Since Zhao Xianzhong was in the officialdom, he naturally knew the relevant taboos. Although he felt guilty about this result, he sincerely felt that he had been wronged.
When Songjiang was plundered by "Japanese pirates" and suffered heavy losses, Zhao Xianzhong was in a panic and naturally thought about how to get away with it. Someone just happened to sue the Shen family members. Naturally, he felt like he had grasped a life-saving straw, and he would not let up on the case.
.
The three people detained by the Shen family are all famous. The worst Shen Ling is also a prison student. She was detained for no reason. She is already angry. Naturally, she will not be as timid and honest as Sheng Dou Xiaomin. Shen Ling originally read
The scholar's arrogance and confidence in his fame made him "confident" in the eyes of Zhao Xianzhong, who was determined to escape guilt. Zhao Xianzhong was so angry that he listened to Yan Juren's instigation and had the three men tortured.
Zhao Xianzhong was a civil servant who claimed to be "benevolent". Since he did not see bloodshed, he told Yan Juren to arrange for interrogation. Because he also knew that the charge was somewhat unreasonable, he was afraid of causing speculation among the officials in the prefecture's Yamen and leaking the news to the Shen family. The torture was kept secret.
The execution was carried out by an experienced official named Tian in the execution room.
By the time Zhao Xianzhong got the news and learned that the accident happened to the third son of the Shen family, the old man named Tian had disappeared. Although the three brothers of the Shen family were not dead yet, they all had their own disabilities. Shen Ling lost her descendants and Shen Qi lost her right arm.
, Shen Jun picked his right hamstring.
Before Zhao Xianzhong could wake up and think about how to deal with the matter, Shen Ling hanged herself. With a life in front of him, Zhao Xianzhong panicked. He couldn't cover up such a big thing, so he thought about how to smooth over the matter.
I consulted with the warden.
When the warden saw several disabled and dead children of the Shen family, he was horrified, not only because of Zhao Xianzhong's methods, but also because he was the prison warden. Even though he did not know about it before, the Shen family investigated and he
Can't escape
After the disaster, Zhao Xianzhong came up with a "good idea", asking Zhao Xianzhong to preserve Shen Ling's body to prevent the Shen family from backstabbing Zhao Xianzhong into "criminal killing". In fact, it was to leave evidence that Zhao Xianzhong "murdered the scholars" so that he could
Leave a way out.
Zhao Xianzhong felt guilty and was not careful for a while, so he believed the prison chief's suggestion and kept Shen Ling's body. In order to shirk responsibility, he wanted to file a case to arrest the old man named Tian, but he was afraid that the matter would be leaked and cause a backlash from the Shen family, so he found someone else
On the pretext of opening a case, a sea arrest document was issued, and the old official named Tian was wanted, in order to confront the Shen family today.
"You are the prefect, and it is already a big mistake to order people to torture a scholar in violation of the law. To torture and maim a scholar is even more wrong. How can you evade it with just one sentence?" Shen Li sneered.
Zhao Xianzhong straightened his neck and said: "In emergencies, extraordinary measures should be used. At that time, Songjiang had just been robbed by Japanese pirates. Hundreds of people were injured and killed, and dozens of women were taken hostage. For the sake of the people, our government wanted to pursue the murderers as soon as possible.
What's wrong?"
However, Shen Li did not mention the "Japanese Rebellion". He only looked at Zhao Xianzhong and said: "Extraordinary methods are not chaotic methods? Wait until Jiangsu Xuezheng comes, and Governor Zhao will talk about extraordinary methods!"
"Scholar Shen, you only care about the honor and disgrace of your surname and clan, but you forget about the safety of the people of Songjiang. How selfish is it?" Zhao Xianzhong said, the more confident he became, his face full of justice.
"Is the people of Songjiang safe? As a local parent, isn't it his duty to protect the people? Then I dare to ask Mr. Zhao, where was Mr. Zhao when the thieves came to rob the city and burn the people? The thieves carried gold, silver and jade.
, where will Mr. Zhao be when the grain and oil population retreats?" Shen Li said.
Zhao Xianzhong was speechless, his face turned red from holding it in, and after a while he said: "The prefect's Yamen is an important place, and I dare not leave it lightly..."
Allowing "Japanese pirates" to enter the city, Zhao Xianzhong, as the prefect, did not fight to the death, which was already his fault; not to mention that he did not even send out the government officials, so avoiding the war was no longer a crime worthy of dereliction of duty. This is what Zhao Xianzhong knew clearly
The last resort, and the reason why the Shen family was dragged into the water, was just a fluke and a hope for a chance of survival.
Since the "Japanese Rebellion" incident had already been mentioned, Wang Shouren issued the second imperial edict of the day, removing Songjiang prefect Zhao Xianzhong from his post as prefect, detaining Dai Zui, and Songjiang co-prefect Dong Qihe temporarily assuming the post of Songjiang prefect.
Zhao Xianzhong was confused. The first person sitting at the bottom, Songjiang Tongzhi, Dong Qihe, had already stood up and suppressed his excitement to accept the order.
The prefect is the fourth grade, and the co-prefect is the fifth grade. Some people will never be promoted to the fourth grade in their lifetime. Since the imperial court has not sent anyone else down, as long as Dong Qihe does not make any mistakes, when the case is over, the Songjiang prefect will most likely fall on Dong Qihe
, how could Dong Qihe not be excited about such a good thing?
Wang Shouren looked at everyone and said: "The case of the Shen family's Japanese connexion is postponed until Jiangsu Academic Affairs arrives, and the case of Zhao Xianzhong's murder of a scholar will be tried together!"
Everyone stood up to accept the promise. Zhao Xianzhong had come to his senses and said quickly: "Sir, I have been wronged. I have something to report. The real culprit behind the murder of the Shen family's scholars is the He family! It was He Xisheng who wanted to annex the Shen family's property.
He instigated the first person to falsely accuse the Shen family of being treason, and then the He family killed the first person. Tian Baisui tortured the Shen family members, and it must be He Xisheng's envoy! Go and send people to arrest He Xisheng, don't let him
Run away!"
Zhao Xianzhong's words were firm and there was no hint of lying, just because this was his sincere guess. The reason why he didn't want to see the He family was also related to this. He always felt that the He family was unkind and secretly caused the Shen family to choose a bad place and chose to be born in the prefecture.
The yamen tampered with people and even tricked themselves.
Zhao Xianzhong's accusations were heard by Shen Li and Shen Rui without changing their expressions. Shen Jun, who was standing in the hall, looked increasingly dull. From the newly appointed acting prefect Dong Qihe down, many prefecture officials had uneasy expressions on their faces.
Zhao Xianzhong saw this in his eyes and pointed at all the officials: "Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, He Xisheng is the best at building relationships. He has made many friends in the prefect's Yamen. There must be some insiders among them. Otherwise, he would not dare and would not be able to establish relationships in the prefect's Yamen."
He is here to harm the Shen family’s scholars!”
In one sentence, all the officials in Songjiang Prefecture were listed as suspects, and everyone looked at Zhao Xianzhong with cannibalistic eyes.
This is really mud falling into the crotch, it is either shit or shit. The He family is a family of officials, and the second master He has no rank, but the He family has a minister in the capital, and a bunch of petty officials from the prefecture's yamen, for the He family
He was invited to a banquet with wine and given more face, but it was just a proper social interaction, but now that he was bitten by Zhao Xianzhong, no one could understand it.
Originally, Zhao Xianzhong resigned as prefect and Dong Qihe took over as prefect. Tongzhi was vacant. With luck, others would have the opportunity to be promoted. Now, it is open to question whether they can keep their original positions.
Wang Shouren had no intention of pursuing anyone at this moment, and ordered people to suppress Zhao Xianzhong. In order to prevent He Xisheng from escaping, he ordered the Jin Yiwei to arrest him and bring him to justice, so that when Jiangsu Xuezheng comes over, they can jointly try the case. As for the Shen family members involved in the case, there are Shen
The manager guarantees that he will go home to recuperate and is not allowed to leave Song? to listen to the yamen's summons.
All the subordinate officials breathed a sigh of relief. Dong Qihe took the lead and proposed a banquet to welcome the imperial envoy.
Wang Shouren said: "Jiangsu University will be here in a few days, so I'd better wait until it arrives to accept your thoughts."
Everyone was also thinking about how to clear away the suspicion, so they did not force themselves and honestly resigned and left.
Shen Jun and Shen Qi were in miserable condition, and Shen Ling was still there. There were many things to follow. Shen Li was also very confused. He borrowed manpower from Wang Shouren and took Shen Rui and the three sons of the Shen family to leave the magistrate's office. Now that things have come to this, It is lucky to have a life left behind, but Shen Ling was not even 30 years old and passed away so tragically, leaving behind a loving wife, weak son, and no one to rely on.
Outside the magistrate's office, Shen Jin had been waiting for a long time, hesitating.
Because she had heard that the imperial envoy was Wang Shouren, Shen Jin breathed a sigh of relief and went back to the fourth room first, so that he could take care of the fifth room next door at any time. Unexpectedly, in half a day, the news of the imperial envoy's arrival reached the prefect's Yamen. , Zhao Xianzhong put up a guard of honor to greet him, and then Shen Li changed into his official uniform and went directly to the prefect's Yamen without being invited.
Because Shen Jin was the number one scholar in the new subject, he had been awarded the rank of Sixth Rank Compiler by the Hanlin Academy, and he was also an official. However, because of his low rank and junior qualifications, although he was anxious to know the situation in the prefect's yamen, he could not follow Shen Li's example and not invite himself. Come, otherwise you will be too arrogant, so you can only wait outside the gate of the magistrate's office.
Seeing Shen Li and Shen Rui coming out, Shen Jin hurriedly greeted them. Without waiting to ask, she saw Shen Qi being carried and Shen Jun being supported. She couldn't help being shocked. Shen Ling was covered with a white cloth and was being carried by the widower. , it was not as conspicuous as Shen Qi and Shen Jun who were injured.
Wuyan then drove out a carriage, followed by another, saying that it was Wang Shouren's order to give orders to Shen Li and Shen Rui.
Shen Jin was still wondering why two carriages were used. The prefect's Yamen was not far from Shenjiafang.
Shen Li had already called for people to carry Shen Qi and Shen Jun into the second carriage; then he called for the man who was carrying Shen Ling's body to put Shen Ling's body into the first carriage.
Covered in white, Shen Jin noticed something was wrong, but couldn't believe her eyes for a moment.
It wasn't until the carriage moved forward slowly, and Shen Li didn't even get on the carriage, but was walking with the carriage, that Shen Jin pulled Shen Rui's sleeve and whispered: "Brother Rui, that... that's Brother Ling... …”
Shen Rui nodded, Shen Jin was shocked and speechless, and everyone was silent all the way until they returned to the clan house.
Chen Hai and his wife had been waiting anxiously in the front hall for a long time. When their servants reported that two carriages were coming back, the couple's eyes lit up, thinking of their second son, and they hurried out to greet them.
Before Shen Li could speak, He said with great interest, "Is Brother Jun back?"
Chen Hai looked at the carriage ahead and wished he could reach out and pick off the curtain.
When Shen Jun heard the noise, he got out of the second car and stepped forward with a cane. He looked at his parents who had not seen each other for two months and their hair was half gray. He knelt down and said, "Mom, my unfilial son, is back..."
Among the three detained sons of the Shen family, Shen Jun seems to be in slightly better condition, but compared to Shen Qi and Shen Ling, he is actually very thin and out of shape, with a unshaven beard and looks more than ten years older. He no longer looks as charming and suave as before.
Shen Hai didn't dare to recognize him for a moment, but He couldn't help it anymore and immediately hugged his son, with tears streaming down his face, and said: "Brother Jun, mother Jun brother, you have suffered so much, I really feel sorry for you. Damn it!"
Shen Jun relied on the Shen family and had a smooth life for half his life. During these two months in the magistrate's prison, he suffered all the hardships he had never experienced in his life. When he saw his parents in front of him, he couldn't bear to be confused and couldn't help but act like a child. Yes, burst into tears.
This is Shenjiafang, where the Shen family lives together. The movement in the clan house has already alarmed all the clans. For a time, the clan members of each clan who got the news came out one after another and gathered in the clan room...