The first paparazzi in the Red Chamber

"Children, you can say anything, but don't let our master hear it, and I will beat you up." Zhu Mao sighed.

Dou Cong glared at Zhu Mao, "Your master is here, and I'm right, you think I'm afraid? Ask me to work for you and complain, what's the point!"

Zhu Mao smiled, "Uncle Dou still pretends that I don't know, but you made a fuss about coming. Even if you want to come, our master can still take you for nothing, so you naturally have to do something."

Dou Cong glanced at the pig's hair, and said with a snort, "Stop talking nonsense, let's talk about business. That young man surnamed Du didn't leave Beijing until he went to the Song Mansion. I foolishly followed him at the gate of the city. As you said, this dude surnamed Du couldn't bear crying children the most, and he surrendered after I made troubles and played tricks."

"Yo, that's amazing, he didn't suspect you?"

"I'm an older person, why should he be suspicious, not to mention that I'm so beautiful and cute, and when my eyes cry, I'm so cute." Dou Cong said confidently holding his little face.

Pig hair retching.

Dou Cong ignored him and continued: "He talked to me a lot along the way, mostly talking about his life experience, how pitiful, and how he met two benefactors one after another, how he changed his fate. I guess he said the second This benefactor refers to Song Mulin, who is full of admiration for him. I asked him what he was doing in Liuzhou, but he didn't seem to be telling the truth, he just said he came here to see the scenery."

"It's amazing! It's amazing to be able to tell you so much." Zhu Mao gave a thumbs up, feeling that Dou Cong sometimes handles things better than adults like them, so he curiously asked how Dou Cong deceived Du Chunxiao can let him take him by his side all the way.

"What's so difficult about it? Du Chun smiled and knew that he was a person who had experienced hardships when he was young, otherwise he would not have stayed in a place like the small hall. You bastard, the poor kid who ran away from home with resentment. I didn’t say I wanted to follow him, I just rode a horse and walked the same way with him. Later, he couldn’t resist the charm of the young master, so he insisted on accompanying him I have no choice but to take care of him with him in the car." Dou Cong shrugged, his eyebrows fluttered, and he explained a little wildly.

Zhu Mao admired him again and again, and sighed that Dou Cong is a talent, and in the matter of observing people, this kid has a bit of the demeanor of his family's master.

Dou Cong was very proud, "For you have vision!"

Zhu Mao's voice changed, "But that's the only resemblance."

Dou Cong stared at him, "What do you mean by that?"

"My master has a kind heart and will not take advantage of the weakness of people's hearts to do bad things."

Dou Cong was stunned for a moment, then turned around, as if he suddenly thought of something, his face was sad, and his head drooped.

Seeing this, Zhu Mao knew that he must have thought of his father's death, and that the child was actually regretting it now, he really shouldn't see him as proud, so he would just carry whatever pot he didn't open.Zhu Mao was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to say, he looked around, and quickly changed the subject: "...Well, is Uncle Dou ready for dinner? I'll go order some food for Uncle Dou."

Dou Cong still turned his back to Zhu Mao stiffly, without saying a word.

Zhu Mao was silent for a while, then went out quietly, and specially ordered Dou Cong's favorite food to be delivered to him.He was about to go up to talk to Dou Cong again, when the guard who was watching the wind reported that Du Chunxiao had returned.Zhu Mao hurriedly went out to hide in the opposite shop.In a blink of an eye, a handsome man in an ivory white robe and a gorgeous black cloak was walking towards the wine shop with two bags of things, followed by four subordinates.

Zhu Mao was always worried about Dou Cong, even though his master had arranged guards to protect him secretly, Zhu Mao was still worried that the child's recklessness would cause some safety problems.He stayed in the tea shop until noon, and later saw Dou Cong chatting and laughing with Du Chunxiao, as if they were going to visit Liuzhou City together. Come out and rush back to the government office.

Jia Amnesty is about to arraign Che Shuangquan.

Originally, the interrogation could have been earlier, but this time Jia Amnesty was extra careful. Before interrogating Che Shuangquan, he asked someone to check Che Shuangquan's articulation, especially the part of the rear molars, to confirm that there was no poison in his mouth. Make him bathe and change clothes, and wear the clothes they provide, to ensure that there is no possibility of carrying poison anywhere on Che Shuang's body.

After doing all this, Jia Amnesty was rewarded by his subordinates, who found a wax-wrapped pill in the left cuff of Che Shuangquan's clothes.The cuffs of the shirt were originally hemmed with fine hems, but there was only one opening that was as wide as a fingernail, and the pill was stuffed inside, and then threaded through it to fix it.It seems that this pill is intended to be swallowed by raising the sleeve and biting the teeth in a hurry.

As for what is inside the wax-sealed pill, a silver needle will tell you that it is poison. If you try it with a living thing, you will be poisoned and die immediately.

When Che Shuangquan took a bath, he didn't know that someone checked him for poison, but he was told that the Duke likes to be clean and doesn't like to interrogate dirty prisoners.Che Shuangquan also felt that Fu Guogong was playing aristocratic temper, which was a bit hypocritical.It wasn't until after he took a bath that he found that the servants wouldn't let him wear his own clothes. He was a little suspicious, but after struggling to no avail, he didn't dare to make it too obvious, so he only asked the servants to keep his clothes. for myself.Later, he found out that someone asked him to open his mouth to check his articulation, and Che Shuangquan turned his back on what was going on. His heart skipped a beat. It was too late to resist, so he could only prepare to die and come to see Jia Amnesty.

When Jia Amnesty saw that Che Shuangquan was brought up, he looked deathly at home, so he didn't need his subordinates to report back, and he knew that Che Shuang must have poison all over his body that could prove that he was a dead soldier.

Sometimes in order to avoid torture and leave clues, these dead men carry poison with them to prevent future troubles.But now it happened to be something like this, which happened to be able to accurately prove his identity.It's not an ordinary person, but a dead soldier who is responsible and performing a mission.

The guard presented the poison to Jia She with a tray, and told Jia She that he had confirmed that the poison was Hedinghong.

Jia She turned to look at Che Shuangquan, who was kneeling over there, with a blank expression on his face, his eyes staring blankly ahead, very dull, as if a dead pig is not afraid of boiling water.

The guards then told Jia Amnesty that there was indeed a strand of shorter hair behind Che Shuangquan's bun.

Hearing this, Che Shuangquan was shocked for a moment, and continued to keep his face blank, showing a look of pretending to be dead, but as time went by, layers of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Presumably he would not tell the truth, but Jia She still asked, "Who is your master?"

Che Shuangquan met Jia Amnesty's eyes and sneered, "Why bother, my lord, it's useless to ask when you know it."

"Yes, it's like playing the piano to a cow, but I still hope you're not a cow." Jia She laughed at himself.

Che Shuangquan was stunned for a moment. After realizing that he was being ridiculed, he gritted his molars and said, "There is nothing to say. If you want to kill or cut, it's up to you."

"It seems that I have to tell the executioner to sharpen the knife. After all, beheading 24 people is a labor-intensive job." Jia She tapped his fingers on the table lightly, with a relaxed expression on his face, as if killing people was as easy as eating for him. .

Che Shuangquan stared and laughed loudly, "My lord's memory is really bad, obviously there are only 23 people including me, where did 24 come from!"

"When I didn't know that there was another fish that slipped through the net? Now I have arrested him and came back. It seems that his name is Chi Xumiao. This child looks handsome. When he grows up in the future, maybe he will be able to use his face alone. I can find a decent family to marry." Jia She laughed, and then found a trace of ferocity on Che Shuangquan's face.After a moment of silence, Che Shuangquan finally couldn't bear it anymore, gritted his teeth and wanted to rush forward.

"I did it all by myself, and have nothing to do with them!"

The guards hurriedly held down the excited Che Shuangquan, forcing him to kneel on the ground firmly and unable to get up.

Jia Amnesty's fingers were still tapping on the tabletop, loud and loud.It was as if a heavy hammer hit Che Shuangquan's chest heavily, causing him to feel pain, his blood was surging, and he was angry and hated.

"It's rare for you real-faced people to sympathize with my people of Great Zhou. What's so special about that young man to you? Is he very similar to your past? Or is he like your relatives?" Jia She asked inquiringly. .

Che Shuangquan was even more annoyed when Jia She said the central matter, and angrily said to Jia She: "You don't have to guess, he is no big deal to me, just like everyone else, he is just a fool I cheated and used That's all. Heh, these people only eat and ask for money all day long, they are lazy like pigs, and they expect these idiots to do things? I'm not crazy yet!"

Jia Amnesty could tell that Che Shuangquan was scolding those people, but he was actually trying to explain to himself that they had nothing to do with this matter.But the point of what he said just now is not the latter, but the true-faced person mentioned at the beginning.Putting two things together, one is true and the other is false, Che Shuangquan automatically ignores the truth because he is too eager to explain the wronged matter later.

Jia Amnesty had figured it out, and he immediately nodded to Che Shuangquan cooperatively, "So that's the case, but I was overthinking it."

"It's because you're overthinking, hahahaha... who would be friends with a group of idiots, do you think I'm as stupid as those scumbags!" Che Shuangquan pretended to be brave and laughed endlessly.

Jia Amnesty stared at Che Shuangquan suspiciously, and asked him if he dared to swear that everything he said was true.

"Of course, I would swear by my life!" Che Shuangquan immediately raised his hands to swear, still feeling ridiculous in his heart, how could these Dazhou people be so stupid, they would believe that if they open and close their mouths casually, they will be punished if they disobey.

As soon as Che Shuangquan finished speaking, Jia Amnesty said, "Bring him up."

Jia Amnesty was wondering what he meant by that, when he heard familiar footsteps, Che Shuangquan was taken aback, and looking back, it was actually Chi Xumiao who had come.

Last night, Chi Xumiao was deliberately let go by Jia She. On the one hand, he wanted to know where Che Shuangquan's lair was and whether there were any accomplices; Unable to hold back his emotions, he collapsed, causing Jia Amnesty to find a flaw in his expression.

At this time, Che Shuangquan never expected that Chi Xumiao was outside the door just now, so didn't he hear everything he swore just now?Che Shuangquan felt a thunder strike from the sky and hit his head. His brain went blank and his ears buzzed for a long time before he realized that he had been tricked by Jia She. The body rushed forward, as if wishing to bite Jia She to death with one bite.

After Chi Xumiao paid homage to Jia Amnesty, he looked at Che Shuangquan alienatedly, and said in a very cold tone, "I really didn't expect that you are a spy from Dayang Kingdom, let alone that you treat us like that. Treating our admiration for you as a fool's move? It's really chilling."

As Chi Xumiao spoke, her eyes turned red, and she stared fiercely at Che Shuangquan.

When Che Shuangquan heard this, his expression was slightly tense. He seemed to have countless anger to vent, but he tried his best to hold back, "I have nothing else to say, but one thing, don't frame me, I am from Dazhou!"

"Hehe, do you admit it?" Chi Xumiao's angry eyes flashed with disappointment, he sneered, then turned his head away from looking at Che Shuangquan, he felt disgusted.

Che Shuangquan was so angry that he clenched his fists, and glared at Jia Amnesty angrily, hating himself for not being able to kill this treacherous man with his own hands.He had already accepted his fate and was willing to die, so why did this fellow torture him like this before he died.I thought I would leave some good impressions in front of Chi Xumiao, but now I have nothing.

"You insidious villain!"

"You are indeed a foreign spy." Jia She said affirmatively.

When Chi Xumiao heard this, she became even more annoyed, turned her head and gave Che Shuangquan a hard look, then knelt on the ground to confess to Jia She, showing that they really had nothing to do with Che Shuangquan.

"What kind of foreign spies, what nonsense are you talking about? Yes, I admit that I was instructed by someone to dig mines. I am also a dead man, but I am a decent Dazhou person!" Che Shuangquan patted his chest hard. Well, when Han said these words, there was a sense of justice.

"The first time I said you were a real-faced person, you didn't immediately deny it, but you were eager to deny the matter between you and Chi Xumiao, and you already admitted it unconsciously." Jia She explained.

Che Shuangquan said angrily: "Absurd, this is just your wild guess."

"Is it?"

"I really didn't expect that the Duke of the Kingdom, who is known for his fairness, would decide the case based on his own assumptions and guesses. I really don't know how he boasted his reputation outside. Anyway, the grassroots don't recognize it, even if they are beaten to death, and they won't be punished." Your power is threatening, and you will be tortured. How can a vicious and treacherous person like you deserve to be in a high position in the Great Zhou court!" Che Shuangquan was furious, and he would never give in.

"I'll teach you a truth, the more you say, the more mistakes you make. Do you still remember that you said before, 'How can a person like you deserve to be in a high position in Dazhou'?" Jia Amnesty was not at all annoyed by Che Shuangquan's scolding, and still insisted. Asked with a calm attitude.

Che Shuangquan was puzzled and didn't think there was any problem, so he asked Jia Amnesty what he meant.

"If you were really the people of Dazhou, you would say 'how could the court have an official like you', instead of emphasizing 'Dazhou'. To give a simple example, if you talk about other people's children, you will definitely say How about the children of a certain surname. But when it comes to their own family, they will simply call them the second child, the third child, etc., and will not deliberately bring the family name or the name of the mansion." Jia She explained patiently and carefully, But after he said a word, Che Shuangquan's face turned pale.

"This is the first one. The second is the short hair behind your bun, which is in line with the characteristics of the short braid on the back of the real face. The third is that you said that you are from Shandong and came to Liuzhou this spring. Without the slightest accent, it is obviously a false report." Jia She turned his eyes and stared at Che Shuangquan coldly, "If these are not enough to prove that you are a true face of Dayang, then there is also the red crest on your body and the back of your head. That lock of hair is short."

At this moment, Che Shuangquan lowered his head very deeply, his body was stiff and motionless, as if he was dead.He seemed to have immediately learned Jia Amnesty's lesson of "talking too much is making mistakes", and at this moment he decided to keep silent and say no more.

"Your Chinese is very good. There is almost no way to tell that you are a foreigner from your words. Your master probably spent a lot of time in order to train you. The so-called dead soldiers should have their minds worn out long ago. I don't have myself in my mind, only the will of my master. I don't expect to pry anything out of your mouth, and I won't torture you to extract a confession. I just hope you think about it during this time, what is the purpose of your life? What, is it just to live like a beast and be ordered by others at will? I don't believe that any so-called dead man will not have himself, be driven by others at will, and have no feelings in his heart. You are all human, have brains, and can think. " Jia Amnesty stared at Che Shuangquan deeply.

Che Shuangquan still lowered his head, held back his lips tightly, and remained motionless, but Jia Shen observed that his fists tightened obviously, so he knew that he had listened to his own words.

It is impossible to expect him to repent and confess immediately.Anyway, the chances of these dead men being able to tell the truth are very slim. This time, Jia Amnesty is a dead horse as a living horse doctor. Once there is hope, it will be a windfall.

After Che Shuangquan was pulled down, Jia Amnesty interrogated Chi Xumiao, asking him if he had found any special habits or strange things in him during his usual contact with Che Shuangquan.

Chi Xumiao was still immersed in the anger of being betrayed by Che Shuangquan. After listening to Jia Amnesty's questioning, he forced himself to gradually calm down and reflect carefully.

"Usually he just laughs and laughs with us, drinks and eats meat, which is really nothing special. By the way, he prefers to stay in the room alone in his spare time, and he will go out alone once every half a month, saying it is to deliver goods."

"When he delivered the goods, he went alone, so he didn't take you?" Jia She asked.

Chi Xumiao shook his head, "No. In the past, when there were a lot of goods, he said that he hired 300 people to work, but these people were all nearby villagers who were unreliable for money. He said he didn't want those people to come into contact with them. There are too many of us, lest we don’t confess the door to the old nest. So we don’t know where the people he hired worked. He also used those people to deliver the goods, saying it was economical We take risks."

Jia Amnesty: "You all believe it, no one questioned it?"

Chi Xumiao nodded, "He usually treats us very well. We have meat to eat, and there is little work. Naturally, we can't ask for it. No one has ever doubted it."

Jia Amnesty then sent people to ask other people, and soon learned that none of the twenty or so people had seen Che Shuangquan's so-called two or three hundred people go to mine.

It seems that the fact that many people went to mine together to supply goods to the third prince was completely fabricated.

Jia Amnesty immediately ordered people to detain Che Shuangquan and Chi Xumiao in adjacent cells, and chose the most secluded corner of the cell to detain them alone, so that they could have as much contact and conversation as possible.

Jia Amnesty asked Chi Xumiao, hoping that he could collect information from Che Shuang's body as much as possible.As long as he behaves well and they can find some clues, they will consider mitigating or exempting him from punishment.

"It's already like this, how can he still talk to me!"

"As long as you don't act too unfeeling, you can't tell."

Chi Xumiao hurriedly knelt down to thank Jia Amnesty, gritted his teeth and said that he would definitely behave well, and it could be considered as a culprit for Da Zhou.

Jia Amnesty then immediately took people to Che Shuangquan's secret camp, which was known only to Che Shuangquan and Chi Xumiao.During the search, the guards obeyed Jia Amnesty's instructions, and deliberately checked whether there were hidden compartments on the floor, cabinets, bed boards and walls.Sure enough, the guards later discovered that there was a hidden compartment under the closet, which contained a letter and a map.

There was only one sentence written in the letter: "Help Da Zhou Prince achieve hegemony, and everything will go according to plan."

The map shows the distribution of iron mines around Xiaoliushan.

Jia Amnesty found it strange that behind the hidden compartment was a wooden plank instead of an earthen wall, and asked someone to knock on it, but the sound was wrong.The guard dug out the wooden board with a knife, and found that there was a fist-sized hole in the earth, and then took out a list of merchants selling illegal salt from it.The fonts on the list are very characteristic. They use the thin gold body that is not very popular nowadays, and every part that has a slant will be stretched longer, and there will be a slight bend at the end

Guard Lei was very surprised when he saw this list. He looked at Jia Amnesty, but didn't say much.

Jia Amnesty told him to speak up when he had something to say.

Guard Lei said: "This handwriting is recognizable. When I was serving Mr. Song, I saw the calligraphy of Eunuch Li next to the third prince. His calligraphy is exactly the same as the ones on this list."

Jia Amnesty immediately put away the list, took these things back to the Liuzhou government office, and immediately interrogated Che Shuangquan.

Che Shuangquan sneered and said, "Your Excellency has already found these, what else can the grassroots have to say?"

"The handwriting on this letter is from Eunuch Li?" Jia Amnesty asked directly.

Che Shuangquan was stunned, and immediately asked in surprise, "How did you know?" After saying that, he regretted it and closed his eyes fiercely.

"If you were ordered by Eunuch Li, how could you have anything to do with Zhenyan?"

Che Shuangquan bowed his head and remained silent.

Jia She frowned, and wandered around the house with his hands behind his back. After thinking about it, seeing that Che Shuangquan hadn't said anything, he waved his hand and asked someone to take him down.Then he called Chi Xumiao and asked him if he knew about Che Shuangquan's past experiences.

Chi Xumiao thought for a while and said: "I didn't reveal too much, but he always treats me as his dead brother and loves me, saying that his brother suffered from a severe cold, fever and confusion, and the family has no money to buy medicine. , his brother’s only wish before he died was to see the brassica flowers again. He hugged his dying brother and ran madly to the brassica field ten miles away, but he died before he arrived.”

Brassica flowers are abundant in the Yangtze River area of ​​Dazhou, and are also planted in other places, but there is no such thing in the grassland of Dayang.Not only Dayang, but none of the surrounding tribes outside of Dazhou.This shows that Che Shuangquan lived in Dazhou when he was a child, but why his way of speaking and the style of his hair did not show that he was from Dazhou.

Jia She frowned tightly and fell into doubt.

"My lord, Lord Ma is here." The guard outside the door reported.

Ma Tianmo learned that Jia Amnesty had found a clue from a miner's residence, so he came to congratulate Jia Amnesty with a smile and asked about the specific situation.

Jia Amnesty: "Master Ma is so interested in this case. Didn't you muddle along and pretend to be foolish before?"

"I have learned a lot from the experience, and I want to follow Mr. Jia to solve the big case, learn more, learn lessons, and be a good official." Ma Tianmo shook his mustache and laughed.

"This matter has nothing to do with the third prince, aren't you afraid?"

"It's different today. I used to be a small magistrate, and I was very soft-spoken. How could I speak in a high temple? It's different when I have an adult as a backer. The lower officials also want to be loyal to the country." Ma Tianmo said "frankly" 'road.

Jia Amnesty smiled and refused, "I'm sorry, I like to enjoy such a good thing as meritorious service to myself, and I don't want to share it with others."

Ma Tianmo was stunned for a moment, he didn't expect Jia She to speak so bluntly, and refused so simply, which made him unable to refute for a while.Ma Tianmo was silent for a while, then he apologized and said with a smile: "It is an honor for me to be an officer even if I follow my lord's side and contribute to my lord. It is my honor to gain knowledge. I can swear that I will never fight against my lord, just concentrate on it." Just focus on being an adult and one of his subordinates."

"Since Mr. Ma is so sincere, it's hard for me to refuse. It just so happens that I have something here that needs someone's help."

Hearing this, Ma Tianmo excitedly asked Jia She what to do, as long as he could do it, he was willing to come.

"You can definitely do it, it's just a matter of spreading a word." Jia She said with a smile.

Ma Tianmo hurriedly cupped his hands and begged Jia Amnesty, asking him to entrust this task to himself.

"Okay, then it's up to you to go to the mausoleum and pass a word to the third prince, telling him that all the salt and iron cases I found have something to do with him, especially the Eunuch Li next to him, who is directly involved in this incident." stakeholder."

Ma Tianmo was dumbfounded, "Huh? Ah? I'll go, go, go and find the third prince?"