In the carriage, Su Zhou and Su Shi glared at each other, and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
In order to break the awkward atmosphere, Su Shi forced a smile and said, "The Qin Mansion invites eldest brother and eldest sister-in-law to really set a wedding date, right?"
Su Zhou didn't seem to hear what he said, looking at him with a cold expression and eyes like sharp swords.
Su Shi was asking for trouble and was speechless for a moment. He could only touch his nose and laugh twice in a self-deprecating way.
At this time, Su Zhou spoke. He looked directly at Su Shi and said slowly, "You must be wondering why I must investigate the cause of the prince's death."
Su Shi shook his head and said: "As the saying goes, a scholar will die for his confidant. The eldest brother is respected by the prince and should seek justice for the prince."
"That's just one of the reasons."
Su Shi asked puzzledly: "Are there other reasons?"
"Thirteen years ago, Zheng Guo, the quartermaster of the Beiguan Border Army, withheld military supplies, engaged in massive corruption, and enriched his own pockets. What's even more disgusting is that he also secretly sold military supplies and weapons to the Hu people. Do you think such a person should be killed? "
Seeing his elder brother suddenly talking about the past, Su Shi didn't understand what was going on, but as long as he didn't focus on himself, Su Shi was relieved.
When he heard his eldest brother asking him, he hurriedly replied: "Corruption of military funds is already a capital crime, but colluding with foreign enemies is an unpardonable crime."
Su Zhou continued to say coldly: "After my father investigated the matter, he presented the crime and evidence of Zheng Guo's crime to the imperial court. At the same time, he submitted a secret letter to the Holy Emperor. Zheng Guo's criminals were so heinous that it would be difficult to quell the anger of the border troops without killing him."
Su Shi suddenly stopped talking, because he smelled something strange from his elder brother's narration.
My father is the commander-in-chief of Beiguan. If his subordinates commit such a serious crime, they only need to report it to the Ming court and then act in accordance with military law. In that case, they need to inform the Holy Emperor in a secret letter.
While he was still thinking, he heard his eldest brother say: "Who would have thought that my father would receive three imperial edicts in succession within fifteen days, all of which required my father to take Zheng Guo to the capital for trial."
Hearing this, Su Shi still didn't understand. He couldn't help but sigh: "Is this Zheng Guo another relative of the emperor?"
Su Zhou nodded and said, "Zheng Guo is Concubine Zheng's biological brother. Concubine Zheng was favored back then. In order to help her useless brother, she specifically asked the emperor to get a position as the quartermaster of the border army."
Su Shi's heart sank because he had a bad premonition.
He asked slowly: "After receiving the imperial edict, what did father do?"
Su Zhou suddenly asked: "If it were you, what should you do?"
Su Shi hesitated for a moment and said, "Since the imperial edict has been issued, we should only obey it."
Su Zhou looked at him coldly: "Do you really think so?"
"It doesn't matter what I think. What matters is that the decree has been issued."
"Then I'll tell you what father did." Su Zhou suddenly showed a hint of pride on his face: "After my father received the third imperial edict, he read it out in front of Zheng Guo. Zheng Guo was naturally overjoyed and acted ugly. .”
"At this moment, my father took Zheng Guo and his seven accomplices to the execution ground. With a wave of the flag, eight heads fell to the ground."
Having said this, Su Zhou felt happy and couldn't help but laugh: "It's ridiculous that before Zheng Guo died, he couldn't believe that his father really dared to disobey the imperial edict, and he kept shouting at his father, and he didn't look frightened until his head fell to the ground. "
Su Shi smiled inappropriately and bitterly at this time: "But my father did disobey the imperial edict."
Hearing Su Shi's words, Su Zhou's expression became gloomy, and he said silently: "Because of this, the emperor was furious and the court was shocked. In addition, Concubine Zheng cried in front of the emperor from time to time, and the court wanted the General's Mansion to fall. People didn't know what to do, so they wrote memorials one after another to denounce my father, saying that he didn't obey the holy orders, support the army with self-respect, etc., and all of a sudden the general's mansion was in a state of turmoil."
"You were only three years old at that time, so naturally you have no impression of the situation in the General's Mansion at that time." Su Zhou looked out the window, as if remembering the original scene, with a trace of sadness on his face.
"At that time, my mother lived in fear every day, crying all night long, and everyone in the house looked gloomy."
Suddenly Su Zhou looked away from the window and looked directly at Su Shi, and his voice became high-pitched.
"Just when people in the General's Mansion were panicking, the prince suddenly came to the General's Mansion and met with his mother. And when he saw that his mother was worried about this matter, he firmly told his mother that his father had done nothing wrong at all, and he promised that he would be his father. Fight with reason."
"The prince was watching the government at that time. When he returned to the court, he argued for his father eloquently and spoke eloquently to the ministers. Now that the prince had come forward, more and more people spoke for his father. The matter finally ended with his father being fined for three years. The General's Mansion was able to avoid a catastrophe."
After hearing this, Su Shi finally understood why his eldest brother wanted to find out the cause of the prince's death, and why his father had that attitude.
He sighed slightly and looked at Su Zhou with complicated emotions.
At this time, Su Zhou was still thinking about the past and did not notice Su Shi's expression.
After a while, Su Zhou's mood gradually calmed down and he said to Su Shi, "Do you think the prince is as kind as a mountain to our General's Mansion?"
Su Shi reluctantly nodded and said, "Yes."
"The ancients once said that a drop of kindness should be repaid by a spring of water, but how can the prince's kindness be a drop of water to the general's mansion?" Su Zhou continued: "The prince is dead, but we have not repaid this kindness. Since the cause of the prince's death is doubtful, , we should find out the truth and avenge the prince."
Su Shi smiled bitterly and said, "That being said, the suspicious cause of the prince's death is just your speculation."
When Su Zhou was about to speak, Su Shi waved his hand and continued: "If the prince really died unexpectedly, could it be that the imperial doctor in the palace really didn't notice at all."
Having said this, he looked at Su Zhou: "Since you are investigating the cause of the prince's death, you have naturally checked the conclusions of the imperial doctor back then. Are there any doubts?"
Su Zhou slowly shook his head and said, "There were three imperial doctors who independently examined the prince's body, but they all came to the same conclusion."
"What conclusion?"
Su Zhou sighed: "That means the prince died of cardiac arrest due to overwork."
Su Shi asked again: "Is it possible that these three imperial doctors colluded?"
"impossible."
Su Shi asked, "Is it really impossible?"
Su Zhou said firmly: "It's really impossible."
Su Shi said calmly: "In this case, it means that there is nothing suspicious about the cause of the prince's death. What else do you want to verify?"
Su Zhou was still about to speak, but the carriage suddenly stopped, and then Lin Mo's voice reached their ears.
"First Young Master, Second Young Master, the Qin Mansion has arrived."
