Cloud of the Qing Dynasty

Princess Yaoping flicked her sleeves and said, "It's disgusting for a villain to succeed! Don't forget, I'm also the emperor's aunt. After this matter is over, I still have a chance to deal with you!"

"It seems that His Royal Highness, the eldest princess, still can't see the situation at all." Zhang Chi sneered, "The emperor has tolerated you for long enough, otherwise there are so many talents in the imperial court, why did the emperor appoint me, a person with no official position and no position? Nothing to worry about, and someone you have wrongly accused and framed has come to investigate this case? What kind of result do you think the emperor wants to see with this move?"

Seeing that the other party just gritted his teeth and said nothing, Zhang Chi said again: "I might as well tell you straight, I have already found out the truth about your precious son's disobedience and murder of his father."

Princess Yaoping's complexion changed: "Nonsense!"

Zhang Chi smiled lightly, took out several sheets of paper full of words from his pocket, and handed them to Long Jiu who was pretending to be a subordinate of the Eagle League Guard to watch the excitement: "This is the testimony from Shi Zi's group of cronies, come, read it to Her Royal Highness, listen up."

Long Jiu took it and read aloud for fear that the world would not be chaotic: "On the third night of the seventh month, Yi Qiuhua, the former son of the Marquis of Yongning, Zhang He, the second son of Zhang Hanlin's family, Li Gui, the son of Li Shilang's family of the household department, and Liu Can of the Jinwu Guard Liu Dongliang, the general's son, drank in the Jinxiao Restaurant for a long time. During the period, Yi Qiuhua kept scolding his father Yongninghou for interfering in his private affairs with the famous brothel actress. Instead, his drinking friends made fun of him. Before he left, he shouted: "You wait and see , I'll go back and kill that old thing'..."

Before he could finish reading, Princess Yaoping grabbed the testimonies and tore them into pieces: "It's all nonsense!"

"Tear it, just tear it up." Zhang Chi said calmly, "I will ask them to copy dozens of copies and send them to the mansion later, so that Her Royal Highness can enjoy tearing it up and have a good time."

Princess Yaoping has already lost her composure: "My son only utters wild words when he is angry, and he can't count! He told me that he didn't kill people, and now he has been frightened to the point of losing his mind. What are you going to do? , do you have to force him to death to be satisfied?"

Zhang Chi was so angry that she laughed: "He said 'people are not murdered', so he really didn't kill him? Did the eldest princess think that everyone in the world would treat you as a precious son? Yongning Now that Hou died, the emperor felt like he had lost his arm, so he must be investigated strictly, let alone such a major event as 'son killing his father', which violates the principles of ethics. As long as these testimonies are handed over to the emperor, guess what the emperor will do with you Sweetheart? The eldest princess has time to argue for him, so why not think about how to get yourself out first, because you are not the principal offender, but for the sake of covering up, the emperor may also take into account the blood relationship and the royal family's face, for you Stay alive."

At this point in the matter, Princess Yaoping still refused to let go: "But Qiu'er is not the murderer at all. He was so drunk that he couldn't even stand upright. How could he kill someone?"

"Oh? So drunk that you can't stand still?" Zhang Chi said lightly, "But according to the people in the house, Yi Qiuhua came out of the Marquis' room with a bloody sword in his hand, panicking Saying 'I killed someone' several times, there is more than one person who saw this scene."

"Impossible...who dares...to talk such nonsense!" Princess Yaoping's eyes wandered from side to side, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead. She was obviously under tremendous psychological pressure. Zhang Chi sneered and continued to increase: "You think that when Lord Hou is dead, those servants in the house will be as loyal to you as they are to Lord Hou, but you don't know how to think about how Lord Hou treats them on weekdays? Without hesitation, he ordered the guard captain Zhong Yan to be shot dead. Everyone in the mansion saw it and kept it in their hearts. Since those who are loyal to you can only end up like this, it’s no wonder they choose to be wise and safe now. I I have already obtained enough confessions, no amount of denials will be in vain, I advise Her Royal Highness to stop being obsessed, to plead guilty, and not to embarrass the emperor."

Princess Yaoping looked at him resentfully and said: "I know you hate us because of being framed, and if you get this opportunity, you can't wait to push our mother and son into a situation of eternal doom, but Qiu'er really didn't do it. Zhizi Mo Ruomu, Qiu'er was in that state at that time, he was completely drunk, let alone a strong adult man like Yi Jiangliu, even a chicken could not be killed. He just woke up after a hangover and found himself Holding a bloody sword in his hand, and Yi Jiangliu was already dead, he thought he had killed someone after drinking, and was panicked for a moment. Taking the risk, I temporarily came up with a way to blame others."

Zhang Chi frowned and pondered for a moment, then said: "That guard captain Zhong Yan, and those people in the house who helped you hide it, do they know that the son is not the son of Lord Hou?"

Princess Yaoping didn't expect Zhang Chi to even know this secret past, and she felt mixed feelings for a while, and said dejectedly: "I don't know."

Zhang Chi has almost understood the cause and effect. No wonder those people knew that the murderer was Yi Qiuhua, but they still helped the eldest princess plant and conceal it. I'm afraid many of them thought that the son was the only blood of Lord Hou left in the world. Later, he killed Lord Hou by mistake and was executed. Not only did Lord Hou die, but they also lost their support. With blind loyalty, selfishness and the persecution of the eldest princess, everyone including the captain of the guard, Zhong Yan, joined in. Joined the ranks of framing Zhang Chi.

After thinking about it for a while, Zhang Chi said to Princess Yaoping: "From what you said, there are indeed some doubts about this matter. If you didn't want to frame others and report to the officials for detailed investigation, maybe We were able to find some clues left behind by the real murderer at the scene, but your actions of framing the blame and murdering people have further confirmed the fact that Yi Qiuhua is the murderer. Now you want to say that Yi Qiuhua was drunk at the time It’s like mud, but it’s already empty talk without proof, and it’s impossible to verify it.”

Princess Yaoping anxiously said: "Didn't there be other people in the house who saw it? You can ask them how drunk Qiu'er was at that time!"

Seeing that Zhang Chi was just silent, her attitude softened: "It was our mother and son who were sorry for you for the planting before, but don't you want to find out the truth and avenge the Lord Hou?"

For a royal relative like her, it is a great sincerity to be able to say this level of apology to a grassroots person. Zhang Chi hid all the ridicule and disdain in his heart, and his face was just turbulent. Unsurprisingly, he said: "Master Hou has treated me with great kindness. If there is another murderer behind the scenes, of course I will investigate to the end. What happened in the mansion that day, and His Royal Highness the Eldest Princess will write down the incident in detail for the follow-up." Verify."

Princess Yaoping faintly felt that something was wrong: "Why, what I said doesn't count, why don't I sign it and make a deposit?"

Zhang Chi laid out the paper for her, and handed over the pen: "This testimony is mainly for the emperor's review, and if necessary, it will be submitted to the three divisions for interrogation, so Her Highness the eldest princess must remember that the words written must be the truth. There can be no mistakes or omissions, after all, there has already been an act of framing, if you continue to lie at this point, I'm afraid no one will believe what you say next."

At this point in the matter, Princess Yaoping no longer had any luck, so she had no choice but to take the pen, and explained everything that happened that day in detail. After signing and depositing, she repeatedly told Zhang Chi to track down the murderer behind the scenes , to return her Qiu'er's innocence.

***

After leaving the Marquis of Yongning, Long Jiu admired Zhang Chi to such an extent that even though he was not following up the case, he knew all the difficulties in it just by thinking about it based on experience - from the pursuit of Zhang Chi to the murder of Zhang Chi. After the incident, everyone suspected that Princess Yaoping's mother and son were inseparable from the death of Lord Hou. There was no way to extract a confession by torture, but after Zhang Chi obtained the emperor's edict, he quickly found out the matter through a series of dizzying operations.

He first asked about the places where Yi Qiuhua frequented, and disguised himself to stir up the topic in the brothel and tavern where Yi Qiuhua often went. This big case was originally the focus of people's hot discussion after dinner, so he was easily set out by him. got some clues.

Of course, the rumors heard in the brothel restaurant may not be true, and those people only dare to chew their tongues after dinner. Even if a knife is placed on their necks, no one dares to testify against a royal relative. Zhang Chi could not be troubled, he made up a few false confessions based on the clues he heard, and pressed his fingerprints at random, and used the false confessions to fool the servants of Yongning Hou Mansion, making them think that the matter is a foregone conclusion, and then The opportunity to fight for meritorious service and atonement was about to come to an end, so the servants of the Yongning Hou Mansion poured out everything they saw and heard that day.

Only the evidence provided by these bystanders is of course not enough to close the case. Yi Qiuhua himself has indeed gone crazy, he can't ask anything, and he can't count what he says. The previous arrogant attitude was nothing more than a dying struggle under panic. After being coaxed and deceived by Zhang Chi's false confession and news from his servants, he wrote the decisive testimony in his own hand in a daze.

He was allowed to complete an unsolved case that no one else could handle.

Zhang Chi doesn't have a residence in the capital yet, and now he's temporarily living in Longjiu's side. As soon as he turned around and closed the door, Longjiu said in admiration: "Brother Zhang is really good at it. As long as you hand in this testimony, Yi Qiuhua will never be able to find it again." dead."

Zhang Chi just frowned and said nothing, Long Jiu poured tea for him: "The case is solved, why do you still look so preoccupied?"