The sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the first day after the Spring Festival holiday.

The Taiye Pool is still in the ice, Qionghua Island is covered with snow, and there is a bit of wilderness in this world, only the palace and palace walls in the distance are full of royal atmosphere.

Zhu Youzhu ended this pleasant vacation, took the dragon chariot back to the Heart Cultivation Palace, smelled the familiar sandalwood, and began to deal with the government affairs at hand.

Although the yamen of the world is closed during the holidays, there will also be some important things passed on, and at the same time, all kinds of things will inevitably happen in the capital with a population of hundreds of thousands.

During the Spring Festival, Dongchang and Jinyiwei only had a day off, and then began to collect information about the capital.

The Spring Festival holiday is a time for officials to woo their feelings, but it is also the day when they are most likely to show their flaws, especially when some bribes are often carried out.

What's more, this year is the year of external inspection, and in order to avoid being taken off their black gauze hats, many local officials need to open various joints to protect their jobs.

Power, even in later generations, is unstoppable, and now it makes these officials crazy, and even does not hesitate to send their concubines to play with them.

It is precisely because of this that Jinyiwei and Dongchang did not miss the opportunity to collect criminal evidence during the Spring Festival, and the relevant information was sent to Zhu Youji's hands, so that the emperor could see the true face of the military officials below.

Zhu Youzhu looked at the vacant Imperial History of the Left Capital of the Imperial Palace, with a solemn expression on his face.

He knew that no matter how wise the decision was, it actually needed someone to implement it seriously, and it was thanks to Liu Zhong, the governor of Huguang, that Qingzhang of Huguang could have such an effect.

The first major event of the new year is to finalize the selection of officials for external inspection, and to dismiss all those who are old, disabled, incapacitated, greedy, brutal, and harmful to the people.

Li Yu, the secretary of the ministry, naturally wanted to participate in it, but in the selection of the Imperial History of the Left Capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, it finally fell to Wang Yue, who had just completed the sorting out of the salt administration.

The Imperial History of the Left Capital of the Imperial Court of the Imperial Court is the second grade, and it was originally supposed to be on an equal footing with the six Shangshu, but now he is excluding the Imperial History of the Left Capital from the Supreme Council.

It's not that he is biased against the imperial history of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but he thinks that everyone can perform their own duties, and the main responsibility of the Metropolitan Procuratorate is to supervise civil and military officials, and there is no need to participate in the discussion and formulation of major national affairs.

Wang Yue is an official with a heavy name, and now he is appointed as the Imperial History of the Left Capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate to supervise the civil and military officials for himself, and he is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate.

Just the external inspection will remove hundreds or even thousands of officials on a large scale, so it is natural to enter and fill, so this year's Enke examination has become very important, and at the same time, it is also necessary to find the chief examiner.

According to the traditional tradition, the candidates for the examiners must be from the ministers.

Zhu Youzhu decided to break this tradition, but he hoped that a more pragmatic official would serve as the chief examiner of the Enke examination, and the preliminary candidate in his heart was Du Ming, the secretary of the Criminal Department.

Letting people do things, this is actually the most test of the emperor's ability.

Governing the country is actually like marching to war, if the important ministers are not carefully selected, it may brew the tragedy of "Zhuge Liang tears and slashes the horse".

The sky in the West Garden is very blue, and it seems to be very quiet here, as if it is quietly waiting for the spring flowers to come.

It's just the capital, like a fried pot.

In fact, since the beginning of the Lunar New Year, many people have no intention of celebrating the Spring Festival, and as the news of the imperial court's shelving proposal to build the outer city of Beijing spreads, the entire city of Beijing seems to be mourning.

"It's over, it's over, I've just bought the land!"

"Who hasn't just started it, and now it's going to be smashed all in their hands!"

"Haha...... I thought I would regret my death this time, or Your Majesty was wise! ”

……

When they learned that the imperial court would not build an outer city, the people who learned the news in advance and bought the land at a high price seemed distressed, but some of the people who were lucky enough to sell it were very happy.

In this era, the greatest value of the house is actually to ensure personal safety.

Whether it is in the capital or in the local area, everyone's preferred residential area is in the city.

If you live in a village, the wealthy will build a high-walled compound and a fortress at the edge of the village, always putting safety first.

It is true that the capital is a land where every inch of land is valuable, but there is no security outside Beijing after all, so the value of the land has not been high.

Taking the Beijing Conservative War as an example, the Mongol iron cavalry besieged the city in the south, resulting in many lives being killed by the swords of the Mongol cavalry, and almost all their houses were burned down. On the other hand, the houses in the capital have not been affected in the slightest.

It is precisely because of this that it has always been rumored in the capital: it is better to live in a dilapidated house in the city than a big house outside the city.

After learning that the imperial court was going to build the outer city of Beijing, the price of land outside the city soared. It's just that now there is no shelter from the city wall, and there are no corresponding public security conditions, no one dares to guarantee that there will be no murder and overselling, so the price dives directly.

The price of land outside Beijing has fluctuated sharply, causing many speculators to suffer heavy losses, and there have even been cases where some people have abandoned their land to avoid creditors.

In this disturbing city of Beijing, the busiest is actually the Shuntian Mansion.

In the northern suburbs, a large mansion is filled with a foul smell.

At this time, the officers and soldiers of the Shuntian Mansion had already surrounded this place, even if it was ten meters away from the house, and the officials who were on guard here couldn't help but cover their mouths and noses.

Song Cheng, who was wearing a three-grade official uniform, rode over, even though he was not idle during the Spring Festival, and now he still has unfinished work in his hands.

Since he is no longer a non-promising member of the Zhejiang Qing Officials Division of the Criminal Department, but the high-ranking Zhengsanpin Shuntianfu Yin, even relatives who have nothing to do with the eight poles during this year's Spring Festival have come to pay New Year's greetings.

Fortunately, his wife was able to handle these things, but she didn't bother him much, and he focused all his energy on official business.

"Lord Fu Yin, this family is a family surnamed Qian, and the head of the family is named Qian Fu, and he is a famous rich man in our northern city! In the early years, he lived in Jintaifang in the north of the city, and built this mansion here about ten years ago. In addition to the thirteen servants in the family, there are only his newly married house-filling Liu family and a three-year-old son a few years ago! Zhao Dayan, the head catcher, stepped forward to lead the horse, and at the same time reported some information about the owner of this house.

Song Cheng's whole person looked more and more calm, and his eyes looked bright, but his skin was still dark.

He had already smelled a foul smell in the air, and his brows couldn't help frowning slightly, this year's Spring Festival in Beijing looked particularly weird.

Several earlier arson cases and homicide cases have not yet been solved, but there have been horrific massacres, and if there are many cases, I will also have a secret headache.

Song Cheng walked into the mansion and first saw the gatehouse lying in a pool of blood, followed by several nursing homes that seemed to greet him, then two maids who wanted to escape, and finally Qian Fu and his wife and children who were having a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner in the dining room.

Although he has handled a lot of bloody cases, this is the first time he has encountered such a tragedy.

He watched the three-year-old child die tragically under the knife, and his heart was also a little unbearable, and at the same time he secretly decided that he would definitely bring the murderer to justice.

Judging from the scene in front of him, the murderer this time is definitely not one person, but many people. Since almost everyone was killed with one blow, the murderers in this case must not be ordinary people, but a group of well-trained or murderous murderers.

"Lord Fu Yin, the belongings inside have been looted!" The Shuntian Mansion magistrate had just stepped here first, and walked out with a bitter shake of his head.

Robbery?

Song Cheng learned that the money of this house had been robbed, and this one was a famous rich man, he couldn't help but have an idea.

It's just that there is a faint thought in my heart, this gang of murderers must not be here for the Qian family's treasury, or it is pure murder, or they are plotting something bigger.

Combined with the earlier turmoil in the outer city of Beijing, now this house is relatively close to the city wall and city gate, but I have to suspect that someone has the idea of attacking this house.

"My lord, I just found out about my humble position, and there is actually one less person here!"

"Who?"

"Qian Fu also has a daughter who has just come of age, but she is not here!"

"Where's she?"

There is no impermeable wall in the world, and the tragedy of the Qian family's destruction soon spread throughout the capital, which immediately caused panic in the entire capital.

"It's so hateful, this case must be investigated!"

"How many years has this kind of thing not happened in the capital, it must be revealed!"

"If you fail to get rid of the murderer, the country will not be a country, and the court cannot tolerate the traitors this time!"

……

If it is an ordinary murder case, it is just that it involves a murderous evil force, and no one can guarantee that it will happen to them, so everyone is full of righteous indignation at this tragedy.

"Miss Qian is still alive?"

"Maybe she got away with it!"

"Quick, if you find Miss Qian, you may be able to find out the truth of the matter!"

……

This tragedy did not leave too many useful clues, and the most important thing is undoubtedly the mysterious disappearance of the eldest lady of the Qian family, Qian Jing, whether she witnessed the whole process of the case, and where she is now, immediately became the most concerned thing for the people in the city.

"Miss Qian is running away from home."

"That Miss Qian is really smart."

"That day, the two sons were still jealous of that Miss Qian!"

"By the way, one of the sons threatens that Miss Qian must apologize, otherwise he will kill her...... Family! ”

……

Because the impact of the murder case was very great, and it was a case that everyone in Beijing was concerned about, a lot of useful clues were soon found, and an important suspect was obtained.

West of the city, Huichang Marquis Mansion.

"This is the Huichang Marquis Mansion, not a place where you can spread wilderness in the Shuntian Mansion!"

"I am Yin Songcheng of Shuntianfu, where is Sun Gao?"

"What are you doing?"

"Less nonsense! Quickly hand over Sun Gao, otherwise don't blame us for being polite to Shuntianfu! ”

Shuntian Mansion quickly went to the Huichang Marquis Mansion to arrest people, although he was initially blinded by the housekeeper of the Huichang Hou Mansion, but in the face of the strong Shuntian Mansion Yin Songcheng finally chose to compromise.

Although the Marquis of Huichang Mansion used to be the most Qi Xun, and he was once in charge of the Beijing camp, but now he has finally become an ordinary Qi Xun, and now Sun Ming, the Marquis of Huichang, is just hanging an idle position.

As soon as the news came out, it immediately caused an uproar.

"The prince of Huichang is so frustrated?"

"On weekdays, I see that he likes to tease women from good families, but it's really not a good thing!"

"I thought it was just cruel words that day, but I didn't expect to dare to do it, this kind of person must not be tolerated!"

……

No one thought that just because of the momentary jealousy, the son of the Huichang Hou family really arranged for personnel to slaughter the entire family at the Qian family's Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, and even the three-year-old child was not spared, so they condemned it one after another.

It's just that many people still have doubts, where is that Miss Qian now, is she alive or dead?

Sun Gao was brought to the three halls for interrogation, and in the face of Song Cheng, he shouted injustice: "I did fall in love with that little lady that day, but that little lady stepped on my feet and splashed me with tea, so I said that." But...... But those are all momentary angry words, and they can't be taken seriously! ”

"This mansion originally felt the same way, but we found this in the Qian family!" Song Cheng said and took out a wooden card, on which was resolutely a Sun character.

When Sun Gao saw the brand, his eyes flashed with surprise, and he immediately reacted: "Lord Fu Yin, someone must know about this, so he deliberately planted it for me, I really didn't do it!" Besides, I'm greedy for the beauty of that little lady Qian, what good will it do me if I kill the Qian family? ”

"Take it down!" Song Cheng raised his hand gently, as if he didn't believe Sun Gao's words.

The Qian family's murder case has made significant progress, first Sun Gao threatens to kill Miss Qian's entire family, and then discovers a certificate that seems to belong to the Sun family.

"Congratulations, my lord, Susu will solve the big case!" Xu Tuiguan stepped forward and arched his hand with a spring on his face.

Song Cheng's face did not change, but he shook his head gently: "Didn't he do it?" ”

"Why do you say that?" Xu Tuiguan was secretly happy that the case had been solved, and he couldn't help but be stunned when he heard the words.

Song Cheng looked in the direction of Sun Gao's disappearance, and said soberly: "These sons may be ruthless, but they don't have the courage." What's more, what he wants is Miss Qian's family, even if he sends someone to forcibly kidnap Miss Qian's family, it is more in line with his interests than sending someone to destroy the whole family! After a pause, he asked seriously: "By the way, what is the origin of that Du San, and why did he sue Qian Mansion for the land belonging to him?" ”

"My lord, let's see for yourself!" Xu Tuiguan secretly sweated, and even took out the background he had just investigated.

Song Cheng couldn't help but gasp when he saw the name on it.

At this time, Zhao Zhutou hurriedly came from outside, but told him that the Qian Mansion had been set on fire.

Go up in flames?

When Song Cheng heard the news, he immediately smelled a smell of conspiracy, and the case became confusing.

Although all the evidence points to the Huichang Marquis Mansion, it may also be a deliberate planting, not to mention that Sun Gao did not benefit from this tragedy.

On the contrary, if the Qian family is destroyed, then Qian Fu will not jump out to fight for property rights, and it is likely that the house will be awarded to Du San at that time.

(End of chapter)