The straight man who wears bright clothes is also afraid of messing with him

On April 25th, the 25th year of Hongwu, the prince Zhu Biao died of illness. Emperor Hongwu was so sad that he wailed loudly and ordered all places to mourn for three months. Within three months, no marriage is allowed. Women are not allowed to wear heavy makeup, bright clothes, gold and silver jewelry All entertainment venues are closed.In August, Prince Zhu Biao was buried in the east side of Xiaoling Mausoleum, and he was given the posthumous title of "Prince Yiwen".

Cui Miao couldn't help sighing when she heard the news. Empress Ma died, and Zhu Biao, who was able to stop the butcher knife, also died. Emperor Hongwu completely lost his scruples. With the butcher knife, few of the founding heroes can die well.As for Zhu Biao's death, there have been many speculations in history. Cui Miao had also tried to think, if Prince Yiwen is not dead, who is more suitable to be the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he or Zhu Di.Zhu Biao has a gentle temperament, and his literary talent and military strategy are not inferior to the king of Yan. If he ascends to the throne of God, he will be a benevolent emperor.And it was precisely his benevolence that became his weakness.In Cui Miao's view, what the early Ming Dynasty needed was not a benevolent emperor, but a deterrent and decisive emperor on horseback, so Zhu Di was obviously more suitable than Zhu Biao.

Thinking about what will happen in the future, Cui Miao couldn't help but feel a little rejoicing that he was far away in Beiping, and under the account of King Yan, nearly half of the ministers who called the wind and rain in Nanjing would die unhappily and make some mistakes. , it will implicate relatives, which is why Zhu Yuanzhang is criticized by the world.

In order to avoid causing trouble, Cui Miao told Shen Qing to be cautious in doing things recently, especially not to be too intimate with him in public, and forced Shen Qing to live in the Hou Mansion.Hou Ye is very cooperative during the day, and rarely appears with Cui Miao at the same time, but at night, he only talks about it.But Cui Miao knew that Shen Qing was measured, so she let him.

As soon as Cui Miao came back from the field, she was stopped by Sanbao before she could enter the house.

Three Treasures bowed and saluted, and said: "Qianhu, the prince has summoned you."

Cui Miao looked at her body and said, "Sambo, can you allow me to change my clothes? I just came back from the field, so it's too impolite to go to see the prince with such a demeanor."

"Okay, hurry up, Qianhu, the prince is waiting in the mansion."

Cui Miao hurried back to the bedroom, changed into normal clothes, and rushed back to the palace with Sanbao.

"Sambo, do you know why the prince is looking for me?"

"I don't know about this small thing." Sanbao glanced around, and whispered in Cui Miao's ear: "Qianhu, the new inspector for punishment in Beiping Mansion came to look for the prince today, and he is currently in the prince's study."

"Improving punishment and procuratorial division? Could it be that someone in the palace was involved in some case?"

Sanbao shook his head and said, "Forgive Qianhu, but I don't know the details."

"It's nothing, whether it's a blessing or a disaster, if it's a disaster, you can't avoid it, and you will know when the time comes."

"If a thousand households have something to do, the Three Treasures, although they speak lightly, will definitely not stand idly by!"

"Three Treasures' kindness, I will remember it. But you remember, you must do things according to your ability in the future, and don't try to be brave. If you take your own life for nothing, it won't be worth it."

"Thousand households, although the three treasures are eunuchs, they also know the truth of 'a drop of water is repaid by the spring'. Qianhu treats the three treasures well, and the three treasures will repay them!"

While the two were talking, they had already arrived at the door of the study. Sanbao came to the door and knocked on the door, Tong Bing said: "Qi Wangye, Cui Miao and Cui Qianhu are waiting to be summoned."

King Yan said lightly: "Let him in."

Sanbao pushed open the door, stood at the door with a bow, and said, "Cui Qianhu, the prince has summoned you."

Cui Miao straightened her clothes, walked in, stopped in front of King Yan's writing desk, and saluted respectfully: "Biaoxia pays homage to the lord."

King Yan said softly, "Get up."

"Thank you, my lord."

King Yan pointed to the middle-aged man in ordinary clothes sitting under him, and said, "Cui Miao, this is Mr. Qiu Zeqiu, the Inspector of the Criminal Division of Beiping Mansion."

Cui Miao bowed and said, "Cui Miao has met your lord."

Qiu Ze hurriedly waved his hand, and said in return: "Cui Qianhu is welcome."

After introducing the two of them, King Yan went straight to the topic and said, "Master Qiu, please repeat what you just said in detail."

"Yes, my lord." Qiu Ze pondered for a while, and said, "Today, the Criminal Commissioner received a report that a homicide occurred in a blacksmith shop in the south of the city. Blacksmith Song Dali died in his own blacksmith shop. His eyes were gouged out, and seven of his ten fingers were gone." , there are traces of binding on the hands and feet."

Cui Miao almost blurted out, "Torture to extract a confession?"

Qiu Ze had a look of appreciation in his eyes, and said: "This officer also guessed in the same way. The murderer must have asked Song Dali for something. Seeing that Song Dali's bones were too hard, and knowing that he could not get useful information from him, he killed him to silence him. "

"There is also a possibility that Song Dali couldn't bear the other party's questioning, and after telling the truth, he was murdered to silence him, and Biaoxia thinks the latter possibility is more likely."

Qiu Ze's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Why does Qianhu feel this way?"

"If a matter is so important that it is necessary to extort a confession by torture, it can only explain two points. First, this matter cannot be settled by killing Song Dali. Second, Song Dali has something they desperately want. Only two Just one eye and seven fingers are not enough to make them lose their patience and means, so they will only guess later."

Qiu Ze couldn't help clapping his hands, and said excitedly: "My lord, Cui Qianhuguo is very human! His insight is so sharp, it's a pity that we don't come to us to mention criminal justice!"

King Yan and You Rongyan said with a smile: "There are only a few people who can be used by this king, Master Qiu should also worry about it?"

"The lower officials dare not, but it's a pity that Cui Qianhu doesn't care about the crime!"

"My lord, Mr. Qiu is too famous, and the bidding is just a random guess, so it's not accurate."

Being humble, courteous, and handsome, it is easy for people to have a good impression of him, and Qiu Ze is no exception, and he said appreciatively: "Cui Qianhu is too modest, and you can infer that from just a few words from me. Important information is really rare!"

Cui Miao changed the subject and said, "Master Qiu, what is the cause of Song Dali's death?"

"Put a knife straight into the chest and die instantly."

"Master Qiu is in charge of the punishment of a manor, but now he came to the manor because of a murder case. Is there any clue pointing to the people in the manor?"

Qiu Ze praised: "Cui Qianhu is really smart! That's right, the policeman in charge of this murder found a jade plaque in a corner of the scene. The workmanship and materials are all top-grade, and it is an imperial gift. No one dared to be negligent, so he handed over the jade card to the official, and the official took the jade card to the prince to identify it. It really belonged to the palace. This matter involved the palace, and the prince didn't want to make it public, so I asked you to come with me Investigate the case secretly."

King Yan frowned slightly, and said: "Prince Yiwen has just passed away, and the position of the crown prince is vacant. Although this king has no intention of this, there is no guarantee that others will not frame him for the position of the crown prince. This king must not sit and wait for death!"

"If Song Dali is just an ordinary blacksmith, then what is he holding in his hands that is worth the trouble of the murderer?"

Seeing Cui Miao frowning in thought, King Yan and Qiu Ze didn't bother.

After a while, King Yan saw Cui Miao's eyes flicker, and said aloud, "But what did you think of?"

Cui Miao hesitated for a moment, and replied: "My lord, it is impossible for an ordinary blacksmith to endure such torture, unless...unless there is a problem with his identity."

King Yan asked calmly, "Oh, what do you mean?"

"Biaoxia suspects that he is a spy sent by a certain force to Beiping City. After he grasped some information, he was learned by others, and then he was tortured to extract a confession. After he confessed, he was killed. The bait thrown on purpose to draw attention to Yan Wang's mansion."

"The snipe and the clam compete for the fisherman's benefit. Hehe, they are very calculating."

Hearing this, Qiu Ze already had some guesses in his heart, stood up and said, "My lord, I still have official duties to attend, so it's inconvenient to stay longer. For details of this case, Cui Qianhu can go to the criminal prosecution department to check the detailed case file."

King Yan nodded and said: "Then I won't keep Mr. Qiu, please."

Qiu Ze left, and only King Yan and Cui Miao were left in the study. He ordered Three Treasures to watch tea. King Yan's eyes fell on Cui Miao, and he said, "There are no outsiders here, sit down."

Cui Miao bowed and said, "Thank you, my lord."

King Yan took a sip of his tea and said, "Speak directly if you have something to say, don't hesitate."

"My lord, if there is something inappropriate in the marked words, please don't blame me, my lord."

"Just be honest, I forgive you for your innocence."

"Thank you, my lord." Cui Miao paused for a while, and then said: "May I ask my lord, is this case related to the palace?"

King Yan looked at Cui Miao sharply, and Cui Miao's scalp felt numb when he looked directly at it.He can be used as a gunman, but he doesn't want to be ignorant. It would be too sad if he didn't know how to die.

After a while, King Yan withdrew his gaze and said lightly, "You are so courageous!"

"Your Majesty, I forgive you. I just want to solve the case, and I have no other intentions."

"If the king says that this case has nothing to do with the king, can you believe it?"

"letter!"

"Oh? Why?"

"As long as the prince says it, you will believe it!"

King Yan was silent for a while, then said slowly, "Sit down."

"Thank you, my lord."

"Your temperament, as stubborn as ever, is really similar to Zhan Lin."

"Thank you, my lord, for your praise!"

"Come on. It's inconvenient to say something just now, but I can say it now."

"May I ask my lord, who in the mansion does that jade tablet belong to?"

"princess."

"The concubine lives in seclusion, so how could she leave the jade plaque outside? There is only one possibility. Your lord, there may be some wrong people around the concubine."

King Yan frowned, and said: "You mean that there are secret workers around the princess?"

"My lord, there are two possibilities for leaving the jade plaque on the scene. One is to lose it unintentionally, and the other is to deliberately frame it. No matter what the possibility is, you must have the jade plaque in advance. , and only those close to the concubine can get in touch."

King Yan's complexion became ugly, Cui Miao's words confirmed his guess, the eyeliner had been planted beside the princess, if that person really plotted something wrong, neither he nor the princess would be able to escape.