It was late at night in the Northern Pacification Prison. It was so quiet that one could hear the sounds of every cell.
Although a general amnesty was issued during the Zhenning period, which emptied most of the prisons in the country, because the imperial prison was under the jurisdiction of the judiciary and not covered by the general amnesty, there were too many prisoners in prison. Some cases had been delayed for so long that the emperor eventually forgot that such a person was still in prison.
In the third year of Zhenning, the cabinet chief minister, Yu Huan, and his son, the minister of the Ministry of Justice, Yu Yang, wrote a letter to the Emperor Zhenning, asking him to sort out the major cases in the imperial prison. That time, the imperial prison was cleared, and more than a hundred cases were settled, and one-third of the prison cells were vacated. However, since the Jinyiwei had been omnipresent, catching wind and shadows, and launching a literary inquisition, in less than a year, the imperial prison was overcrowded again, so that after the people of Tongjia Academy were locked up and taken away, they had to squeeze ten people into one cell.
Zheng Yuejia's identity was rather special, so he was not imprisoned with the others and was locked up alone in a cell closest to the torture chamber.
As the evening hour approached, the summer heat gradually receded, and the moisture on the stone wall condensed into water droplets, dripping down. Zheng Yuejia lay on the straw mat, and every breath he exhaled was filled with the smell of blood. He was about to open his mouth for a glass of water when the door to the cell was suddenly opened. The prison captain led Deng Ying down the stone steps, saying as he walked: "What do you think? Should we take the prisoner to the torture chamber, or..."
"No need." Deng Ying interrupted him and said, "I have a question, but I won't say much."
"yes."
The man immediately opened Zheng Yuejia's cell door, pulled him up from the ground, and forced him to kneel.
"Master, please continue asking while I bring you a chair."
Zheng Yuejia supported himself on the ground, endured the pain in his lower body, raised his head and looked at Deng Ying.
"I now understand why you insisted on competing with your ancestors for the position of the East Jishi Factory..."
Deng Ying said in a low voice, "You don't have to kneel. If you can't bear it, just lie down."
Zheng Yuejia shook her head. "Between you and me, no one should feel sorry for anyone else."
After he finished speaking, he shrugged his shoulders and coughed several times until his back collapsed. He vomited bloody phlegm that dripped from the corners of his mouth. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his prison uniform and stood up again with trembling arms.
"While I still have some strength... I'll tell you what I need to tell you."
"you say."
Zheng Yuejia took a deep breath and tried her best to calm her voice. "You Guichun is a member of a military household in the suburbs of Beijing. At that time, the wet nurse's house selected a wet nurse for Your Highness. I personally checked her family background and her husband's family history. They both have clean backgrounds. Now that I think about it, it seems that they are too clean. As for me..."
He pressed the corner of his mouth and said, "I didn't instruct her to do anything, but now I can't defend myself, so you must clear yourself of the matter."
Deng Ying said: "Your Majesty is certain that someone must have instigated you to do this. You have no choice but to defend yourself. Otherwise, this case will not be resolved and more people will be implicated."
Zheng Yuejia's arm trembled slightly when he heard this.
"Is there any way..."
He looked up at Deng Ying and said, "Let me die quickly."
"Zheng Yuejia."
Deng Ying called him by name, "Your Majesty forbids you to be tortured or killed, and you are not allowed to commit suicide. Don't even think about dying quickly. I can't even stop the Northern Pacification Office from torturing you..."
"What can I do now?"
Zheng Yuejia interrupted Deng Ying and looked up and said, "You say... I will do it."
Deng Ying squatted down and said, "Only when we interrogate you will we know who is behind this incident and what they want you to admit. But during this process, you can't admit anything. You have to give me some time."
Zheng Yuejia coughed and laughed, "Resist, right?"
He spat out a mouthful of blood foam and sighed, "Okay..."
**
The next day, the Northern Pacification Office interrogated Zheng Yuejia.
No visits were allowed in the imperial prison. Only when the prisoner was brought to court for interrogation were relatives allowed to kneel in the hall and see him from a distance.
Zheng Yuejia's family was scattered, and only his uncle's family lived in the capital, relying on him for support. Now that he heard that he was convicted, he came here alone, wanting to bring him some medicine and food.
He had good intentions, but seeing Zheng Yuejia beaten all over, he felt really distressed. He couldn't help but kneel down and cry, "You insisted on entering the palace to fight for our survival. Now, we are alive because of you, but who can save you..."
Zheng Yuejia scolded him in the hall: "What kind of place is this? You are not allowed to come here! Go back now!"
When Zheng Yuejia scolded him, he felt aggrieved and his speech became even more incoherent.
"Don't chase me away... My daughter dared not show her face in public to see you, so she made some food for you. You couldn't pass anything in your hand, and only now could I see you. You have always been very good to me, your uncle, and my daughter. Now that I see you like this, how can I bear it... My Lord, this child of ours is really a bad person..."
He cried and shouted incoherently, and kept recounting Zheng Yuejia's filial piety. The Jinyiwei kept scolding him, and finally captured him in one go.
It didn't matter that he was captured, but he actually let out something that was enough to turn the world upside down.
Zhang Luo sat in the main hall of the government office, holding Zheng Yuejia's uncle's confession in his hand. His tea had gone cold after two rounds, but he didn't drink a sip.
There was a sound of unfamiliar footsteps at the door. He half raised his eyes and whispered, "Who's in there?"
"It's the old slave."
Zhang Luo recognized He Yixian's voice, quickly folded up the confession and put it aside.
"Enter."
He Yixian walked into the main hall and saluted Zhang Luo.
"I came here today because I have something to tell you, my Lord."
Zhang Luo said coldly: "Is that what your Majesty said?"
He Yixian shook his head. "It's about the case of His Highness being attacked. His Majesty doesn't know about it yet."
"Then we'll discuss it in court tomorrow when the trial resumes."
After saying that, he stood up and walked towards the head.
"Master Zhang."
He Yixian stopped him and said slowly, "What I want to say is that this matter concerns the reputation of the royal family and cannot be brought to court. We can only discuss it between you and me in private and report it to Your Majesty for disposal."
Zhang Luo stopped and turned around and asked, "What do you mean?"
He Yixian lifted her robe and walked to his side, "My lord, you want to know who Zheng Yuejia is hiding behind, so I will recommend someone to you."
Zhang Luo said coldly: "Just tell me straight, don't beat around the bush."
He Yixian lowered her voice and replied, "Concubine Ning."
Zhang Luo secretly clenched his hands into fists behind his back.
Seeing that he did not speak for the time being, He Yixian continued, "Concubine Ning and Zheng Yuejia have been old acquaintances since they entered the palace. In order to avoid suspicion, they have never interacted with each other in the inner court."
Zhang Luo heard this and recalled what Zheng Yuejia's uncle said in his confession. When Zheng Yuejia was studying, he liked a girl from an official family. Soon after his family was deregistered, the girl entered the palace.
His uncle couldn't tell who the girl was, but now He Yixian had confirmation.
Zhang Luo cracked his knuckles and took two steps towards He Yixian, "Who else knows about this?"
He Yixian shook her head. "It's just you and me."
"Why don't you just tell the East Investigation Bureau?"
He Yixian smiled and said, "This is an internal matter of the Imperial Household Department. I hope you won't interfere. However, if you want to investigate this matter, you can interrogate another person."
"shut up!"
Zhang Luo interrupted He Yixian sternly, his eyes suddenly burning with fire.
"You don't have to tell me."
**
At this time, You Guichun had not yet been captured in the palace.
In order to track down this person's whereabouts, the six departments of the inner court were investigating the female officials in their respective departments. Yang Wan and Song Yunqing stood in front of the Shanggong Department, waiting to be questioned.
Song Yunqing said: "Tell me, isn't this strange? A living person, a woman, just disappeared in the palace like this."
Yang Wan waved her hand and said, "Don't talk about this here."
Song Yunqing said: "Yang Wan, I always feel that you know something, otherwise you wouldn't have said such a thing when we were eating hotpot at Lord Deng's place."
Yang Wan lowered her head and said, "What did I say?"
"You said that you asked Deng Bingbi to quit his job as a nurse selector, and as a result, something went wrong with this job."
"I… "
Yang Wan was about to speak when she saw a team of Jinyiwei walking towards the door of the Shanggong Bureau with shackles.
Upon hearing the news, Jiang Shangyi and Chen Shanggong walked out of the Shanggong Bureau.
Chen Shanggong glanced at the torture instruments in the Jinyiwei's hands and said seriously, "We are conducting an internal investigation in the Sixth Bureau. What do you mean by this?"
The captain said, "Sir, we are here only to take Yang Zhangji and a female official back for questioning. Please don't be offended, Sir."
Jiang Shangyi heard this and said, "Female officials belong to the inner court. Even if they are guilty, they will be tried and dealt with by the Shanggong Bureau. When has the Northern Pacification Bureau ever intervened?"
"In that case, let's get straight to the point. To say we're questioning you is already being polite. Concubine Ning is involved in the murder of the prince. Our Northern Pacification Division has been ordered to try the case and has the authority to arrest anyone involved in the case and bring them back to our division for trial."
"What did you say?"
Yang Wan squeezed out of the crowd. Song Yunqing tried to pull her back, but she shook her hand off and broke free.
"Your Highness is the Imperial Concubine. How can you charge her with such a crime as murdering the Prince?"
The lieutenant shouted, "The Pacification Office is still investigating the case, why is Chief Yang panicking?"
Yang Wan pinched her own palms and forced herself to calm down.
She never thought that this matter would involve her.
But on the other hand, if she were not involved in the incident, she would not be able to fully understand the ins and outs of the Tsurui case. Perhaps she would be able to see it more clearly if she were involved in it.
But... The Northern Pacification Office is in the Imperial Prison, Zhang Luo...
She couldn't think deeply about this place, nor could she think deeply about that person.
Seeing the stalemate, Jiang Shangyi took a few steps towards Yang Wan, and said, "We have to report this to the Empress Dowager."
"Can."
The captain took a few steps back and said, "We are just waiting here for a while."
"Shang Yi..."
Yang Wan gently pulled Jiang Shangyi's sleeve and said, "No need to report this to the Empress."
Jiang Shangyi turned around and said, "Yang Wan, do you know where they are taking you?"
Yang Wan nodded, "I know."
Jiang Shangyi shook her head and said, "If you knew, you wouldn't have come out!"
"It's useless, Shangyi."
Yang Wan raised her head and stared at Jiang Shangyi, saying lightly: "This involves the case of the prince, and the Empress will not show any mercy."
After she finished speaking, she took a few steps toward him and came to the front of the captain who was speaking.
"You didn't disturb Chengqian Palace, did you?"
The captain replied, "No, the case has not been fully investigated yet, no one dares to be rude to Empress Ning."
"good."
Yang Wan raised her hand, "I'll go with you."
Seeing this, the captain also bowed to her and said, "Thank you for your understanding."
After that, he waved his hand and shouted, "Come here, take him away."