Tang Dynasty: The poisonous scholar in the Eastern Palace, please abdicate and let the wise one take

Chapter 116: Waking up and the sky fell
Is he Liu Zengshou?
Qiao Mengzhuo looked down at the body lying on the ground and felt sick.

He had just arrived in Suzhou City with his deputy when he saw Liu Zengshou's body? ?

This……

Qiao Mengzhuo said in a deep voice: "May I ask Your Highness, how did this person die? Who did he meet before he died?"

Li Chengqian: "According to Madam Liu, Liu Zengshou was poisoned to death after meeting two people from Henan Prefecture last night."

"Where are the two people from Henan Prefecture?"

"It's already being searched."

Qiao Mengzhuo was silent for a moment, then clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness, I came here on orders, but I didn't expect Liu Zengshou to die early. Therefore, I ask Your Highness to allow us to participate in the investigation of this case!"

Li Chengqian agreed without hesitation.

They were ordered to investigate the matter, but now the person involved is dead, and they cannot go back to give an explanation.

The best way, of course, is to get this matter sorted out, then return to Chang'an City and give an explanation to the higher-ups.

Li Chengqian tilted his head and said, "General Li, please make some arrangements and order the Qianniu Guards to cooperate with the government office to find those two people from Henan Prefecture as soon as possible!"

……

"Liu Zengshou is dead!"

"I heard he was poisoned!"

"Why did he die?!"

"..."

Inside the inn.

When Chen Qing and his companion woke up, they found that the sky had fallen!

When they saw Liu Zengshou last night, he was fine, but when they woke up, he was gone!

The two looked at each other and saw deep worry on each other's faces.

after all.

These two were the people Liu Zengshou had met before his death!
Once Liu Zengshou dies, the two of them will definitely be targeted by the government!

"Leave Suzhou City as soon as possible!"

Having made up their minds, the two returned to their room, changed their clothes, and quietly left the inn.

As for the horses stored in the inn, the two men threw them away without a second thought.

I quickly arrived at the city gate and saw that the officers at the gate had intensified the search. Anyone who wanted to leave the city would be carefully checked.

Chen Qing and the other man's faces suddenly turned dark. Under such a thorough investigation, they had no way of leaving Suzhou City smoothly.

"What should we do now?"

Ji Yun looked annoyed, "If I had known, I would have left Suzhou City yesterday!"

Chen Qing sighed. Because Liu Zengshou had the account book in his hands, they were more cautious and planned to leave after Liu Zengshou replied to the special envoy from Chang'an.

Who could have thought that Liu Zengshou would die in just one night?

It always feels like someone is targeting them!

Under such circumstances, it is no longer realistic to leave Suzhou City, so it is better to face it calmly.

As soon as the two returned to the inn, a group of officials came to their door.

"Chen Qing, Ji Yun, are you from Henan Prefecture?"

"That's right. I wonder what the officials want to see us about?"

"take away."

Under the puzzled gaze of the crowd, Chen Qing and the other man were taken away.

When they arrived at the government office, Chen Qing and the other man felt a sinking feeling in their hearts.

The crown prince, the governor, the special envoy...

Now all the main figures in Suzhou City have gathered together, waiting for their arrival.

"Your Highness, Chen Qingjiyun has been brought here."

"Go down."

Li Chengqian waved his hand and asked casually: "Who will interrogate him?"

Logically speaking, since Liu Zengshou was dead, the case should have been handed over to Wang Ren and others, but Liu Zengshou was involved in Liu Li's affairs, so Qiao Mengzhuo and the others came because of this matter.

Therefore, both parties have their reasons for deciding who will handle this matter.

Wang Ren looked over and saw Qiao Mengzhuo cupping his hands and saying, "Sir Governor, I would like to ask you a few questions."

"please."

Qiao Mengzhuo thanked him and walked out, coming to Chen Qing and the others, "You are new here, why are you visiting Liu Zengshou directly?"

Chen Qing: "Your Excellency, the largest grain merchant in Suzhou City, besides Wang Yun, is Liu Zengshou of the Liu family. If we want to buy grain at a low price, we naturally have to pay a visit to them."

Qiao Mengzhuo nodded and asked again: "What is the current grain price in Suzhou City?"

Chen Qing: "Three cents a pound."

"What is the price of grain in Henan?"

"Ten cents a pound!" "Why?"

"It has not rained in Henan Prefecture for some time, and the land is dry. There are rumors that Suzhou has suffered a flood and Shou'an has suffered a severe drought, so the price of grain has doubled."

"Who is your boss?"

"Long live the Lin family."

Qiao Mengzhuo nodded, then bowed to Wang Ren and returned to her seat.

When everyone saw Chen Qing answering fluently, they couldn't help but become suspicious. Could this person really be a businessman from Henan Prefecture?
Li Chengqian looked at Wang Ren who was standing aside. Wang Ren waved his hand after thinking for a while, "Take them both away first and lock them up separately."

"Wait a minute."

Ji Yun said in a deep voice, "My Lords, we two brothers came here to do business, why are you detaining us?"

Wang Ren said calmly, "Liu Zengshou, whom you met last night, was found dead in his study today. Liu Fang is suing you for murder."

Ji Yun: "Does this lord have any evidence?"

Wang Ren did not fall for Ji Yun's verbal trap and said calmly, "According to the laws of our dynasty, I have the right to detain you before the investigation is complete! Take them both away."

After Chen Qing and the other two were taken away, Qiao Mengzhuo spoke first: "Sir Wang, their identities need to be verified."

Wang Ren nodded, "I will arrange for someone to go to Shouan to verify the authenticity, but the round trip will take at least seven or eight days."

Li Chengqian: "Send someone to the post station to verify the identity urgently."

Wang Ren cupped his hands and said, "In that case, two or three days will be enough."

At this time.

The coroner in charge of Liu Zengshou's autopsy walked in quickly.

"I greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and all the lords."

"But what have you discovered?"

"I have determined that Liu Zengshou was poisoned because he drank a bowl of ginseng soup last night. However, when I checked the ginseng soup in the kitchen, I found that it was not poisonous."

Qiao Mengzhuo: "According to what you mean, someone poisoned Liu Zengshou's ginseng soup when it was delivered to his study?"

"Exactly."

"This way, the suspicions against the two of them can be cleared..."

"Not necessarily. Seeing how strong and determined they are, it's possible that they turned back and poisoned the person."

Li Chengqian felt a little overwhelmed and stood up, "You guys continue to reason about the case, I'll go outside the city to see the victims."

"Your Highness, walk slowly."

……

Changan.

The plaque of Tianxia Newspaper was hung on the door amidst the beating of gongs and drums.

Passersby stopped in curiosity and looked around, but they had no idea what this newspaper was doing.

The shopkeeper Xu Qizhuang, wearing new clothes, bowed with a smile on his face and introduced the Tianxia Newspaper in a loud voice.

"Articles, interesting stories, ghosts, cases..."

"As long as it is new and interesting, you can write it up and put it in the newspaper, so that everyone can appreciate your style and the interesting things of the day."

"Any article selected by the newspaper will receive at least ten taels of silver as a reward. If the article is well written and has a lot of readers, there will be a certain amount of dividends later..."

After Xu Qizhuang's various introductions, the number of onlookers not only did not increase, but decreased.

The literacy rate in the Tang Dynasty was very low. Although the literacy rate was improved to a certain extent thanks to the imperial examination system, the foundation was still there.

In addition to the rich and powerful, there are also some businessmen with wealthy families who have enough financial resources to support their children's education and literacy.

As for peddlers, farmers, tenants, etc., forget it. They can't even afford the tuition fees, so how can they become disciples and study?

Xu Qizhuang did not take it to heart. He smiled and invited passers-by who were willing to go in and take a look. Then he arranged for some young children to take piles of newspapers and go to various places in Chang'an to sell them.

"Newspaper office?"

"Is that young man the shopkeeper?"

"It seems so."

"I want to see what this young man can do. Give me a copy."

The readers who had not yet dispersed in groups of three or four were discussing curiously and buying the newspapers and magazines of the day.

It's just a penny.

After seeing the articles and poems in the newspaper, several readers' eyes lit up.

"good article!"

"This annotation must have been written by a great scholar!"

"Great!"

"Wait, this is..."

"The disaster in Suzhou was 30% natural and 70% man-made?"

"Suzhou grain merchants colluded with the Imperial Court Minister Liu Ji to drive up grain prices, causing Suzhou disaster victims to almost starve to death?"

(End of this chapter)