Chapter 014 The mantis stalks the cicada

That night, Zhao Xin and Xu Kaixian, who were responsible for collecting information, entered the Qianhu Office one after another, while Han Shizhong, who went to Jiangning, also returned to Xuanwu Lane before the city gate closed.

Chen Cao stared at the people in the hall: "Han Shizhong, you speak first."

Han Shizhong clasped his fists and said: "Your Excellency, my subordinates quickly went to Jiangning. As a Jin Yiwei, I went directly to the county government office to inquire about the magistrate. Then they searched the home of the deceased Zhang Liang. Zhang Liang had been studying in the Imperial College, and his family sent

A slave took care of his food and lodging in the city. On the night of the incident, Zhang Liang returned to Jiangning. Many people at home and the slaves confirmed that his left eye was bruised and he complained of pain in his right chest. He did not seek medical treatment. Early the next morning

The slave who brought the food found him dead on the bed."

As he spoke, he took out a large roll of rice paper from his baggage: "This is their testimony, which has been signed."

"What did Jiangning County say?" Chen Cao looked at the confession and asked.

"Jianning County conducted an autopsy and concluded that the deceased died of internal bleeding caused by a broken sternum. I found a lot of letters in the deceased's study. My subordinates thought they might be of some use, so I seized them all and brought them back." Han Shizhong said and asked his subordinates to bring them back.

The school captain brought in a large bag of things, which were all items from Zhang Liang's study.

"Where is the servant responsible for his daily life?" Chen Cao raised his head and asked.

"My lord, I didn't find any slave in his house. I also asked about it. The slave disappeared on the night of the incident." Han Shizhong cupped his hands and said.

Chen Cao knocked on the desk, then stared at Zhao Xin and said: "Launch the Tiqi, and from now on, we will look for Zhang Liang's slave. I estimate that he is the key figure in this case."

"Sir, my subordinates inquired at Zuixiang Building and learned that Mr. Song did have an argument with the deceased that night, and then they got into a fight. A familiar figure quietly told me that the cause of the incident seemed to be that the deceased insulted Mr. Song first.

The family members of the family, and then there was a fight." Zhao Xin replied.

Chen Cao chuckled, and then asked: "Did you go to your sweetheart's place for prostitution while you were investigating the case?"

Xin Zhao laughed awkwardly, then touched his head with his hand. Xu Kai looked at Xin Zhao jokingly and shook his head, then said seriously: "Sir, all the evidence points directly to Song Zongqi, but my subordinates also asked Tiqi from around Zuixiang Building to investigate him.

There will be no news about that slave until tomorrow at the earliest."

Chen Cao nodded, then ignored everyone and began to read Zhang Liang's letters brought back by Han Shizhong to see if he could find some answers in them.

Jinyiwei has guarding thousands of households in thirteen provinces. There are also many Jinyiwei agents in each provincial government-level agency. Yingtian Mansion is in Nanjing, so Jinyiwei agents are naturally indispensable. There are Jinyiwei agents in every yamen in Nanjing.

, one is responsible for inquiring about information, and the other is to monitor whether these officials and generals have any intentions or actions against corruption.

Today is the trial of Song Che's murder case in Yingtian Mansion. The presiding judge is Huang Chengxian, the general judge of Yingtian Mansion. Just like the trial of Chen Cao at that time, for the sake of fairness, Liao Wen, a veteran of the Beicheng Military and Horse Division, was invited to come to observe, along with Jiangning County.

In order to avoid suspicion, Chen Cao did not come in person, including the envoy and other officials involved. Instead, he sent Han Shizhong, the chief flag officer, to come and listen to the case.

After all the characters arrived, Huang Cheng was shocked and summoned Song Che to the court.

Song Che had a military status, and the prison did not dare to torture him in private, so when he appeared, he was as unscathed as when he met Chen Cao.

"Song Che, you are a member of the military. Today, you can stand up and answer the question without kneeling." Huang Cheng spoke first, then stared at Zhang Liang's wife who was kneeling in the hall and asked: "Ms. Zhang Chen, I am the official

When the court opens, you first introduce yourself to your family, what is your relationship with the deceased Zhang Liang?"

Mrs. Zhang and Chen cried and cried: "I would like to inform you all, my surname is Chen, who is from Jiangning. Zhang Liang is my husband's husband."

"What grievances you have, tell me carefully."

Mrs. Zhang Chen wiped her tears with an embroidered handkerchief and said: "Returning to your lords, my husband, a civilian woman, has a reputation as a scholar and has been studying hard in the Nanjing Imperial College. However, he suddenly returned to his home in Jiangning from Nanjing last night, and when he came back, his face was still wet.

Bruises, my husband didn’t mention the cause, so he went back to his room to sleep. When the woman got up this morning, she found... she found...my husband had passed away. Ah..."

After explaining the main process, Huang Chengxian turned to look at the Jiangning County magistrate sitting aside and asked: "How did your county deal with it?"

The envoy stood up and raised his hands towards Huang Chengxian: "My lord, after receiving the report from the host, I took Wu Zuo and others to Zhang's house for inspection. After Wu Zuo carefully checked, it was found that Zhang Liang died of internal hemorrhage caused by a broken sternum."

"Jiang Ning's work, but there is something wrong with it?" Huang Chengxian asked seriously.

"Back to your lord, my family has passed down the autopsy for many years, but it is still my fault. If you don't believe me, I can ask Ying Tianfu's widow to do another autopsy."

Huang Cheng nodded first, and then asked Zhang Chen: "Zhang Chen, I want to ask you, who sent Zhang Liang home?"

Mrs. Zhang Chen raised her head and said, "Your Majesty, the person who is sending your husband back is his personal servant."

"Where is that man?"

Zhang Chen thought about it carefully and shook her head: "He disappeared the next day. He must have been frightened and went home."

"Okay, Song Che, I want to ask you, did you have a fight with Zhang Liang that night?"

Seeing that Huang Cheng asked himself first, Song Che nodded, and then said angrily: "As you all know in Dingjiao, I took my subordinates to Zuixiang Building to receive the case that night. When I was about to go out, Zhang Liang suddenly shouted insults at me, and the words affected my deceased

I carefully recalled my parents and other female relatives in the family, and I have never had any interactions or enmity with them in my life, and he did not look like he was drunk at the time. He was so angry that he made a move, and at that time..."

"Okay," Huang Chengxian waved his hand and said, "Just admit that you did it. This case is actually very simple. The two of you had a private fight. You were born in the military. Zhang Liang is a scholar who has no power to restrain a chicken. Naturally.

He is not your opponent. Because of your mistake, the opponent will bleed to death later."

"Sir, I did punch him at that time, but the force was only enough to hurt him. He would never have died. I didn't kill him." Song Che immediately retorted after hearing Huang Chengxian's words.

In fact, according to Huang Chengxian's statement, Song Che's crime was negligent causing death. According to the Ming Dynasty Law, he was just exiled. With his status in the military, he was 100% exiled to Liaodong or northwest and other places to guard the border. In this situation

It's just that I went to live in another place in disguise.

But this result was a big blow to Song Che.

Snapped...

As soon as the wooden door was struck, Huang Chengxian was heard saying: "Case closed. Song Che, the general flag officer of the Wucheng Army and Horses Division, was negligent and caused death. According to the law, he was dismissed from his post and exiled for three thousand miles. He was assigned to guard the border in Liaodong. Although Zhang Liang, the deceased in this case, was

A student at the Imperial College, he got into a fight with Song Che and insulted him verbally. The testimonies of all parties showed that he intended to take revenge afterwards. Although he died, he was not innocent. Song Che was ordered to pay the Zhang family two hundred taels of pension silver. All parties

Draw a pledge..."

"Mr. Liao, I was wronged because I was wronged. I didn't treat him so harshly..." Song Che shouted.

Liao Wen didn't look embarrassed. The Beicheng Military and Horse Department also made a lot of inquiries around, and all the information they got was unfavorable to Song Che. It's good that Song Che can get this verdict today. The worst he can do is fight for a few more years until the emperor's wedding.

Amnesty can return to Nanjing again.

After Liao Wen shook his head gently at Song Che, he led the people out of the government office, while Han Shizhong immediately headed towards Xuanwu Alley. Song Che's face was ashen, and he was pulled back to the prison by the government officials.

In the lobby of the Qianhu Institute in Xuanwu Lane, Chen Cao was sitting upright, listening to Han Shizhong's report: "Sir, it is a good thing that Song Zongqi was sentenced like this. If the Imperial College of Nanjing had a request, I am afraid that Song Zongqi would have to die for his life before he would agree.

Give it up. Now I am exiled to Liaodong to guard the border. There are Tatars there. If I have performed meritorious service, I can make up for it and return to Nanjing."

Chen Cao listened quietly, tapping his right hand habitually on the desk. His past fishing experience told him that if you want the fish to take the bait, you must learn to wait. But now: "Let me ask you, do you think the Imperial Academy Company

No one was sent to observe?"

Han Shizhong nodded: "It's your lord. The only ones who went there were those from the Beicheng Military and Horse Division and the envoys from Jiangning County. No officials from the Nanjing Imperial College came."

The word "unscientific" came to Chen Cao's mind. Zhang Liang was a student of the Imperial College. When something went wrong, the Imperial College didn't even send a professor to observe.

"Sir," Han Shizhong interrupted Chen Cao's thoughts: "Perhaps the Imperial College thinks that the place where Zhang Liang died is not certain."

"Sir," Xin Zhao quickly walked into the lobby: "Sir, my subordinate personally went to Jiangning, intimidated the local Qingpi, and then arrested a few more. From it, I got a piece of news. Zhang Liang's slave is named Zhang Qi.

He is a servant who sold himself to the Zhang family. Zhang Qi has a son named Zhang Shishi."

Chen Cao raised his head: "What a good guy, you actually named your son Shishi. Are you sure the name is correct?"

Zhao Xin smiled when he heard this, and then said: "My subordinate is not mistaken, his name is indeed Zhang Shishi. This guy is a gambler. He borrowed loan sharks from these green men at high interest rates. However, Zhang Shishi paid off the loan sharks yesterday. I feel that

Something was fishy, ​​so I went to Zhang Qi’s home to investigate, but unknown to you, the entire Zhang family was missing.”

Bang...

Chen Cao slapped the table: "There is indeed something wrong with this guy. Zhao Xin, you did a good job."

"I would like to thank you for your compliment."

"Have you ever found out where Zhang Qi's family went?" Chen Cao asked.

Xin Zhao shook his head: "My subordinates have asked the local Tiqi to investigate, and they have also strictly ordered those Qingpi to tell the local Tiqi once they get the news. Since they have disappeared, they should not show up so soon. My lord, is it possible that Zhang Qi is involved in the case?

?”

More than implicated...

Chen Cao already knew in his heart that Song Che's case has been closed and the file has been sent to the Nanjing Criminal Department. After review, it will be sent to the Capital Criminal Department for files. But if Song Che wants to return to Nanjing, he still has to find Zhang Qi and overturn Huang Chengxian's case.

Only by passing the verdict can Song Che be rescued, and now, there is no need to rush much.

"Leave it to Han Shizhong to find the whereabouts of Zhang Qi's family. Remember, this is a big deal and must be done well."

Things are over here, Chen Cao went straight to the Song family. Song Yin couldn't help crying after learning what happened to her eldest brother Song Che. But now even Chen Cao has no good solution, because the evidence points to Song Che, the key figure.

Zhang Qi's family is also missing. If you want to reverse the case, as before, you must find Zhang Qi to know whether Song Che was unjustly accused.

What's more, Song Che himself has always made it clear that he didn't do anything heavy-handed and Zhang Liang couldn't die, so Zhang Qi, who sent him back during the whole thing, must know everything.

"Brother YCIS, what should we do now..." Song Yin cried.

Chen Cao hated seeing a woman cry the most, and she was such a good-looking woman, so he patted her shoulder and said: "Don't worry, I will overturn Shi Xiu's case sooner or later, but now the case has been closed, and the file has been sent to the capital.

From the Criminal Department, Shi Xiu can only go to Liaodong. What I can do is to send someone to follow the escort all the way there to prevent him from suffering on the road."

Song Che was escorted to Liaodong three days later. Before leaving, Chen Cao saw him off and specifically asked Chen Cao to take care of his little sister Song Yin. So Chen Cao generously said that he would take Song Yin to the Chen family for better care.

Song Che had no objection. The two of them had a close relationship. Even if Chen Cao took Song Yin under his wing, it would be better than following his useless big brother.

"Shi Xiu, please keep these thousand taels of silver notes. Liaodong is no better than Nanjing. In addition, these scattered silver coins will be used on the road. Take care of them along the way. I will definitely help you reverse the case." Chen Cao said and handed the baggage handed over by Zhao Xin to Song Dynasty.

In Che's hands.
To be continued...