As the saying goes, "there must be brave men under the heavy reward", in the afternoon three days after the reward order was issued, a middle-aged man dressed as a housekeeper came to the gate of the official office of the Dingyan Military Festival. After hesitating and hesitating for nearly half an hour, the middle-aged man finally mustered up the courage and walked in the direction of the gate of the government office.

Seeing the guy who had been probing his brain outside the gate for a long time coming towards him, the guard of the gate, who had long been paying attention to him, immediately stepped forward to stop the way, and asked, "Who is coming, and what is the matter here?" ”

Maybe it's because there is no chance to turn back when you take this step, maybe it's because this matter is likely to involve the lives of yourself and your family, or maybe it's because the attraction of a thousand hanging red outweighs the guilt of your own behavior, so when he was stopped by the officer, the middle-aged man pulled out his waist and said confidently: "What is the next surname Dangchu, there is important news about my master's involvement in the case of the explosion of Dijin Ze to report to the magistrate." ”

I heard that someone came to report the Dijinze explosion that caused a sensation in the entire Dingyan Army, and the officials guarding the door naturally did not dare to slack off. While letting the middle-aged man wait in the gatehouse, he hurried into the office to report. Perhaps God didn't like the shameless behavior of the middle-aged man who planned to betray his lord and seek glory, but when the official who took over the post at noon ran to the judge's office, he was told that his lord went to the scene of the Dijinze explosion with the deputy envoy of Jiedu that morning, and it was estimated that he would not be able to return to his house until tomorrow evening at the earliest. The official who thought that he would receive a reward for reporting the news related to the case of Di Jin Ze or leave a good impression in front of the magistrate couldn't help but be a little disappointed when he heard this, but since he had already come, he naturally couldn't stop reporting such important news just because the magistrate was not there. So, the official turned around and went to the official room of Song Si Prison.

Hearing that someone was planning to report the news related to the Dijinze bombing case, Song Yun, the prison officer in charge of the official handling of the day, couldn't help but feel moved in his heart, and hurriedly ordered the official to bring the person who made the complaint to his official room.

Although he didn't know the officials at all levels in the official office, after all, Steward He was in charge of a large family, and he was far more knowledgeable than the ordinary people from small households. Therefore, after entering the official room, he knew that this person was not a moderation magistrate just from the color of the official sitting behind the official case. After the official who was in charge of bringing him in introduced the identity of the other party to him, and explained that the master of the magistrate accompanied the deputy envoy of Jiedu to go out to investigate, and would not return to the house today, Steward He immediately thought in his heart.

In Steward He's opinion, he is now taking a huge risk to come to complain, and it is very unwise to tell such important news to a petty official of the Tuiguan Office before he meets the old man. First, after layers of reporting, no matter how confidential the information is, there is a possibility of leakage. Second, these low-level officials of the yamen usually use the power in their hands to eat and take cards, once the news passes through their hands, I am afraid that it is unknown how much of the 1,000 yuan reward money can finally fall into their hands. Therefore, when the prison officer Song Yun sent out the official and turned to question him, he immediately stiffened his neck and said: "The person who is being accused below is the key suspect involved in the Dijinze explosion case, the matter is very important, and the person who was accused is in a high position, in order to prevent the news from leaking so that he can prepare or escape, he will only report to the master of the magistrate, and will never tell others." ”

If other officials of the official office are replaced, and they are called out by Steward He, especially the major case of the Dijinze explosion that the adults attach great importance to, it is likely to stop in order to avoid taking responsibility for leaking the news, or take care of Steward He, until his lord returns to the house to inquire again, or order the informant to go home first, and then come to the government office to report the next day. But Song Yun is not one of those ordinary officials, as an important internal line and a key hidden stake in the official mansion of the Xiazhou Branch of the Dingyan Army Intelligence Station of the Intelligence Department of the Crossing Team (Xiazhou Branch of the "Dark Feather" Dingyan Army Branch), since he received the report from the official that someone had come to accuse the suspect in the Dijinze explosion, he had already made up his mind that he must get the information he wanted from the informant's mouth, otherwise he would never let him leave his official room.

Therefore, just as Steward He turned around and wanted to leave after speaking, Song Yunmeng, the prisoner, slapped the table and shouted: "Bold! He Dangchu, what do you think is the place here, you can come when you say you come, and leave when you say. It is said that the case of the explosion in Jinze is the No. 1 major and important case of the Dingyan Army, which has been ordered by the Jie Du to solve the case within a time limit, and anyone who knows the news about this case must immediately report it to the government, otherwise they will be punished as complicity. Just say that you, a little housekeeper, dare to be so arrogant and presumptuous in front of this official, this official can punish you for the crime of ignoring the government and contempt for the court, beat you with 30 boards, and put you in prison for a year and a half. ”

Immediately, Song Yun shouted outside the door: "Come on, pull down this arrogant, unofficial, and shielding criminals to beat forty boards, put a heavy flail, and throw it outside the government for half a month." ”

Before Song Yun's words fell, two henchmen who were guarding outside the door had already broken in, and they were about to go out with Steward He. If it was placed in the past, or even half an hour ago, He Dangchu and Steward He really wouldn't have taken Song Yun, the little prison of the official office, in his eyes. Even if he really violated the law, as long as he reported his identity and the official position of his master, Song Yun would not dare to take someone immediately, let alone order the punishment, but would release him first, and then according to the severity of his crimes, or leave it alone, or report the case to the magistrate or a higher-level official.

But now, what He Dangchu and He steward wants to do is the so-called "injustice" of betraying the master and suing the owner, and he has lost a city morally, and the backer behind him has ceased to exist at the moment when he decided to enter the official office. In other words, before the master of his own house is arrested for his own accusation, and he is rewarded by the master of the magistrate and even the lord of the festival, not to mention that the magistrate in front of him is the official at the door, and the official who brought him in can shout at him and oppress him at will. Now, seeing that Song Sijiao was angry at this time, without the slightest intention of intimidation and temptation, he was obviously really annoyed by himself, and wanted to use punishment to kill his own arrogant act to relieve the hatred in his heart, where did he dare to put on his own shelf and hang the other party's appetite, and hurriedly struggled while begging: "The old man of the prison spares his life, the old man of the prison spares his life, Xiao Ke knows that he is wrong, and Xiao Ke will tell the master of the prison what he knows." ”

Seeing that his dismount had played a role, Song Yun secretly sneered in his heart, and with a little hand, he ordered the official to put Steward He back, and instructed: "This official and this Steward He have confidential and important matters to discuss, and the two of you wait outside the door, and without the official's orders, no one is allowed to come in except for the master of the official." ”

When the two officials heard this, they hurriedly claimed yes, immediately turned around and went out, closed the door of the official room, and stood with their knives on the left and right. At the same time, Song Yun pointed at Steward He and said, "You and this official come to the inner room."

After entering the inner room, Song Yun walked straight to the back of the table and sat down, and asked Steward He who was standing opposite him, "Who is the master of your family?" What is his involvement in the Dijinze explosion case? How do you know these things? And tell me what you know, as it is, and in detail. ”

When He Dangchu heard this, he hurriedly bent down and bowed his head, slumped his shoulders and lowered his hands, and replied in a standard subordinate posture of groveling: "Back to the prison master, Xiao Ke is the housekeeper of Qiu Mingbo, the deputy envoy of the Dingyan Army's iron smelting army. Xiao Ke overheard the conversation between my lord and his wife the day before yesterday, and learned that the Dijinze explosion case was planned and carried out by my lord himself. However, the purpose was to cause chaos in Xiazhou and even the entire Dingyan Army, so as to attract the attention of a group of people who came from the capital and belonged to an intelligence station called What, so as to force the other party to steal the Qiu couple and Chen Baoqiang's family from the Dingyan Army and send them to Kaifeng to enjoy the blessings of officials. ”

He Dangchu bowed his head there, respectfully reported the situation he knew to Song Yun, but he didn't see that when he said that he was the housekeeper of Qiu Mingbo's mansion, the deputy envoy of the Dingyan Army, the other party's face was shocked and shocked, and he didn't notice that when he finished reporting the situation, even if it was not hot in the inner room, this Song Si Prison was already sweating through his clothes, and his blood was surging, so that he was speechless for a long time after listening to He Dangchu's explanation.

Fortunately, Song Yun is also an old fritter who has been in officialdom for a long time and has a lot of knowledge, although the news that the other party said shocked him so much that he was drenched in cold sweat and had some difficulty breathing, but with his good psychological qualities and the accumulation of many years of experience in changing his face as an official, he quickly calmed down his mood and returned to his natural state. Therefore, when He Dangchu, who was a little puzzled why he was speechless for a long time, cautiously raised his head and peeked up, the shocked and nervous expression on Song Yun's face was no longer there, replaced by a deeply locked brow and thoughtful eyes, as if he was troubled by the identity and status of the person being accused, and it was a good way to find a solution.

After another moment, Song Yun continued to ask with some unwillingness: "I think that the case of the explosion in Jinze is serious and deeply valued by the Jie Du Envoy, and it can be said to be the first case of the Dingyan Army. If it is really your master who does such a big case, he will definitely be very careful and cautious, how can you let you hear his secret conversation with his wife. Could it be that you see that the government has a huge reward, and you want to frame your own master in order to deceive the thousand hanging red? ”

"The prison lord is discerning." He Dangchu heard this and hurriedly defended, "My master is naturally very careful about such a confidential matter. In the past, when he had secret discussions with his wife and accomplice Chen Baoqiang, he would ask his henchmen to guard outside the study, and no one was allowed to approach within three feet of the study to prevent anyone from eavesdropping. And the reason why Xiao Ke was able to discover this earth-shattering secret was because God helped him.

The day before yesterday, because a friend of my lord came to visit, Xiao Ke went to the study to deliver a letter to my master. Originally, according to the old rules, the news should be conveyed by the guards guarding the study. But when Xiao Ke arrived outside the door of the study, he found that the guard who was in charge of guarding the study at that time was somehow not on duty outside the door of the study. Xiao Ke, as a housekeeper, naturally knew the rules of the house, so he did not approach the study at the beginning, but waited at a distance. But after waiting for a long time, I still didn't see the escort return, because I was afraid that the report would be late, so the master's friend waited for a long time, so Xiao Ke had to step forward and prepare to personally report the news of the visitor's visit to my master. No, it was this difference in thought that made Xiao Ke hear the conversation between my lord and wife in the study, and knew the inside story of the case of the explosion in Jinze. Although Qiu Mingbo and his wife have always been very good to Xiao Ke, the matter is very important, and once it is revealed in the future, Xiao Ke will also be implicated as his servant and will be punished by the government. Whether it was a small matter of thought again and again, he decided to come and complain. What Xiao Ke said is true, and there is absolutely no false fabrication. ”

After listening to Steward He's explanation, he saw that although the other party's face was full of anxiety and panic, except for a little hesitation when talking about the reason for the complaint, there was no trace of falsification and falsification at the rest of the time, obviously most of what he said was the truth, which made Song Yun's last hope also shattered. So, on the one hand, he spoke to "appease" Steward He, and on the other hand, his mind changed sharply, and he struggled to think about the countermeasures to solve the current problems.

After some weighing and consideration, Song Sijian finally made up his mind. He first wrote a confession record of what Steward He said, and asked the other party to sign and draw it, and then said that the matter was important, Qiu Mingbo and Chen Baoqiang were officials who were very favored and reused by the Lord, and what they were responsible for was related to the manufacture of weapons and equipment in various departments of the Dingyan Army, and this case was likely to involve what intelligence station from the capital, and even the imperial court. Immediately, he said that the official master is now in Jinze, and he has no right to directly report matters and deliver official documents to the envoy of Jiedu. However, the only way to do this now is to immediately send someone to Di Jinze to report the matter to the old man of the Tuiguan, and ask him to return to Tongwancheng as soon as possible to deal with it. In the end, it is a long way to send someone to Dijinze, even if the horse is whipped, the official master will need to return to the government office tomorrow evening, and although the former complaint of Steward He has not been widely publicized, after all, there will be people passing by before pushing the official office, plus the officials guarding the door and the officials who are walking around in the government office have also seen him, and even know the destination of his coming here, so he is afraid that the matter of his accusation will already be known, if there is someone who has the heart to report the matter to Qiu Mingbo, the latter will not only take precautions, but even try to kill people and kill people, On the grounds of destroying the evidence, he persuaded Steward He not to return to Qiu's mansion, but to stay in the Tuiguan Office for the time being, and be protected by the officials. In this way, they can not only ensure their personal safety, but also directly receive the reward of the festival envoys, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

Song Yun's remarks were reasonable, and Steward He felt guilty about Qiu Mingbo after the accusation, and he was also afraid that his behavior would be abnormal after returning to Qiu's mansion to attract the attention of the other party, which would lead to death. Therefore, Steward He deeply thought that Song Yun wanted him to stay in the Tuiguan Yamen, and immediately agreed to wait in this inner room, and never set foot out of the door before the Tuiguan Master returned.

Seeing that Steward He was appeased by himself, Song Sijiao did not delay for half a minute, and immediately came out of the inner room, and then held the door of the inner room, and then called the henchman guarding the door into the room and whispered, ordering the two of them to leave the house immediately and leave the Tuiguan Office in the name of reporting important matters to the Tuiguan Master, and one of them was responsible for going to Dijinze at the most "appropriate" speed and reporting to the Jiedu Tuiguan Master. After ensuring his safety and not being followed by others, the other person went to the Xiazhou branch of the Ministry of Intelligence to report to the "traffic officer" there the details of He Dangchu, the housekeeper of the Qiu Mansion, who had told his lord Qiu Mingbo, and sought a solution from the intelligence station.