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

In September of the 25th year of Hongwu, a homicide occurred in a blacksmith shop in the east of Beiping City. Because an imperial gift was found at the scene, the procurator Qiu Ze took the jade plaque to the King of Yan to identify it.Coinciding with the passing of Prince Yiwen, it is inevitable that the position of Prince Yi was vacant, so he was plotted by others. The King of Yan sent Cui Miao and Qiu Ze to investigate the case together.

"My lord, the jade tablet belongs to the concubine. Ordinary people can't touch it. They are afraid that there will be wrong people around the concubine. I suspect that this thing was not left on purpose, but was lost accidentally."

King Yan frowned, and asked, "Why do you think so?"

"Returning to the lord, the other party has put in so much effort to put someone next to the princess. It will never be used lightly unless it is absolutely necessary. Even if it is activated, it is impossible to discard it so easily. Besides, this jade card belongs to the princess. If the other party wants to frame it, Throwing a token of Yanshan Guard is more credible than this."

King Yan nodded and asked, "Then why is the concubine's belongings on him?"

"It's not difficult to guess. It's nothing more than unclean hands and feet, and lack of money." Cui Miao paused, and then said: "My lord, it hasn't been long since the incident, and the loss of the jade plate is likely to happen." Let the other side be on alert, if the prince doesn't want to startle the snake, he must keep the matter of the jade card absolutely secret."

King Yan raised his voice and called out: "Come here."

Three Treasures responded, opened the door and walked in, saluting: "Your Majesty, slaves obey orders."

King Yan wrote two lines on the paper with a pen, handed it to Three Treasures, and said: "This secret letter must be handed over to Mr. Qiu Zeqiu, and it can be burned after reading it, do you understand?"

Sanbao took the secret letter with both hands, bowed and said: "Yes, my lord, servants are under orders!"

Sanbao took the order to leave, and King Yan summoned Wang Yan and told him to go to the backyard to invite the princess.

After waiting for a long time, King Yan pointed to the chessboard on the table and said, "Come and play chess with me."

Cui Miao hurriedly confessed: "Forgive me, my lord, I don't know anything about Go, and I have a problem, I can't see densely packed things, and I get sick when I look at them. If my lord doesn't give up, I can handle the chess under my bet. "

King Yan laughed and said: "So that's how it is. This king said why I let you watch chess, and you always look away. This is the reason. Well, this king may not have played chess for a long time, so I will fight with you today." Two plates."

When Cui Miao and Shen Qing had nothing to do, they often played chess. Cui Miao was not good at Go, but she was really good at chess. After several years of playing games with Shen Qing, Cui Miao improved a lot. A little more interest.

The chessboard was set up, Cui Miao went first, the two of them were engrossed in playing, and it didn't feel like a long time, the game was over, Cui Miao lost, it was only a short move, King Yan was in a good mood, and the displeasure just now was forgotten, Just about to play another game, I heard Wang Yantong say that the princess has arrived.

When the concubine entered, Cui Miao quickly got up and saluted respectfully: "I have seen the concubine before."

The princess waved her hand and said, "Cui Qianhu doesn't need to be polite."

King Yan got up to greet him, and said in a gentle voice, "Is the princess feeling better?"

The concubine replied softly: "The concubine is much healthier, the prince doesn't need to worry about it."

The king of Yan led the concubine to the seat, the concubine looked at Cui Miao, then at the king of Yan, and asked straightforwardly: "My lord summoned my concubine, what is the matter?"

King Yan described what happened before in detail, and then said: "Princess, there may be something wrong with the people serving me."

The princess got up and bowed slowly, and said remorsefully: "My lord, it's all concubines who are improper housekeepers, please punish me!"

The King of Yan hurriedly helped the princess up, and said: "This matter has nothing to do with the princess. These people are scheming, and we can't guard against it! But fortunately, they have missed their feet. As long as we follow the vine, it will not be difficult to find out the people behind the scenes."

The concubine nodded, looked at Cui Miao, and said in a warm voice: "My lord always says that Cui Qianhu is good at criminals, so it is very suitable for you to entrust this matter to you. If you have any questions, feel free to ask, my concubine will definitely cooperate."

"Thank you, my lord and my concubine, for your trust." Cui Miao pondered for a while, and asked, "Dare to ask my concubine, how many people have access to her jewelry? Who are they?"

The princess replied: "There are two people in charge of the warehouse. One is my concubine's dowry girl named Lan Xiang, who grew up with me. The maidservant later became my concubine's dowry mother. These two are my concubine's confidantes, so they shouldn't be secret agents."

Cui Miao asked with certainty: "Princess, do you absolutely trust these two people?"

The concubine nodded and said: "These two are domestic servants of my concubine's natal family. Both generations of the family have worked for the Xu family. This concubine can trust them."

"Then trouble the princess to call the two of you to come and ask me if you have anything to do."

"Lan Xiang is outside the door, and Nanny Zhang is guarding in the yard. My concubine will send someone to pass it on."

"Thank you, princess."

King Yan and Princess Wang were chatting, while Cui Miao was meditating aside.It didn't take long to listen to Wang Yantong's biography, and both of them were brought.King Yan responded, the door was pushed open, and Xiang Lan and Nanny Zhang walked in with their heads down.After the two of them met King Yan and Princess Wang, Cui Miao went straight to the topic.

Cui Miao handed the jade token to the two of them, and asked bluntly, "Mother Zhang, Lan Xiang, do you recognize this jade token?"

Nanny Zhang took a look, blessed her body, and replied: "My lord, this is the jade medal that the emperor bestowed on the concubine. A few days ago, this old slave locked it in the treasury. Why is it in the hands of my lord?"

Cui Miao said casually, "I got it from a thief this morning."

"Stealer?" Nanny Zhang and Lan Xiang looked at each other and said, "My lord, this is impossible! How can a thief enter the palace? Besides, the key is in the hands of the old woman and Lan Xiang, and they have never left. There has never been a problem with the lock, how did the thief get into the warehouse?"

"That's exactly what I want to ask. Why does the thief have something belonging to the princess, or a gift from the imperial concubine? If the emperor finds out about this, what kind of crime will it be?"

Nanny Zhang and Lan Xiang quickly knelt down on the ground, and said in fear: "The slaves are negligent, the prince and concubine spare their lives!"

The concubine sighed, and said: "You two are indeed dereliction of duty. It is the fault of deceiving the king that the flow of the imperial gift was left outside. If it really reaches the ears of the emperor, even the prince and I will be blamed. But it's up to you It is the first offense, so I will spare you the pain of flesh and blood, and confiscate the monthly payment for three months."

The two couldn't help heaving a sigh of relief when they heard the words, and kowtowed: "Thank you, Wang Ye, thank you, Wang Fei!"

The concubine looked at Cui Miao, and said cooperatively: "Cui Qianhu, you continue to ask, today we must find out that thing that eats inside and outside."

"Yes, under the bid." Cui Miao looked at Aunt Zhang and the two, and asked, "Think about it carefully, who has behaved strangely recently?"

The two looked at each other, frowned and thought for a while, Zhang Nanny replied: "The only ones who can enter the princess's room are first-class and second-class maids, four first-class maids and eight second-class maids. I have served the princess for many years, and my slaves have never noticed anything wrong with anyone."

Lan Xiang responded: "Yes, yes, the concubine treats people kindly. The sisters all say that being with the concubine is a blessing that the servants have cultivated in their previous lives. The servants really can't think of anyone who would do such a thing. "

"Who was on duty last night?"

Nanny Zhang replied: "Last night, Lanxiang and Qingmei were on duty inside Wangfei's room, while Hua'er and Shu'er were on duty outside."

"Is there any change in this duty?"

Nanny Zhang then replied: "My lord, there was no change last night. The servants are on duty every two days. Unless they are sick and are afraid of passing it on to the princess, they will not be changed easily."

"Who are the servant girls who are familiar with the two of you, and who is the one who lives in the same bedroom with you?"

"Returning to my lord, thanks to the love of the princess, the servants have a bedroom for each person, and there is no one who lives with them. The servants are old, and they have no close relationship with anyone except Lan Xiang."

Lan Xiang replied: "My lord, the one who lives with the servant is Cuizhu, because the relationship between the servant and her is relatively close."

"Oh? When did Cuizhu enter the palace, and who else is in the family?"

"Returning to my lord, Green Bamboo seems to be the palace where the princess will go to after her wedding."

"Lan Xiang is right. Cuizhu is the mansion that the princess entered one month before her wedding. When she was assigned to be with the princess, the slaves saw her contract of sale. The date was August in the ninth year of Hongwu, and the princess was in early September. Nine marriages."

"Who else is in her family? How do you behave in the world?"

Lan Xiang thought for a while, and said: "The servant also asked, but Cuizhu said that she escaped to Fengyang, and her family members starved to death on the way, and I have never heard of anyone coming to her for so many years. Cuizhu has a temper. She is gentle and never argues with others, even if she suffers, she never complains."

"What does she do on weekdays? Is there anything she likes in particular?"

"If you say what is she particularly fond of? Oh, yes, she once said that she doesn't like gold and silver, but only loves jade. Among the jewelry that the masters rewarded, she only regards the quality of jade as a treasure."

Cui Miao nodded and said, "Okay, I basically understand. Don't mention today's matter to anyone, do you understand?"

The two agreed one after another: "Don't worry, my lord, the servants understand."

Cui Miao looked at Wang Hao, bowed and said, "Wang Hao, I suggest you tap the storeroom secretly. Presumably this item should not be lost."

The princess said: "Mother Zhang, Lan Xiang, and Cui Qianhu, can you hear clearly?"

The two replied respectfully: "Go back to the princess, the servants have made a note, and they must check the warehouse after they go back."

"Remember to investigate secretly, and don't disturb other people except you two!"

"Yes, servants understand!"

The princess waved the two of them back, looked at Cui Miao, and asked, "Does Cui Qianhu know that well?"

"Returning to the princess, the lock of the warehouse is not damaged. It must not be opened by external force. Then there is only one possibility. Someone took the opportunity to secretly distribute the key to the warehouse. If you can get the key and make people unaware, it must be with you. Nanny Zhang and Lan Xiang are acquainted, and she is someone who makes them defenseless. These conditions are basically the same, and she was accepted by the Wangfu in Fengyang. It couldn't be more appropriate."