The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua

Chapter 17

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The old woman was in her sixties, her hair was gray, and her age and physical strength were obviously not enough to support her to walk fast, but she still tried her best, her feet were fast, and she passed through the heavy courtyard, and soon she was out of breath. Sweat on forehead.

"Aiya, Mama Cui, where are you fighting? Quickly wipe off your sweat!" Shan Cha lifted the curtain and walked out. Seeing Mama Cui's embarrassment at a glance, she quickly took out a handkerchief from her clothes and handed it over.

This Madam Cui was the first-class celebrity in front of the eldest young grandmother, and she came along with her as a dowry, and even her maid couldn't afford to offend her.

But Mama Cui didn't seem to see the offer from Camellia, so she asked directly, "Is the eldest young lady up?"

Shan Cha couldn't hang on his face, but still smiled: "I got up, I just got up, if you have something to do, let me go in and report!"

Madam Cui showed a little anxiety: "No need, since the eldest young lady has woken up, I will go in directly!"

After saying that, without waiting for Shan Cha to speak, he opened the curtain and went in.

Shan Cha stomped his feet in the back, and followed.

Mother Cui entered the back room, and saw a young woman sitting in front of the dressing table taking a self-portrait in the mirror, and a little maid behind her was holding her hair and combing her hair slowly.

"Eldest young lady!" Madam Cui hurried over, not even breathing.

Zheng Sun turned around and was a little surprised to see Madam Cui's appearance, and immediately said, "Camellia, Shaoyao, you all go down first."

The two maidservants both responded and retreated.

It's not that Mother Cui didn't see Shan Cha's unwilling eyes before she left, but at this moment, she was no longer in the mood to bother with a little maid about these trivial matters. Seeing the two of them leave, she even walked over to close the door on purpose. Don't hide your anxiety anymore.

"Young mistress, Feng Qingzi was taken away by them!"

Zheng Sun's hand holding the comb paused: "Who are they?"

Mother Cui: "People from Beizhen Fusi!"

Zheng Sun was silent.

Mother Cui said anxiously: "You also know that Jin Yiwei's methods are the most powerful, and I don't know if she will pry something out of her mouth. It will be bad then!"

Zheng Sunshi was much calmer than her: "When did she get arrested?"

Mother Cui: "Just yesterday."

Zheng Sun thought for a while, and said, "It doesn't matter, Feng doesn't know where her brother lives, so it is useless to question her, even if Feng admits to us, there is no evidence, we are the daughters of the Marquis of Wu'an, they It's impossible to come in and ask questions casually."

Mother Cui's face was snow-white and she didn't speak.

Zheng Sun realized from her expression that something was wrong, "Mother Cui, what's wrong?"

Mother Cui said slowly: "Eldest young lady, I, after I heard the news, I was worried that Feng Qingwen would change, so I deliberately took a long detour and went to take a look near the house, but don't worry, I I didn't get close, and I didn't even go in..."

Zheng Sun pursed his lips, and his face became difficult to look: "With Jin Yiwei's ability, if you follow behind you, it will not be difficult to find that place."

Madam Cui fell to her knees with a plop: "Eldest Young Mistress, it's all my fault, I shouldn't make up my own mind, it's me who hurt you!"

Zheng Sun sighed and helped her up: "Get up, you are also thinking of me wholeheartedly, why is it wrong? This matter should have been seamless, but who knows that it has finally reached such a point, and it is my retribution!"

Madam Cui became angry: "What kind of retribution! Zheng Cheng's servant is the real retribution! You are also a pampered daughter of a mansion, how dare he treat you like this! Die well, even without you, the wife of the mother-in-law, Zheng Zhibu wants his life!"

The two were talking inside, when they heard a sudden knock on the door.

"Grandma! Grandma!" Camellia's voice came from outside.

Madam Cui quickly wiped away her tears and stood up, turning back and shouting, "What's the matter!"

"Master Hou sent someone over, and asked the eldest young mistress to come over and ask me something!" Shan Cha said.

Madam Cui's expression changed completely: "Eldest Young Mistress, did Master Hou find out...?"

In contrast, Zheng Sun has a kind of calmness that is broken and broken. She turned around and stroked her hair and temples in front of the mirror. Now she has to serve Zheng Cheng with filial piety. They were all plain, but Zheng Sun took out a gemstone hairpin from the dressing table and put it on her head, and asked Madam Cui, "Is it still neat?"

Mother Cui stared at her blankly.

Zheng Sun smiled slightly, and didn't seem to care about the other's answer. She stood up and said to Mother Cui, "Open the door."

Madam Cui came back to her senses, jumped up and hugged her thigh: "No, don't go, don't go! Listen to me, let me take care of this alone, and I told them that I did it. , don't say anything!"

Zheng Sun helped her up: "Don't talk about it, just stay in the room and don't go anywhere. I'll take care of this."

Several people were sitting in the front hall.

The Marquis of Wu'an fell ill because of her son's death. She has not been able to get up, and she has not been able to appear here.

This time, not only Zheng Cheng died, but also the most beloved son of the Marquis of Wu'an. The reputation of the Marquis of Wu'an has plummeted. Although Zheng Ying has not fallen, he looks older than before. In his teens, he looked tired and vicissitudes of life.

Regarding the arrival of Tang Fan and Suizhou, Marquis Wu'an's face was extremely ugly, and two sons died in a row. He only hoped that things would end here and that there would be no further development, but it backfired, Tang Fan and Suizhou were still When he came to the door and asked to see Zheng Sun by name, it was not difficult for the Marquis of Wu'an to think of what this meant even if he was a fool.

Marquis of Wu'an: "I just want to ask, I hope the two of you will tell the truth. Is Zheng Cheng's death related to my daughter-in-law?"

Up to now, Tang Fan did not hide the truth: "We do have this suspicion."

But the Marquis of Wu'an suddenly lit up: "What about Zhi'er? Isn't he wronged in this way?"

Tang Fan shook his head: "The crime of the second son Zheng's murder of his brother is clear, how could he be wronged, but there is more than one murderer."

The Marquis of Wu'an still didn't want to believe that his son would kill his own brother. He heard the words with a tragic smile: "It seems that the two of you are here today and are determined to let me destroy the Zheng family!"

Tang Fan cupped his hands and said, "Master Hou is serious. Whenever there is a cause and effect, we just do our duty. Presumably Master Hou doesn't want the son to die in an unclear manner."

When it came to Zheng Cheng, the Marquis of Wu'an finally stopped talking, but his eyes wandered and his expression was bleak. It seemed that Tang Fan and Sui Zhou could no longer be seen in his eyes, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Since Tang Fan and the others entered the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion, the atmosphere here is depressing everywhere, but this is normal. Marquis of Wu'an died of a son, and another was exiled into the army. I don't know what year and month will be pardoned and returned. Anyone who encounters this kind of thing will not be able to bear the blow, and it is no wonder that he firmly opposed to continuing to investigate from the beginning, he must have expected it in his heart.

But having said that, if he hadn't kept a close eye at the beginning and signaled Pan Bin to close the case hastily, Wang Zhi wouldn't have been invited to intervene.

So many things in the world, in the dark, seem to be pulled by an invisible thread, going around in circles, and finally returning to the original point.

When Zheng Sun came in and saw them, his expression was very calm, and his behavior was not flustered. He still saluted the Marquis of Wu'an in a lawful manner, with low eyebrows and pleasing eyes, just like the virtuous people in others.

The Marquis of Wu'an sighed: "Just ask if you have any questions."

"Thank you for your accommodating." Tang Fan bowed to him first, and then said to Zheng Sun, "Did you kill Zheng Cheng?"

Zheng Sun: "Why did Master Tang say this? Could it be that what Shuntian government does to push officials is to throw dirty water on other people's heads?"

Her tone was gentle, calm, and without irony, as if she was just asking a very ordinary question.

Tang Fan: "When Madam Hui and Zheng Zhi wanted to kill Zheng Cheng, you noticed it, and secretly added to the flames, helping them dispense medicines through the pharmacist and providing them with convenience, but the effect of this medicine is slow after all, and in the end Zheng Cheng It may not necessarily be dead, maybe it's just not lifting. You waited for a long time, but you didn't get the desired effect, so you couldn't help contacting Feng Qingzi and asked her to do it herself, and later by holding Feng Qingzi's only younger brother, let her She will not betray you."

"You want to kill Zheng Cheng, but you don't want people to know about it, so let people hit Zheng Cheng's Baihui Point with a hammer while he is sleeping. This is indeed a good method. Not many people noticed, Feng Qingzi is one of them."

"Baihui acupoint is located on the top of the head and covered by hair, so most people won't notice it easily, but when I saw Zheng Cheng's body in the Marquis of Wu'an mansion, his hair was loose. , his hair was suddenly combed up, you wanted to hide the marks better, but you didn't expect it to be self-defeating."

"When we tracked down the Huanyi Building, the top girl there, Qingzi, also admitted that she killed Zheng Cheng. We followed the clues to the house she bought earlier and found several tablets by accident. There First of all, we learned that Miss Qingzi's original surname was Feng. Her family was implicated thirteen years ago because of the uprising of Feng Zilong, a relative of the Jingxiang clan. All her relatives died. Only two survived, one was her. , and the other is her third brother Feng Qingwen. She lived in a brothel for some reason as a prostitute, and her younger brother Feng Qingwen was a male, and it is reasonable to say that he would also join the army. At that time, the Yellow River flooded and the embankment was repaired in Henan. Feng Qingwen was one of them when asked by Ying Chengbo."

Tang Fan looked at Zheng Sun's: "After knowing that Feng Qingzi was arrested, Mother Cui was afraid that we would get some information from Feng Qingzi, so she couldn't wait to spy on a place where she would never go, but instead let us Finding Feng Qingwen proves that all our previous speculations are correct."

Zheng Sun shook his head: "Master Tang, it's a waste of time for you to be praised by the sage! You also said that all this is entirely your speculation. Yes, I did hear about Feng Qingzi, because her brother Feng Qingwen was with me. It's not surprising that my uncle works as a messenger, but she is a prostitute, and I am the daughter of an aristocratic family. How could I have contact with her? As for what you said, it is even more absurd that I am holding Feng Qingzi's brother hostage, I guess You didn't ask anything from Feng Qingwen's mouth, because he didn't know anything at all."

Tang Fan: "Speculation is speculation, but all the clues are related to you in the end. How do you explain it?"

"After the Beizhen Fusi took away Zheng Cheng's body, the East Factory immediately went to rob someone, but by coincidence, the place where Zheng Cheng's body was placed caught fire that night, and the person on duty was also your uncle's former subordinate. Yes, Feng Qingzi can suddenly give out five thousand taels to redeem himself, isn't the source of this money arousing curiosity?"

"As far as I know, in the past few years, you have been married to Yinliang of the Marquis of Wu'an Mansion. In addition to the brothel, Master Zheng often goes to the casino. Although the Marquis of Wu'an Mansion is an aristocratic family, the Marquis of Wu'an is not only a son of Zheng Cheng. Naturally, he couldn't help spending like this, so where did Zheng Cheng get the money from going to the casino? If it wasn't from you, he could only get it from his mother, Mrs. Wu'an Hou. I didn’t want to borrow it from my mother’s house because I didn’t have five thousand taels, so I took out my jewelry and pawned it, and I got a total of four thousand five hundred and seventy-eight taels of silver. Where are the money tickets now?”

Zheng Sun was silent.

Tang Fan: "You gave Feng Qingzi the silver note, and Feng Qingzi took it to the old man and asked to redeem himself, and the gold and silver jewelry that you asked to pawn in the pawnshop, we have now found it, you can watch it Last look?"

The Marquis of Wu'an sat in the chair without saying a word. Hearing this, he couldn't help but pointed his finger at Zheng Sun's, gritted his teeth and said, "Is it you? Is what he said true?!"

The matter has come to this point, what is the use of Zheng Sun's refusal to admit it, she turned pale, raised her head, and looked at everyone without fear: "Even without me, Zheng Cheng will die, and I am not the only one who wants him to die. !"

The Marquis of Wu'an jumped up like never before, and slapped Zheng Sun's face fiercely.

Zheng Sun's slenderness, how could he bear it, he immediately stepped back several steps and hit the pillar next to him.

The Marquis of Wu'an angered the crown: "The family is unfortunate! The family is unfortunate! How could my son marry such a viper and poisonous woman like you! It's a shame that I felt wronged at the beginning!"

Zheng Sun sneered: "Father-in-law's words are bad, even if I am vicious, it is because there is no good person in this family! When I first got married, why didn't I want to serve my husband, honor my in-laws, and live a good life? But what am I marrying? People? A prodigal son who has nothing to do and only goes to brothels to play with women! Not only does he play with women, but he also brings them home one by one! I am also a daughter of an aristocratic family, where do you want my face to go? People all over the capital say I'm virtuous, but secretly, they're all laughing at my incompetence!"

The Marquis of Wu'an was heartbroken: "Why don't you tell me, don't tell your mother-in-law, we can all help you to do justice, why did you come to this point!"

Zheng Sun said coldly: "Mother-in-law? Mother-in-law will only try to get money from me. You have heard what Master Tang said just now. All my dowry money was taken away by her for excuses. I want to To maintain the peace of this family, I want to put things to rest, but who is going to protect me! Who is going to return the peace to me! The first year, the second year, the third year... I endured year after year, but in the end, who brought me back? Is my patience serious? Am I going to endure in this fire pit for the rest of my life?!”

She was not in a hurry to get up, and looked up at Marquis Wu'an, her eyes barely concealing her contempt: "Marquis Wu'an, he has lost his father's and grandfather's duties, let alone condoning the rampant concubines, and treating his wife's concubines. Turn a blind eye, teach children no way, one or two, either you are taught to be the second generation ancestor, or you become a defiant idiot who only kills his brother, what qualifications do you have to talk about others!"

"You! You!" The Marquis of Wu'an was so angry that he was speechless, clutching his chest, took two steps back, and sat down in the chair.