Infrastructure masters in the red building

Yin Linxing of Shuntian Prefecture, together with officials from the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, continued to try the case of the assassination of the prince.

At the Shuntian Mansion Hall on this day, Lin Yan ordered people to bring the criminals captured from De'an County "according to the picture" to the hall and interrogate their confessions.

Before the person arrived, Lin Yan looked at the empty seat behind him, a little dazed - he only said that the third prince would be very excited if the news was sent to the East Palace.In today's court hearing, the third prince was supposed to come, but who knows he didn't.

But since the third prince was not present, he brought Ruan Yunqing up with confidence, after all Ruan Yunqing was also a witness.

In the blink of an eye, criminals and witnesses of all colors were brought to the hall. Lin Yan slapped the gavel and asked the criminal named Wu Qiang first:

"When His Royal Highness was assassinated last year, were you in Beijing?"

Wu Qiang immediately shouted: "I am wronged, the villain was working in De'an County last March, not in Beijing."

Lin Yan couldn't help laughing, thinking that this case would be too easy to try.

"If you are really just an ordinary craftsman as you said, how do you know the exact time when His Royal Highness was assassinated?"

"Ordinary people can remember the solar terms, remember when to plant rice seedlings, and remember the time when His Royal Highness died like this, don't you just ask yourself?!"

Lin Yan turned his head and saw that Ruan Yunqing was staring at Wu Qiang excitedly with an ugly face full of pockmarks, but at the same time he forced himself to be patient.It seems that this person also has hope in his heart, hoping to find clues to the assassination of the prince from this line.

Lin Yan immediately ordered someone to send the steward of Wu Qiang's rented house in Beijing to identify him.The steward recognized Wu Qiang at a glance, and said: "That's right, the villain can remember because the two of them have always been idle, don't have to go to work, stay in the house every day, rarely go out, but still I can afford the rent, I can afford food, and the food and drink are not bad..."

This sounds more like buying murder.Ruan Yunqing looked at Wu Qiang with resentment immediately.

Lin Yan slapped the gavel again, and said, "There's no need for severe punishment, I'm afraid it will be difficult to confess. Someone—"

The yamen servants in the hall immediately waited on them with water and fire sticks.The officials of the Dali Temple of the Ministry of Punishment turned their faces away when they heard the screams, and most of them showed expressions of impatience.Only Ruan Yunqing opened her eyes wide, showing expectation——

"My lord, spare my life, my lord, spare my life, but the villain can't survive the torture, so I just confess, and I beg my lord to give me a good time—"

Finally, Wu Qiang breathed a sigh of relief.The yamen servant let him go, and the man lay on his stomach in the middle of the hall of Shuntian Mansion, facing the ground, barely supporting his upper body with his elbows.

"The villain was the one who was instigated by others to use the iron gun to murder the crown prince and Duke Rong..."

There was an uproar in the hall, this... is like stepping on iron shoes and there is nowhere to find it, it took no effort to get here!

Ruan Yunqing, who was not too far away from Wu Qiang, immediately screamed and rushed towards Wu Qiang. If it weren't for the two yamen servants holding him down, Ruan Yunqing would have jumped directly on Wu Qiang, biting her teeth with her hands. Solve the hatred in his heart.

Lin Yan had no choice but to slap the gavel again, and said loudly, "Quiet!" He thought, what's the noise, how could the trial be so simple, and he still hasn't asked many details?

"Tell me, who instigated it, and who gave you the two weapons to murder His Highness the Crown Prince?" Lin Yan leaned out of the big case in Shuntian Mansion, and asked loudly.

"It's His Highness the Third Prince!" Wu Qiang also answered honestly.

"His Royal Highness the Third Prince?" Lin Yan was startled, and couldn't help but glance over to the empty chair beside him.

The officials of the Dali Temple and other offices of the Criminal Department were also shocked, and the whole hall of Shuntian Mansion seemed to be boiling.

"Wait," Lin Yan slapped the gavel again, "It is impossible for the Third Prince to find you in person, who did he contact you through, and who directed you to enter the Dongping Palace..."

There was no chance for him to ask this series of questions, and there was chaos in the Shuntian Mansion Hall.Ruan Yunqing broke away from the yamen servant and threw herself on Wu Qiang, tearing and biting, and was dragged away by the yamen servant.People from the Ministry of Punishments and Dali Temple were discussing excitedly. Most of the people in the Metropolitan Procuratorate would be promoted by the third prince.

Lin Yan slapped the gavel until his hands went numb, and the hall finally calmed down.He hurriedly ordered someone to take Wu Qiang down, this man is now the No. [-] witness in Tianzi, except for the slightest mistake, he will lose his black yarn.In contrast, the plaintiff, Ruan Yunqing, was nothing serious.

The governor of Shuntian Prefecture looked around and asked: "Everyone, now...we are waiting, should we send envoys to the East Palace and ask His Highness the Third Highness to come here in person to confront the criminal on the spot?"

He didn't dare to make such a big deal.

Lin Yan opened his mouth, and others echoed, and some people gave him advice in a hurry:

"Let's not talk about the criminal testifying against the Third Highness, just ask the Third Highness to come down and interrogate in person...invite someone to come and talk!"

"Yes, for such a big event, the Third Highness must be present."

"This... the Crown Prince's case really involves the Third Prince, should you immediately send someone to Li Palace outside the city to report this matter to the Emperor?"

"..."

Talking all over the place, in fact, it's still none of my business, anyway, I didn't make up my own mind in the end.

Lin Yan couldn't help it, so he had to call his confidantes and staff to come over and teach him the opportunity face to face, so he sent him to the East Palace.

Not long after, the staff member came back with an unbelievable expression on his face, as if he was stupid and in a trance.Behind him was a staff member belonging to the Eastern Palace, who was in mourning, with both eyeballs swollen.

Lin Yan's staff moved closer to Lin Yan's ear and whispered something, and Lin Yan's expression changed immediately.

The others hadn't noticed it yet, and they were still discussing excitedly, discussing how the third prince would deal with the murderer's testimony, and how to clear himself of the suspicion.

Someone from the Eastern Palace carefully handed Lin Yan a letter sealed with wax.Lin Yan took it apart, swept it over and over again, and sat in front of the table like a wood carving and clay sculpture, for a long while, motionless and silent.

The people discussing in the hall gradually sensed that something was wrong, and they looked towards Lin Yan together, the noisy discussions in Shuntian Mansion gradually dissipated, and the hall became completely silent, everyone stared at Lin Yan, waiting for him to speak.

"This, this is..."

Lin Yan's voice became hoarse. He has been an official for many years, and he probably has never encountered such a thing.

"...His Highness the Third Prince's last words!"

--what?

--This is impossible!

The lobby of Shuntian Mansion was silent for a moment, then there was another bang, and it turned into a duck pond.Many civil servants excitedly stood up and questioned loudly: The third prince is very well-behaved, they just met yesterday, so why did they "undo it".

Lin Yan wiped his eyes and said: "I also hope that this is a fake. Come on, you are more familiar with the handwriting of His Highness the Third Highness than I am. Take a look, it is true!"

A group of people left their seats at once and came towards Lin Yan together. Several civil servants who were familiar with the third prince came over together. After reading the letter from Lin Yan, they were all speechless.

Others couldn't see it, and they all felt itchy. Someone crowded around and shouted loudly: "Read it out, Master Lin, please read it out!"

Lin Yan sighed, and as expected, he read the contents of the letter aloud—everyone was stunned.

In this letter to Yin Linyan of Shuntian Mansion, the third prince admitted that he planned to assassinate his elder brother. Once he learned that Wu Qiang was arrested, he knew that the fire could no longer be contained in the paper, and he had no face to face the world. I can kill myself to thank the world.

"Then, that... over there in the East Palace, His Highness the Third..."

Someone tremblingly asked.Yin Linyan of Shuntian Mansion shook his head slightly.The man from the East Palace next to him said in grief: "The Third Highness hung the beam last night, but because he told anyone not to see him, I only found out when the Fifth Prince came this morning..."

That being the case, there is no possibility of the third prince surviving, and what the fifth prince discovered could only be...

In the Department of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the former ministers of the Third Prince all knelt in the direction of the East Palace at this moment, and many of them burst into tears.A person's crazy laughter was mixed with the sound of crying: "God opened my eyes, God opened my eyes!"

This is naturally Ruan Yunqing.When Ruan Yunqing heard that the third prince was dead, she raised her hands to the sky happily, and after shouting a few times, she suddenly slammed into the big pillar on the Shuntian Mansion Hall beside her. begging to die.

Fortunately, a yamen servant stopped him, turned him aside, and waited for him to be dealt with.

But how could Fu Yin Linyan care about Ruan Yunqing at this time?

In just one or two years, two princes of Jian Guo died.

"What should I do now?" Someone asked Shun Tian Fu Yin.Since the third prince died, even if he died disgracefully, he was the person who supervised the country after all, so all the government affairs of the whole country would be affected.

Or maybe these courtiers shouldn't be so conscientious and always think about political affairs.The bones of the third prince are not yet cold, and death is a big deal, so someone should hold the funeral ceremony for him.

The people from the Ministry of Rites didn't know if they had rushed to the East Palace.

Has His Majesty the Emperor also received the news?

And what should those people in Shuntian Mansion do now?

Everyone turned their attention to Yin Linyan of Shuntian Mansion.Fu Yin Linyan pondered for a moment. Although he saw the third prince's suicide note with his own eyes, he still felt infinite doubts unsolved, and said immediately: "I should wait without delay, and hurry to the East Palace to bid farewell to the third highness..."

"Everyone, there are changes in the capital, please don't act rashly."

A young and majestic voice interrupted Fu Yin Linyan's words.A military general in full armor strode into Shuntian Mansion, cupped his hands and reported his family name: "Xiaguan, Prince Teng, who guards the capital, is here to remind all the adults. The prince Jian Guo is dead, and the capital is in turmoil. Please stay here, sir. Do not allow, do not leave!"

Behind him were only a dozen soldiers guarding the capital, but these soldiers were by no means comparable to the yamen servants of the Wucheng soldiers and horses. Once they stopped at the gate of Shuntian Mansion, it seemed that a gate had been added to the yamen.

As the saying goes, when a scholar meets a soldier, it is hard to explain why.Now a group of civil servants suddenly saw so many soldiers guarding the door, no one dared to act rashly.

But with so many civil servants trapped in Shuntian Mansion, Lin Yan still had to speak up.He bowed his hands to the prince: "Master Wang!"

Wang Ziteng also responded with a good temper: "Lord Lin!"

"May I ask how the situation in the East Palace is now, the Third Highness, he... can someone tell us about his funeral? Who will be in charge of the political affairs in Beijing and the court?... Has the emperor already known about this?"

He asked three questions in one breath, but he put the funeral of the third prince in the first place, which shows that he still has some sympathy with this prince.

Wang Ziteng answered eloquently: "Lord Xia Shengshen is now sitting in the East Palace, and together with the third imperial concubine, he is taking care of the funeral of the third highness. The fifth prince is now acting as the supervisor of the country according to the last order of the third highness, and ordered the officials to take charge of the defense of Gyeonggi. ..."

What, Fifth Prince? ——Everyone in Shuntian Mansion gasped.

After the third prince died, there were still four princes in the court. The eldest prince and Jia Fang, who hadn't had time to register the genealogy, were still working in the south, so they couldn't make it to Beijing in a hurry.There are still four princes and five princes in Beijing, but these two have never been formally considered as candidates to inherit the great line.

The fourth prince has a chronic stuttering disease and rarely shows up in front of the courtiers; and the fifth prince, the fifth prince is even less considered - this is not His Majesty's flesh and blood at all.

etc! ——Thinking that someone finally realized this, the hairs on the back stood on end.

The blood of the emperor also flowed in the fifth prince's body, and his biological father also sat on the dragon chair for two years.

When today's son was restored, he pulled his younger brother off the horse with one hand, but left the nephew's life behind.

Now the real princes are dying one after another, but the fifth prince has stood up decisively at such a critical moment.

Could it be that the scene from that year will be reversed?

Everyone was terrified, looking at the little-known prince Teng in front of them—a few people knew that he was the nephew of the Du Taiwei ruling the royal family, but when he was promoted to the Beijing camp, no one even noticed. .

"As for His Majesty the Emperor..." At this point, Wang Ziteng had a solemn expression.

"His Majesty the Emperor disappeared from the Rongguo Mansion around noon today."

There was another commotion in Shuntian Mansion.What's the matter today?Didn't you all read the almanac when you went out in the morning?

Yin Linyan of Shuntian Mansion clutched his chest, he felt that he could no longer bear such successive blows.

The young Prince Teng, who was guarding the capital, smiled at everyone: "But as long as you don't act rashly, stay in Shuntian Mansion for the time being, and I guarantee everyone's absolute safety."

Here... the civil servants looked at each other and exchanged glances: Dare to feel that this Shuntian Mansion has really become a big prison, whether it is the plaintiff Ruan Yunqing, the murderer Wu Qiang, and those who are adjudicating the case and listening in, all of them have become this prison. The prisoner is unable to get out for the time being.

In the East Palace, Xia Shengshen is presiding over the funeral of the third prince in his capacity as a teacher.He sent his students away twice in a row, the head of white hair on the head of the old man was like snow, and his back was directly bent by this repeated grief.

The third imperial concubine passed out from crying several times, and was closely watched by the surrounding court ladies and eunuchs, for fear that the tragedy like that of the crown princess would happen again.

But even though the third imperial concubine cried, she still had some means, and with the help of her natal family, she managed the inner courtyard submissively.In the East Palace, the mourners who reported the mourners everywhere, the guards who watched the spirits, and the weeping spirits who cried out, did not see any chaos.

The outer study where the third prince died was occupied by the fifth prince, and temporary decrees were issued to all parts of the capital.When the crown prince was assassinated back then, the capital was under martial law for a short time, but now the fifth prince has continued to impose martial law again.

He made a long list and handed it to the young general of the Beijing camp—he wanted to know the location, movement, anytime, anywhere, and every moment of everyone on this piece of paper.But Wang Ziteng agreed without saying a word, and immediately went down to assign people, and when he came back in a blink of an eye, he said that he could always repay, and the slowest would not be slower than a stick of incense.

The fifth prince nodded, thinking that the young general was very useful.

After Wang Ziteng retreated, the fifth prince looked up at the beam where the third prince hanged himself last night.

Since he temporarily took over the government affairs of the country, he has received letters and letters expressing his commitment to the government from many courtiers and wealthy businessmen who supported the third prince in the past.He had contacted these people a long time ago, and they were cut off by the third prince for the so-called "justice" after he obtained the power to oversee the country.

Now, without exception, all these people approached the Fifth Prince.

The fifth prince secretly smiled: Third brother, have you seen it?What you looked down upon at the beginning, and what you tried to cut off, has actually already taken refuge in others.

Those who took refuge in others, including many eunuchs from the East Palace and old people from the Third Prince's Mansion, saw that the Third Prince was not profitable, so they voted together.

This third brother usually looks like a bravado, but in fact he is simple-minded and a single-minded person. No wonder the emperor would call him a "stupid".

The Fifth Prince didn't feel much complacent when he thought that this fool would obediently take the bait as soon as he was tricked.Third brother, do you know, you misunderstood me at the beginning, I am the son of that bad guy emperor uncle, I was born... to be a bad guy.

When the fifth prince was born, the emperor had already been restored, and his biological father had already been placed under house arrest.He almost never met his father, nor did he know what happened to his father.When he was young, he regarded Uncle Huang as his father.

Until one day, his biological mother told him the truth and asked him to go to the emperor to ask where his father was.

The fifth prince was young and ignorant at that time, so he actually asked about it, which made Uncle Huang furious, and immediately admitted his background, but refused to disclose his father's whereabouts.

It was not until many, many years later that the fifth prince learned in a roundabout way that his biological father, Prince Yizhong, had already committed suicide, and it was said that His Majesty the Emperor just sat by and watched, allowing his younger brother to end him like this.

He understands the truth, suicide, his biological father is seeking benevolence and benevolence, so he has to thank Uncle Huang for releasing his father.

But he hated his uncle's family because of this, no matter how these brothers treated him or treated him as his own brother, he still hated his brothers.Every word they said was laughing at themselves for being cowardly and cowardly, and every word they cared about themselves was just reflecting that he was a useless person...

Third brother, thank you, thank you for making my brother feel good! ——The fifth prince sat in front of the desk in the study outside the East Palace, facing the pile of memorials, ink pens and seals, the fifth prince suddenly felt complacent.

Sure enough, power is like an aphrodisiac, once you get it, your mood is like a wisp of green smoke floating toward you.

The fifth prince didn't care at all that the position behind him on his right was where he helped the third brother "hang the beam", and the desk in front of him was where he placed those forged "confessions" and "suicide notes".

The only thing he cared about was his uncle.

Where did Uncle Huang go?

Today he has been in the East Palace all the time, and has no time to look around, let alone what will happen to that old girl in Rongguo Mansion.Who knew that the matter of the East Palace had just begun to emerge, but there was news from the Rongguo Mansion that His Majesty the Emperor had "disappeared".

He has several sources of information in Rongguo Mansion, but these sources have not delivered any news recently.

The only news is——someone in the Ningrong Back Street heard a "boom" from the garden of the two mansions, like thunder.

It was the sound of pistols.

Uncle Huang must have gone to see Hades, I don't know if he has the face to see his own brother.

But the Rongguo Mansion actually had the guts to cover up the news of Uncle Huang's death?Just say it's missing?Aren't they afraid that they ordered the Beijing camp to defend, surrounded the Rongguo Mansion, rushed in and copied the garden?

When he thought of that garden, the fifth prince hated it.

If Uncle Huang hadn't succeeded in restoration, the garden should have belonged to him—just imagine, the garden originally belonged to King Qing, who had no children except a daughter.King Qing supported his father to ascend the throne. Who said that this garden would not fall into his hands?Where will it be Jia Fang's turn?

Although Jia Fang is the grandson of King Qing, he has an advantage in blood.But if it weren't for Uncle Huang's bad relationship back then, where would Jia Fang come from in this world?

The fifth prince thought of this, raised his head to the sky, and laughed faintly.

Speaking of Jia Fang, there is actually some fate with him, but the world doesn't know that he and Jia Fang were actually born in the same year, the same month, and the same day.

As soon as Jia Fang was born, he was a treasure that the uncle could not love. For the last wish of his beloved, he was willing to put Jia Fang in his confidant's home and let him grow up like an ordinary child.

As soon as Zhou Deheng was born, his biological father was a rebellious official and traitor spurned by thousands of people, and his biological mother was timid and cowardly. Until he could remember, she didn't even dare to tell him the truth.

Jia Fang is the grandson of King Qing, and he was born with the Grand View Garden. Although outsiders don't know all the mysteries in it, he has his own way to find out about it.

In recent years, Jia Fangfang has managed the fiefdom in the south to a great extent, presumably with the help of that "fairy garden".

The Fifth Prince also secretly bought Jia Zhen from the Ningguo Mansion and asked him to help him steal books from the garden. Who would have thought that stealing books would be useless, as the stolen books would not have a single handwriting on them.

So the fifth prince was too jealous.He is inferior to Jia Fang in everything, especially luck.

But now, His Majesty the Emperor is missing in the Rongguo Mansion, no matter whether that person is alive or dead, Jia Fang cannot escape.

The fifth prince couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, he thought of the discord between Rongguo Mansion and Du Taiwei's ruling royal family because of the marriage of children.

"Find Prince Teng." The fifth prince has gradually become accustomed to giving orders, "Order him to surround the Ning Rong Second Mansion, and when this king arrives, he will send soldiers and horses to search inside to find His Majesty's whereabouts."

"In addition, pass on this king's warrant to supervise the country, arresting Rong Guogong's son Jia Fang. No matter where the local officials find Jia Fang's traces, they will immediately send him to the capital, and this king will immediately promote him to three ranks."