Chang Feng will start investigating the case overnight again.
Fatty Xu asked: "Master Chang, tell me, how to check?"
Chang Feng said: "Investigating a case is like unraveling a mess. We must first find the thread."
"Fat man, you have been working with me for more than ten years. Let me test you, what is the thread in this case?"
Fatty Xu thought carefully and then said: "That big Han general who is full of lies must be a fake. At this moment, he has either been silenced or gone away."
"He doesn't count as a thread."
"The only clue that can be traced now is the forged troop deployment warrant!"
Chang Feng gave a thumbs up: "Your Majesty, you are smart! We can start with the troop deployment warrant."
Qian Ning said: "Li Guang should still have the troop deployment warrant. We don't care if he wants it, but he won't give it to us."
Chang Feng said: "Tomorrow I will ask for an order from the emperor to order Li Guang to hand over the key physical evidence of the troop deployment order to us."
Fatty Xu asked: "Then let's have a rest tonight?"
Chang Feng waved his hand: "No. The matter is urgent. We need to investigate overnight. This will save Li Guang from killing people and silencing him."
"Although the troop transfer order is not in our hands, we can be sure of one thing. After inspection by Ma Wen Shengma's Laobu Hall, the small seal of King Xing on the troop transfer order is genuine."
"We now need to find out which palace maids and eunuchs around King Xing have access to the small seal. And who stole King Xing's small seal."
"If you find the person who stole the small seal, you can follow the clues."
Fatty Xu was a little confused: "How to check? Prince Xing is under house arrest in the palace now. Let's go to Prince Xing to inquire?"
Chang Feng waved his hand: "Don't go to see King Xing easily. Otherwise, people with ulterior motives will accuse me of colluding with King Xing."
"Don't forget, Princess Xing is from our Jin Yiwei! Let's go to Prince Xing's Mansion!"
The princes and princes of the Ming Dynasty left the capital to go to the vassal state, and they all had palaces in the capital.
After becoming a vassal, they all lived in the old palace during the period when they went to Beijing to pay tribute.
Chang Feng summoned the hundreds of Tujia men who were most loyal to him in the guard, and arrived at Prince Xing's Mansion with Fatty Xu, Qian Ning, and Shi Wenyi.
Something happened to King Xing during the day, so Concubine Jiang naturally couldn't sleep.
Hearing that Chang Feng was coming, Concubine Jiang felt as if she had received a life-saving straw. He quickly came to the living room to see Chang Feng and others.
Concubine Jiang said: "Chang Tongzhi, what is going on? His Highness was fine when he left in the morning. Why did he suddenly say that he had rebelled and rebelled? He was directly detained in the palace and refused to return to the palace!"
Chang Feng told the whole story one by one.
After hearing this, Concubine Jiang was furious: "Who dares to betray the emperor's younger brother?!"
Chang Feng said: "Don't worry, Princess. I will definitely find out the mastermind behind this and let him get the punishment he deserves."
"The key to the matter now is to find out who stole His Highness's seal."
"Would you please, Princess, to make a list of the maids and eunuchs who have access to His Highness' personal seal after he returned to Beijing the day before yesterday?"
"We asked them one by one."
The emperor has more than one jade seal. For example, there were eight jade seals in the Tang Dynasty, called eight treasures, nine treasures after the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty, and eleven treasures after the Song Dynasty moved south.
The imperial seal of the Ming Dynasty contains seventeen treasures. Later Emperor Jiajing increased it to twenty-four treasures.
The prince also has more than one gold seal. There are nine treasures in total, each with different uses.
One of the smallest portable seals is similar to the Qin and Han seals, not much larger than a fingernail. Keep it in the ribbon bag around your waist.
Concubine Jiang nodded: "Sure! Let Lu Song come over too. Think about it with me."
Concubine Jiang and Lu Song are worthy of being the children of Jinyiwei with a bright and upright nature and thoughtful thoughts.
They wrote a list. After King Xing returned to Beijing, there were a total of eight people who had access to his personal seal.
The three were young eunuchs who served King Xing to change his clothes in the morning. Their names were De'an, Dekui and Debing.
One is King Xing's maid, thirty-six years old, named Cuiniang.
One is the royal seal supervisor named Feng Lao, who is responsible for wiping the small seal.
One is King Xing's personal favorite, Huang Youlu.
The other two people were Concubine Jiang and Lu Song.
Chang Feng asked six people to come to the palace hall. Be prepared to ask questions one by one. At the same time, let Concubine Jiang and Lu Song avoid it.
The first person who came in was the maid Cui Niang.
In ancient times, maids had a low status, and any words with the words "room-warming" or "bed-warming" were the tools for the master to vent his anger.
Thirty-six-year-old Cui Niang is it.
If the king of Xing is ill, it will be difficult for him to stand tall. It requires a woman to supplement it with crimson lips to achieve success.
Concubine Jiang had a very strict upbringing, and to put it bluntly, she was conservative. I always feel like it's too boring to do that.
At this time, you need the help of the maid. Let the princess and Prince Xing be able to succeed, spread the branches and leaves of the small sect, and give birth to a legitimate eldest son.
Such secrets are recorded in the first-class secret files of Jin Yiwei.
The last time Fatty Xu saw the hidden story of King Xing in the secret files, he even joked with Chang Feng.
Cuiniang came to Chang Feng and others.
Chang Feng thought to himself: What a charming mature lady! It’s ditchy and dizzy, so beautiful it’s bubbling. No wonder she can take on the important responsibility of being a maid in the general house.
Chang Feng asked Cui Niang: "Is your name Cui Niang?"
Cui Niang's voice was as soft as cotton: "Return to your lord. Yes."
Chang Feng asked again: "Have you ever gotten married?"
Cui Niang smiled bitterly: "How can someone like me get married?"
Cui Niang’s identity is very embarrassing. Let's say she is King Xing's woman, but that's definitely not the case. Just a slave.
Let’s say she is not King Xing’s woman. Her errand was to assist Wang Heli.
Chang Feng asked: "Did you enter the bedrooms of His Highness and the Princess the night before yesterday?"
Cui Niang replied: "Yes. His Highness traveled a long distance by boat. The boat was bumpy and His Highness felt dizzy. He has been living alone in the cabin. He has not had any use for me for a month and a half."
"Only after you come ashore to the palace can Your Highness sleep with the princess."
When Concubine Jiang summoned the six people, she told them to tell Master Chang everything they knew.
Cui Niang was more sincere and even told King Xing's secrets.
Chang Feng has been handling cases for many years and has perfected his interrogation skills.
He asked Cuiniang: "You are still unmarried, do you hate this palace with a birdcage?"
Cui Niang said nothing. There was resentment in his eyes.
Chang Feng said: "If I were you, I would gnash my teeth with hatred."
Cui Niang sighed: "Oh, what's the use of hatred? This is fate!"
Chang Feng told Basha, a hundred Tujia households: "Call in the captain named Xilang. He is the one who looks like a talented person."
Not long after, a handsome Tujia man walked in. This man's name is Xilang, he is twenty years old, and he is recognized as the tallest and handsomest among the hundreds of Tujia people in Jinyiwei.
It's a pity that he is not Han Chinese. Otherwise, we ladies who come to propose marriage will cross the threshold.
Chang Feng pointed at Xilang and asked Cuiniang: "How do you think it will grow after this?"
Cui Niang glanced at Xi Lang, her eyes seemed to be able to spit out fire, and she was completely in a state where she couldn't move her legs after just one look.
Chang Feng coughed awkwardly: "Tell me, what do you think he looks like?"
Cui Niang replied: "He looks so good that any woman will look at him more than once."
Chang Feng said: "I'll say hello to the princess and let you out of the house. Then I'll be a matchmaker for you and let you marry him. How about that?"
Xilang was stunned: "Master Chang."
Baihu Basha scolded Silang: "Stop talking nonsense!"
Two blushes appeared on Cuiniang's face: "It all depends on the adults."
Chang Feng said again: "I will not only protect you as a matchmaker! I will also give you a single-family courtyard house in Beicheng. In addition, I will give you a thousand taels of silver, which will be used as a dowry, how about it?"
Cui Niang knelt down directly on the ground: "Sir, you are my great benefactor! I will provide you with an immortal tablet and burn incense for you every day!"
Chang Feng smiled and said: "There is no pie in the sky. Sister Cuiniang, I helped you, and you have to help me."
Cui Niang wondered in her heart: Could it be that Master Chang also has a disease that is difficult to overcome?
Cui Niang asked: "How can I help, sir?"
Chang Feng replied: "It's very simple. I know that someone instigated you to steal His Highness Prince Xing's personal seal."
"Last night, after you helped His Highness and the Princess have sex, you got out of the bed and closed the curtain. You secretly took the small seal from the coat rack next to it."
"You just need to tell me who ordered you! I just need a name!"
"If you say this name, you can become the wife of a handsome young man. Live a prosperous life in the capital."
Chang Feng This is a typical combination of induced confession and false confession.
This is one of the interrogation techniques. The interrogator will say to the person being interrogated: I know you committed a crime and did such and such. As long as you pay it, I will give you some benefit.
In fact, the interrogator cannot determine whether the person under trial has actually committed a crime.
Cui Niang was stunned after hearing what Chang Feng said.
She looked straight at Chang Feng: "Sir, it's unfair! I have never stolen anything from His Highness. Where can I tell you the name?"
When Cui Niang said this, Chang Feng kept looking at Cui Niang's eyes and paying attention to her body movements.
This is also the interrogation technique accumulated by the Jin Yiwei of past dynasties. When a person lies, he or she will subconsciously blink and move his eyes.
There will also be extra movement on the hands to cover up.
Cui Niang's reaction is a normal reaction after an innocent person is wrongly accused.
Chang Feng sneered: "Then there's nothing we can do! If you don't tell the truth, I can only execute you on the spot!"
"The handsome young man is gone! The single-family courtyard is gone! Even his life is gone!"
Fatty Xu and Chang Feng have been working together on cases for more than ten years, and they have a tacit understanding of each other. He immediately took out the Xiuchun Dao and placed it across Cui Niang's neck.
Fatty Xu asked: "Master Chang, with such a beautiful face, it would be a pity to wipe your neck with blood."
Cui Niang was trembling all over. Chang Feng smelled a fishy smell, and she was so frightened that she drowned.
Cui Niang burst into tears: "My lord, please don't wrongly accuse a good person! I wish I had done something that was sorry to His Highness, so I could recruit him to receive your reward and marry this handsome young man."
Chang Feng winked at Fatty Xu.
Fatty Xu put away his embroidered spring knife.
Chang Feng said: "That's all. It seems that you are really unjust. It has nothing to do with you here. You can go down."
Cui Niang wiped her tears: "My lord, you have a clear mirror! That, that"
Chang Feng asked: "Is there anything else?"
Cui Niang said: "Do you still mean what you said? My marriage to this little brother?"
Chang Feng smiled awkwardly: "Ah, this matter needs to be considered in the long run. You go down and wait for the letter first."
Cui Niang immediately changed her face, as if the spring breeze was blowing on her face: "Little girl, it's up to the adults to make the decision! If you can marry this handsome young man, you will definitely."
Qian Ning chased him away impatiently: "Master Chang asked you to go down and wait for the letter first. Don't wait here."
Cui Niang even claimed that it was true and retreated.
For such a desperate woman, a word from a big shot might be her hope for the future.
After Cui Niang left. Fatty Xu asked: "Has this woman been ruled out as a suspect?"
Chang Feng nodded slightly: "It can't be her. She has a miserable life! Like a drowning person. If I hand her a bamboo pole, she will try her best to catch it."
"The beauty trap is combined with the courtyard house, the dowry inducement, and the knife point. Her reaction does not look like she is deceiving me."
Fatty Xu sighed: "What a pity for this wonderful man."
Chang Feng joked: "What, you like it? Shall I tell the princess?"
Fatty Xu waved his hands repeatedly: "How dare I? That's a woman who serves the feudal king."
Chang Feng said again: "Let Feng Lao, the Prince's Chief Supervisor, come in."
Feng Lao, who was in his thirties, walked in.
Seeing Chang Feng, Feng Lao fell to his knees and said, "Grandpa!"
Chang Feng was surprised: "Eunuch Feng, don't admit your relatives randomly. When did I become your godfather?"
Feng Lao smiled and said: "I am of a lower rank in the palace. When the old eunuch Huai'en was here, I was his grandson. You are the godson of the old eunuch, so I should naturally call you my godfather."
Chang Feng said: "To put it this way, our relationship is very close."
Feng Lao nodded: "It's not just close! When I went to Anlu Prefecture with Your Highness to become a vassal, it was Liu Jin and Eunuch Liu who recommended me in front of the Queen."
"You are Eunuch Liu's benefactor. Eunuch Liu is my benefactor!"
Chang Feng said sternly: "Since you are my god-grandson, I have to speak frankly. Why did you steal His Highness Prince Xing's seal?"
Feng Lao was stunned: "Stealing His Highness's seal? That is a crime of beheading! How dare I?"
Chang Feng kept a straight face: "Don't think I don't know!"
Feng Lao was surprised: "Do you know, Godfather, that I washed the gold seal with urine?"
Chang Feng frowned: "Wash gold with urine? What the hell!"
Feng Lao recruited him truthfully.
His official position is the chief seal supervisor of the royal family. He was responsible for cleaning King Xing's nine gold seals.
To clean the gold seal, rice water is generally used.
However, when the Xingwang Golden Seal was cast, Emperor Hongzhi had just ascended the throne and significantly reduced the funding for the Manufacturing Office of the Ministry of Industry.
Therefore, the nine gold seals of Xingwang are not of sufficient quality and are often "covered with pulp". According to later scientific explanations, the surface of gold products containing impurities is prone to oxidation.
Just use rice water to wash the batter, it won't be clean.
Feng Lao learned from an old goldsmith in Anluzhou that the best way to deal with patina was to add a little urine to the rice water.
So Feng Lao did as he was told. King Xing's golden seals are all shining with golden light that he maintained.
But using urine to clean the gold seal would be considered treason if word spread.
Feng Lao thought Chang Feng knew about it, so he said, "Don't think I don't know."
After listening to Feng Lao's confession, Chang Feng couldn't laugh or cry.
Chang Feng said: "I'm not interested in those who don't pee! I only know that you stole His Highness's personal seal."
"Tell me, who instigated you to do this. For the sake of the old eunuch, I will ensure that you are safe."
Feng Lao frowned: "Grandpa, you can't accuse someone of innocence out of thin air!"
"I work conscientiously in the palace, and I am highly appreciated by His Highness. His Highness also said that after the tribute is over, I will be promoted to the deputy steward of the palace!"
"I'm only two months away from joining the ranks of eunuchs!"
"I'm not fooled by the fat. Why do I do something that's embarrassing to His Highness at the critical moment when I'm promoted to eunuch?"
Every eunuch has a dream of becoming a eunuch.
Being among the "eunuchs" is the lifelong pursuit of eunuchs.
Feng Lao always fulfilled his duties in the palace. The only shameful thing I ever did was to mix urine with rice water to clean the gold seal.
Chang Feng stared at Feng Lao. In Feng Lao's eyes, he saw no deception, only sincerity.
Chang Feng said: "That's all. You go down first."
Feng Lao looked embarrassed: "What about the grandson washing the gold seal with urine?"
Chang Feng said: "I have never heard of this. Oh, by the way, there is a Chicheng Gold Shop in the north of the city. There are two goldsmiths there who are old men from the Baoquan Bureau of the Ministry of Industry."
"You can ask them for advice on how to deal with the golden seal paste. Don't use that pickled stuff again in the future."
Feng Lao raised his hand: "Yes!"
After Feng Lao left, Fatty Xu said, "I don't think your god-grandson is lying."
Chang Feng nodded: "Yes. A eunuch who is about to be promoted to eunuch has no need to create extraneous matters and help outsiders frame King Xing."
"Call in the three young eunuchs who are responsible for dressing King Xing."
De'an, Dekui and Debing came in. These three people are all about twelve or thirteen years old.
As soon as the three of them entered the door, Chang Feng said to Fatty Xu: "Pull the three of them down and chop them down!"
When the three of them heard this, they were stunned with fear. After a while he started crying.
De'an said: "Sir, I shouldn't have peeped at Sister Cuiniang taking a bath. After letting her bump into me, she called her into the room and played her little husband for the whole night!"
"Have mercy, my lord!"
Dekui said: "Sir, I only stole it once! My mother wrote a letter saying that my father was ill and the family was in urgent need of money. I just stole a brocade purse from His Highness and exchanged it for thirty taels of silver when I left the palace. .”
"My lord wants to kill me, I admit it. Don't hold my parents accountable!"
De Bing said: "I shouldn't mix snot into the tea that Concubine Lin drinks. I deserve to die! Concubine Lin is the master, and I received a slap from her because I was being rewarded! I shouldn't take revenge!"
After hearing the cries of these three guys, Fatty Xu couldn't stop laughing: "I can't tell. You three have all done something wrong!"
"Pretend to be a little husband? You don't have that thing, how can you pretend to be?"
Dean stuck out his tongue: "Pretend like this."
Chang Feng said: "I don't care about your trivial matters. Let me ask you, who instructed you to steal His Highness's personal seal?"
The three people denied it continuously: "We don't have it, sir!"
"If we do this, there will be thunder and lightning from heaven!"
Chang Feng said: "It seems you three won't tell the truth without being beaten! Come on, take them down, and let me spank their butts with the scabbard!"
Five big and three strong warriors swarmed up, knocked down the three young eunuchs, picked up their scabbards and hit them on the buttocks.
They themselves are guilty. Chang Feng was enforcing the rules of Prince Xing's palace.
Each of them was beaten more than twenty times, and all three of them had their skin and flesh bruised to pieces, and they fainted from the pain.
Chang Feng waved his hand: "Stop the execution and splash them with cold water to wake them up!"
"Bah, bah, bah". Three basins of cold water were poured down on him. The three woke up.
Chang Feng said: "I should hit each of you with a hundred scabbards. Now I only hit twenty. Whether I will hit the remaining eighty depends on whether you tell the truth!"
"Tell me, who instructed you to steal His Highness's personal seal?"
(End of chapter)
