Han Hui and Fu Ru are both detained in Xichang, one is the direct murderer of this case, and the other is an accomplice.
Wang Zhi's remarks yesterday, coupled with today's results, inevitably reminded Tang Fan immediately: Wang Zhi killed people.
The few people involved in this case, Han Hui is the murderer, La Mei is the accomplice, Yuan Liang and Furu are both accomplices.
Although Lamei helped Han Hui hide the needles, it was because she was pregnant with Han Hui's child, so she willingly helped him out of this, and didn't know anything about the case.
Although Han Hui got help from Yuan Liang, he didn't know why Yuan Liang wanted to help him.
Only Fu Ru knew that Yuan Liang was unwilling and wanted to take revenge for Concubine Ji. She was the first person to find Yuan Liang, and she might have an idea for this case, and her role was indispensable.
Apart from Tang Fan, Wang Zhi, and the prince, only Fu Ru was clear about Yuanliang's motives and actions. If she explained in her confession that Yuanliang wanted to avenge Concubine Ji, the concubine would definitely put the blame on the prince. Up.
Now, as long as Fu Ru is dead, there will be no proof of death at all, and it is the safest for Wang Zhi.
But Tang Fan went to the West Factory several times and couldn't find Wang Zhi. Naturally, it was impossible to ask whether the palace maid was killed by Wang Zhi.
He suspected that Wang Zhi was deliberately trying to avoid him, but there was nothing he could do.
Without Wang Zhi, he couldn't even enter the palace gate, and of course he wouldn't know what the emperor and Concubine Wan had planned, whether the crown prince would be implicated, and how the case was settled.
It was not until half a month later that Wang Zhi asked him to be invited to the West Factory and told him that the case had been settled.
Tang Fan asked, "How is the dust settled?"
Wang Zhidao: "Fu Ru held grudges after being reprimanded by the imperial concubine, but did not dare to take revenge. Yuan Liang was Fu Ru's counterpart. After listening to Fu Ru's complaints, Han Hui just wanted to kill his brother, so he came up with such an idea. , asked Fu Ru to persuade the concubine to send the soup, and then asked Han Hui to attack Han Zao in advance. The three conspired to stage such a play, in order to frame the concubine. As a result, after Han Hui confessed, as soon as she was afraid, she feared the crime in prison. committed suicide."
This is exactly the same as what he said to Tang Fan when he was in the palace.
Tang Fan didn't go around in circles and asked directly, "Could the death of Fu Ru be related to Duke Wang?"
Wang Zhi asked back, "Do you think I killed it?"
Tang Fan was silent.
Silence equals default.
In the inner room, there was no one left or right, neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere was a little stagnant for a while.
After a while, Wang Zhi said lightly: "From the beginning to the end of this case, you are the only person who fully knows the inside story. I might as well tell you: Fu Ru's death has nothing to do with me."
He sneered: "I did have the intention to silence Fu Ru, but I didn't expect that she would take action earlier. The woman really had some problems. During the interrogation process, she was very hard-mouthed. At first, she said it was herself. It was done by one person, and he said that Yuanliang came to her because of Concubine Ji's death. She couldn't bear it, so she helped Yuanliang. But before Yuanliang died, he clearly said that Fu Ru found her first, and she was in the imperial concubine. I have been around for more than ten years and want to help Yuanliang, why not help sooner or later, Concubine Ji has been dead for several years, so I believe Yuanliang will not lie."
Tang Fan nodded: "Yuanliang already had the will to die at that time, so there is really no need to lie to us."
Seeing that he believed his words, Wang Zhi's face became a little brighter: "When she was sentenced, she started talking nonsense again, saying that she was instructed by the emperor. After she came out, she kept her mouth shut, so that the imperial concubine would not be able to explain it, but she didn’t realize it, and the woman got the copper piece of the lampstand containing the oil lamp on the wall from nowhere, and cut her neck to death.”
Tang Fan thought that everyone was killed by Wang Zhi, but he didn't expect that there was such an inside story, so he couldn't help frowning and said, "Furu is imprisoned in the prison, and the West Factory is heavily guarded, how can she find the instrument for suicide. and opportunity?"
Wang Zhi sneered: "This shows that there is also a problem in the West Factory, and there must be others behind Fu Ru!"
Tang Fan pondered: "Then what is the intention of the people behind her? In order to provoke a conflict between the imperial concubine and the prince?"
This is very possible. Although the prince is young now, he has gradually become a wise man. He is diligent in study, never speaks of bitterness, respectful and kind to his servants. All these fine qualities seem to make people see the future. The hope is that there is a group of fans gathered around.
Although there are many court officials, no matter how dark and sinister the world is, there are always those who yearn for the light and work hard to bring it back.
Just like Tang Fan, although he is not a clear-cut princeling, isn't he also secretly inclined to protect the prince
It is precisely because of this that Concubine Wan is even more anxious and resentful: Now you will win people's hearts like this, so when you become the emperor in the future, will there still be a place for me
Therefore, if someone with a heart wants to provoke a conflict, it is reasonable and reasonable to start from here.
Wang Zhi gritted his teeth and said: "For this matter, I went to the palace to plead guilty to the imperial concubine, and I was scolded very much. After I came back, I cleaned the West Factory again. Little fish and shrimp, I haven't found out the culprit at all, which shows how deep this person is hiding! He better not let me catch him, otherwise I will make all the tortures in the West Factory be used on him!"
His words were so murderous that even Tang Fan, sitting across from him, felt that the killing intent was coming towards him, and it could be turned into reality.
Wang Zhi planned this incident very well, but now things have changed. In a place like the West Factory, Fu Ru can even commit suicide, which fully shows that there is a problem in the West Factory, and the other party has a strict arrangement. If people can't find out, how can Wang Zhi not be angry
It is also thanks to him that he is now favored by the emperor and his concubine, so he just reprimanded him. Otherwise, this matter alone would be enough to bring his political life to an end.
Tang Fan asked, "What about Han Hui?"
Wang Zhi was angry: "What else! He doesn't know these things, he just listened to Yuanliang's instigation and went to kill, whatever he should do! He has already asked for the confession, and he will transfer it to the Punishment Department on another day. There is no West Factory!"
Tang Fan nodded, and Han Hui's futility was considered to be able to comfort Han Zao's spirit in the sky.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh for Han Zao.
Han Fang, Lin's middle-aged son, is very fond of Han Zao, and Han Zao was not raised like a playboy like Zheng Cheng. Instead, he filial piety to his parents and respected his elder brother. Well, I will be depressed in my heart, and I will give my book boy a playful name, which shows how cute he is.
Although Tang Fan had never met him, he could see Han Zao's benefits from Han Fang's grief and the prince's regret. It's a pity that such a good child died in the end at the hands of his beloved brother's inner demon.
Moreover, if it weren't for the harsh treatment of Han Hui by the Lin family, Han Zao would not have thought of complaining to Yuan Liang, and Yuan Liang would not have known about the Han family's grievances and thus found an opportunity and condition.
It can be said that everything, somewhere, has a cause and effect.
Wang Zhi was very anxious to find out the traitor in the West Factory. The matter involved a lot and involved a lot. Tang Fan didn't ask much, but the other party took the initiative to ask: "Do you think this matter is related to Emperor Jingtai? "
Tang Fan was startled, and immediately said, "This matter is of great importance, so don't speculate arbitrarily!"
Wang Zhi was displeased: "It's just you and me here, just speculate in private, why not?"
The Jingtai Emperor in Wang Zhi's mouth was the uncle of today's son.
Speaking of this koan, in fact, it is well known in the world.
When Emperor Yingzong was on the throne, because he favored the eunuch Wang Zhen, he listened to his words to go to Tara in person. As a result, it led to the change of Tumu Fort. Half of the ministers in the court went away without saying a word, and the entire Beijing camp was also wiped out. People are about to come to the capital. The prince at this time, that is, the emperor is only two years old, and he can't preside over state affairs at all, especially at such a critical moment.
Yu Qian and others were ordered to take the lead of Emperor Yingzong's younger brother, that is, Emperor Jingtai, to resist the tile, and to stabilize the people's hearts, which saved the Ming Dynasty from a catastrophe.
During this period, Emperor Yingzong was released from Oara. Emperor Jingtai had already become the emperor, and of course he would not give up the throne. Besides, even if he did, the brothers would definitely not be able to return to their previous relationship. His brother would definitely be suspicious of him. Therefore, Emperor Jingtai directly put the old brother who was released under house arrest, and he became the emperor for seven years.
As a result, when he was seriously ill, there was another palace change. Some ministers rescued Emperor Yingzong from the cold palace, welcomed him again, and put Emperor Jingtai under house arrest. The grievances between the brothers ended here. A month later, Emperor Jingtai died. The late emperor resented him for taking his throne, and even deprived him of his imperial title. He even gave him a nasty posthumous title. He only helped his uncle to restore his reputation after today's son ascended the throne.
From this point of view, in fact, when today Zi is not a bad person, he has a tolerant heart, but he is not so concerned about running the country, which has caused the entire court to be in a mess.
Having said that, Wang Zhi mentioned this past, not to let Tang Fan recall the past, but to point out the grievances between the late emperor and Jingtai emperor.
When Emperor Jingtai was the emperor for seven years, there must be some loyal people in the palace. These people were beheaded one by one after the restoration of the previous emperor. Those who were lucky not to die, they all held their tails and kept a low profile. It's almost nonexistent.
But there is no guarantee that some of them have been silently enduring until now, deliberately provoking disputes through Fu Ru's hand, which can not only provoke the contradiction between Wan Guifei and the prince, but also make the emperor suspicious of Wan Guifei and create chaos for the court.
Wang Zhi's guess is indeed reasonable.
Tang Fan asked, "What's suspicious about Furu's residence? What did the imperial concubine say?"
Wang Zhidao: "Furu's residence, together with the imperial concubine's palace, has already been turned upside down, and nothing has been found. Furu's belongings are so clean that there is nothing suspicious, only the various items and property that the imperial concubine has given her over the years. …”
"Wait," Tang Fan interrupted him, "Doesn't Fu Ru have no family outside the palace? She didn't entrust someone to bring those gold and silver treasures out of the palace for her family?"
Wang Zhi sneered: "You're asking the question, it's a pleasure to talk to a smart person. No, not at all. The items that have been rewarded over the years are all there. As for gold and silver, it is impossible to calculate so clearly, but Basically the same thing. I checked and she has no family outside the palace. Her parents died when she was a child, and she was raised by her uncle's family. A few years after she entered the palace, the uncle's family died because of the fire in the city. The house burned down, the whole family moved out, and then disappeared."
Tang Fan was silent after hearing this.
The affairs of her uncle's family may sound very problematic at first, but in fact, it was a common occurrence at the time and cannot be used as evidence.
Like Feng Shiqingzi in the Marquis of Wu'an case, she was scattered because her family was implicated and convicted. The people who used to live in their area also moved out because of the fire nearby, which made Tang Fan. At that time, there was a little difficulty in investigating the case.
Fu Ru had no one outside the palace, and there was nowhere to send the gold and silver treasures, so he naturally stayed in the palace. He originally thought that when he was old, he could be released from the palace to marry, but he was relied on by the noble concubine and could not leave the palace for a while. It's not because of this case, it is impossible to say that she will continue to stay in the palace and become a female official in the future.
Wang Zhi said: "The imperial concubine was very angry when she found out about this. I never expected that Fu Ru would do such a thing, so I must investigate it to the end."
That being said, how can Wang Zhi investigate? No matter how powerful Xichang is, people are dead, and no one behind the scenes has been found, so he can't fabricate some evidence out of thin air
But Tang Fan heard Wang Zhi's speculation about Emperor Jingtai just now, and was really afraid that in order to avoid being held accountable by Concubine Wan, Tang Fan would just look for some personal and physical evidence.
It is true that Wang Zhi is not a wicked person, otherwise he would not have listened to Tang Fan's suggestion and was willing to form a good relationship with the prince to help conceal Yuan Liang's motives, but this does not mean that he is A good man who cares about others wholeheartedly.
As the Admiral of Xichang, Wang Zhi's every move must be for the sake of his own political future. You must know that there are not many big people who have fallen into the sand under his hands. He also planned to kill Fu Ru before, but he was Fu Ru himself was just one step ahead.
Tang Fan said: "Fu Ru has died, but there is no evidence. This matter is not an outsider. She can pay attention to her uncle."
It means that since Fu Ru is dead and the evidence is annihilated, this matter is even a turnaround, and it will not be too late to talk about further evidence in the future.
Wang Zhi said impatiently: "It's alright, alright, don't always use your civil servant's way to speculate on me, I do things differently from yours, and I don't need you to teach me. Since I put you on the table, there will be no good things. Because of the imperial concubine's trust in me, I really won't be able to pass the test so easily!"
Master Tang silently listened to his complaints, thinking that you were the first to find me at first, but now I sound like a broom star.
After a while, Wang Zhi saw that Tang Fan didn't answer, and felt a little bored, so he said, "His Royal Highness asked me to convey a word to you."
Tang Fan was startled: "I would like to hear the details."
Wang Zhi said: "People compete with Chunlan and laugh at Qiuju, and the bright moon accompanies Chang Geng."
Tang Fan suddenly laughed.
Wang Zhi was suspicious: "What kind of riddle are you playing?"
Last time, because of Yuanliang's death, Tang Fan had the last meeting with the prince. He was very worried that Yuanliang's incident would cast a psychological shadow on the prince, and worried that a prince who had high expectations from many people would be killed by this incident. Going the wrong way with resentment.
So at that time, he used an excuse to talk about some anecdotes of the ancients, hoping to tell the crown prince, don't abandon your ambitions because of things, even though there are many injustices and darkness in this world, there are more people who have kind thoughts, and are doing their best to bring the world to a better place. Leading on the right track is just because the villain likes to form parties, like revenge, and like to harm others and benefit oneself, while the gentleman is strict and upright, and refuses to act like the villain. It seems that there are more villains than gentlemen in this world.
Tang Fan hopes that the prince will not feel that everything in the world is unfair because of Yuanliang's affairs, and he must achieve his goal through dark means.
At that time, the prince was saddened by Yuan Liang's death and did not respond much to Tang Fan's words, and Tang Fan was not the prince's teacher. He was not even qualified to teach the prince, so he could only use that opportunity to do his best. .
Unexpectedly, the prince still remembers this.
People compete with chunlan and laugh at autumn chrysanthemum, and heaven teaches the bright moon to accompany Chang Geng.
This is Su Dongpo's verse, so why isn't the prince expressing his will in poetry and answering Tang Fan's remonstrance that day
The most wonderful thing is that the middle and peaceful and broad-mindedness contained in the second half of the sentence is exactly the perfect interpretation of the first half of the sentence.
It's not an angry and passionate reply, nor is it a perfunctory and pretentious gesture towards Tang Fan.
Presumably, the little prince thought deeply for this answer.
How disappointed many people are with the mediocrity and inaction of the court today, and how much they have expectations for the future prince.
Tang Fan couldn't describe how relieved he felt when he heard the prince's answer.
At that moment, he felt that he and Wang Zhi risked offending the imperial concubine to help conceal Yuanliang's affairs and avoid involving the prince. All this was worthwhile.
An ordinary person is full of hatred and is not afraid of going astray.
On the other hand, a monarch who is always tolerant in his heart and always broad-minded will be the luck of the Ming Dynasty and the luck of the world.
Tang Fan is not a sentimental person who likes to feel sad and sad, but that doesn't mean he likes seeing dead people, so every time a case is finished, although the arrest of the real murderer is gratifying, the death of the deceased is not. salvaged.
However, this time, he finally felt a hint of comfort after sighing because Han Zao died in vain.
He explained the meaning of the poem by the prince to Wang Zhiteng, and said, "It is a blessing for the society to have such a ruler!"
Wang Zhi was noncommittal. He was an eunuch, so he had to consider completely different from the point of view of a civil servant like Tang Fan.
For him, the crown prince's ascension is still very far away. The more important thing he has to do now is to quickly make some other contributions and make up for it, otherwise even if the emperor and the concubine don't pursue him this time. For the responsibility of the bad ending, Shang Ming from the East Factory will also use this matter to press him, which is intolerable to Eunuch Wang.
He said to Tang Fan: "There have been many turmoils in Jiangnan recently, and Mobei is also quite uneasy. In your opinion, do you think it is better for me to go south or north?"
The Donggong case has been concluded. With the relationship between the two now being both enemies and friends, as long as there is no major conflict of interest, they will not completely turn their faces. Therefore, Tang Fan is not surprised that Wang Zhi will ask Tang Fan's opinion. It means that the other party affirms his ability and vision.
Besides, Wang Zhi was different from other eunuchs from birth.
Normal men generally have nothing more than these kinds of pursuits, wake up and take control of the world, and lie on the knees of beautiful women.
The latter pursuit has nothing to do with eunuchs, so many eunuchs love to play with power throughout the ages, and what they pursue is the pleasure of having power.
But other people take power, usually in the inner palace. For example, in the twelve prisons of the Ming Dynasty, the Silijian and the Yumajian, one has red power and acts as an intermediary between the emperor and ministers and the emperor. The ghostwriters, one is related to military power, and they are the two departments that are the most enviable and break the head.
In each department, there is a lot of attention, the palm print is the first, and the pen is second.
At present, Wynn is the eunuch in charge of the Indian eunuch, and Liang Fang is the supervisor of the imperial horse. Although Shang Ming and Wang Zhi respectively supervise the East-West Factory, they can only be eunuchs with a pen because they are not as qualified as the above two. palm print.
Shang Ming, the Admiral of the East Factory, is currently the main job is to expand the business of the East Factory.
But Wang Zhi felt that his structure was too small. If he wanted to do it, he had to pay a lot of money. He would be in a small place like the inner palace all day long, would he be aggrieved
So he turned his attention to the vast world outside.
When the Ming army fought, there was a tradition that an internal officer would be assigned to supervise the army, in order to act as the emperor's eyes and ears, lest the generals outside would be in unison and play the emperor as a fool.
Since the change of Tumu Fort, the Oirat, which once posed a great threat to the Ming Dynasty, gradually became weaker. The powers of the grassland often divided and merged to change the ruler. The Central Plains Dynasty knew nothing about this. A tribe called Tartar has arisen, but the internal chaos continues. Anyway, you don't obey me, and I don't obey you either. Everyone fights with each other, and each has its own master.
But this did not prevent them from harassing the borders of the Ming Dynasty. Everyone had different class positions. The people of the Ming Dynasty thought that the Tartars were barbarians, and they often came to burn, kill and loot. The Tatars thought that the Ming Dynasty was a fat sheep.
At this time, on the south bank of the Yellow River, from Ningxia to Shanxi, there is a very broad area called Hetao, where the water and grass are fertile and the products are rich, but it is easy to attack and difficult to defend. Those Oara people or Tatars can always invade easily, so Zhu Di, Emperor Yongle at that time, moved Dongshengwei inland, which meant that he was forced to give up the defense of this place.
But the problem came. Without the buffer zone, the Tatars drove straight in and occupied the Hetao area. They could directly attack the important frontier towns of Daming. They took advantage of this and often looted the frontier towns of Daming.
If this happened in the time of Emperor Taizu or Emperor Yongle, it would be easy to handle. His Majesty was decisive, waved his hand, and directly waved his division to the north. No matter what, he had to beat the Tartars out, making them cry. Dare to come again.
But now it's the Chenghua period. The Ming army, who has experienced the change of Tumubao, has learned what it means to be afraid.
Well, those ministers who don't want to work, don't expect them to have the ambition to attack the Tatar and retake the Hetao.
Speaking of the south, there is no border chaos in the south, but in the prosperous areas of the south of the Yangtze River, bandits and thieves are rampant, officials and businessmen collude, and there are also many corrupt officials. , the salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty were notoriously low. If you want everyone to work as desperately as they did at the beginning of the founding of the country, don't even think about it.
Also, on the southwest side, more than a year ago, due to being oppressed by local officials, Songpan Miaomin revolted. Although it was suppressed later and many people's heads were chopped off, the area is still not very peaceful, like Eunuch Wang. Those who are afraid that the world will not be in chaos are naturally eager to move, and they wish there would be another rebellion there, so that he can also earn credit in the past.
Wang Zhi wanted to make a contribution, but he disdain to fight with Shang Ming for trivial matters, so he set his sights on these two places.
Through the mouth of Pan Bin, Tang Fan gave Wang Zhi a suggestion of "military merit and the East Palace", so that he could put his eyes aside and develop a good relationship with the prince by the way, precisely because he saw Wang Zhi. Such a restless character.
Now that Wang Zhi asked, Tang Fan naturally couldn't sell his ties any more, and said directly, "North."
Wang Zhi asked, "Why?"
Tang Fan said: "There is no major chaos in the south now. If there are no major cases of corrupt officials, the court will not pay attention to them. Even if the factory master goes over and arrests a few standouts and kills chickens to warn monkeys, His Majesty will not think of you. What a great achievement."
And what Tang Fan didn't say is that when a powerful and powerful eunuch like Wang Zhi went to a place, he must be jumping around with chickens and dogs. Everyone is rushing to curry favor. It is better to harm foreigners. It's better to go back to the land.
Wang Zhi's color show: "Yes, I think so too, if you want to play, play bigger, just catch some small fish and shrimp, then it is better not to do it, now Tartar often disturbs the side, if the Hetao can be recovered, then It's a great achievement."
Tang Fan hurriedly said: "Recovering the Hetao is not a day's work, I also ask Wang Gong to think twice. If this trip can teach the Tartars some lessons, so that they don't dare to commit crimes easily, it will be a great achievement for me!"
Wang Zhi couldn't bear to listen to his long-winded words: "Okay, you are not a military general, and you don't know much about these things, so you don't need to say more."
Tang Fan: "..."
Then why did you ask me just now? Dareqing just wanted to seek recognition
Wang Zhi said: "On another day, I will meet Shushu to request the recovery of the Hetao."
Tang Fan couldn't hold back, and said cheaply, "How about we make a bet?"
Wang Zhi: "What bet?"
Tang Fan said, "Your proposal to recover the Hetao will definitely not be approved."
Wang Zhi didn't believe it: "The people in the court are naturally timid and dare not send troops, but I can still talk to your majesty. If I ask for the army, your majesty should agree."
The old god Tang Fan was there: "Then I'll make a bet with Duke Wang."
Wang Zhi was younger than him, and was naturally aroused by his competitive spirit. Hearing the words, he said, "Okay, what is the color head?"
Tang Fan said, "If I win, you can invite me to Xianyun Restaurant for a meal. The crab roe and tofu soup last time was delicious!"
Wang Zhi: "...Aren't you going to go by yourself?" Still want to bet
Tang Fan said innocently, "I don't have enough salary!"
Wang Zhi: "… "
He thought to himself, this is really a foodie!
[Volume 4: Entering the Punishment Department]