Start with detective Li Yuanfang

Chapter 534 Put on Scarlet Robe Just Based on Lin Chong's Words
"My brother... My brother... How could it be so... How could it be so! Ahhhh!"

In Funing Palace, there was a burst of high-pitched crying.

Empress Dowager Xiang, who was in her fifties, collapsed on the couch, howling loudly.

She was originally sitting on the couch, elegant and luxurious, not to be stared at, but now she was shocked by the bad news, and she was so sad that the phoenix crown was tilted, the wrinkles were deep, the white hair on her head could not be covered, she was old, and her appearance was lost.

The maids and servants around were anxious: "Saint! The saint must take care of the phoenix body!"

They are all old people in the Queen Mother's former palace, they have followed since the time of the Queen, they are still called saints, and they are loyal to her. Seeing the master's extreme sadness at this time, they also burst into tears.

In the end, the queen mother managed to regain some composure, and said in a moaning tone: "Where is Brother Eleven...call him here...to arrest the murderer...to arrest the murderer!!"

The servant hurriedly stepped back and went to call the official's house.

The "Eleventh Brother" that the Empress Dowager spoke of was none other than Zhao Ji.

Members of the royal family in the Song Dynasty called the princes "brothers". For example, Zhao Gou was Zhao Ji's ninth son, and Zhao Ji called Zhao Gou "Nine Brothers". It is called "Eleventh Brother", and the prince brothers are also called "Brother", regardless of their age, they are distinguished according to their rank.

But under normal circumstances, after the prince ascends the throne, he should be called "official family", but I don't know if it is to express intimacy or to emphasize something, but the queen mother always calls Zhao Ji "Eleventh Brother".

And the servant had just gone out, and before he even arrived for a quarter of an hour, there was an announcement: "The official's house is here!"

As soon as the words fell, a young man with a handsome face, a gentle and reserved temperament, walked quickly into the hall, and then fell on the ground: "Greetings to the empress!"

The Empress Dowager Xiang looked at the young official who supported him to the throne with one hand, and said in a sad voice, "Brother Eleven...old man...old man...ahhhhhh!"

As she spoke, she was sobbing so hard that she couldn't even speak.

Zhao Ji kowtowed again and again, and when he raised his head, his forehead was already red, his eyes were even redder, and tears poured out, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

Seeing this one crying with him without saying anything of condolences, the Empress Dowager Xiang felt better.

It was her own brother who died, not someone else. The more she said comforting empty words at this time, the angrier she would feel.

At this time, he took a few deep breaths, looked at the official family who was sad with him, and said slowly to the queen mother: "What's going on? Who dares to be so bold as to harm the first-rank county king?"

Zhao Ji sobbed, and lowered his head again: "Your Majesty, please take care of your phoenix body... I am incompetent... I just heard about it... I don't know what happened..."

Seeing that Zhao Ji is so obedient and there is no eyes and ears in the palace, the Empress Dowager Xiang's expression became more and more relaxed, and said coldly: "Call Zengbu into the palace!"

The one who should be recruited most is the prime minister Zhang Dun, but for that old and tough guy, the Queen Mother has always been a little bit jealous, and she doesn't want to see that cold old face at this time, and Han Zhongyan, who is under Zhang Dun, Her character is too soft and cowardly, what she wants from the Queen Mother is to catch the murderer quickly, in her opinion, only Zeng Bu is the most suitable.

Zeng Bu was born in the Zeng family of Nanfeng. Over the past [-] years, there have been [-] Jinshi scholars. The most famous is his elder brother, Zeng Gong, one of the eight great masters in Tang and Song Dynasties. But Zeng Bu is actually even more extraordinary in politics.

In the early years, like Zhang Dun, he was a young official promoted by Wang Anshi for the reform. Unfortunately, the differences within the new party became more and more serious later. The conflict between him and Zhang Dun had almost broken out during Zhezong's reign. It was Zeng Bu who Zhang Dun said that "a frivolous king cannot rule the world".

So now the ruling and opposition parties are very clear that Zeng Bu is not only a confidant of the Queen Mother and the officials, but as long as Zhang Dun is dismissed, he must be the new minister and will hold great power.

The reserve governor walked into the hall, but he was a thin old man, his appearance was only upright, but he had a shrewd and capable appearance, giving people an aura that he could rest assured when he entrusted things to him.

At this time, the queen mother tidied up her manners and sat on the couch again. Zhao Ji stood beside her, seeming to be immersed in grief.

After saluting, Zeng Bu took the initiative to say: "Please rest assured, Queen Mother, I will arrest the perpetrator quickly and bring him to justice!"

If it were something else, Zeng Bu made this promise, and the Queen Mother would feel at ease, but it was about her own brother who died so badly. Seeing that Zeng Bu was very calm again, it was not like Zhao Ji's nose was red from crying at all. Anger rose from his heart, and he said sharply with red eyes: "Tell me, how are you going to catch the murderer?"

Zeng Bu hesitated. This incident happened too suddenly. The first thing he considered along the way was whether Zhang Dun would use it to make a fuss. What kind of confrontation is the case itself in the end.

The point is, if he didn't think about the first two points, he didn't think about the last.

It's just that this man is also ups and downs in the officialdom, with extremely rich experience, he immediately led the topic and said: "The Queen Mother, now the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and Kaifeng government office have all arrived at the county prince's mansion, and there is even Gongsun Zhao, the judge of the Kaifeng government office. God, if you catch the murderer every time, you will be able to bring the criminal to justice and make an example to others!"

The words heard in the ears of the Empress Dowager, that is, all members of the Criminal Department, Dali Temple and Kaifeng Government Office were mobilized, and the most prominent one was Gongsun Zhao. She thought about it carefully, but she had no impression of this person, so she couldn't help asking: "Can this Kaifeng judge really solve the case quickly and arrest the murderer?"

Just as Zeng Bu was about to continue to promise, Zhao Ji's sad voice suddenly came from in front of him: "Why don't you call Judge Gongsun to come and see you? Let your mother rest assured!"

Immediately nodded to the Empress Dowager: "Yes, yes, to call that judge into the palace, I have to ask carefully, who is the thief who is so bold... and so cruel, he killed my innocent brother!"

Zeng Bu didn't want the Queen Mother and the officials to go over him and directly inquire about the case, but he couldn't stop him, so he could only stand aside and wait silently.

Waiting and waiting, and then heard the sound of crying, but saw that it was not the Queen Mother, but Zhao Ji.

Big drops of tears rolled down from the eyes of the young official, and he wiped his tears while crying: "Seeing the sadness of the empress, I can't bear it anymore..."

The Empress Dowager Xiang's sadness had subsided a lot, but when she saw Zhao Ji crying like this, she suddenly felt sad again: "My brother...my brother...cough cough cough!"

Crying and crying, she coughed violently again, Zhao Ji hurried forward: "Your Majesty, please take care of your phoenix body!"

The mother and son almost cried in each other's arms. When Gongsun Zhao was brought into the hall, what he saw was the touching scene of mother's kindness and filial piety, and his heart was moved.

The point is that the mother is not kind. The Queen Mother Xiang is not the biological mother in the first place, and now she is even more unwilling to keep her promise and repay the government. Now that her brother is dead, the official family can still be so sad, it is really pure filial piety!
Gongsun Zhao looked at the expectant Holy Master and respectfully bowed down, wishing to put the official family in front, but he still had to say: "Mr. Gong Sun Zhao pays homage to the Queen Mother! Greetings to the official family!"

Restraining the crying to the Queen Mother, he raised his hand: "Excuse me! Lift your head up and let the old man see!"

Gongsun Zhao raised his head, and found that the judge was in his thirties and still young, but his face was frowning and cold, and there was a faint feeling of grief, and he was immediately satisfied.

When encountering this kind of thing, no one would dare to be beaming, but what the Queen Mother hates most now is the kind who is very calm and has nothing to do with herself. When she is sad, others will naturally be sad too. This judge can have such emotions , it is very good.

Gaining his composure, he wiped his cheeks towards the Queen Mother, calmed down his sadness again, and said calmly: "The old man has lost his loved one in pain, and his gaffe has made Judge Gongsun laugh at him!"

Gongsun Zhao thought he deserved it. In the past, he would have been silent, but now he said: "As the judge of Kaifeng Mansion, I should find out the truth, arrest the murderer, and severely punish the villain!"

To the Empress Dowager, these words were a guarantee of empathy, she nodded slightly, and then asked in a trembling voice: "My younger brother...was it painful when he was killed by a thief?"

In Gongsun Zhao's mind, Xiang Zonghui and the rockery merged into one, and the ferocious expression of death, and he was about to swallow the death, and replied: "The murderer is cruel, and he has no conscience!"

Empress Dowager Xiang was emotionally touched, with a clear look of hatred in her eyes, she gritted her teeth and said, "Then Judge Gongsun has tracked down anything, and when will he be able to catch the murderer?"

Gongsun Zhaodao: "Before I entered the palace, I had already investigated the scene together with the Ministry of Criminal Justice and Dali Temple. All parties have opinions. The government of Kaifeng should do everything possible together with the Ministry of Criminal Justice and Dali Temple to bring the murderer to justice and avenge the dead!"

When the Empress Dowager Xiang heard this, she immediately thought of the factional struggles in the court and the constraints on each other, so she hurriedly said: "What Judge Gongsun said is absolutely true, you must work together to bring the murderer to justice as soon as possible!"

……

Seeing the question and answer, Zeng Bu beside him couldn't help being surprised.

He was still a little worried before that this always stabbing Gongsun Zhao would lose his words and deeds, contradict the queen mother and be punished.

It's not that he valued Gongsun Zhao. Zeng Bu knew all the officials in Bianjing, big and small. He classified this so-called cold-faced judge as a competent official. Calling an official can only be regarded as a small official who handles affairs.

In normal times, without Gongsun Zhao, it would be no problem at all. The Song Dynasty is full of talents, and everyone can still function without everyone. But now facing such an important case, and the ministries are shirking the blame, it is very important to dare to rush to the front line. Zeng Bu must Protect Ichigo.

He didn't expect the other party to be enlightened, and he answered the queen mother fluently, saving his energy.

At the same time, Zhao Ji looked at Gongsun Zhao carefully, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, but it was only fleeting.

At this time, no one paid attention to this official with a low sense of existence, and they were all carefully looking at the Queen Mother.

Empress Dowager Xiang's mood has completely stabilized, and she looked at Gongsun Zhao with admiration: "Judge Gongsun is really a capable minister!"

Looking at his green robe again, he felt dazzling, so he simply took advantage of it to buy people's hearts: "With the merits of Judge Gongsun, it's time for him to be obsessed. What does Zeng Jixian think?"

Zeng Bu wanted a reward, so he should wait until the case is solved, but since the Queen Mother said it, he could only say: "What the Queen Mother said is true, Judge Gongsun should obey Fei, why don't you thank me?"

Gongsun Zhao was in a trance for a while.

During his eight years in the Kaifeng government office, how many cases he investigated and how many murderers he caught, the Empress Dowager Xiang probably didn't know anything about him.

At this time, he put on the scarlet robe based on the words taught by Lin Chong. Although he knew that eight years of hard work was the foundation, he still felt a strong sense of absurdity in his heart.

Happy?Sad?
In the end, there is only prostration:
"Minister Sun Zhao...thank you..."

　Thanks to the book friends "dkjlmy", "Rogeotarifus", "Cold Pudding", "Pie Suspect", "Flower and Light Entangling" and "Rorschachszr" for their rewards.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)