Chapter 721 Jia Heng: In the heart of the princess, who is me or the King of Chu?
Yangzhou Hundred Household Office
Shang Ming replied: "Ma Zeyi said no. He said that he also heard his father Ma Xianjun mention that he had sent people to poison the back kitchen of the Yanyuan Yamen to murder the salt patrol censor. Even though he was in a humble position, he wanted to interrogate Ma Xianjun to verify the matter.
.In addition, when the Jinyi Mansion went south to investigate and was attacked, the Yangzhou Hundred Household Office investigated the matter, but they never had a clue. Therefore, after the Yangzhou salt merchants caught him, we took the opportunity to torture him, and Ma Xianjun's third son, Ma Zeyi, also confessed."
Jia Heng thought for a moment and then asked: "Ma Xianjun has three sons? Where are the first two?"
"The eldest son is not in Yangzhou, but is still in Jinling. The Jinling Thousand Households Office is still arresting him. The second son was heard missing last year." Shang Ming replied quickly.
"Missing?" Jia Heng pondered for a while and said, "The Ma family is not the only one who colluded with Donglu. I'll go over and ask."
"Yes, sir." Shang Ming said quickly.
While talking, Jia Heng, guided by Shang Ming, quickly arrived at the torture chamber of Jinyi Mansion. Compared with the temporary renovation of Yangzhou Yanyuan Yamen, Yangzhou Jinyi Hundred Household House has all kinds of torture facilities.
It was dark and humid, with the smell of blood and stench still floating in the air. Jia Heng frowned, picked up a handkerchief and covered his mouth and nose. His palms were illuminated by a ray of light, making them look white and white.
Ma Xianjun's third son, Ma Zeyi, is tied to the cross at the moment. His hair is disheveled, his body is covered in blood, and his flesh and blood are blurred. He is actually not that old, not as old as the weak crown.
"Sir." Seeing Jia Heng come in, the few captains in Jinyi who were originally guarding him all raised their hands and saluted.
Following the Jinyi captains and warriors around him, Ma Zeyi also raised his hair as fluffy as grass and looked at the young man through the gap in his hair. However, when his eyes fell on Shang Ming, his face showed fear.
Jia Heng sat on the wicker chair, looked at Ma Zeyi, and asked: "Ma Zeyi, I have something to ask you."
"Ma Zeyi, this is my lord, the great Han Yong Ning Bo, the Commander-in-Chief of Jinyi." Shang Ming said coldly.
Ma Zeyi raised his eyes to look at the young man wearing a black and red python suit, and said in a weak voice: "Are you... Uncle Yongning?"
Jia Heng looked calm and asked: "It's me, you are Ma Xianjun's son. Do you know that apart from the Ma family and Donglu doing smuggling business, are there other families doing smuggling business?"
Ma Zeyi said weakly: "I don't know about other families' affairs."
"In the case of murdering the Salt Patrol Censor, besides the Ma family, are there anyone else?" Jia Heng asked again.
Ma Zeyi was silent for a moment and replied: "I don't know."
Jia Heng said: "Did you know that colluding with the Donglu and murdering imperial officials for the independence of the Ma family is a capital crime for annihilating three clans?"
Ma Zeyi's body trembled and fear appeared in his eyes.
Jia Heng said: "If you confess one person, I can save your life. If you confess other people's smuggling of Donglu, I will be guilty and meritorious, and I can go easy on Majiawang. You should have heard of my name and have never spoken.
Let’s be honest.”
When Ma Zeyi heard this, he remained silent, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
Jia Heng asked: "The Ma family and the Cheng family are related by marriage, and the Ma family is smuggling. Is the Cheng family involved? How much involvement? What other unethical things have the Cheng family, the Ma family, and even several other salt merchants done?
Regardless of colluding with Donglu, you can tell the truth about everything you know. If you provide clues, I will spare your life. Depending on the corresponding merit, it is not certain that you will not be punished in the end."
These words can only be said by him, others do not have this power, and the Ma family is just a breakthrough. As long as the Yangzhou salt merchants are involved, all are valuable clues.
"Are you going to..." Ma Zeyi's eyes were gloomy, and his heart was inexplicably frightened.
This Uncle Yongning clearly wants to wipe out all the salt merchants in Yangzhou.
Jia Heng said, looked at Shang Ming aside, and said expressionlessly: "Continue to interrogate, and also interrogate the shopkeepers, housekeepers, and female relatives of the Ma family. Whoever exposes the meritorious service will be exempted from death and the female relatives will be exempted from death and the female relatives will not be sent to the workshop.
Division, if there are any clues, we will collect them first and then investigate them one by one."
This is a rare cleanup of Yangzhou salt merchants. Why should it be limited to this one case?
If Ma Xianjun doesn't say it, others may not say it. As long as someone says even a little bit, it can become a new breakthrough.
"Yes, sir." Shang Ming said excitedly.
Immediately, Jia Heng was escorted out of the torture chamber by his personal guards, and headed to Yangzhou Yanyuan Yamen, accompanied by his guards in golden robes.
At this moment, the official hall of Yangzhou Yanyuan Yamen was crowded, noisy and chaotic.
Liu Shengzao, the transfer envoy to the Huaihe River, and seven other salt merchants from Yangzhou were all seated in the official hall. In front of the Mingtang, Qi Kun and Lin Ruhai were sitting, separated by a small table on both sides.
Liu Shengzao said in a deep voice: "Mr. Qi Ge, Mr. Lin, Uncle Yongning arrested the salt merchant and said he was colluding with the Donglu. What is going on?"
Qi Kun looked calm, put down the tea cup, and said softly: "Now the Tiqi from Yangzhou are out in all directions, and there are rumors that the Donglu have entered and assassinated the important military officials of the imperial court. Doesn't Mr. Liu know?"
After months of wrangling, Qi Kun didn't have a good look on this relative.
Liu Shengzao sneered and said: "It is said that they colluded with the Eastern captives, but I don't know if there is any evidence? The Jinyi Mansion has always been suspicious of the prison affairs, and they have been beaten into submission. The subordinates thought that they were full after thinking about the wealthy businessmen of Yangzhou, who lived in luxurious clothes and fine food.
To hold on, risk annihilation and collude with the Donglu? In the opinion of my subordinates, there must be some grievance involved."
"Based on the confessions of the thieves, there are many cases of smuggling and collusion between the two parties. Mr. Liu's assertion is too premature." Lin Ruhai's eyes were slightly cold as he continued.
At this moment, a servant's loud call came from outside, saying: "Uncle Yongning is here!"
While he was talking, he saw a group of young men wearing black, red and gold thread embroidered python uniforms coming quickly from the guards of the Jinyi Mansion. Everyone in the room got up one after another.
Jia Heng nodded toward Qi Kun and Lin Ruhai, glanced past several salt merchants, looked at Liu Shengzao, and said in a deep voice: "Last night, Donglu assassinated someone, and Mr. Liu escaped quickly."
Liu Shengzao looked strange and said, "Uncle Yong Ning, I wonder if the bad guy has been caught?"
"The arrest is underway." Jia Heng said calmly, then looked at the salt merchants present, with a somewhat gentle look on his face, and asked, "Master Wang is here too?"
Wang Shouqi laughed along and said: "Uncle Yong Ning, I just came here to ask about the situation. What exactly is Lao Ma's case? Our families have been friends for decades. How come they are all imprisoned so easily?"
"Ma Xianjun, the general merchant of Huainan salt industry, colluded with the Eastern captives, smuggled goods to the captive territory for a long time, and collaborated with the enemy. The Ma family has confessed." Jia Heng said slowly.
When Wang Shouqi heard this, his heart trembled, and the smile on his face froze.
The people from Jinyi Mansion got a confession after being tortured for a whole day and night?
In fact, the procedures related to smuggling into the grassland are complicated and require everyone to be tough and tight-lipped, which is unrealistic. The torture in Jinyi Mansion is an all-in-one torture.
Liu Shengzao felt a little apprehensive in his heart. He couldn't say anything for a moment and looked at the young man coldly.
Jia Heng said: "Master Wang, the Ma family colluded with the Donglu. The evidence is conclusive. You can rest assured that I will not implicate innocent people."
As long as this case continues to be tried, it will always dig deeper and deeper, and then it will become a major case with wide implications.
Seeing that the atmosphere in the room was tense, Qi Kun took over and said: "Everyone, since Ma Xianjun has been arrested, his business name Yanyin should also be taken back. This summer, salt sales in Jiujiang, Jiangxi and other places should also reallocate the write-off amount of Yanyin."
As soon as these words came out, all the salt merchants looked at each other. If they had any thoughts on dividing Yanyin at this moment, they were afraid of being implicated by Ma Xianjun, but this kind of thing completely depends on Jia Heng, the commander in chief.
Wang Shouqi looked at the young man with a face as clear as water, and thought to himself, since he was willing to accept the money, it meant that he was not indifferent, and he promised to have another banquet in private, and there was still room for change.
Jia Heng looked indifferent and said in a deep voice: "Master Qi and Lin Yanzheng are talking about salt affairs. I will go to Jinling tomorrow."
Qi Kun was helping him attract the attention of several salt merchants, and he just happened to release another smoke bomb.
Jia Heng left the official hall and headed towards the backyard, but saw a nanny at the Moon Gate who said, "Sir, Princess Chu and Princess Beijing are here, and they are being entertained by Miss Lin in the backyard."
Jia Heng nodded and said softly: "I'll be there right away."
Not far away, I saw hanging vines and green eaves and black tiles. Under the flower wall, there stood a slim figure of a girl in a green skirt. Holding a sword in both hands, she looked at Jia Heng with a hint of ridicule in her cold eyes, and asked:
"Sister Zhen is here to force you again?"
Jia Heng: "..."
Chen Xiao's eyes flickered, and he did not continue to ask. There was no strange color on his cold and jade face, and asked: "How was the investigation of the case?"
Jia Heng just pretended that he had not heard anything, and walked towards the inner room with Chen Xiao, saying in a low voice: "There are some clues. If a big prison is raised just like this, by investigating the case, we can probably find out the salt deficit, and we can find out more about it."
Liu Shengzao's side is prepared with both hands."
Chen Xiao said in a clear voice: "As long as you have a way."
Jia Heng said: "By the way, come with me to Jinling tomorrow."
Chen Xiao responded without saying anything else.
Backyard inner hall——
Zhen Qing and Zhen Xue sat side by side on the bamboo chairs. The two young ladies, one wearing a red dress and the other wearing a blue skirt, smiled and looked at Daiyu, who was holding Xinxin in her arms while talking, and their concubine Lin Ruhai beside them.
Mr. Zhou was talking.
While talking, I heard the nanny outside say: "Uncle Yongning is here."
Under the gaze of everyone, a young man wearing a python suit and a wingless crown strode into the hall, with sword-shaped eyebrows and bright eyes, and an impressive heroic spirit.
"Godfather!" Shui Xin saw the young man with a warm smile on his face. He rushed over to Jia Heng's arms and pecked Jia Heng's face.
"Good Xinxin." Jia Heng said with a smile, then bent down and hugged the pink and jade-shaped little Loli, and sat down.
Jia Heng stared at Zhen Qing and Zhen Xue and asked, "Why are the two princesses here?"
Zhen Qing looked at the young man with a smile and said: "This is not the case that Yangzhou has closed down the city. Now I can't leave the city, so I came here to take a look."
"This morning, I also said that I wrote a warrant to the Zhen family so that the two princesses would not delay their return to Jinling to visit their relatives. Didn't the two princesses receive it?" Jia Heng looked at the beauty whose eyebrows were becoming more and more charming, and thought to himself, this
Zhen Qing is really addicted.
Zhen Qing smiled brightly and said: "I received it, but I am a little unsettled. I am afraid that if this bandit gets sick again and seeks medical treatment, it will be bad if he sneaks into our ship and escapes."
Hearing this, Jia Heng raised his eyes and looked at Zhen Qing's rosy and unparalleled face, and thought to himself, this poisonous woman has so many evil intentions to judge others by herself, but this kind of worry is not impossible.
Zhen Qing said softly: "Actually, I came here to see Zi Yu. Last night, a chief from Donglu came to assassinate Zi Yu. Now the city is in an uproar. Zi Yu even fought with that chief and injured him.
Wang, I wonder if anyone has caught him now?"
When Zhen Xue heard this, under her beautiful eyebrows, her eyes flickered at the young man, and she clenched the handkerchief in her hand a little tighter.
It's always scary.
Jia Heng said: "People are still hunting, but we haven't caught him yet."
It's not easy to mention Huanhua Tower in front of the Zhen sisters.
Zhen Qing looked at the young man and said, "Seeing that Ziyu was not injured, my sister and I are relieved."
Jia Heng wrote lightly: "It's nothing, I just took precautions as early as possible."
Zhen Qing said with emotion: "I thought that the Northern Barbarians were wreaking havoc in the north, but I didn't expect that there was also a land south of the Yangtze River. It's really hard to say. If ordinary people encounter it, they don't know what to do. I'm really grateful for this along the way.
Ziyu is escorting."
Shui Xin looked at Jia Heng at this time and asked in a soft voice: "Isn't my godfather going to Jinling? Let's go there together."
Jia Heng smiled, pinched Shui Xin's cheek, and said, "Yes, I will go to Jinling tomorrow and take Xin Xin with me."
When Zhen Qing heard this, she felt slightly happy and asked, "Is Ziyu leaving tomorrow?"
Jia Heng nodded.
"That's a coincidence." Zhen Qing said softly: "I was worried about whether those people would assassinate me again, but this time I have Ziyu with me, and I have peace of mind."
Jia Heng did not refuse this time. In fact, he was a little worried...Xinxin.
"My sister and I still have something to ask Zi Yu for advice. I wonder if it's convenient for Zi Yu." Zhen Qing suddenly said.
I thought about it yesterday and realized that the fourth sister's marriage to Baoyu indeed required his consent.
Jia Heng put down Shui Xin and said, "Let's talk about it in the study."
Xinxin pursed her pink lips and said in a sweet voice: "My godfather is like this every time. He always plays with my mother and aunt, and my godfather doesn't play with me either."
These words made Zhen Qing and Zhen Xue's hearts skip a beat, and they secretly thought, Tong Yan Wu Ji, there is no such thing as fun.
Jia Heng chuckled lightly and said, "In the evening, Xinxin, please don't leave. My godfather will tell you a story."
If I was in love with Wujiwu at first, now I really like this pretty, cute and smart little girl.
Maybe we can let Jinyang give birth to one. Jinyang is older and is now an advanced maternal age.
Shui Xin turned from worry to joy and responded with a smile.
Jia Heng turned to look at Zhen Xue and said softly: "Xinxin, please stay here for one night. She will take my boat to Jinling tomorrow."
Zhen Xue's gentle brows and eyes were filled with a smile, and she said: "Zi Yu, children like to cling to others, don't spoil her too much."
Jia Heng said: "It's okay, I really like Xinxin."
Daiyu watched the conversation between the two with a hint of thoughtfulness in her eyes.
While talking, he handed Shui Xin to Dai Yu to take with him, while Jia Heng, Zhen Qing, and Zhen Xue went to the courtyard where they usually lived and entered the study.
Jia Heng asked Qingwen to go down, and Princess Chu Zhen Qing also dismissed the female official. For a while, there were only three people left in the room. Yangzhou, which had been raining for many days, had just cleared up today, and the afternoon light was a bit lazy.
Jia Heng looked up at Chu Princess Zhen Qing from across the small table.
Dressed in a peach red dress, she is dressed in gorgeous clothes. Under the rolled up temples, her bright and jade-like forehead is traced with flowers. Under the willow leaves and thin eyebrows, autumn water is the god. Under the straight nose bridge, her lips are as moist as roses.
Under her plump, slender and fair neck, the full moon is eye-catching and her skin is as white as snow.
Perhaps because the millstone is relatively stable, when he sits upright, he looks somewhat solemn and beautiful.
Zhen Xue, on the other side, is wearing a sky blue flowing dress, with black silk tied into a heart-shaped bun, with a hairpin pinned between her hair, her skin is as frosty as snow, her cheeks are peach and her eyes are apricot, and she is obviously rouged.
Her pink lips were slightly pursed.
Jia Heng picked up the teapot, poured two cups for the two of them, and asked, "Princess, if you have something to say, you might as well speak up."
Because I am worried about being peeked at by Chen Xiao again, I still have to be careful.
"I have something I want to discuss with you." Zhen Qing looked at the young man opposite who was slowly pouring tea and said softly.
Jia Heng took two tea cups, handed them over, and asked, "What's the matter?"
Zhen Xue took over the conversation, her voice soft and soft, and said: "Zi Yu is like this, my sister and I have two clan girls who are waiting in the boudoir, and one of them is a young girl who has not yet been married.
Man, I heard that there is a precious jade in Rongguo Mansion, and I thought that our two families are also close friends for many years, so why not give it to him as promised and get closer to him, so I just wanted to ask what do you think?"
The four sisters of the Zhen family, Qingxue Lanxi, Zhenlan has already made a promise to someone and will have two years to get married, but Zhenxi has not yet made a promise to someone since she is 18 years old.
Jia Heng was silent for a moment and asked, "You mean Baoyu?"
"It's Baoyu." Zhen Qing observed the changes in the young man's expression with her phoenix eyes, and chuckled: "I heard that he was born with a jade in his head, and he has the same name as our Baoyu."
Jia Heng said: "I don't have any say in Baoyu's marriage. Baoyu's marriage is the decision of the old lady in our house."
This is the truth. Mother Jia is trying to get Baoyu to marry Baoyu, but the fourth lady of the Zhen family may not take her seriously.
I just remember that when Yuanchun wanted him to match up the young princess with Baoyu, he said that it was really hard for him to interfere in Baoyu's marriage, otherwise his married life would be unhappy. Mrs. Wang would probably still resent him. At that time in Yuanchun
It's easy to get hurt emotionally when you're with me.
Hearing this, Zhen Qing frowned, her phoenix eyes narrowed, and she said in a faint tone: "It is indeed so."
Jia Heng frowned, looked at the beauty whose smile disappeared and her eyes were clear, and said: "Why is it so? Do you understand again?"
Zhen Qing felt angry for a moment, her face was like frost, and she said in a cold voice: "You just don't want to get involved with the Zhen family, so you deliberately made excuses. What happened last time in Yuanchun was that you didn't want to get involved with the King of Chu. Now you still don't want to get involved with the Zhen family. What are you talking about?"
You have made the decision and you are the clan leader. If you tell Madam Rongguo, she will probably agree for the sake of the overall interests of the clan."
As the two got tired of being together for a long time, Zhen Qing also gradually understood some of Jia Heng's temperament.
Jia Heng smiled and said, "For this reason, I'm afraid of being implicated by your Zhen family."
Zhen Qing: "..."
Jia Heng stood up and came to Zhen Qing. He stared at Zhen Xue and said warmly: "Xue'er, go watch the wind."
Zhen Xue: "???"
So, he and his sister are a couple, and she is redundant, right?
Jia Heng turned to look at the beauty with gloomy eyes and pursed lips, and said softly: "Xue'er, your sister has been thinking about something all day long. Let me talk to her."
Zhen Xuejiao nodded, left the table, and went to the bead curtain to watch the wind.
Jia Heng took the hand of Zhen Qing, who was as beautiful as frost, came to sit on the soft couch in the inner compartment, and said, "You can't live in peace for a few days."
Ever since she had a physical relationship with him, Zhen Qing couldn't wait to tie herself to her so-called ambition.
Zhen Qing gently touched Jia Heng's dishonest hand. Under Liu Ye's slender eyebrows, her charming and rippled phoenix eyes were clear, and she said angrily: "Don't touch me. Be careful, I have implicated you."
Jia Heng said: "I shouldn't have told you about the Zhen family before, but now you want to drag my Jia family into trouble."
You can tell at a glance what Zhen Qing is planning.
"Then don't get into the water later." Zhen Qing said angrily, "Do you think I won't know if you don't tell me? The Emperor, the courtiers, the Weaving Bureau, and the father will eventually get it back, and we Zhen
My family only wanted to protect their wealth because they knew about it, otherwise they would not have let me marry the King of Chu and my sister to the King of Beijing."
There are some things that the Zhen family may not know, but the first thing is that they are lucky, and the second thing is that they can't turn back.
By marrying the two sisters to the second king, he was leaving a way out for himself.
Jia Heng said: "Since you know, don't think about getting involved. Take care of yourself. The water thrown by your married daughter will not be implicated in you unless the Zhen family rebels."
As he spoke, without saying much, he rolled up thousands of piles of snow...
"Is there really nothing you can do?" Zhen Qing turned her beautiful face, her phoenix eyes filled with mist, and looked at Jia Heng, saying: "Help me think of a way, I, I...
"
She didn't know what she could do to bribe the young man in front of her.
Jia Heng said: "Anyway, I have no choice. The Zhen family's wealth cannot be saved. Don't even think about transferring the property. That will only make the palace more angry. Besides, I will keep an eye on you."
Having said that, I felt that it was almost done, with rocks piercing the air and turbulent waves crashing on the shore.
Zhen Qing's beautiful eyebrows frowned slightly, her snow-skinned jade face was as red as blood, and she whispered: "You will not be able to beg for mercy from my father in the future..."
"No." Jia Heng whispered.
Zhen Qing clenched her fists and hit Jia Heng, and spat: "You bastard, you only know how to take advantage, you can't hope for anything else."
He was bullying her hard, but he could say such cruel words. Thinking of this, a feeling of annoyance arose in his heart, and the tassels on his hair were lightly circled.
But after a while, Jia Heng was fine, but Zhen Qing was as soft as a silkworm, unable to exert any strength.
After a while, Jia Heng hugged Zhen Qing and whispered: "Actually, there is another way."
We can't really not give Zhen Qing any hope, otherwise something will happen again.
"What method?" Under Zhen Qing's beautiful eyebrows, her phoenix eyes slightly opened, her charming thoughts flowing, her heart filled with joy, and she whispered softly.
"You deserve meritorious service." Jia Heng said: "Even if the Zhen family cannot be saved, the children of your Zhen family will still be able to recover in the future. The Zhen family has been working in Liangjiang for many years. I think they know a lot about the illegal things in the officialdom of Liangjiang. If you can report them,
Revealed, His Majesty Longyan will be delighted."
There is indeed a historical reason why the Supreme Emperor was extravagant during his tour to the south. The money that the Zhen family had amassed was confiscated and then sold out to the Liangjiang officialdom. It may be possible to recover in the future.
"No, if this happens, our Zhen family will become the target of public criticism." Zhen Qing's face was rosy, and beads of sweat accumulated on her temples to dissipate the powder. She bit her lips and said softly: "How about we let several children of the Zhen family come to the capital camp?
In the army, if you make great achievements in the future, you will also have affection for your father..."
Jia Heng looked at Zhen Qing with a half-smile but said: "I still want to send people to the capital camp. If the Zhen family falls down in the future, these people who control the troops and horses in the capital camp will be tied to the King of Chu. You can fight well."
abacus."
In fact, people from the Zhen family also have errands in the Jiangnan camp, and there are also many other young people like the Jia family.
"How can it be considered as deploying manpower? It is also to share the worries of the military. You are the military commander. You will always use people for future wars. Who should you use? Besides, if you help me this time, I will depend on you for everything in the future." Zhen
Qing put her hands around Jia Heng's neck, looked at the young man with clear eyebrows, brought it to her lips, and took a gentle peck. Her watery phoenix eyes sucked in the traces of charming charm, and said softly: "I
It only belongs to you."
Anyway, the prince doesn't touch her much, and she also has a son.
Jia Heng whispered: "Even if I don't help you, I can still make you belong to me."
Zhen Qing: "..."
Where do you get your confidence?
Jia Heng lowered his voice and asked: "In the heart of the princess, who is me or the King of Chu..."
The voice behind the words was so weak that it was hard to hear.
"You..." Zhen Qingtan opened her mouth slightly and lost her voice. Her heart was shocked inexplicably, and her delicate body trembled slightly. She felt an indescribable feeling rushing through her whole body, and distant memories floated in her heart. Immediately, it seemed that
A piece of crystal in my heart shattered, and cracks in the spider web appeared.
No, how can he compare himself with the prince? But between the curtains, it is indeed him...
Jia Heng chuckled and said: "Princess, don't you hear that it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality."
Between the skin-to-skin contact, any subtle changes can be detected. This poisonous woman, well, is also a wonderful person.
"You bastard, shut up." Zhen Qing is also a person with a clear mind. She understood this instantly. In the young man's playful eyes, she seemed to have seen through her thoughts, and became angry and embarrassed.
Here, Zhen Xue stood at the bead curtain, listening to the two of them biting their ears and making other noises, Xue Nui's cheeks turned crimson, and she felt her heart beating with fear.