In a small courtyard in the south of the city, Han Li was looking at Qin Wan gratefully, "That house was the one that the master used to like very much, but after the master got married, it became a little smaller, so he changed to another house. The old slave lived in that house, it really gave the old slave a big face."
This is a one-way courtyard, and the location is not very prestigious in the south of the city. Although the interior is very elegant, it is still a bit crowded. Han Dong's wife, Ming Shi, stood aside shyly, and beside him Looking at a five or six-year-old boy, seeing this, Ming said with some embarrassment, "There is nothing good in the house, Miss, don't dislike it."
On the desk in Qin Wan's hand was refreshments, although they were not as good as those used by the Hou's guests, they were not bad either. Qin Wan smiled when she heard the words, "Why do you dislike it? Shopkeeper Han is usually busy in the shop, and you are the only one in charge of the house. The yard is neat and elegant, and you can see your beauty and blue heart everywhere, it is really a blessing for shopkeeper Han to find you as his wife."
Ming's face blushed in praise of these words, and Qin Wan continued, "Han Bo and Han Dong have helped take care of the family's business these years, and the business in the shop is getting better every year, but where you live It's not big, I've wronged you."
Then he looked at Han Li, "Let Uncle Han live there. First, he thinks that Han Bo will live more spaciously when he is older, and he will have a place to walk around without going out on weekdays. Second, he actually doesn't want the house to be abandoned. Han Bo, you are still in charge of the rent on the Zhuangzi, but there is no need to live outside the city. In the past two days, your father and son have asked someone to clean up the house in Tongqian Lane. "
Han Li and Han Dong looked at each other, and they both nodded in response.
Qin Wan nodded, and then asked Han Dong, "Han Dong, do you know about the business of the Meng Mansion?"
Han Dong's eyes changed, "Miss is talking about the Meng Mansion where a murder case happened recently?"
"That's right." Qin Wan nodded, "Their big house is the left servant of the household department, and the second house is in charge of the business."
The corners of Han Dong's lips curved slightly, "This villain knows a little bit. The Meng Mansion's business is not small. Naturally, there is also the reason why someone in the family is an official. Years ago, the Meng Mansion sold out many shops in its hands. At that time, the villain wanted to take over their silk shop, but he hesitated for a few moments before being snatched away by others. The shops they offered were not bad, and the prices were naturally high. The matter caused quite a stir, but it didn't take long for the rumors that the second master of the Meng family was cheated to spread, and many people took it as a joke at the time, but there were also other rumors."
Qin Wan raised her eyebrows, "What are you talking about?"
Han Dong pondered for a moment before saying, "The Meng Mansion has been in business for many years, but this time it was because they wanted to buy mines and were deceived by a middleman. You will not be cheated of all your silver, and the mining industry requires a lot of official documents. Even if the scammers cheat again, the old man of the Meng family is an official. You only need to entrust a few people to the Ministry of Industry to inquire, and you will know that this business is not good. Reliable. So everyone guesses that either the second master of the Meng family and the first master have broken up secretly, or the fact that they were cheated is a lie."
Hearing this, Qin Wan narrowed his eyes when he thought of the male servant of the Meng Mansion that he saw just now.
"There is one more thing that is strange." Seeing Qin Wan's dark eyes, Han Dong continued to speak, "I was cheated of so much money, but the people in the Meng family didn't report it to the officials. After all, it was more than one hundred thousand taels of silver, and it was difficult to open a shop." I have opened many houses, so much money is not a small amount for the Meng family, why does the Meng family not want to recover it at all?"
Qin Wan frowned. The Meng Mansion was cheated years ago, so she didn't ask if she had reported to the officials. Now that Han Dong said that, there are indeed too many strange things. He was cheated of so much money. You should hate those liars, but why didn't you report to the government
Qin Wan thought for a moment, then lost all intention of staying with Han Dong for a long time, and immediately got up and bid farewell.
"It's getting late. I came here to talk about the house with Han Bo. It's time to go now. Han Bo has cleaned up the house and sent someone to the Hou's mansion to talk to me."
Qin Wan was about to leave, so Han Li and Han Dong sent Qin Wan out. At the door, Qin Ye stood leaning against the door frame with his arms in his arms. We didn't say goodbye until we got to the door.
Qin Wan got into the carriage, and Qin Ye's royal horse followed beside the carriage, saying, "Ninth Younger Sister is very kind to my servant."
The corners of Qin Wan's lips curved slightly, "Han Bo is the old housekeeper of the mansion, so it is right to treat him well."
Qin Ye nodded, and said again, "Ninth Younger Sister is really kind-hearted."
Qin Wan lifted the curtain of the car and looked at Qin Ye, "Fourth brother, isn't he kind-hearted? Fourth brother came back for a few days, and he was able to escort me back and forth. Qin Wan is really grateful."
Qin Ye smiled heartily, "Don't dare to be grateful to my younger sister, you and I are a family, and I should escort my younger sister, naturally."
Qin Wan looked at Qin Ye for a second, "Although I am a member of the Qin family, I am not the fourth brother's biological sister after all, and you and I have only known each other for a short time, and I often hear that everyone in the capital is full of power, fame and wealth, Now it seems that the fourth brother is very different."
Qin Ye narrowed his eyes slightly, unable to detect any emotions in his eyes, he just smiled, "Ninth sister, don't doubt it, I also like people who have power, fame and fortune. Nine sisters are now famous in the capital. I want to help Ninth sister today. In the future, the Ninth Sister will remember my friendship, so I will benefit from it then?"
Qin Wan only felt that it was strange that Qin Ye treated her like this, so the meaning of his words was a bit deep, but he didn't expect Qin Ye to say it so directly. Qin Wan looked at Qin Ye's bright eyebrows and eyes, and didn't know whether he was joking or saying something. real.
Qin Ye just smiled, "Ninth Sister, don't you believe me?"
Qin Wan couldn't see anything from Qin Ye's face, and then turned his eyes, "Of course not, I'm just a little strange, fourth brother don't take offense."
Qin Ye shook his head, "I don't know who said such things to Ninth Sister, but I can only say that what he said is correct, walking in the capital, one should be on guard. "
Qin Wan looked at Qin Ye again, but found that Qin Ye's eyes were open when he said this.
Qin Wan nodded and lowered the curtain of the carriage.
After returning to the Marquis Mansion, Qin Ye went back to her own courtyard, while Qin Wan returned to Songfengyuan. As soon as she entered the gate, she saw Qin Shuang waiting for her. Seeing her return, she brought up a few silk flowers as if offering treasures. "Look! Are these pretty?"
Qin Wan followed her into the house and said, "It's beautiful, where did you get it?"
Qin Shuang smiled, "You don't know, after the Chinese New Year, such silk flowers are so popular in the city, I naturally bought them." Then he said, "After you went out in the morning, I went out shopping with Fifth Sister and Eighth Sister. this is for you."
Seeing that the silk flowers were mostly simple and elegant flowers like magnolias and gardenias, Qin Wan knew that Qin Shuang had come here according to her preferences, so she accepted it happily, but she was a little surprised that Qin Chaoyu went out with Qin Shuang and Qin Xiang.
Qin Shuang smiled and said, "You don't know, Mrs. Song sent us a post this morning, saying that she invited the four of us to visit their house on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year. The lady of the duke's family."
Qin Wan blinked her eyes, "Is it Mrs. Song—"
Qin Shuang blushed slightly, and then nodded calmly.
Qin Wan's smile brightened immediately, "Do you know whose son it is?"
Qin Shuang shook her head, "How do you know that? This time, it's probably for the Fifth Sister to see. We are all accompanying guests, and I don't know who Mrs. Song invited."
Seeing Qin Shuang's words, Qin Wan still had some anticipation in his eyes, and immediately felt a little hopeful. A woman's marriage is a big deal, not to mention Qin Shuang, even Qin Xiang. She also wants to marry a good man Have a good life.
Although there were still three days before going to the banquet, Qin Shuang was obviously very nervous, so he insisted on holding Qin Wan to talk for a while before going back to his courtyard. At night, Yan Chi sent a message.
"Miss, this is a message from His Royal Highness."
Bai Ying quickly walked out from the back hall, holding a small mailbox in her hand.
Qin Wan quickly got up and took it in his hand, opened it, his eyes lit up immediately, Fu Ling walked over and said, "Miss, what's the matter? What did His Royal Highness say?"
Qin Wan raised her lips, "It seems that Bai Ying will go out with me tomorrow."
Fu Ling glanced at Bai Ying, then turned to look at Qin Wan, Bai Ying also looked at Qin Wan, Qin Wan said, "Tomorrow's application time, we're going to the Lin'an government office."
…
…
On the fifth day of the next day, Qin Wan came out of the palace at half past noon, so she made a detour to Jinxiufang first.
When they arrived at the gate of Jinxiufang, Fu Ling was only allowed to enter for a while, and when Fu Ling came out, he was carrying a big burden. Qin Ye saw it and thought that Qin Wan asked Fu Ling to buy some women's clothes and didn't ask much.
As soon as he returned to the mansion, Qin Wan went back to Songfengyuan, and when he opened Fuling's bag, there were several sets of men's clothes.
Qin Wan himself wore a sky blue suit, and asked Bai Ying to change into an indigo blue suit. Seeing that it was getting late, Qin Wan took Bai Ying to the side door of the Hou Mansion. There was a carriage parked, and the driver was Bai Feng.
Bai Feng was slightly surprised to see that Bai Ying was the person brought by Qin Wan. After saluting, Qin Wan got into the carriage, Bai Ying sat outside, and the two brothers and sisters also talked. Inside the carriage, Yan Chi wore a black cloak, Seeing Qin Wan coming in men's clothes, he immediately smiled, "Why did you change into men's clothes?"
Qin Wan took a seat, "Going to the government office today, I'm afraid it will be inconvenient."
Yan Chi looked at Qin Wan up and down, especially at Qin Wan's waist that could not be grasped, and nodded, "Alright, although we are all familiar people today, let's just be in case."
With that said, the carriage started moving.
Qin Wan said casually, "Why are you going to the Lin'an government office today?"
Yan Chi frowned, "After the investigation yesterday, there was still little progress, but Meng Wei still did not change his original intention. It must be said that Meng Hui killed Meng Jin, so today in the Lin'an government office, Mr. Zheng will interrogate everyone in the Meng family."
Qin Wan nodded, and asked again, "How to interrogate?"
"I have interrogated several masters and other servants of the Meng Mansion before, and today I want everyone to testify in front of the room to see if there are any mistakes or omissions in everyone's confessions. It is an internal trial, and only Lord Zheng and Lord Li are here."
As soon as Qin heard Yan Chi's words, he felt a little bit of anticipation in his heart. In this situation, confrontation in court is a way to prove it. However, when he heard that Li Muyun was there, Qin Wan frowned slightly.
Seeing this, Yan Chi asked, "What's wrong?"
Qin Wan shook her head, "It's okay, I just suddenly thought of a chance encounter yesterday."
Yan Chi raised his eyebrows, and Qin Wan recounted what happened yesterday when he met the servant of the Meng residence, and said, "That man went to get money, but he didn't have a token, and he specifically said that his son would take money from his father." No, even if the servant is the steward of the mansion, he doesn't have a huge amount of money, the only explanation is that he took it for his master, and his master is naturally Meng Wei."
Yan Chi's eyes darkened immediately, "What do you mean by Meng Wei?"
Qin Wan shook his head, "No, Meng Wei is the one who reported to the officials, and it was he who kept saying that his father was killed. I don't think he killed his father, but I just thought of the fact that his family was cheated, and his four Uncle is arguing about the separation of the family, if Meng Jin's death is related to a family property dispute, it is most important to find out the inside story of the Meng family property."
A deep thought flashed in Yanchi's eyes, "I sent someone to investigate, but they didn't find out that Meng Jin had deposited money in Xiangfu Bank."
Qin Wan thought for a while, "Then he didn't use his own name."
Yan Chi nodded, "I know what you mean."
Having said that, Yan Chi knocked on the wall of the carriage, and when the speed of the carriage slowed down, Yan Chi ordered Bai Feng to check the Xiangfu Bank, and Bai Feng got off the carriage halfway, and only Bai Ying drove to the Lin'an government office .
The carriage went straight to the Yamen of Lin'an Mansion. Bai Ying was obviously very familiar with the roads in the capital. After two hours of incense sticks, the carriage stopped at the back gate of the Yamen of Lin'an Mansion. There were already guards in black waiting at the back gate. As soon as she saw Yan Chi's carriage, she immediately stopped. Stepping forward to salute, Qin Wan followed Yan Chi out of the carriage, and saw Zhan Yang as soon as he entered the door.
Zhan Yang stepped forward to salute, and then said respectfully, "Your Highness, Miss Jiu, all the people from the Meng Mansion have already arrived."
Yan Chi nodded, and Zhan Yang led Yan Chi and Qin Wan to the front hall.
The Lin'an government office occupies a large area. Walking along the loop path, it took another half a stick of incense to reach the front hall. Zhan Yang led Yan Chi and Qin Wan to a side door. When the door opened, there was a compartment.
In the room, Li Muyun had already been seated, Zhan Yang invited Qin Wan and others to sit down, served another pot of hot tea, and just now walked out through the door of the house, Li Muyun saluted Yan Chi and nodded to Qin Wan.
The three of them sat down without speaking loudly. Soon, there was a sound of gavel outside.
"Meng Wei, you are telling what happened that night."
Zheng Baishi's voice was serious, only a wall separated him from this compartment.
Hearing the sound, Qin Wan turned to the door where Zhan Yang left, opened the curtain and took a look outside.
Outside is the main hall of the government office, Zheng Baishi is sitting on the main seat, Zhan Yang and a middle-aged man who looks like a master are standing beside him, and two small officials are sitting on the side table at the bottom of the hall, they are in the recording hall everything that happened.
And on the seat next to the two small officials, sat a man in his forties wearing a dark blue robe. Although the man had never knelt in the hall, his face was full of sadness and exhaustion. Qin Wan knew that this man was the Ministry of Household Affairs Left servant Meng Zhou.
Under the hall, kneeling at the front is a young man in his early twenties. Zheng Baishi is asking a question, and he is answering. Naturally, it is Meng Wei. On the left of Meng Wei, there is a couple in their forties. That's all, but the man stared at Meng Wei with annoyance in his eyes. Naturally, it was Meng Hui, the murderer Meng Wei was referring to.
On the right side of Meng Wei, there is also a lady in her forties. She is wearing plain clothes and holding a string of Buddhist beads. Even though Meng Wei's words are serious, but her eyes are closed and she doesn't respond. Qin Wan raised her eyebrows, who is this person
"Beside Meng Wei is his mother, the wife of the deceased, Youshi."
Yan Chi stood next to Qin Wan at some point, and seeing Qin Wan's gaze resting on the lady for a long time, he opened his mouth to explain.
Qin Wan nodded, and then looked behind Meng Wei. There were several people kneeling behind Meng Wei, among whom was a lady who was over forty years old. Compared with You Shi, this lady looked haggard and older There is a young man and woman kneeling beside her. The woman lowers her head slightly, and she looks delicate. The man beside her is a little thin, and his complexion is also sickly pale. Perhaps because he is not used to court, there is a little nervousness between his brows. However, Qin Wan noticed that although he was nervous, he still held the hand of the woman beside him. The woman's figure was slightly tilted towards the man. She must trust him very much.
On the other side of the lady, there is also a young girl with a pale complexion, who looks like she is only sixteen or seventeen years old. She is kneeling on the ground at this moment, wearing a thick cloak, and her breath seems to be weak. state.
"The master of the third bedroom of the Meng Mansion passed away early. This is the widow of the third bedroom, Mrs. Jiang, and beside her are her son Meng Ziyi and Mrs. Xu, who is a child's play. The one over there is the lady of the eldest house, Meng Yao, who also has a seven-year-old daughter. Male, he has been sick since winter, and he will come today." Yan Chi then looked at the people kneeling behind him, "Those people in the back are Meng Jin's two aunts, and next to them are Meng Wei's two concubines. , and the others are all stewards and big girls, who came to testify for the masters of each family."
There are more than a dozen people kneeling behind Madam Sanfang, the two at the head are both in their twenties, they look very beautiful, one of them is wearing a light red satin dress, the other is wearing a light blue skirt, and the accessories in their hair are quite luxurious Of course, it was Meng Jin's aunt. It could be seen that after Meng Jin's death, these two people were not sad enough, but they were more than worried. The concubine, one has a graceful figure and red lips, and the other has a plain face and is charming and charming. They are all beautiful and have their own styles. Qin Wan looked at these people one by one, and took a step back after carefully observing their expressions. Looking at it in general, the murderer Meng Hui identified by Meng Wei does not seem to be too suspicious. Compared with him, the two aunts and Meng Ziyi of the third room seem more nervous.
On the other side, Meng Wei was still talking about what happened that night, "... everyone had a good meal together, but the fourth uncle talked about the separation of the family. , I was also from the second room when I was deceived, saying that the second room would not want to get a tael of silver when the family was separated. My father was very angry when he heard the words. Not to mention all the wealth of the Meng family, at least half of the net worth of the Meng family was earned by the second room. The fourth room did nothing, but in the second room When you are in trouble, you want to own all the family property?!"
As he said that, Meng Wei turned his head and gave Meng Hui a hard look, and Meng Hui's chest straightened, "You still have the face to say, or your father is greedy! How could the Meng family's so much money be cheated out? After so many years, Your father has hurt us enough..."
How could Meng Wei bear it, Dang even scolded back, "Greedy? How dare you say that my father is greedy?! If it weren't for my father, how could you have so many concubines?! How could you go out and spend money?! You spend money Why don't you say it now, but now you will say that my father is not good and that is not good?!"
Meng Hui gritted his teeth and wanted to quarrel again. Meng Zhou on the side patted the arm of the chair vigorously, "Presumptuous! This is above the court, you two can answer Mr. Zheng's words, how can you be like a shrew cursing the street?! Really You've lost all my face!"
After all, Meng Zhou was a member of the third rank, and even Zheng Baishi had to give him some face. Once he opened his mouth, Meng Hui and Meng Wei didn't dare to say more. There was a quarrel, and the fourth uncle pushed my father twice, but he was pulled away by the uncle, and the meal broke up, and then, my father was so angry that he ordered someone to prepare some food and drinks and brought them to our own courtyard , my father and I talked for a while while eating wine... "
What Meng Wei said was what Yan Chi told Qin Wan. Qin Wan listened carefully, and suddenly felt that Meng Wei's eyes flickered for a few moments when he was talking about drinking and talking with Meng Jin.
Qin Wan frowned, and hurriedly turned around to look at the compartment. She saw the pen and paper immediately. She stepped forward, took the pen and wrote a few sentences, and then asked Bai Ying in men's clothes to send it to Zheng Baishi. past.