Chapter 95: The second step of the plan: Accepting a bribe of 10,000 taels
“Interrogation? Why interrogation?”
Zhao Duan was sitting in a big chair. Above the weapons rack behind him, there was a majestic splash-ink painting on the snow-white wall.
As soon as these words came out, the four subordinates were stunned.
Qian Kerou said blankly: "Sir, didn't you say..."
Zhao Duan interrupted her and said seriously:
"With so many people, how tired will it be for me to interrogate them one by one?
Besides, it's time to get off duty soon. Do you want me to work overtime and stay up late for a mere fifty-eight officials to hurt my body? I'll be detained for a while first. , I think they can understand it.”
God understands me... The four of them complained silently, Shen Juan held his forehead and said:
"But sir, if we don't find some evidence as soon as possible, and there will be an uproar tomorrow, I'm afraid it will be difficult to end this case."
You can imagine how exciting tomorrow morning will be.
The empress would probably be at a loss when faced with accusations from the civil and military officials of the court, right?
Zhao Duan waved his hand and said:
"The sky is falling. Your Majesty is holding you up. Why are you so anxious?"
He believed that since the empress had entrusted him with an important task, she even sent Mochou to express her position.
Then, Xu Zhenguan could always resist the pressure of fifty-eight petty officials on his behalf.
Well, according to the plan anyway, as long as the empress blocks the pressure for him for three days, it will be enough.
The four subordinates looked at each other and suddenly had a bad feeling. Qian Kerou said anxiously:
"Sir, you don't have any evidence against these people at all, do you?"
You girl, how can you tell the truth? No, how can someone be innocent out of thin air?
Zhao Duan was righteous and solemn: "Don't say such words that are not conducive to unity in the future."
ah? The cute new girl Jinyi didn't understand.
Zhao Duan sighed and said:
"Anyway, just do as I tell you and stop asking.
The next task for you is to spread the word, saying that the reason why Lihuatang arrested this group of people was because of my own retaliation.
But as long as the family members of these officials are sensible and come to show their respect, they can be released. "
Four people: "..."
Zhao Duan frowned: "Why don't you do it?"
"……yes."
The four people responded and walked out of the hall side by side. Shen Juan muttered:
"So, what kind of medicine is our boss selling in the gourd? Are you co-authoring it to extort money?"
Zheng Laojiu spat out the tea foam. The experienced Jinyi Captain's eyes were bright: "Wait and see, I have a hunch that this matter has just started."
…
…
"All these fifty-eight people have impeached him?"
In the Peony Hall, the female detective named Haitang was stunned for a moment, then realized:
"So, the person named Zhao is retaliating?"
The rest of the people also looked at each other. They argued and speculated for a long time, but the truth might be extremely simple.
King Zhang Han said calmly: "I have investigated him carefully, and I believe you are the same. This person has always been punished. In the case of Zhuang Xiaocheng, Lu Liang, the main censor who impeached him, now ended up being exiled to Lingnan. It can be seen that the other Zhang Changshuo and the entire Zhang family are almost destroyed."
Everyone was horrified.
Yes, these are all publicly available records.
From a certain perspective, what Zhao Duan has done in the past two months has been revenge.
First the Zhang brothers, and then Lu Liang, now with greater power after being promoted to Jisi, finally became impatient and began to liquidate the remaining enemies.
"Hiss... With this person's style, it's really possible. If he had greater authority, I wouldn't be surprised if he arrested the Prime Minister." One person sighed.
A villain who is determined to retaliate against others, this is Zhao Duan's external persona.
Tie Chiguan frowned and said in a loud voice:
"But does this make sense? Although our imperial office has the power to arrest people, it does not have the power to judge. Even if he wants to frame up people and kills fifty-eight people in one breath, all the princes in the court will have to be completely blind to do so. Will turn a blind eye.
When the court comes tomorrow morning, all parties will definitely complain to the saint. Even if the person named Zhao is favored, it is impossible for him to be lawless. "
These words were recognized by everyone.
Although the power of the imperial edict is great, it is also severely restricted.
Not to mention just a police officer, even a governor cannot withstand such pressure.
"By the way, what did the Governor say?" Haitang asked suddenly.
Zhang Han shook his head:
"The Governor will not interfere, haven't you noticed? The Governor is completely letting Lihuatang go. Because there is a saint behind Zhao Duan, not him, so even if the person named Zhao needs to be punished, only the saint can punish him."
After a pause, he shook his head and said:
"But in my opinion, that Zhao Duan has entered the path of death. He thinks he will be favored by his meritorious service and has His Majesty's backing, so he acts unscrupulously.
He is so arrogant and arrogant. If he does not restrain himself within three days, His Majesty will definitely send someone to beat him. Perhaps, he will become the shortest-term prosecutor in history... We don't need to interfere, we can just wait for him to destroy himself. "
Finally, he concluded in eight words:
“If virtue is not matched, there will be disaster.”
Everyone nodded, deeply agreed, and looked forward to the day when Zhao Duan fell.
…
…
That night, two pieces of news began to spread wildly in the official circles of the capital.
The first one was that the empress was promoted, and after entering the imperial office, she arrested dozens of officials in one day, all over the government offices.
The second reason is that Zhao Duan did this out of retaliation. The arrested officials were all the same people who had originally submitted a petition for impeachment.
At the same time, it was revealed to the family members of the arrested officials that if they want Mr. Zhao to show his favor, they have to be more knowledgeable and send money to show their respect.
Otherwise, even if you are finally released under pressure, finding an opportunity to catch it once every three days is enough to kill you.
No one doubted the authenticity of the news.
This is due to the deeply rooted character of Zhao Duan.
In particular, the successive downfalls of the Zhang brothers and Lu Liang also proved Zhao Gou's nature of "revenge for the true villain".
Not surprisingly, almost every family member of the arrested official began to raise money after being shown the "clear path".
It is obvious whether a few yellow and white things are more important than the safety of the mainstay of the house.
What's more, if you only spend some money, you can settle the feud with the famous person next to the empress, which is the best result.
The next day, when Zhao Duan arrived at Lihuatang.
Qian Kerou immediately reported that there were many people lining up outside the hall, wanting to see Mr. Zhao and talk alone.
"Tsk, you move very quickly," Zhao Duan said with a smile:
"That's right. It's on a first-come, first-served basis. We'll call them one by one."
Qian Kerou went to call someone with a complicated expression.
What happened next was extremely simple. Every time a family member of a prisoner came in, Zhao Duan would make a sound, saying that the matter would be difficult to handle.
The family members will offer "tea money" in varying amounts.
Claiming that the weather is hot, a little filial piety, inviting Mr. Zhao to drink tea is not respectful.
Zhao Duan, on the other hand, would give different reactions depending on the price of the tea, either cheerfully or expressionless.
As for the charging standards, they are charged according to the rank of the offender, whether they are in Feique Yamen or Qingshui Yamen, and the size of the family behind them.
The final answer given was unusually unified:
Go home and wait for news.
"A bunch of corrupt officials, all fat and oily!"
Zhao Duan couldn't help cursing secretly as he looked at the increasingly thick banknote land deeds in front of him. If he were an upright official, relying only on his salary, he would not be able to pay the ransom so quickly even if he borrowed money.
As a result, each one of them gave money to the thieves, which made Zhao Duan feel sad and lamented what happened to the officialdom of Dayu.
If the water is extremely clear, there will be no fish, but the water cannot be so turbid that you cannot see the bottom.
During this period, an episode occurred:
The family member of a certain prison officer was actually a beautiful little woman. After meeting him, she kept showing off her coquettishness and cuddling up to him, ignoring her husband in prison.
In the end, Zhao Duan couldn't stand it anymore and asked for a bribe. After taking out the warm banknotes from his belly pocket, he shyly asked him to keep the person in detention for a longer period of time.
Absolutely amazing.
"Next."
After being busy until noon, Zhao Duan took a sip of tea to moisten his throat.
He threw the box of precious snow mountain ginseng and jewelry and jade he had just received into the box under the table.
Said to the confidential secretary.
In just one morning, the value of the bribes he accepted already exceeded ten thousand taels of silver, enough to buy an entire shopping street in the outer city.
Qian Kerou whispered something to him with an anxious expression.
"Is there someone coming from the Prince Consort's Mansion?" Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment.
Only then did he remember that Li Lang was still imprisoned in the imperial prison.
However, people were detained for two days before they came. This speed was not as fast as that of this group of petty officials and their families.
"Please come in." Zhao Duan said.
After a while, a figure came into the courtyard, a middle-aged man with a gentle appearance.
Wearing gorgeous clothes and jade belt, her hair is meticulously combed, and her beard is also carefully taken care of.
Unfortunately, one side of the face, from the corner of the eye to the temple, was slightly bruised, accompanied by some wounds, as if it had been injured by a blunt object.
Zhao Duan had good eyesight and immediately recognized the person. It was Princess Yunyang's husband, the consort Li Shuping.
Li Lang's nominal father.
The two were not familiar with each other, but they could be considered acquaintances because the original owner had been in Beijing circles and had contact with him.
Zhao Duan's impression of this person was that he was extremely strict with his wife, submissive at home, and aggressive outside.
"Master Zhao is so impressive!"
The consort Li Shuping’s voice was cold and sarcastic:
"Everyone who wants to see you has to queue up. You are worthy of being the celebrity next to His Majesty."
Zhao Duan laughed heartily, but he didn't even move his buttocks:
"How come the prince-in-law has time to visit? It's a long way to go."
Li Shuping's eyes twitched and he sat down.
Zhao Duan waved his hand, ordered Qian Kerou to serve tea, and then went to wait outside.
The prince-in-law said directly without any greetings:
"The dog seemed to have offended Zhao Jisi the day before yesterday and received a punishment.
His mother was very angry when she found out. She originally wanted to come over in person, but she was worried about the impact, so I came to visit him instead. Now that Zhao Jisi has been punished, and the person has been imprisoned for two days to reflect, it's time to release him. "
Zhao Duan pretended to be annoyed, tapped his forehead lightly with his fingers, and said with a smile:
"Look at my brain, you are really forgetful of things. I almost forgot that your son is still in prison, but I bothered the prince-in-law to come to the house in person. I'm really sorry."
Li Shuping resisted the urge to correct his wording, and his expression softened slightly:
"Then please ask the commander to send Quan Zi out, so that I can take him back and reassure his mother."
Zhao Duan pretended to be surprised and looked at the other party's empty hands:
"Did the prince-in-law come here empty-handed?"
The corners of his mouth turned up in a smile:
"There are so many people who came to visit me today and want to ask me to release them, but they are all sincere."
Li Shuping was stunned, as if he couldn't believe it.
After Princess Yunyang learned the news the day before yesterday, she sent a letter to the palace, but was tactfully dissuaded by Xu Zhenguan.
In this way, I waited patiently for two days before asking for someone.
He originally thought that Zhao Duan would have to give him some face due to his status as the empress's uncle.
But he didn't expect that this traitor would be so bold.
Li Shuping's eyes twitched and his face showed an angry look:
"Zhao Du'an, are you asking for a bribe from my consort? You are so brave!"
When Zhao Duan heard this, the smile on his face faded little by little. He slowly stood up, walked around the table, and approached Li Shuping.
The frightened and elegant prince-in-law subconsciously wanted to stand up and retreat, but his shoulder was suddenly held down by an iron hand!
Impossible to move!
Zhao Duan pressed the prince's prince's shoulder, held a stack of banknotes in his sleeve with his other hand, gently slapped Li Shuping's injured cheek, and said quietly: "If I'm not wrong, , The injury on the consort’s face was caused by the princess, right?”
He sighed softly and said:
"When I was traveling in Beijing, I heard Qin Qiu say that the Prince Consort was a green-haired turtle, and he was used to swallowing his anger. I didn't really believe it at that time, but I believe it today.
She was clearly here to save her son, but she kept saying 'his mother'.
how? Are you afraid that if you don’t move out, Princess Yunyang will suppress me and won’t be able to suppress me?
So, you still have self-awareness, but unfortunately, people are really not very smart. I will give you two choices today. "
He raised a finger: "First, like everyone else, if you want a son, you have to pay for it."
After a pause, he flicked his sleeves and gently stuffed the palm-sized Golden Crow Flying Knife into the Prince Consort's wet palm.
Using another force, he helped him close his five fingers and said softly: "Second, take this knife and stab it here."
He pointed to his heart and said with a smile:
"Stab me, the popular man next to the empress, the favored minister to death, and then carry my head out. Don't worry, no one will dare to stop you from saving people. But... do you dare?"
Do you...dare?
Zhao Duan’s voice sounded like a demon’s in his ears.
The prince-in-law, who just now had an angry look on his face and reprimanded loudly, was stunned.
The veins on his forehead bulged one by one, and his face gradually became ferocious.
The hand holding the Golden Crow Flying Knife couldn't help but tremble, and there was no movement.
Seeing this, Zhao Duan simply pressed his other hand on the handle of the knife and asked him to hold the knife with both hands.
He even took the initiative to put the tip of the knife at his heart and said with a smile:
"Come on, don't you want someone but don't want to abide by the rules? Then be a man and kill me, come on!"
A sharp shout.
"Clang!"
The Golden Crow flying knife fell from his hand and fell to the ground. The dark golden blade was more dazzling than the sun.
The Prince Consort was trembling all over and remained silent.
Zhao Duan picked up the throwing knife in disappointment, returned to his seat, and said in a cold tone:
"Go away! Call someone who can call the shots next time."
Li Shuping glared at him.
Finally, he left without saying anything.
When the others left, the villainous look on Zhao Duan's face disappeared. He shook his head and closed his eyes: "Do you think what I just did was a little too much?"
Outside the hall.
Qian Kerou bit her lip and walked in with complicated eyes on her pretty face: "Sir, I don't understand this humble position. Although Li Lang offended you, he also received the punishment he deserved. Now the prince-in-law is here in person. It also gives you face, why..."
Zhao Duan let out a long sigh and said with emotion: "Because, our Princess Yunyang is deliberately taking revenge on me."
(End of chapter)