After hearing this, Ma Zhong immediately went to the hall, knelt down and said, "Your Majesty clearly knows that I really don't know about this!"
The emperor didn't say anything, but Duke An Guo said warmly: "Master Shangshu, don't be anxious. I wonder if you really have this Master Kuang in your house?"
"There are many handymen in Xiaguan's family, and even people who are not around me don't recognize them." Ma Zhong did not completely deny it, because he knew that some things he said were too absolute, which would arouse suspicion. "It may be an imposter." "
"Li Baozhong and Zhang Lianjiu, do you two know the full name of Master Kuang?" Yang Yin asked pretentiously.
He guessed that these two people probably didn't know their full names. Since they didn't know their full names and only had their last names, it would be difficult to arrest them.
Li Baozhong shook his head slowly, but Zhang Lianjiu said: "I know this, I heard it accidentally. His name is Kuang Yunchou."
"Now that you know your name, it's easy to handle." An Guogong said, "Master Shangshu, is there really someone in your house named by this name?"
"Uh... Yes, there is, but..." Ma Zhong wanted to say something else.
But he was interrupted by An Guogong. "Then send someone to take the arrest warrant and bring him to Lord Shangshu's house first. Whether it is true or not, we will know in court."
Ma Zhong naturally did not dare to be too partial, so he had no choice but to stand up and leave the hall.
When I was leaving the hall, I looked outside and saw that the entourage who had been standing outside had already left, and I felt half relieved.
This person named Kuang had better be able to run away, and if he was caught, his bones should be strong enough to grit his teeth and refuse to admit it.
There must also be people from Longxi to bring Cao Shuo, but the journey is far away and they won't be able to reach the capital for a while.
The people who got it quickly went to silence Cao Shuo to avoid future troubles.
As for Kuang Yunchou, if he were killed, it would inevitably arouse suspicion, so we should not act too hastily.
Ma Zhong did not handle these matters personally, and he only knew a rough idea of the specific circumstances.
Those people have repeatedly vowed that this matter will be kept confidential and thorough, but who would have thought that there would be so many loopholes.
What a bunch of rubbish!
If I had known earlier, I should have let this person named Kuang go away to a foreign country, and then killed him without anyone noticing, so that there would be no future troubles.
However, the matter has come to this, and there is no point in regretting it. We can only do our best to make amends.
It was almost noon and it was time to retreat.
The three presiding officials did not dare to act independently and waited for the emperor's instructions.
"My lords, the emperor said it's getting late, so please retreat." Shang Qiyan walked over and said with a smile.
So he retreated and took everyone down.
The emperor stood up from behind the screen, glanced at the people who stayed behind, and said, "I'm a little tired, and I still have some state affairs to deal with. Leave Shang Qiyan here and let him attend the hearing, and report to me in detail when he gets back."
Everyone then understood that although the emperor would not be present in person for the subsequent trial, he had already left his ears and eyes.
Seeing the emperor's expression and words, Yao Tai knew that he had confirmed in his heart that the fifth prince was innocent.
Then he said: "I believe that the fifth prince must be innocent. These slanderous and slanderous people are really abominable! We must find out!"
After the emperor left, Yao Tai and Ma Zhong also left.
Yan Yu said: "You two, let's go to the back office for now, have tea and a meal! The people who went to pick up people haven't come back yet."
"That's fine," An Guogong returned to his usual easy-going demeanor, "Your yamen's dining hall has always been famous. I remember I had a dish of Qiu Er Yam Soup here the year before last, and I still remember it to this day."
"This is a very common dish. Anyone who wants to marry Duke Guo, I will send someone to tell you immediately." Yan Yupai smiled and asked Duke An and Yang Yin to go ahead.
Just after eating, Kuang Yunchou was caught and taken to the Yamen.
He ran away at first, but didn't escape.
The soldiers guarding the city gate noticed that he looked suspicious, so they stopped questioning him.
The people sent out to arrest him couldn't find anyone in Ma Mansion or his home, so they went to the street to look for him. They happened to meet him and took him over.
get
After that, we will naturally have to ask three questions. Let’s not talk about how the trial will be conducted here.
However, a few days later, someone complained again, saying that the notes presented by Shen Jing, the prefect of Longxi Province, had been detained by the General Affairs Department and had not been submitted to the imperial government.
Governor Shen wrote on the paper the various good deeds of the fifth prince during the disaster relief work in Longxi.
Shen Jingzhi was originally pushed out to serve in this desolate place in Longxi because he refused to cling to the powerful. But after all, he was a county chief, and his words were still very weighty.
So another case was added and handed over to Dali Temple for trial.
Furong Palace.
Concubine Fu had a slight cough these days, so she asked the imperial doctor to take a look at her and prescribed a prescription for evacuation and relief.
Having just taken medicine, Xue Hengzhao brought the plum blossom silver plate filled with candied fruits to the empress: "I just took the medicine and it tasted bitter. Please eat a piece of candied fruit to eat it."
Concubine Fu picked up a small piece from the plate and ate it. Xue Hengzhao brought the tea cup to her and asked her to rinse her mouth.
Concubine Fu gently wiped the corners of her mouth with her handkerchief, and then said, "I wonder what's going on outside now?"
"Don't worry, Madam, the fifth prince will be able to escape unscathed this time. It has been determined that those people are false accusations, we just want to see how deep we can dig out the mastermind behind them." Xue Hengzhao poured out the white embers from the incense burner. explain.
Concubine Fu said: "Based on my understanding of the emperor, this time it won't really hurt the Yao family and the Ma family. It's just a small punishment but a big punishment."
Xue Hengzhao smiled and said, "Even so, we still have to make them vomit blood.
The Yao and Ma families have deep roots. In addition to taking into account the feelings of the queen and Concubine Ying, the emperor also has to worry about the stability of the court.
However, our original intention is to take a long-term view, and we are not in a hurry at this moment. "
Concubine Fu nodded and said, "That's right."
Then he said: "I have copied the Buddhist scriptures for the concubine, please send them over."
Xue Heng took care of it, and because it was snowing outside, he called a young lady to hold an umbrella, and she took the Buddhist scriptures and went to Tong'an Palace.
When he got there, he did not go to see Concubine Rong. He just handed the scriptures to the palace officials there.
When walking back, I just turned a corner and happened to see Yu Guming striding over in guard uniform, holding a sword hanging on his waist.
When he saw Xue Hengzhao, his eyes lit up at first, and then he smiled.
Xue Hengzhao asked the little palace maid to go first, and he stood there, waiting for Yu Guming to come over.
"The prince is back, it's been a hard journey." Xue Hengzhao said and bowed.
"Well, I just...went to Beijing last night." Yu Guming was a little shy, "It's not hard work."
Yu Guming was ordered to go to Longxi to escort relevant criminals to Beijing. It was a tiring and difficult task.
"Is everything going well?" Xue Hengzhao asked.
"Yes." Yu Guming nodded, looking at Xue Hengzhao with a somewhat blank look in his eyes.
He didn't want to do this either. He knew it was rude to do so, but he just couldn't control himself.
"The prince must be going to pay his respects to the concubine, I won't delay you." Xue Hengzhao nodded slightly, and then walked over lightly and elegantly.
Yu Guming was left standing there dumbly.
