Imperial City.
The incident of Shi Wentong's tragic death in the car is not a big deal.
There are so many important people in the imperial city, but a mere Minister of Household Affairs is not really a high official.
It can be said that it is small, but it is not small.
After all, he is still the Minister of the Six Books.
Shi Wentong's body remained parked in the six-door mortuary on Chenghuang Temple Street in East District for three days.
Liumen inspected the scene late at night and found no trace of the murderer, except for the driver.
The driver was not Zheng's taxi driver, but a close confidant of Shi Wentong's family. After a short interrogation, the suspicion was cleared.
The "Case of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue's death on the street" was originally intended to be handed over to the Ministry of Revenue and let them handle it internally.
But Ke Xunliang, the Secretary of the Ministry of Hubu, replied lightly that all murders that occurred under the emperor's feet, no matter how big or small, were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Punishment.
The Ministry of Punishment saw that this was not right. It was clearly a sudden death, and they pushed it to the Ministry of Officials.
He said that he could just ask the Minister of Civil Affairs to eliminate his official status and issue pensions.
The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was even more reluctant to hear this. Hearing that Shi Wentong's screams resounded throughout the imperial city when he died, even dogs wouldn't eat it, so he quickly ordered people to shirk him overnight.
Several major departments pushed for a day and a night, and finally someone from above said: The death of Dr. Hubu was strange, and the cause of death was to be investigated thoroughly within three days.
The leading men in the city took orders and went to the morgue one after another for autopsy.
Swen Tong's body still maintained the same posture as when he died. When the widowers lifted the shroud, they saw that Swen Tong was in a horrific death state. His eyes were wide-eyed and bloodshot, as if he had been shocked. Moreover, the corpse had been left there for a day and a night, and it was covered with corpse spots, making it even more hideous. All the corpses took a breath of cold air in unison, and felt the dark wind blowing in the mortuary, as if someone was screaming for injustice in the dark.
The great men tried it all night, but they couldn't find out why. An experienced author speculated and speculated: It's scary to death.
Several major departments certainly do not accept this conclusion. In the end, he had no choice but to invite an old man who had been in office for many years to come out.
The old man was eighty-three this year, already a very old man. He tremblingly walked into the mortuary with the support of several disciples.
After a while, the old man frowned and lifted up Swen Tong's trousers, and he suddenly understood.
"The yang root is purple, swollen and bruised, which is obviously due to excessive yang replenishment, lack of replenishment, imbalance of qi and blood, and rapid fire attacking the heart. May I ask Mr. Shi if he has taken any internal tonic recently?"
When everyone heard this, they all thought it was incredible, so they asked Shi Wentong's family members.
After careful investigation, following clues, I even found out the famous doctor's prescription.
This mystery case is finally over.
The truth comes out.
Mr. Shi, he can finally die in peace and rest in peace.
In the end, the case was handed over to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The cause of Swinton's death was not announced, but inside information still came out.
There's no other reason, the main reason is that it's so funny.
…
After Zheng's recent implementation of a series of "wealth dispersal" measures, business is now booming, and retail investors who come to make deposits have almost crossed the threshold of the bank. Erniang can't get away to deal with important matters.
Zhizhi, Pingping, and Lili, who were responsible for visiting the prison, returned and reported to Er Niang that everything was going well for him and that he was even living a comfortable life. Only then did Er Niang's thoughts drop a little.
The Ministry of Household Affairs checked for several days, but could not find any irrefutable evidence of Zheng's tax evasion. If nothing unexpected happened, the master would be free once the formal documents were issued. As for how to appeal for justice afterwards, it is up to the master to decide.
After Er Niang finished handling the important matters at hand, she planned to go to the prison camp to tell the master the great news.
In addition, when Er Niang was riding back to Zheng's house yesterday evening, the cyclist secretly stuffed a thin wooden pipe into him, saying that it was something the master had entrusted to do, and it must be delivered to the master personally.
She manages the accounts on weekdays, and every month a large amount of money is withdrawn by Mr. Zheng himself, which is called "monthly money." Zheng Erniang guessed that Zheng Xiu may have secretly raised a group of idlers, but Erniang never interfered.
Now that I look at it, it is indeed true.
Another important thing is that Er Niang followed Zheng Xiu's instructions to check out a small village called "Bai Li Village". There were some initial clues about this matter, and Er Niang thought that she would have to send the news to the master.
Er Niang put away her account books and prepared to leave Zheng's Bank.
Mrs. Zheng waited for a long time in a taxi and sent a message.
It is said that there was a strange man in Xiangmanlou who took a sharp stirrup to chop meat and squatted in front of Xiangmanlou to sell it.
And Chef He, the old man, who has been working in the back kitchen since the opening of Xiangmanlou, didn't know what happened, but he fell in love with that man's knife and insisted on buying it.
When I got on the bus, I started running forward quickly.
"Then buy it?"
Er Niang frowned slightly, wondering in her heart.
How expensive can a knife be? Does she still need to make the decision?
"The blame lies here." If the rider was Zhizhi, he would be able to identify this person as the middle-aged cyclist who was prostituted in the world that night. I saw the coachman grinning, showing two rows of neat white teeth: "My subordinates think it's strange. The knife seller said that the knife can only be borrowed but not sold, and it will not be sold for any price. It must be seen by the master."
Subordinate?
Er Niang was stunned, looking at Xing Xing's back, thinking for a moment, and recognized that this person was Xing Xing who secretly stuffed "something" to her yesterday evening.
How can there be such a coincidence in the world? Erniang lowered her voice and asked: "Who are you?"
He walked faster and faster, and the crowds of people on both sides passed by Er Niang, almost turning into afterimages, but the car pulled extremely smoothly.
"Celebrating the Thirteenth, a happy celebration, the Thirteenth of the first lunar month. Thank you to me for not giving up on the villain when he was in trouble and supporting me. Now I am thick-skinned and begging for a few free meals under my hands."
Soon Qing Shisan pulled a cart and hitched Erniang up, arriving at Xiangmanlou without any problems.
In front of the fragrant building, a young man wearing coarse linen clothes was sitting by the steps, holding a cloth bag in his hand. Judging from the shape, it was undoubtedly a meat cleaver.
Chef He squatted aside and earnestly persuaded the young man to sell the knife. As long as it was not excessive, he could pay any amount.
It seems that Chef He really likes that knife.
Erniang got out of the car and took a look from a distance.
The young man was estimated to be in his twenties, and his appearance was not outstanding. It was difficult to distinguish his features among the crowd at a glance. What impressed Erniang the most was that the young man had a thick, black plaster on his left face, which was particularly conspicuous.
The young man selling the knife saw Er Niang approaching and grinned: "Isn't this sister the master here?"
Er Niang is also decisive in doing business. She will say a few polite words and then ask how much the price is.
"My knife is only available on credit, not for sale!"
Er Niang shook her head: "I, the Zheng family, never pay on credit."
The young man patted the dust off his body and casually handed the knife that he had held tight all morning to Chef He's hand.
"Sister, I didn't say I won't take the money for the knife. No more, no less, a full one hundred taels of silver. When your master 'comes back', I will come and get it myself... Hehe."
One hundred taels for a kitchen knife was considered a "sky-high price" in the market, but in Er Niang's eyes, it was nothing. When she looked back and saw Chef He happily running back to the kitchen to try out the knife, Er Niang didn't bother to bargain. I just wanted to look for the young man selling the knife again and asked for his contact information, but the young man had already been squeezed into the crowd and disappeared.
"Knife loaner?" Qing Shisan was leaning under the tree, wiping sweat with a sweat towel draped over his shoulders. He paused when he saw this scene, remembering the rumors that had been circulating in the streets many years ago.
Taking advantage of the absence of guests, Qing Shisan sat on the ground, rubbed his feet, took out a dry cigarette from the hidden compartment under the car seat, and lit it with a small fire stick.
Qing Shisan puffed out the clouds and curled his lips and said: "Today is different from the past! Who in this peaceful world still practices these things?"
…
"Weird thing!"
Er Niang did not take this matter to heart, she muttered and ordered someone to pack a few side dishes that the master liked to eat on weekdays.
This was her original purpose of taking a detour to Xiangmanlou.
Qing Shisan turned out to be the master's man. Out of blind trust in Zheng Xiu, Er Niang took Qing Shisan's special car to the prison camp without any other thugs to protect the prison.
After being released all the way, Er Niang came to Room A, and when she was about to tell the master all kinds of good news, she saw Zheng Xiu frowning slightly, lying on his back on the Grand Master's chair, his expression changing slightly.
Er Niang looked at Zheng Xiu's face and couldn't bear to be disturbed, so she quietly stayed outside the prison.
The clever jailer brought a stool.
"The ancestors of the Zheng family bless you. Old General, if you have a soul in heaven, you will also bless me. Please bless Xiu'er this time."
Er Niang closed her eyes, silently prayed for Zheng Xiu, and greeted the eighteen generations of Zheng family's ancestors, as well as the old father who died heroically.