Because of such a big case on New Year's Eve, the whole capital lost the lively and festive atmosphere of the New Year's Eve, and the opera troupes that were originally prepared by various prefectures also stopped singing. Therefore, inside and outside the entire capital city, it was very quiet.
Su Fengnuan returned to the Su Mansion in a carriage. When the housekeeper saw her, he hurriedly said, "Miss is back? The general and madam got up early and said that you probably will come back today, and they are waiting for you."
Su Fengnuan laughed, "When did my parents become so predictable?"
The butler chuckled, "Go in quickly."
Su Fengnuan nodded, entered the mansion gate, and went to the main courtyard.
When they came to the main courtyard, Mrs. Su was supporting Su Che for a walk. When they saw Su Fengnuan came back, they stopped. Mrs. Su smiled and said, "Just now I was talking about you with your father, thinking about your today I will go back to the mansion to reward you for covering those crabapple plants, I didn't expect you to come back so early."
Su Fengnuan said, "I didn't come back to admire Haitang, but to ask my father something."
Su Che heard the words and asked, "What's the matter?"
Su Feng said warmly, "Let's talk in the room."
Su Che nodded, and Madam Su helped him into the room.
After entering the house, Su Fengnuan sat down and asked Su Che, "After you resigned, did you still pay attention to the affairs of the capital?"
Su Che was startled, seeing her serious expression, asked her, "What's wrong?"
Su Fengnuan said, "I want to ask you, do you know anything about the death of Shen Rang's only son and his resignation due to illness?"
Su Che heard the words, "So you wanted to ask this."
Su Fengnuan nodded.
Su Che said, "Why did you suddenly ask him? It happened more than ten years ago?"
Su Fengnuan then told him about the dead end she and Ye Chang explored yesterday, when they met Zhang Kuaizui, and what he remembered about the major events that happened that year.
Su Che said, "You mean, what happened to the Minister's House of the Household Department was related to the royal family's Secret Dao case?"
Su Fengnuan nodded, "I think it must be inseparable."
Su Che heard the words, "Back then, Shen Rang, Minister of the Household Department, also resigned and returned to his hometown not long after I resigned. The countryside where our home is located is not too far from him. Back then, I heard that his only son had an accident. , I couldn’t get sick, and after I resigned and returned to my hometown, I went there.”
Su Fengnuan immediately asked, "Have you seen him?"
Su Che said, "I see."
"How?" Su Fengnuan asked.
Su Che said, "I'm very ill. When I went, I was already dying."
Su Fengnuan frowned, "So he's dead?"
Su Che nodded.
Su Fengnuan asked, "Did he say anything to you before he died?"
Su Che thought for a while and said, "Before he died, he gave me something, and said that if I return to Beijing one day and be in the court class, I will take this thing out."
"Did you accept it? Where is it?" Su Fengnuan asked.
Su Che said, "Take it." After saying that, he turned to Mrs. Su, "Do you still keep the brocade box that I entrusted to you for safekeeping when I come back?"
Mrs. Su said from the side, "Keep it away. When you come back, you solemnly asked me to keep it carefully. I want to open it and read it. You said Master Shen gave you an order before you died, saying that you would not return to the capital for a day to recover." You are not allowed to look at the contents for a day." After she finished speaking, she said to Su Fengnuan again, "Your father obeyed his promise, so he told me to put it away. He planned that he would never have the chance to read it in his life, but he didn't expect Ten years later, he really returned to his original post. But it was too long, and after he returned to Beijing, I also forgot about it."
Su Fengnuan immediately said, "Mom, where did you keep it? Find it quickly."
Mrs. Su nodded and hurried to go.
Su Fengnuan asked Su Che, "In addition to giving you such things back then, did Lord Shen say anything else?"
Su Che shook his head, "I didn't say anything else, I just had time to see him for the last time, and I didn't say a few words."
Su Fengnuan said, "Then what about his wife after he died?"
Su Che said, "He originally entrusted his wife to be taken care of by the Shen family, but his wife was loyal and affectionate. After he died, she also died in front of his coffin. They were buried together."
Su Fengnuan heard the words, "I didn't expect Mrs. Shen to be so loyal and fierce."
Su Che said, "Master Shen has a noble character, his wife is very fond of him, and the two of them have only one son." After saying that, he sighed, "Master Shen's family of three went away one after another like that."
Su Fengnuan was also a little emotional, "It is said that Mr. Shen is a good official."
Su Che said, "Naturally he is a good official. Unlike Marquis Jingyang, he is a good official who truly decides for the country and the people. During his tenure, the Household Department was free from corruption. After he left, the Household Department officials changed one after another. Cases of ink corruption are emerging one after another, and the national treasury is becoming increasingly empty."
Su Fengnuan said, "It's a pity that such a good official has now become a grass grave."
At this time, Mrs. Su came out with a brocade box, patting the dust on it as she walked, and approached Su Che, "Look at this?"
Su Che took it over, looked at it and said, "That's it." After saying that, he handed it to Su Fengnuan.
Su Fengnuan reached out to take it, and seeing that the brocade box was made of iron, locked by a small iron lock, she pulled out the hairpin on her head, and lightly poked the lock, and the lock opened.
Su Che raised his hand and slapped her on the shoulder, cursing, "If you don't learn well, you'll learn something that only thieves and thieves learn."
Su Fengnuan rolled her eyes, was beaten innocently, and said angrily, "Father, there is no distinction between good and bad in any skill in the world, only people's hearts can distinguish between good and evil. Why are you still a general? You don't even understand this truth .”
Su Che choked.
Mrs. Su raised her hand and slapped Su Che, hitting the place where he hit Su Fengnuan, and said with a glare, "That's right, what my daughter said is right, you are still a general in vain!"
Su Che stared at Su Fengnuan speechlessly, and said helplessly, "Okay, I was wrong."
Madam Su snorted, "Apologize to my daughter."
Su Che was immediately dissatisfied, "How can I apologize to my children?"
Mrs. Su said, "If you did something wrong, you should apologize. The child did nothing wrong. If you beat me innocently, you should naturally apologize. Are you an old man and you just sell yourself to the old?"
Su Che was choked speechless.
Su Fengnuan looked at him with a tilted head and smiled, and said bluntly, "That's right, Dad wants to apologize to me."
Su Che looked at her with a look of pride, laughed and scolded her as a "stinky girl", and then said with a smile, "Okay, I apologize, it's my fault, I shouldn't be narrow-minded."
Su Fengnuan waved his hand generously, "Father is getting old, and his head is really not working well, so I don't blame you. I forgive you!"
Su Che laughed angrily again.
Mrs. Su sat down next to Su Fengnuan and urged, "Stop talking nonsense, open it and see what's inside?"
Su Fengnuan nodded, took off the lock, and opened the brocade box, only to see that there were more than a dozen house deeds stacked inside, as well as a dossier, and a self-written letter, which was written by Shen Rang himself.
Su Fengnuan looked through the dozen or so house deeds, and found that it was the house deeds of more than ten families in that dead-end alley, and that dossier was exactly the dossier of that haunted family.
After reading it, she unfolded Shen Rang's handwritten book. After reading it, she said to Su Che, "I guessed right, something happened to Mr. Shen back then."
Su Che said, "Bring it to me to have a look."
Su Fengnuan handed the paper to Su Che.
After seeing it, Su Che became furious, "It's unreasonable. I didn't expect this to happen back then. If I knew about it earlier, I would definitely..."
Su Fengnuan stopped his words and said, "If you had known earlier, you would definitely return to the capital, and listen to the emperor to avenge Master Shen? Dad, your thinking is too simple. If you returned to Beijing back then, I'm afraid Even now, like Mr. Shen, it has become a tomb of grass."
Su Che paused for a moment.
Su Fengnuan said solemnly, "This matter is deeply involved. It seems that someone wanted to take Mr. Shen for his own use back then, but Mr. Shen didn't agree, so that person plotted behind the scenes and killed his only son. He must have been unable to fight against others, he could not afford to fall ill, and in the end, he had no choice but to resign and return home."
Su Che said sadly, "It's a pity that Mr. Shen is such a good official!"
Su Fengnuan said, "Father, when you went to visit Mr. Shen, did you go quietly? You didn't disturb anyone, right?"
Su Che said, "Not long after I resigned from office, after I heard about him, I rode a fast horse to the Shen clan where he returned home. The purpose was to comfort him for the loss of his son, but unexpectedly, I went to see him The last side. When I went that day, it was already night. After he returned to his hometown, he brought only an old servant with him. He had been an official in Beijing for many years. The courtyard of the clan was deserted, but he just lived in it. When I found it, he There were no servants in the yard either. Seeing me go, he wept with joy, saying that I came just in time, otherwise he would have asked someone to come to me and entrust me with one thing, and that's it."
Su Fengnuan nodded.
Su Che said, "Later, after he entrusted this matter, he urged me to leave quickly. He didn't want people in the Shen family to see me. I couldn't hold him back, so I had to say goodbye with tears in my eyes. But although I left Shen In the clan, but did not leave the place, I found a restaurant to live in. I had just stayed for less than an hour and a half when I heard that Mrs. Shen had gone, Mrs. Shen was bumped to death in front of Mrs. Shen’s coffin, and followed Let's go."
Su Fengnuan said, "It seems that the death of Mr. Shen back then was inseparable from the pressure imposed on him by the Shen family besides the means by the people behind it. From his autobiography, Mr. Shen's death back then was inseparable. It must be because the people behind him were not planning to cause chaos for the country, and that person found Jinghouhou. He was unable to deal with the pressure from both sides, and after the death of his only son, he became disheartened, and kept these things in secret, and ended up that way."
Su Che nodded, "But now the Jingyanghou's mansion has been ransacked, and the case is still unsolved. I don't know who it is, who has such a great ability to steal the sky and change the day, and conspire for so long. How could it be done by Concubine Yue, Duke An, After accidents happened to the Marquis of Jingyang, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, and Prince Pingjun’s mansion, they still hide so deeply. It’s really frightening.”