After only one day, the middle-aged scribe made the investigation clear. After the old man returned from the office in the evening, he immediately reported to him: "Master, the problem lies with us!"
The old man waved his hand, indicating that he would talk later. When he arrived in the study, he asked: "What's going on? What's the problem here?"
The middle-aged scribe said coldly: "Do you still remember the girl who was sent out in advance by Wang Jin?"
The old man's eyes sharpened and he said, "I remember to ask Xie Chen to deal with the girl."
The middle-aged scribe said word by word: "Xie Chen did not kill the girl, she is still alive! The day before yesterday, she stopped the cavalry sent by the imperial court to the Turks to redress their grievances, and Wu Zongbao happened to run into her!"
The old man's eyes flashed coldly and he said: "Go and bring Xie Chen over!"
The middle-aged scribe stepped back and came back not long after, with two more guards behind him. They escorted a tall and thin man in.
The old man slapped the table and said coldly: "Xie Chen, you are so brave!"
The tall and thin man's face changed slightly and he said: "Sir, what are you referring to? I don't understand."
The middle-aged scribe snorted coldly: "Vice Commander Xie, please stop pretending to be stupid. I asked you to kill the girl who escaped, why didn't you do it?"
The tall and thin man trembled all over, and his face instantly turned gray.
The old man said sternly: "Xie Chen, what else do you have to say!"
Xie Chen slowly knelt on the ground and said in a hoarse voice: "Master, that girl is about the same age as my Yuanyuan. When I see her, I think of Yuanyuan. I really can't do it!"
The old man was furious, threw the tea cup at the man, and said angrily: "You bastard, what kind of bullshit excuse is this? You have ruined my big business!"
Xie Chen said anxiously: "Master, although my subordinates did not kill her, they cut out her tongue. She is a merchant's daughter. She left her parents at such a young age. She cannot read or speak. She will never reveal our affairs!
"
The middle-aged scribe said coldly: "Vice Commander Xie, do you know that just because of your self-righteousness, someone has already started investigating this case!"
Xie Chen was stunned and said anxiously: "No, no! It's absolutely impossible!"
The old man sighed and said: "Xie Chen, you have been with me for more than ten years. I have always trusted you, but this time, you have disappointed me so much!"
Xie Chen was horrified and kowtowed repeatedly: "Master, spare my life!"
The old man said coldly: "If I spare you this time, my orders from now on will become a piece of tattered paper, and no one will listen!"
Xie Chen gritted his teeth, stood up suddenly, jumped up and flew towards the window.
At this moment, two people appeared from behind the screen in the study. One of them threw a flying claw, grabbed Xie Chen's legs, and dragged him back to the study.
Before Xie Chen could get up, one of them pulled out a short knife, turned his palm a few times and then stabbed it hard, passing through Xie Chen's throat. The tip of the knife stopped when it was about to hit the floor.
With a "chi" sound, the man returned the sword to its sheath, and he and the other man disappeared behind the screen again.
The old man covered his nose with a handkerchief, frowned and said, "Take care of the body and blood stains." After saying that, he left the study, and the middle-aged scribe followed him out.
The old man walked along the corridor to another smaller study room. His cheeks kept beating along the way, as if his anger had not subsided.
After sitting behind the desk for a long time, he said slowly: "Wenjia, please take my note and ask Min Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment to come!"
The tenth day of September is the Mu holiday.
Wu Zongbao followed the housekeeper and walked in the corridor of Zhuge Mansion. When he passed a courtyard, he suddenly saw two old men playing chess.
One of them was short in stature, with snow-white beard and hair, and a red face. He looked very old, just like an old ginseng.
The other man was younger, had only one arm, and looked indifferent.
Although Wu Zongbao had never met the two of them, he immediately guessed their identities. He walked up to them and said politely: "I have met Mr. Yang and Mr. Zhuge."
The short old man was none other than Zhuge Sanyuan. He maintained good health. He was nearly ninety years old and was still going strong. Even Wu Zetian often asked him for advice on how to maintain good health.
The other person is Yang Xuan.
After Yang Xuan said goodbye to Wu Chengsi, he went to an ordinary village in Youzhou to work as a blacksmith. He accidentally discovered a martial arts wizard in the village.
The child's name was Yang Lian. Yang Xuan accepted him as a closed disciple and passed on all his martial arts skills to him. When Yang Lian grew up, the imperial court suddenly opened a martial arts department.
Yang Lian had always wanted to leave the village and have a career, but he was reluctant to leave his master. Yang Xuan saw what he was thinking, and he was still thinking about it, so he went to Beijing with Yang Lian to participate in the martial arts competition.
As the first martial arts competition in history, it attracted folk masters from all over the world at once. The grand scene was so grand that many people in Luoyang will never forget it.
In fact, Jianghu people have also held private martial arts conferences, but the scale is definitely not the same.
The first place winner in the martial arts competition also came to participate in the martial arts competition, but in the end he couldn't even make it to the top sixteen.
With Yang Lian's martial arts skills, he reached the finals after several hard battles, but unfortunately he lost to another man named Shangguan Hui and finished second.
Later, Wu Zhuangyuan's Shangguan Hui refused the Queen's appointment, but the Queen was not angry and let him leave.
Yang Lian entered Dali Temple as the second-ranked martial artist and served as the temple chief.
Yang Xuan was old and sentimental and did not want to be separated from this disciple, so he stayed in Luoyang.
After Feng Wu, Feng Ying and others learned that he had appeared in Luoyang, they all came to see him and worked together to buy him a house, which happened to be next door to Zhuge Mansion.
Since then, Yang Xuan has been retiring in Luoyang. He has few friends. Zhuge Sanyuan happened to be very lonely after his retirement. The two old men got together as a pair. They often competed and played chess, and they became good friends.
Zhuge Sanyuan raised his head and glanced at Wu Zongbao, and said with a smile: "Are you the Shiro of Prince Zhou's palace?"
After Yang Xuan heard this, he glanced at Wu Zongbao.
Wu Zongbao said respectfully: "Yes, my father often mentioned these two to me."
Zhuge Sanyuan twisted his beard and smiled, and said to Yang Xuan: "Old Yang, Si Lang is now the young minister of Dali Temple just like His Highness the King of Zhou back then."
Yang Xuan nodded and said nothing.
Zhuge Sanyuan paused for a moment, his expression turned solemn, he looked at Wu Zongbao and said: "Silang, the court is filled with turbidity now. I hope you can stir up the turbidity and raise the pure like your father did!"
Wu Zongbao said loudly: "Yes!"
Yang Xuan suddenly said: "Removing dust and dirt is easy to say, but there are countless dangers in doing it. You must be careful, especially pay attention to your own safety!"
Wu Zongbao agreed.
After saying goodbye to the two old men, Wu Zongbao came to the study, where Zhugenan had been waiting for a long time.
"Zongbao, sit down and treat this place as your own home."
Wu Zongbao could not be so patient and asked: "Uncle Zhuge, why did you ask me to come over?"
Zhuge Nan was silent for a while and said, "Are you investigating Wang Jin's case?"
Wu Zongbao raised his head and said: "Yes!"
Zhuge Nan sighed and said, "Why don't you tell me about this? I've gone to see Wang Jin's case and there's nothing wrong with it. You don't have to waste your energy on it."
Wu Zongbao raised his eyebrows and said, "Uncle Zhuge, how did you know that I was investigating Wang Jin's case?"
Zhuge Nan said: "Min Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment told me. He said that the case has been finalized. You have just become the Shaoqing and you still don't understand the procedures for handling the case. Let me remind you so as not to waste time."
Wu Zongbao said with glaring eyes: "Uncle Zhuge, I want to ask you, what would you do if Wang Jin's case was an unjust case?"
Zhugenan's eyes twitched: "Isn't this impossible?"
Wu Zongbao said word for word: "I have obtained conclusive evidence. This is an unjust case!"
Zhuge Nan was silent for a while, and said with a solemn expression: "If it is really an unjust case, just go ahead and investigate. I will fully support you."
After a pause, his expression suddenly changed and he said: "Zongbao, if this is really an unjust case, then what Min Shuzhen said to me may have other meanings in it!"
Wu Zongbao breathed a sigh of relief. He was still worried that Zhuge Nan would be bribed by the other party, so he smiled coldly and said, "I can see it too. He wants to put pressure on you to stop investigating this matter."
Zhuge Nan said angrily: "So that's it, why did that old boy have a weird smell when he spoke?"
Wu Zongbao was worried that no one would jump out. When he saw Minister Min popping up, he immediately wanted to find him. He cupped his hands and said, "Uncle Zhuge, I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."
Without waiting for Zhugenan's answer, he left the study.
As soon as he left Zhuge Mansion, Wu Zongbao took Xiao An to the Ministry of Punishment. Xiao An asked: "Master, what does Zhuge Temple Minister want from you?"
Wu Zongbao sneered and said: "The Minister of Punishment came to him and asked me not to investigate this case anymore."
Xiao An was surprised and said: "Shang Shu of the Ministry of Justice? Why did he suddenly not let you investigate? Could it be..."
Wu Zongbao said coldly: "It couldn't be more obvious! He is either entrusted by the mastermind behind it, or he is the mastermind!"
Xiao An hesitated for a while and said cautiously: "Master, the Minister of Punishment is a third-rank official, and his official position is higher than yours. You can't beat him!"
Wu Zongbao glanced at him and said angrily: "Look at your worthless look!"
Xiao An whispered: "This is not Chang'an after all, I think you should pay more attention."
Wu Zongbao snorted: "Don't worry, your young master is not stupid. He will not teach a minister a lesson in an upright manner!"
"Then what do you want to do with him?"
Wu Zongbao's eyes flashed coldly and he said: "Before taking action, you must first confirm to see if there is really something wrong with him, so as not to hit the wrong person!"
Xiao An was shocked: "Master, do you still want to beat him?"
"Nonsense, if he is really related to this case, then he is a bastard. The young master has been holding this breath for a long time. If he doesn't vent his anger, he will die from it!" Gu
"Didn't you just say you wouldn't hit him?"
"I mean we won't beat him openly. Let's find a dark and windy night, tie him up with a sack, take him to a place where no one is around, beat him up, and then ask him who is the mastermind behind it. The case will be solved."
Yet?"
Xiao An didn't know what to say for a moment, but after a while, he said: "Master, after all, he is a third-rank minister, and there will be many guards around him. We want to put a sack on him, but I'm afraid it won't be easy."
Wu Zongbao frowned, thought for a while, and said impatiently: "You have to figure this out!"
Xiao An flattened his mouth, reluctantly agreed, and started to think about it.
Soon, the two came to the outside of the Ministry of Justice and asked where Min Shangshu lived, but the guards didn't know.
Wu Zongbao asked Guo Xing's home again, and this time the guard finally knew it and told him.
When he arrived at Guo Xing's house, Guo Xing came out to greet him personally.
Wu Zongbao did not enter the house and asked directly: "Mr. Guo, where does your family live?"
Guo Xing felt slightly puzzled and said, "Why are you asking about Minister Min's residence?"
Wu Zong smiled and said: "I am the Young Minister of Dali Temple, and he is the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. We will not be able to move around much in the future, so we must establish a good relationship in advance!"
Guo Xing thought to himself: "You are not a temple minister. The target should be our minister of justice. Why are you trying to get close to the minister?"
But after all, the other party had a father he couldn't mess with, so he had no choice but to tell him Min Shangshu's address.
Wu Zongbao immediately came to the Min Mansion. After announcing his door, the guard immediately informed him and invited him in after a while.
In the lobby of Min Mansion, Wu Zongbao met the Minister of Punishment.
He is about forty years old, with a fat build and a kind smile. No one would have imagined that he is the number one person in charge of the country's criminal justice system.
Min Shangshu also didn't expect that Wu Zongbao would come over today just after talking to Zhugenan yesterday. He smiled and invited him to take a seat while secretly wondering about his purpose.
Master Wu was always concise and clear in his work. He didn't talk nonsense to him and just extended his hand.
Min Shangshu was stunned and said: "Wu Shaoqing, what do you mean?"
Wu Zongbao rubbed his fingers and said, "No matter what Wang Jin's case is, you have to give me some benefit, right?"
Min Shangshu's face changed slightly, and then he said with a smile: "What do Wu Shaoqing mean by this? I just kindly advise you not to waste your time. I never said that you would not be involved in Wang Jin's case."
Wu Zongbao frowned and said, "You really don't mean that?"
Minister Min picked up the teacup, blew in the hot air, and said calmly: "No."
Wu Zongbao scratched his head and said with a naive look, "I must have made a mistake." He cupped his hands and said, "I'm sorry for bothering you. I hope you'll forgive me and take my leave."
Minister Min looked at his back silently, his eyes flashing slightly, until he stepped out of the threshold with one foot, he said: "Wait a minute!"
Wu Zongbao turned his head, looking confused.
Min Shangshu cursed in his heart: "These children of aristocratic families are all idiots!"
Narrowing his eyes, he said: "Wu Shaoqing, Wang Jin's case has been finalized. Isn't it inappropriate for you to continue investigating?"
Wu Zongbao looked like an idiot who had just joined the job, and said carelessly: "Why is it inappropriate? Isn't our Dali Temple responsible for finding out unjust cases and setting things right?"
The smile on Min Shangshu's face was unbearable. Fortunately, he had been tempered for a long time and quickly controlled his expression and said with a smile:
"Wu Shaoqing, Di Pushe and Zhuge Siqing have both seen this case. They both said there is no problem. Isn't it a waste of your time to continue investigating?"
Wu Zongbao said with a smile: "It is precisely because they said there is no problem that I want to investigate further!"
Minister Min was stunned and asked: "Why?"
Wu Zongbao hummed and said: "If I can handle a case that both Di Pushe and Zhuge Si Qing miss when I first take office, then my father and several brothers will never dare to look down on me again!"
Min Shangshu felt his head grow bigger and thought: "What a fool! How could his father think of sending him to officialdom? Isn't this a disaster for others?"
Wu Zongbao waved his hand and said: "Min Shangshu, thank you for your kindness, but no one cares about me in Dali Temple. The most important thing is time. Just let me check it and just practice it!"
Minister Min laughed dryly and said, "Wu Shaoqing, let's take a step to talk."
The two of them came to Min Mansion's study.
Min Shangshu smiled slightly and said: "Wu Shaoqing, you are young and promising. You have become the fourth-rank Shaoqing at such a young age. You will definitely become a pillar of the court like my father in the future!"
Wu Zongbao has a skill, when he pretends to be stupid, others can't tell. I don't know if it's because he is born with a stupid face, or because of his status, people think that a rich kid like him should be so stupid!
Anyway, when he heard what Min Shangshu said, the proud smile he showed made Min Shangshu lose a lot of his wariness, and he thought: "He is really a idiot!"
Wu Zongbao smiled happily and said, "Everyone who has met me says so." Then he frowned and added, "Except for my father."
Min Shangshu laughed and said: "My father must be afraid that you are too proud." After a pause, he said: "Wu Shaoqing, I have mediocre talents, but I have been able to stay in the officialdom for decades. Do you know the reason?"
Wu Zongbao guessed: "Is it because of the power of the family?"
Minister Min almost couldn't help but spit at him. This bastard got into a fourth-rank official position by virtue of his family status. How dare he say that others relied on their family status?
He took a few breaths to calm down, and then said with a smile: "I come from a small clan, and my status is not comparable to yours. Among the officials of the fourth rank and above in the court, there are very few who have a lower background than me."
Wu Zongbao said: "What's the reason?"
Minister Min smiled and said: "Four words, harmony is the most precious thing!"
Wu Zongbao shook his head and said, "I don't understand."
Min Shangshu put his fist to his mouth, coughed, and said: "Actually, it's very simple. When I was an official, I was friendly with everyone. Not only those with higher official positions than me, but also those with lower official positions than me.
Be polite to them."
Wu Zongbao snorted secretly and thought: "It turns out to be an old loach!"
Min Shangshu smiled and said: "If anyone comes to me for help, I will definitely help you if I can. As time goes by, people will naturally remember your kindness, and your job will naturally become smoother and smoother."
Wu Zongbao pretended to be puzzled and said: "Min Shangshu, does this matter have something to do with Wang Jin's case?"
Seeing how ignorant he was, Minister Min almost rolled his eyes, but he was notoriously cautious, so don't expect to hear anything that would leave a trace behind.
He thought for a moment and said: "Wu Shaoqing, Wang Jin's case has been finalized, and the evidence is conclusive. If you investigate again..."
Having said this, he showed a meaningful smile.
"How?" Wu Zongbao asked confused.
Min Shangshu found that the qi-nurturing skills he had practiced for many years almost allowed this kid to break his defense.
He paused and said thoughtfully: "If you continue the investigation, wouldn't it appear that the officials who finalized the case made a mistake, which would offend people a bit."
Wu Zongbao snorted: "Isn't this what Dali Temple does? According to you, if you are afraid of offending people, Dali Temple might as well close its doors."
Min Shangshu laughed twice and said: "Wu Shaoqing was joking. I never meant it. I was just saying a few words of experience."
It was also the first time that Wu Zongbao encountered such a slippery guy. His patience gradually ran out, and he handed over his hands and said:
"Min Shangshu, I appreciate your kindness, but I still want to give it a try. If it is really an unjust case, my father will be impressed by me, and maybe he can buy me a house in Luoyang!"
Min Shangshu was moved in his heart and said: "Wu Shaoqing, don't you have a house in Luoyang?"
Wu Zongbao hummed: "My father only bought a house for my second brother and let me live with him!"
Min Shangshu's eyes lit up and he smiled and said: "Then I will stay soon. I wish Wu Shaoqing good luck in investigating the case." After that, he personally escorted Wu Zong to the mansion.
After leaving Min's Mansion, Wu Zongbao turned around the street. After losing sight of Min's Mansion, he suddenly came to a wall, kicked it several times, and cursed: "Old turtle! Bastard!"
He had tried every means to test, but could not find out whether Minister Min was related to Wang Jin's case.
Although the other party also prevented him from investigating, they seemed to be afraid that he would have a negative impact on the Ministry of Justice if he reversed the case. They did not reveal whether there was anyone behind the scenes.
Xiao An persuaded in a low voice: "Master, if someone can achieve the position of Minister, it is not easy to deal with him. Otherwise, we should wait for the Tongyang County Magistrate."
Wu Zongbao snorted and said, "I have to wait for the magistrate, but I also have to wait for the house."
Xiao An was stunned and said: "What house?"
Wu Zongbao snorted: "I just deliberately said that I wanted a house. If that old Loach is really a messenger for others, he will definitely tell the person behind him. Won't he use the house to bribe me?"
Xiao An smiled and said: "Yes! Master, you are so smart!"
Wu Zongbao said angrily: "You are so smart. If I were as capable as my elder brother, I would have found out what the old loach said earlier. Why would it be so troublesome!"
Xiao An smiled and said: "It's all the same. Your method is not bad either."
"Stop flattering me. I asked you to find a way to trap the old loach's sack. Have you come up with an idea?"
"not yet."
"Think about it! According to my intuition, that old Loach must have been entrusted by someone to stop me from investigating the case. Even if no one comes to give me the house, we must beat him up and torture him!"
Wu Zongbao currently lives in the back office of Dali Temple. As the second-in-command of Dali Temple, he is assigned to a small independent courtyard.
When he returned to the small courtyard, Wu Zongbao found that both Wu Xuexuan and Xiao Ping were missing. There was a note on the table in the side room where the two lived, which read: "Fourth brother, I will take Xiao Ping out for a walk and will be back before dinner."