Zheng Xin frowned and said, "Yin Chengliang, you are quite courageous. How dare you bargain with me at this time?"
Yin Chengliang replied, "How dare I? I am only asking Your Highness to show mercy within the law. Just now, Yin said that this matter is just a piece of cake for Your Highness to turn a blind eye. Your Highness may wish to listen. If you can fulfill my last wish, Yin will remember Your Highness's kindness even in the afterlife."
Seeing Zheng Xin looking at him solemnly but not denying it, he continued, "Yin was born in poverty. My parents passed away before I was 20. Looking around, I only have one son, Yin Tai, left among my close relatives."
At this point, Yin Chengliang sighed deeply and continued, "My son has been uneducated and extravagant since he was young. Without Yin's care, I'm afraid he will starve to death on the street in a few months. If Your Highness feels sorry for me, please leave a few properties to me when you confiscate my family's property, so that Yin Tai will have someone to rely on in the future..."
When Qiu Yizi heard this, she realized that Yin Chengliang had been making all the concessions today just for his good-for-nothing son Yin Tai.
Qiu Yizhi had seen Yin Tai before. Yin Tai had a dispute with Qiu Yizhi in front of the Confucius Temple over Wu Ruofei. At that time, Qiu Yizhi secretly made up her mind that if she could turn the tables one day, she would definitely punish this dandy boy.
However, now that he saw that Yin Chengliang was willing to sacrifice his own fame and fortune to ensure the safety and comfort of his unsuccessful son Yin Tai, Qiu Yizi, who had been deprived of fatherly love since childhood, could not help but be touched.
So Qiu Yizhi leaned towards Zheng Xin slightly and whispered in his ear: "When a man is about to die, his words are good. This Yin Tai is just an ordinary playboy, he can't make any big waves, it's better to let him go."
Zheng Xin was indifferent to this matter. When he heard Qiu Yizi coming to plead for mercy, he went with the flow and said, "Yin Chengliang, you have heard what Lord Qiu said. The crime you committed should have affected your descendants, but God is merciful. I will leave a bloodline of yours, so that Yin Tai can live the rest of his life in peace. It is also a blessing for him."
After hearing this, Yin Chengliang felt relieved and said, "Since Your Highness has said so, I will die with my eyes closed. But I don't know how I can help Your Highness with my crippled body now."
After hearing this, Zheng Xin discussed it with Qiu Yizhi for a while and said, "Please make a list of officials in Jiangnan Province who are suspected of corruption, so that I can have a basis for consideration when dealing with them."
Yin Chengliang smiled and said, "How difficult is that? I remember the conduct and resume of officials in Jiangnan in my mind. I know clearly who is corrupt or honest, who is stupid or smart, who is foolish or wise..." As he spoke, he sat down at his desk again, licked the ink from his pen, tore off a piece of rice paper, and started writing names.
After a cup of tea, Yin Chengliang handed a piece of paper stained with ink to Zheng Xin and said, "Your Highness, all the corrupt officials in Jiangnan Road are listed here. These are all proven facts. As for those who are only suspected but cannot be verified at the moment, or those who committed crimes occasionally, I will not write them down. I hope that after this incident, they will be alert and stop in time, and that's all."
Zheng Xin took the paper and saw the names of two or three hundred officials densely written on it. He scanned it carefully and saw that almost all the third and fourth-rank officials in Jiangnan Road were named by Yin Chengliang. If he could take them all down according to this list, then his mission of sweeping the Jiangnan officialdom would be accomplished.
So Zheng Xin did not discuss it with Qiu Yizi. He blew the list dry, folded it carefully and hid it in his arms. He then said to Yin Chengliang, "Lord Yin is quite decisive in his work. If his character could be more decent, he can be regarded as a pillar of the court." After that, he turned around and was about to walk out.
But he heard Yin Chengliang say behind him: "Your Highness, please stay. I want to ask you for something."
Zheng Xin slowly turned around, with a serious face, and said to Yin Chengliang: "I see that this place has everything you need for daily life. I wonder if you want anything else? Even if you want something, just tell the guards outside the door. Even if they are unwilling to give it to you, with your skills, what can't you bring in?"
"A pot of poisoned wine." Yin Chengliang said calmly, "Your Highness must help with something like this."
Zheng Xin was stunned for a moment, as if doubting whether he had really heard Yin Chengliang's words. He asked almost as if to confirm, "Poisoned wine? Do you want to commit suicide?"
Yin Chengliang put on an unfathomable smile and said, "Although I was born in poverty, I have taken good care of myself and my body in recent years. I cannot stand the pain. If I struggle on the execution ground and the common people see me, wouldn't it bring shame to the court?"
Zheng Xin never expected that Yin Chengliang would remain so calm after knowing that he would die soon. After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't make up his mind, so he could only say: "How can you decide this matter? No matter how you die, you don't have much time left. You might as well repent more... Copy a few more scriptures to preserve them, so that your life in the world will not be in vain..."
Having said that, Zheng Xin did not wait for Yin Chengliang to reply, and almost fled from the meditation room where Yin Chengliang was.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi hurriedly chased after him, dragged Zheng Xin, who was still walking quickly, and said, "Brother, should we give this poisoned wine to Yin Chengliang?"
After hearing this, Zheng Xin suddenly stamped his feet and said angrily, "This Yin Chengliang, even when he is about to die, still gave me such a difficult problem. In my opinion, we should just follow the provisions of the Han Dynasty's laws, convict him of corruption, and then punish him according to the canonical law. Don't make any more trouble, otherwise it will be our brothers' fault."
Qiu Yizi frowned and said, "Since Yin Chengliang has such an idea, why don't you help him? I have seen his words today, and it is obvious that he has lost all hope and has no worries. If he suddenly changes his statement when he goes to court and overturns everything he said today, it will become a joke to His Highness."
"According to my dear brother, do you want to poison Yin Chengliang to death?" Zheng Xin asked, staring at Qiu Yizi without blinking.
Qiu Yizi was not at all nervous, and nodded vigorously, saying, "Yes. Your Highness, please ask a clerk to write down what Yin Chengliang just said, and have him sign and seal it overnight - this will be considered as evidence. Then, even if you give him a pot of poisoned wine, it won't affect the overall situation."
Zheng Xin nodded as he listened, but then asked, "I'm afraid that if he died in this way, I won't be able to explain it to my father..."
Qiu Yizi was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect that the powerful prince Zheng Xin could be so narrow-minded. So he shook his head secretly and said, "Why should I take responsibility for this? If the emperor asks, I will say that I did it. Anyway, I have done many things on my own initiative, so I don't mind adding this one."
Zheng Xin was not a fool. He could tell that Qiu Yizhi's last sentence was full of dissatisfaction, so he said hurriedly, "Brother, you are wrong. I am here, how can I let you take all the responsibility? Since you want to leave Yin Chengliang with an intact body, I cannot refuse you."
When Qiu Yizi heard this, he suddenly felt that he was no different from those bandits and cruel officials who took human lives lightly by deciding a person's life and death so lightly, and he couldn't help but feel nauseous.
So he hurriedly bowed to Zheng Xin and said, "Brother, I didn't expect this case to be handled so smoothly. Today we are just waiting for Yin Chengliang to sign and seal, and there is nothing else to discuss. I have been feeling dizzy from the heat these days and feel uncomfortable all over. I will take my leave now!"
Zheng Xin thought about it and realized there was really no point in keeping Qiu Yi, so he said, "In that case, I'll go back first. If things change, it won't be too late for me to come back and invite you."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi bowed again and left the Qixia Temple.
In the next few days, Qiu Yizi's words really came true. He suffered from the heat and got a fever.
Although Qiu Yizi's illness was not serious, it made him dizzy and cough from time to time. Zheng Xin repeatedly asked him to go over to try the case. Qiu Yizi had no choice but to force himself to go to the Jiangnan Daofu Yamen in Jinling City to attend the trial despite his sick body.
The main culprit Yin Chengliang committed suicide by taking poison three days after talking with Zheng Xin and Qiu Yizhi. The other two key figures, Cai Min and Li Shenshi, were also convicted early on. Qiu Yizhi heard the trials of those Jiangnan officials named by Yin Chengliang.
Yin Chengliang was indeed well-informed about the Jiangnan officialdom. He could easily reveal a lot of corruption cases to any official he named without any detailed questioning. These cases were not committed by a single person, and in order to protect themselves, the officials who were reported would confess their accomplices without exception.
As a result, the case trial progress is unexpectedly fast, and when things go well, a case can be handled in one day.
Seeing that Zheng Xin was handling the case more and more handily, but Qiu Yizi herself was becoming less and less interested in the case, she resigned and concentrated on recuperating in Lin Shuhan's manor.
Zheng Xin did not completely sideline Qiu Yizi. Seeing that Qiu Yizi could not go to the hall to attend trials every day, he would occasionally send people to bring him files of important cases for his review.
Qiu Yizi saw that these case files had already been reviewed and approved by Zheng Xin, so naturally he would not make any further comments. After quickly reading them, he returned them.
However, Lin Shuhan also took this opportunity to learn some details of the case.
This "Mr. Bansong" Lin Shuhan was a man who was arrogant and conceited, but also outspoken. After reading a few files, he said to Qiu Yizi: "Master Qiu, your elder brother is really a very honest person!"
Qiu Yizhi was holding a book in her hand, flipping through it intentionally or unintentionally. After hearing what Lin Shuhan said, she did not put down the book, but asked without raising her eyes, "What do you mean by this, Mr. Lin?"
Lin Shuhan waved his folding fan and said, "My Lord, don't you think that the way Your Highness sent these criminals was a bit inappropriate?"
Qiu Yizhi still didn't have the book in his hand, and replied: "What's the big deal? My elder brother has tried at least 70 or 80 cases these days. How can he handle every case perfectly? If it were me, I might have fainted when I saw such a mountain of case files. Mr. Lin, please don't nitpick."
Lin Shuhan was also a man who didn't spare anyone's words. When he heard Qiu Yizi seem to be saying that he was making trouble out of nothing, he immediately closed his folding fan angrily and asked, "Master Qiu, do you remember a man called Wang Jingqing?"
Qiu Yizi also had a good memory. He had indeed seen this person's case in the case file, so he said, "I remember. What's the matter?" (To be continued)