The Red Mansions

Chapter 491 Want an imperial decree?
Zhongshun Palace
In front of the majestic gatehouse with flying eaves and brackets, Dianjun Dai Xuan stood under the eaves of the corridor, tightly holding the Yanling knife at his waist, and behind him were the guards of the Zhongshun Palace.

Dai Xuan is about thirty years old, tall and tall, with a short beard under his jaw like steel needles, his face is like ice, and he looks coldly at the school captain in Jinyi who is wearing a flying fish suit and an embroidered spring knife on both sides of the street .

Wearing bamboo hats and coir raincoats, they stood still in the wind and rain, blocking the water surrounding the palace of Zhongshun.

"General Dai, when will the lord come back?" He Liang asked solemnly.

The feudal king of the Han Dynasty opened the mansion, which can be set up by himself. There is a long history general consul's mansion inside, and the master book is in charge of friendship and writing.

Compared with the tense confrontation in front of the government office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Dai Dianjun obviously knew that the Jinyi army in front of him did not dare to trespass into the palace, so he only guarded under the eaves in front of the mansion and waited and watched the changes.

"Da da da……"

There was a rush of horseshoes coming from the end of the long street through the rain and fog. Everyone looked at the sound, and saw Tiqi wearing a straw hat and black and red robes rushing towards the end of the long street.

Flying fish clothes, embroidered spring knife, gloomy complexion, like a sky covered with dark clouds above the head, made the Dian army Dai Xuan and the guards of Zhongshun Palace tremble.

"Sigh!!!!"

Accompanied by the sound of people roaring and horses neighing, Jia Heng led Jinyi Mansion's hundreds of riders, like a whirlwind, to the street in front of Zhongshun Prince's Mansion.

Under the leadership of Liu Jixian, several hundreds of households in brocade clothes rushed forward to greet them, and they all saluted.

Liu Jixian clasped his hands and said: "Captain, the residence of Prince Zhongshun has been surrounded and people are not allowed to come in and out. Please give me instructions from the Commander."

Jia Heng nodded indifferently, turned his eyes to look at the gate tower of Zhongshun Prince's Mansion, his eyes were hanging on the lintel, the plaque with "Zhongshun Prince's Mansion" engraved on it stayed for a moment, and said coldly: "Jin Yiwei listens to the order, go in and search!"

As soon as the voice fell, a large number of brocade-clothed riders behind them rushed towards the palace with embroidered spring knives.

Seeing this, Dai Xuan's complexion changed drastically, his thick eyebrows and tiger eyes overflowed with horror, he pulled out the wild goose feather knife from his waist, blocked it in front of the door, and roared angrily: "I see who dares?"

The palace guards on the left and right sides of the corridor also pulled out their sabers and stared coldly at Jin Yi Tiqi.

The guards of the palace are equivalent to personal soldiers, and have the responsibility of guarding the mansion.

The black tide stopped suddenly, and Jin Yi Tiqi looked at the guards of Zhongshun Palace coldly, with a bad expression on his face.

Jia Heng waved his hand, and a group of Jinyi Mansion Tiriders scattered to both sides, made way, walked up to him, and asked: "I am the governor of Jinyi, Jia Heng, and now I have ordered you to investigate the case of corruption in the Imperial Mausoleum." According to the confession of the prisoner, King Zhongshun is involved in this case, and the suspicion is deep. The mansion is now hiding evidence of the crime the prisoner said, and I want to bring people in for inspection, and I will not let you open the way!"

"This is the prince's mansion, and you are not allowed to trespass without an order. Dudu Jia, how dare you make a mistake?" Dai Xuan asked with a slightly condensed expression.

Jia Heng didn't say any more, and pulled out the Tianzi Sword from his waist, and said in a deep voice: "Here is the Tianzi Sword, as if the Holy Spirit is here, you can cut it first and then play it! Why, you want to disobey?"

Dai Xuan stared at the long sword with golden dragon and gold-plated scabbard, his pupils shrank sharply, and he really hesitated now.

Different from the House of Internal Affairs, when Qu Lang led the people past, he only spoke verbally, without proof, so Zhou Changshi caught the key point and refused to let him in. I dare not stop it!

Of course, they were blocked later... In order to restore the authority of Jinyi and establish the authority of the emperor, killing him directly is the correct solution.

Dai Xuan took a deep breath, secretly thinking that the situation was over, so he put the saber back into its sheath and stepped aside.

Jia Heng turned to look at Liu Jixian and the others, and said coldly, "Go in and search!"

In an instant, Jinyi Tiqi was no longer hindered, and rushed into Zhongshun Palace, guarding the people and sealing off the house.

As for what to search, Jia Heng led the people to go in.

Prince Zhongshun's mansion, in the back house, in the wing room.

Wei Lan sat on the bed in the inner room, stood up from time to time, looked out anxiously, and the close maid, Lu Liu, said in a low voice: "Madam, I heard that people from Jinyi Mansion have surrounded the palace, and the concubines are discussing countermeasures."

In fact, it wasn't just Wei Lan's room that was restless, other concubines, maidservants, and servants were also discussing in private. It could be said that people were panic-stricken. Rumors spread everywhere, guessing what happened to King Zhongshun.

If the other yamen officers and soldiers surrounded the palace, it's okay to say, but now that the emperor's own army surrounded the palace, I'm afraid that disaster will really happen.

Wei Lan's gorgeous jade face showed a strange color, her eyebrows were frowned, her eyes flickered, and she whispered to the maid brought from her mother's house: "You wait in the room, I will come as soon as I go."

"Ma'am, Concubine Wu said that until the prince comes back, the women in the backyard are not allowed to move around." Lu Liu persuaded.

Wei Lan said in a low voice, "It's okay, I'm just going to ask Sister Wu what happened."

As he spoke, he left the wing room, but just as he went out, he saw a nun leading several servants, blocking the way.

"Ma'am, the concubines have their lives. Before the lord comes back, the female family members of the mansion stay in the room and are not allowed to move around." The nun had a straight face, showing limited respect for the young lady who had fallen out of favor.

"Now that the palace is under siege and there is no news from the prince, what is the discussion between the sisters? Can I go to the Shouning Hall?" Wei Lan said softly.

The nanny frowned and was about to persuade her to return.

At this moment, a young man walked quickly to the end of the corridor and asked loudly, "Ma'am, where are you going?"

In a few words, the man had already walked up to the nurses, frowned and shouted, "What are you doing?"

"Little lord, Concubine Wu has explained that the female relatives are all waiting for news in the room, so don't walk around carelessly." The nanny said, her voice gradually lowered, obviously Chen Rui didn't want to offend.

Chen Rui snorted coldly, and said angrily: "I'll take Mrs. Wei to see the concubine mother, you still don't get out!"

Wei Lan asked, "My lord, what's the situation in the front yard?"

"Don't mention it, the people in Jinyi Mansion said that according to the order of the palace, those who inquired about the news were stopped several times." Chen Rui sighed and said worriedly.

This is also the reason why Jia Heng immediately sealed off Prince Zhongshun's mansion. Not to mention anything else, whenever someone came to the news that the account books and documents in the study were burned, the good state banquet was turned into raw rice.

Wei Lan's charming face like a spring flower showed a hint of worry at the right time, and said softly: "Little lord, lord, what can he do?"

Chen Rui's eyes stayed on Wei Lan's chest, he approached, and said in a low voice: "I don't know yet, Madam, why don't you go into the room and talk about it?"

He's stressed right now and needs to grab something and let go.

Wei Lan's beautiful eyes were charming and flowing, she smiled and said: "Little prince, please come to the room."

With that said, he invited Chen Rui into the wing room.

However, the two had just sat down in the room and hadn't moved yet.

Another shout came from outside the house, "It's not good, the officers and soldiers rushed in."

Chen Rui paused in his hands, his face changed suddenly, and he said anxiously: "Madam, I have to go and have a look, this is something serious."

But Jia Heng, after the Jinyi Tiqi rushed into the Zhongshun Palace, also strode into the Zhongshun Palace under the retinue of the Jinyi Mansion General.

Since its construction, this Prince's Mansion has never been rushed in and searched by such a large number of officers and soldiers. This suddenly broke the tranquility of decades.

Jia Heng stepped into the main hall, which was similar to the "Rongxi Hall" in Jia's Mansion. The plaque was inscribed by Emperor Chongping himself, and it was called "Huai De Hall".

The five houses inside are connected together, and as far as the eye can see, it is spacious and spacious, but inside and outside the solemn and elegant hall, extending from the corridor eaves to the Yimen, are all brocade-clothed cavalry with embroidered spring knives, lined up for vigilance.

Jia Heng raised his head slightly, and the rain on the hat suddenly fell with a "splash". He reached out to take off the hat, and handed it to the captain Jinyi beside him.

Looking at the middle hall painting hanging in the main hall, it is a picture of "Songhe Yannian", with two couplets beside it.

At the bottom, there is a red sandalwood table three feet wide and six feet long, with three-legged copper tripod incense burners, jade dishes, enamel porcelain and other decorations.

Jia Heng's eyes flickered, he turned his head, and said to Liu Jixian: "The servants in the mansion are not allowed to run around, and focus on searching the account books in the study and bedroom! Search the guards, don't throw things randomly, and don't disturb the female family members. , Do not hide stolen goods! Anyone who does not comply will be severely punished!"

From the information obtained from Qi Guan'er, he already knew that King Zhongshun put the account books in the inner study, but the search process that should be done still had to go.

"Yes, Commander." Liu Jixian answered loudly and ordered the guards in brocade.

However, it didn't take much time, only to hear the guards of the Jinyi Mansion enter the hall and report: "My lord, Concubine Wu, Concubine Yang, and Concubine Zhang who are loyal to the prince have led people here."

As soon as the words fell, I saw a group of servants and maids, surrounded by three gorgeously dressed women with hairpin skirts and jackets, entering the hall, surrounded by pearls and emeralds, Yingyingyanyan.

"Jia Ziyu, what are you going to do?" Concubine Wu asked as soon as she entered the hall. The concubine's brows were tightly frowned, and there was a look of sullenness on her face, and she reprimanded: "Even if the prince is really What have you committed, and you are also the prince of the country, how dare you be so presumptuous!"

When Chen Ran, the king of Wei, gave birth to a child, Concubine Wu begged to Queen Song because her son Chen Rui, the general of the town, was detained by the soldiers and horses of the five cities. Shocked, he led the second concubine Zhang Yang over.

"This is the palace, Jia Ziyu, you are too arrogant and domineering!" Concubine Yang's body trembling with anger, scolded coquettishly.

Concubine Zhang also stared angrily. These two concubines were also first-class beauties when they were young. Although they are getting older now, the charm of mature women has only increased due to the accumulation of time.

Concubine Yang, in particular, was born as a talented girl in the south of the Yangtze River and was accepted by King Zhongshun. Although she was over forty years old, her dignified eyebrows and eyes were full of intellectual charm.

And in the scene before him, the Jinyi mansion guard in the flying fish suit, holding the embroidered spring knife, stood in the main hall, looking wary and covetously at the delicate female family members of the Zhongshun Prince's mansion, like a villain.

Jia Heng turned around and came, the Tianzi sword under the black cloak was held by a pair of slender, white hands with thick bones.

But at this moment, turning around suddenly and staring intently, the breathing of the female relatives was slightly stagnant.

Concubine Wu is fine, Concubine Zhang Yang was terrified, secretly thought, the child Jia Heng who the prince often scolds, is so young, and so... the eagle sees the wolf?
"Concubine Wu." Jia Heng's eyes were as sharp as a falcon, and he glanced at the opposite woman, slowly but firmly cupped his hands in the direction of the Daming Palace, and said loudly: "I was ordered by the emperor to investigate the case of the collapse of the Gongling Mausoleum." , have already arrested relevant officials of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and according to the confession of the criminals, Prince Zhongshun is involved in the case..."

"And the mastermind!"

At the end of the speech, the four words were in a high-pitched voice, like thunder, which shocked Zhang and Yang Erfei, who opened their mouths slightly, in astonishment.

Jin Shi's clanking voice paused, giving Concubine Wu and the others a short time to react, and said: "All evidence of the crime is hidden in the palace, and I will search for it myself!"

Concubine Wu's face was pale, her lips trembling.

At this time, Chen Rui quickly stepped into the flower hall, and shouted angrily: "Jia Heng, this is the mansion of the vassal prince, how dare you be so presumptuous before you get the imperial edict?"

Wei Lan, who was not far behind, looked at several people with a terrified expression, and looked at the boy in the python suit to be precise.

For some reason, I suddenly had a strong intuition that the person behind Qi Guan'er should be this person?
"I want an imperial decree?" Jia Heng sneered, glanced at Chen Rui, and said loudly: "I am ordered by the emperor to supervise the handling of the imperial case, holding the emperor's sword in my hand, as if the holy emperor came in person, it is not an imperial decree, it is better than an imperial decree! Come on, search The study in the backyard!"

Chen Rui was furious when he heard the words, and was about to rush over, but two guards of Jinyi Mansion held his shoulders tightly, and he couldn't move an inch.

Concubine Wu's eyes went dark, her hands and feet felt cold, and the nurse at the side hurriedly supported her.

Following orders from all directions, the guards of Jinyi Mansion rushed towards the backyard and study.

However, as time passed, a General Banner in Jinyi entered the hall, cupped his hands and said, "Captain, there is no outer study."

"Captain, there is no Xuanshi."

"Captain, there are no three compartments in the East Kuan Courtyard."

"Captain, there is no attic study in the west courtyard."

……

……

Wei Lan is currently hiding under the eaves of the corridor. Seeing this scene, under the curved eyebrows, the charming eyes are full of anxiety, secretly worrying about these people.

At the same time, the thought just now was shaken. Could it be that the person behind Qi Guan'er is not this Dudu Jia?

"Jia Ziyu, if you can't find it, even if I risk my life, I will die with you!" At this moment, Concubine Wu seemed to be in the silence, and gradually regained her confidence, her eyes turned red. , said angrily.

Hearing this, Wei Lan became even more anxious, thinking to herself, what should I do if I can't find it?
While thinking about how to lead the way, he suddenly heard the young man frowned and shouted out a location repeatedly rolling in his throat, "Have you searched the inner study?"

"I haven't found it yet." At this time, a hundred households were stunned for a moment, and answered with cupped hands.

It has to be said that Prince Zhongshun’s mansion is too big, exhausting the prince’s regulations. The front hall and backyard, the hatchback buildings, and large gardens, towers, pavilions, and study rooms are also standard equipment in every courtyard, even if Jia Heng brings him back and forth. Nearly a thousand guards of Jinyi Mansion came, and many of them couldn't take care of it when they entered it.

Jia Heng frowned and said: "The inner study is always a secret place, I will go and see it myself."

As he spoke, surrounded by a group of generals from the Jinyi Mansion, he pressed his sword and headed out of the hall.

Wei Lan was slightly startled, and quickly ran along the corridor to the study in the backyard.

If she couldn't find it, she would remind the young dignitary, well, why not open it up first.

At this moment, King Zhongshun's mansion was full of brocade clothes, searching various courtyards. Relying on his familiarity with the terrain, Wei Lan walked along a small path to the study in the backyard.

After entering the study room, he saw no figure of Jinyi Mansion Guard from a distance, so he quickly sneaked into the study room, came to the bookshelf, and found the organ.

"Crack clap..."

With the sound of the shutter, the bookshelf and the wall were divided into two, revealing a secret room.

After finishing all this, Wei Lan's heart almost jumped into her throat, and she hurriedly left the study and headed for the outside room, but just as she arrived under the eaves, she could already hear the sound of shouts coming from the Moon Gate.

Panicked, he quickly hid behind the flower wall and looked towards the study.

Jia Heng had already led a group of guards from the Jinyi Mansion to the inner study room, and said coldly: "Surround up, no one else can come near!"

The captains of the Jinyi Mansion agreed in unison, surrounded the inner study room and searched quickly.

Wei Lan was about to dodge, but suddenly felt her mouth was covered from behind, and was terrified. She was about to shout, when she heard a familiar voice: "Don't shout."

Not Qi Guaner, or who?

Jia Heng led Ji Yu, who was in charge of thousands of households, and a few Jinyi guards, strode into the inner study, and glanced at the furnishings in the study. The red sandalwood desk stood against the wall. The ice cream was burning silently, and the curling green smoke brought out a wave of calming sandalwood, filling the room.

Jia Heng turned around the screen and headed towards the inner room. It was already dusk, the sky was dark, the study room was not lit, and the light was dim.

"Huh?" Jia Heng looked at the dark secret room, startled for a moment, and said to himself: "This...what's going on? King Zhongshun forgot to close it?"

Suddenly, a possibility came to mind, Xu Shiqi Guan'er opened the secret room one step ahead of schedule.

It's just... a little embarrassing.

However, these are not important, Jia Heng was close enough to go, and said in a deep voice: "There is a secret room here, maybe there are criminal evidence hidden, go in and search."

"Yes." Liu Jixian responded first, took out the fire pocket from his arms, lit the candlestick on the table, and entered first with the candle.

Jia Heng didn't go into the secret room either, but found a chair and sat down, watching the guards of Jinyi Mansion go in and search, thinking about the next step.

At present, the last boot has fallen to the ground, and the next step is to fix various evidences, torture confessions, and then close... an iron case that can stand the test of history.

Thinking of this, I suppressed the weirdness in my heart, and when I looked up, I saw that night had fallen outside the window, and the rockery and attic were hidden in the misty rain and the twilight, and they were vague and unclear.

"My lord, we found it."

Liu Jixian and several Jin Yiwei came out of the secret room carrying a box, holding an account book in their hands.

Well, it was a duplicate account book made by the masters of the Jinyi Mansion.

Jia Heng got up, took the account book, and said in a deep voice: "Strike while the iron is hot, you go back to Jinyi Mansion first, interrogate the criminals overnight, take statements, and I will go to the palace to make a statement later."

He still needs to get the real account book and replace it.

　None tonight, I will go back and correct the typos.

　
(End of this chapter)