By the time they arrived at the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, it was past Unity Hour. Su Huangzhe, Dai Chang and Guo Langzhong were sitting in the interrogation darkroom on one side of the prison. The person kneeling below them was Zheng Ping, who was being taken there. The person who asked the question was Guo Langzhong.
"Zheng Ping, let me ask you, where did you get the mold for making tea cakes?"
Zheng Ping was eating banquets in the Wuzhang Building, drinking the new osmanthus wine, and hugging the Chuyan girl from the Cuihua Building. He was suddenly escorted to this prison by a group of government officials, wearing a fine lake blue silk robe. It was full of wrinkles, especially when I was embarrassed in front of the first-year-old girl, and I felt a fire rising in my heart. But after all, he was the manager of the trading company for many years. Zheng Ping knelt straight and said coldly: "Where is this official from? Forgive me for my blindness."
"Then you know me, right?" Dai Chang said, "Just answer honestly when you ask me anything."
"Hey, Mr. Dai, how can I not know you? But I can't figure out what is going on. I don't even know what I want to answer?"
"Where did this tea cake mold come from?" Dai Chang asked patiently.
"Oh, Lord Dai doesn't know yet. Last time, the transfer envoy called all of us for questioning. Deputy transfer envoy Yin said that we are not allowed to talk about these things related to the tea cake case. Everything has to go through his hands. This is a big case, and we witnesses can't talk nonsense, don't you think so?" As he spoke, he glanced at Su Huangzhe, who was sitting beside him and remained silent.
"You're such a cunning person, do you have to get beaten up a few times before you say anything?" Dai Chang heard Zheng Ping's provocation and became angry.
When Zheng Ping was dragged out of Wuzhanglou, he asked the boy next to him to go to Deputy Transport Envoy Yin to pass the news. He came from Huzhou and had already found out clearly that Deputy Yin's transfer envoy had always been at odds with the Ministry of Punishment, and that the transfer envoy should have been responsible for the tribute tea case. He thought that if he delayed it any longer, Deputy Yin's transfer envoy would definitely prevent Dai Chang from investigating the case, so he was a little disapproving from the front. But at this moment, when he suddenly heard the sign, he suddenly felt that something was not good, and he couldn't help but look at him with a guilty conscience. door.
"Don't look any further. Deputy Yin's transfer envoy can't come now." Su Huangzhe leaned back in his chair, tapped the table with one hand and said, "But you can see him tomorrow."
Zheng Ping was stunned and didn't know what he meant, then he heard Su Huangzhe say again: "Deputy Yin's transfer envoy is at the right servant Mr. Chen's place tonight. I think I can ask him tomorrow. If you want to see him, you can."
"Chen Dong, Master Chen?" Zheng Ping asked tremblingly as his brain slowly came to his senses.
"Of course. Xiao Yi, please ask Mr. Chen if he has said anything. Mr. Zheng here will not reply until he meets Deputy Transport Envoy Yin."
"No, no, no, I said, I just drank some wine and my mind is confused. Just ask, sir." Zheng Ping turned pale with fright. Chen Dong was the famous King of Hell and a confidant of the Holy Sage. Now he hit the gun Speaking of which, usually the ministers on the left and right would not work on the same case together. It seems that this tribute tea case is not a trivial one.
"What? You want me to repeat this question again, have you drank a lot?" Dai Chang raised his eyebrows and said sarcastically, but he thought that nowadays, the status of merchants is increasing day by day, and they are all so rude in front of officials. The world is really in decline.
"No, no need. I said, I bought that mold from Xingcun Town in Mindi." Zheng Ping wiped his sweat and continued, "Look at my mouth, I can't tell you anything."
After Dai Chang winked at Mr. Guo, Mr. Guo took over the interrogation, "How much did you buy? Did you buy the molds for those three families from Mindi?"
"There are four kinds of molds in total, small phoenix dumplings, big phoenix dumplings, copper coins and plum blossoms. These things are not cheap, and the small phoenix dumpling style is particularly fine. Ten molds cost 2 taels of silver, and other less fine ones cost 2 taels of silver. One tael of silver. So I didn’t buy much. I thought I could hire a carpenter to make a few more like this.”
"Then why didn't you use the Xiaofengtuan mold, but let Shen Lizhi and the others use it? You brought such an expensive mold from Min. Are you so kind?" Guo Langzhong asked.
"I thought so too. I originally planned to use it myself, but later I asked a carpenter to make some copies. The others were particularly easy to make. Only the small phoenix dumpling could not be made. After several attempts, the printed tea cake surface turned out to be... All the patterns were spent, and it was really difficult to carve. Later, Lord Zhizhou held a tea shop meeting, and Lord Zhizhou knew that I had a new mold. Because I tried making a few in the first few days and gave them to Lord Zhizhou, so Lord Zhizhou asked me to Take out the newly arrived molds and the newly made molds to be used by registered tea households. After all, this tribute tea represents the face of Huzhou, and I am the manager of Huzhou Tea House, so I have to be generous."
"You are really generous. Haha." Dai Chang sneered a few times, obviously not believing what Zheng Ping said.
"Sir, please listen to what I have to say. I had no intention of bringing the mold of the little phoenix dumpling, so I asked someone to put it away specially. Then I brought the other three items and the mold made by the carpenter to the tea shop. They picked them. Who would have known that my shopkeeper had something wrong that day and the thirty molds from Xiaofeng Tuan were also mixed in. Shen Lizhi and the others picked them out and I realized that I couldn't find anyone to get them back." Zheng Ping lamented. , "Besides, I have discussed these matters with Deputy Transporter Yin. The Xiaofeng Tuan is a bit lighter, but the workmanship is fine. Officials can't be too picky, right? This will make us merchants live."
"Call the shopkeeper." Su Huangzhe said softly, then turned back and asked Xiao Yi: "You can get all the molds."
Xiao Yi replied: "I have obtained the molds of the Shen family and the Chu family. I also brought back the chief shopkeeper of Quan Xiangji and several tea-making masters."
"Let Wang Yu Temple test these two molds. Then bring the shopkeeper in for questioning."
Not long after, Zheng Ping's shopkeeper was arrested. The shopkeeper's surname was Niu, and he looked rather bookish. He didn't turn into a puddle of mud even when he was kneeling in the hall.
Guo Langzhong asked: "Shopkeeper Niu, on the day of the tea shop meeting, did your master arrange for you to distribute tea cake molds?"
"Yes. I have always been in charge of the tea cake mold, and the master and I bought it from Mindi."
"Oh, you also went to Mindi? Let's talk about buying molds first." Guo Langzhong said.
"We go to Mindi every year, always to Xingcun Town at the foot of Wuyi Mountain. We bought the molds at the Wangji Wooden Shop in the town. The tea cakes in Mindi have always been the best in Qi, and we I will buy some good tea cakes and tea bowls and sell them in Huzhou. I will also go to see how tea is made there. In recent years, it has been popular in Mindanao to make tea well and then press it with a special mold, so that the tea cakes come out It looks good, let’s follow suit and try to be fresh.”
"After you bought it, you used that mold to make tea and gave it to Zhizhou?"
"Yes, yes. On the second day after I returned to Huzhou, the master asked us to try it out. Because the molds were expensive, we didn't buy many. We wanted the carpenter to make some more, so we could try them out ourselves first. "
"Have you made a little phoenix ball?"
"I did it, I did it. I remember I made four of them, all in the same mold. The pattern of the little phoenix balls was very fine. When I finished it, I gave it to Lord Zhizhou for appreciation. Lord Zhizhou also praised the appearance of the little phoenix pictures. It’s so fine, a cake is only as big as the palm of your hand, but it has such clear lines.”
"Has Zhizhou ever eaten that tea cake?"
"The little one doesn't know. I just put the tea cake in the box. It was sent by my master."
"Then let's talk about the tea party meeting that day."
Shopkeeper Niu wiped the sweat from his head and continued: "The day before the tea shop meeting, the master told me to sort out all the molds so that they would be used by the tea farmers that day. He said it was arranged by Master Zhizhou. Then the master specially said not to take away the mold of the small phoenix dumplings, because the carpenter later could not make the small phoenix dumplings well, and the texture of the tea cakes was all ruined, so we could only use the ones from Fujian. I had to keep it for my own use. I remember that I bought thirty small phoenix dumpling molds in total. I put them in bundles of ten in the tea shop’s workshop and separated them specially. Who would have thought that early that morning, I had someone transport the molds and install them? I went to the three boxes, and when one of the boxes was opened, there were thirty little phoenix dumplings on it. I was stunned at the time, thinking that I was in trouble now, and my master looked bad. Later, the Shen family The master first picked Xiao Feng Tuan and took ten yuan, then Master An took ten yuan, and finally Mr. Chu from Quanxiangji took ten yuan. There was not a single piece left in our store."
By the time we finished interrogating the shopkeeper of Quan Xiangji, it was already broad daylight.
When the three of them went to the side room to rest, An Ying had asked Yayu to prepare wontons and wheat cakes.
"What do you think of Miss An?" Su Huangzhe asked first. Guo Langzhong and Dai Chang ate hurriedly. After a night of interrogating people, they were indeed hungry and tired.
An Ying was placed at the back of the darkroom and was taken to the side room after listening to the interrogation of shopkeeper Quan Xiangji. He then asked Meiyu, who had hurriedly come to the government office, to borrow the kitchen to make some filling food.
An Ying pressed his forehead and said: "The Xiaofeng Tuan served by Master Zhizhou was too delicate, so Master Zhizhou was reluctant to drink it. After testing, it was not toxic at all. The two molds were tested repeatedly, and it was indeed the source of the poison." Now it seems that the mold was poisoned by Mr. Zheng. But why did Mr. Zheng poison him? There is really no reason at all. There must be a motive for committing the crime. "
"There must be a motive for committing a crime? That's a good statement." Su Huangzhe nodded, "Miss An is young and has a very good mind."
"Your Majesty, you are ridiculous. Now that the case is clear, don't you know how long my father will stay in prison?" An Ying carefully pushed the wontons in front of Su Huangzhe and thoughtfully placed a piece of wheat cake.
Guo Langzhong had already finished the whole bowl of wontons, let out a long sigh, and started to eat wheat cakes with wonton soup. When he heard this, he said: "It is commendable that Miss An's filial piety is good, but this case cannot be released until the case is closed." The trial has just been completed now. As for the inside story of the case, we still need to carefully examine it. There is no rush. But now it seems that your father has been innocently affected, so he can bear with it for a few more days. "
Su Huangzhe ate very gracefully, not too slowly. After finishing the wontons, he stopped eating. He pushed the wheat cakes to Guo Langzhong, washed his hands and said, "I asked people to bring Zheng Ping's shop and tea." The shops are all closed, let’s go there and take a look later.”
"Shouldn't Zheng Ping be put on trial again? Since the poison came out of him, he must know something." Dai Chang said.
"Zheng Ping has a clean family background and has been making tea for generations. There won't be any big breakthroughs if he is tried again. But what his shopkeeper said about the model being mixed up, I do find it strange."
An Ying said: "I have been to Zheng Ping's tea shop, and I have also met Zheng Ping's wife. That day I saw his wife drinking a piece of Xiaofeng Dumpling. I also felt strange why his family also made Xiaofeng Dumpling. But Feng Tuan did not pay tribute."
Su Huangzhe glanced at it and said to An Ying: "Go change your clothes and come with me to Zheng Yishun Tea Shop." Then he said to Guo Langzhong and Dai Chang: "Brother Mingda, Brother Yingshao, this mansion You should keep an eye on the affairs in the Yamen first, Chen Dong has taken over the military defense of Huzhou, and the transfer envoy Zhao is expected to be here soon, so Zheng Ping and others must keep an eye on it."
Dai Chang and Guo Langzhong stood up and agreed, and Su Huangzhe took An Ying to Gaosheng Street.
