"What I did has nothing to do with them. They are innocent..." the palace maid Yuan Shi (pseudonym Zhou) said in an almost pleading tone.
Hu Ying sat firmly on the chair indifferently. His expression made Yuan feel desperate. He picked up the tea cup and took a sip without rushing to speak. Now the initiative has been exchanged, and the relationship between people The relationship between people is often so naked, it is nothing more than seeing who has the value and handle that others need.
"The case does have nothing to do with Yuan Jinlu and his wife. They have been in prison for several years and there is no way they have any contact with the outside world." Hu Ying said seriously, "You don't need to worry too much, because you used a forged identity before as an important criminal. , now we have verified our true identity."
While Zhang Ning was recording their conversation, he was thinking: Hu Butang was clearly threatening other people's parents, but he didn't say a word about it. Today, I have learned a lot about the methods and ways of speaking of senior officials. He was so shameless and almost unscrupulous. Things can be done in a reasonable and reasonable manner.
Mrs. Yuan begged: "I am the only one to blame. If you want to kill me or chop me into pieces, I will never complain. I just ask Mr. Hu to let my parents go. They have suffered all their lives. I don't want them to be implicated for no reason anymore."
"There are family rules and state laws. Is it only me who has the final say on who is guilty and who is innocent? If I can show mercy outside the law, I can only accept the emperor's holy grace." Hu Ying looked upright and bowed to the north with her fists clasped. "But I can say that if the real culprit behind the scenes is not found, your Yuan family will definitely be implicated."
Yuan said: "If you find out the mastermind, can you let the two elders go? I am not trying to survive for myself, now I just want to die..."
She didn't cry or make a fuss when she spoke, but Zhang Ning felt a little moved when she heard "I just want to die". There is no sadder situation in the world than this, and death has become a luxury.
Hu Ying said: "I can't give you this promise, because I don't have the right to make the decision. That's it for today. You still have to sort out the files and file your identity again."
After saying that, he asked Jin Yiwei to escort Yuan down. When she was escorted to the door, she turned back and looked at Hu Ying with complicated eyes: "Master Hu, please let them go!"
Hu Ying was reluctant to tell even a lie.
Originally, Zhang Ning thought that he would exchange confession information with the female prisoner on the condition of Yuan Jinlu's parents. This was already very bad, but compared to the ruthless transaction, it was actually very fair. The more despicable method was to deceive and give oral information first. The conditions are coaxing and deceiving to get what you want, and then break your promise in the end; deception is despicable, but it can give the palace maid a hope. If she is allowed to die with hope first, and then Yuan Jinlu and his wife are dealt with, at least the palace maid can be satisfied and die. wish...and Hu Ying chose the most cruel method. Standing on the commanding heights of morality and law, using loyalty as the greater than filial piety as the theoretical basis, and using legal procedures as an excuse, she calmly forced the female convicts and maids to do it bit by bit. Give up your own conditions and deprive her of everything and hope.
Zhang Ning could also foresee Yuan's compromise, and Hu Ying became even more determined to win.
The process of the game was shorter than Zhang Ning imagined. Yuan was too young in front of Hu Ying. She originally thought that Hu Ying would resort to the method of "torture Yuan Jinlu and his wife" first, but unexpectedly, before this step, the palace maid revealed the secret that she relied on to protect herself. Bao's confession, she really cared too much about her parents.
In just two or three days, Hu Ying got most of the valuable information she wanted. The person behind the imperial food poisoning incident was Peng Tianheng, the owner of Peach Blossom Villa and the leader of the private salt dealers... Zhang Ning smelled the danger. The smell, what I was worried about before became a reality.
Hu Ying quickly found out Peng Tianheng's information. He was a Han general in the Jianwen Dynasty and Emperor Jianwen's imperial bodyguard. After the Jingnan Campaign, he fled to the Shaolin Temple to be ordained and live in seclusion. A few years ago, when Hu Ying presided over the investigation of the monks and Taoists in the world, he found out that I found this person, but let him run away, and there was no news after that.
After the palace maid Yuan was taken in by Peng Tianheng at Peach Blossom Villa, she met Jianwen's surviving minister Zheng Qia many times. Hu Ying used this to deduce that the mastermind behind the poisoning of the imperial meal might be Zheng Qia. Who is Zheng Qia? According to Hu Ying's experience of tracking down Jianwen and his ministers who were in exile for more than ten years, Emperor Jianwen had 22 close ministers around him. Four of them were secretly arrested during Zheng He's voyages to the West and Hu Ying's secret investigation of the rivers and lakes. The remaining eighteen people are still missing, and Zheng Qia is one of them.
Peng Tianheng "taught and instigated" Yuan to avenge her family being punished. He taught her beforehand how inhumane the factory guards and officials were, and told her to commit suicide by taking poison when she was done. Seeing that Yuan was young and beautiful, he also said that bureaucrats were promiscuous and insulted women. People do evil things, and even corpses may be desecrated, so he slept with Yuan and broke her body, and then helped her blend into the beautiful women... Zhang Ning originally had no personal ill feelings towards Jianwen's legacy, but now it seems that he does They are like birds of a feather, Peng Tianheng's skills are only inferior to Hu Ying's.
Hu Ying found out the location of Peach Blossom Villa where Yuan lived before, and immediately notified Jinyiwei to pick up people and investigate clues. However, most of the trip would be in vain, and those people would not be stupid enough to wait there to be caught.
A person from Peach Blossom Villa who had been captured before was tortured severely under the orders of Hu Ying. This person was not treated as well as the palace maid Yuan. Once, when Zhang Ning and Hu Ying interrogated the prisoner, he found that he had no human form and only one breath left.
At this point in the trial of the case, Hu Ying's face became obviously relaxed. He had already notified the three judicial departments (Du Procuratorate, Dali Temple, and Criminal Department) and the commander of Jinyiwei, Lin Hai, to discuss the matter in the lobby and finalize the case. Before the meeting, three people from the Ministry of Rites were working on something. We met here and there to briefly discuss things.
"The evidence is conclusive. The masterminds behind this case are those rogue gangs." Wang Qinian said without hesitation, "It took half a month for the ministry to find out the real culprit. It really lives up to the emperor's trust."
Hu Ying glanced at Zhang Ning and said calmly: "Actually, the emperor believed that the incident was the work of a rogue party from the beginning. I just found evidence for the emperor. Your Majesty is wise and sees everything clearly. We cannot take credit."
Being greedy for merit means taking more risks, and the responsibility of exonerating the King of Han is directly thrown to the emperor. Hu Ying really has all the advances and retreats in her heart. Zhang Ning nodded, and disagreed with Hu Butang's lack of sympathy for the weak. His style of being an official is worth learning from; after all, everyone wants to be safe and sound as an official, and no one wants to have their family ruined or even be whipped to death.
At this time, Zhang Ning took the rare initiative to ask: "Hu Butang, although we have verified the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes, the real culprit has not been captured. Is this the end of the investigation?"
Hu Ying said: "The errand assigned to me by the emperor has been basically completed now. All I need to do is write a note and submit it. The arrest of criminals and other matters will be handed over to the headquarters Yamen or Jin Yiwei. We are from the Ministry of Rites, and the investigation case is also a temporary errand. , you don’t need to worry about anything else. You can take a rest after the meeting, and I will mention your contributions in the memorial."
The people in Peach Blossom Villa have become major imperial criminals, so they just ignore it? Zhang Ning feels that his fate will be completely handed over to others. Apart from praying for destiny, he can only wait for trial?
"I just feel that the biggest contribution to this case is to catch Zheng Qia and Peng Tianheng. It was not easy for us to find out the clues, but now we are giving the credit to others and letting others pick up the pieces. Alas..." Zhang Ning said He looked very unwilling.
After hearing the words, Wang Qinian taught him sincerely: "Ping'an is a young man. Don't be impatient. Be more considerate of the considerations of the ministers..."
"Donghai." Hu Ying suddenly stopped Wang Qinian's pretending to be qualified, looked at Zhang Ning and said, "Is this what Ping An meant?"
Zhang Ning kept himself calm and asked softly: "Hu Butang ordered an official to assist in handling the case. I wonder who recommended it?"
Hu Ying did not answer the question and only said: "We will talk back to the etiquette department after the meeting."
The officials who came to discuss the matter came from several yamen, but most of them did not want to wade into the muddy waters. Whatever you Hu Butang said was whatever it was, and no one raised any objections. Hu Ying was also evasive, playing it safe, and summed up the case as a Yangzhou case. Helping the rebellious party to plot evil and so on. As for what this rebellious party does and why it is so determined, Hu Ying did not mention a word, and there was no corresponding argument. He did not mention Jianwen once, and the case turned into a fog. , except for those who participated in the secret trial, the truth will only appear in the secret report written by Hu Ying. In short, this meeting has no practical significance, it is just a formality, because people from the Yamen who nominally participated came and assisted in the investigation. files.
In the afternoon, Hu Ying took her people back to the Ministry of Etiquette and personally asked Zhang Ning to follow him to the study for a talk. He still did not directly say who recommended Zhang Ning, but looked at him and said: "Official assessment and promotion all require opportunities. Yes, if you are a Jinshi, you will have more opportunities. It will be easier to achieve visible political achievements in the Hanlin Academy, the Sixth Subject, and the Supervisory Censor... Ping An is a candidate?"
Aren't you talking nonsense? How I regained my reputation as a jurist and how I filled up my official position are all things you have done before. Zhang Ning showed his utilitarianism and said: "Go back to Hu Butang. The lower official is the person to be promoted. Therefore, this imperial case is a rare opportunity for the name to appear in front of the emperor."
Hu Ying smiled and said: "Donghai (Wang Qinian) is also a judge."
Zhang Ning said: "Master Wang is a wailang from the fifth rank. I used to think that he was a Jinshi."
"It is true that he is from the fifth rank. There is a line of small words on the official list: Tianzhu." Hu Ying said frankly, "Although he is a Tianzhu official, if there is a chance to transfer in the future, he has no fault, and generally he will not be from Congzhu. The fifth grade was moved to the sixth grade."
He paused and continued: "Ping'an has participated in secret trials these days, and I should also know something about my other errand. Of course, this matter is not a secret. Apart from the emperor, many people have heard about it. Jianwen has been in chaos for twenty years. They have been worrying the emperor for a long time, and now they are becoming more and more rampant, and they are actually plotting to assassinate the emperor! These people are either in exile, hiding in the market, or among the monks. There are some places where it is inconvenient for the Jinyi Guards to visit, such as major temples and Taoist temples. Some illegal sects are prohibited by the imperial court, so I have to continue my work."
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