"Humph, finally the fox's tail is exposed!"
Zhao Zhenji thought so, and a trace of ridicule appeared on his face.
Afterwards, Zhao Zhenji was seen getting up from his seat and going straight back to the study.
At this moment, Zhao Zhenji already understood the whole story, why Ma Ningyuan's case caused a stir in the capital, and even attracted the court to send officials to investigate the case.
In the final analysis, it is just that someone wants to use Ma Ningyuan's case to muddy the waters in Zhejiang, so that they can fish in troubled waters.
"If I don't have the authority granted by His Majesty to kill first and report later, I really can't do anything to you. It's a pity..."
After finishing his emotion, Zhao Zhenji spread out his paper and pen, and wrote a letter to Qi Jiguang with a brush dipped in ink.
The content of the letter was to order Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou to mobilize their soldiers and start arresting merchants who intend to purchase raw silk from the people from tomorrow.
Zhao Zhenji knew very well that he had only given Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing ten days to investigate the case, and now two days had passed.
In other words, if Yan Maoqing and Wang Ting want to complete the set tasks, they must seize the time, launch a larger-scale operation, and seize the raw silk from the hands of the people.
Otherwise, when Zheng Michang and He Maocai are reinstated, they will only become more and more passive.
Regarding what happened in the past two days, Zhao Zhenji couldn't see that the other party was testing him without concealment.
"I finally took the bait. I don't believe it. You can keep calm. Let's see how I deal with you bunch of insects!"
After the ink on the paper was dry, Zhao Zhenji solemnly put it into an envelope, then called his cronies and said in a deep voice: "Put this letter into the hands of General Qi immediately!"
When the confidant heard this, he did not dare to show any slightness. After taking the envelope from Zhao Zhenji's hand, he said in a deep voice: "Yes, sir!"
…
At night, in the military camp where Qi Jiguang's troops were stationed.
At this moment, the orange light in the main tent clearly reflected the faces of Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou.
I saw Yu Dayou looking at Qi Jiguang who was sitting on the throne at the moment, and said: "General Qi, this is the only thing I have heard about!"
When Qi Jiguang heard what Yu Dayou said, a look of gratitude appeared on his face, and he immediately said: "Well, brother Zhifu, thank you!"
Not long ago, Yu Dayou described to Qi Jiguang what he had learned so far, including the fact that merchants, under the banner of the Weaving Bureau, forcibly purchased raw silk from the people at extremely low prices.
After that, Qi Jiguang took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down.
But as soon as Qi Jiguang closed his eyes, the words Yu Dayou once said flashed through his mind unconsciously.
"In order to buy raw silk from the people at a low price, those merchants colluded with the local gangsters and used all possible means. They even directly sent thugs to beat up those people who were unwilling to sell the raw silk at a low price!"
"During this process, countless people were injured, and five people even died from their injuries!"
Then, Qi Jiguang looked stern, slammed the table, and said in a deep voice: "So what if there is support from the Weaving Bureau, these damn insects, I will never let them go!"
Seeing Qi Jiguang's anger, Yu Dayou on the side quickly stepped forward to comfort him: "General Qi, calm down. Didn't the governor say before that he will send someone to notify us when it's time to take action!"
"With something like this happening now, the governor will definitely not sit idly by and watch!"
Hearing this, Qi Jiguang looked in the direction of Yu Dayou, nodded, and said solemnly: "Well, Brother Zhifu is right. The governor has the power given by His Majesty to kill first and report later. He will definitely not sit idly by and do nothing. !”
After that, I heard a rush of footsteps outside the main tent.
Not long after, several fully armed soldiers were seen escorting a man whose face was covered into the camp.
Before the visitor had time to speak, Qi Jiguang couldn't restrain his inner eagerness. He stood up from his seat suddenly, looked in the direction of the visitor, and asked in a deep voice: "Did the governor send you here?"
Hearing this, the visitor nodded slightly to Qi Jiguang, then carefully took out the envelope from his arms and said respectfully: "General Qi, the governor asked me to put this letter into your hands!"
As soon as the visitor finished speaking, Qi Jiguang's bodyguard stepped forward, took the envelope from the visitor's hand, and came to Qi Jiguang.
"General!"
"Um."
After Qi Jiguang took the envelope from the guard, he couldn't wait to open it and read the contents.
After Qi Jiguang finished browsing the contents of the letter, his face was full of excitement that could not be concealed.
Afterwards, Qi Jiguang looked at the person who came and said, "Please go back and tell the governor that I, the general, will live up to his command!"
When the visitor heard what Qi Jiguang said, he quickly lowered his head and returned the salute: "No, General Qi is so polite. I will definitely bring the words to you!"
Seeing that his mission for this trip had been successfully completed, the visitor did not stay in the camp for too long, but left under the escort of the soldiers.
After the visitor left, Yu Dayou looked at the letter in Qi Jiguang's hand with curiosity, and asked: "General Qi, what did the governor say in the letter?"
Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang immediately stepped forward, handed the letter in his hand to Yu Dayou, and then said: "The governor ordered us to mobilize his soldiers and arrest those merchants who intend to purchase raw silk from the people starting tomorrow!"
"Okay, okay, I know that the governor will not just sit idly by and do nothing!"
After Yu Dayou finished browsing the contents of the letter, he clenched his fists subconsciously and spoke excitedly.
"Transmit this general's order, all troops must assemble!"
"Yes, General!"
Soon, before the three-tone drum sounded, the soldiers under Qi Jiguang gathered in the school field.
Qi Jiguang looked at the neatly arranged soldiers under the stage, exuding a solemn air, and said solemnly: "Today, the general summoned you all in accordance with the order of the governor. Right now..."
…
Late at night, in a dark prison.
At this time, Ma Ningyuan had been tortured to a state of disgrace from the past few days of torture. At this moment, he was wearing tattered prison uniforms and huddled in the corner of the cell.
His body was covered with scars left by various instruments of torture. Sometimes, new wounds were added before the wounds had time to scab.
Ma Ningyuan's face was covered with bruises, and the pain from all over his body kept him unable to sleep for a long time.
Now Ma Ningyuan could only hang on with one breath. He was still hoping in his heart that when he went out in the future, he would definitely come back with revenge.
"Ah, Yan Maoqing, Wang Ting, you wait for me. When I go out, I will definitely pay you back a hundredfold!"
At this time, Ma Ningyuan gritted his teeth and secretly resented it, muttering to himself silently.
At this moment, there was a sound of footsteps coming from the corridor of the prison.
But at this time, Ma Ningyuan had already fallen into a trance, so he didn't notice much about it.
When he heard the sound of unlocking coming from the door, he couldn't help but secretly become vigilant: "Is it possible that someone is here to silence me?"
Ma Ningyuan thought of this and decided to pretend to be asleep and wait and see how the situation develops. After all, with his current physical condition, if someone really came to silence him, he would be powerless.
At this moment, someone came quietly to Ma Ningyuan, who was pretending to be asleep, and said in a low voice: "Master Magistrate, wake up, Master Magistrate!"
When Ma Ningyuan heard this, he couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief and said to himself: "It seems that he is not here to silence himself!"
Then, I saw Ma Ning Yuan forcefully sit up from the ground. Then, the pain radiated from all over his body, making his expression become ferocious.
Ma Ningyuan endured the pain, turned his gaze to the visitor, and asked, "Did Mr. Zheng and Mr. He send you here?"
Hearing the words, the visitor nodded, then carefully took out a letter from his arms and handed it into Ma Ningyuan's hand: "Your Majesty, the younger one was sent by the Chief Envoy!"
"The chief envoy told me that I must put this letter into your hands, and that after you read this letter, you will understand everything!"
When Ma Ningyuan heard this, the light of hope rekindled in his eyes, and he sighed secretly: "It seems they haven't forgotten me yet!"
After that, Ma Ningyuan opened the envelope and read the contents in the dim light of the candle.
After Ma Ningyuan read the contents of the letter word for word, the hope on his face disappeared, replaced by endless despair.
At this time, Ma Ningyuan's face was pale, his whole body was shaking, and he looked in disbelief.
After a long time, Ma Ningyuan came back to his senses, a look of sadness appeared on his face, and he said to himself: "Hahaha, in the end, I, Ma Ningyuan, ended up like this!"
In this letter, Zheng Michang not only briefly explained the current situation to Ma Ningyuan, but also conveyed Yan Song's meaning to Ma Ningyuan word for word.
The meaning of this letter is very simple, that is, let Ma Ningyuan bear all the blame alone, and do not implicate other people, especially his teacher Hu Zongxian.
"Okay, okay, the teacher is now the cabinet minister and the official minister!"
When Ma Ningyuan said this, an inexplicable smile appeared on his face.
Then, as if Ma Ningyuan had made up his mind, he struggled to get up and brought the letter in his hand closer to the candlelight that was glowing orange.
The moment the flames came into contact with the paper, it burned even more fiercely. Ma Ningyuan watched with his own eyes as the paper gradually turned into ashes.
After doing this, Ma Ningyuan looked at the person coming, smiled sadly, and said slowly: "Please tell the chief envoy for me, and I will do it. I hope he can take good care of my family." !”
When the visitor heard the words, he immediately lowered his head and responded respectfully: "Yes, Lord Magistrate, I will definitely bring your words to you intact!"
After that, Ma Ningyuan lost interest in talking and waved his hand to signal the visitor to leave.
Shortly after the visitor left, Ma Ningyuan called the jailer and gave instructions: "Prepare pens, ink, paper and inkstones for me!"
When the jailer heard what Ma Ningyuan said, he thought it was Ma Ningyuan who had figured out that he wanted to confess. He did not dare to neglect at all, and immediately ordered someone to prepare pen, ink, paper and inkstone.
Afterwards, Ma Ningyuan spread out his pen and paper, and under the light of the candle, held on to the brush dipped in ink, he recounted the case again.
The case story recounted by Ma Ningyuan did not involve anyone. From beginning to end, this case was committed by him alone!
When the last word fell, Ma Ningyuan couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief. Then, after he signed and stamped the signature, he ordered the jailer to take away the confession.
After doing this, Ma Ningyuan huddled back into the corner of the cell again.
Since it was already late at night, the jailers did not dare to disturb Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing who lived in the post station.
Therefore, they decided to wait until dawn to deliver Ma Ningyuan's confession.
On the other side, in the room, Zheng Mi Chang looked at the visitor and asked in a low voice: "Has the letter been delivered?"
When the visitor heard the words, he immediately lowered his head and responded respectfully: "Your Majesty the Chief Envoy, the letter has been delivered to the Lord Prefect. In addition, the Lord Magistrate has also entrusted me to bring you a message!"
When Zheng Michang heard this, a look of eagerness appeared on his face, and he immediately asked: "What are you talking about?"
When the visitor heard this, after recalling it for a moment, he spoke calmly: "The prefect said he would do as he was told. I hope you can take more care of his family in the future!"
When Zheng Michang heard this, he couldn't help showing a look of sadness on his face. After pondering for a long time, he came back to his senses and said: "Well, I know, you can go down first!"
"I have already made arrangements. No one will be able to trace you by then!"
"Thank you, Chief Envoy!"
…
The night passed in the blink of an eye. At dawn, Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing, who were at the inn, received a report from their subordinates that Ma Ningyuan had confessed.
Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing were naturally overjoyed when they learned the news from their subordinates, but when they got Ma Ningyuan's confession, they couldn't help but become furious.
Because Ma Ningyuan's confession, from beginning to end, only involved him alone. All of this was his own decision and had nothing to do with anyone else!
"This Ma Ningyuan is really ignorant. It seems that we are too kind to him!"
Wang Ting said this with a gloomy look on his face after reading Ma Ningyuan's confession from beginning to end.
Later, just as Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing were preparing to rush to the prison to investigate, they received a report from their subordinates that Ma Ningyuan had died in the prison!
This sudden news was like a bolt from the blue to Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing.
You know, Ma Ningyuan was a prisoner of the imperial court, but now he died in the cell in such an unexplained manner. If this news spreads, Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing will be blamed!
After that, Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing didn't care about anything else, and immediately took a sedan chair and hurried to the cell.
When Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing rushed to the cell where Ma Ningyuan was held, they saw a body covered with white cloth.
At this moment, Wang Ting's face was full of shock that could not be concealed. He stepped forward quickly and lifted up the white cloth with trembling hands.
After lifting the white cloth, what came into view was Ma Ningyuan's lifeless body.
Looking at this familiar face, a look of fear appeared on Wang Ting's face.
Then, he turned around and glanced at the trembling guards behind him, who were walking on thin ice with a selective and devouring gaze.
"What the hell is going on? If you can't come up with an explanation, go down with him!"
When Wang Ting's words fell, Yan Maoqing on the side couldn't help but urged: "Tell me quickly, what is going on? A good living person is gone without saying anything!"
After that, a leader among the jailers stood up and said cautiously: "Two... two adults, this is what happened..."
From the jailer's narration, Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing finally learned some general information.
Then, Wang Ting narrowed his eyes slightly, glanced at the jailers one by one, and said coldly: "So, what you are saying is that last night, Ma Ningyuan suddenly asked you for pens, ink, paper and inkstones!"
"After writing the confession and signing it, he was found dead in the cell early this morning?"
When the jailers heard what Wang Ting said, they immediately knelt down on the ground, kowtowed like pounding garlic, and hurriedly explained: "Yes, yes, sir, when the brothers came to investigate the situation early this morning, they... discovered …”
Before the jailer could finish his words, he was coldly interrupted by Wang Ting: "Huh, what a bunch of nonsense. There must be something fishy behind this. Come on, bring them all down to me, and they will be punished!"
"We must let them tell who Ma Ningyuan had contact with before he died!"
When Wang Ting finished speaking, the guard on the side immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said in a deep voice: "Yes, sir!"
"Sir, please forgive me, I really don't know anything!"
"Sir, this matter is none of my business!"
"Please spare my life, sir. There is an eighty-year-old mother above me, and someone below is crying for food..."
Gradually, the begging for mercy became farther and farther away, and was replaced by miserable howls one after another.
Then, Yan Maoqing looked worried. He turned around, looked at Wang Ting and asked, "Ma Ningyuan is dead. Now things are in trouble. What should we do next?"
Wang Ting took in the expression on Yan Maoqing's face, sighed helplessly, and said slowly: "At this point, there is no other way. We can only find a way to turn this case into a solid case!"
After Yan Maoqing heard Wang Ting's words, he hesitated for a moment and then said: "What do you mean..."
Wang Ting withdrew his gaze from Yan Maoqing, nodded, and said solemnly: "Well, that's right, then just say that Ma Ningyuan committed suicide out of fear of crime, and then put all the blame on those jailers!"
When Yan Maoqing heard this, a gloomy look flashed across his face, and he kept chattering: "Damn it, how could things become like this..."
After that, Wang Ting glanced at Yan Maoqing and interrupted his thoughts: "Okay, now that such a big thing has happened, we all have to go to the Governor's Mansion! "
Yan Maoqing heard this, nodded, and said in response: "Well, let's go!"
After that, Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing didn't hesitate at all. They immediately got on the sedan and walked towards the direction of the Governor's Mansion.
…
In the Governor's Mansion of Zhejiang Province, Zhao Zhenji received a report from the officials of the Governor's Mansion shortly after having breakfast, saying that at this moment, Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing were seeking an audience outside the Governor's Mansion.
"What are the two of them doing here at this time? Could it be that someone leaked the news?"
Later, Zhao Zhenji suppressed all the chaotic thoughts in his heart, came to his senses, and ordered the officials of the Governor's Mansion to take the two of them to the meeting hall to wait.
"Hmph, I would like to see what kind of medicine you are selling in your gourd!"
After that, Zhao Zhenji did not hesitate at all and immediately walked to the meeting hall of the Governor's Mansion.
When Zhao Zhenji came to the meeting hall of the Governor's Mansion, he keenly observed the flash of panic on the faces of Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing.
When Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing saw Zhao Zhenji's arrival, they quickly stood up from their seats, leaned down, and saluted him respectfully: "I have met the governor!"
Zhao Zhenji heard the words and responded in a subtle way. Then, he saw him sitting at the top, minding his own business, and asked: "Aren't you two adults supposed to be investigating the case? Why are you here at the Governor's Mansion?"
When Zhao Zhenji finished speaking, Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing couldn't help but look embarrassed.
After organizing the words in his mind, Wang Ting stood up, looked in the direction of Zhao Zhenji, and said cautiously: "Xun...Governor, to be honest, something happened to Ma Ningyuan!"
When Zhao Zhenji heard Wang Ting's words, his face was full of shock. He suddenly stood up from his seat and asked: "What did you say, something happened to Ma Ningyuan?"
Facing Zhao Zhenji's scrutinizing gaze, Wang Ting had no choice but to bite the bullet and explain: "Yes, Lord Governor, this is what happened. Last night Ma Ningyuan..."
Under Wang Ting's narration, Zhao Zhenji finally understood the general situation of the matter.
Then, Zhao Zhenji was seen stroking his beard, looking over Yan Maoqing and Wang Ting respectively, and said slowly: "So what you are saying is that Ma Ningyuan committed suicide out of fear of crime?"
Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing heard this, nodded, and responded without thinking: "Yes, Lord Governor, Ma Ningyuan must have committed suicide out of fear of crime!"
Zhao Zhenji saw the expressions on the faces of Yan Maoqing and Wang Ting, and a trace of contempt flashed across his face.
Then, after pretending to think, he said slowly: "But the news I received is that Ma Ning has been tortured in recent days, and he has been tortured beyond human dignity!"
When Zhao Zhenji said this, he paused for a moment, with an inexplicable smile on his face, and asked rhetorically: "You two adults think it is because Ma Ningyuan could not withstand the torture, so..."
When Wang Ting and Yan Maoqing on the side heard Zhao Zhenji's words, a trace of panic flashed across their faces, and they quickly explained: "Xun... Your Excellency, this is not the case. Ma Ningyuan really committed suicide out of fear of crime!" (End of this chapter)
