Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 471 Imperial City Division’s Prison
Imperial City Division,
Nancheng imperial edict,

Zhang Jinyu first saw off his father-in-law Qin Ye at the door outside the restaurant, then took his personal guards to guard him. With a look of reluctance, he and Ning Bian rode towards the imperial prison in Beicheng.

When we arrived at the place, we saw that the place was a larger house. From the outside, it looked very ordinary. There were only turrets at each corner of the yard to guard the house. In addition, there was a low mound in the center of the yard. I don't know what it was used for.

The people standing guard at the gate of the Yamen are the guards of the Imperial City Division. They stand in armor and hold swords, making them intimidating.

There are some open spaces on the right side of the Yamen gate. Shilang Shen's carriage is waiting outside the gate. It seems that Shen Zhongxin is already inside.

Zhang Jinyu couldn't help but sigh. It's rare to see an official as dedicated to his career as Shen Zhongxin these days.

Having said that, anyone would be anxious if this kind of thing was placed on their head, not to mention that this matter is a flaw in the Ministry of Finance. If people from the Ministry of Personnel get caught, it will be enough for the two masters and apprentices to walk away. .

After dismounting, he entered the Yamen.

A military officer from the Imperial City came to inspect the token. Zhang Jinyu threw the token over casually.
"Shilang Shen is inside!"

After checking the token, the guard performed a military salute, handed the token back, and then replied,
"I have seen the Marquis in my humble position. The Marquis and Master Shen have been sent to prison. They are interrogating Cui Dehai and others together with Liu Qianhu. It has been almost an hour now."

"Oh, I came in such a hurry, but did you find out the result?"

Zhang Jinyu heard that Shen Zhongxin had arrived so early and asked what was going on. He asked casually, but the guard shook his head and reported,
"Master Marquis, those people were very tough and didn't ask anything. The officials in Jingcang always insisted on their own opinion. They said they saw a fire dragon falling from the sky and burned down the official warehouse!"

"What the hell, why haven't I seen a fire dragon falling from the sky? Why didn't he say he went to heaven? Follow him and go in and take a look."

"Yes, Lord Hou!"

Zhang Jinyu was quite angry. She had wasted a whole day and promised Yu'er to go to Rongguo Mansion to see her. Now it has been two days and she is still not free.

It was all trivial matters. He got off his horse, took Ningbian and his guards with him, and went directly into the government office. He walked into a high ground in the backyard. It was simple that this place was heavily guarded. Only then did he realize that there was a dungeon built below the high ground. , that is, the imperial prison that frightened the officials in the capital was built here.

The entrance was heavily guarded, and the guards were all armored men. There was also a Qianhu from the Imperial City Division guarding the place. When he saw the visitor, Qianhu asked for the token and checked it again. After verification, he released it and opened it. Dungeon door.

No words were spoken during this period, and Zhang Jinyu didn't think about anything else. She thought it would be best to go back early after the interrogation.

When they arrived at the imperial prison, the heavy copper-wood door opened, and Zhang Jinyu led the people down to the dungeon inside. Beyond the entrance steps, there was a long corridor that led directly to the interior of the high ground. It was probably designed by an expert, let alone In addition, there are secret rooms on both sides of the corridor, and there are hidden shooting holes on the wall. If someone really wants to rob the prison, they may not be able to get out.

Entering the interior, the surrounding space was extremely dark, with only a few torches hanging on the wall illuminating it, like will-o'-the-wisps. The gloomy atmosphere made people feel depressed, as if they had entered the underworld and were haunted by ghosts.

"Master Hou, this is the road to the underworld that is rumored by the outside world. It is said that officials who enter this place basically do not return intact."

"It's so sinister to say it, it's a bit eerie. If officials were acting upright, how could they come in here? Some of those who came in were wronged. They always complained about injustice and were greedy. They should be killed!"

Zhang Jinyu really doesn't like those civil servants, especially local officials. They all call themselves incorruptible and are descendants of saints. Behind their backs, they all have a lot of money. As the saying goes, three years as a magistrate costs one hundred thousand snowflakes. This is still a small amount. Others Seeing that Beijing officials are poor, if the vacancy is filled, it will take less than a year to turn around.

"Master Marquis, what you are saying is that corrupt officials should be killed. If it weren't for them, our military outside the customs would have been short of pay every year in the early years."

Ning Bian nodded in agreement. He also hated those officials who talked about benevolence, justice and morality and did evil things.

Taking the opportunity to scold corrupt officials, Zhang Jinyu and his party walked through the corridor. In front of them was an extremely large main hall, which was also the place for interrogation. Not far away, Shen Zhongxin was sitting on a high platform. The person kneeling below was the person in charge of the capital warehouse. Officials, big and small.

Everyone was crying bitterly, but although there was fear on their faces, they showed no sign of repentance. I am afraid that they were only interrogated and not tortured.

Zhang Jinyu stopped and listened, and saw Shen Zhongxin asking inside.

"Cui Dehai, I want to ask you for the last time, how did the fire in Jingcang happen?"

"Master Shen, you can't retaliate against me. We are both officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs. I just stole the position of Minister from you, so you hold a grudge. There was a fire in the Jingcang, and everyone saw a fire dragon falling from the sky. Isn't it something that can be done by human power?" Again, it’s really a fire dragon burning the warehouse.”

Cui Dehai, who was kneeling on the ground, was still biting the Jingcang that was set on fire by the fire dragon. The other officials, big and small, and the chief and minor officials, as if they had agreed upon it, followed closely behind, each shouting something,
"Sir, this is really the case. I have seen it with my own eyes."

"Yes, sir, the fire dragon fell from the sky, the flames rose, causing death or injuries, and even the water in the pool boiled. I have never seen such a huge fire."

"Yes, sir, it is clear to me that disaster has come from heaven, and we are unjustly accused."

Zhang Jinyu stood behind him, looking at the officials in front of him, shouting "Unjust" in unison. It was so funny that he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Haha, since they are all unjustly accused, they must be honest officials. Look at you, Mr. Shen, you have done this and arrested the honest officials, so you are not afraid of those officials who speak out against you."

As if joking, he joked to Shen Zhongxin who was restless on the high platform.

It attracted people in the prison for a while,
Shen Zhongxin was interrogating here to no avail. He was anxious and didn't think of a good solution. When he heard the voices and saw the Marquis coming here, he felt as if he had seen a savior. He hurriedly stood up to greet him.

"I've seen the Marquis, and I'm sorry to see him from afar."

After saying that, he gave Marquis Luo Yun a salute, which was quite respectful and showed that he was asking for help.Zhang Jinyu was kind-hearted and could not see anything like this. She waved her hand and replied,
"How can I ask you, Mr. Shen, to give me a gift? We are so familiar with each other, so there is no need to do this. Also, Mr. Shen, I am not telling you, so you don't need people from the Imperial City Department to interrogate you. You do it yourself. This is not putting the cart before the horse. ,"

These corrupt officials are extremely treacherous. Since they can commit major crimes, it is because they are determined by the weight of the weight. If you can come up with the results of the interrogation, that will be really awesome.

Zhang Jinyu looked at Shen Zhongxin's tired look and muttered in his heart.

"This, what the Marquis said makes sense, but the subordinates are worried. I hope they will tell the truth and give them a chance to change their ways. If they tell the truth and reveal the person behind the scenes, the guilt will be smaller and they can be given a lighter sentence."

What Shen Zhongxin said is correct. After all, he is from the Ministry of Revenue. If he tells the truth and reveals the person behind the instigation, he can still save his life. If he insists on not telling the truth and finally takes the blame, the emperor will be angry and he will probably be copied. cut.

Hearing this from Minister Shen, Zhang Jinyu looked at him in disbelief. He actually had time to pity them and had to remind him,

"Shilang Shen is compassionate, but do you know that people in the capital have begun to grab food. The price of food in the grain stores has tripled. If the price increases again, people will be filled with resentment. Shilang Shen, I think your official position It’s very critical, Mr. Shen, you don’t have much time.”

"How could this happen? In less than a day, it was actually spread. Lord Marquis, please give me a helping hand. Shen Zhongxin will definitely remember this."

Shilang Shen was shocked and lost his sense of control for a moment. He bowed and begged the Marquis for help.

This was what Zhang Jinyu was waiting for. Shen Zhongxin was a man of great talent, and with him he would have the support of the Ministry of Revenue. He nodded in agreement, stretched out his hand to help, and said,
"Okay, since Mr. Shen has said so, I will help you decide on this matter."

"Thank you, Lord."

Zhang Jinyu took off her cloak, strode to the main seat, and sat down as soon as she could. She looked at the officials below and said nothing nonsense.
"Everyone, I, I didn't want to come, but the emperor's order was difficult, so I had to be summoned. My rules are to only ask once, answer with the truth, and you can't interrupt at will, do you understand?"

After speaking, he glanced at the group of people kneeling on the ground. Suddenly Tian Fang was crying and shouting,
"Master Marquis, we have been wronged. It is so wronged. Who would have thought that a fire dragon descended from the sky and burned down the warehouse. It was beyond human power."

"Yes, Lord Marquis."

There was a commotion, which made Zhang Jinyu look cold and stern, and sneered,

"It seems that you don't understand the rules. Come here, the people who just spoke will each play twenty boards again. It will take a long time to remember. As for you."

Zhang Jinyu pointed at Tian Fangzheng, who spoke first, and said,
"Draw him out, hang him up, and give him twenty lashes,"

"Yes, my lord,"

Without the need for personal guards to step forward, people from the surrounding Imperial City Division began to arrest people, and then beat them with boards. A series of wailings sounded, especially Tian Fangzheng, who was being hung up, with a look of fear on his face, and shouted,
"Master Marquis, I am also an official of the court. Aren't you afraid of being blamed by the court for using lynching indiscriminately? Although we are guilty, our official positions have not been taken away. Are you using lynching to rebel?"

"Slap him until he stops talking. Liu Qianhu, go there yourself."

"Yes, Lord Hou."

Liu Qianhu, who was beside him, immediately accepted the order and did not dare to neglect at all. He walked over with the board and slapped Tian Fangzheng on the mouth.

"Ah, it hurts."

"Ah, stop fighting, ah!"

Screams rang out one after another, so frightened that the people kneeling in the cell turned pale and did not dare to make a sound.

Zhang Jinyu nodded with satisfaction. Only Shen Zhongxin had a wry smile on his face. This was torture. If word got out, Yan Guan would not give up the opportunity to criticize. The Marquis acted too recklessly, but this can only be the case now. .

"Okay, isn't this great? Then I'll start asking, do you all agree?"

Cui Dehai's group of people knelt down and nodded constantly. No one dared to say anything. Seeing that everyone agreed, Zhang Jinyu did not ask about the leader first. Instead, he pointed at a person who looked like a small official at the back and shouted road,

"You, that's you, come and answer me."

The clerk was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he crawled over tremblingly. Then he kowtowed to the ground and shouted,

"Master Marquis, Master Marquis, I don't know anything, I don't know anything."

"Look, you answered before I even asked. You knew what I wanted to ask. You also violated the rules set by me. Since you don't know anything, you are useless, so you can keep it. It’s an eyesore, Ningbian, kill!”

Zhang Jinyu took the token on the table, threw it down, and ordered Ning Bian to kill. When Ning Bian heard the order from the Marquis, his eyes turned cold, and he immediately drew out the long knife, walked over, and raised the knife in his hand.

Before the official could speak, the next moment, the head fell to the ground, and the token also fell to the ground. Blood sprayed out. The officials in the front row had their faces splashed with blood, and their faces were full of horror.

This is murder, how could this happen!
(End of this chapter)