Fugui Tavern is an old tavern on the streets of Dongshi. It has been open on this street for more than five years. The boss, Liu Fugui, was originally a wealthy businessman from Jizhou. He brought his wife and son to Chang'an for business five years ago. As a result, he was plotted by his enemy and his wife and son were killed, but he unexpectedly survived. After burying his wife and son, he had no intention of doing business, so he opened a tavern here and stayed in Chang'an.
In the early morning of this day, Liu Fugui opened the door of the shop as usual and casually fried a bowl of leftover rice in the back kitchen for breakfast. There were not many guests in the morning, so Liu Fugui took a stool and sat down at the door. Across the street is Feng Lai Tower, its door ajar.
Liu Fugui was curious. The Feng Lai Building had not opened its door in a few days. The last time it opened, it was to welcome General Yan. If the door is not closed this morning, could there be a thief?
Just when Liu Fugui was hesitating whether to go to Feng Lai Tower opposite to ask, he saw a little girl staggering out of Feng Lai Tower naked with only a ball of clothes in her arms.
"Help...help!" Yin Xiaolian cried and accidentally fell to the ground.
When several pedestrians saw this, no one came forward. They all gathered around and watched the excitement.
At this time, another figure walked out of the door of Fenglai Building. The pedestrians all looked over, all shocked.
"Isn't that the eldest prince?" "Why is he here?" "As the eldest prince, he would do such a thing?" "Isn't it said that he has an engagement with the daughter of the Huo family?" "I didn't expect that the eldest prince would also do this. If you come to such a romantic place, you will be in for a show!"
Liu Fugui saw that Jiang Fengqing at the door of Fenglai Building was disheveled and barefoot. The smell of alcohol on his body could be smelled from across the street. He was in a very embarrassing situation.
At this time, the crowds on both sides of the street became restless. On the left, Zhou Ruoxiao is eating sesame seed cakes and Jiang Ruoting, who is wearing sackcloth and mourning, walks out of the crowd as the guards come.
Get out. On the right, Dali Temple Minister He Shengbai arrived with a group of policemen, quickly expelled the crowd and blocked the street.
He Shengbai glanced at Yin Xiaolian, who was slumped on the ground. She was naked, hugging a ball of clothes tightly, lowering her head and sobbing. Her thin shoulders were shaking, and there was a strange copper coin pendant hanging around her neck.
He leaned down, took off his official robe, and slowly put it on her. Yin Xiaolian turned her head to look at him, her distracted eyes had some brightness, then she got into his arms and cried loudly. He Shengbai gently hugged Yin Xiaolian and stared silently at the copper coin pendant around her neck.
"I didn't see the excitement yesterday, but I did see it today." Zhou Ruoxiao looked at Jiang Fengqing at the door and said, "Did the eldest prince sleep well last night?"
"I slept okay, but I wonder how my brother slept?" Jiang Fengqing stared at Jiang Ruoting with stern eyes.
"Thanks to the Emperor's care, I slept well at home last night." Jiang Ruoting said calmly, "But what the Emperor did today has really brought shame on the royal family. During the funeral of my father, he actually got into this affair. Such a place, insulting this innocent girl, I think my mother will be very sad if she finds out."
"You plotted all this against me!" Jiang Fengqing roared, "You and An Zicheng disappeared last night. Someone wrote a note asking me to enter the Fenglai Building. I entered the Fenglai Building to find you. of!"
"Hmph, what kind of note?" Jiang Ruoting sneered, "My royal brother, don't make up random stories about how you sneaked into Feng Lai Tower and insulted the girl. I left the palace last night and went directly to Prime Minister Wang's house. I went to drink tea with him, and I didn’t return home until late at night.”
"you…"
"Okay, isn't that embarrassing enough?" He Shengbai interrupted Jiang Fengqing and said, "Come into Dali Temple with me. If you have anything to say, go there and say it."
He Shengbai wrapped Yin Xiaolian in his cloak, hugged her, and said, "There is such a big case in Feng Lai Tower, and no one in charge comes with me?"
"It's so early in the morning, it disturbs people's dreams." Yun Xiang slowly walked out of the house, "Hey, isn't this the eldest prince?"
Jiang Fengqing gave her a disgusted look and walked out of the gate of Fenglai Tower.
He Shengbai frowned and signaled to the police to take Liu Fugui with him. Yin Xiaolian also stopped crying in his arms.
Qinxin Palace.
"What did you say?" Li Qinxi stood up holding the table and looked at Zhang Wenling who came to report the news in shock.
Zhang Wenling knelt on the ground and said, "The queen's matter is absolutely true, and my servant is absolutely not lying. Now I guess they have entered the Dali Temple."
Li Qinxi was stunned for a moment, then picked up the freshly brewed tea on the side with a trembling hand. The tea was boiling hot, but she drank it without feeling anything.
"Your Majesty, Concubine Liu Guifei is here." The palace maid came to announce. "Let her in." Li Qinxi put down the tea cup and wiped her red mouth with a handkerchief.
After a while, Liu Wanyu walked in. Zhang Wenling bowed and retreated.
"Sister is quite leisurely in this deep palace, worshiping Buddha and planting flowers." Liu Wanyu said as she looked around the room.
"What are you here for?" Li Qinxi frowned.
"Why don't you come and see your sister if you have nothing to do? I feel quite bored in this deep palace. Isn't this why I want to come and talk to my sister to relieve my boredom?" Liu Wanyu arched her eyebrows and chuckled, " But thinking about my sister, she has two good sons, so I’m afraid there will be no shortage of people to talk to to relieve the boredom.”
"Concubine Liu Guifei, what do you mean by this?" Li Qinxi glared and said, "To add insult to injury and say some sarcastic words, you think you are great, right?"
"Oh, how could my sister say that to me?" Liu Wanyu said aggrievedly, "I am very worried about my sister. I heard that the eldest prince and the second prince were both arrested and taken to Dali Temple. I was just about to ask my sister to go and see them together. Look."
"Huh, there's no need for you to be pretentious. If you have nothing to do, just go back." Li Qinxi turned around and entered the inner hall.
"Then I won't disturb my sister." Liu Wanyu smiled and turned around to leave.
Zhang Wenling at the door squinted as she watched Liu Wanyu leave surrounded by the palace ladies.
In the inner hall, Li Qinxi knelt in front of the Buddha statue without saying a word.
Princess Mansion.
Jiang Zhiyuan is hiding in the house and watching "The Romance of the West Chamber" attentively. At this time, the door was suddenly knocked.
"Sister, sister! Oh no, my parrot ran away!" Jiang Xianfeng shouted anxiously outside the door.
Jiang Zhiyuan hurriedly hid the books in the drawer and lectured, "What are you calling for? Are you annoying?"
As soon as Jiang Zhiyuan opened the door, Jiang Xianfeng jumped directly on her.
"Ooooooo, my parrot ran up the tree! I can't catch it."
Jiang Xianfeng kept rubbing against her, making her burst into tears.
Jiang Zhiyuan glanced outside and saw that the parrot was standing on a tall tree, pecking at its feathers. Several eunuchs were holding the ladder below, but the ladder was not long enough, and the eunuchs above could not reach the branch where the parrot was.
"Humph, a bunch of trash. Look at me!" Jiang Zhiyuan pushed Jiang Xianfeng away, ran towards the big tree, took three steps on the trunk, and then climbed up the branch where the parrot was. Before the parrot could flap its wings and want to As it flew away, Jiang Zhiyuan caught it with one hand. The eunuchs around him were all dumbfounded. Jiang Zhiyuan let go of the branch with one hand, and when it fell into the air, he kicked the trunk of the tree and landed smoothly on the ground.
"Wow! Sister is so awesome!" Jiang Xianfeng smiled from ear to ear and quickly picked up the birdcage on the ground, "Quickly, put it in. Don't let it escape again."
Jiang Zhiyuan was about to stuff the parrot into the birdcage when she heard the parrot keep shouting, "Sister! Sister! Sister!"
"It's an interesting parrot." Jiang Zhiyuan said with a smile, "You have to take good care of it this time. If it runs away next time, I won't have time to help you catch it."
"If you run away again, I'll beat you with a slingshot!" Jiang Xianfeng said viciously to the parrot in the cage.
"Sister! Sister!" The parrot still flapped its wings and kept calling.
"How can this parrot learn just one sentence?" Jiang Zhiyuan said dissatisfied, "I think the parrot in Mr. Li's house next door can talk a lot."
"I don't know, maybe this parrot is a little stupid." Jiang Xianfeng scratched his head and said.
"No matter, I'm going back to my room first. Don't disturb me if you have nothing to do." Jiang Zhiyuan clapped his hands and turned back to the house.
Jiang Xianfeng pouted and said to the parrot, "You are an idiot!"
"You are an idiot! Sister! You are an idiot!"
"Sister! You are an idiot!" the parrot flapped its wings and screamed loudly.
Several eunuchs on the side quickly covered their mouths to suppress their laughter and ran away.
"Jiang Xianfeng! What are you talking about!"
"Ah! My sister doesn't want it, it's not me, it's... the parrot said it!"
"No, don't spank! Ah! Gentle, gentle!"
Dali Temple.
He Shengbai was sitting in the hall, wearing an official uniform with a black peacock on it, showing his majesty. Above the head, a plaque reading "Justice" is as bright as a mirror. Yushi Zhongcheng and the Minister of Justice sat on his left and right sides.
On both sides of the lobby, Wang Daofan and Jiang Ruoting sat on the left, while Zhou Ruoxiao and Jiang Fengqing sat on the right. Standing in the hall were Yin Xiaolian, Yun Xiang, Liu Fugui and several other witnesses.
"Yin Xiaolian, the medicine boy." He Shengbai said.
Two government officials led Yin Xiaolian to the front of the hall.
"Greetings to all my lords," Yin Xiaolian said, kneeling in front of the hall.
"Yin Xiaolian, please tell me slowly why you went to Fenglai Tower last night and what you did." He Shengbai said gently.
"Come back to me, sir." Yin Xiaolian glanced sideways at Jiang Fengqing, who had a gloomy face. "Because my parents died of illness when I was six years old, my family was poor, and the house was robbed by my uncles. I worked in the imperial doctor's office during the day. The errand boy delivers medicine, and goes to Feng Lai Building to help clean the house in the evening, just to have a place to stay. And last night..."
Yin Xiaolian choked and said, "I was about to sleep in the corner of the lobby when the door suddenly opened. I thought that Sister Yunxiang had forgotten to close the door, causing the door to be blown open by the wind. So I got up and wanted to close the door. , and saw a man standing at the door. I was frightened at the time, and as a result, he caught me... and took me to the room on the second floor..."
"That's nonsense!" Jiang Fengqing glared at Yin Xiaolian and said. Yin Xiaolian was so frightened that she collapsed on the ground.
"Quiet!" He Shengbai slapped the crowd in shock and said, "The eldest prince, don't do whatever you want just because you are the prince. Xiaolian, you don't have to be afraid, just say whatever you want."
Censor Zhongcheng and the Minister of Punishment also frowned slightly.
"Thank you, Sir." Yin Xiaolian adjusted her knees and continued, "I was so scared that I wanted to shout for help, but he threatened me that if I dared to shout, he would kill me. I could only follow him. After going upstairs, he took me into a private room, which was usually a place where dignitaries came. He first asked me to sing a song. Because Sister Yunxiang also taught me some songs on weekdays, I sang two songs. Duan. Later he asked me to drink with him again, but I couldn't resist him, so I could only drink with him. After drinking, he...he rushed over..."
Yin Xiaolian burst into tears when she said this. Jiang Fengqing patted the table next to her. A few drops of tea spilled from the tea cup, which happened to fall on Zhou Ruoxiao's sleeve.
"Since the eldest prince has never done this, why should he be so panicked?" Zhou Ruoxiao wiped his sleeves and said.
"You go down first, Chuan Yunxiang." He Shengbai slapped the tree of surprise.
"Sir." Yun Xiang knelt where Yin Xiaolian had been.
"Tell me what you were doing last night, what you saw, what you heard?"
"The girl was drinking alone in the house yesterday afternoon. She went to bed early but forgot to close the door. When she woke up again, it was this morning."
"Oh, did you really hear nothing last night? And was there anyone else in your Feng Lai Building at that time?" He Shengbai asked.
"Young masters also know what our Feng Lai Tower does. The private rooms on the second floor are all specially treated. You can't hear anything going on inside at all from the outside. As for the others, it's time for the emperor's funeral, so the store can't be opened. , I gave the girls a day off, and the handymen also let them go back." Yun Xiang said with a smile.
At this time, several detectives came to the front of the hall.
"Your Majesty, we have searched the wine shop that the eldest prince mentioned. According to the owner of the wine shop, no one came to buy wine at all last night."
"Your Majesty, we have also searched the entire Fenglai Tower and did not find Miss Yunxiang that the eldest prince mentioned. According to people nearby, Miss Yunxiang went home a few days ago."
Listening to the detectives' reports, Jiang Fengqing's heart felt cold. He knew that maybe he would really fall into trouble here this time. Thinking back to last night, as soon as he walked into the only lit room on the second floor, he saw two graceful women behind the curtain. A burst of singing came from behind the curtain, and a woman began to dance. After that, he Nothing is known anymore. When he woke up, he found that he and Yin Xiaolian beside him were lying naked on the bed. On the ground, the wine bottle poured aside made the two people's clothes smell of alcohol. Then, he caught up with Yin Xiaolian who ran away after waking up, and was surrounded by a group of people.
"Prime Minister, the second prince said that he left the palace last night and went to your house to have tea with you. Is this the case?" He Shengbai asked.
"It's true. I had a great chat with the second prince until midnight. I wanted to keep him here for one night, but he insisted on leaving. I'm quite sorry." Wang Daofan sighed while stroking his beard.
"Sir!" A policeman hurried into the courtroom and shouted, "I have something important to report!"
"What's the matter? Tell me quickly." He Shengbai asked.
"We found General An Zicheng, who was extremely drunk, in a tavern in the West City." The policeman said, "According to the waiter in the tavern, General An came yesterday evening. He was two people when he came, but he was drunk. Later, one of them left, and the waiter didn’t dare to stop him, leaving General An alone to continue drinking.”
"Hmph! As an official of the imperial court, you dare to drink alcohol during the funeral!" He Shengbai said angrily, "Come here, take An Zicheng to the intersection of Xishi Street and beat him with two hundred military sticks. I want to give him a good reward. Sober up!"
"First Prince, you also stay here in Dali Temple and wake up in the bar all night." He Shengbai said coldly, "The first trial is over today, and the second trial will begin tomorrow."
The Minister of Punishment sighed, "I won't say much. The eldest prince, please prepare well for the second trial tomorrow."
Jiang Fengqing's hands tightly grasped the armrests of the chair, and the veins on the back of his hands were visible, but he remained silent. What else could he say? All the facts now overturned everything he said. If it were the testimony of the waiter, Yun Xiang and others, he could still say that someone bribed them to make false confessions. But Prime Minister Wang actually said that Jiang Ruoting and he were drinking tea last night, how could he defend himself? Could it be that I encountered a ghost last night? Or, Prime Minister Wang wants to deal with him... No, it's impossible, it won't be like this.
Jiang Fengqing felt a chill rising from the soles of his feet. He raised his head and glanced at Wang Daofan opposite him. Prime Minister Wang, who he had always found so affable, had now become so strange. He quickly looked outside the hall again.
Outside the hall, the sky was gloomy.
