"Brother Xiao is still as tough as ever." Lu Yunsheng said with a smile, "I didn't say that I can't check it, the key is to look at the person who does it, Brother Xiao has such courage, naturally he is invincible." The original intention of what I just said was that no matter what the case is, at least we Tiwei will not be too involved. ”

Xiao Chongguang said: "I know that you are for our good defense, but since we have taken care of some things, we have to be responsible for them to the end." ”

"Naturally, the younger brother will also fight side by side with Brother Xiao." Lu Yunsheng raised his glass, "Come, do it!" ”

Siu Chongguang also raised his glass and drank it all.

On the seventh day of the third month of the third year of the Great Chu Chenghe, the eastern capital of the East City, Jingkangfang, Tiwei Mansion, the end of the Chen

A group of privy counsellors searched for all the archival documents related to Liu Yuanzhen in the confidential cabinet in the east wing of the mansion. The Privy Counsellor is a clerk in the Tiwei Mansion, specializing in managing a series of materials collected by the Tiwei Mansion over the years, such as officials, people, mulberry fields, calendars, events, etc., and they are indispensable for providing documentary evidence behind the handling of cases.

After the doctors collected Liu Yuanzhen's information, they transcribed it into a book, and then transferred it to Xiao Chongguang, who was reading the on-site transcripts in the hall.

"You read it to me, my eyes hurt when I read these on-site transcripts and post-mortem records in the past two days." Xiao Chongguang pinched the Qingming acupoint between his eyes and said to the doctor who sent the paperwork.

"Whoa."

Dr. Shi Li replied, and then opened the document fold and read: "Liu Yuanzhen, a native of Yifang County, Xuzhou, was a jinshi in the thirty-second year of the old calendar, and later served as the commander of Puyang County, Yanzhou, with a total term of five years, and was promoted to the director of the Taifu Temple in the thirty-seventh year of the old calendar, and three years later was recommended by Zhao Yuheng, who was then the secretary of the Taifu Temple, as the Zhongcheng of the Imperial History, Liu Yuanzhen served a total of two and a half years until he was killed, and he was forty-six years old when he was killed. ”

"Interesting." The corners of Xiao Chongguang's mouth rose slightly, "This Liu Yuanzhen has really ascended to the sky in one step, and has directly become an important member of the affairs of the DPRK and China from a small county order." What outstanding achievements did he have as a county magistrate? Or do you have any close friends or relatives in the DPRK or China? ”

The Privy Counsellor shook his head: "The political achievements are mediocre, and it can even be said that there are no political achievements at all. As for relatives and friends, they only came after they became court officials, and they were blank before. ”

"It seems that this imperial history Zhongcheng used to be very watery." Xiao Chongguang touched his chin and smiled.

Logically speaking, there are only two ways for local officials to be promoted to officials in the DPRK and China, one is to decide whether they meet the qualifications for promotion based on their political achievements, and if they can be of great use, the officials will conduct a series of reviews of the officials, and the imperial historian and the emperor will approve and check the red before they can be promoted. The other is that the courtiers recommend to the officials, since it is a recommendation, there is naturally no need to look at the political performance, as long as the official has not made any major mistakes when serving as a local official, he can be promoted as appropriate.

A person like Liu Yuanzhen, who did not have outstanding political achievements and did not have the support of relatives and friends, was promoted by bribing senior officials in the DPRK and Central China nine times out of ten.

"Give me the fold, you go down." Xiao Chongguang stretched out his hand.

The Privy Counsellor sang "Woo", handed in the fold and stepped back.

Lu Yunsheng walked out of the inner hall wearing a guard outfit, carrying a thick stack of letterhead full of words, and patted it on Sogo's chest: "This is the relationship decomposition document of Liu Yuanzhen since he took office in the imperial history, hey, don't say I didn't remind you, this is just what the 'dark guard' has tried his best to find in the past few years, and it is not complete, and there may even be miswriting, don't complain or scold your mother when you make a mistake." ”

"Oh, I know," Xiao Chongguang took the letter, "I single-handedly cultivated and arranged the 'Dark Guard' brothers, and I naturally understand their difficulties, even if all the information is wrong, I won't blame them." ”

The secret guards are a special organization secretly cultivated by the Tiwei Mansion, who disguise themselves as ordinary people, or are placed in the mansions of ministers and court institutions, in order to secretly spy on intelligence. This hand was handed down by the third Guardian Chief, and only the Guardian Commander could cultivate the Secret Guard. Of course, there is also a bottom line in the Tiwei Mansion, that is, there is no infiltration in the palace, which is not only to show loyalty to the royal family, but also for security reasons.

Xiao Chongguang flipped through the letter a few times, and after a moment of silence, he said: "These news are basically consistent with what I inquired about before. But what's this recipe for chicken soup with red mushrooms? He took out one of the pieces of paper and looked at Lu Yunsheng and asked.

"Oops, I'm sorry," Lu Yunsheng blushed and quickly put the formula back, "I was in a hurry just now, and I accidentally mixed the lunch recipe I brought today." ”

Sogo was speechless for a while, then slowly got up, patted Yunsheng on the shoulder, and said, "Give your recipe to the brothers below, we won't eat in the mansion today, accompany me to visit the family of the deceased." ”

Dongdu Dongshi Shengpingfang Liu Yuanzhen's Mansion Sichu

"This house is really big, it's about to catch up with our Tiwei Mansion." Lu Yunsheng stood beside Sogo and whispered.

"Of course the house in the imperial history is magnificent." Xiao Chongguang also responded in a low voice.

At this time, Sogo and Yunsheng were allowed to enter the house by Mrs. Liu, and were led by the maid of Liu's mansion to the meeting hall, passing a small garden on the way, but now it was a cold winter, the grass and flower beds were covered with ice and snow, and only a few plum blossoms stood proudly in the cold.

Today's weather is not very good, the clouds are dense, the cold wind is biting, the goose feather snow is falling scattered, and this Liu Mansion occupies a vast area, and the courtyard houses are very empty, plus Liu Yuanzhen is newly dead, and white flags and white cloths are hung everywhere, everyone in Liu Mansion mourns, and the atmosphere is more and more heavy. Xiao Chongguang was infected by this atmosphere, he seemed a little hesitant, he was a little afraid to speak, for fear of adding grief to the Liu family, but he had to go because of his duties.

Mrs. Liu, Wang, and Liu Yuanzhen's two sons, dressed in filial piety clothes, were kneeling in the hall to burn paper and guard filial piety, constantly sobbing, and a cadre of servants and maids were lined up on the left and right, bowing their heads in silence.

Xiao Chongguang and Lu Yun ascended into the hall, first bowed to Liu Yuanzhen's spiritual position, and then bowed to his widow Wang, who and his two sons kowtowed.

This Wang looks like he is only in his early thirties, he is very standard, his complexion is pale, and his peach eyes are full of tears, which is even more painful, although he is delicate, but he also has a mature charm. There is a document in Tiwei Mansion that four years ago, in order to marry this Wang, Liu Yuanzhen ruthlessly divorced his wife to show his heart, and was cited as a joke by the ministers at that time. Now it seems that this Wang family does have some charming demeanor, no wonder Liu Yuanzhen is dead set on her.

Xiao Chongguang waved his hand at Wang's fork and said, "Mrs. Wang, below is Xiao Chongguang, the head of the Tiwei Mansion, and next to me is Lu Yunsheng, the deputy head of the guard. Now that Liu Gong's case is accepted by our Tiwei, I came this time to express my condolences to Lord Wang, and secondly, I want to ask Mrs. about some information, hoping to help the case. ”

Wang Shi sobbed and said, "Lord Xiao, if there is anything, just ask." ”

Xiao Chongguang said: "Okay, then I'll get straight to the point." Mrs. Wang, do you know what Gong Liu was doing on the night of his accident? Why did you stay until midnight before taking a carriage to your home? ”

Wang said: "The concubine only knows that my husband went out early that night, and when I asked him where he was going, he only said that he would go outside to discuss matters." ”

"Before Liu Gong left, did he say where to go to discuss matters?"

"No, the husband only said that he would drink some wine and come back later."

"Liu Gong traveled that night, who else knows?"

"Only me and the servants know about the house, and the rest is not clear."

"Does that lady know who met with Duke Liu?"

Wang shook his head: "I don't know." These things involve officialdom, I won't ask, and he won't take the initiative to say it. ”

Lu Yunsheng said: "Madam, has anyone ever visited the mansion recently?" Or who did Liu Gong associate with? ”

Wang thought for a while and then said: "Recently, only Lord Sun from Dali Temple has come, and my mother's trustee in Nanchong County, Qingzhou sent a letter saying that my uncle was seriously ill, so I went over with a little silver. As for the intimacy, in the past, Lord Zhao and Lord Tan would often come to visit, until two years ago, Lord Zhao was promoted to the Zhongshu Order, and after Lord Tan was promoted to Guanglu Temple, he rarely came, at most he came to the door during the New Year's holidays, or a little holiday gift. Also, my husband often mentions the prime minister, so I guess my husband is also related to the prime minister's house. ”

Xiao Chongguang said: "Who does Liu Gong have a grudge with?" ”

Wang said: "As far as I know, the husband rarely blushes with people, but once he said that His Majesty's eleventh son, His Royal Highness Huaiwang, once had an argument with the ministers in the main hall, and also threatened many ministers, including my husband. ”

Huai Wang.

Xiao Chongguang felt a "sigh" in his heart.

Who knows a little bit of news in the palace now wouldn't know that King Huai's mother, Concubine Tan, died early, and King Huai, who was still in infancy, was handed over by the emperor to the queen to raise, so he grew up with the prince since he was a child, and he was the most supportive of all the princes. However, today's prime minister once had a gap with the crown prince, so he supports the third prince Xinwang, who has a master-apprentice relationship with him. As a result, the two parties have been at loggerheads for several years. If the case involves partisanship, then it will be a big trouble.

Xiao Chongguang said: "Okay, madam, I think I've asked about the situation, and there is nothing else, so I'll leave later." "Let's say goodbye to Yunsheng together.

Wang nodded and said, "The two adults go slowly." ”

After leaving Liu's Mansion, Lu Yunsheng clasped his hands to his chest and frowned: "Brother Xiao, this is a bit tricky, if it is related to the party dispute, I'm afraid this matter is not so simple, and it is not something we can control." ”

Xiao Chongguang pinched his temples: "Yes, over the past generations, I don't know how many people have become victims. But we are ordered to handle the case, and we can't do so much, and the most important thing is to find out the truth publicly. ”

"What if ······" Lu Yunsheng realized that his voice was a little loud, and immediately lowered his voice, "What if it is King Huai or the crown prince?" ”

"If that's the case, I'm afraid the prince's party will be ready to take the blame for the dead ghost." Xiao Chongguang said, "What the party wants to do, there will be what they call a foolproof strategy, if they are smart enough and their confessions can be fulfilled, we can also calculate it at that time." ”

"What if you don't come?" Lu Yunsheng asked.

"Then continue to handle the case impartially."