Chapter 298 Arresting the Imperial Envoy
“Yes! Young Master!”
The old man in plain robes outside the hall was stunned for a moment, and then he was about to leave.
But the man with a sword next to him said first: "Why bother Master Lu with such rough work as chopping bamboo? Just go to a certain house."
As he spoke, the straight knife at his waist was unsheathed and he strode outside.
The old Juren's expression changed when he heard this. He cherished the black bamboo as if it were his children and grandchildren. How could he have the heart to let this rough man cut it down?
I immediately stood up and wanted to stop him.
"You don't have to lead the way personally. By the way, the incident involving the group of Cuju boys in the village that collided with me has not been settled yet.
Speaking of which, among these young men, I wonder which one is more efficient in cutting down the bamboo forest? "
Zhao Duan said with a smile.
In his words, it seemed that killing someone was as simple as eating and drinking.
That is the almost natural indifference of the powerful children towards ordinary people.
Song Ju's body swayed.
He didn't know if this mysterious young man really dared to kill Zhuangzi.
But he knew that someone who could make Lu Qingfeng obey him and become his slave willingly must be a very powerful man.
If you listen to this official statement again, it is not certain that he is a descendant of a certain noble nobleman in the court.
Although he has a high status in Taicang County, Song Juren, who has seen the real world, knows that his mere "Juren" achievement is just an ant in the eyes of the powerful people in the capital.
In other words.
Even if the other party really kills Xiao Wu and the others, as long as they find a reason to blame them, they can be safe.
Compared to human life, cutting down black bamboo is a trivial matter.
"This young master! Miss!"
The voice of the nearly fifty-year-old Juren was almost pleading.
Instinctively pleads with Xu Junling, a woman: "I dare not deceive you two. If the young master wants anything, you can take it all from the village. But Song Tiju is indeed the same as my Song family." It’s irrelevant…”
As he said this, the dignified minister seemed to be about to kneel down.
Xu Junling has been watching the show with peace of mind since he came in.
At this moment, I was a little unsure of what Zhao Duan meant.
She couldn't help but look at him and hesitated to speak.
Then froze.
Zhao Duan's expression was extremely calm, and there was an almost emotionless scrutiny in his eyes, as if he was peering into Lao Juren's heart.
It wasn't until the man with the knife was about to walk out of the yard that Zhao Duan finally said:
"Come back."
Then, all the coldness on his face disappeared, turning into warmth like the spring breeze, and he gently helped Song Juren up.
"This... Young Master..."
The nearly collapsed Lao Juren was really at a loss this time.
Xu Junling pursed his lips and smiled, with a sincere smile on his sweet face:
"Old sir, please sit down, he was joking with you just now."
joke?
Lao Juren, who returned from hell to the human world, couldn't believe it.
Zhao Duan personally helped him sit down.
Then, he no longer had the lazy posture just now, he sat upright and said with a smile: "Let's get acquainted again, Mr. Lu, you know Song Juren, let me tell you."
Lu Qingfeng stood outside the threshold, smiled and said:
"The people sitting in front of you are the imperial envoys who rushed to Taicang to investigate the case under the emperor's orders, the envoys of the White Horse Supervisor in the capital, the inspectors of Lihuatang of Zhaoya, the fourth-rank commander of the Shenji Camp, the external editors of Xiuwen Guan, and the ministers of the imperial family of Ouchi. , the winner of this Buddhism and Taoism fight, Zhao Duan, the one whom the sage relies heavily on today, is Mr. Zhao."
After finishing this long list of titles in one breath, when he looked at Song Juren again, he was shocked.
He looked at the noble young master in front of him in disbelief:
"You...are you Imperial Envoy Zhao?"
Although he was in the countryside, he was no stranger to Zhao Duan, who had become famous in the past six months because of his close friendship with the literati in Fucheng.
Knowing that this person is the new powerful official beside the empress, who is red and purple.
He is even more cruel and ruthless, and he is sure to retaliate. It is said that Zhao Yan Wang is feared by everyone.
Handsome in appearance... domineering... the features match!
Zhao Duan spoke in a gentle tone:
"Is there another Zhao Duan in the world?"
"No...it's not..."
Song Juren was a little incoherent: "I heard that the imperial envoy entered the city yesterday and didn't want to..."
Zhao Duan reached into his arms, took out a secret letter and the official document on the appointment and dismissal of the imperial envoy, and pressed it gently on the coffee table: "Song Tiju mentioned in the letter that he will entrust you with the evidence of the corrupt ministers. hand.
When I arrived yesterday, I learned that Song Tiju and Wang Chusheng, the magistrate of Taicang County, had both disappeared under strange circumstances. I was afraid that someone was causing trouble in the dark, so I paid a private visit incognito. I just tried one or two, and many of them offended me. "
Test?
You should have told me earlier... The shock on Lao Juren's face is still there.
Tremblingly, he picked up the secret letter on the table, confirmed the handwriting of his relative, and believed it in his heart.
Zhao Duan was also helpless.
He didn't dare to let the "fake imperial envoy" come over, fearing that the move would be too big, and the news would leak out in advance, and something unexpected would happen.
If you come in private, it is difficult to verify your identity.
I am not sure whether this Song Juren is reliable.
This is directly related to the credibility of the evidence in his hands. After Song Tiju disappeared, Lao Juren, who had the evidence of the crime, must have been worried and afraid.
If Song Juren was careful to tell the court, he would not reveal the truth easily even if faced with threats.
Because once the evidence falls into the wrong hands of the imperial envoy, the entire Song family may face the death penalty of being silenced.
On the contrary, if Song Juren has problems and faces threats, he is likely to show another reaction.
At this moment, the handwriting of the secret message was correctly identified, and many of the features matched.
Song Juren stood up and left the table without any further hesitation.
After a while, a tightly wrapped box the size of a jewelry box was brought in and placed on the coffee table:
"Imperial envoy, please take a look. The things here are sealed with mud and remain intact. I don't know the specific contents."
Zhao Duan opened the well-sealed box and saw a thick stack of documents inside, which was filled to the brim.
"Did Song Tiju say something?" Zhao Duan asked.
The old Juren replied:
"He said that he had long sensed that something was wrong with the Taicang County magistrate, and had done a lot of things secretly. He even had an informant in the mining class prosecution department. He secretly investigated for a long time, and originally wanted to collect evidence of the crime and submit it to Sun Xiaozhun, the prefect of Taicang.
But the more he investigated, the more he realized that this was not a simple situation, and he unexpectedly discovered that Wang Chusheng had many accomplices...
He said that after he investigated later, he discovered something remarkable, and he no longer dared to report the matter to the official.
Moreover, he said that he might have been targeted, and he did not dare to delay any longer, so he decided to report the matter to the capital and report it to the current Duke Yuan..."
As the old man spoke, his voice couldn't help but lower, and he said solemnly and nervously: "When the old man learned about this, he didn't want to stick to his body because he was worried about involving the family, but he wanted to serve his majesty..."
Zhao Duan glanced at him:
"It's not like the secret letter said to leave the things here first, and Song Tiju came to find you after the secret letter was sent to the capital.
In this case, it doesn't matter if you don't want to help him.
Because if you refuse, when the imperial envoys from Beijing come down and ask you for evidence of your crime, and you say you don’t have any evidence of your crime... then it will be a real disaster. "
Lao Juren was speechless and silent, which was actually his acquiescence.
Xu Junling was greatly surprised and looked at Zhao in surprise:
"How do you know this? Is it also written in the letter?"
"Oh, it wasn't written in the letter, I guessed it," Zhao Duan picked up the top piece of paper in the box and said casually:
"Because if I put myself in someone else's shoes, if I were Song Tiju, I would definitely do this."
Xu Junling: "..."
Song Juren: "..."
At this time, Zhao Duan had unfolded the paper in his hand, feeling excited.
Since Song Tiju said that he had found out the accomplices behind Wang Chusheng, these criminal evidence must be mentioned.
And as each handwriting came into view, Zhao Duan's pupils suddenly shrank.
…
…
The other side.
When Zhao Duan and his party broke into Songjiazhuang.
Near the Taicang Silver Mine, in a supervisory office.
The Prime Minister of Taicang County, who was sitting here recently, was also awakened by the voice of the governor of Waitou County.
"What happened? Are you panicking?"
In the government office room, the eighth-grade county magistrate, who was thin, had a mustache, and had a bit of a sinister look, frowned.
As Wang Chusheng's deputy, after the disappearance of the county magistrate, the county magistrate temporarily took over and temporarily took over the county magistrate's authority.
During these days, the county magistrate, also named Wang, was suffering a lot.
If I don't eat well or sleep well, I'll be woken up in a dream every now and then, and I'll break out in a cold sweat.
The most common sentence on my lips is: "What evil have I done? I came to Taicang as an official with Sun Zhifu. It has only been a year and I haven't even settled down yet, so I end up doing this. I am an eighth-rank county magistrate, but I am a seventh-rank official. How can I have such a miserable life..."
At this moment, Wang Xiancheng, who had just caught up on his sleep, stared at Dian Shi who walked in with dark circles under his eyes.
The latter hurriedly said: "County Magistrate, what's wrong, some miners saw that there were suspicious strangers wandering around the mine just now. They said there were two carriages, a pair of young men and women, and... He led several servants and pointed towards us near the silver mine...
Tell me, at this juncture, which young master and young lady in the city would wander around like crazy?
The scenery is not nice to look at... The prefect has said that if we find anyone suspicious, we will report it to you. "
Wang County Cheng's sleepiness suddenly disappeared.
He stared at his men and asked for details:
"Where did the person go? How long have they been walking?"
"It said he was going to Songjiazhuang. He probably didn't have more than a stick of incense."
Songjiazhuang... The prince with a stern eyebrow and rat eyes thought for a moment and said in a deep voice:
"In this case, you go to the county government office quickly and ask the police chief to lead a quick team to Songjiazhuang. If you find that group of people, find a way to bring them back to the county government office!"
Dianshi was surprised: "Arrest him directly?"
"Nonsense, at this juncture, we can't afford any mistakes! The imperial envoy is in the city and may come to inspect at any time today. We must not let anything happen! Take him back first!"
"But those people seem to be either rich or noble..."
"Oh, no matter how expensive you are, you are still just a young master. Can you be more powerful than a prefect or an imperial envoy?"
After a pause, Wang Xian Cheng stroked his mustache, his small eyes showing shrewdness: "When you give orders, be more vague. At worst, if you offend someone, can you just push it to the subordinates? What does it have to do with you and me?" "
(End of chapter)