Chapter 353 Wu Chengsi Sings Bad Faces, Princess Taiping Sings Bad Faces
In the apricot orchard, the bright moon shone on the rockery, illuminating Yan Yaosheng's body palely.
Judge Xie was surprised and said: "Mr. Wei, do you want us to leave? But this case..."
Wei Xuanzhen put her hands behind her hands and said with a stern face: "I just want you to leave tonight and come back tomorrow morning."
"But……"
Wei Xuanzhen said solemnly: "Xie Qu, didn't you understand what I said?"
Judge Xie swallowed and spat. He knew very well how terrifying the head of the Wei family was. If he disobeyed his words, not only would his official position be in danger, his life would also be in danger.
"I understand."
After saying that, he took the officials from Jingzhao Mansion and left.
When only the Wei family father and daughter were left in the apricot garden, Xu Guogong took a long breath and said: "Gaoping!"
An extremely tall middle-aged man took two steps forward. This man was the steward of the Duke's Mansion.
Duke Xu ordered: "Go and summon twenty secret guards."
The executive agreed, turned around and left.
The eldest daughter of the Wei family said in a low voice: "Dad, Yaosheng was killed inexplicably like this, do you plan to just let it go?"
Xu Guogong said solemnly: "Things have their own priorities. After everything has been moved, we will deal with Yaosheng's matter."
Miss Wei bit her lip and said:
"Our mansion is heavily guarded. No one can sneak in and kill people on weekdays. The people who killed Yaosheng must be the men of those guests!"
Xu Guogong was silent for a while and said: "Do you suspect that the person who killed Yaosheng is one of the people present today?"
Miss Wei said coldly: "Yes, and that person who dares to go against our Wei family is definitely not an ordinary official."
"Who do you suspect?" Xu Guogong frowned.
Miss Wei said word by word: "Princess Chengyang!"
Xu Guogong was stunned for a long time and did not even refute.
Miss Wei continued: "She must have discovered Yaosheng's purpose, so she killed him."
Xu Guogong was silent for a long time and said: "We will talk about this later. I am a little worried about the situation inside. You can guard outside."
After saying that, he walked into a doorway in the rockery.
The rockery was quite empty, like a small room. Xu Guogong came to a wall and turned on a protruding stone.
Boom...
There was a low sound of a mechanism, and a small door appeared on the stone wall. Inside the door was a secret stone staircase leading downward.
Xu Guogong entered the secret passage, turned another raised stone, and the small door was closed again.
There were torches lit on the wall inside the stone staircase. Xu Guogong went down the stone staircase to the bottom, and a narrow path appeared in front of him.
There is a guard in black every few steps in the narrow passage.
The guard closest to the stone staircase turned to look at him, then turned his head back.
If the person who appeared in his field of vision was not Duke Xu or the eldest lady of the Wei family, he would have already drawn his sword and struck at them.
After walking for more than twenty steps along the narrow path, a stone room appeared in front of us.
Indoors, a dozen guards in black stood at the corner, and dozens of iron boxes were placed in the center.
Xu Guogong did not look at the boxes, but came to an iron frame.
The iron frame has three levels. There is an iron box on the top level. The box is locked with a lock and connected to the iron frame with an iron chain.
Xu Guogong took out a key from his arms and opened the iron box. There was only a piece of paper inside.
After taking the paper out and looking at it, he breathed a sigh of relief, put it back and locked it.
Just as he was about to go out, Xu Guogong's eyelids suddenly twitched, and a bad premonition suddenly arose in his heart.
Who killed Yan Yaosheng?
And he killed someone near a rockery?
He has experienced countless storms and waves in his life, and the most important thing about being able to continue his family to this day is to be cautious enough.
After standing there for a moment, he suddenly returned to the iron frame, opened the box, took out the paper inside, and put it in his sleeve.
After glancing around the secret room, Xu Guogong withdrew his gaze and followed the narrow path out of the secret passage.
When he came out of the rockery, his whole body seemed to be petrified, frozen in place.
There were people standing outside, and the first two people were Princess Taiping and King Wu Chengsi of Zhou.
Miss Wei next to them was as pale as paper, and there was nothing she could do when these two highnesses barged in.
Xu Guogong took a deep breath, put his hands back into his sleeves, and squeezed the piece of paper tightly.
Princess Taiping smiled and said:
"Xu Guogong, I'm sorry. I met my second cousin on my way back home, so I told him about the case. He insisted on coming over and taking a look."
Xu Guogong showed a smile that was uglier than crying.
"That's right."
Wu Chengsi walked slowly to Xu Guogong with his hands behind his back, and said coldly: "What are you doing in the rockery?"
Xu Guogong forced a smile and said: "I just went in to see if there are any other clues?"
Wu Chengsi raised his eyebrows and said, "I heard from my cousin that the case here was taken over by the Jingzhao Mansion. Why are they nowhere to be seen?"
Xu Guogong said hurriedly: "It was too late, so the officials of Jingzhao Mansion went back first and said they would come back the next morning."
Wu Chengsi said coldly: "Did they go back on their own, or did you ask them to go back?"
Xu Guogong's face turned purple and he said dryly: "I don't know what His Highness the King of Zhou means by these words?"
Wu Chengsi sneered and said: "You don't know? Then I will help you find out! Someone, bring Judge Xie here!"
The entourage of Wu Chengsi and Princess Taiping dispersed to both sides, and Judge Xie slowly walked out with his head lowered.
Wu Chengsi shouted: "Judge Xie, why did you leave here with the Yamen servants?"
Judge Xie raised his head and glanced at Xu Guogong, only to see him looking at him with cannibalistic eyes.
However, although Xu Guogong was scary, King Zhou and the princess were even more terrifying. He had to say with a bitter face: "It was Xu Guogong who asked me to come back tomorrow morning."
Xu Guogong stood quietly without saying a word.
Wu Chengsi said sharply: "What else do you have to say now?"
Princess Taiping suddenly said: "Second cousin, after all, Duke Xu is a senior figure in the court and he is sensible."
He turned to Wei Xuanzhen and said softly: "Xu Guogong, if you have any reasons, you might as well tell us."
Xu Guogong sneered secretly.
He had already noticed that Princess Taiping and Wu Chengsi were playing a bad role, while the other was playing a bad role.
"Your Highness the Princess, Your Highness the King of Zhou, I think I have never offended you, so why do you need to push each other so hard?" he said with a straight face.
Wu Chengsi said coldly: "Wei Xuanzhen, we are only investigating Yan Sheren's murder case. What do you mean by the bitterness in your words?"
Xu Guogong said solemnly: "If your two highnesses did not intentionally target me, how could they come here at this time?"
Wu Chengsi waved his hand and said: "I don't care what you think, but since you won't cooperate, I have no choice but to do it myself. Someone, please search the rockery carefully!"
"Wait a minute!"
Wei Xuanzhen stopped him loudly, stared at Wu Chengsi closely, and said: "His Royal Highness, King Zhou, can you take a step to speak."
Wu Chengsi was silent for a while and followed him to the back of the rockery. Princess Taiping also followed.
Xu Guogong said in a deep voice:
"Without hiding it from your two highnesses, this is the secret treasury of my Wei family. It contains the wealth accumulated by our Wei family for hundreds of years, so I don't want anyone to know about it."
Wu Chengsi's eyes lit up and he said, "You mean there's a lot of money in it?"
Xu Guogong had been observing Wu Chengsi's expression, and when he saw his eyes shining, he was both a little disdainful and relieved.
Since the other party is greedy for money, the matter will be easier to solve.
"That's it. I'm willing to donate one million dollars to your two highnesses. I just ask you to conceal this matter for me to prevent any thieves from worrying about it in the future."
Wu Chengsi scolded: "Who do you think I am? Whether I am a secret treasury or not, I must see with my own eyes."
Xu Guogong thought that Wu Chengsi thought it was too little, so he gritted his teeth and said, "How about two million dollars?"
Wu Chengsi ignored him, returned to the front of the rockery, and shouted loudly: "Search for me!"
Xu Guogong chased after him, and when he saw that the guards were about to enter the rockery, he loudly said: "Your Highness the King of Zhou, Your Highness the Princess, I will take you in!"
Under the leadership of Wei Xuanzhen, Wu Chengsi and Princess Taiping entered the rockery with a group of personal guards.
Boom...
The sound of the machine sounded again.
A group of people entered the secret passage and went down to the bottom of the stone steps.
Xu Guogong, who was walking in front, ordered the black-armored guards: "No one is allowed to move without authorization!"
The black-armored guards turned to look at Wu Chengsi and others. After receiving the order, they turned their heads back and turned into statues again.
The length and width of the secret room are about three feet each, and eight wall lamps are hung on the blue-black walls.
Wu Chengsi saw the neatly stacked iron boxes at his first glance.
When I came to the box, I found that it was all locked.
"Open it!" Wu Chengsi said to Xu Guogong.
Xu Guogong winked at Miss Wei, who whispered: "Your Highnesses, these are the wealth accumulated by our family."
After speaking, he took out a bunch of keys, walked slowly to the box, and opened the outermost box.
This is a whole box of copper coins, not dazzling, but full of a different kind of temptation.
Wu Chengsi waved his hand and said: "Open everything!"
Xu Guogong gritted his teeth and said: "Your Highness, King Zhou, these money are the private property of our family."
The implication is that showing you one box is already giving you face, and there is no obligation to show you all.
Wu Chengsi said calmly: "I suspect that Yan Yaosheng's death is related to the money. Is this reason enough?"
Xu Guogong frowned and said, "I really can't see any connection between them."
Wu Chengsi said sternly: "You refuse so much, is it because you have a guilty conscience? Is there something wrong with the origin of the money?"
Xu Guogong's face changed drastically, and he gritted his teeth and said:
"His Royal Highness, King Zhou, you must speak with evidence. When the Tang Dynasty was first established, our Wei family and other Guanlong clans strongly supported it. Aren't you afraid that the old clans will be disappointed if you treat us like this now?"
"Second cousin, the Wei family is indeed the founding hero of our Tang Dynasty. Let's not be too rude."
Princess Taiping gave some advice, then turned to Wei Xuanzhen and said:
"Xu Guogong, my second cousin doesn't care about anything as long as he investigates a case.
Although I think this is not good, my mother said that if it were not so, he would not be able to solve so many major cases.
Why don't you open all the boxes? He won't be willing to do it until he takes a look with his own eyes."
Xu Guogong's face was ashen.
Of course he could tell that Princess Taiping was trying to persuade her, but she was threatening her secretly. Although the Wei family was powerful, it was not as powerful as the Wu family.
He turned his gaze to Miss Wei, gritted his teeth and said, "Open all the boxes."
More than twenty boxes were all opened.
Ten boxes of copper coins, five boxes of gold, and five boxes of antique calligraphy and paintings.
There are also several boxes full of emeralds, jade, gold and silver ornaments.
Wu Chengsi and Princess Taiping looked at each other.
The wealth of the Wei family far exceeds that of Princess Taiping's Mansion and Prince Zhou's Mansion.
Both of them had the same idea at the moment. The money was most likely stolen from the treasury.
Xu Guogong had been paying close attention to the reactions of the two people. Seeing that they were both silent, he felt a little uneasy.
"This is the wealth accumulated by generations of my Wei family. Since you two have seen it, please take it back." He urged.
Wu Chengsi suddenly walked to the iron shelf again, looked at the small boxes stacked on it, and asked, "What are these?"
"They are all land deeds and important family documents." Miss Wei family replied softly.
"Open it!"
Xu Guogong did not shirk anymore this time, took out the keys and opened all the boxes himself.
Seeing him so cheerful, Wu Chengsi frowned.
If the Wei family really stole wealth from the treasury, there must be a special method.
There must be some documents and account records in the middle.
These things were most likely placed in this secret room.
However, seeing Wei Xuanzhen's unhesitating action, there was nothing important inside the iron frame.
Although he was a little disappointed, Wu Chengsi carefully read all the files in the box.
After reading it, he put it back in its place and looked around the secret room again.
It's a pity that there is nothing else special in the secret room.
"His Royal Highness King Zhou, I wonder where else you want to check?" Wei Xuanzhen said in a cold tone.
Wu Chengsi was silent for a while, said "Thank you for your cooperation", turned around and left the secret room.
When they came outside the rockery, Xu Guogong said coldly: "The case of my son-in-law is the case for your two highnesses to worry about. I am feeling a little unwell, so I will not accompany you."
After saying that, he strode away. The eldest lady of the Wei family gently apologized and left.
The eldest daughter of the Wei family came all the way to the lobby and saw her father sitting on a chair, with an expression on his face as if he had been punched.
"Dad, I always feel that something is not right about today." She said with a solemn face.
Xu Guozheng was about to reply when he suddenly saw Miss Wei Er running into the house in a hurry.
"Dad, eldest sister, I heard that His Royal Highness King Zhou is here. Did something happen?"
Xu Guogong said in a deep voice:
"Don't worry about these matters. Your sister and I will take care of it. You must take down the Xue family leader as soon as possible. Zhang Qianxu has fallen. We must find an ally in the military."
Miss Wei Er nodded repeatedly: "My daughter understands." She turned and left.
Seeing that Miss Wei was about to speak again, Xu Guogong stood up and said, "Go to the study to talk."
As soon as the two entered the study, Miss Wei said impatiently: "Father, do you think they are here because of matters related to the treasury?"
Xu Guogong's eyes flickered for a while, he shook his head and said:
"Probably not. The treasury's plan is so seamless that it should be enough to deceive the emperor and empress."
Miss Wei frowned and said, "Her Royal Highness the Queen has always been shrewd and capable. Maybe she noticed something, so she sent Wu Chengsi to investigate!"
Xu Guogong thought for a while and said:
"If that's the case, it's impossible that there won't be any rumors in the court, and even if they really investigate, the Taifu Temple, the Shaofu Superintendent, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Household Affairs should be the first to bear the brunt. There is no reason to come to us directly!"
After a pause, he added: "And what happened today, if it weren't for Yaosheng's death, no one would have discovered the secret vault."
Miss Wei whispered: "Then do you think what happened today is just a coincidence?"
Xu Guogong touched his nose and said:
"Unless Yao Sheng's death was also caused by Wu Chengsi, then it is possible to explain that they came because of the treasury."
Miss Wei's eyes turned cold: "Is it possible that he was the person they killed?"
"Probably not. If they really know that the secret library is in Xingyuan rockery, they can find other ways to investigate without killing Yaosheng."
Miss Wei was silent for a while and said: "Even if they didn't come here for the treasury matter, they discovered the money in the secret treasury!"
"so what?"
"Now that the national treasury is empty and there is a war ahead, will they use our money to pay for the military?"
Xu Guogong was stunned for a moment, then he laughed and said, "Your reminder helped my father clear up his doubts. No wonder Wu Chengsi reacted like that when he learned about our family's secret treasury."
Miss Wei complained: "Father, it's already this time, how can you still laugh?"
Xu Guogong said calmly: "As long as I know what they think, I won't worry. At most, we can donate some money to the army."
Miss Wei hummed: "I'm afraid they won't be satisfied so easily."
Xu Guogong waved his hand and said coldly:
"You can rest assured that even the emperor will not dare to seize our family's money. Otherwise, all the members of the family will become disloyal. Without the support of the family, how can the Li family rule the world?"
Miss Wei nodded, feeling that her father's words made sense.
After a long silence, she changed the subject and said: "Dad, where is Third Sister..."
Xu Guogong's expression suddenly changed and he said, "Why are you mentioning her?"
Miss Wei whispered: "I'm afraid Third Sister's life is not easy right now."
Xu Guogong said angrily:
"Then who can blame her? Prince Lu's Mansion is over. My father was kind-hearted and wanted to help her get rid of Prince Lu's Mansion and regain her freedom just like helping the second child. She not only protected Li Daosui, but also accused her father of being ruthless.
"
Miss Wei hurriedly rubbed his back and said softly:
"Third sister just couldn't figure it out for a moment. I believe that after what happened today, she has also seen clearly Li Daosui's incompetence. It's better to let my daughter try to persuade her."
Xu Guogong snorted and said:
"It's up to you. If you can really persuade her to change her mind, that would be the best. I heard that Your Majesty is about to choose a concubine for the King of England. If the third child can be made the princess of the King of England, that would be great too!"
…
Beside the rockery in the Apricot Garden, Princess Taiping stood behind Wu Chengsi, quietly watching him inspect the body.
Wu Chengsi asked for a pair of gloves from the yamen of Jingzhao Mansion and meticulously inspected every part of Yan Yaosheng's body.
Suddenly, when he touched his sleeve, his expression changed slightly, as if he found something inside the sleeve.
When Wu Chengsi took out his hand, he saw a button lying quietly in the center of his palm.
Princess Taiping came closer.
This button is not made of plastic, it is similar to a Chinese knot, and was called a pan button in the Tang Dynasty.
Wu Chengsi held the buckle between his thumb and forefinger, looked at the moonlight for a while, and found that it was a buckle on a man's clothes, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Second cousin, this buckle should belong to Yan Yaosheng, right?" Princess Taiping asked.
Wu Chengsi smiled and said, "Take a closer look at the material of this button."
Princess Taiping tilted her head and looked at it for a long time, then said: "It's very ordinary, worse than the buttons used by the servants in my house."
Wu Chengsi smiled and said:
"That's the problem. Although Yan Yaosheng is a son-in-law, he is the master of the Wei Mansion after all. The clothes he wears must be extremely luxurious, and it is impossible to use this kind of buckle."
Princess Taiping was surprised and said: "Could it be that this belongs to the murderer?"
Wu Chengsi nodded: "It's very possible."
After saying that, his brows furrowed again, as if he suddenly couldn't figure out something.
Princess Taiping also frowned and said, "The buckle is usually on the collar. How did the murderer's buckle get into Yan Yaosheng's hands?"