Criminal investigation in ancient times

Zhou Yin said: "Tough Cheng Er, are there two more?"

Zhang Rui nodded. According to schizophrenia, that is indeed the case, but he did not know how to explain it to Zhou Yin. If he had to classify it, he might be suffering from insanity.

After getting ready, Zhang Rui sent someone to bring Cheng Er up.

"Cheng Er, I will ask you again, where were you from noon to night that day, who did you meet, and whether you brought two business travelers along."

Cheng Er lowered his head and said: "My little one had a few extra glasses of wine at lunch, then fell asleep in the car, and only woke up in the afternoon. When he woke up, there was no business, so he drove the carriage home."

Zhang Ruidao: "I heard that your lady eloped with someone, so I specially asked someone to find her back. Do you think this is your lady?"

As he spoke, he asked someone to bring up the actor in disguise, but the actor bowed his head and knelt on one side and did not speak.Cheng Er turned around and took a look, then he was stunned, his breath suddenly got up from the ground, and he walked towards the actor.

Zhang Rui hurriedly said: "Xiao Bai stop him!"

It was too late to say it, but Cheng Er suddenly seemed to be a different person, stretching out his hand to pinch the actor's neck, and muttering: "Bitch! Bitch! I'm going to kill you!"

Duan Xiaobai stretched out his hand to acupoint him, and rescued the actor from his hand. The actor turned pale with fright, patted his chest and said: "I'm scared to death, I can't do this job, please let me go!" Let's go to the slave's house."

Zhang Rui waved for someone to take him down, and Duan Xiaobai stretched out his hand to unlock the acupoints for Cheng Er.Lifting his foot into the crook of his leg, Cheng Er knelt on the ground with a "thump", his legs were so numb that he couldn't stand up.

Zhang Rui patted the gavel and said, "Cheng Er, I'm asking you, you killed those two merchants!"

Cheng Erdao: "I killed it!"

Seeing this, Zhang Rui knew that his guess had come true, and said with joy, "Quickly bring in the story of your murder!"

Cheng Erdao: "Why should I tell you that everyone will be killed anyway, and you can kill or scrape as you please."

Zhou Yin stared at the man in front of him dumbfounded, and he never contacted the man who was trembling when he spoke just now. "Could it be that he really lost his mind?"

Zhang Ruidao: "Cheng Er lost his parents, his hand was disabled, his wife ran away with others, and his child died. The successive blows caused another person to split in his heart. This person is cruel and fearless."

Zhou Yin sighed: "It's weird, it's the first time I've seen such a person."

Zhang Rui: "I'll ask you again, how did you kill these two people! If you don't do it honestly, you will not only be punished with death, but also with life!"

This Cheng Er is much smarter than your weak Cheng Er. He rolled his eyes and said, "Since you can't escape death, it's better to suffer less. Those two people deserve to die! They got into my car and went to a nearby town. I discussed good things with them for [-] Wen, but when they got there, they only gave me [-] Wen. I asked them for more money, and they scolded me. At that time, I got angry, took out a stick from the car and threw The two knocked out."

"The two people didn't die after being knocked unconscious, so I pulled them into the carriage and tied them up. When I got home, I was afraid that this matter would be revealed, so I took the two of them to the slaughterhouse at night, and slaughtered them. The blood has been drained, and I haven't slaughtered livestock for a long time, hahahahaha, this taste is really good, you know when these two people cried and begged me, when they whined, they were no different from those pigs and sheep!"

"Killed two people and threw them into the wilderness with a carriage. When I got home, I washed the carriage and the knife and went to sleep. I didn't expect the government to find my home. I was too careless."

Seeing his frown, Zhang Rui said: "Since the case is clear, I will sentence you to death, can you accept the sentence?"

Cheng Er nodded: "Yes, what's not to accept. It's my mother-in-law, can I see her again before I die?"

Zhang Rui shook his head and said, "No, I am afraid that you will hurt him again."

Cheng Er sneered and was detained by the yamen servants.

When Xu Chang saw that Cheng Er had pleaded guilty, he breathed a sigh of relief and said in his heart: The case is considered over, and the two Buddhas should go too.What he didn't expect was that after the two left, the book of derogation was also sent from Beijing.This Xuchang was suddenly demoted from the prefect of the fifth rank to the county magistrate of the seventh rank.Jingzhong sent a newcomer to take his place.

***

It has been snowing in Kyoto for the past few days, and it finally cleared up today. The north wind is blowing like a knife, and people are reluctant to go out of the house.

Lin Xiaoze and He Ming finally rushed back to the capital. Although there were no troubles along the way, Lin Xiaoze still fell ill due to exhaustion. The illness came like a mountain, and He Ming prepared several medicines for him, and he gradually recovered after taking it. improved.

After entering the capital city, Lin Xiaoze excitedly grabbed He Ming's hand and said: "I'm going home... I'm going home!" "He returned home like an arrow, entered the city gate, and the carriage went straight to Luzi Hutong.

Lin Fuzhong had received the news a long time ago that Lin Xiaoze was coming back today, Mrs. Lin stood in front of the door wearing a cloak early in the morning.

"Qiu Shuang, didn't it say in the letter that he would arrive today, why haven't he come back yet?"

Qiu Shuang said: "Perhaps it was delayed on the way, maybe I will be home in the afternoon, Madam is too cold outside, let's go back to the house and wait."

Mrs. Lin shook her head and said: "Wait a little longer, the master is about to go down, maybe he and his father can come back together. I don't know how the child Xiaoze is... The remote and bitter cold of Tongzhou, will he be hungry and thin?" ?” Just as he was speaking, a carriage drove over.

"Woo~" The guard driving the carriage stopped his horse and said, "Both of you, we've arrived at the Lin residence."

Lin Xiaoze hurriedly lifted the curtain of the car and saw Mrs. Lin standing at the door, her eyes turned red and she shouted loudly: "Mother!"

Mrs. Lin was taken aback, looked at Lin Xiaoze and said, "Ze'er?"

Lin Xiaoze ran over and knelt down and said, "Mother, the unfilial son is back!"

Mrs. Lin hugged Lin Xiaoze and cried, "My Ze'er is finally back! You really miss your mother! You little heartless one, who went to Tongzhou and didn't even know how to write a letter to her mother! Woooooo... "

Qiu Shuang said: "Ma'am, the young master has just come back and let him in quickly, it's too cold outside to be careful of the wind."

Mrs. Lin hurriedly got up and dragged Lin Xiaoze, "Yes, yes, let's hurry into the house."

Lin Xiaoze wiped away his tears, stood up and followed Mrs. Lin towards the yard, suddenly remembered that He Ming was still outside and hurriedly said: "Doctor He, can you come with me?"

Madam Lin looked at He Ming suspiciously and said, "Is this person your friend?"

Lin Xiaoze nodded and said, "Thanks to Dr. He taking care of me along the way, otherwise I don't know how I would have returned home safely."

Mrs. Lin immediately had a good impression of He Ming when she heard it, and hurriedly said: "Mr. He, come in and have a cup of hot tea. It's freezing outside and be careful of the wind and cold."

He Ming shook his head with a smile and said: "I still want to visit my sister, so I won't bother Madam today, I will visit you another day."

Seeing him like this, Lin Xiaoze felt a little uncomfortable for some reason, and said, "Then don't forget to come, you can come anytime."

He Ming nodded and said: "I remember." After saying that, Mrs. Lin bowed her hands and turned to get on the carriage.

Seeing that he was leaving, Madam Lin dragged Lin Xiaoze into the house in a hurry.

As soon as I entered the house, I looked at the familiar scenery in front of me with a dazed expression. How many times I returned to my home in my dreams, but now I really came back, but it was still a little unreal.

Seeing his appearance, Mrs. Lin felt distressed and said: "Ze'er, you must have suffered a lot in Tongzhou. Mother, you have lost weight and grown taller."

Lin Xiaoze said: "After arriving in Tongzhou, Rui'er took care of me everywhere, and Doctor He took care of me just now, so I didn't suffer much."

Madam Lin stretched out her hand to touch his face and said, "It's all dark, I don't want to look the same at all, but my body is much stronger than before, I think the clothes that Lai Niang made for you have to be dismantled and redone."

Lin Xiaoze suddenly thought of his deceased grandmother and said, "Grandmother..."

Mrs. Lin's face darkened and she said: "It's been more than a month since I left. You will go to the ancestral hall to offer incense to your grandmother in a while. When the weather is warmer, let Xiaoqing lead you to kowtow to her."

Lin Xiaoze nodded, and said with pain in his heart: "I think of grandma and have a look."

Mrs. Lin sighed and said, "Go ahead, your father wants to tear down Ning Xin Garden and put it together with your elder brother's yard when spring starts, and move there when Chong'er grows up."

Lin Xiaoze said: "Chong'er is my little nephew, right? How many months?"

When Mrs. Lin mentioned her little grandson, her expression became better and she said: "It's been more than two months, and the weather is too cold these days. When your sister-in-law said hello in the morning, I didn't let her bring her. You can go and see when your brother comes back." Look, it looks exactly like your brother when he was young."

Lin Xiaoze said: "I don't know if he likes the things I bought him when he was full moon."

Mrs. Lin: "What does he know as a baby, as long as your brother remembers your feelings."

While the two were talking, Lin Cheng hurried in from the outside.Upon seeing Lin Xiaoze, he said, "You're back!"

Lin Xiaoze hurriedly knelt down and said, "Greetings to father, my son is back."

Lin Cheng didn't know where to put his hands, so he could only say: "Get up, it's good to be back, it's good to be back, have you eaten yet? Go to the kitchen and make him something to eat."

Mrs. Lin said: "It's been done a long time ago, and I'm just waiting for you to come back."

Lin Chengdao: "Wait for me to do something, it's not like I haven't eaten in the morning, so go and spread the food."

Lin Xiaoze stood up awkwardly and said, "Don't bother."

Lin Cheng said loudly: "What's the trouble? Are you afraid of trouble when you go back to your own home? These are your parents and not outsiders."

Mrs. Lin said: "Keep your voice down, your son just came back."

Lin Cheng coughed dryly and said, "Uh, being a father has no other meaning, so naturally you have to eat well when you get home."

Lin Xiaoze nodded and looked up at his father, suddenly realizing that he was already taller than his father.Looking at my father's face, I don't know when many wrinkles have been added, and the originally black hair has also turned gray at the temples.With a sore nose, he choked up and said: "My son is ignorant, and he did such useless things, it's embarrassing to father."

Lin Chengdao: "Hey, the past is in the past, don't mention that, tell your father how you have been in Tongzhou for such a year?"

Lin Xiaoze roughly told his father what happened to him in the past year.Master Lin heard that encountering black shops, encountering bandits, and encountering the plague, one after another, was something that he might not have encountered in his entire life in Beijing, but they unexpectedly caught up with them.It's hard for these kids too.Rui'er was even more successful than he expected, that child's future is immeasurable.

The father and son talked a lot after dinner, and went to the old lady's house to have a look.I went to the ancestral hall to offer incense to the old lady.When talking about the old lady, Lin Cheng couldn't help but his eyes turned red and he reached out to pat Lin Xiaoze on the shoulder and said, "Your grandmother missed you the most when she left. She took my hand and kept asking me: When will Ze'er come back?"

Lin Xiaoze finally burst into tears when he heard this, he didn't even take a last look at his grandmother before leaving, it was extremely unfilial!

Lin Chengdao: "Don't be too sad, your grandmother will not be happy if she sees you like this, she likes you to please her the most."

Lin Xiaoze nodded, wiped his eyes dry and choked, "I'm really unfilial. If I hadn't done such stupid things at the beginning, I wouldn't have been unable to serve my grandma in the end."

Lin Cheng: "Okay, the past is over, and the journey has been hard. Go down and wash up and rest first, and talk about other things when you wake up."

It just so happened that Lin Xiaomin hurried home at noon on the holiday today and asked in a hurry, "Second brother is back?"

The boy said: "I'm back, I just went back to my room."

Lin Xiaomin nodded, and walked towards Lin Xiaoze's room.

"Dong dong dong" knocked on the door.

Lin Xiaoze was lying on the bed with his clothes on his back, remembering, when he was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door, he sat up and said, "Come in."

Lin Xiaomin opened the door and saw him, both of them were taken aback.

However, within a year, the appearance of both of them changed drastically. Lin Xiaoze looked at the person at the door, his face was raised by half his head, his brows and eyes became tougher.

Lin Xiaomin said with a smile: "Second brother, you may be back. A few days ago, Jiang Tai and the others asked me when you will come back. If you come back, go to Muguzhai with them."

Lin Xiaoze said: "Come and sit down, it's okay if I'm not at home this year, how are you... how are your studies? I heard that Jiang Taizhongxin and the others have all become officials?"

Lin Xiaomin moved a chair and sat opposite him and said, "Study is not bad. Brother Jiang is now a fifth-rank Hanlin editor, and Brother Zhong is also a deacon from the fourth rank. It's just that Brother Jiang and the rest of Class A after they become officials He seldom talks to me, but he made friends with a student from Class D."

Lin Xiaoze smiled and said, "Oh? You actually dare to deal with the students of Class D. I was so frightened when I saw their appearance."

Lin Xiaomin said: "This person is different from other students. The second brother also knows him. He is the one who performed Chinese characters on the emperor's birthday."

"He Zixiang? He has some real skills."

Lin Xiaomin nodded: "By the way, why didn't Cousin Rui come back with you?"

"Rui'er was promoted again, and was transferred by the emperor to Jiangzhou to deal with the salt merchant case."

Lin Xiaomin was dumbfounded and said: "Cousin Rui is already a fourth-rank official now?!"

Lin Xiaoze nodded and said: "Rui'er is a great talent, maybe he will become a Marquis and Prime Minister in the future."

Lin Xiaomin said with admiration: "Cousin Rui is really amazing! I must follow his example."

The two chatted for a while, Lin Xiaomin saw that he looked tired and hurriedly quit without disturbing his rest, and went back to his room.

When I entered the room, I looked up at the faded paper kite on the wall and sighed in my heart, if Cousin Rui hadn't come to Daoling's house, I wouldn't be where I am today.In his heart Zhang Rui is like a father and brother, like a friend.There was a sense of respect for him from the bottom of my heart. No one could replace this kind of feeling. Even Lin Cheng was not as important as Zhang Rui in his heart.

Lin Xiaomin sighed and said, "I just hope Cousin Rui will get better and better, and I will be able to repay his kindness in the future."

***

He Ming went to the palace in a carriage.

The gate of the palace was closed tightly, and after knocking for a while, a servant came out and asked him who he was looking for.

He Ming: "My lord, He Ming, my sister-in-law He Min is working in the palace, please let me know. Then I took out the broken silver from my pocket and handed it to the servant.

The young man took the silver and said with a smile: "Look for Dr. He, this is to inform you, little one."

He Ming nodded and thanked the boy, rubbing his hands and standing in front of the door, the winter in Kyoto is still so cold, the last time he and He Min came together, the two of them were quite cold, a year has passed in a blink of an eye .

After waiting for a while, there was a rush of footsteps. He Ming looked up and saw He Min wearing a red cloak. Seeing him from a long distance, he shed tears before trotting over.

He Ming said: "Slide up slowly and carefully."

He Min ran over and threw herself into He Ming's arms, hugged him and cried, "Brother! When did you come back, why didn't you write me a letter?"

He Ming rubbed her head and wiped away the tears on her face, saying: "I just arrived in Kyoto today, don't cry, you are already a grown girl, why are you still crying?"

He Min said: "You and daddy have been away for a year, leaving me alone in the mansion, and now you won't let me cry twice, you two are really cruel!" The more you talk, the more sad you are, the tears can't be stopped.

He Ming smiled and said: "Okay, the more you talk about it, you're still excited, get on the carriage, and you won't have to see your face after crying for a while." The brother and sister got into the carriage hand in hand.He Ming asked the guards to find an inn, arrange the lodging by himself, and then eat something.

After a while, He Min calmed down and said, "Brother, didn't Dad come back with you?"

He Ming shook his head: "I am sending Lin Xiaoze back this time. My lord and the prince were sent to Jiangzhou."

He Min: "Lin Xiaoze? It's that kid from the Lin family, so are you still going to Jiangzhou?"

He Ming shook his head and said, "I don't know, I'll wait for the adults to send a message back."

He Min said: "If my brother goes to Jiangzhou, can you bring me with you, I want to go with you too."

He Mingdao: "The mountains are high and the water is far away. Why are you going to a girl's house? Why don't you stay in the capital so that my father and I can rest assured."

He Min pursed her lips and snorted, "Daddy is biased, he will take you instead of me. The palace is almost moldy from studying and making medicine all day long."

He Ming smiled and patted her on the head: "Be content, you don't know how many disasters my brother has encountered along the way." He Ming told her what happened along the way, and she turned pale with fright, secretly thinking about it in her heart. My father, who is thousands of miles away, is worried.

***

Zhang Rui and his group had arrived in Xuzhou at this time. For more than a year, no one could have imagined that Zhang Rui would change from a young master of a poor family to a fourth-rank imperial envoy in the blink of an eye.

Xuzhou City was still the same. As soon as he entered the city gate, Uncle Han jumped off the carriage and said excitedly: "Master! We are back!"

Zhang Rui lifted the curtain of the car and looked at the bustling pedestrians, nodded happily and said, "I'm back."

Zhou Yin: "Where do you live? Let's visit your house."

Zhang Rui said with a smile: "My home is in Qiushui County, there are still twenty miles away from here, and I can get there in about two hours."

Seeing his homesickness whispering in his ear, Zhou Yin joked, "Are you taking your husband back to meet the elders?"

Zhang Rui raised his eyebrows: "Why didn't you take the lady back to meet the elders?"

Zhou Yin put his hand around his waist and said, "Anything is fine."

Zhang Rui sighed: "You are lucky, if my parents are still alive, you will not be let out of Xuzhou intact."

Zhou Yin said: "So powerful?"

Zhang Rui smiled: "My father is a general."

Zhou Yin nodded and said: "I remember when you said that. You used to knock down the students in Class D in the school. But why don't you look so gentle and weak like your father?"

Zhang Rui: "You think I want to do this. I probably follow my mother a little bit more. My uncle and his family are all literati. When we first got married, my uncle looked down on my father. He thought he only knew how to wield knives and guns. I don’t know anyone. Later, my father used tricks to marry my mother back, but my father was buried in the border gate.”

Zhou Yin sighed: "My lord, if I live to see you so promising, I will definitely be happy."

Zhang Rui nodded: "Forget it, let's not talk about it, how about I take you to eat Xuzhou's special snacks when we get to the county?"

Zhou Yin looked puzzled: "Okay." Even though it was delicious, he couldn't taste it.

It was almost noon when the carriage arrived at Qiushui County. Everyone didn't eat anything in the morning and waited until noon to eat. Uncle Han booked an inn, packed up his gifts and went to the best tavern in Qiushui County.

Eating the familiar dishes from his hometown, Uncle Han almost shed tears, sniffed and said, "No matter how good it is made elsewhere, it can't taste like home."

He Xiangru patted him on the shoulder and said, "It's all the same, Xuzhou is not far from Liuzhou, eating the food here feels like returning to Liuzhou."

Qing Luo and Hu Zi were both curious about everything they saw, and everything they ate was delicious. They didn't care about other people, and their mouths were full of greasy food.

Zhang Rui poured Zhou Yin a glass of wine and said, "This is Xuzhou's special bamboo leaf green. Although the taste is not strong, it has a bamboo fragrance. You can try it."

Zhou Yin picked up the wine glass and took a sip, nodded slightly and said, "Well... not bad." In fact, he didn't taste any taste at all, and most of the taste buds in his mouth were dead.

On the contrary, Duan Xiaobai and Zhan Qing drank very happily, this wine is shallow, you drink one cup and another cup, drink to your heart's content.

The big guy was having a good time, when suddenly two people came up and looked at them. One of the men looked familiar to Zhang Rui, hesitated for a while, walked over and said, "Isn't this the Zhang family boy?"

Zhang Rui nodded and said, "Yes, who are you?"

Uncle Han raised his head when he heard the voice, his face turned black and he said, "Why are you here!"