The Marquis of Pingliang is over fifty years old. Although his temples are a little gray, his body is strong and there is no trace of old age. Now the Marquis of Pingliang is sitting in the front hall accompanied by the butler. He holds his forehead with one palm and his eyes are filled with anger.
"Master Hou, the government office, the criminal department and the Jin Yiwei are already investigating. I think the murderer will be brought to justice." It was the old housekeeper who spoke.
Marquis Pingliang raised his head slightly, but there was no trace of sadness on his face. He said as if mockingly: "The government office and the Ministry of Justice are just showing off. They dare not wade into this muddy water regarding the murder case in our honorable family. As for the Jin Yiwei? Ha, Other than randomly listing charges for people, they don’t have the ability to do anything. Even if they catch the culprit, it may not be true, and there’s no telling how they were beaten into submission.”
As they were talking here, Zhang Ren had already entered the front hall under the leadership of Fu Rang.
When they met the Marquis of Pingliang, the two juniors were naturally the first to salute, and then they said a bunch of innocuous words about how people can't be resurrected, how to express condolences, etc. Feeling that it was about time, Zhang Ren asked directly: "I take the liberty of asking. As for the previous sentence, I wonder if the Marquis has any grudges against others?"
The Marquis of Pingliang frowned slightly and said, "You, the younger generation, have come to mourn your late wife. I understand your feelings. As for the case, it will be investigated by the various yamen, so I won't bother you, the younger generation."
Zhang Ren reached out and took out the Jin Yiwei waist badge from his arms, and then said: "To be honest with you, Mr. Hou, I am also a member of the Jin Yiwei. Lord Jiang and Jiang specially asked me to come here this time."
The Marquis of Pingliang really didn't expect that the young boy in front of him could actually be valued by Jiang Wei, "It's true that I underestimated this young man like you. I have killed countless people in my life. It is not an exaggeration to say that I have enemies all over the world. Yunnan alone was defeated by me." I don’t know how many natives there are in the owl’s head. After fighting all the big and small battles in my life, there are countless people who hate me. Moreover, I am an upright person and never beat around the bush. I might have offended other colleagues inadvertently."
Zhang Ren continued to ask: "Have there been any suspicious people near the Marquis Mansion recently?"
Marquis Pingliang did not answer, but raised his hand and said: "I am a little tired, you can go down..."
Zhang Ren was about to ask again, but was already pulled out by Fu Rang beside him.
Because Zhang Ren was assigned by Jiang Wei, Marquis Pingliang answered the first question to give Jiang Wei face.
Precisely because Zhang Ren was appointed by Jiang Wei, the Marquis of Pingliang did not want to give any more answers. Who in the noble circle did not know that Jiang Wei was an old yin critic? It would be better not to interact too much with the people he appointed.
After Zhang Ren and Fu Rang exited the front hall, Marquis Pingliang called the butler next to him and asked in a low voice: "Is the boy who was silent just now from Fu Youde's family?"
The old housekeeper usually greets and sends guests off, and has already remembered all the nobles and nobles of Yingtian Mansion in his mind, "He is the third young master of Duke Ying's Mansion."
Duke Ying is the title of Fu Youde, and most people call him this.
Marquis Pingliang nodded: "Find a way to blame the wife's death on Fu Youde's son."
The old housekeeper was startled and said hurriedly: "Master Hou, if this is true, I am afraid that the real culprit will be at large. If the real culprit is not caught, Master Hou may be in danger."
The Marquis of Pingliang said: "Just add more guards to protect the courtyard. If you can drag Fu You into the water, my safety is nothing."
"But..." The old housekeeper's face was full of worry.
The Marquis of Pingliang said: "My wife is very pampered and does many things that are harmful to the world. She deserves her death. The same is true for me..."
Having said this, the Marquis of Pingliang sighed and continued as if unwillingly: "Back then, when I followed your Majesty to conquer the world, I put my life at risk. Now that the world is at peace, Your Majesty can no longer tolerate these nobles. The honors who were implicated by Hu Weiyong were Isn't it expensive? It seems peaceful now, but His Majesty's sword has never been sheathed. In order to prosper our family, our family has indeed done a lot of shameful business. If my wife dies, she will die. If I use my wife's death , let the Jin Yiwei find out some unclean things, I'm afraid our whole family's lives will be in danger. Pulling Fu You into the water can be regarded as passing the knife to His Majesty, and it can also be used to test whether our Majesty will use the knife. If the knife doesn't move, that's it. , if it moves, maybe His Majesty will let us go because of our contribution to delivering the knife, and our Majesty will be very clear-minded."
The old housekeeper answered and asked, "What if His Majesty doesn't mean to let our family go?"
The Marquis of Pingliang narrowed his eyes slightly, "Fu Youde has more merits than me, and his title is higher than me, so let him go and let his Majesty go. If he loses and fails to make His Majesty put away his sword, then we will prepare to wait for death."
The old housekeeper knew that this matter was a matter of life and death, and immediately agreed: "Don't worry, Lord Marquis, I will definitely bring Fu Youde's son in today."
Marquis Pingliang closed his eyes and nodded silently.
…
Zhang Ren was pulled out by Fu Rang, somewhat puzzled: "Brother Fu, why are you pulling me here? I haven't finished asking yet."
Fu Rang shook his head slightly, but did not explain much. Instead, he said hello so that Zhang Ren could separate and wandered around the Hou Mansion alone. After all, the relationship between the two was not that close. Do I tell you that all of us hate that old yin critic Jiang Wei?
Zhang Ren had an inexplicable expression on his face.
By the time Zhang Ren returned to the front yard, the place was already crowded with people.
He came to Gao Haiyong, and the primary school student next to him stepped forward and said: "In addition to the Marquis himself and the maids who are guarding the foyer, the rest of the people in the Pingliang Marquis Mansion have already gathered here, and they have all been inquired. There is no question. Who said that the evil ghosts were claiming their lives? Basically, Zhang San told Li Si, Li Si told Wang Wu, and Wang Wu told Zhang San."
Zhang Ren nodded. Now he had expected this result. People in the Pingliang Hou Mansion were full of talk, so it was basically impossible to find out the source.
However, Zhang Ren saw a very abrupt man in the crowd. It was not that the man was very tall, but that everyone around him was some distance away from the man. As for the reason, this man was holding a rope in his hand, and there were five people around him. A big dog.
Zhang Ren walked over with great interest, first looked at the big dog, and then asked the man holding the dog leash: "You are raising all the dogs in Pingliang Marquis Mansion?"
The man bowed slightly and said, "If I go back to the official, all the dogs in the mansion are fed and trained."
Zhang Ren nodded, "This dog looks quite small."
The man said: "Although these dogs look ferocious, they are actually very obedient and will not hurt anyone easily."
Zhang Ren took another two steps forward and saw that the dogs did not react much, but stayed beside the man obediently.
Zhang Ren liked dogs very much, and he was also very courageous, so he directly reached out and petted several big dogs.
The five big dogs are of different breeds, but they have one thing in common, that is, their fur is a little damp.
Recalling Wu Zuo's judgment, if Mrs. Pingliang Hou's wounds were really bitten by wild beasts, then the big dog in the house is highly suspicious, and the big dog will definitely be stained with blood. The best way is of course to clean it. Now It is summer, the weather is hot and humid, and the hair on the big dog's body is long and abundant, so it will naturally feel damp.
Although he was suspicious, Zhang Ren remained calm and slowly stood up and asked the man, "What's your name?"
The man bowed again, "The younger one's name is Sun Ping."
Zhang Ren said: "Put these big dogs back into the kennels, and then come back. Remember to tie these big dogs up."
Sun Ping frowned, but still did as Zhang Ren said.
