Chapter 988
Who Poisoned the Prison Cell?
Chapter 988 Who Poisoned the Prison Cell?
Candlelight flickers,
The lanterns on the gate tower of the Su Mansion swayed in the wind, looking magnificent and imposing. However, in Xu Changwen's eyes, he was just a mediocre official. Since he knew the inside story, why didn't he investigate? So many people in Jiangnan died and became homeless, but the culprit was still at large.
"Brother Xu, I feel very upset. What's the point of keeping such a mediocre official?"
"Brother Changwen, be careful with your words. Let's get in the car."
Xu Dong quickly covered Xu Changwen's mouth and pulled Xu Changwen into the carriage. He then asked the coachman to drive the carriage and take the official seal and leave the city while there was no one around.
Almost in a hurry, the two carriages left Jinling City under the cover of night. When they reached the official road outside the city, the carriages slowed down. Xu Dong lifted the curtain worriedly and looked out. Seeing that there was no one around, he felt relieved and advised;
"Brother Changwen, we came to Jiangnan to serve as county magistrates. We only need to manage one county. The rest is not for you and me to worry about. Haven't you seen today that no one dares to mention the affairs of the five counties in Jiangbei?"
Although Xu Dong didn't know the truth behind it, he knew about the rumor of selling the land today. The four counties of Jinling had been selected all along, but when the land was sold, the five counties of Jiangbei were put forward first, and someone bought them all at once. Who would believe that there was nothing fishy about this?
"Brother Xu, so what? Since you are an official, you should benefit the people. If you turn a blind eye and a deaf ear and only care about making money, why bother reading those sage books? The five counties in Jiangbei are not poor, but the people cannot have enough food and clothing. It's all because of the jade mines. As for the fields, people are digging for jade, so how can the people farm with peace of mind?"
Or, those superiors had colluded with each other long ago.
"Oh, Brother Changwen, we need to slow down everything. Disaster relief is the priority now. Besides, we need to deal with the matter of Hezhuangzi. While the weather is better, we should clean up the place where we live first. I can guess what the superiors are thinking. The White Lotus Sect is making a lot of trouble on the west bank of the canal. There must be a lot of shortage of food and wages. Otherwise, Eunuch Yang would not have been so anxious. Now that we have taken the first step, we still have to walk the road."
Xu Dong thought more. The court had always been in deficit, so it was inevitable that it would be short of money. Since the Weaving Bureau was on the cabinet's mind, it should have reached its destination.
Therefore,
Even if there are huge difficulties, we will not stop. Lord Su just said that the Xinbei dike has burst. Everyone knows it, but no one says anything. If it breaks, it will cause turmoil in the Jiangnan officialdom and the court will not be able to collect taxes. I am afraid no one can bear these things.
"Brother Changwen, there is still a long time to go. Once we put down the rebellion, we can settle these matters later."
Xu Dong was not a pedantic person. With such a terrible dereliction of duty, how could he have the face to sit in this position? Xu Chengchangwen's eyes flashed with a trace of struggle. If it was really like this, it would be fine. But if those people had other ideas, the people in Jiangnan would be filled with resentment. If someone instigated it at that time, it would cause a big mess.
"Brother Xu, I understand what you mean. It's nothing more than being patient and taking a step back. But you know, once all the jade mines in the five counties of Jiangbei are opened and the jade is mined, the value of these things is extremely high. If they are sold to merchants for profit, one person will make a profit, and then everyone will rush to get it. At that time, everyone will go crazy for this kind of gain without any effort, and Jiangnan will be on the verge of chaos."
This is the root cause of cholera. Everyone wants to get rich overnight, so how can they concentrate on farming? Those who make a lot of money want more, which leads to oppression from the gentry and powerful. Some people will inevitably take risks and kill people and rob people. In this way, once the north of the Yangtze River is in chaos, the south of the Yangtze River will naturally be in turmoil.
"This is beyond your and my control. The government office doesn't care, Lord Jing doesn't ask, Lord Zhuang and Lord Su stand by and watch. You and I can't control it either. Brother Changwen, it's like the imperial examination, one step at a time, just go with the flow."
Xu Dong's eyes flashed with an inexplicable look. Who among the court's senior officials and important ministers didn't know about Jiangnan's affairs? Perhaps only the emperor didn't know. But submitting memorials in private was always disrespectful to superiors, unless someone on the Xinbei dike turned himself in. But how could that be possible?
"Well, there is always a chance. In the Xinbei Dam case, the police took the official road of Chunyang County. I wonder where those officers are now and how their families are doing?"
At this time, even Xu Changwen thought of a plan to break the impasse. Unfortunately, those people were originally pirates. How could they not leave a way out? He had no choice but to offer his family members as hostages in Jinling City in order to seek a way to survive.
"Brother Changwen, please do not touch them privately. I heard that the families of those officers have been imprisoned in the government office. I don't know what happened to them yet. I will make a decision later."
"That's all it can do,"
The two chatted in the carriage, and everything fell into silence, with only the squeaking of the wheels.
In Jinling City,
In the prison of the government office, there was a cell where all the women and children were imprisoned. The families of Feng San and Li Si were also among them. The rest were the families of the officers. They were now dishevelled and had been imprisoned for some time. Although they had not been bullied, how could the life of a prisoner be easy?
In the cell,
The locked people had haggard faces, but their appearance was hard to hide. This woman was Feng San's wife, Wan Niang. Next to her, there was a child, only about five years old. Opposite, a woman sitting on the ground, holding a baby in her arms, with a panicked look on her face. This woman was Li Si's wife, Yuniang.
After the two were arrested, several other people, whether known or not, were detained here for unknown reasons.
"Sister-in-law, is there something wrong with my husband and his friends? We are all police officers in the government office, why did they arrest us?"
Yu Niang didn't understand why. She was from a small family and had always been at home taking care of her husband and children. Just after lunch that day, she was taken to the prison by people from the government. Although she was not tortured, she was terrified.
"Okay, it's useless to be afraid. It seems that my husband has committed a crime."
Wan Niang had already guessed it in her mind. On that rainy day, her husband left in a strange way and said many inexplicable things. She thought it was related to this. Fortunately, Xiao Liuzi, who was serving in the mansion, ran away and she didn't know how he is now.
"Sister-in-law, what if we can't get out?"
There was no movement for several days in a row. If someone wanted to save them, there would have been some movement long ago. It was obviously unreasonable for them to do nothing now. Yu Niang was anxious because of the baby in the cradle. How could she stay there any longer in the dark and damp cell?
"Yu Niang, don't be impatient, we are all together, just be careful!"
Wan Niang looked around and saw that all of them were familiar sisters. They seemed to be the relatives of her husband's quick-training class. This was obviously unreasonable.
In the evening,
Xie Laosan, who worked in the kitchen of the government office, came in carrying a shoulder pole and food, and greeted,
"Come here, today the master has given me a reward. There are meat and steamed buns in the food. In addition, these are specially given to the people in that prison. Don't talk nonsense."
Xie Laosan deliberately lowered his voice, took off a basket on his head, put it on the table, and then gave instructions. Several officers on duty smiled, and one of them shouted inside;
"Boss, the food delivery guy is here. We've added some meat dishes today."
The other person lifted the cloth covering the basket and saw large pieces of roasted meat inside. He asked:
"Xie Lao San, I didn't expect you to have a conscience. The families of the fast class are all there. Have you heard when they will be released?"
As soon as this word comes out,
Xie Laosan was obviously a little flustered, his eyes were evasive,
"You guys, how can we decide these things? I am just delivering food, how would I know these things? I am leaving now."
Without waiting for them to ask more questions, he took the carrying pole and left the dungeon. The remaining people also felt bored. They looked at the table full of meat and vegetables, swallowed their saliva, and
"Do you think the brothers from the fast class can come back?"
"You are such a fool. How dare you come back after committing such a crime? Come on, brothers, take a small piece from the box. They are all family members of my colleagues."
"I know, come and get it. Hey, don't ask any more questions. The water here is very deep. They all say it's the judge Ma."
Several people gathered together, talking quietly, but they didn't know that the prison boss was standing behind them, cursing;
"You little brats, how dare you discuss this matter?"
"Uh, head, this,"
Several people were so scared that they quickly stood up and apologized repeatedly. The prison boss glared at them and scolded them;
"You guys eat first, then go and distribute the prison food. I'll deliver these meals to them, hey."
A sigh,
He asked two officers to follow him and went down the corridor inside the prison.
The dim lights made people look like ghosts.
The prison boss who was delivering food came staggering over with a wooden bucket and two runners. When they arrived, they knocked on the prison door with a spoon and shouted;
"Quick, quick, bring all the bowls here. The magistrate is happy today and has rewarded you with a portion of meat, two steamed buns, and a bowl of porridge. Come on, don't waste time," inside the cell,
Several people, whose faces were covered in dirt but still looked like young women, quickly crawled over with bowls in their hands and put them down. The jailer was not interested and filled the bowls with a spoon, then took a dozen steamed buns from the basket and gave each of them a piece of meat. The smell of the meat made several people curious. They were really given meat.
"Okay, I feel sorry for you guys, and you have kids too, so I'll give you one piece each."
As he said this, he put two more pieces of meat on the steamed buns, and the women kowtowed and thanked him.
"Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir,"
Then he crawled over, took back the steamed buns and meat, and stuffed them into his mouth like a starving ghost. Only Yu Niang and Wan Niang, holding their young child, leaned against the side, wanting to wait until the people finished eating before going over to get more.
It only takes a moment.
suddenly,
The faces of the people who were sharing the food turned pale, then blue and purple. They locked their hands tightly around their necks and tried desperately to vomit. However, the food had already been swallowed, so how could they vomit it out? After a while, their bodies began to twitch, black liquid flowed from the corners of their mouths, and they died soon after.
This scene,
Yu Niang and Wan Niang were horrified and quickly pulled the child to kneel on the ground, begging for mercy.
"Master, please have mercy on me,"
"Master, spare my life,"
The desperate plea for mercy also made the prison boss's face change. He couldn't help but loosen the rice spoon in his hand and dropped it to the ground. He immediately thought of the food being poisoned. Who was it? It was Xie Lao San who delivered the food.
Then he remembered that when the food was delivered just now, some brothers in front took it to share, and they hurriedly shouted;
"Quick, clean up some of the food and keep it as evidence. You two take the meat back from them."
"Uh, yes, head,"
The two officers were so frightened that their legs went limp. They rushed over to grab the food. The jailer turned around and left. He took two steps at a time and returned to the entrance of the cell. He looked closely and found that the jailer on duty today was also dead. The jailer was so frightened that he shivered all over. A chill rushed into his head. He hurriedly wanted to pick up the food box and go to the main hall of the government office to report.
Just took a step forward,
But he stopped motionless. The meat in his hand was a reward from the county magistrate. He felt a little scared, but he also knew that if he didn't expose the matter and kill the witness afterwards, no one would know about it. So he took out more than ten pieces of meat from the basket and hid them in secret places in the prison. Then he called the two frightened people and walked out of the cell together, shouting as he walked.
"Someone in the government kitchen poisoned someone."
After a while,
The news spread throughout the government office.
In the main hall of the government office,
Jia Yucun's face was gloomy. He looked at the basket of steamed buns and meat on the table. There was a faint fragrance coming out, and it didn't seem to be poisonous. He stared at the three people in the hall and asked sternly:
"Did you conceal anything in what you just said?"
"Your Excellency, everything I said is true. How dare I hide it? The captain has already been to the prison. He will know after checking that the food was sent by Xie Lao San from the backyard. They are all acquaintances. Otherwise, why would my brothers eat it? Five brothers died in a short time. If I hadn't taken them two to distribute the food, I'm afraid they would have died too."
The jailer knelt on the ground and kowtowed, and the two men behind him did the same. The entire county government's officers were a little bit unbelievable that they had poisoned their own people, but when they thought of the fast team going to dig the Xinbei dike, they felt sad.
"Report, sir, someone in the prison has indeed died of poisoning. Among the family members of the fast shift, only the families of Feng San and Li Si are still alive. After interrogation, I found that it is the same as what the prison boss said. As for Xie Lao San, he has committed suicide by taking poison in the firewood room in the backyard, but his apprentice is nowhere to be found!"
Captain Jiang's words made the whole government office silent. There really was a traitor. Jia Yucun felt cold in his heart after hearing this. If this person poisoned his food, he would be the one who would die. However, if the patrolmen of the express squad were involved, the breach of the Xinbei dike would be implicated. Ma Guangcheng, oh Ma Guangcheng, you are so cruel, but you don't know that those bandits are easy to mess with. He shouted with a thought in his mind;
"The thieves are so vicious. Thoroughly investigate the people in the kitchen and post notices to arrest the wanted criminal Xie San. This person is guilty of a heinous crime. Write down the fact that he poisoned the jailer and the prisoner. In addition, you, the prison boss, neglected your duties and will be fined one year's salary. When you go back, you must take care of the prison. Come, give the prison boss 100 taels of silver. You will be responsible for the food of the prisoners in the prison. Go."
"Yes, my lord,"
"Thank you, sir,"
The jailer kowtowed again to express his gratitude, while Captain Jiang bowed and left. He knew in his heart why his master acted this way, so he asked the clerks in the yamen to write a few more arrest warrants and post them in the streets, at the intersections, and even at the city gates of Jinling City. However, it was already late, and occasionally some curious people would come to watch and then leave in a hurry.
Among them there was one person with a look of horror and disbelief on his face. This was the backup plan left by the two captains Feng San and Li Si. When the pirate Xiao Liuzi saw what was written on the notice, his eyes darkened. He thought of how good his two sisters-in-law had been to him and some secret letters left by his two elder brothers. His eyes turned red and he lowered his head and went back to the alley, disappearing. No one noticed this scene.
He returned to the house where he was hiding alone, found a package, and wrote a petition. He remembered what the people in the city said, that Lord Xu of Chunyang County was a good official. If he could redress the injustice for his elder brother and sister-in-law, it would be worth it even if he died.
So I packed up and took my bag and some dry food before the city gates closed. I hurried out of the house and headed straight for Chunyang County. In the afterglow of the evening, the scenery was filled with sadness.
Beijing,
In Rongqing Hall of Rongguo Mansion,
The hall was bustling with activity.
Grandmother Jia had already brought her maid Sanchun and Xiangyun here, happily telling jokes, and asked Wang Xifeng to prepare a banquet. Baoyu's name card had been sent to the Imperial College today, and he had been admitted. He would be able to go to the morning reading tomorrow.
The old lady was overjoyed and held a banquet to celebrate. She also asked Baoyu to go to the inner room and change into the Confucian clothing of the Imperial Academy students.
"Oh, the old lady loves Baoyu so much that she held a banquet at home to celebrate as soon as his name was recorded. I don't have such good fortune."
inside the house,
Wang Xifeng, who was sitting next to the old lady, deliberately pinched her throat and shouted in grievance. As soon as she finished speaking, the laughter of Jia Mu and Sanchun came from the room. Tanchun imitated her second sister-in-law, stood up, twisted her waist, and pinched her throat to reply,
"Oh, the old lady loves Baoyu so much that she held a banquet at home to celebrate his name being recorded today. Second sister-in-law has never had this blessing and can only hold a banquet at home to enjoy it."
The imitation was so vivid that everyone burst into laughter again. Jia's mother laughed so hard that tears came out of the corners of her eyes. She couldn't laugh any longer and cursed:
"You actually teased your second sister-in-law. You didn't learn the good things, but now you are learning this."
Tanchun raised her hand, shook it, and nodded repeatedly.
"Ah, it's all because of the old lady's spoiled behavior. How can she behave like a young lady?"
He fiddled with his sleeves again. Wang Xifeng couldn't sit still any longer. She stood up and started tickling him.
"Okay, now you dare to tease my second sister-in-law, I'll withhold this month's allowance."
Wang Xifeng blushed slightly, and deliberately put her hands on her hips, threatening. Before others could finish laughing, Xichun replied,
"Oh, my second sister-in-law always uses this trick, how come it works so well?"
I don't know who burst out laughing first. Everyone in the room, even Yuanyang, smiled. Grandmother Jia laughed so hard that she clapped her thigh. She liked this atmosphere the most. It would be great if it was like this every day.
I want to say two more words.
suddenly,
From behind the curtain came Lai Da's voice.
"Madam, Madam, there is news from outside the city. Second Master Lian has returned with injuries and is on his way back to Beijing,"
A gentle call brought the laughter and joy in Rongqing Hall to an abrupt end!
(End of this chapter)