delicious little cook

Chapter 946

The news that the secret smuggling route was discovered in Dacheng Mansion spread in the capital. The officials involved in the case who arrived in Beijing earlier and the gentry from all over the country were detained in the Ministry of Criminal Justice for trial. There were many insiders among them. , but it does not prevent the cruel officials of the Ministry of Punishment from interrogating the confession and piecing together the complete facts.

The confessions of the squires are relatively fragmented. The insiders only care about their own local affairs. They are responsible for picking up the smuggled goods and sending them to the next section safely. The officials’ confessions are the most detailed. The interests they share Second only to the Zhao family in the official county, plus those gentry, everyone benefits, but the treasury loses tax revenue.

Master Qiu found the source of the secret path. It is indeed a huge cave that can park the boat. Normally, only half of the cave entrance is exposed on the water, and the boat is unimpeded, but the big boat can only enter when the tide is low. High, the boats are hidden inside and are not afraid of the wind and rain outside. Except for the locals near the sea, outsiders don't know the name of this place at all, and it is very close to the shore. , has earned unimaginably huge profits over the past few decades.

The local gentry who were in charge of receiving and transporting colluded with the official and county Zhao family to share benefits. Under their careful management, the entire Dacheng Mansion became a huge profit network. It is no wonder that all new officials who go to Dacheng Mansion must first The dock of the patriarch of the Zhao clan in Baiguan County, and some officials who have tasted the sweetness are even unwilling to be transferred to other places when their terms expire.

But the smugglers in Dacheng Mansion can only tell what they have done. As for who will take over from the capital, they don’t know. Even the officials of Dacheng Mansion can’t tell. Only the Zhao clan in the official county knows it.

The imperial court patiently waited for the Zhao family to be escorted to Beijing. Shi Tianqi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot every day. I'm tired, I'm pregnant and still don't feel at ease at home to raise a baby, I only know how to worry about my mother's family affairs, I don't feel sad when the child is lost, I still run out all day, throw my husband aside and ignore it, it's a shame to marry her as a wife big.

Shi Tianqi pretended to be deaf and dumb to such accusations, and told them to scold them. When he returned to the room, he called his guards in the middle of the night, and asked them to sneak into the yard of the eldest brother and sister-in-law, and find the tea that the eldest brother used for himself in the tea room. Tea leaves are mixed with three or four pieces of herbs that can cause diarrhea like cholera. Because the shape is the same as tea leaves, even the servants will not find it when making tea.

It took two or three days for the subordinates to go outside to find medicine, and then secretly added it to the tea pot. The sister-in-law had long forgotten that she had humiliated this sister-in-law severely a few days ago, so her husband just because of After drinking the drugged tea and running to the toilet all night, when the imperial doctor arrived, he was dehydrated, lying on the bed limp and almost dying.

The imperial doctor suspected it was cholera as soon as he looked at it. After taking the pulse, it was more like cholera symptoms, so he prescribed medicine according to cholera, no matter what, he stopped the diarrhea first, and the whole family panicked when they heard that it might be cholera. How could people be infected with cholera in this winter? After all, it is impossible for people like them to have access to raw food, and they have bought enough hot water bottles. The patient can't even tell.

Fortunately, after taking a dose of decoction, the diarrhea stopped, and the patient turned from danger to bed rest, and the whole family breathed a sigh of relief.

Shi Tianqi laughed heartily as he watched the long room in such a hurry, waiting to see another even bigger commotion at home.

The eldest brother in the house is fine, and only a day later, Shi Tianqi's husband had an accident as she expected.

At the invitation of a friend, I went to the brothel for a drink. After closing the gate, I stayed in the building overnight. When I fought with others in the curtain for [-] rounds, the tragedy happened until the blood spewed out at the end.

The prostitute screamed in fright, rolled naked from the bed to the ground, and even called for help. When the madam ran in to check the situation, she saw only the bedding soaked in blood, and the guest fell unconscious in a pool of blood. The thing under it was still shaking and spraying bright red blood.

There were many men and women watching the excitement outside the door, and friends rushed over. Seeing this scene, their faces were pale with fright. The madam asked the doctor who came to rush over to take a look. She only felt for the pulse, and turned around to pick up the medicine box. just go.

In the middle of the night, Shi Tianqi was aroused from the bed by a panicked servant, and just like that, he saw the body of her husband sent back by a friend, and the smell of alcohol still lingered on her body.

After dawn, the family reported the funeral to relatives and friends, and Ning Peilan also received the letter. She was shocked and hurriedly asked the family members to prepare the funeral ceremony.

Shi Tianqi is one of the major shareholders of the farm. When her husband died, Gu Yun and Gong Changji would naturally visit the house to offer their condolences. Ning Peilan was invited to drink tea in the inner house and meet Shi Tianqi.

The new daughter-in-law Shi Tianqi, who has only been married for a few months, sits in the room with red eyes and a numb expression. When the female relatives come to express their condolences, her personal servants come forward to entertain them. The excessive appearance doesn't know what to say to her.

Ning Peilan left without finishing her cup of tea, Shi Tianqi didn't talk to her at all, and guests kept coming in outside, so she didn't bother her either.

On the way home, the couple chatted about Shi Tianqi in the car. Gong Changji and Gu Yun learned what had happened from the man. Since the man died so dishonorably, Shi Tianqi kept treating Gu Yun With fantasies, I really don't know what she will do in the future.

All these things are hidden from Bai Kou. Bai Kou knows that Shi Tianqi has become a widow, but she doesn't care about these things. Apart from business these days, she just keeps an eye on the court's movements and wants to know what the court will do about the smuggling.

Just at this time, the three escort ships that escorted all the men, women, old and children of the Zhao clan in Guanxian County docked at Guandu Wharf, and were directly picked up by the Ministry of Punishment. The old and the young were separated and interrogated day and night, making them tell the truth unconsciously under the extreme fatigue of not being able to sleep for several days and nights.

In their confession, they finally confessed that the smuggled goods disguised as ordinary goods and transported to the capital were handled by Concubine Zhao Xian’s children and in-laws. It was Liang Zhongshan in the past, and Shi Tianmin after his death. All the accounts were correct. As for the capital How to transship and sell the goods after receiving them, even the patriarch doesn't know, one party only cares about the other's business.

But the patriarch explained another fact, that the peacocks that have been repeatedly banned were sent to the capital in batches from Dacheng Mansion. With Concubine Zhao Xian's status in the palace, and the power of King Yu and the Eldest Princess, no one would take it seriously. Check the goods marked by the Zhao family in the official county.

After obtaining such an astonishing confession, the Ministry of Criminal Justice found out the relevant ledgers and sent them to the palace overnight. Early the next morning, the palace sent an angel to Xuanshi Tianmin to enter the palace of the princess mansion, but let him blow for a whole day under the porch outside the imperial study. It was a cold wind in the morning, and no one spoke to him to pass on the news. When the saint came to pay his respects to his grandfather, Shi Tianmin realized that his voice was hoarse and his nose was stuffy.

"Shi Tianmin, how do you distribute the money you earned from smuggling? It's true!"

The sage looked at his grandson, whom he had loved since childhood, with a gloomy expression and no love.

(End of this chapter)