"What?" Mrs. Cheng, who felt a little more relaxed, stood up again, "What can Qing Niang do for you?"
"After knowing what Butler Jiao did, I can confirm that he gave someone in the inner courtyard an opportunity to go to the study."
"So we checked everyone's movements in the inner courtyard that afternoon, and only Qingniang disappeared for half an hour."
An Ying took out his confession and said: "This is all thanks to the management of the Cheng Mansion's inner court. There are rules for what everyone can do and when. Everyone in the inner court had their movements and arrangements that afternoon, and each other had witnesses. Only Qing Niang took a nap in her bedroom, and there was no witness."
"Her maid was called to be scolded by Butler Jiao. When she came back, she found her taking a nap, and she didn't even lose her temper because her snack was late. In fact, the young lady at that time just secretly went to the study in Qinghui Garden."
Mrs. Cheng looked at Qing Niang who was brought up and asked in confusion: "Why on earth is this? I am getting more and more confused."
The faces of others also became more and more confused. An Ying continued, "Actually, we have to start with Mr. Cheng's experience. Although it is a bit complicated, this is the truth of the matter. Please be patient and listen to me as I continue.
"Everyone knows that Master Cheng was originally a military commander."
"Master Cheng's experience is very unique. He rose from a military commander to a third-rank minister in the Ministry of Etiquette. This is not something that ordinary civil servants can achieve."
Mrs. Cheng looked proud and nodded: "Old Cheng was injured when he was thirty years old and could not go to the battlefield, so he started to read, write and practice painting. With the help of noble people, he joined the Ministry of Etiquette to work, and he did a lot of work. It was only through doing an errand to share the worries of the Holy One that I got the position of Minister."
An Ying nodded and said, "There are two important key questions here. First, what kind of injury did Shi Lang Cheng get? He didn't have any serious bone trauma on his body. Why did he suddenly give up martial arts and follow the civil service?"
Mrs. Cheng suddenly fell silent and pursed her lips tightly.
An Ying sighed, "This is also the reason why Mrs. Cheng didn't report the crime in the first place, right? Mrs. Cheng?"
Mrs. Qi Guogong was very surprised and asked, "Aqi, Shi Lang Cheng has always been in good health. He can eat and sleep, and he can also wield a forty-pound sword. What on earth did he hurt?"
An Ying took out a stack of records and said, "Mrs. Cheng, please allow me to offend."
Mrs. Cheng nodded, "This is a major case of the Ministry of Justice. I am narrow-minded and thought it had nothing to do with the case. Just tell me."
"Master Cheng has diabetes."
The people in the hall became a little commotion, and Mrs. Qi Guogong said: "Aqi, what is there to cover up about diabetes mellitus?"
An Ying saw Mrs. Cheng nodding towards him and continued: "Mr. Cheng does eat a lot, drinks a lot, and poops a lot. These are the symptoms of diabetes, and judging from the ulcers on Mr. Cheng's feet, it is clear that he has diarrhea." The thirst syndrome has reached a serious stage."
"So Mr. Cheng suffers from diabetes and should actually eat less sweets and cold drinks. But the weather was very hot that day, so Xiao Tao prepared three drinks for him, all of which were sweet drinks and kept chilled for a long time. Mr. Cheng said After drinking a large amount of ice, he suffered cardiac arrest. The sound of something falling that Xiao Tao heard was the sound of Master Cheng falling to the ground."
After hearing this, Mrs. Cheng stayed for a long time and said slowly: "So our old Cheng did indeed die of illness, and it was not an assassination attempt by some foreign country?"
An Ying nodded, "There are hundreds of Liang family's medical records on diabetes. It can be confirmed that Mr. Cheng died of diabetes."
When everyone was in an uproar, An Ying continued: "And diabetes has an important symptom, which will affect men's sexual ability and fertility. This is why Mrs. Cheng does not want to say more."
As soon as these words came out, everyone started whispering.
An Ying said: "The Cheng family only has two concubines. One is Mrs. Cheng's maid, Qi Bei. The other is the concubine they bought a few years ago, Qing Niang. When he bought Qing Niang, Mr. Cheng was already in poor health. Well, buying a concubine at this time is obviously not for the sake of continuing the family line or for lust. And a very important point is that Qing Niang was bought by Mr. Cheng himself, and the deed belongs to Mr. Cheng himself, right? "
Mrs. Cheng calmed down, nodded and said: "I bought her because of her painting skills. I later became obsessed with painting. Everyone knows this. After I bought her, the deed was with him, and I didn't To cross."
"So I just mentioned two key issues. The first one is already known, Minister Cheng's body, and the second one is the support of the nobles."
Mrs. Cheng said puzzledly: "The noble man is the Duke of Qi. Everyone knows this."
Mrs. Qi Guogong also nodded, "Our old man and Mr. Cheng are good friends who have been together for many years. It was our old man who strongly recommended Mr. Cheng to join the Ministry of Rites from the Military and Horse Department. This has no precedent before. Mr. Cheng is also very capable and has done well in the Ministry of Rites. It’s brilliant, and we old men also feel proud.”
An Ying nodded, "The question I'm talking about is not who the noble person is. It's how to get to know the noble person and get his full support?"
"Oh, they are both obsessed with painting. They paint together whenever they have nothing to do."
An Ying called the wind master Cao Meng, "This is your original painter, do you still remember it?"
Mrs. Cheng looked at it carefully and nodded, "Yes, you are Painter Cao, I remember. It turned out that there were three or four painters in our house, but later the master dismissed them all."
An Ying said: "Cao Meng, please tell me about Master Cheng's painting."
Cao Meng saluted and said: "Master Cheng's painting skills are mediocre. Even though he has been studying with us for a long time, if his heart is not here, he will naturally not be able to make progress." Cao Meng probably felt that he had gone too far, so he added bravely. :
"Master Cheng is a person who does big things. There is no need to spend more energy on this like craftsmen like us."
"You said Master Cheng's painting skills are mediocre?" Mrs. Qi Guogong sneered, "My old man said that Master Cheng's painting skills are not comparable to ordinary people. How can you, a little painter, have the confidence to criticize your original master? .”
Cao Meng blushed, "Noble man, this villain is obsessed with painting and knows little about other things. But when it comes to painting, if I say no, then it is absolutely no."
Facing an upright man like Cao Meng with low emotional intelligence and straightforwardness, Mrs. Qi Guogong didn't want to be entangled anymore and turned her face away.
An Ying said: "I checked with three other painters, and the conclusions are similar to Painter Cao."
Mrs. Cheng said: "Mr. Xiao An, I am not the one who painted for my husband. My old Cheng's paintings are all there, and not only Duke Qi has seen them and praised them all. Why do these painters say so differently?"
An Ying nodded, "Painter Chen, oh, shopkeeper Chen, let me tell you. He is the shopkeeper of Chen Ji Paint Shop, and he is also one of the four painters in your Cheng family."
Shopkeeper Chen saluted and said: "I am good at boundary painting. Painter Cao specializes in figures, Painter Liu is good at flowers and birds, and Painter Wang is good at landscapes. After the four of us entered the Cheng Mansion, we have been painting with Mr. Cheng. Later I found out that Mr. Cheng always Let us paint all kinds of works, but we are not allowed to sign. We understand this, do we want to work as painters in the inner palace?"
