Jiang Qing

The weather is gradually getting hotter, and the fish in Xiyan Lake love to come out to breathe in the morning when it is still relatively comfortable.

Bai Bingchen was sitting by the lake throwing fish food. Seeing the fish swarming for food in front of him, he rolled his eyes with a smile and said to Ji Pu who came over: "In a few days, let someone transplant some lotus flowers and leaves to give these fish Find a place to live, and enjoying the cool air in summer is also considered refreshing.”

Ji Pu on the side had a dark face, put a bowl of strong medicine in front of him, and said in a muffled voice: "Don't leave it."

Since he successfully got rid of the poison, Ji Pu has always kept a straight face, urging him to take the medicine and adjust his sleep every day.No matter how much bitter medicine enters the throat, it can't compare to Ji Pu's cold and smelly face.

Slightly frowned and drank the medicine, Bai Bingchen didn't dare to complain, knowing that he was still angry, he flattered him: "I haven't left a single drop of the medicine you sent me these days."

With a smiling face, Jiang Yan walked quickly and said: "Patriarch, the Minister of the Ministry of War is here."

Bai Bingchen restrained his expression, looked at Fan Hongxin who came in a panic, and couldn't help frowning slightly.

Fan Hongxin was born obese, and he walked fast all the way, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and a few strands of sticky hair stuck to the end of his eyebrows.He was still wearing court clothes, and it seemed that he hadn't had time to go back to the house to change after morning, so he rushed here in such a hurry.

Before the others arrived, the voice rang out early: "Bai Xiang, you have to make the decision for the old minister!"

Bai Bingchen attended the eldest princess's wedding yesterday and was a little tired, so he asked someone to report the leave of court this morning. Unexpectedly, something happened after he didn't go to court for one day.

Seeing Fan Hongxin's furrowed brows, Bai Bingchen's heart sank, suggesting that Jiang Yan helped him up to speak.

After wiping the sweat off his brow, Fan Hongxin stood up with Jiang Yan's support, and then spoke eloquently.

It turned out that he had a dispute with Zhang Jiudai about a case in court today. Fan Hongxin insisted that the case should be submitted to the Ministry of Criminal Justice for trial, but Zhang Jiudai felt that the case was complicated and important and should be submitted to the three divisions for joint trial.

They argued in the court hall for a long time, Zhao Zhen just watched with a smile and didn't give any indication, but after the next court, he summoned Zhang Jiudai alone, which made Fan Hongxin very worried, and hurried to find Bai Bingchen, hoping that he could enter the palace Say a few words to solve this urgent need.

"What kind of case requires you to expend so much energy arguing in the court?" Bai Bingchen raised his eyebrows, and he already understood a little bit. This Minister of the Ministry of War must also be related to this case. That's why he wanted to send someone to the Ministry of Punishment so urgently, so that he could clear himself up.

The Ministry of Punishment is the person in Bai Bingchen's hands, and no matter how big the case is, it can always be resolved.Unfortunately, Zhang Jiudai also got the news and wanted to take this opportunity to bite off a piece of Fan Hongxin's meat, so he recommended the three divisions for a joint trial.

With the intervention of Yushitai and Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment naturally cannot blatantly block the sky with one hand.

What's more, Wen Cheng, the censor doctor, was the second place in the imperial examination in the same year as Bai Bingchen and Mei Shao. Not to mention being able to ask for some favors in the case under his hands.

And Dali Siqing is a playboy full of nice words, he is Guo Huan, the son of the Minister of the Household Department, and he barely got into an official position by relying on his father's official position.It's a coincidence that he never dealt with government affairs on a regular basis, but after a year, the political affairs in his hands are not considered outstanding, and people can't catch mistakes.Regardless of Guo Huan's mouth, there may not be two words that are credible for a long time, but it is said that his father, Minister of the Household Department, Guo Zhengyang, is actually a member of Zhang Jiudai's subordinates.

The joint trial of the third department secretly minimized the advantage of the Ministry of Punishment. If it weren't for this, an old fox like Fan Hongxin would not come to him in a panic.

Seeing how much Bai Bingchen guessed, Fan Hongxin didn't hesitate, and simply stated the incident: "It's all because my unworthy brother-in-law raised an unfilial son..."

Most of the aristocratic families in Pingdu have made meritorious service in the past dynasties. They rely on their status and control the court by means of in-laws.However, as the children of poor families came to the fore through the imperial examinations, they obtained official positions in the court, and then gradually promoted their own disciples and children to enter the court, and gradually they were able to divide their families into rivals.

Especially in this dynasty, Bai Bingchen was the champion of high school in the imperial examination in the 33rd year of Qinyuan, and was admitted to the Imperial Academy for his meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion.After the prince seized the throne, Zhao Zhen, who he assisted, succeeded in ascending the throne. He was also designated by the Fudi Pavilion as the minister of the contemporary world, and the power of the poor family reached an unprecedented height.

Moreover, the Ministry of Officials under Bai Bingchen evaluates the merits of officials, conducts annual assessments at the end of the year, and plans to promote and demote.

Fan Hongxin just had a pair of discerning eyes. He believed that in the hands of Bai Bingchen, the children of poor families would rise up, so he defected to Bai Bingchen shortly after Zhao Zhen ascended the throne.

He was born in a family, and he couldn't stretch his fists in the poor family for a while, so he immediately chose Yan Shuo from the poor family, supported him to be the governor of Jingzhao, and married his younger sister.It was only because of the connection between the in-laws that the children of the poor family really believed in Fan Hongxin's sincerity.

Unexpectedly, the wife he married back in consideration of power and power was a good one, but Yan Shuo, who had been supporting him all his efforts, had mediocre political achievements and even caused a lot of chaos.But his wife couldn't help crying. Although Yan Shuo was an idiot, he was obedient. Fan Hongxin helped him deal with many things secretly.

Unexpectedly, this time Yan Shuo was in a big trouble, his son Yan Changsi actually killed someone!

The only surviving little girl of the Chen family beat drums and complained in front of Jingzhao Yin's mansion.

"An orphan girl, you have nothing to do with her?" Bai Bingchen smiled contemptuously, "If it wasn't at this time, Fan Shangshu wouldn't come to ask for the truth."

As soon as this matter came out, Fan Hongxin immediately wanted to suppress the matter. He really wanted to use some secret means to get rid of the orphan girl of the Chen family without anyone noticing. Who knew that there was someone protecting her behind, so he couldn't do it for a while.What's more, the identity of the master of the Chen family...

Fan Hongxin didn't talk about his idea of ​​killing the orphan girl, but only said: "If it wasn't for Mr. Bai, the lower officials would not bother Mrs. Bai to recuperate."

Bai Bingchen became interested, a smile appeared in his eyes, he rubbed his finger on the jade wrench and said, "Tell me about the relationship."

"The deceased old master of the Chen family, Chen Man, was exactly the ghost businessman Bai Xiang had been looking for. He Zuo had experienced injuries, and there was indeed a three-inch long knife wound on his right palm. The shape and depth were exactly as described by Bai Xiang." Fan Hongxin swallowed. He took a sip of saliva, looked at Bai Bingchen's serious expression and continued, "The officials searched Chen's house, but they didn't find the list that Bai Xiang wanted. The officials guessed that most of the things were in the hands of that girl."

"As long as this murder case can be assigned to the Ministry of Criminal Justice, Prime Minister Bai will naturally be able to get the roster silently."

Over the years, "Lonely Pillow" has been circulating more and more frequently in the ghost market. Bai Bingchen tried to track down its whereabouts many times, but he never found a trace. He only knew that the ghost merchant who sold him "Lonely Pillow" had a knife wound on his right palm. .

There is a roster for ghost business transactions. As long as you can get the roster in Chen Man's hand, you can not only know the seller of "Lonely Pillow", but also dig out many shady transactions.

Bai Bingchen's slender fingers were twirling the jade ring, and his expression was erratic when he was thinking.

The next moment, he recovered his senses with a smile, and his words were gentle but faintly warned: "Fan Shangshu will not make up someone to lie to me just to save people, right?"

"How dare you." Fan Hongxin bowed his head and saluted, but he felt a chill on his neck. It was Bai Bingchen who got up and tapped his neck with his fingers, and said lightly: "It's good to know, and I will send you the military defense map in your hand today." .”

"Yes." Fan Hongxin gritted his teeth and agreed.

This troop stockpile and defense map covers the garrison of troops in various parts of the country and the relationship between local generals.Relying on this map he investigated during the late emperor's time, he was able to rely on Bai Bingchen.I have been reluctant to show it all these years. I thought that the situation in the officialdom will change, and one day I will be in prison. With this picture in my hand, I can exchange my life.

But what Bai Bingchen meant in his words was to exchange this picture for him to help, Fan Hong was reluctant to give up, but he could only agree with his teeth.Because he knew that the vortex behind this case was enough to drag him down, and if he refused to accept his softness at this time, his official career would come to an end, so he might as well give it a go.

Only when the coolness around his neck dissipated did Fan Hongxin dare to raise his head, and saw the blue robe flying away and disappearing around the corner.

Bai Bingchen was not as slow and stooped as before. He wore his crown upright and walked calmly. It was just a back view, which reminded Fan Hongxin of how he was going to the hall with such high spirits when he was the number one scholar in high school.

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Inside the Qinzheng Hall.

Zhao Zhen seemed to be in a good mood today. He didn't feel tired after playing chess with Zhang Jiudai for a long time, and he was still in high spirits. It wasn't until Fushun bowed his waist to remind him that Bai Bingchen asked to see him that he put down the sunspot in his hand.

Zhao Zhen glanced at Zhang Jiudai meaningfully, and said with a smile, "Please come in."

Seeing Bai Bingchen walking as usual, Zhang Jiudai couldn't help but turn pale, and taunted: "Bai Xiang has been ill recently, and he didn't even go to court in the morning. It turns out that he has invited a famous doctor to heal his leg!"

There was no surprise on Zhao Zhen's face, he just smiled lightly and said familiarly: "Have your legs been cultivated?"

Seeing that Zhao Zhen knew about this, Zhang Jiudai didn't want to suppress them more, and looked at the expressions of the two of them.

Nothing could be seen on Bai Bingchen's face, but Zhao Zhen's expression was complicated. It seemed that he knew that Bai Bingchen's leg disease had recovered, but he couldn't see happiness in his expression. Blaming himself endlessly, his current attitude is very strange.

He was still looking at him, when he heard Zhao Zhen speak bluntly: "Is Bai Qing here for the case of the Chen family?"

When this case was mentioned, Zhang Jiudai suddenly realized Bai Bingchen's purpose, and stared straight at him.

"Yes. The case of the Chen family is quite strange. You can't trust the words of the orphan girl of the Chen family. Both the father and son of the Chen family died tragically in a deserted temple in the outskirts. How can she escape?"

"Bai Qing hasn't read the case yet, right?" Zhao Zhen smiled and motioned Zhang Jiudai to show him the case.

Bai Bingchen took it and scanned it briefly, but was speechless for a moment.

It clearly stated on it that Yan Changsi, the son of Yin Yanshuo of Jingzhao Mansion, was ignorant, loved to drink flowers and wine, had seen many oirans in Pingdu, and had seen a lot of heavy makeup. He thought a little bit wrongly, and made a lot of hands and feet, but was discovered by Chen's father and son.

Chen Man knew that he was no match for the governor of Jingzhao, so he quickly discussed with his son Chen Ping and chose a marriage to marry his daughter off.Because the Chen family had always had some friendship with Uncle Zhou, the housekeeper of the Yin family in Jingzhao Mansion, and secretly obtained the order to leave the city, they carried their bridal sedan chair and married their daughter off that night.

Unexpectedly, those hooligans who used to please Yan Changsi got the news and secretly told Yan Changsi.

Yan Shuo was nearly forty years old, and he was the only son, and he was very doted on, there was nothing he couldn't get on weekdays.Seeing that Chen Man colluded with his housekeeper and wanted to marry Chen Qiyun to someone else, he was so angry that he lay in ambush outside the city early with others, and when he saw the sedan chair going south, he came out to fight for it when he reached the sparsely populated place of the temple.

Under the quarrel between the two groups, Chen Man, his father and son, his servants and a few local ruffians brought by Yan Changsi got into a fight. For a while, both sides became murderous, and after several hacks, both sides fell down a lot.

When Yan Changsi drew his knife and stabbed Chen Man and his son, Chen Qiyun hit him on the head with a stone and fell unconscious.

Seeing this bloody scene, Chen Qiyun dared to hide behind the Buddha statue.She didn't dare to show up until after dawn when Yan Changsi woke up and fled in a hurry, and went to Jingzhao Mansion to report the crime.

The description of the case is clear, the body was transported out, and after identification, it was indeed as stated in the case file.According to the preliminary inspection by Wu, the wounds on the bodies of Chen Man and his son were the same as the precious sword that fell in the deserted temple, and this precious sword was snatched by Yan Changsi from a knives wielder in the street some time ago. can testify.Yan Changsi loves this knife so much that he never leaves his body when he goes in and out day and night, so he absolutely cannot deny it.

In the White Mansion, Fan Hongxin didn't speak completely, and he omitted a lot of secrets. It wasn't until Bai Bingchen saw the dossier that he understood the key point. Asked: "Then what is His Majesty's plan?"

"Bai Qing has lived in the mansion for a long time, so he probably doesn't know that this matter has caused a lot of uproar in Pingdu City. Yan Shuo's achievements are not obvious, and his reputation among the people is not high. Once this matter happened, there was a lot of controversy among the people. He is really inappropriate. Intervene in this case. In addition, this case involves his parents and children, it is more appropriate to hand it over to the third division as assistant."

Bai Bingchen's eyes fell on Zhao Zhen and Zhang Jiudai's game of chess. The chessboard was black and white, and it was almost the end of the game. They must have been playing here for a long time. Regarding the case of the Chen family, His Majesty already had a plan in mind. .

He had no choice but to retreat: "Your Majesty's words are very true. If this is the case, I will personally watch the Ministry of Punishments hand over the case, and look at the assistant of the third department to show justice."

Seeing that Bai Bingchen wanted to intervene in the trial of this case, Zhao Zhen just looked at Zhang Jiudai and asked with a smile: "Does Zhang Qing also want to attend this case?"

"It's a big deal for the two ministers to supervise and interrogate the officials. I believe that Bai Xiang has always been fair and will not be biased."

Seeing that both of them took a step back, Zhao Zhen was playing chess slowly, Zhang Jiudai watched for a while with his eyes open, and had no place to make his own, so he had to abandon his chess: "Your Majesty is superb at chess, and the old minister is really invincible."

"It's not like you're invincible, it's just that you're not thinking about chess!" After winning the chess, Zhao Zhen was in a good mood, laughed, and said to Bai Bingchen quite favorably, "Now that you're here, go and see your sister! You are tired, you all go down."

Seeing the backs of the two resigning and walking out side by side, Zhao Zhen smiled gratifiedly and waved towards Fushun: "When I ascended the throne, I felt that it was a blessing for me that Bai Qing could stand on the court. Now seeing the two Walking side by side, I feel that there is hope for the prosperity of the Li country. Look at these two, who is better?"

Fushun saw that there seemed to be a reference in His Majesty's words, he giggled and pretended to be confused: "This old servant only cares about small matters in the palace, how dare he talk about two adults?"

Zhao Zhen restrained his joy just now, stared at Fushun with a half-smile and said, "Since you know your responsibilities, you should keep an eye on the palace, and don't let your subordinates do unseemly things, which will ruin your reputation."

Fushun was so frightened that he immediately knelt down, sweating profusely, and said: "This old slave dare not."

He knelt for a long time, and didn't dare to get up until Zhao Zhen woke up from a nap and called for Tiancha.

That Fang Bai Bingchen left the Palace of Qinzheng, exchanged pleasantries with Zhang Jiudai, and was led by the servants to the Empress' residence in the harem.

Zhang Jiudai turned around and hurried out of the palace, got into the carriage returning home, and said to a servant beside him, "Go and tell Mei Shao that Bai Bingchen is attending the trial of the Third Division, and ask him to find the roster within these two days. This time, Fan Hongxin must be found." Pull it down."