The maid's road to success

Li Changan rolled over from the bed, sat in front of the table, spread out the paper, picked up a pen, and carefully recalled everything that happened after An Zizhong arrived in Kyoto and everything that happened around him. He crossed out the unimportant and worthless ones, leaving only the most critical things that happened in Kyoto in the past year.

The first thing: Princess Baozhu and the Fourth Prince’s affair was exposed at the chrysanthemum viewing banquet, and it seemed that the Sixth Prince was the one behind it.

The second thing: Princess Baozhu was sent to the manor and had a miscarriage. She is still under house arrest in the manor.

The third thing: The Grand Princess appointed An Zizhong to take charge of the external banquets held by the Princess Mansion.

The fourth thing: It was revealed that the Sixth Prince had a secret meeting with his mistress in the imperial mausoleum and accepted bribes.

First of all, Princess Baozhu is the apple of the Grand Princess's eye. She has done so many lewd things over the years, and all of them were covered up by the Grand Princess. If the officials of the Ministry of Justice had not previously investigated the inexplicable death of the young master of the Bo Mansion, Li Changan would not have known that Princess Baozhu was such a shameless woman.

How could such a person have a secret affair and a secret meeting with the prince of the current dynasty be known to outsiders? Both the Grand Princess's Mansion and the Fourth Prince had the ability to keep it secret from others, but this matter was discovered by the Sixth Prince.

There must be very few people who know about such a private matter, and as An Zizhong's bedmate, is it true that he doesn't know? Li Changan thought it was impossible. An Zizhong has always been an extremely perceptive and careful person. He would definitely notice that his wife had a lover and was having an affair with another man. An Zizhong's personality is not the kind of person who can swallow such a big green hat, so it is clear how the Sixth Prince knew about the affair between Princess Baozhu and the Sixth Prince.

The second thing is very simple. The affair has been exposed. For the sake of face and to avoid greater trouble in the future, the Grand Princess will not let the child be born, so Princess Baozhu's child must die.

The third thing might be the eldest princess’ compensation for An Zizhong being cuckolded and being known to everyone as a father.

The fourth thing is even more bizarre. How could a prince not know that he could not do such a thing when going to the imperial mausoleum? Moreover, the Sixth Prince was supported by the Grand Empress Dowager. He would not ignore such a small rule, unless he was framed or had no other choice.

An Zizhong has a lot of strange and exotic medicines in his hands. Li Changan has witnessed with his own eyes the miraculous effect of the Wuxin Powder he gave him. Those who have taken it are not afraid of disobeying his words and daring to rebel.

There is also Qi Yangchuan, who has undergone a drastic change inexplicably. Perhaps he is also related to An Zizhong. Then he has other ways to make it difficult for the Sixth Prince to restrain himself from meeting the woman at that time. Li Changan thinks it is not impossible.

This would explain why An Zizhong would accept to be Princess Baozhu's husband, why An Wenniang was so busy every day, and why An Zizhong deliberately concealed his edge and nature and became someone else.

Who on earth wanted the case of the Huaiyuan Marquis' Mansion? What was the purpose? An Zizhong had done him such a big favor and yet he made such a request. This meant that reading the confession of the Huaiyuan Marquis' Mansion was far more important than trying to drive Qi Yangchuan out.

Li Changan knew very well that he was not important enough to ask An Zizhong, who was still a sixth-rank official, to help him defeat a fifth-rank official.

Why on earth was the case of Marquis Huaiyuan worth doing this? The Grand Princess and the Fourth Prince were not good people in the fight. The matter of Marquis Huaiyuan had nothing to do with them. It was good enough that they did not add insult to injury. Could it be that they wanted to use this case to attack the lineage of Duke Cheng'en? It was even more impossible. Duke Cheng'en was arrogant and had too many easier handles to grasp. Why did they go to the Ministry of Justice controlled by Duke Cheng'en to find the case that Duke Cheng'en had handled personally? Even if there was something fishy, ​​Duke Cheng'en would not leave it as evidence.

Suddenly Li Changan stood up, and the pen in his hand fell on several pages of densely written paper, quickly staining the paper.

"Yes, yes, it's for himself, for himself."

Li Chun was awakened by his master's exclamation. He rushed out to see what was wrong with him. He saw that he was acting very strangely. He crumpled up the note he had just written on the table and threw it into the fire, with an indescribable deep meaning flashing in his eyes.

"Master, it's too late. Stop busying yourself and take a rest."

Li Changan let Li Chun support him and lie on the bed, but he couldn't close his eyes. The result of his speculation was too shocking to him, but it was the only conclusion he could get.

An Zizhong was actually from the Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion. No wonder he, who was sold to a black kiln and had never been exposed to books since childhood, could pass the examinations to become a scholar and a juren in a short time.

How many useful books can a young master of a black coal mine have access to? Even if An Zizhong is smart and helps the young master of the black coal mine with his homework, he will never be where he is today. From the first time I saw An Zizhong, I was attracted by his temperament. There are very few people in Gongzhou who look like handsome noblemen, and An Zizhong, who has suffered in the coal mine for six years, is actually such a person. Hua Yesheng, who has been spoiled since childhood, and I, who have studied poetry and books since childhood, can't compare to him.

He actually had doubts at first, but after seeing An Zizhong with scars all over his body and An Wenniang, who also had a good temperament, he dispelled a lot of doubts. He had spent six years in the black coal mine to have so many horrific scars. An Zizhong and An Wenniang are siblings, and they are different from ordinary people. Their behavior is different from that of ordinary people, and it may be innate.

Li Changan admitted that An Zizhong studied very hard and put in a thousand times the effort, but so many people who had studied hard since childhood had to regretfully fail in the end. How could An Zizhong pass all the exams after only a few years of exposure?

Unless he had received very good guidance since childhood, he could not have such a deep foundation. When he came to Kyoto and met more young masters from famous families, he realized that only a truly wealthy family could cultivate that kind of demeanor, that kind of true young master.

Unless he had an extraordinary background, he would have planned every step of the way, from doing everything he could to make money in the beginning, to training his own people, to the opening of Wen'en Pavilion, and all the way to becoming the eldest princess's son-in-law in Kyoto. The accident of Princess Baozhu and the tragedy of the Sixth Prince were all designed by him step by step, and all happened after he came to Kyoto.

His real purpose was to redress the injustice of the Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion.

Li Changan seemed to have guessed An Zizhong's true identity. He stayed up all night and went to the yamen early in the morning. His identity did not require him to go to court. Several high-ranking officials in the yamen had gone to court, and Li Changan was holding a case file.

"Master Zhang, there seems to be a missing part in this case file. I wonder if you could let me go in and see if there is anything left."

The person who is in charge of the case files is of higher rank than Li Changan, and is the most upright. Even the Minister of Justice has to transfer him here according to the rules. This person was the imperial appointee of the late emperor. After the late emperor's death, he was not valued, so he invited himself here. Although he is neither high nor low, no one dares to look down on him.

Zhang Wenxin looked at Li Changan, nodded, and told him to hurry up and remember to make a record of the retrieval when he came out.

After Li Changan entered, he carefully checked the years on the cabinet and finally found the year when the Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion case occurred, which was also the year when the late emperor passed away. There were a lot of case files.

Li Changan searched for a long time but couldn't find it. Thinking that he had stayed in there for too long, he didn't dare to delay any longer and went out.

"I've found it. I've registered it. Please check it out."

After Zhang Wenxin flipped through it, he stared at Li Changan for a while, nodded, and let him go.

What Li Changan didn't know was that as soon as he left, Zhang Wenxin went to the case file room, where every bookshelf was filled with case records and confessions.

Li Changan did not gain much. After returning, he did not dare to delay his work and worked even harder. He took on many errands, the most common of which was to collect supply books.

Zhang Wenxin was too old-fashioned and unsympathetic, so most people didn't want to have any contact with him. Since Li Changan was willing to go, naturally no one would refuse. After the fourth trip, Li Changan finally found the relevant confession documents of Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion.

"Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion, sent two daughters and precious people to poison and murder the late emperor while he was serving him. The entire Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion poisoned the emperor. The male members were sentenced to death, the female members were exiled, and the 576 servants in the mansion were sent to the kilns, the Jiaofang Division, the music studio, etc."

There were a few simple confessions and so-called evidence. Even someone like Li Changan, who had just joined the Ministry of Justice, could see that there was something wrong with this case file. A case that could bring down a hundred-year-old mansion actually had only this much information. The most crucial evidence was actually a confession from a gambler, a copy of the poison found, and the confessions of several insignificant people?

Li Changan himself was the recorder of the trial. Sometimes, Li Changan was the presiding judge of minor cases, so he was clear about the most basic procedures and rules for trying a case. How could such a big case of murdering the emperor, which made the Huaiyuan Marquis' Mansion pay such a huge price, be handled so sloppily?

Unless there are huge problems in this case, the Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion is likely to be a victim of party struggles, and the flesh and blood of their family members are the stepping stones for the person to ascend to the throne. A few days ago, he guessed that An Zizhong's true identity could be connected immediately.

A village man, a tortured person, so elegant and dignified, so dignified, he possessed knowledge and literary talent that even a person like himself who was raised by the governor of Gongzhou did not have. A family like the Huaiyuan Marquis's Mansion can indeed cultivate such a true son of a noble family.

This also explains why An Zizhong fought so hard, even to the point of using any means necessary. Everything he did might have been for the sake of the innocence of the Huaiyuan Marquis Mansion.

Li Changan's eyes were red as he carefully wrote down every word. After returning, he locked himself in the room and tried hard to write down every symbol and every name in detail. An Zizhong had been staying in his house recently, and there were many of the Grand Princess's people there. It was not convenient for Li Changan to take these things with him, and it was not suitable for him, a foreign man, to go to An Wenniang's place.

Li Changan put the secret letter in his purse and kept it close to his body. He never found a suitable opportunity to meet An Zizhong in person. Just when he received a message from An Zizhong saying that he would secretly go to meet An Wenniang tonight, he was called away by his boss.

"Chang'an, the person being interrogated today is not easy to deal with. You should watch more and learn a little."

Li Changan sat in the back corner holding a paper, looking at the man tied to the rack in front of him. This was not a stranger, but seemed to be an official. Li Changan seemed to have some impression of him, but he didn't know what crime he had committed to be brought to the prison of the Ministry of Justice. The man seemed to have been punished before. His undershirt had been whipped so that the original pattern could not be seen. The exposed skin was still oozing with blood, which soon soaked the nearby cloth red.

The man seemed to have fainted, and a basin of ice-cold water was poured on him. He woke up from the shock and started cursing when he saw the person opposite him.

"Damn Cheng En Gong, he controlled the government, used his power to oppress the people, harmed others, embezzled bribes, colluded with the harem, damaged the interests of the court, embezzled military pay, and caused the soldiers in the north to have insufficient food and clothing. Such a dog official should have died long ago. It's a pity that I lurked around him for many years and was still betrayed. But I don't regret it. I'm just waiting to see the day when he dies without a burial place..."

The yamen runner standing in front, waving his whip, did not stop the man from talking, and he continued to enumerate the evidence of Lord Cheng'en's crimes. The boss turned his head and glanced at Li Chang'an, and saw that he was just a little dazed. He knew in his heart that he was frightened. If one of his usual supervisors was on vacation and not in Kyoto, and the other had fainted from fright, he would not have let Li Chang'an, a newcomer to the Ministry of Justice, come over. However, Li Chang'an was a very discerning person and would not go out and say anything nonsense.

“What needs to be recorded should be recorded.”

Li Changan nodded, which meant to warn himself not to record anything that should not be written on paper. Li Changan carefully paid attention to the situation in front of him. It seemed that the man's voice was too loud, which made his boss very dissatisfied. He directly asked someone to pour pepper water on the man. He immediately twisted his body in pain and screamed. The boss nodded and signaled Li Changan to start recording his words.

"The criminal Guo Qixin received the favor of the Fourth Prince. In order to repay the favor, he hid his identity and lurked beside the Duke of Cheng'en, gathering information for the Fourth Prince and his people. During this time, he received 3,800 taels of silver, more than ten sets of ancient paintings, and all the concubines in the mansion..."

As Li Changan was recording, he was horrified. This was how a case with distorted facts came about? If someone refused to confess despite being tortured, he would just make up a story and add some false evidence to directly accuse him, and then he could be convicted.

The boss talked for a long time, and then made up two pages of evidence. After thinking for a long time, he finally crossed out the name of the Fourth Prince. The Ministry of Justice openly pushed the crime onto the Fourth Prince, which might be bad. The boss told Li Changan to keep an eye on the criminal, and he went to ask the Shangshu for instructions. Looking at the dying man, Li Changan stood up and spoke to the yamen runners.

"Everyone, go and have a rest. You are exhausted. He is tied up anyway, and I can't run away from here."

The bailiffs had been interrogating this man since morning and were indeed very tired. After saying a few words of thanks, they went back to their resting place in the dungeon to rest.