Chapter 84 Muddy Water

Shuntian Mansion, lobby.

Shi Shilun, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, sat upright under the plaque with a "glass hanging high" and looked at several corpses on the ground. He had a blue face and pulled an arrow from the bamboo tube on the upper left of the desk and threw it on the ground: "Come on, beat these murderers each twenty boards first!"

With the sound of "magnificent" by the soap clerk, the board began to be pounded.

*

West of the city, Cao Mansion.

Prince Ping, Neersu, dismounted and entered the mansion without waiting for the gatekeeper to report.

Cao Yong was about to go to Shuntian Mansion to see the Wei brothers, but when he saw Nersu entering the mansion, he went forward and said, "Brother-in-law!"

Nersu asked, "Where is the second brother?"

"I went back to his yard to change clothes. My brother-in-law looked for him?" Cao Yong asked.

Nersu's face was a little solemn: "Brother Yong, what's the reason? Have you asked the waiter if he had? Five people died inside and out, and this matter was too big!"

Five people died, weren’t the Wei brothers shot two of them? How could it be five?! Cao Yong was confused when he suddenly saw Mr. Zhuang Xi sweating heavily and walked into the mansion quickly.

He saw Cao Yong and Nersu standing in the hall, first asked Nersu for peace, and then asked Cao Yong anxiously, "I heard that the third girl, the second young master and others were attacked in front of Taoranju's gate. What's going on?"

Cao Yong briefly explained the process to him. Zhuang Xi pondered for a moment, looked at Nersu and said, "Is the prince back from Shuntian Mansion?"

Nersu nodded: "After such a thing, Brother Yong is in the palace again, and someone always needs to take care of Shuntian Mansion! The old man Shi is the most rigid, but he has a good reputation for loving the people. - Among the five people who died today, except for two bandits who were shot dead by the Wei brothers on the spot, the other three were Taoranju's shopkeepers and friends, and one was Taoranju's guest, and they were all killed with gunpowder. Although we encountered an attack, in the eyes of the old man Shi, we were afraid that even we would blame him. I was worried that the Wei brothers would suffer losses, so I asked the two guards to record confessions with them, and I also went to see Old Man Shi to greet him!"

The old man Shi mentioned in Neersu is Shi Shilun, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. Shi Shilun, whose courtesy name is Wenxian, was the son of Shi Lang, the Marquis of Jinghai. In the 24th year of Kangxi, he was first appointed as the governor of Taizhou for Yinsheng. Later, he served as the prefect of Yangzhou, Jiangning, Suzhou's three prefectures, Xu Dao, Jiangnan Huai, the deputy envoy of Anhui, the governor of Anhui, the chief minister of Taipu Temple, and has served as the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture in the 44th year of Kangxi.

Mr. Kangxi gave Shi Shilun the following evaluation: "Shilun is honest, but when things happen, if the people are paranoid, they will sue the people, and if they are sued by the people, they will sue the people; if the students are sued by the gentry, they will sue the people."

Neersu and Zhuang Xi both knew that this prefect Shi Gong was good at protecting civilians, and they were a little worried. If this adult had a stubborn temper and "come out of the situation", it would be a problem for the Cao family again.

Cao Yong felt a little annoyed. He was obviously the victim, so why was he still so wary? Isn’t Shi Shilun the famous “Shi Qingtian” in later storytellings, “Ten Incomplete”? Even if it harms the civilians, the crime is not on his side. Could it be that Shi Shilun still has no right or wrong, and the plaintiff and defendants will beat fifty boards each?

While speaking, Cao Song went to the yard to change his clothes and walked out. His face was still a little pale. It seemed that the child was also afraid of what he had experienced just now. Although he tried to resist letting himself show it, he still felt a little panic inadvertently.

When Cao Yong saw it, he couldn't bear it and forced himself to smile, patted Cao Song on the shoulder: "I forgot to praise you. I heard from Bao Gege that you also captured a criminal. My brother is really amazing!"

Cao Song thrust his little chest hard, with a little pride on his face, and said seriously: "I'm about to be fifteen, and a real man should be happy to avenge him! I only blame myself for not having enough skills and let those guys run away. If I had the skills of my brother, I would definitely knock them down!" As he said, he clenched his fists and waved his original fear and anxiety had disappeared.

Everyone laughed when they said something, and the atmosphere in the hall was not as solemn as before.

Although Nersu is a prince, he is less than twenty years old. How can his life experience be comparable to Zhuang Xi? He thought that with his identity as a prince, he went to Shuntian Mansion to say hello, and Shi Shilun would give some face and not make things difficult for the Wei brothers and others.

Zhuang Xi thought more thoroughly and said to Cao Yong: "If Lord Shi gets confessions from both parties, the next step is to pass on the second son to the court!"

When Cao Song heard that he was going to attend the court, he looked a little anxious and quickly turned his head to look at his brother.

Cao Yong nodded at Cao Song: "Second brother, I'll go with you!"

What he said and what he came. Not long after he finished speaking, Xiaoman came over there to report that someone from Shuntian Mansion had come. He asked Cao Yong and Cao Song brothers to come over and ask. Because Cao Yong is a fifth-rank official, Cao Song had already donated to the prison student, and he was not a civil servant. Otherwise, he would have been in a blunt manner and would never have spoken so politely.

*

Dongcheng, Jiubeizi Mansion, study room.

The ninth prince Yinzhen frowned and complained to several brothers: "What's the matter? The boy of the Cao family can't calm down for two days? He just came to Beijing and caused the play of Guishan. It was unreasonable, and I was scolded by the Emperor Ama! - Now, this is my Tao Ranju again, and I really think of my good temper?!"

It turned out that it was the joy of the ninth prince Yinzhen taking concubines today. The eighth prince, the tenth prince, the fourteenth prince and others came to congratulate. In fact, the concubines with names in the ninth prince's mansion were enough to gather a few tables of cards, and there were countless names. It was not new to his concubines. Therefore, it would be better to say that the brothers were coming to congratulate him. It was better to say that they were just using a yuzi to gather together to discuss the current countermeasures. The prince has been reinstated for more than half a year, and now he has begun to assist in government affairs again. The holy intention is unpredictable. If this happens for a long time, he will probably be the crown prince again.

Since it was a wedding banquet for concubines, we naturally had to do a good job. Early on, Beizi's mansion set up a table and set up a stage. There were no outsiders, and his confidants ate a table. Then the brothers leisurely listened to the song and watched the play, and said some "idle" words with a clever and clever attitude.

Just as he was happy, he didn't expect Tao Ranju to send someone to report that the shopkeeper De Xisun was dead! - This De Xisun is not only the confidant of the Ninth Master, but also the big shopkeeper of Tao Ranju, but also has another identity. He is the father of the Burcha, a concubine who is currently favored at the Ninth Prince's mansion. In private, he is also considered the father-in-law of the Ninth Prince.

After hearing this news, the Ninth Prince had no intention of listening to the opera. As soon as the brother sat in the study, he started to scold him.

"Of course, what are you concerned about, the little bastard, Brother Jiu of the Cao family? Even if you raise the flag, you are still a fucking slave! Ye Dudian is still losing money in selling things, but his family is not counting making money in Jiangnan, so he reached the capital again! The money selling tea is like flowing, which is really eye-catching!" The tenth prince said in a loud voice.

In fact, everyone was still a little confused. Not long after the Cao family came to Beijing, they were now in the throne again. I really don’t know where a great enemy came out. They dared to act so unscrupulously at the feet of the emperor. It was so bold. But now after hearing the tenth prince’s words, they were like enlightenment.

The ninth prince's gloom was swept away, and he couldn't help but slapped the table and said, "Hahaha, yes, yes, Lao Tzu, your kid's mind has also been quicker! Yes, yes, it must be the reason for this tea! - The Cao family rushed to return the silver coins of the treasury and monopolized several kinds of good tea, but they were overestimated! The profit of this salt tea is the most abundant, and everyone knows. Which of the famous tea gardens in the south has no support? The Cao family acted like this, and they were already angry. They wanted to take his nephew to have some color to show him!"

The Fourteenth Prince knew the best of his brother's methods. Although the ninth brother was awarded only Gushan Beizi and his salary was not high, his family's fortune was no less than those of the brothers who were crowned kings. No one in the capital knew that the ninth prince had countless industries under his name. Seeing the ninth prince laughing so proudly, the fourteenth Prince knew that this brother must have had the idea of ​​taking advantage of the troubled waters.

The eighth prince glanced at them and thought for a little while. Over the past year, he had a great ups and downs, and was only one step away from the crown prince. Finally, he was sentenced by Emperor Kangxi, "Yinsi was guilty of me and was defeated by the slaughter of the slaughter. Moreover, his mother's family was humble. How could he be the crown prince?", shattering the crown prince's dream.

Too many changes made the "wise king" more cautious. He was silent for a while and frowned slightly, saying, "Ninth brother, be careful of other reasons! The emperor still favored the Cao family, otherwise he would not have promoted Cao Yin's title at the beginning of the month and gave it to Cao Yan Zhuangzi. Eighty hectares, this reward is not an ordinary weight!"

The Ninth Prince was itchy by the Cao family's tea garden. No matter how many concerns he had, he could not resist the temptation of gold and silver mountains. He smiled and said to the Eighth Prince: "Don't worry, my brother, I won't be stupid to go and ask for the garden now! We naturally have to make a good decision, so we won't be able to find someone else!"

As he was speaking, his eunuch He Yuzhu came in and reported: "Master, the female family of the Burcha family has come, and the Master of Burcha... cried and made a fuss and asked him to make the decision for Dexisun. Butler Qin placed them in a side hall and asked the servant to come and ask him to show his instructions."

When the Ninth Prince heard this, he looked impatient and waved, "If you don't see what this is, they can make trouble! Ask Burcha to get back to the back of the master. Then tell her that the man is thinking that she has died, and he will not bother with her, and he will give up the fulcrum of money in the account!"
Chapter completed!