Daming Yinghua

Chapter 49

The prisoner was indeed a nun wearing a square hat and sea green. She was slender, with fair skin and wrinkle-free skin. She was at most 27 or [-] years old.

"You bastard!"

I don't know which woman yelled for the first time, and soon won the support of the same-sex partners one after another.

The vicious curses of the women were like waves rising, and beneath the waves were the men discussing the case with gusto.

"It is said that he seduced a wealthy Huizhou businessman and stabbed him to death after getting drunk."

"Ah? Usually silent, delicate and weak, so ruthless."

"Hmph, that's your ignorance. I've seen it for a long time. This nun is not simple. Think about it, a woman who can write, write poems and draw pictures is from Suzhou. Maybe she used to be a girl. Made it."

"Brother, what is a maid?"

"It's whores. Those scholars dote on them and make up a nickname for them. In fact, they are not all for sale."

"Oh, hehehe..."

All the men laughed in a low voice, very happy to have achieved an intracranial orgasm so easily.

Zheng Haizhu turned around, brushed the edge of the crowd and retreated quickly, and found Zhang Dai who was waiting in the corridor.

"Mr. Zhang, the yamen guards have brought people here. Look at that female master, but is it Miss He you want to visit?"

Zhang Dai frowned and focused his eyes on the center of the whirlpool of the crowd.

"It's Sister He! How could she kill someone..." Zhang Dai muttered, and was about to push forward.

Zheng Haizhu grabbed him and said, "There are a lot of filthy youngsters at the moment, this is not a place to talk properly. Don't worry, my lord. I know one of the yamen servants. Let's go directly to the county yamen right now."

Zhang Dai bit his lip and answered "Okay", then turned his head and glanced at Sister He's surroundings. Seeing that the crowds of all kinds hadn't spit or even thrown stones, he called his servants and followed Zheng Haizhu into the alley.

……

After Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, Songjiang Mansion was divided into three counties: Huating, Shanghai and Qingpu.

The northeast of the prefectural city where Zheng Haizhu and Zhang Dai came to belongs to Shanghai County, and it is far less prosperous than Qingpu in the west and Huating in the southwest.

The county seat is not big at all, but the downtown areas where officials, scholars, and businessmen live together are even smaller. If you urinate on the street, the urine can flow to the end of the street.

Zheng Haizhu led Zhang Dai's master and servant, turned three times and two times, walked out of the alley, and the county government stood in front of him.

Under the big tree outside the yamen, Zheng Haizhu stood still and asked, "Mr. Zhang, may I ask you, do you have a baby name? That sister He will know it immediately."

Zhang Dai said: "We Shanyin people, the baby names of boys in our family are all called monks, which means to ward off evil spirits and avoid evil spirits. Because I am the mother's first child, Sister He has always called me the great monk."

"Okay, got it. You're still waiting here."

"Miss Zheng, do you want some money?"

Zheng Haizhu stopped and said in his heart, the reminder is right, this rich and noble son is also understanding.

"Please Mr. Zhang give me two or three silver coins, the more broken the better."

The servant following Zhang Dai was nimble, and in a blink of an eye he had already taken out a handful of silver coins that looked like small balls of paper and handed them to Zheng Haizhu.

Zheng Haizhu came to the root of the gable of the county government office, and saw the government servants coming.

"Get out, get out of here, I've followed you for two streets like a fly, look at your mother's eggs!"

The yamen servant who was cursing and driving the last few onlookers, surnamed Liu, when he returned to the gate of the office in the shadow of the setting sun, bumped into Zheng Haizhu who was rubbing against the steps.

"Hey, Miss Zheng..." Catcher Liu hurriedly put away his fierce face, bared his buck teeth, forced a smile, and greeted Zheng Haizhu.

Liu Butou is an old government servant in Songjiang Mansion. From late summer to late autumn this year, he has already recognized Zheng Haizhu's face by heart.

This woman is not only the long-term servant girl of Mr. Han's family, but also a bounty given by the magistrate to suppress bandits, and she often communicates with Mr. Huang's family members.

It's like Xian'e, who is also ranked beside the gods and can speak well.

How could a kid like myself, a handyman doing errands on the mountainside, treat her like an ordinary person.

Words must be polite.

After finishing the ceremony, Catcher Liu met Zheng Haizhu's suspicious eyes and sighed actively: "Girl, old Liu, I am so miserable. I haven't returned to Songjiang Prefecture for more than half a month. Shanghai County is also evil. Originally, three or four I am a yamen servant, walking around, sick, and there is only this little kid with a mouth that has not yet grown up. The county magistrate went to borrow someone from Futai, and Master Huang sent me here."

Zheng Haizhu comforted softly: "It's good that there is no shortage of monthly salary. Those who are capable work harder, and it is the urgent need of the officials. The Futai and Mr. Huang can see it. I am afraid that Mr. Liu will have to reuse it after returning to the west."

"Hi, Miss Cheng Zheng said auspicious words." Catcher Liu thanked earnestly.

He is an old Jianghu, and after a few words, he could see that Zheng Haizhu didn't seem to be passing by, and his eyes had deep meaning, so he turned his head and said to the little yamen servant behind him, "You press people in first, and lock them in the prison", and then Raising his hand in a false pretence, he let Zheng Haizhu to a corner of the portico's pillar.

"Why did Miss Zheng come to the county today?"

Zheng Haizhu didn't say a word, moved his left hand leaning against the wall, and stuffed pieces of money into the palm of Liu Butou.

Liu Butou jumped up: "What is this, the girl has something to tell Lao Liu."

Zheng Haizhu pursed her lips: "Master Liu put it away first, and bought a winter jacket for my niece. If you don't accept it, I won't say what I'm asking for, and I'll pull you to stand here."

Liu Butou thought, this woman is very smart, don't make her unhappy, thinking that my old Liu Nian is afraid of serious things, and only asks about the situation before he is willing to take money to do things, so the respondent "Well, well", retweeted and refused to accept it as a smile , with a flick of the wrist, the broken silver slipped into the arm, coughed and said: "Miss, come talk to Lao Liu."

……

In the south of the Yangtze River in the late Ming Dynasty, the landlords and merchants of the gentry class were extremely rich, but the public finances were similar to those in the north, stretched to the limit.

The prison cells of the county government in Shanghai County are as simple as a barn
Fortunately, it was not the imperial prison of the capital, and the smell of blood and blood was not heavy, only the lingering smell of feces and filth.

"Miss Zheng, come out as soon as you ask a few questions. The county magistrate is not here, and the master is watching her for an autopsy in the mortuary. He should be here in a while, and I will watch the door for you."

After Liu Butou gave his instructions softly, he hurriedly left the row of dirty houses.

Zheng Haizhu turned around and stuffed another piece of silver in his hand to the jailer recommended by Liu Butou: "Buy me some wine."

The cell boss took it as a matter of course.

These days, the public family owes even their monthly salary. From the petty officials, doormen, and jailers like them, they are used to asking for benefits from the common people at any time on weekdays.

But today, this decent woman is very generous, the cell boss's cold expression suddenly eased, and he decided to take special care of her.

He took the initiative to take Zheng Haizhu through his duty room, bypassing the outermost row of cells where the ruffian male prisoners were held, and he did a better job of avoiding people's eyes and ears.

Turning into a deep and dark passage, the prison head pointed forward: "The one where the cat is tied, that's it."

"Cat?" Zheng Hai looked curious.

The head of the prison explained: "All the prisoners in the murder case wore heavy handcuffs, and their hands and feet were inconvenient. In the past, some of them were bitten badly by rats. Their skin and flesh were rotten, and their bones were exposed. It was miserable. Last month, the master of Futai came to inspect the county government office. When we saw each other, I ordered the county magistrate to raise cats in the cells of the death row prisoners."

(End of this chapter)