good season

Chapter 165 I Know Nothing (Two chapters combined)

Because of that scumbag Zhu Yu, Zhao Shiqing also had no good feelings towards all the noble sons in the capital, but Yan Xia was an exception.

What little girl who has practiced martial arts since childhood doesn't dream of the martial arts world? Especially since she has a grandmaster who is the number one martial arts master in the world.

Yan Xia, true to his name, was upright and righteous, completely different from Zhu Yu, a petty and despicable person. Therefore, Zhao Shiqing looked at Yan Xia with special regard. Moreover, Xiao Zhen told her that in his dream, Zhu Yu died at the hands of Yan Xia.

So when Zhao Shiqing learned that Zhu Yu had died in the Ministry of Justice, even though Sister Aping said it was very likely that it was done by someone from the Baoqing Marquis's mansion, Zhao Shiqing still suspected that Zhu Yu was killed by Yan Xia.

But when Yan Xia mentioned this matter just now, his eyes were bright, and that open and honest attitude could not be faked.

Although this was different from what Zhao Shiqing had guessed, she still breathed a sigh of relief.

That beast Zhu Yu is not worthy to soil Master Yan's hands. He was born in the latrine and will die in the latrine. The latrine is his final resting place.

Zhao Shiqing understood, and felt even better. Today was truly a good day; she had met Master Yan.

In Xiao Zhen's dream, Zhu Yu killed her sister. At that time, no one in the Liang Prince's Mansion could seek justice for her sister. Yan Xia killed Zhu Yu. Regardless of the reason, Yan Xia was indirectly avenging her sister in the afterlife. Yan Xia was her sister's benefactor, the benefactor of the Liang Prince's Mansion, and also Zhao Shiqing's benefactor.

Although she wasn't in that dream.
Just as Zhao Shiqing was lost in thought, Yan Xia finally remembered that he had seen Zhao Shiqing before!

This is the little granddaughter of the grandfather and granddaughter who sold him the carriage.

He actually has a very good memory; he can remember anyone he has met, even if a long time has passed.

Unfortunately, men and women are different, and he didn't look closely at the girl's face that day. He only glanced at her for a moment before looking away. Besides, Zhao Shiqing had actually disguised herself simply that day. Although her disguise skills were limited, at least she wouldn't be recognized at a glance.

Upon recognizing Zhao Shiqing, Yan Xia stood up and this time bowed respectfully to her: "On behalf of the deceased, I thank you for giving them their final dignity."

Zhao Shiqing pursed her lips: "You already thanked me that day, and besides, you gave me money."

Yan Xia smiled wryly: "That little bit of silver is nowhere near enough."

Zhao Shiqing laughed and said, "Brother Yan, please don't say anything more, or I'll really feel embarrassed."

After seeing Yan Xia off, Zhao Shiqing looked at Xiao Zhen. Xiao Zhen felt uncomfortable under her gaze and was about to say something when Zhao Shiqing suddenly put her index finger to her lips and shushed her: "Don't speak, I don't know anything."

She strongly suspected that the box was related to Xiao Zhen!

But Xiao Zhen shook his head: "It wasn't me, at least this time, it really wasn't me!"

This was done too carelessly; if it were him, he would have done it much more meticulously.

Leaving Su's Teahouse, Yan Xia was filled with emotion. Although he didn't say much, he knew in his heart that from now on, he had two more friends. Zhao Shiqing was definitely one of them. As for the mysterious Young Master Zhen, Yan Xia didn't know him well, but his intuition told him that someone who could be Zhao Shiqing's uncle couldn't be a bad person. However, this man was currently doing business with the Fifth Prince.
The Yan family members never interacted with the princes.

Yan Xia did not return to his residence. Instead, he went directly to the Ministry of Justice, took a few people with him, and hurriedly left the city for Tong'an.

When they arrived in Tong'an, the city gates were already closed. The group shouted for the gates to be opened and headed straight for the county government office.

Upon learning that the Ministry of Justice officials had arrived again, the county magistrate hurriedly came from the back office, his clothes disheveled and his official hat askew.

Yan Xia's face darkened: "Summon everyone who went to Dongxian Temple that day!"

Tong'an was a small place, and whether it was Constable Li or the yamen runners, they all lived nearby. In less than half an hour, all the people who had participated in digging up the corpse that day stood in front of Yan Xia.

These people were interrogated all night long. Just before dawn, two of the constables finally slipped up. Xiao Zhang confessed that Lao Liu had a younger sister who was in love with Xiao Zhang. Lao Liu took the opportunity to implicate Xiao Zhang, otherwise he would not agree to the marriage.

At that time, Dong Xiucai's body had already been dug out. Afterwards, Constable Li ordered people to fill the pit with soil. The people in charge of filling the pit were Lao Liu and Xiao Zhang. The two of them filled the pit together. Lao Liu shoveled the soil that had been dug out earlier, while Xiao Zhang dug the soil in the place that Lao Liu pointed to. Moreover, the box was not buried very deep. Before Lao Liu had finished filling the pit, Xiao Zhang had already dug the box out.

Xiao Zhang confessed everything, but Lao Liu bit off his own tongue!
Upon learning that their subordinates were involved, the county magistrate and Constable Li nearly died on the spot, but it was too late for them to extricate themselves from the situation.

They all understood that even if it was eventually found that they knew nothing about it, they would still have to bear the responsibility.

The county magistrate's term will be over next year. He has used all the connections he could, and he was on the verge of being promoted next year, but now he can forget about it.

Yan Xia asked Constable Li to investigate Lao Liu. In less than half a day, Constable Li found out that Lao Liu's sister was not his biological sister at all, but his adopted sister. Although they shared the same surname, they were not related by blood. More importantly, the two were lovers. In other words, the couple had set up a scheme to deceive the foolish young man, Xiao Zhang.

When Officer Li arrived, the Liu family had already vanished, and Liu's sister was nowhere to be found.

Old Liu had been working in the yamen for six years and was always honest and reliable. Chief Constable Li never dreamed that this universally acknowledged honest man would ruin his path to a promising career in the Ministry of Justice.

Officer Li immediately patted his chest and vowed to find Sister Liu.

Fortunately, Officer Li wasn't exaggerating this time. A few days later, Sister Liu was arrested. According to her confession, she and Old Liu had a son who had been raised by relatives. However, the child had recently gone missing. Just when the two were extremely anxious, someone found them and told them to go to a place outside the city and dig up the box.

Old Liu was a yamen runner, and all the yamen runners at the city gate knew him. Old Liu put the large box on the mule cart, covered it with an oilcloth, and lied that it was something he had brought from his hometown. When the yamen runners at the city gate saw that it was him, they didn't check it at all, and he successfully transported the box of weapons into the city and hid it in his own home.

Old Liu was terrified, worried that his affair would be discovered, but his son was in their hands, so he had no choice but to obey.

So he and Liu discussed it and decided to find a scapegoat first, so that if it was found out in the future, they could pin the blame on this person.

This person is Xiao Zhang. Liu Meimei took the initiative to seduce Xiao Zhang for the sake of her son. The reason they chose Xiao Zhang was because he was an orphan and a kind-hearted person.

Later, the opportunity came. The Dong family members were arrested and brought back to the yamen. Constable Li interrogated them overnight. Old Liu was right next to them and learned the location where the Dong family buried the bodies immediately.

When Constable Li saw that the case had made progress, he locked up the Dong family in jail, and he and his constables all went home to sleep, waiting to dig up the corpses at Dongxian Temple first thing the next morning.

Old Liu and Xiao Zhang did not go home to sleep. They buried the box under the banyan tree overnight. While burying the box, they also dug up Dong Xiucai's body. They hurriedly filled the hole back in and dug another hole in a different place.

And so, before Officer Li could order his men to dig up the body, they buried the box next to Dong Xiucai's room.

The scene had been disturbed, so there must have been traces left behind. But Officer Li found nothing, so it's not unfair that he was implicated.

Xiao Zhang didn't just dig out the box; he was involved in burying it in the first place.

Based on Liu's testimony, Yan Xia ordered a portrait of the man to be drawn. He felt the man looked somewhat familiar, and after careful examination, he discovered that he bore a resemblance to Eunuch Jin from the Third Prince's residence. Eunuch Jin was the chief steward of the Third Prince's residence. In his youth, he had served Consort Qiao and was one of her most trusted men. Later, when the Third Prince established his own residence, Consort Qiao sent him there.

After the case was traced back to Eunuch Jin, Yan Xia returned to the capital and reported the matter to Emperor Yongjia.

He also brought back to Beijing Old Liu, who had become mute, as well as Liu's sister and Xiao Zhang.

Emperor Yongjia was both angry and amused upon hearing this. He said angrily, "The evidence points to the third prince? The third prince framed the crown prince? Send Jin Shun to the Ministry of Justice to have the criminal identify him!"

Since it was Emperor Yongjia who gave the order, Eunuch Jin dared not disobey and stood with the others to let Sister Liu identify him.

Liu recognized him at a glance in the crowd.

Grandpa Jin was furious and cried out that he was wronged.

The Third Prince was greatly surprised when he heard the news.

"This is a setup! What Tong'an? I have never been there, and neither has Eunuch Jin. He has not left the capital since he was castrated! Prepare the horses, I am going to the Ministry of Justice!"

When the Third Prince's wife, Feng Jiahe, couldn't persuade him, she became extremely anxious. Just then, a eunuch ran in and said, "Third Prince, Scholar Yang has arrived!"

Feng Jiahe was overjoyed. Yang Zhuangyuan, Yang Shengqiu, was now her father's student. His coming at this time must mean that her father had sent him.

The Third Prince was taken aback. He could refuse to see Yang Shengqiu, but he couldn't disrespect his father-in-law.

Although he was a prince, he could only rely on his father-in-law, Feng Ke!

He suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice, "Please let him in."

Feng Jiahe breathed a sigh of relief and quickly retreated behind the screen.

Yang Shengqiu was dressed in plain clothes, simple and unadorned, but through the gap in the screen, Feng Jiahe recognized at a glance the wooden hairpin that held Yang Shengqiu's hair in place!
This wooden hairpin is intricately carved and exquisitely crafted. Just yesterday, she had seen an identical one, which was inserted into Princess Huiming's hair. This hairpin was made by Princess Huiming herself.

Yesterday, she went to the palace to pay her respects to Consort Qiao. When Consort Qiao mentioned the hibiscus in the Imperial Garden, she went to the Imperial Garden to pick a few hibiscus flowers for Consort Qiao, but unexpectedly encountered Princesses Huixin and Huiming.

Huiming had a similar wooden hairpin in her hair.

Feng Jiahe's face turned ashen. Yang Shengqiu was her father's prized student and the perfect husband her father had chosen for her.

Such a person will one day become her husband's right-hand man, and her in-laws must be families who can help her husband.

As for Huiming, she only had the title of princess, but in reality, she had nothing!

She is not good enough for Yang Shengqiu at all!
At this moment, Yang Shengqiu was listing out the pros and cons of this argument one by one, and the Third Prince, who had just been consumed by anger, finally calmed down.

In the end, he was just a twenty-year-old boy. He could be impulsive at times, but he was more often calm and composed than his actual age.

The Third Prince sighed and said to Yang Shengqiu, "Does my father-in-law also think that this was done by my good brother?"

The good elder brother the Third Prince spoke of was certainly not the Second Prince, who only knew how to study, but the Crown Prince, whose sword was aimed at him in this case.

It seemed to be a case targeting the Crown Prince, but after much investigation, it led to the discovery of Eunuch Jin, and ultimately to the Third Prince's residence.

Before arriving, Yang Shengqiu had met with Feng Ke, who, like the Third Prince, also suspected the Crown Prince.

“But now the witness is insisting that it was Old Jin who ordered them to do it, and Yan Xia who handled the case. Every case he has handled is an ironclad one. Even if I don’t go to the Ministry of Justice, I can’t ignore this case, otherwise it will still fall on my shoulders.”

The Third Prince clenched his fists in anger. His good older brother, unable to wait any longer, finally revealed his claws!

Yang Shengqiu said, "If Your Highness is at ease, please entrust this matter to me. I would like to meet this chivalrous Yan."

The Third Prince chuckled: "Zijian, you don't need to consider Yanxia as an opponent. You are a fine porcelain, while he is just a rammed earth brick."

Yang Shengqiu smiled: "But His Majesty trusts him."

The smile on the Third Prince's face gradually disappeared. Yes, his father trusted the Duke of Wei's mansion and Yan Xia.

Even though the Yan family was a bunch of uneducated brutes, and even though Yan Xia had spent five or six years in the Hall of Justice without graduating, the emperor trusted them. This alone made them superior to all the civil and military officials in the court.

"It's a pity that the Yan family never takes sides. Even when I got married, Yan Xia didn't come to the wedding banquet."

On the day of the wedding, the Duke of Wei and his wife did come, but unfortunately, the Duke of Wei immediately started drinking with others, drinking the fine wine as if it were cold water. He got drunk in no time and had to be carried out of the prince's residence ahead of time.

Yang Shengqiu said, "The Yan family wants to be loyal subjects, but they must truly remain untouched by any trouble."

The Third Prince naturally wanted to win over the Yan family, especially Yan Xia. Hearing Yang Shengqiu say this, the Third Prince's eyes lit up and he hurriedly asked, "Zijian, do you have a way?"

Yang Shengqiu said, "Your Highness, I am willing to give it a try."

The Third Prince laughed heartily. He really liked Yang Shengqiu's attitude; it was calm and collected yet exuded confidence in controlling the overall situation.

Yang Shengqiu was clearly prepared. He said to the Third Prince, "I have discovered something. Although Eunuch Jin is an orphan, he does have a brother. Unfortunately, his family was poor when he was young, and his brother was sold shortly after birth."

The third prince was taken aback; he was unaware of this matter.

Eunuch Jin entered the palace at the age of seven. He only had one older sister, who passed away a few years ago. His two nephews, however, had received many benefits from him. But those benefits were insignificant in the eyes of the Third Prince. Moreover, those two nephews were now working for the Prince's residence, right under his nose.

"He has a brother?" Unfortunately, Eunuch Jin went to the Ministry of Justice and never came back. Now he is imprisoned, so the Third Prince cannot ask him in person.

Yang Shengqiu nodded: "When Eunuch Jin first entered the palace, he talked about this with the other eunuchs who entered the palace at the same time. His brother looked about seven or eight points similar to him. Although it was a long time ago, there are still some of the eunuchs who entered the palace with him who are still alive. They must still remember this."

The third prince suddenly realized what was happening and called out to the outside, "Someone come here!"

A eunuch in his thirties walked in, and the Third Prince said in a cold voice, "Go and find out how many of those who entered the palace with Eunuch Jin are still alive."