Judge of the Lamp

Chapter 55: Yinggeyuan, Here I Come

Back at the yamen, Wu Xu ordered Qu Jinshan to prepare the documents. What happened tonight will definitely have a lot of people asking about it tomorrow. Qu Jinshan is not only good at writing, but also knows how to measure, knowing what can be said and what can't be said.

Xu Zhiqiong followed Wu Xu to Mingdengxuan, Wu Xu took out a jar of lamb from Jiangzhai Yuanzi Zhengdian, Xu Zhiqiong hurriedly prepared the wine maker.

A jar of lamb is not a jar of mutton, but a jar of fine wine called a lamb.

Lamb wine is one of the most famous wines in Daxuan. When brewing lamb, fresh lamb must be added. This wine has the unique aroma of lamb, and of course, it also has that unique smell of mutton.

It's right to have a smell.

Mutton is not stinky, women are not delicate, it is all tasteless. (This is a fabrication, the original text is not Jiao)

After the wine was ready, the two drank a few glasses to each other, Wu Xu said: "Seeing that you refused to drink during the banquet, I thought you were not drinking well."

Xu Zhiqiong wiped his mouth and said, "I still have a capacity for alcohol, but I'm afraid I'll go to the toilet after drinking. If I go to the toilet today, I'll be the one who dies."

Wu Xu smiled when he heard the words: "Are you afraid?"

Xu Zhiqiong answered truthfully: "I'm a little scared, but there are thousands of households around, so I won't bow to those people."

Wu Xu drank a glass of wine and added another glass to Xu Zhiqiong: "Remember what I said, even if one day I'm gone, you can't bow your head. I won't allow you to bow your head. The neck of the Lantern Lantern is straight. The waist is straight, and the knees are straight, remember?"

"Remember it!" Xu Zhiqiong replied loudly.

The two drank a few more glasses, Qu Jinshan finished writing the document, Wu Xu read it again, and handed it to Xu Zhiqiong.

"Look carefully, everything that should be said is on it, and don't say a word that should not be said."

Xu Zhiqiong read it carefully twice, nodded and said, "Remember it."

In Qu Jinshan's documents, it is recorded that the servant Fan Baocai harmed Qu Jinshan, and these words can be said to everyone.

The document also records that Fan Baocai fell into a Gu technique and went berserk. These words can only be said to Zhong Shen.

Regarding Zhou Kairong's admission of framing Wu Xu and his recorded confession, he didn't mention a word. These words belong to the category that cannot be said.

Xu Zhiqiong still couldn't understand Wu Xu's operation, and asked cautiously: "Instead of keeping these things a secret, it's better to let Zhou Kairong do it."

"It's done? What to do with him?" Wu Xu took a sip of wine and said to Xu Zhiqiong, "If I arrest Zhou Kairong today, the officials will definitely come to demand him tomorrow. I said that Zhou Kairong planned to kill Lantern Lantern. What is the evidence? There is no evidence of Fan Baocai's death, and officials from the Ministry of Officials will not stand up to testify."

Xu Zhiqiong sniffled and said, "But we have Zhou Kairong's confession."

Wu Xu said with a smile: "The confession is indeed useful, it depends on how it is used, holding Zhou Kairong in his hand can make Zhou Kairong restless, if he really wants to take it out, I am afraid that he will be beaten to death, and the officials will say, This is Zhou Kairong's confession under coercion, at that time the Yamen in charge of lamps was using Gu people to coerce Zhou Kairong."

Xu Zhiqiong blinked and said, "Why are we using Gu people? What does the Gu people have to do with us?"

Wu Xu asked back: "Why did the Gu attack Zhou Kairong?"

Xu Zhiqiong was stunned for a while and said: "That Gu man bites everyone, and we, Qu Dengshou, were almost hurt by him."

Wu Xu said: "But Zhou Kairong is the loser after all. He was injured and was forced to write a confession. If he bites back and says that we used voodoo, can you really justify it?"

"Yes, yes, but we killed that Gu man!" Xu Zhiqiong really stuttered.

Wu Xu nodded and said, "That's right, does this count as murder?"

"This, this, this doesn't make sense..." Xu Zhiqiong choked, he really didn't expect Wu Xu to think so much about this matter.

Qu Jinshan smiled and said: "Zhiqiong, what Qianhu said is the truth in the officialdom, even if you get witnesses and physical evidence, with the three-inch tongue of the officials, you can still mess things up. The whole world is turned upside down, and it is not a problem to be entangled in this kind of thing for three to five years."

Wu Xu shook his head and sighed: "I'm not in the mood to entangle with them, don't say three to five years, not even three to five days, you two must remember, no matter who asks about this, it shouldn't be said, one Don't even mention the words."

Wu Xu deliberately let Zhou Kairong go, in order to avoid fighting with the officials.

He has to concentrate on one thing now, and Xu Zhiqiong still doesn't know what it is.

"Go back to the small house and rest," Wu Xu gave Xu Zhiqiong some snacks, "Sleep well for a night, there will be a lot of chaos tomorrow."

What else can be messed up, let Zhou Kairong go, won't the matter subside?
That night, Xu Zhiqiong slept in the hut for the first time. His hut was in a good location, in the deepest part of the west courtyard, alone, with no neighbors to the left or right, and it was very clean.

This must be the special care given by Si Kecheng, the chore Qingdeng.

Xu Zhiqiong held his horns, feeling a little anxious.

After being promoted to the ninth rank, he received another forty-six meritorious service, which is fifty-four more than the ninth rank.

If luck is better, it is enough to collect two more crimes. Even if luck is less, it is nothing more than one more charge.

Now that he has just received a copy, Xu Zhiqiong can't wait to go to punish the evil division for gold beans immediately.

But no matter how anxious you are, the principle cannot be changed, and you cannot punish the wicked in the yamen. This time is too long, and it is easy to arouse suspicion.

Xu Zhiqiong fell asleep due to the strength of the wine, and the next morning, Zhong Shen came to the door, Wu Xu greeted him in the main hall of the yamen, Xu Zhiqiong and Qu Jinshan also went there.

Zhong Shendao: "Prince Huai came to me early in the morning to apologize, saying that you and Zhou Kairong had another conflict. I heard that I didn't understand it, so it's hard to ask in detail. Bofeng, what happened last night?"

Liang Yuming went to Zhong Shen to complain early in the morning, and he was more active than Wu Xu.

Hearing this, Wu Xu laughed and said, "It's because the son is overthinking, and it wasn't really a big deal."

Wu Xu recounted what happened last night, and Xu Zhiqiong understood why he could say more to Zhong Shen, because Zhong Shen was his own.

Zhong Shen became more and more annoyed when he heard it, and said a few times, "This Zhou Kairong, I said he didn't want face, but this time he didn't even want his life. I'll go to the Minister of the Ministry of Officials to ask for an explanation. If he doesn't give If I make it clear, I will go into the palace to ask for an imperial decree, and directly copy Zhou Kairong's house!"

Wu Xu hurriedly added a cup of tea to Zhong Shen: "Commander, calm down, this matter will not cause trouble to His Majesty."

"Why not!" Zhong Shen said angrily, "In front of you, he dared to attack Lantern Lantern, but in his eyes, what does he think of the Imperial City Secretary?"

Xu Zhiqiong also understood Wu Xu's troubles. There are some things that he can't pursue if he doesn't want to.

He didn't want to waste time on Zhou Kairong, but Zhong Shen didn't want to let Zhou Kairong go, because Zhou Kairong offended the majesty of the Imperial City Secretary.

That's why Liang Yuming was the first to go to Zhong Shen.

He wanted to distract Wu Xu's energy, but Xu Zhiqiong couldn't figure out Liang Yuming's specific purpose.

Zhong Can became more and more angry as he got up and wanted to go to the Ministry of Officials. Wu Xu tried hard to persuade him, but Zhong Can said angrily, "Bofeng, you are afraid of the people in the Ministry of Officials, right?"

Wu Xu shook his head and sighed: "I have long since hoped for an official career. I'm afraid what will those people from the Ministry of Officials do? It's just that this matter involves Gu skills, so it's not appropriate to say anything about it right now."

Zhong Shen frowned and said, "What's the matter with the Gu technique? Zhou Kairong raises the Gu, it's an extra crime!"

"Zhou Kairong is a Confucian, how can a Confucian raise Gu?"

"If he doesn't raise it, he can let someone else raise it for him. I will charge him with this crime!"

"Commander, voodoo is a forbidden technique. Now it appears in the capital, but we haven't found any clues. Can the Imperial City Secretary get rid of it?"

These words made Zhong Shen calm down a little.

Commander Zhong took a sip of tea and thought for a while: "If you want to talk about Gu art, you still have to hand it over to the Onmyoji Division. This is not the business of the Imperial City Division."

Wu Xu said: "Who is responsible for it? It depends on His Majesty's orders. So many women have been lost in the capital, and they are said to be the work of evil spirits, but this matter has not fallen to the Department of Yin and Yang, and it must be handed over to the Ministry of Punishment." , the Ministry of Criminal Justice is useless, and it’s a troubled time right now, you don’t want to put Luo Luan on us, do you?”

This is the art of speaking. Before speaking, you must understand the other party's vitals.

The Imperial City Secretary directly obeys the emperor. Zhong Shen is not afraid of any officials, let alone being aware of the general situation, taking into account the overall situation, and narrowing the road... These are useless. If you offend the Imperial City Secretary, you have to pay the price. This is Zhong Shen. The principle of invariance.

But Zhong Shen's weakness is that he is afraid of trouble. He has been under the emperor for many years, and he knows how terrible consequences a small trouble can bring.

"Bofeng's thinking is reasonable," Zhong Shen took another sip of tea, "but sooner or later His Majesty will know about it."

"Later is better than earlier. Later, at least we have a solution. Don't ask me anything." Wu Xu asked Qu Jinshan to bring a cloth bag, which contained the worms found in Fan Baocai's body yesterday.

Zhong Shen looked at it for a while, then frowned and said, "Is this a golden silkworm?"

What is golden silkworm?

Judging by Zhong Shen's expression, it seemed to be something terrifying.

Wu Xu nodded: "So, this matter is no small matter. Before you find out what's going on, you must not get entangled with literati like the officials, so as not to save them from pouting and wagging their tongues in front of His Majesty every day!"

Zhong Shen gritted his teeth and said, "It's just that Zhou Kairong, seeing how rampant he is, I can't hold back my anger!"

Wu Xu said: "He is also a person who is afraid of death. He promised me last night that he will leave the capital within three days and never return."

Zhong Shen nodded and said: "Let's keep him for three more days. If he refuses to leave within three days, I'll find someone to send him away! As for the matter of Gu art, you should ask someone to investigate first, and just find out some clues. Keep it secret, and don't make any noise."

Zhong Shen left, Wu Xu heaved a sigh of relief, and just as the tea was taken away, Wu Zhengjie, the official servant, came again.

The Minister of the Ministry of Officials is a third-rank official, and Wu Xu is only a fifth-rank official.

But today Wu Zhengjie behaved cautiously and courteously as if he was visiting his superiors.

He came to apologize: "Zhou Kairong is not strict in discipline, and the evil servant at home designed to kill Lantern Lantern. The evil servant died with more than culpability, and Zhou Kairong's guilt is unavoidable."

It's an understatement to say that guilt is inevitable.

Wu Xu echoed a few words casually, saying that he can no longer pursue this matter.

The Minister of the Ministry of Officials thanked him again and again, said a lot of polite words, and did not leave until noon.

In the afternoon, Bao Jingzhong, the servant of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, came again. Xu Zhiqiong knew this man, and he made trouble a lot during the martial arts examination.

How did the Criminal Ministry receive the news?
No need to ask, it was Liang Yuming who was messing around again.

Bao Jingzhong was still in the same posture, starting with impartial law enforcement and sharing worries for the king, he was thinking about it, a lot of bureaucratic accents, in fact, he wanted to ask about what happened last night.

His purpose is very clear. Lantern Lang, who was in charge of the Yamen, was almost killed in the house of an official from the Ministry of Officials. Will this troublesome matter fall on the Ministry of Punishment?

Wu Xu said that the evil servant Fan Baocai is dead, and this matter will not be further investigated.

Bao Jingzhong was very satisfied. After he left, Dali Temple came again...

The Lantern Yamen usually does not open during the day, but today the entire day has received constant visitors.

After seeing off the last group of guests, Xu Zhiqiong went back to the small house exhausted, sending these people away was more tiring than watching the night.

It's almost time to watch the night now. After lighting the night vigil lights, I have to find a place to sleep for a while, and then go to the Punishment Division tomorrow to exchange for meritorious service.

Xu Zhiqiong yawned, packed up his saber and lantern, and was about to go out when Qu Jinshan pushed the door open and walked in.

"Zhiqiong, watch the night with Qianhu tonight."

Chito also patrols the night?
Why is he in such a good mood?

I'm sleepy, watch the night with him, is there still a chance to catch fish?
"Go, where are you going to watch the night?"

Qu Jinshan said with a smile: "You are lucky, tonight we will go to Wang'an River, starting from Yinggeyuan."

Yinggeyuan?
The first class is called courtyard, the second class is called hall, the third class is called pavilion, the fourth class is called building, and the last class is called class.

Yinggeyuan!
Xu Zhiqiong was no longer sleepy.

(End of this chapter)