Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 432 The Secret of Prince Zheng’s Mansion
Beijing,

North City,

The palace of the King of Chu,

Zhang Jinyu took people around and decided that there was something fishy here, so he ordered the people from the Imperial City Department to dig on the spot.

Although the people around him were puzzled, Ji Yunhui didn't care about that. He only listened to the order of the Marquis and said,

"Lu Baihu, let the brothers come over with the tools and dig underground to see what's there!"

"Yes, Master Qianhu."

Lu Baihu turned around and ran out to call someone.

Then many strong men, armed with shovels, hammers, hoes and other tools, began to knock on the spot, digging towards the position pointed by Luo Yunhou.

Zhang Jinyu and Chun He led the people back a few steps, their eyes never leaving the place. They watched the people hit the stone slab with force, and it looked like the real thing. However, after hitting it for more than ten times, they could clearly hear the sound. Echoes came from the underground, there were different sounds,

Lu Baihu, who was listening attentively at the front, immediately noticed something unusual.

"Master Marquis, Manager Chun, there is something strange underground. There may be a hole like a secret room."

Zhang Jinyu was shocked and thought to herself, it really is there, hidden so deeply. After taking a look at Chun He's expressionless face next to her, she found that this woman was quite calm.

"Keep digging and see if there are humans or ghosts inside."

"Yes, Lord Marquis, brothers, dig quickly."

Lu Baihu greeted the people, threw off his arms and started digging. Chunhe also felt that the Marquis looked at him and smiled,
"Master Hou, you can see the good means. So, Master Hou, guess what's underneath?"

Zhang Jinyu laughed at himself, wondering what was underneath, and shook his head.

"I don't have the ability to guess what's down there, but Miss Chunhe, seeing how calm you are, I'm afraid you must have thought of what's down there, right?"

"Then Marquis, I may have guessed wrong. I really don't know what is down there, but the mansion belongs to Prince Zheng. Since Prince Zheng left, the palace has been taken over by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and locked. I am also here I went to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to check before I came here. The palaces of the three princes have always been uninhabited. They shouldn't have been built by others. It's okay to be afraid."

"Oh. In that case, then Shang Gong, just wait here. Since there is nothing important, I will go to Prince Wei's Mansion to have a look, and then go back if nothing happens."

Zhang Jinyu saw that Chunhe was so convinced that nothing was wrong, so why was she waiting here? She should hurry up and go back to rest after reading.

finished speaking,
Turn around and leave,
Chunhe had never seen Mr. Hou be such a rogue. He felt anxious and stretched out his hand to grab Zhang Jinyu's sleeve and pull him back with force. Unexpectedly, he was so strong that Zhang Jinyu didn't notice. He was pulled over and hugged him. Chunhe stopped, and immediately let go of his hand. Chunhe was ashamed and angry.

"I don't have any appetite at all. Why are you in a hurry? Is it possible that I am so upset when I call you here today? Are you reluctant to let go of your lovely wife and concubine at home?"

"Sister Chunhe is angry,"

Zhang Jinyu leaned over and asked in a low voice.

"Shameless. That's what I said. I'm going to provide you with clues. It would be better for you to just show off your face and leave. If your Majesty asks, I will tell you the truth."

Chun He's face turned slightly red, and then he threatened in a low voice with a straight face.

Zhang Jinyu looked at the little girl Chunhe and stopped teasing her.

"Look at you, you are still impatient. Since you said it was the residence of previous kings, do you still remember when I asked you when King Zheng moved?"

"Didn't I just say that, what does it matter? At that time, many princes left at the same time."

Chunhe was a little impatient and didn't understand what he meant.
Zhang Jinyu snorted and said,
"Uh-huh, that's right. The former prince died not long ago. You said that all the princes stayed in the palace so honestly and didn't have any idea? I don't believe it."

"how is this possible."

Chunhe's eyes widened, knowing what the Marquis was talking about, the secret of the former prince's rebellion, but so much time had passed.
"Report, Lord Marquis, look quickly, we found a secret door."

While talking,
Lu Baihu in front shouted hurriedly, pointing to the dug out place. There was a secret door, which was made of iron. The people around him were shocked when they saw that there was something there. Then the people from the Imperial City Division gathered strength. To enlarge the hole, Lu Baihu personally brought a pickaxe and inserted it into the joint. Several people opened the gap with force.
With one pull, the iron door opened.

The dark cave entrance looked quite deep. Without waiting for Zhang Jinyu's instructions, Lu Baihu asked someone to bring a torch, lit it, and shined down.

Under the light of the fire, he saw that the inside of the cave was a slope going down, and there was a larger space inside. After Lu Baihu looked at it, he turned back and reported,
"Master Marquis, there should be a secret room below with a slope and stairs,"

"Sure enough, it should be quite big."

Zhang Jinyu became interested, walked to the edge of the cave entrance, and looked inside. There was a pit about three meters deep, and there were steps going down. The bluestones on the pavement were still bright in color, and they looked quite new. Further inside, it's pitch black and you can't see clearly.

Behind him, Chun He was greatly surprised and said in disbelief;

"Master Marquis, there really is a secret room here. What's in it?"

"How do I know? I'll find out if I go in and take a look." Zhang Jinyu replied angrily. If he knew everything, he could still dig hard now. Ji Qianhu took the torch and said firmly,

"Master Marquis, you wait here, I humbly go down and have a look,"

Without waiting for others to say anything, he jumped directly into the cave and walked down the steps. The people around him were stunned. When Zhang Jinyu saw the people above, they were still dumbfounded and cursed;
“I’m already blind, why don’t I follow you.”

The people from the Imperial City Division wearing armor jumped down one by one with torches, following behind Ji Qianhu.

Ji Yunhui stretched out his torch and walked in the tunnel. It didn't take long. He reached the secret room in a dozen steps and lit the torch hanging on the wall. When the room was lit up, he saw boxes of various sizes surrounding him. He walked up In front of the box, use a long knife to insert into the gap in the box and pry it open directly.

Inside the big box were pieces of armor and matching long knives, crossbows and crossbow arrows, covering half of the room. There were as many as a thousand pieces of armor. There were not many small boxes, but there was a lot of white money inside. From the marks on the ground, it seemed that a lot of money had been transported away, and what was left in bits and pieces was 10 taels of silver. Ji Yunhui still didn't understand why King Zheng secretly hid the armor, which was a serious crime.

"You guys are watching here, keep your mouth shut, and don't spread rumors."

"Yes, Master Qianhu."

The guard behind him responded hurriedly.

Ji Yunhui turned back into the corridor and went up to the ground. When he saw Lord Marquis and Manager Chun still waiting, he climbed up and returned;
"Master Marquis, Manager Chun, there is a secret room down there. It's not small, and there are many things in it."

Before Zhang Jinyu could ask any questions, Chunhe asked first,

"What's in there?"

Ji Yunhui hesitated for a moment and did not speak. Instead, he looked at the Marquis, as if he wanted to inquire. When Zhang Jinyu saw this, he knew that there might be a big guy inside. Ji Qianhu had a look, but he couldn't hide the matter. He nodded and said;
"Nothing, tell me what's inside,"

"Yes, Lord Marquis, there are boxes of various sizes in the secret room below. The big boxes contain heavy armor and weapons, including a lot of crossbows and crossbow arrows. The small boxes contain silver, about 10 taels. .”

Ji Yunhui got the consent of the prince and told what he saw inside. However, Chunhe glanced at Zhang Jinyu unintentionally and felt a little at a loss. Hiding armor secretly in the capital was a serious crime. It was the prince and the noble prince's relatives. The number of soldiers is also limited.

"Bring it up and take a look,"

"Yes, my lord,"

Ji Yunhui shouted towards the cave entrance,

"Bring over one big and small box each."

"Yes, Master Qianhu."

The people below agreed, and then worked for a long time before carrying it to the entrance of the cave. Then the people above tied it with ropes and pulled it out, which took a lot of effort.

Zhang Jinyu pulled out a long knife, inserted it into the gap at the mouth of the box, picked it hard, and opened the box. Indeed, as Ji Yunhui said, the big box contained heavy armor and weapons, and the small box contained 1 taels of silver. It seemed that King Zheng had prepared it in the palace. Good thing, it means that when the former prince rebelled, there should be many princes who had other ideas and wanted to pick up the pieces.

Seeing Zhang Jinyu's understatement, female Shi Chunhe hurriedly asked,

"Master Marquis, what are your plans? Prince Zheng actually hid heavy armor and weapons secretly. I will report back to the empress and the emperor immediately, and I will definitely make Prince Zheng."

This time, Zhang Jinyu reached out to hold Chun He, and accidentally touched Chun He's jade hand. It was a little soft, but she didn't let go, and asked,
"Where are you going to sue King Zheng? Who told you that these are the things that King Zheng kept secretly?"

Chun He was grabbed, and his figure was a little unstable. He hurriedly took a few steps back. After he stabilized his body, he turned back and glared at Zhang Jinyu with dissatisfaction.

Then he pointed at the box on the ground angrily and asked,
"What I have in front of me and so many boxes can't prove that this is Prince Zheng's former residence. Who else could it be if it wasn't him?"

Zhang Jinyu smacked her mouth.

"Look at you, you are still angry. What you said is right. As the saying goes, catch the thief and catch the thief. Digging out these things now can only prove the current situation. Who knew before that King Zheng didn't say anything before he came, but he came. If you say you don't know, but if you say we are framing him, how will you deal with it?"

This question really stunned Chunhe Wen. He still wanted to speak, but there was no way to defend himself.
"Then what can the Lord do? What should I do with these things?"

Zhang Jinyu then put down her hand, and squeezed it secretly before letting go. Chunhe felt something strange on her hand and silently took back her jade hand.

"Easy to handle, Ji Qianhu, take those heavy armors back to the imperial city's Yamen and hand them over to the princes on duty. Tell them about the matter. I think the internal minister knows it well. As for the money, the three princes' The Imperial Guards, the imperial guards, and the palace maids and eunuchs each receive an extra month's monthly salary. This is a small token of my gratitude, allowing them to serve the master. The rest, Chunhe, the four of you Each of the female historians has a banknote worth ten thousand taels, which she will keep for herself and spend slowly."

Chun He turned his head to look at Zhang Jinyu, with a leisurely smile on his face, and his bright eyes were also dazzling, and said with a smile,

"People say that when you are with Marquis Luo Yun, you can always eat meat and drink soup, and you can even take good care of your servants. Sure enough, the rumors are true, and you have thought quite well. The four of us are one bowl. The water is level and the points are divided well."

"Look at you, I didn't divide it well. Didn't the empress once say that there are four female historians in Kunning Palace? It doesn't matter if you give two. Isn't it just a favor for each other? I also listen to the empress."

Zhang Jinyu explained there, looked at the people around him and cursed;

"What are you looking at? You haven't disposed of things according to my instructions."

"Yes, Lord Hou!"

(End of this chapter)