Wei Qi hurriedly asked about the specific situation, and Yuan Xiaoxiu roughly explained the beginning and end of the case.

Huang Zun was originally a member of the household department, and the year before last, because of the impeachment of the officials of the three counties in the south of the Yangtze River, he turned a blind eye to the annexation of civilian land and the evasion of state taxes by large families, and was finally ordered by the imperial court to pay tribute.

Huang Zun is a native of Yuhang County, Shaoxing Prefecture, and returned to his hometown after the office, living in a manor in the countryside of Yuhang, his family originally had more than a dozen hectares of ancestral land and dozens of acres of fruit forests, although he was no longer an official, his life was also moist. But because his letter offended the officials in Jiangnan, he soon attracted retaliation, and it was the Jiang Army who came out to arrange everything.

One day, the body of a beggar was found in the Huang family's orchard, hacked to death by a firewood knife used to repair the fruit tree. After the servants of the Huang family and the surrounding tenants found out, they did not dare to hide it and immediately reported it to the Yuhang County Ya. At the same time, the local beggar also came to report to the official, saying that one of his brothers from other places had gone to Yuhang to join his relatives, but he had not yet arrived home, and he was suspected of being killed.

Yu Hang Zhixian immediately brought people to the place of the incident and asked the beggar to identify the deceased, and the beggar recognized the deceased as his brother from other places, and insisted that it was someone from the Huang family who killed his brother, and the Huang family tried their best to distinguish it.

The beggar proposed to the magistrate to go to the Huang family's manor to search for the murder weapon, and then quickly and easily found the firewood knife with blood stains in the residence of the manor servant. When the human and material evidence was there, the magistrate took the servants of the Huang family back to the county government and tortured them to extract confessions. Under the heavy punishment, except for everyone shouting injustice, no one still confessed to killing.

The magistrate also sent Huang Zun to the county office, because although he was a Zhishi official, he could not torture to extract a confession, but he did not suffer from flesh and skin, but only ordered him to hand over the murderer, and imprisoned an old housekeeper of the Huang family, saying that he was replacing Huang Zun.

Poor Huang Zun was speechless, and when he was at a loss, Jiang Junjun came forward as the secretary of the criminal name. promised to help Huang Zun settle everything, let the beggar withdraw the lawsuit, the county withdrew the case, and the person died of illness, but Huang Zun had to come up with a large sum of money.

At first, Huang Zun did not agree, but the old housekeeper and a cadre of servants were imprisoned in the prison, and the family members cried and shouted all day long, and he was called to the county government hall for three days, and he lost face. I had no choice but to agree to Jiang's army's demands, sell the fruit forest and ten hectares of land, and settle the matter.

Although the matter passed, Huang Zun was so angry that he couldn't afford to get sick because of this incident, and soon he whimpered and lamented. His son and students were indignant and directly sued the Criminal Department, accusing the Jiang Army of manipulating the lawsuit and arranging a frame-up, and the Criminal Department was going to investigate, but when the Jiang Army learned the news and went down to the next day, the Criminal Department died down.

After hearing this, Wei Qi said angrily: "Such a small official, so lawless, an official with a 4th grade is still bullied like this, where can ordinary people avenge their grievances!" ”

Zuo Zhenkun asked, "Then how do you start with this case?" ”

Yuan Xiaoxiu said: "Lord Huang Zun's students have been paying attention to this matter for their grievances. A few days ago, one of his students learned that the beggar who reported the crime had been imprisoned by Jiang Army for an excuse because of his uneven relationship with Jiang Army, and he had been thinking about taking revenge on Jiang Army after he came out. The student found the beggar and had already asked clearly, and the beggar still had evidence that Jiang Jun framed Huang Zun. It's just that they don't dare to act lightly, and they want to wait for a suitable opportunity, if I go to Jiangnan, I can use this case to handle the Jiang Army, and follow the vine to find melons and uncover the broken lid of the Criminal Department. ”

Zuo Zhenkun nodded and said, "It's feasible." Over the years, officialdom, especially Jiangnan, should also be rectified. ”

He turned to Wei Qi and said: "Your Highness, my opinion is to arrange a Yue County Patrol for Yuan Xiaoxiu, this is a temporary title, although it is only a 7th grade, but on behalf of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the authority to handle cases is very great." This is not only a result of the treatment, but also convenient for him to handle the case in Jiangnan. ”

Wei Qi nodded yes, and then asked, "What about Mr. Li and Mr. Zhang?" ”

Zhang Dafu took the initiative to say: "Your Highness, I have invited myself to the north to visit the military situation. ”

Wei Qi asked attentively, "What do you think about it?" ”

Zhang Dafu said: "In recent years, Hexi and Taiyuan counties have been acceptable, but the military affairs of Hebei and Hedong counties are worrying. Not to mention that the Tatars are in a no-man's land, I am more worried about the unknown situation of the enemy. Nowadays Tatar is a scattered sand, but in recent years a tribe called the Black Water Tatar has begun to show its dew, and I want to explore it on the ground. ”

Zuo Zhenkun and Xue Jiabi nodded together and said, "Duncheng is really a caring person. ”

Zuo Zhenkun thought for a while and said, "Then arrange a temporary title of 7-rank patrol history." Fortunately, this trip is mainly to understand the situation on the ground, and it does not require much authority. ”

Wei Qidao: "Then Mr. Li will arrange to enter the Ministry of Officials." ”

Everyone had no objections, and Zuo Zhenkun wrote the inscription according to the agreed opinion and sent it to the political affairs hall first, and the political affairs hall directly reported to Emperor Jing'an. Emperor Jing'an did not immediately approve it, but summoned Lu Yichu to the Yangxin Pavilion.

Lu Yichu came to the Yangxin Pavilion and bowed to Emperor Jing'an, and Emperor Jing'an gave him a seat.

At the beginning, neither of them spoke, but it has been 4-5 years, and the monarch and the minister have not issued a separate edict, and in the past 4-5 years, because of such a top priority as the national prince, the situation is confusing, so at this moment, both of them have a strange feeling in their hearts.

Or Lu Yichu spoke first: "I don't know what the emperor has to call his ministers?" ”

Emperor Jing'an said: "What do you think of the handling of the Metropolitan Procuratorate's treatment of the edict's misappropriation of public funds?" ”

Lu Yichu said: "It was the minister who let the Metropolitan Procuratorate deal with it alone, and the wasted public funds were recovered, and the three were fined for three months, transferred from the pending edict, and dealt with fairly." Zhang Dafu and Yuan Xiaoxiu were released at the same level, there is no problem, but it is a little difficult for Li Zhiqing to enter the Ministry of Officials, because there is currently no position in the Ministry of Officials, so will it be arranged to enter the Ministry of Officials after some time? ”

Emperor Jing An thought for a while and said: "It's okay, the three of them leaving together will affect the errand of the edict, so let Li Zhiqing stay first and bring the new recruits behind." ”

Lu Yichu bowed down and said, "The emperor is sage." ”

At this time, Emperor Jing'an coughed again and again, and Qiu De, who was waiting on the side, hurriedly held the gargle, and after Emperor Jing'an spit out a mouthful of phlegm, he put down the gargle, washed his hands, and brought a hot ginseng soup. Emperor Jing'an took a sip of ginseng soup, and his breath slowed slightly.

Lu Yichu said: "The emperor must take care of the dragon body. ”

Emperor Jing'an gasped slightly, "Your body and bones are much better than mine. ”

Lu Yichu said: "The minister's body doesn't matter, the emperor is my follower's Dinghai Divine Needle." ”

Emperor Jing'an said: "Since Qi'er came back, my body and bones seem to be better, and my spirit is full, and I can sleep peacefully for one or two hours at night. ”

Lu Yichu knelt down tremblingly and said: "The emperor's body is worried about state affairs, and the ministers have not taken care of state affairs well, and they have betrayed the emperor's trust, and the ministers are guilty." ”

Emperor Jing'an waved his hand and said, "Get up, sit and talk." After Lu Yichu sat down, he suddenly asked: "Why did Diao Qiming of the Criminal Department use such a trivial matter to impeach and be punished?" ”

Lu Yichu said unhurriedly: "If the matter involves leakage, it is not a trivial matter, it will be demoted or even dismissed, but fortunately, this is not the case." ”

Emperor Jing'an said: "Prince Ming is waiting for the edict, will he not know?" ”

Lu Yichu said: "Prince Ming is a place to be edicted by concealing his identity, and ordinary people will not know about it." ”

Emperor Jing'an said: "If you have other intentions, it is easy to find out." ”

Lu Yichu said: "If you know the identity of the prince and deliberately do this, it is arrogant and fallacious, and the minister will immediately let the criminal department investigate." ”

Emperor Jing'an looked at Lu Yichu for a while, and then said, "Forget it, just assume that he doesn't know." After being silent for a while, Emperor Jing'an spoke again: "King Jinling will enter Beijing at the end of the year to congratulate, what do you think?" ”

Lu Yichu said: "According to the usual rules, the relatives of the Liang clan are not allowed to enter Beijing. This time, the emperor remembered that King Jinling and Prince Ming's uncle and nephew had not been able to meet for nearly 20 years, and made an exception to agree that King Jinling's father and son would enter Beijing to congratulate him, which was really like a blessing from heaven. ”

Emperor Jing'an said: "They are uncles and nephews, Qi'er escaped from death, and it is indeed reasonable for Wei Li to see it." His son is said to be the sage king of Jiangnan, and I am also very curious about what it looks like. ”

Lu Yichu said: "They are all royal bloodlines, and naturally they are also dragons and phoenixes among people." ”

Emperor Jing'an said: "My third brother only knows how to accumulate wealth, and he doesn't think about the difficulties of national affairs at all. ”

Lu Yichu said: "If you don't know the price of firewood and rice, King Jinling is a blessed life, but the son of the world is quite famous, which shows that everyone has their own creation." ”

Emperor Jing'an stared at Lu Yichu and asked, "Are you optimistic about the prince of Jinling?" ”

Lu Yichu said calmly: "There are 6 ministers in 70, but they just handle some government affairs for the emperor, and the ministers look at the royal family and relatives the same." ”

Emperor Jing'an retracted his gaze, waved his hand tiredly, and said, "You go down first." ”

Lu Yichu kowtowed and bowed, and then slowly withdrew from the Heart Cultivation Pavilion. Emperor Jing'an instructed Qiu Deyong: "You send someone to reward Liu Zhengzong with 100 taels of silver." A Hanlin who has been from 5 grades for more than 20 years doesn't even have the money to return to his hometown, this is a clean official. ”

Lu Yichu was in the corridor outside the Heart Cultivation Pavilion, and met Cao Xibao, the head of the dormitory who came alone, Cao Xibao hugged his fists and bowed, Lu Yichu also stopped, the two whispered a few words, and then staggered away.

Outside a palace in the upper place, a guard standing in a hidden place happened to see this scene, he turned to leave, and soon found Dai Lu, the inspector of the inspection department, and after quietly reporting it, he disappeared without a sound.

After the treatment of the edict personnel was announced, there was a lot of discussion in the court, although there was no mention of the two tributes, but the news of the officialdom has always been well-informed, and everyone knows that it is Wei Qi, the prince of Ming. As soon as he returned to the court, he fell into a case of leaking secrets and embezzlement of ink, although the result was an understatement, but anyone with a discerning eye could feel the undercurrent behind it, plus the King of Jinling and the prince were about to enter Beijing, what would happen later, so that the officials were uneasy and inexplicably excited.

Soon, Zhang Dafu and Yuan Xiaoxiu, who were released from Beijing, set off quietly in the south and north, Li Zhiqing continued to be busy in the waiting office with the newly selected five Hanlin compilers, and after Wei Qi, the prince of Ming, began to listen to the government with the court, he no longer went to the waiting office.

As for Diao Qiming, a member of the criminal department who was impeached in the letter, Dasui's officialdom was impressed, after all, people at that time admired officials who were not afraid of the powerful and dared to speak out. Even people who have prejudices against Diao Qiming only speculate that he was newly promoted and did this for the sake of performance, and no one will think about the deeper reasons behind it. In any case, Diao Qiming's image in the officialdom suddenly changed, and those who still had opinions about his exceptional promotion before were also silent.

The most brilliant is actually Liu Zhengzong, this old Hanlin, who has been moldy for half his life, when Zhishi returned to his hometown, because there was no travel expenses, several colleagues who were waiting for the edict were involved, and the travel expenses were also recovered. When he was extremely remorseful, Qiu Deyong, the chief of the inner province, personally brought 100 taels of silver from the emperor, and also got a sentence from the emperor's personal assessment, "Liu Zhengzong is a clean official", and Wei Qi, the prince of Ming, also asked Xue Jiabi to send 50 taels of silver, and apologized for the lack of consideration for the last send-off.

After learning the news, starting from the head of the Hanlin Academy, fellow departments, colleagues, and fellow villagers came to invite them to eat and practice wine, and Cheng Yi, who had large bags and small bags, was also sent to the door. Liu Zhengzong had mixed feelings, but he refused all the practice wine, insisted on all the red envelopes, packed his luggage in a short time, hired a mule cart, and the family quietly went out of the city early in the morning to return to the hometown.