In the Imperial City Department, Cui Lueshang looked at Sun Tu with a look of anxiety and confusion: "How is this possible? Lord Marquis, what I said before was absolutely true. I, I would never dare to deceive you on such matters. .”
He was really panicked. As soon as he left the office, he was called here by Sun Tu's people, and then learned from his mouth that the "Zhou Xiong" locked in the Kaifeng Mansion prison was not him. This was indeed strange and enough. This made Sun Tu suspicious of his words.
However, Sun Tu's reaction was quite calm. He smiled and comforted him: "Old Cui, you don't have to be like this. You and I can still trust you. I came to you today just to understand the inside story more clearly. After all, if it weren't for Tell me honestly, I didn’t even know Master and the others had gone astray."
Hearing what he said sincerely, Cui Lueshang finally calmed down, and then thought about it: "If it is really what the Marquis said, this matter is really weird. Although the man did not take it with his own hands, the thing happened at that time It's not a big deal, and as soon as a person is caught, he's thrown directly into jail, and there's no way he can be replaced."
"What if someone in the yamen cooperates inside and outside to attack Li Daitao?" Sun Tu asked again with a frown. It was related to the truth about his master's murder. He couldn't let go of any possibility.
This question really made Cui Lueshang startled: "Well... but what are they trying to do? Who would take such a risk for such a criminal who has no money and power and kills people on the street?"
Sun Tu quickly tasted something: "So you have it? Is there really someone who can remove prisoners from prison?"
"This is just what I heard from some seniors. Not only in our Kaifeng Mansion Prison, but also in the Prison Prison of the Ministry of Punishment, as long as you are willing to pay a sufficient price, and the prisoner is not too important, there is a way to replace him. It is said that in a few years Not long ago, there was a wealthy prisoner who bribed the prison guards and had people go to the execution platform on his behalf. Later, it was leaked because someone leaked the information. But by that time, everyone had been executed, and the other party’s family had already been killed. If you go far away, you can only end up questioning some jailers."
"Slaughter the white duck?" Sun Tu said with a solemn expression: "I have heard people talk about this before. Some local officials often use this trick to protect their wealth. They often let some desperate people die on their behalf, and they make a lot of money. It’s full. I just didn’t expect that such illegal things would happen in Tokyo City and under the Emperor’s feet!”
Cui Lueshang gave a wry smile. The world is like this. How can Tokyo be immune? However, he still felt that this matter was too unbelievable: "But after all, this matter is of great concern, and Zhou Xiong is not a rich man, how could someone take such a big risk and spend countless efforts and money to save him? "
"Yes, so this matter seems too weird and completely unreasonable." Sun Tu tapped his finger on the table: "How many people in Kaifeng Mansion can do this?"
"Except for the governor, Zhong Tong is the one who should be judged."
Sun Tu immediately shook his head: "Zhou Fuyin has nothing to do with this matter, and he is a smart man. There is no way he would wade into this muddy water. As for Zhong Yang, I can see that he has told the truth everything he knows. , if you really do such a thing, you will never be able to hide it from me!" If he really did this, he wouldn't be so cooperative and help him enter.
Dalao saw the fake Zhou Xiong.
The bigger question about this matter is what is the purpose of someone doing this? What are they trying to do? Zhou Xiong is not a powerful person, and he is not close to the big shots in the court. He only has some relationship with Sun Tu. How could anyone think of saving him? And still take such a big risk. The only value he has is the murder of Zhou Tong. Although Zhou Tong is regarded as a great master in the world and is deeply respected by Sun Tu and other disciples, in the official circles of the imperial court, his life is really nothing. Who would do it for him? Spend this thought
The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this matter was so unreasonable and weird that Sun Tu didn't even know what judgment to make. After pondering for a long time, he said: "In this way, you can help me in the Yamen these past few days to find out if there is anything unusual in this regard, and you must not let go of any doubts."
"I understand, little one." Cui Lueshang nodded in agreement, but there was a trace of uneasiness in his eyes. After all, this is not a trivial matter, it might offend some official, and he is just a small person after all.
Sun Tu immediately saw the worry in his heart, and smiled again: "In this way, as long as this matter comes to an end, I will transfer you to our Imperial City Department as an official, and at least give you a serious official career."
Cui Lueshang was stunned by these words, and then he was overjoyed. You must know that one has to cross a chasm from a subordinate to become an official. How many people are still just subordinates with a low status for several generations, and with his status as Cui Lueshang, it is impossible for him to get ahead one day in this life. . But now it's completely different with Yue Hou's guarantee. For others, this is a big problem, but for officials with truly noble status and real power, it is just a matter of words.
Since Sun Tu had made a promise, there was no way he could break his promise. A moment later, Cui Lueshang, who was overjoyed, quickly knelt down and said, "Thank you so much, Mr. Hou, for your support. Mr. Hou, don't worry. I will try my best to get to the bottom of the matter and I will never let you down."
"Haha, get up and talk." Sun Tu stretched out his hand to help me, and then said seriously: "However, this matter is important. The most important thing for you is to investigate in secret. Don't let others know my intentions."
"If you save something small, you will be careful."
After Cui Luoshang left happily, Di Yingyang, who had been listening, frowned and asked: "General, I always feel that this matter is not that simple. Although I have heard of such things as stealing dragons and turning them into phoenixes, they are mostly used to distribute prisoners. It is rare to replace a death row prisoner. And as you said, this matter is still under the care of the doctor of the Ministry of Punishment, which makes it even more difficult to succeed. "
"Yeah, this thing is weird from beginning to end. Now that I think about it, even Zhou Xiong being captured is a bit weird." Sun Tu frowned and said: "He is also very skilled in martial arts. Since he has killed people in public, he must He was thinking about how to escape, but how could he be captured so easily by the people of Kaifeng Mansion? But the most important thing is Yang Huaichang, the doctor of the Ministry of Justice. Let me ask, why is he, a fourth-grade official, focusing on such a murder case? , became interested in an ordinary murderer, and specifically told Zhong Yang that he must be held in solitary confinement and not allowed to be contacted by anyone?"
"Unless he has a grudge against Zhou Xiong, for example, among the thugs Zhou Xiong killed that day were his relatives and friends." After Di Yingyang suggested a possibility, he quickly rejected it.
Ding: "Impossible, how could Mr. Yang's relatives and friends be so unbearable? Moreover, the matter is too obvious. He would not take the risk. Otherwise, it would be even more unclear."
"Yes, but it is inevitable that there are serious problems with this person, so if you want to know the inside story, you must start with this Yang Langzhong!" Sun Tu said and glanced at the other party: "Since Ninth Brother, you are not used to training in the army , then I will leave this matter to you. I heard that he has been imprisoned in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, is there any way for you to see him? "
The second half of this sentence made Di Yingyang's old face blush. It is said that since the official training of the Tiger Ben Army, the ninth son of the Di family, who is the oldest and the most noble, really cannot bear the pain. The military training was too hard and boring, and it was far beyond what he could adapt to, so he began to find various reasons to run out of the military camp and no longer shared the joys and sorrows with those "brothers". After Sun Tu learned about this, he was extremely tolerant of him and did not punish or pursue him. Now he directly helped him find a legitimate excuse not to practice.
He smiled guiltily at Sun Tu, and then Di Yingyang patted his chest and promised: "Don't worry, I'll leave this matter to me. In a few days, I will be able to see Yang Huaichang, and I will definitely be able to trick him out of his mouth." Come up with key clues." He does have this confidence because he has a wide network of contacts in Beijing and is the best at communicating with others.
Sun Tu nodded: "Then I'll leave it to Brother Ninth. It's a matter of great importance. This is the thing I want to find the truth about most recently." The Gu family's collusion with Liao spies has been destroyed by the imperial court, and Sun Tu has also I didn't have much interest in continuing the investigation, so I focused all my attention on the murder of my master.
I originally thought that as long as I found Zhou Xiong, I would have the answer, but now it seems that things are becoming more and more suspicious, and there are even more doubts behind it.
With doubts, Sun Tu quickly went to see Zhong Yang again. When Zhong Tongpan saw Sun Tu again, he thought he could just leave, but unexpectedly he learned such a strange result from his mouth, which made him puzzled. After a long while, he said urgently: "This is impossible. It is absolutely impossible for prisoners in the prison to be secretly replaced."
"Oh? Really? But as far as I know, something like this has happened before."
"That was before, but since I took office and implemented strict rectification, all the abuses in the prison have been eliminated. Let alone such murderous crimes, even if a thief enters the prison of my Kaifeng Mansion, he will not be able to break it. He might have been easily replaced! Moreover, I personally verified the person's identity before sending him to prison, and just a few days ago, I just visited him, and there was no replacement."
"Huh? Then what kind of person do you see Zhou Xiong is?" Sun Tu suddenly realized the crux of the problem and asked anxiously.
"He is a thin and thin man, and because he just killed someone, he is still a little confused. He seems to have been greatly stimulated... "
As soon as these words came out, Sun Tu's eyes lit up! If what Zhong Yang said is true, then it can be inferred that the prisoner was changed early. But in this case, the problem becomes even bigger. Who is stealing the dragon and turning the dragon into a phoenix? And where is the real Zhou Xiong
Of course, you may not be able to believe everything he said, and you will have to wait for Cui Lueshang to inquire before you can reach a conclusion.