"Don't say that!" Wang Wenzuo waved his hand: "This is not an order, but a suggestion. I hope you will make a decision after seeing everything with your own eyes! The road I am going to take next is very difficult, and I can only do it from the bottom of my heart Those who are willing to take that road will not give up halfway! You are different from Acton and others. When they followed me, they were either farmer slaves or hunters and fishermen in the deserted land. They had nothing to lose. You are the daughter of the Fan Yang Lu family, a world-famous literati and poet, you have too many choices!"
"That was before!" Lu Zhaolin gave a bitter smile: "It's different now! If it hadn't been for Wang to lead you this time, I would have been implicated by Wu Minzhi in the case of Wang Deng and others, and I would have been doomed long ago!"
"Prince Deng?" Wang Wenzuo frowned: "What do you mean!"
"I only found out after I was thrown into prison that a ruthless official named Zhou Xing wanted to use me to implicate Prince Deng and Dongtai Minister Hao Chujun!" Lu Zhaolin sighed and recounted his experiences in prison. Once, after he finished speaking, he found Wang Wenzuo sitting there with a dull look on his face. He thought he had said something wrong: "The king leads the army, the king leads the army?"
"Oh, oh!" Wang Wenzuo woke up from a dream and asked, "Are you sure that the cruel official who interrogated you in the prison is named Zhou Xing?"
"That's right! I remember clearly that he called himself Wannian County Magistrate. After Wu Min died, he came to see me in prison and said that he was also a Jinshi and that he liked the poems I wrote! He also said that he once You want to excuse me or something, you are such a repetitive villain, bah!" At this point, Lu Zhaolin spit on the ground.
"So Mr. Lu refused to interact with him in the first place?" Wang Wenzuo asked.
"That's right!" Lu Zhaolin said: "How can someone like Lu befriend such a villain who forces others to frame their friends!"
"If this person is really that Zhou Xing, Mr. Lu should leave Chang'an as soon as possible!" Wang Wenzuo said coldly.
"That Zhou Xing? Do you know him, the leader?" Lu Zhaolin asked curiously.
"I can't say I know him! But I've heard about his name for a long time (see it in "New Book of Tang·Biography 134·Cool Officials")!" Wang Wenzuo looked at Lu Zhaolin with a frightening look: "Lu Sir, you are very lucky. After passing through this man's hands, you can actually come out with all the beard and tail. It is really not easy!"
"You mean this person likes to torture prisoners?" Lu Zhaolin shuddered.
"It shouldn't be said that I like him, but that he is very good at using torture!" Wang Wenzuo smiled and said: "It is said that when he was an official, his writing was deep and piercing, and his traces were swollen. He was arbitrary in his superiors and subordinates, and he was arbitrary. Wherever he went, he smelled of treason. When you reach the road, the blood of injustice will be shed. I think he must not have lied. He really likes your poems, otherwise he would not be so polite to you!"
After Lu Zhaolin heard Wang Wenzuo's words, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. After a while, he calmed down: "Well, then I -"
"You shouldn't have been so cold to him at that time! Once such villains hold grudges, they will be in endless trouble! With a knife and pen in hand, they can kill a whole family with just one move! Don't take it lightly! "
"What the leader said is, now that the matter has come to this, what should I do?"
"It doesn't matter, just leave Chang'an as soon as possible!" Wang Wenzuo smiled: "As for Zhou Xing!" He paused slightly: "Although there are countless such villains in the world, it's still good to kill them one by one! "
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Wannian County Government.
"So, at the banquet that night, Wang Wenzuo was far away from Wu Minzhi?" Zhou Xing asked.
"Yes!" The Yang Mansion maid who was asked lowered her head. The official in green robe in front of her actually looked pretty good, but for some reason it still gave her a scary feeling, just like the shaking on the window at night when she was a child. The shadows of the trees bring an inexplicable fear.
"Who is next to Wang Wenzuo?" Zhou Xing asked.
"General Wang is an official subordinate to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so his position is very close to the Crown Prince, and on the other side is His Royal Highness King Pei!"
"His Royal Highness King Pei? Did Wang Wenzuo get up to toast and talk to Wu Minzhi?"
"This -" the maid recalled for a while and shook her head: "I don't know who this concubine is, but even if she exists, it will only be a matter of a while. The one came very late, and the banquet had already started when he came, and he Very popular with women, he was always surrounded by many women's houses, and men couldn't get in at all. His Highness King Pei seemed to be very interested in this General Wang, and kept pestering him to talk. After the banquet, His Highness the Crown Prince took over. General Wang called over and talked to the host for a long time. And General Wang didn’t seem to like talking to people. He had a good appetite and kept eating from the beginning to the end——"
"Okay, you don't have to say anything!" Zhou Xing's patience was finally exhausted. He interrupted the maid's answer and asked her to put her fingerprints on the confession. After she withdrew, he stretched out his hand to cover his own. He opened his eyes and took a long breath.
When he was assigned to examine the case of Wu Minzhi's rape and murder of the Crown Princess, he immediately formulated the strategy of "first outside, then inside, first down, then up". Of course he knew that the Queen chose him instead of the Minister of Justice (referring to the Ministry of Punishment), Yushi Zhongcheng, and Dali Qing for the joint trial. It was simply because these three judges had high positions and important status, so they might not obey the Queen's orders, but he was easy to use. If you are not satisfied with the result or provoke external criticism, you can take care of it with your backhand without any trouble at all. Therefore, although this case is an opportunity for him to rise to the top, it is also a trap for his own death, but Zhou Xing has no regrets at all. After all, with his background, if he wants to climb up, he will always take some risks. In the end, this kind of thing is his own If you don't do it, there will be people rushing to do it.
"From the maid's confession, it seems that Wang Wenzuo has nothing to do with Wu Minzhi's death! But if we just report it like this, the queen will definitely not be able to pass it!" Zhou Xing sighed, of course he knew that people like Wang Wenzuo would not be able to pass the test. These famous people around the prince have no real evidence and can't be moved with just a few random testimonies. He has also heard the rumors that the prince entered the Daming Palace with a sword and argued with the queen to save Wang Wenzuo. The prince's sword may not be able to kill. It is enough for others to kill themselves.
"The Queen is very hard, and Wang Wenzuo is also very hard. There are rocks on both sides, but I am an egg!" Zhou Xing sighed with a bitter smile: "Then we can only make plans for Si Wei Shaoqing Yang Sijian! "
In fact, Si Wei Shaoqing Yang Sijian is also a tough one. Si Wei Shaoqing is the adjutant in charge of the palace guards and troops. Since the official Si Wei Daqing happens to be vacant, Yang Sijian is actually the chief officer in charge of the palace guards and troops. Considering his life experience, official position, and his father-in-law who was almost a prince, it would be difficult to open a gap in him. But Yang Sijian has one good thing, that is, he personally admitted to killing Wu Minzhi and used it to plead guilty to the court. Although he confessed that the reason for killing Wu Minzhi was that the other party forced him to rape his daughter and future crown princess, no matter what, He said that he was still a part of this case, unlike Wang Wenzuo who was a witness until he died. Zhou Xing could investigate Yang Sijian openly, but he could only make sneaky insinuations against Wang Wenzuo.
Zhou Xing read through the confessions for a while, but couldn't find any clues. In the end, he had to write down the names of Wu Minzhi, Wang Wenzuo, and Yang Sijian on the paper, and sketched them one by one with a brush, thinking while writing.
"Yang Sijian and Wu Minzhi had no grudges in the past. Even if they had grudges, they would not kill Wu Minzhi at the expense of his daughter and the prince's marriage. So even if the killing of Wu Minzhi was a conspiracy, Yang Sijian would not be the instigator. He It must have been set up too!"
"What about Wang Wenzuo? Not long after he returned to Chang'an, he met Wu Minzhi once in the East Palace. They had a few arguments, but later he also sent two fine hunting falcons to Wu Minzhi through Li Jingye to apologize. , they didn’t even say a few words on the day of the banquet. Just because of these, Wang Wenzuo would kill Wu Minzhi and offend the queen? This is unlikely, but if it was the prince’s instruction, that would be another matter. But what if If the prince wants to kill Wu Minzhi, why would he want to involve his future concubine? This is too cruel, right? The prince is always in the name of benevolence, is this all just an act? Forget it, let’s not continue investigating this aspect, it’s really too scary!”
"If it's not the prince, could it be a third party hiding in the dark?" Zhou Xing frowned. He remembered the case he handled not long ago, which happened to be handed down by Wu Minzhi before his death. He wanted to use it to Lu Zhaolin's thread implicated Prince Deng and Dongtai Minister Hao Chujun. It was obvious that Wu Minzhi wanted to handle a major case to purge those in the court who disrespected the queen and shock people's hearts. Unexpectedly, Wu Minzhi himself became a dead man before the case was even revealed.
If you look at it this way, those guys hiding behind the scenes have enough motives to kill Takeshi to protect themselves.
"By the way, Lu Zhaolin is living a good life in prison. There must be someone outside taking care of him. If these people can be found, this case will be much easier to handle!" Zhou Xing slapped his thigh: "It's such a pity, Lu Zhaolin It’s too late, forget it, it’s still too late to get him back now!”
He stood up and quickly issued a secret order to arrest Lu Zhaolin, but only half an hour later, the Wuhou who went to arrest Lu Zhaolin came back and said that Lu Zhaolin had left Chang'an two days ago.
"This guy is really cunning!" Zhou Xing's eyes flashed back to Lu Zhaolin's disdainful look towards him, and he clenched his teeth subconsciously: "It's really a pity, otherwise I could let that guy taste some of the things I thought of this time. It’s a new gadget, it’s really a pity not to be able to see him peeing like shit!”
Just when Zhou Xing was regretting that he had lost the opportunity to torture Lu Zhaolin, Wu Hou, who went to arrest Lu Zhaolin, hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "Master County Magistrate, I heard from the head of the village that the house where Lu Zhaolin lived before leaving Chang'an was A Sogdian businessman, but this Sogdian businessman has been to Baekje, and his business also comes from Haidong, Baekje, Silla, and Japan. He has a nephew who works under Wang Wenzuo all year round!"
"Working under Wang Wenzuo?" A look of astonishment appeared on Zhou Xing's face, and he immediately laughed: "That's right, that's right! Everything is connected, so that's it, that's it, they are all the same Man!"
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"My lord, this is Zhou Xing's resume!" Li Bo lowered his head and presented his hands. Wang Wenzuo took it casually, looked at it carefully, and murmured: "A native of Yongzhou, he was a Jinshi and proficient in law. He was awarded the magistrate of Heyang County. He was later transferred to Chang'an. He was supposed to be promoted but was attacked because of the imperial examination. There was fraud from time to time, so he was not promoted. Later, he asked for help and became the magistrate of Wannian County. No wonder this guy acts so carelessly, so that's how it is!"
"My lord, I also learned something about Zhou Xing!" Li Bo said in a deep voice.
"Well, tell me!"
"My lord knows that I have never worshiped Master Cao. I have been hanging out in the streets of Chang'an. I know a few old friends who are doing fortune-telling and selling divination. I have been ordered by my lord to find out about Zhou Xing. I wanted to find out the details from these old friends, but I heard that Zhou Xing is sending people around to inquire about Mr. Lu these days!"
"Inquiring about Lu Zhaolin? What is he asking about?" Wang Wenzuo asked
"Not bad? It seems that this is what Mr. Lu did after he was released from prison. He probably wants to find the person behind Mr. Lu!"
Wang Wenzuo's heart moved slightly, and he couldn't help but secretly be glad that he did not take Lu Zhaolin directly to his home after he was released from prison. Instead, he borrowed a house from Cao Yena for him to stay temporarily for two days, and then let him leave Chang'an. I went to see Lu Zhaolin secretly at night, and left after meeting him once. Cao Yena and himself got acquainted in Baekje, and Zhou Xing's desire to find him through this line was not something that happened in a day or two. But Wu Minzhi is dead. Who asked Zhou Xing to continue to track down Lu Zhaolin and who was behind it? That could only be the queen. Wang Wenzuo didn't believe that someone like Zhou Xing would continue to pursue the case without support.
"This dog's nose is really sharp! If he continues to pursue this, sooner or later something will happen!" Wang Wenzuo thought for a while: "Li Bo, go find your old friend and see if you can Place an informant next to Zhou Xing, don't be stingy with money, and I will collect three hundred coins later for you to spend!"
"I understand!" Li Bo bowed and exited the door. Wang Wenzuo let out a long breath and sat down next to the tables. It seemed that Wu Min's death had angered the queen. She even pulled out a villain like Zhou Xing who did the dirty work. Could it be that Li Zhi's physical condition was worse than his own? Worse? So that the Queen has greater confidence? Becoming more eager too?
"Master, look who's back!" Sancho's excited voice came from outside. Wang Wenzuo raised his head and saw a familiar figure standing at the door.
Thank you to book friends such as Big Face Cat Haha, Galaxy Host Eats Steak, Hayek, Tu Mu Daqiong Tie Chou and other book friends for their rewards. I've been too busy lately, and it's also very hot in Xiamen. I hope everyone takes care of themselves and gets some rest.
