Dafeng Night Watchman
Chapter 58: Chapter 58 Flag

Chapter 58: Chapter 58 Flag

At nightfall, at the Marquis of Weiwu's mansion.

Marquis of Weiwu, who looked like a wealthy middle-aged man, sat on a chair with a grim expression.

There were two beautiful women in the hall, one of whom was kneeling, crying and heartbroken.

The other beautiful woman whispered comforting words.

The second daughter disappeared strangely today. Combined with the carriage collision before the incident, Marquis of Weiwu concluded that his daughter was kidnapped.

He went through the possible enemies in his mind. It was unlikely to be a political enemy. After all, the hereditary title had been passed down to his generation, and he had gradually been squeezed out of the edge of the imperial capital's power stage.

Of course, the nobles who formed a group were still an interest group that could not be ignored.

But there was a difference between the whole and the individual. Marquis of Weiwu did not remember having such a political enemy who would risk his life to kidnap the women in his family.

As for enemies, he had not made enemies with anyone recently.

"The master has already reported to the police and notified the Jinwu Guards guarding the city gates. Don't worry, Ying'er will be found."

"Sister, Ying'er is a weak woman. If she, she encounters something... she will not survive even if she is found."

The face of Marquis Weiwu twitched, and his face became more gloomy.

At this time, the servant hurried in and shouted: "Marquis, the young lady has been found..." Marquis Weiwu and his two wives rushed to the front hall and saw their daughter, who looked haggard and had tears on her face, and the Imperial Sword Guards who sent her back.

After letting the housekeeper send the Imperial Sword Guards away with the reward, Marquis Weiwu looked at his daughter for a moment and breathed a sigh of relief: "Ying'er, what's going on?"

Zhang Yuying was hugged by her crying mother and cried, "It was the son of Minister Zhou who kidnapped me. He not only wanted to tarnish my daughter's innocence, but also wanted to kill her to silence her."

She immediately told what she had seen and heard, and vividly added how she took advantage of the guards' negligence to escape from the wolf's den.

"Marquis, you have to make the decision for me and Ying'er." Zhang Yuying's biological mother was trembling with anger.

"Marquis, that Zhou Li has repeatedly bullied Ying'er, and he is also bullying my mansion." The wife said in a deep voice.

Marquis Weiwu was furious and smashed the table with one palm, shaking with anger: "The Zhou surname is too much!"

The next day.

Meridian Gate, East Gate

The civil and military officials who attended the court were surprised to replace that the Marquis of Weiwu came in armor today, but there was no weapon hanging on his waist.

.....

On this day, an interesting thing happened in the court.

The Marquis of Weiwu came to the palace in armor, brought up the merits of his ancestors, and accused Minister Zhou with tears in his eyes.

He shouted: Our ancestors fought for the emperor and went through life and death. The daughter of the descendants was bullied. Your Majesty did not protect her. Wouldn't it chill the hearts of the soldiers in the world...

The incident was a big deal.

The culprit Zhou Li was confused. When did I kidnap the second daughter of the Zhang family? How come I didn't know it myself?

Emperor Yuan Jing was furious and ordered the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate to handle the case and give a result within two days.

As a suspect in the case, the first stop for Zhou Li, the son of Zhou, was the Censorate.

The person in charge of interrogating him was the Patrol Censor.

This official of the sixth rank sat in front of the case and without saying anything, he gave Master Zhou a beating.

After Zhou Li cried for his parents, he slammed the gavel and said, "Zhou Li, is the courtyard where the concubine of Marquis Weiwu is imprisoned your private residence?"

"Yes!" Zhou Li could only admit it.

It was a common phenomenon for powerful nobles to buy private houses in the inner city. When Zhou Li bought the courtyard, he did not ask anyone else to handle it.

His name was on the title deed, and there were also procedures for buying the house at the government office.

"Since it is your courtyard, there is no need to say anything more, sign and seal it!"

Two yamen runners came forward, one took the confession letter, and the other forced Zhou Li to sign it.

According to the process of the three-division review, after the review of the Duchayuan, the verdict was handed over to the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice did not agree with the result of the Duchayuan and wanted to re-examine.

So Master Zhou was sent to the Ministry of Justice, where his treatment changed dramatically.

The food and wine were enough, and the doctor in charge of the trial of the case found a doctor to apply golden medicine on Mr. Zhou's bloody buttocks.

After several hours of "interrogation", the Ministry of Justice overturned the result of the Censorate and determined that Zhou Li was innocent, but someone framed him.

The case was transferred to the Dali Temple.

Without saying a word, the Dali Temple beat Zhou Li again, and then after a "strict" interrogation, the Dali Temple rejected the judgment of the Ministry of Justice and believed

that Zhou Li was guilty.

The next day, seeing that the Dali Temple, the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice each insisted on their own opinions and did not give a result, Emperor Yuan Jing ordered the three courts to hold a joint trial, and the case was upgraded.

The Dali Temple sent a temple chief and two temple assistants; the Ministry of Justice sent two doctors and four principals; the Censorate sent two city patrol censors.

A total of eleven officials jointly tried the case.

The camp of the three courts was that the Ministry of Justice felt that Zhou Li was innocent and that a thief had framed him. The Dali Temple and the Censorate both agreed that Zhou Li

was guilty.

The two sides argued for a whole day, but there was no winner, so naturally there was no

result.

Until dusk, a white-clothed man from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau was invited to the yamen by the clerk.

"I am here to assist in the investigation under the order of His Majesty." After the white- clothed man from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau explained his purpose, he looked at Zhou Li who was kneeling in front of the hall and shouted:

"Zhou Li, did you kidnap Zhang Yuying, the concubine of Marquis Weiwu?"

Zhou Li shook his head repeatedly: "I didn't, it wasn't me, I was wronged."

A group of officials stared at the white-clothed man from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

The white-clothed man said righteously: "He lied!"

Zhou Li's face was pale.

.....

Three days later, Minister Zhou was dismissed and exiled for embezzling money from the national treasury and not educating his son strictly. His son Zhou Li was exiled to southern

Xinjiang.

.....

Fifty riders were riding slowly on the official road, with Uncle Xu leading the way, and his hooves galloping with joy.

After hearing the news of Minister Zhou's downfall, Xu Pingzhi took Xu Qian'an and Xu Erlang to drink all night. There was both the joy of revenge and the relief of unloading a heavy

burden.

The two brothers followed Xu Pingzhi on horseback, and Xu Erlang said, "I have something to

ask you, big brother."

Xu Dalang glanced at him and said, "I'm curious why Zhou Li would admit this crime, or that

the bigwigs in the court such as Marquis Weiwu would not see through this not-so-clever

frame-up?"

Xu Erlang pondered and said, "I only thought of part of it. For Minister Zhou's political enemies, it doesn't matter whether Zhou Li is wronged or not. They will seize this bargaining chip and bite Minister Zhou to death.

"And for Marquis Weiwu, this is an opportunity for revenge. He couldn't beat Minister Zhou before because he had no helpers, and now is a godsend opportunity. So he went to the palace in armor that day, causing a lot of discussion in the court.

"As for whether his daughter was kidnapped by Zhou Li, he might doubt it, but before there is enough evidence, it is obviously the eldest son Zhou who bullied his daughter again and again

that is more hateful.

"What I can't understand is that this was not done by Zhou Li. Minister Zhou and his accomplices knew it very well and should have made a response plan."

"Why do you think I went to the Imperial Observatory that day?" Xu Qiyan laughed: "Do you remember what the eighth-grade of the Imperial Observatory is called?"

"Eighth-grade fortune-telling master..." Xu Xinnian's eyes sparkled, and he suddenly

understood.

"When the tax silver case was first handled, the sorcerers of the Imperial Observatory

participated in the tracking and trial of the case, which shows that the current emperor relies on the Imperial Observatory." Xu Qiyan looked forward, proud:

"The case seems unreasonable at first glance, but if you look closely, you will replace that there

are no clues left... Well, brother, I am a professional in this area. Coupled with the faction struggle, the case is bound to be troublesome and difficult to investigate. Then the simplest and most effective method is, of course, to replace the sorcerer of the Imperial Observatory."

Xu Xinnian was convinced: "So, my brother bribed the sorcerer of the Imperial Observatory."

"Vulgar!" Xu Qian'an spat and said openly: "How can the alchemist's business be called bribery? It is an equal exchange!"

After a pause, he said: "Cijiu, remember, except for blood relatives, any friends and enemies in this world are because of the word "interest", especially in the officialdom." "No one will be good to you for no reason, and no one will hate you for no reason. Even if it is

your best friend, he will make friends with you, and it must be that your existence plays a positive role for him."

"In the future, when you enter the court as an official, my brother hopes that you can be a

capable minister, not an honest official. "Xu Qi'an instilled his own private goods into the little brother, and said slowly: "Remember, be humble and modest."

To train the little brother to become the prime minister of Dafeng, he must first make him

into his own shape. Otherwise, what's the point of training a prime minister who has different ideas and does not work together?

Xu Xinnian looked into the distance and said loudly: "Be humble and modest... What if I get

lost in the fog of power in the future?"

"That's your own fate. Of course, if Cijiu becomes a traitor who causes chaos beyond the scope of the rules, my brother will clean up the door." Xu Qi'an said half-jokingly and half-

seriously.

"Okay!" Xu Xinnian responded: "If my brother becomes a warrior who causes trouble in the

future, I will do the same."

Why do I feel like I have set a flag...Xu Qi'an coughed and looked at Xu Pingzhi: "Second uncle,

you have to bear witness for us."

"Get out!" Xu Pingzhi turned around and cursed: "You keep talking about fighting within the family, as if I don't exist? "