Ping An Biography

Although Hu Butang handed over the investigation of Jinyiwei's files to Zhang Ning, in the end, Jinyiwei Benwei could only conduct internal investigations, and only those files that met the requirements were delivered to Zhang Ning.Even the emperor's imperial case is not allowed to check the files, one can imagine how many shady things are in it.

Zhang Ning went to Jinyiwei to be on duty every day, and gradually felt that the place was very dark, darker than the six doors of the government.Recently, the capital has been very windy. When the sun goes down, the wind is miserable and the moon is hazy. It seems that there are countless ghosts shrouded in the sky.It is often said in Guochao that human life is at stake, and homicide cases must be carefully decided by three judicial reviews. People who died wronged in the dark seem to be laughing and mocking, like the "wow" wind in the streets and alleys.

What's more, there is no peace at home in the past few nights. Wang Zhen must have gone to castration himself, and he can hear the painful groans of "Ouch, Ouch..." from the west chamber every night.

No one took care of him, only old man He or Niu Er gave him some easy-to-drink porridge twice a day, and some tea when he was kind.That's fine, if it's not at a fellow countryman's house, who will take care of his life?

Shengsheng cut off a piece of flesh from his body, and at this time there was no anesthesia and necessary nursing care.Zhang Ning couldn't help sighing when he thought that Wang Zhen had a family and a wife in his hometown, so he had to suffer so much.

After five or six days, the investigation work of the San Judiciary and the Jinyiwei was nearing completion. There were only more than [-] files screened by the two sides, and only eight of them involved Jianwen's survivors and were sentenced to death, all of which were from the Jinyiwei.Just as Wang Qinian predicted, the massacre of Jianwen’s survivors occurred in the early years of Yongle. Eight years later, few people were sentenced to death. .

Sitting in front of the desk above, Hu Ying directly put aside the other 50 or so files, and picked out the eight files involving the survivors to browse. He quickly paid attention to the three files that recorded the "unaccounted" of the criminal's daughter ; while the other five met the conditions of "having women", but their records were sent to Nanjing Fuleyuan and Jiaofang Divisions in various places.Hu Ying handed the five copies to Wang Qinian: "Try these three copies first, and if you don't find anything, then write a letter to the local officials where the Jiaofang Secretary is located to confirm whether they are still in the local area."

"Yes, Hu Butang." Wang Qinian took the file.

"Yuan Jinlu, native of Gaoyou County, Yangzhou, has been verified to have had correspondence with Zheng Qia, the former Hanlin Daizhao..." Hu Ying read a sentence softly, then raised her head and said, "The last time the court lady Zhou spoke with a Jianghuai accent, this Yuan Jinlu is Jianghuai Man, could he be the father of the court lady Zhou?"

Wang Qinian didn't speak, Zhang Ning hardly interrupted, and was silent for a while.It is possible to infer in the opposite direction. If the court lady Zhou is the daughter of Yuan Jinlu, then Zhou has enough reasons to participate in the assassination case, use Jianghuai accent, etc.; It's a father-daughter relationship.

"Message the court lady Zhou, let's try her." Hu Ying patted the file on the table and let out a long breath.

Wang Qinian went to pass the report immediately, and left in a hurry, looking forward to it.It has been almost ten days since Hu Ying took over the Qin case, and there has been no progress. Now, he suddenly has some clues, which inevitably makes people hopeful.

Even Zhang Ning's mood was no exception. Although he didn't want the progress of the case to be related to Peach Blossom Villa in the end, he was very concerned about the matter and wanted to know the outcome sooner.

This torture was still recorded by Zhang Ning, but Wang Qinian also participated, while the officials sent by the other three judiciaries and a group of clerks did not have the opportunity to participate in the secret interrogation.In addition to Hu Ying and the other three, there were also the eunuch Wang Gou'er and Jin Yiwei sent by the palace.

Because Wang Zhen had castrated himself and wanted to be a eunuch, Zhang Ning couldn't help but pay more attention to the real eunuch Wang Gou'er in front of him.This eunuch was very "slender", with a belt that didn't look like a man, his words and deeds were soft but not vulgar, and his special salute had a classical temperament.The temples exposed under the brim of the tall hat had a little white hair between them, but his face was white and thin. Zhang Ning really couldn't tell the eunuch's approximate age.

<Knife's Jinyiwei.Like last time, she stared at the ground with ashen eyes, and didn't even look at the people in the room. It seemed that the interrogation situation would not be optimistic, and it was not easy for her to speak.

But Hu Ying still persevered in his interrogation opening: "What's your name?"

Zhou: "..."

Hu Ying didn't care about her passive resistance, and asked, "Who is your master?"

Zhou: "..."

Wang Gou'er couldn't stand it anymore, and said softly: "Hu Butang wastes a lot of time talking with her, she won't tell you if you ask me like this, and you have to use a whip to ask!"

Hu Ying gave Wang Gou'er a wink, and Wang Gou'er stood aside boredly and shut up.Hu Ying said to Zhou indifferently: "It's too much to implicate the innocent, you'd better speak out as soon as possible. Because of the heinous crime you committed alone, hundreds of people have been implicated and imprisoned, and some people You will be sentenced to death. As long as you tell the mastermind behind the scenes, some people will not be sentenced to death... For example, Yuan Jinlu, a Jianghuai person who was imprisoned in the imperial prison, was originally on the release list at the beginning of next year, but this time you are implicated again case……"

"Haven't they been killed by Jin Yiwei?" Zhou suddenly raised his head and spoke.

Hu Ying and Wang Qinian immediately looked at each other, and Zhang Ning, who was furiously writing, immediately stopped to look at her, and saw complex emotions such as suspicion and surprise in her eyes.

"Dead?" Hu Ying quickly asked in a surprised tone, and then buried herself in the file.Zhou cast a very concerned look, bowed and almost wanted to stand up and look at the files he was flipping through.If Zhang Ning didn't know that Yuan Jinlu was indeed sentenced to death, he would have to believe in Hu Ying's performance at this time. Unexpectedly, this court minister who was usually serious and stable, lied and deceived people as if he was real.Life is like a play.

"He didn't die. He was sentenced to death five years ago, but he has been detained in Fusi Prison in Beizhen." Hu Ying poked the content of the empty dossier on the case with her finger.

But at this time, Zhou's expression showed suspicion and vigilance, and she said coldly: "Even if you use this method to deceive me, it's useless, so what if you know that the Yuan family has something to do with me? Could it be that one of them has passed away? Will someone instruct me in a dream to make me fail?"

The corner of Hu Ying's mouth revealed an imperceptible smile, and Zhang Ning thought to herself: After all, she is a teenage girl with insufficient experience. If you don't speak up, others will take it. Ministry hall?

"Even if the old man wants to lie to you, he won't talk nonsense." Hu Ying said calmly.

Zhou said: "Unless I see it with my own eyes, I won't believe any of your clever words!"

Hu Ying gave Wang Qinian and Zhang Ning a wink, got up and left her seat, and the eunuch Wang Gou'er and a Jinyiwei general also left the interrogation room and came to the next room.Hu Ying asked the general of Jinyiwei: "Then Yuan Jinlu should not be dead? The old man probably remembers that he was in charge of the affairs related to Zheng Qia of the remaining Jianwen party. Zheng Qia has not been caught so far. People like Yuan Jinlu who are involved with him should not be executed."

The general said: "I don't know either, I can only ask Commander Lin, why don't we find someone to invite Commander-in-Chief now?"

Hu Ying nodded: "Go and ask Commander Lin, if Yuan Jinlu is still in prison, tell the old man that he will be transferred from Beizhen Fusi to Benwei to be detained separately...clean him up." Turning to Wanggou again Er said: "The trial will not be held today, we will talk about it when Yuan Jinlu brings it over."

Regarding the fact that Yuan Jinlu was still alive, he looked very confident.Beforehand, even Zhang Ning thought that a person who was dead on the file should be really dead. Today, after gaining insight, it turns out that there is also a kind of "living dead".

In the afternoon, the office got the letter that Yuan Jinlu was indeed still alive, and everything was within Hu Ying's expectation.The next day, this political prisoner, who had been imprisoned for several years, was transported from Tianjin by Jinyiwei to the Jingshi Jinyiwei Yamen. There is no decent prison for prisoners, and the maid Zhou is only temporarily detained.

When Zhang Ning and Hu Ying went to see Yuan Jinlu together, they found that there were two people, a man and a woman, and the woman should be his wife.When Zhang Ning and the others saw the people, they had already been washed and tidied up. Although their hair was disheveled but not dirty, their prison uniforms had not been worn for a long time; Very weak in the corners, with a sickly discoloration of the skin, symptoms of prolonged exposure to sunlight and malnutrition.Those locked up in the imperial prison should not even have the treatment of "releasing the wind", and it is impossible for them to eat three meals a day. It is conceivable what people who live like the Yuan couple eat on weekdays.

Then Hu Ying couldn't wait to arraign the court lady Zhou, and took her to the place where Yuan and his wife were imprisoned so that they could see with their own eyes.Hu Ying calmly explained to Zhou: "You can only look out of the window, and you can't make a sound to alarm them. Think about it, if they know that their daughter has also been arrested, I'm afraid it will be uncomfortable."

Zhou nodded with a pale face.When she walked to the window, she only glanced inside, tears poured out like a spring, her face was covered with tears, her hands were tied behind her back, she could only bite her lip with her teeth, and a trace of blood suddenly soaked from the corner of her mouth.Seeing the blood, Jin Yiwei rushed forward, but Hu Ying stopped him.

A tear, a trace of blood.Zhang Ning suddenly lowered his head with complicated emotions. He only saw a couple who were in trouble together, and a child who silently looked at his parents.

But seeing Hu Ying's expressionless face, can only a person with great power be as hard-hearted as him?Zhang Ning raised his head, glanced at the sky and sighed silently in his heart. After Zhou's lamentation, he felt lost for a while.