Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 186 Kowtow
"A strange thing?" Cao Yong asked: "What a strange thing, come back so late?"

Cao Song pretended to be mysterious, blinked and said, "Brother, someone knocked on the door!"

"Knocking on the gate" is the well-known court complaint, and there are two ways, one is to go to the Capital Procuratorate, the Infantry Commander's Yamen or the General Secretary to beat the drums, and the other is to intercept the holy car. Those who "knock on the door" are usually officials and people who have encountered grievances, and the original trial yamen judged unfairly.

Cao Yong shook his head: "What kind of unusual thing is this? You pass the procuratorate on the way from school, haven't you seen it several times?"

Chu Yu was curious. This complaint was mentioned in books and dramas, but she had never seen it in reality. She couldn't help asking, "Second brother, who is complaining, and what is the grievance?"

Cao Song glanced at his brother, as if complaining that he was rigid and boring, then Fang turned his head and smiled at Chu Yu: "Sister-in-law, although this 'kowtow' is not unusual, it is rare for a woman to travel thousands of miles to 'kowtow' ?”

"Women's house?" Chu Yu was taken aback, showing a bit of concern: "Here, why is it a woman's house? That's the male of the family..."

Cao Yong also became curious when he heard this: "The woman 'kowtow', is that her husband is being detained?"

Cao Song nodded: "The most unusual thing is not this, but two women'kowtow' at the same time, not a family, but you sue me a man, I sue you a man like this, in front of the yamen of the Metropolitan Procuratorate It's lively. Although they didn't fight with each other, but seeing the resentment of the two, it's as if they want to eat each other!"

Both Cao Yong and Chu Yu were a little confused. Since ancient times, they only came to kowtow when they had grievances.Both of these two families come to kowtow, is it because the officials below "play [-] boards each" when they judge the case?
Cao Song said carefully: "We heard vaguely outside the yamen, and it seems to be the case. One of the two women is surnamed Sun, and she was the wife of the magistrate; the other woman was surnamed Wang, and she was the wife of the magistrate. The magistrate and chief envoy extorted money from her husband; the magistrate's wife accused the state of false accusations, and incidentally even brought along the governor, saying that the governor was engaging in malpractice for personal gain, credulously trusted the magistrate, and tortured her husband until he became disabled."

Although it is unusual for the two women to "kowtow" each other, the circumstances of this case are not unusual.

In the past two years, due to the recovery of treasury silver, officials of all sizes have panicked. If they want to continue to be officials, they have to make up for the shortfall. Naturally, they must have money.The salary of the imperial court is low, and officials have a lot of entertainment. If they don't use some means, how can they get money?After cleaning up the remaining holes in the money, of course someone must be found to take the blame.

Whether it's the magistrate or the prefect, how can he speak in the local area?The governor, governor, chief envoy and other high-ranking officials certainly wouldn't involve themselves in it, and the unlucky ones were officials of neither low nor high rank.

"After the court official of the Metropolitan Procuratorate received the pleadings, the magistrate's wife, Mrs. Wang, hit the pillar, and the blood spattered on the spot!" Cao Song said at the end, with a bit of anger in his tone: "If she is really the wife of a corrupt official, how can she be married?" So chaste? According to what she said in the statement, not only the governor, but also the governor, chief envoy, etc., none of them are clean!"

When Chu Yu heard that "blood was splashed on the spot", she couldn't help but make a noise.Even Cao Yong felt uncomfortable listening to it. This Wang family came to Beijing all the way, since he wanted to clean up his grievances for his husband, and he was not a person with a will to die.Choosing such a strong and helpless method should be afraid of "officials and officials protecting each other". The capital side will suppress the case, just like this, risking their lives to spread the matter.

Cao Song was originally talking about it to his brother and sister-in-law because of the strangeness of the incident, but at the end of the talk, he felt that the atmosphere in the room suddenly became heavier, and he also felt bored, scratched his head, and said: "There is something strange, this The one who cried the most was not Wang's servant, but Sun who was in the hall. Everyone was puzzled and asked the servants of the two families to find out that they were family friends. It was this time when they went to Beijing. Things have faded, but they will still support each other when they encounter difficulties on the way. No matter how you look at it, these two families don’t look like villains!”

Listening to Cao Yong feeling depressed, he waved his hand to Cao Song: "Go back to your yard and change your clothes, I'll have dinner with you!"

Cao Song responded, and went back to Huaiyuan to change clothes.

Chu Yu was in a daze, and after a while she came to her senses, and said to Cao Yong: "What a wonderful woman, although I have never met her, but still people have to respect her!"

Cao Yong shook his head in disapproval: "It's not advisable to fight for life. As this Wang said, his husband has been disabled and is in prison. Who will take care of the elders and children? Even if you want to make a fuss Da, if you want to find justice, you don't have to do it like this. Moreover, if this kind of practice is done to settle the grievances, wouldn't everyone follow suit in the future? He is obviously a good person, but he has to despise his life in exchange for justice. If this continues I don't know how many people will die in vain."

After hearing this, Chu Yu knew that Cao Yong was right, but she couldn't help but sigh for Wang.

*
This blood splattered in the Metropolitan Procuratorate was the first case since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, and it spread all over the capital the next day. Whether it was the people in the teahouse or the officials of various ministries, they all regarded it as something new and listened to it as something new. with.

On the Fujian Division of the Ministry of Household Affairs, everyone also said that because the Wang family came from Gansu, the people who sued were all high-ranking officials such as governors and governors. The one who was promoted was another Eqi, who was appointed as the governor of Gansu and transferred to Beijing.First, he worked as a servant of the household department for a few months, and was transferred to the military department in March.This matter is an old case caused by the lack of money and food. Now that the case is turned over, it is not guaranteed who will be burned.

Cao Yong just listened, and his heart was slightly vigilant. Although Qi Shiwu and E Qi did not clearly stand in line, according to the rumors, they were both the party's affiliated prince.He was thinking about the "Second Abandoned Prince". Whether it was the beginning of the year or the end of the year, he really didn't remember.I don't study history, I only know that it was in the 51st year of Kangxi, but I don't know the exact month.

Thinking about it again, Cao Yong felt that he was worrying too much. Even if a few moths could be found out in the money and food deficit case thousands of miles away, it should have nothing to do with the "second waste prince".

After a few days, the talk of people in the capital gradually changed from "blood splattered in the Metropolitan Procuratorate" to "the daughter of tile-embedded red flags went to her husband's house to cut her hair and observe filial piety after her fiancé died of illness. "Come up.Because this is different from ordinary festivals, the local officials paid more attention to it, and specially asked for a table to "educate" the people.

In a few days, Kangxi sent back a decree from Rehe to criticize the two cases of Yao Honglie and Chen Hongdao, and ordered Zhao Shenqiao, the censor of the left capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and Ga Mintu, the servant of the household department, to go to Shaanxi and Gansu for interrogation.This Yao Honglie is the former prefect of Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningzhou, the husband of the Sun family; Chen Hongdao is the former prefect of Qingyang Prefecture, the husband of the Wang family who died in the Metropolitan Procuratorate.Both were charged with "corruption of ink" and are now dismissed from office and locked up in a local prison.

Either Shaanxi-Gansu is too far away from the capital, or the magistrate and prefect are really nothing among the officials in the capital. After discussing it for two days, they already feel that it is dull and boring to mention it.

The officials who went to Shaanxi and Gansu to investigate the case left Beijing, and the Ministry of Criminal Affairs sentenced the case of additional dispatch to Sichuan.It was Bian Yongshi, the former political envoy, who sent additional fire consumption privately. In addition to sending 200 taels of silver to Nengtai, the former governor of Sichuan, a total of 400 taels of silver has been collected.Bian Yongshi, the former chief envoy, planned to be strangled according to the law, but he died of illness, so there is no need to discuss it.The original governor Nengtai, as a governor, belongs to the official and private faction. He can't detect it and has received stolen money. He should be hanged in prison according to the law and executed after autumn.

At this time, even Mr. Zhuang realized something was wrong.These two cases involved the peripheral officials of the princelings.When the prince was abolished, because they were not officials in the capital, and those attached to the party were not so conspicuous, they were not punished.In the next few years, some were promoted to the same level, and some were promoted to six hall officials.Now being lifted up for processing...

After hearing this, Cao Yong knew that what he expected was right. These eight achievements were the prelude to the second waste prince.Although he couldn't say much to Mr. Zhuang, he also revealed that he wanted to get out as soon as possible.Moreover, he also explained the situation in the capital vaguely in his family letter early, and sent two suitable people to Jiangning.Although I don't have anything to do with the Cao family at the moment, I still have to be careful in my heart, so as not to be involved and troublesome.

In fact, there are many caring people in the capital, and there are many people like Cao Yong who think of the crown prince. At this time, the officials who had a little relationship with the crown prince were all in danger, and they rushed to the prince's mansion one after another , Wang Fu inquired about the news.

Just when the undercurrents in the capital were surging, Shengjia served the Empress Dowager on September 22, returned to Changchun Garden from outside the Great Wall, and returned to the palace on September 29.

*
On September [-]th, because he wanted to entertain Sun Jue and his wife who had come to Beijing the day before yesterday, Cao Yong had finished taking care of the errands in the Yamen early and returned to the mansion.

Sun Jue and his wife were invited to the Prince's Mansion of Pingjun yesterday. Others such as Zhaojia's Mansion and Sun's family also posted posts. Because Cao Yong's side has no elders, but they are from the Cao family, so they are ranked behind the Prince's Mansion of Pingjun. , set a banquet for today.Besides Sun Jue and his wife, Cao Yong also invited his younger sister and brother-in-law to accompany him.

Cao Ying is seven years older than Cao Yong. She has been married for five years and has given birth to a pair of sons and daughters.Both Chu Yu and Cao Yi were very rare, they hugged each other, they couldn't get close enough, and they couldn't stop praising each other.

Although Cao Ying was demure, she had been married for many years after all. Seeing how much her younger siblings and third younger sister liked children, she guessed what was on their minds, so she changed the topic and mentioned the matter of returning to the province before entering Beijing.

As expected, both of them looked over and listened to her detailed explanation, both of them were concerned about the current situation of Cao Yin and his wife.

However, Cao Ying stayed in Jiangning for two days, and only went to the East Mansion for a meal, and she only knew a little about the recent situation of Cao Yin and his wife.As for Cao Ying herself, she was not one to talk too much, so after a few words, the scene became cold.

Both Chu Yu and Cao Yi are smart people, thinking about why Cao Ying turned away from talking, they also restrained themselves from talking about their children.

Unknowingly, the topic came to Jiangning's old affairs. Cao Ying thought for a while, and Fang asked Cao Yi: "When I mentioned that year, I remembered something. Yesterday at the palace, I vaguely heard that a girl from Yongjia was about to be accused. For which prince to be the concubine Fujin, this Yongjia is the Wanyan Yongjia girl from Jiangning Jizhu Club back then? I remember that she is two years older than the third sister, how come she hasn't married yet?"

"Sister Yongjia wants to marry?" Cao Yi showed a joyful look on his face: "That's right, she is full of filial piety in July, um, counting the days, it should be almost the same!"

She said it on her own, and seeing Cao Ying was still looking at her, she remembered that she didn't answer her sister's words, and said with a smile: "Look at me, I was so happy that I forgot to say. Eldest sister guessed right. Yongjia from Wanyan Mansion is right. Because Bao Gege from that mansion is good friends with Sister Yongjia, it is possible to get some good news. Because of filial piety, Sister Yongjia has been delayed for two years. Not leaving the cabinet all this time, this is also filial piety."

Because Yongjia is the cousin of the Fourteenth Fujin, and the Fourteenth Fujin is on good terms with the Seventh Fujin, Chu Yu has also heard the name Yongjia before, but he is not familiar with it.After marrying into the Cao family, she often heard Bao Ya and Cao Yi mention Yong Jia, and knowing that she was the sister of Cao Yong's friend Yong Qing, she felt a little close to her.

Right now, she listened to these words and thought about it for a while, but she was not quite right, because she asked Cao Ying: "Is this elder sister really a Fujin? But in all the palaces in Beijing, there is no prince who is not married? "

Cao Ying nodded: "It should be right, it is indeed Fujin! Because I heard that it is Fujin, she is a blessed person." At this point, she paused, thought carefully, and said with a smile : "Yes, it seems to be Prince Jane! That's right, it's Prince Jane's mansion!"

Chu Yu and Cao Yi looked at each other, unable to speak for a long time.Although this Prince Jane Yarjan'a is a prostitute and has a great reputation, it is not her first marriage.His successor Fujin died of illness last spring, it seems that Yongjia is going to be his successor Fujin.

Although Prince Jian's mansion lost a few younger brothers in the past two years, there are still two sons left by Di Fujin, and the sons are also from Prince Jian's favorite side Fujin. , Seeing that it is the age of marriage.

Wanyan's family is noble. If Yongjia Kangxi hadn't been ill during the draft in 45, she would have been the match for the prince, not her cousin.In 48, she delayed the draft due to filial piety, otherwise she would not be the [-]th elder brother Fujin, and would be designated as the first-line Fujin by the county king.Now, in terms of Prince Jian's Mansion, although he is a nobleman among the rich and powerful, and his status is extremely noble, it is really not easy to succeed Fujin.
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(End of this chapter)