

"Brother Zhaofan, what kind of wind blew you here?" An official in his forties, dressed in a light crimson five-grade official uniform and wearing a veil on his head, stood at the door and waited for him.

Wang Duo's character is Zhaofan, he only has eight grades, and he wears dark blue clothes, but he makes a scarlet-clothed official stand up to greet him, which is also an outlier.

In the Tang Dynasty, the prime minister above the third grade and the six ministries of Jiuqing, the Jiedu envoy and other senior officials, the fourth to sixth grades are the intermediate officials at the state assassin history and the county order level, and the lower seven grades are subordinate officials and low-level officials.

Wang Duo was born in the Taiyuan Wang family, is the nephew of Wang Qi, the prime minister of the previous dynasty, and the two cousins are also in important official positions, and they are the imperial history of supervising hundreds of officials, plus they are chess friends with this county order, so they can make the other party condescend and treat each other with a lower rank.

"Brother Juzhi, this time there is indeed something to do, and I want to deliver a case for the bitter master."

The name of this county order is Li Cong, and the word Juzhi is the Li Tang clan.

Xu Hun, who once wrote "The mountain rain is coming and the wind is full of buildings", once wrote a song "Farewell to Li Cong Xiucai on the East Journey", which was written to him, and Li Cong was just a Xiucai at that time.

By the late Tang Dynasty, even the clan had to pass the imperial examination, such as Li Shi, the prime minister of the Wenzong Dynasty.

"This is Guo Xiaolian, a disciple of Liu Yuanjing Zhenren of Hengshan."

Guo Hongzuo said: "I've seen Li Mingfu." ”

When Li Cong heard that he was Liu Yuanjing's disciple, he also arched his hand and said, "Look up for a long time." The little refiner had a vision on his face, and it was really different from the vulgar current. ”

Guo Hong touched his face:

"Thunderstruck."

Li Cong was in awe and let them in for tea.

He read the complaint and said: "I just received this case the day before yesterday, but I still have no clue, and there are no clues to inquire about the people in the temple......

Wang Duo took a sip of tea and said: "But the above speculation is indeed reasonable, then Qinglong Temple will definitely not be able to get rid of it, it is better to take this opportunity to investigate, if the murder case is not solved, I am afraid it will not be good for Brother Ju's old evaluation." ”

Although the emperor decreed that Qinglong Temple would be changed to Huguo Temple, both officials and ordinary people were accustomed to calling it by its original name.

Li Cong nodded and said: "Qinglong Temple is to be investigated, but it can't be investigated, today's saints reviving Buddhism, if there is no real evidence, it is better to be cautious." Moreover, this matter involves Yizhen, who is a senior monk of the Enlightenment Sect, and will be invited to participate in the lectures of the three religions before the 40th birthday of the saint in June this year, and he will not be able to move easily. ”

Emperor Dazhong is Chinese New Year's Eve nine years old today, and he is forty years old, because the homonym of the word "ten" is death, which is unlucky, so the ancients generally lived a whole life every nine.

The emperor's true birthday is also kept secret, so as not to be known and use the magic of witchcraft.

It was announced that it was June 22, of course, a holiday, but it was very close to the real birthday.

Before the birthday, the Buddha and Confucianism gathered together to preach the scriptures and explain the teachings, and debate the difficulties, which is called the Three Teachings Lectures.

And although Yizhen is a tantric sect, he is officially under the banner of the Enlightenment Sect, and he himself does practice both sects.

At this moment, there was a drum beat in the distance.

"It's Wen Denggu, Brother Ju has a new case." Wang Duo said with a smile.

Li Cong said: "Zhaofan, Guo Xiaolian, wait a while, I'll come when I go." ”

After the drum is beaten, the county order is to go out in person to receive the complaint, which is to prevent some people in the yamen from deceiving the superiors and subordinates, accepting the benefits of the defendant, and tampering with the complaint or hiding it directly.

Guo Hong and the others waited for a cup of tea in the inner hall, and Li Cong came back.

"This Yu Zhongde really doesn't stop for a moment, as soon as the man dies, he wants to seize the industry." Li Cong took out a roll of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Wang Duo, and continued: "This is Yu Zhongde's suing Yu Chengzhao for assuming his surname and demanding that his property be returned to the Yu clan. ”

Li Cong, the commander of Wannian County, knew that Wang Duo came with Liu Yanniang's complaint and must have something to do with Yu Chengzhao's family, so he showed him the newly received pleadings.

The paper said that Yu Chengzhao's real name was Shen Zhao, his surname was Yu, his name was not entered into the genealogy, his uncle and aunt died, and there was no basis for the succession, and he had no right to inherit the property that belonged to the Yu family.

Wang Duo finished reading the paper and handed it to Guo Hong.

"Who is Yu Zhongde?" Guo Hong asked after reading the complaint, pointing to the payment.

"He is not famous, but he has an elder brother who has won the Jinshi, named Yu Mengwei, and now he is joining the army under Du Yi in the Xichuan Festival."

Du Yi is Du Mu's cousin, Emperor Xianzong's concubine, he was the prime minister in the Wuzong Dynasty, and he was the same party of Li Zongmin of the Niu Party.

Du Yi Huichang served as prime minister for four years, and Huichang was deposed together with Choi Hyun in five years.

Although he is a Niu Dang, because his wife is Princess Qiyang (Wenzong Dynasty), the daughter of Empress Dowager Guo, and she is considered to be Wuzong's uncle, Li Deyu did not specifically target him, but was only released as the envoy of the Jiannan Dongchuan Festival, and was promoted to the rank of scattered official from the right servant of the second grade Shangshu to show his encouragement.

After Emperor Dazhong succeeded to the throne, he did not recall the court because he was a bull party, but also considering his relationship with Empress Dowager Guo.

In April this year, Zhou Qi resigned as the prime minister, and was released as the envoy of the Dongchuan Festival, and the original Dongchuan Jie Du moved the town to the Jiannan Xichuan Festival, and the governance was located in Chengdu.

Wang Duo was born in a family of prime ministers, so naturally he would not take Yu Mengwei in his eyes because he was Du Yi's member of the army, so he asked: "It's okay for a little brother to join the army to bully the common people, but he can't be unscrupulous in Chang'an City, right?" ”

"He's a member of the Xia Tai (gui) Yu clan!" Li Cong replied.

"Yushi? Is it a descendant of Yu Chaoen? Wang Duo asked.

"Yes, and he claims to be one of the nine founding elders of the Sui Dynasty."

Yu Chaoen, a native of Luzhou, Sichuan, was the great eunuch of the Suzong and Daizong dynasties, and it was in his hands that the Shence Army was transferred from the border army to the forbidden army.

Since then, the Shence army has let his children enter the palace as eunuchs, controlled the imperial court, and then controlled the towns of the world, forming a powerful armed group in collusion between eunuchs and generals.

As the initiator of Yu Chaoen was hanged by Daizong Design, his descendants were also killed and expelled, and many years later he came back to live in Chang'an, until the Xianzong Dynasty recovered his vitality, and he became a lieutenant of the right army of the Shence Army, and was killed by Wuzong a few years ago.

This family is not prosperous, but it is very famous, and when it comes to the Yu family in Chang'an City, ordinary officials know it, because a few years ago, Yu Hongzhi was still a great eunuch with power in the government and the opposition, and his status was second only to Qiu Shiliang.

Wang Duo pondered for a moment and said, "Brother Ju, do you think the murder of Yu Chengzhao was done by Yu Zhongde?" ”

Li Cong thought for a while, nodded and said: "Brother Xian is right, Yu Zhongde didn't expect Liu Yanniang to have you behind him, thinking that he was a widow with no power and no power, this matter was done so eagerly, extremely blatantly, and it was too deceitful!" ”

"It's just that I don't know who is behind him, if it is someone from the four eunuch families of Ma, Wang, Yang, and Liu, we can only settle the matter, but this property must not be given to them!"

Li Cong said: "Zhao Fan rest assured, for the brotherhood to find out the details of Yu Zhongde first, and then deal with it impartially, even if there is disharmony, I will try my best to save a little bit of property for this orphan and widow......

Wang Duo remembered Liu Yanniang's request, so he said: "Several refiners in Hengshan said that they can summon spirits, so let Guo Xiao refiner explain." ”

When Guo Hong saw Li Cong looking over, he said: "The soul of the unjustly killed will not be dispersed for seven days, and the three of my brothers and sisters are all proficient in the channel, which can make the soul of the deceased manifest and tell the grievances." It's just that Qinglong Temple is a royal temple, and it still needs the Ming Mansion to go out in person, otherwise there will be conflicts. ”

Li Cong muttered: The monk is doing Taoism in the temple, are you sure you didn't go to smash the field?

Wang Duo said: "If the case is solved because of this, it will definitely leave a good story, and the saint will also be rewarded." ”

Li Cong thought of the emperor's temperament and couldn't help but nodded.

This great and middle-aged emperor is very fond of legendary stories and is especially interested in this kind of mysterious thing.

He nodded, "Then make an exception." ”

Wang Duo played a game of chess with Li Cong and asked Wang Bao to send Guo Hong back.

He chatted with Li Cong for a while about interesting things in Beijing, then said goodbye, went to the shogunate to finish another official business, and returned home in the afternoon.

As soon as he entered the door, Wang Duo asked the porter servant, "Is Yun Niangzi back?" ”

After receiving an affirmative answer, he returned to his study and asked someone to invite Yun Xuansu to talk about Yu Zhongde.

Yun Xuansu had already learned the details from Guo Hong, so he said: "Fifth uncle, the slave family knows the roots of the Yu family, after all, my junior sister Xuanji is also surnamed Yu, so naturally I have already investigated. Yu Zhongde befriended Liang Shouqian's descendants, and now he is not powerful, Liang Shouqian participated in the murder of Xianzong back then, and the saints have been looking for their mistakes, and they have no time to take care of themselves...... Uncle can tell Li County Order, and there is no need to worry about the Liang family interfering. ”

Wang Duo's face was overjoyed, and he secretly calculated in his heart that if he could pull the Liang family into the game, he would take advantage of this to bring them down at that time, and he would not let the emperor look at him differently.

"Is there a way for Yun Niangzi to deal with Yu Mengwei?" He asked again.

Yun Xuansu thought about it slightly, and said: "Du Yi is Du Mu's cousin, I heard Liu Yanniang say that she has an old relationship with Du Mu before, and I will ask tomorrow to see if I can act through this relationship......

Wang Duo smiled, this Du Mu really "lives up to the name of the Qinglou", and he is full of flowers and grass.

The next day, Wang Duo and Yun Xuansu came to Yu's house together, Liu Yanniang was in a much better mood since she heard that she could still meet Yu Chengzhao's soul, and she had gradually returned to normal.

After Yun Xuansu finished speaking, she shook her head and said: "The relationship between Du Mu and Du Yi is very stiff, and I only went to Hunan to see Du Yi once when I was twenty-five years old.

"When Du Yi's childhood friend Dugu Yu was doing the imperial history, he once prevented Du Mu's father Du Congyu from becoming a supplement, and Du Congyu was also angry with Du Yi because of this, and the relationship between the two houses has not been good.

"Du Mu died of his father at the age of thirteen, he was not good at financial management, and he was so poor that he sold more than 30 properties, but Du Yi, who was a colt, did not lend a hand, so it is impossible for Du Mu to write to Du Yi for this little thing."

In fact, she still didn't say a reason, that is, she didn't dare to contact Du Mu at all, otherwise Xiao Xuan's opportunity would be taken away.

Now that Shen Zhao is gone, if she loses her daughter again, she doesn't know if she can still live......

He Qiong learned the news and went to the Yu family to pay her filial piety, she didn't know how to comfort Liu Yanniang as a girl, she just hugged Xiao Xuanji and said a conversation, and then came out.

Liu Yanniang cheered up, went to the West Market, and brought back a seventeen or eighteen-year-old woman, saying that she was a newly bought maidservant named Hongrui.

Someone finally cooked and cleaned the house, and Guo Hong and the others also had a good mouth, so they didn't have to go to the street every day to buy food.

Another day passed, the progress of the case was very slow, and there was no news from Li Cong.

Guo Hong said that he was afraid that his soul would dissipate after seven days, and he wanted Yun Xuansu to help urge him.

Liu Yanniang became anxious when she heard this, knelt in front of Yun Xuansu, and begged her for help.

Yun Xuansu was a little embarrassed: "The day before yesterday, Wang Duo just mentioned it with Li County, and I'm afraid it's not good to urge it again." ”

"Please also ask the refiner to save Shen Lang!" Liu Yanniang still called Yu Chengzhao "Shen Lang" in private, and at this time she called out without words.

The door was kicked open suddenly, and more than a dozen people broke in, led by a twenty-seven or eighteen-year-old man, wearing the light yellow robe of the common people, and shouted: "Did you hear it, Ah Liu (Liu Yanniang) called Shen Lang just now, it can be seen that they themselves don't think that they are the Yu family, and this property should naturally be taken back to the clan!" ”

Ps：

Historical figure: Li Cong

In ancient times, the commoners wore light jute cloth clothes, similar to lemon yellow, close to white, so they were called white ding, and the royal family wore bright yellow.

Pure white clothes need to be dyed or silk, which is more expensive, and only rich businessmen will wear them.