Since ancient times, there were only two ways for imperial envoys to do things.
The first was to make a big fuss and show off the king's order. Along the way, they would bring a large group of people to the office, ask for an imperial edict, dispatch officials, and begin to guide the investigation. Everything would be done according to the rules and regulations of the imperial court. Those who should be punished would be punished, and those who should be beheaded would be beheaded.
This was called investigation.
The second way was to quietly enter the village. They would either disguise themselves as a rich man or a traveling merchant and quietly find their way to the destination. They would give the tavern owner a considerable tip, ask about the magical conch, and find the All-knowing Man in Jianghu to gather information and clues. They would observe in secret. When the evidence was complete, the vicious villain would most likely come to the door aggressively. Then, they would take out the imperial edict and f * ck them up.
This was called investigation in secret.
Since ancient times, there were only two ways for imperial envoys to do things. They would either win by right or by strange means. The routine was always the same. But today, there seemed to be an accident.
The imperial envoy, Jia Shidao, did not take the usual path. He came alone as a general without an army. He took out a gold medal in front of a few yamen runners and started to act cool and swear.
This behavior was too strange.
It was like you were a special commissioner appointed by the central government. You came to the place and then took a red document from the general boss to compete with a few temporary janitors in the city government.
Not to mention anything else, it was too low.
But after Jia Shidao did this, regardless of whether it was low or high, the entire yamen was alarmed. In the shortest amount of time, every department in the Jinling yamen knew that the imperial envoy came with a gold medal and said he wanted to see His Excellency. His tone was unfriendly and aggressive. It seemed that His Excellency was going to be finished. So the news spread even faster.
Some people subconsciously had doubts. After all, officialdom was the best place to train people. The old foxes here were all smart and would not easily trust anyone. Was this imperial envoy real or fake?
But some busybodies took a look and recognized the identity of the imperial envoy. It turned out to be the eldest son of the Ningguo family, Jia Shidao.
Thus, everyone gave an oh. This imperial envoy was most likely real. After all, he was also a general of Tian Yuan. Although he left after the war, his military exploits were real. Moreover, pretending to be an imperial envoy was a crime of deceiving the monarch. His Ningguo Manor had a large business, so how could he do such a reckless shady business?
Immediately, several groups of people went to ask His Lordship to come out and meet them.
Jia Yucun claimed to be sick and was currently hiding in the courtyard behind the government office.
Today, he had originally planned to go to Rongguo manor to put on a two-man show with the Wang family. Unexpectedly, the imperial envoy descended from the sky and smashed the original plan to pieces. Furthermore, a profound imperial edict directly placed Sir Jia on a raging fire.
The trip to the Rongguo Manor was met with a head-on blow. The Wang Clan suffered a crushing defeat, and he had to return home dejectedly. The more he thought about it, the more flustered he became. It was as if he was drowning in water, and he didn't know what to do.
After all, it was one thing to do a favor, but it was another to get involved in the battle between the princes.
This was the highest return in the world, but it was also the most dangerous thing.
He, Jia Yucun, didn't have such lofty ambitions. The mountains and waters of the South were beautiful, and Jinling was the land of fish and rice. Money was rolling in from both the open and the hidden. After two or three more years, he would have hope for the rest of his life. Why should he tie his head to the waist of his pants and fight for this riches and honor with His Lordship?
Furthermore, it seemed that His Lordship's chances of winning weren't high …
Thus, Sir Jia panicked.
He was thoroughly panicked. Like an ostrich, he buried his head in the sand. After returning to the government office, he told the bailiffs that he was sick and needed to rest. Not to mention seeing guests, he didn't even want to hold court. This way, he could block out all the people who wanted to see him, regardless of whether they were from the Wang family or other people.
At the very least, it could buy him some time to think about these things properly.
However, he had never expected that the imperial envoy would come so quickly. Moreover, he came so aggressively and didn't give him any face. It was as if he was going to war.
After hearing the report, his heart skipped a beat, and he completely panicked.
His wife was a wife who had gone through hardships with him. She didn't have much experience, but her temper wasn't small. Today, her husband came back in a panic and said he was sick. She could see that something wasn't right, but no matter how she asked, she couldn't get an answer. At this moment, hearing the news of the imperial envoy's arrival, it was as if the woman had been struck by lightning. She sat down on the ground and shouted like a pig being slaughtered, "Damn it!
It's happened!
What should we do? "
Jia Yucun was already extremely annoyed. Hearing his wife howling madly, he couldn't help but be filled with anger. The murderous intent in his heart exploded. He wanted nothing more than to smash this woman's head with one palm.
There was no other way. According to the laws of the Empire, the most important thing was the moral integrity of an official. Abandoning a wife who had gone through hardships with him was a great crime. If the mad dogs of the Imperial Censorate found out about this, it would be like dogs seeing shit. They would definitely swarm over.
At that time, not to mention a mere prefectural magistrate, even a general of the Prime Minister's country would be bitten off. If this wasn't the case, this woman would have long gone back to the countryside to feed pigs. There were so many picturesque women in Jinling. Which one of them wasn't ten thousand times better than her?
He was so annoyed by her howling that he yelled, "Shut up!"
The prefectural magistrate's wife was scared by her husband's yell. She struggled to get up and pulled on Jia Yucun's sleeve. "Master … no, master, does the imperial envoy take money?
We've saved up a lot over the years. I'd rather take it all out in exchange for a lighter punishment. At worst, I'll just quit being an official. There are fields and houses in my hometown. When I go back, I won't starve to death … "
Jia Yucun was originally extremely annoyed, but seeing his wife's clumsy and crude appearance, her shallow words, and her naive thinking, his heart inexplicably softened.
He sighed and patted his wife's hand. His tone became gentler. "Don't panic. I didn't do anything wrong. I was just dragged into this matter … Ah, you don't understand …"
The prefectural magistrate's wife said with tears in her eyes, "Isn't this still an incident?
There's an old saying that if you don't do anything wrong, you won't be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door. You came back today as if you've lost your soul. Didn't you do something wrong?
If you ask me, you don't have to be an official. You look powerful on the surface, but if the emperor, the imperial court, the imperial envoy, or the superior wants to punish you, you can't escape. What's the use of having money and power? "
Jia Yucun was just about to get angry when he thought of the current tricky situation. He shook his head sadly. "Madam, you're right. Okay, I'm going to see the imperial envoy."
After a few words of comfort, Jia Yucun left the backyard in a tragic mood. After all, the imperial envoy's move was too cruel. He directly showed the token arrow and asked him to come out to meet him. That was the royal token of the emperor. His Majesty was here, but he didn't want to see him. What did he want?
After seeing Jia Shidao, before he could say anything, Jia Yucun saw a big black pot.
This big black pot was called Wang Qi, a master of the Wang family. At this time, he was tied up and lying in the court like a pig. His eyes were closed, but it seemed that he was still alive.
His Excellency's heart skipped a beat. "Sir, this … What do you want?"
The imperial envoy smiled and cupped his hands. "Sir Jia, what are you talking about? I'm here to deliver a criminal. This person is suspected of fabricating lies and provoking the Duke's Public House. He almost caused a big mess between the Wang family and the Jia family. He should be detained and awaited trial. At that time, he had already confessed to his crimes. Sir, you heard it with your own ears."
Jia Yucun was also a scholar, so he was quick-witted. In an instant, he thought of the trouble that Wang Qi contained. He couldn't help but whisper, "Sir, didn't you say that you want to detain and interrogate him personally?"
Jia Shidao stared and said, "What are you talking about? I'm an imperial envoy. How can I break the law and set up a private torture chamber?
Interrogating him before was just a stopgap measure. I wanted to understand the situation as soon as possible. It's a special case. After this is done, naturally, he will be sent to the magistrate's office to be imprisoned and punished according to the imperial law. What, do you have any ideas? "
Damn it, of course I have ideas. If this guy is sent to the magistrate's office and dies for no reason, I'll really fall into your hands.
Although Jia Yucun was very dissatisfied, he couldn't say this directly.
After all, in the officialdom, there were three rules: "Make a decision by patting one's head", "Promise by patting one's chest", and "Leave by patting one's ass". When patting one's chest and making a promise, one must shout loudly. No matter whether one could actually do it or not, one couldn't say no. Even if there were difficulties, one must overcome the difficulties, face the difficulties, and always climb to new heights.
Or else?
Could it be that the Jinling magistrate's office was limited and couldn't guarantee the safety of the criminal?
If he dared to say this, the imperial envoy could pin a few big hats on him without blinking.
Jia Yucun scolded Wang Qi thoroughly in his heart, but he didn't have any good ideas at the moment. He had no choice but to make up his mind and take one step at a time.
Damn it, if you kill Wang Qi without even saying goodbye and put me in a desperate situation, then I can only say sorry!
He waved his hand to summon the Director of the Torture Chamber and ordered him to bring people to take Wang Qi into custody. He also emphasized that this was an important criminal and that nothing must happen to him.
Sun Lang watched all of this in the dark. He saw a few bailiffs carry Wang Qi away and sneered in his heart. A sword aura had already been planted in Wang Shidao's body. When the time came, he only needed to move his mind and he could blow this old master of the Wang family into a bloody gourd.
In other words, even if Wang Qi wasn't killed, he would die suddenly at the right time. His death would be the last straw that broke the camel's back and forced Jia Yucun, who was wavering left and right, to the side of Rongguo Manor.
On the other side, Sir Jia Yucun didn't realize that he had fallen into the trap of an important person. After sending people to take Wang Qi into custody, he simply became a hoodlum and said with his hands folded, "The imperial envoy didn't come here just to hand over a criminal, right?"
Jia Shidao nodded cheerfully. "Sir, you are wise. I came here to investigate this case."
How could it be so fast?
Could it be that he had already gotten some crucial information from Wang Qi?
But looking at Wang Qi's appearance, he didn't seem to have been tortured …
Jia Yucun was stunned. But no matter what, in Jinling, the imperial envoy was the most powerful person. He could do whatever he wanted.
So Sir Jia Shidao nodded and said, "Since you have this intention, I will definitely cooperate. Sir, may I ask, where should we start?
All the officials in the Jinling government are at your disposal. "
Jia Shidao said concisely, "Start the court. Send people to call the Shi family and the Wang family here."
"Yes, sir … Huh?" Jia Yucun noticed a subtle word. "The Shi family?"
Jia Shidao looked very innocent. "What's wrong?"
What do you think is wrong?
Isn't this a fight between the Jia family and the Wang family?
Why is it related to the Shi family?
Sir Jia had a bad feeling. It seemed that there was a subtle turn of events that he didn't know about. He stammered, "Sir … Did you say something wrong?"
"No, it's the Shi family."
Jia Yucun panicked again. "But … But Sir, aren't we investigating the matter of the Wang family going to the Rongguo Mansion to pick a fight?
This is a dispute between the Wang and Jia families. Why is it related to the Shi family? "
"Oh, about that … Sir, you don't know."
Jia Shidao's smile was no different from the grin of a big bad wolf in Jia Yucun's eyes. "When I was interrogating Wang Qi, I got an important clue from him. It's very likely that it has something to do with Wang Zixing's disappearance. You see, the Wang family falsely accused the Rongguo Mansion of murdering Wang Zixing. If I want to clear the Rongguo Mansion's name, I have to find out the truth of Wang Zixing's disappearance, right?"
Jia Yucun nodded blankly.
"And Wang Qi said that a nephew of the Wang family named Wang Ren died an unnatural death two days ago. As for the murderer, I think it has a lot to do with the Shi family."
Jia Shidao said with a straight face, "Why?
This was because the Shi Family had snatched Wang Ren's coffin from the mourning hall in broad daylight in front of the Wang Family. Why would they risk offending the Wang Family to snatch Wang Ren's corpse?
I think there's only one truth. "
"That is, it was the Shi Family who killed Wang Ren, but they accidentally left behind important evidence. When they discovered it later, they decided to take the body away at the risk of offending the Wang Family. They wanted to destroy the body and erase the evidence!
It's obvious that Wang Ren's death has something to do with the Shi family. "
The imperial envoy announced loudly, "So, we need to send a message to the head of the Shi family."
Jia Yucun whispered, "But what does this have to do with the Wang family picking a fight with the Rongguo Mansion?"
"Of course it has something to do with it."
Jia Shidao glared. "The cause of the conflict between the Wang family and the Jia family was Wang Zixing's disappearance. When the Shi family came to the Wang family to take him away, Wang Zixing had a conflict with the Shi brothers. As the acting head of the Wang family, he might have found something on Wang Ren's body. That's why the Shi family killed him secretly and framed the Rongguo Mansion. This is very likely."
The logic was so reasonable and convincing that Jia Yucun couldn't find anything to refute it.
"Besides, even if it has nothing to do with it, can't I do something about it?" The imperial envoy put another hat on Jia Yucun. "Don't you know about Wang Ren's mysterious death, Lord Jia?
The Shi brothers took Wang Ren's body in broad daylight, and Lord Jia didn't do anything about it?
As the official of Jinling, can you not do anything about it when something like this happens under your rule? "
His Lordship was speechless.
"If you don't do anything about it, I will," Jia Shidao shouted. "Why don't you send a message to the Shi family and ask their head to come here?"
Jia Yucun couldn't help but say, "It's not that I don't care, it's that I can't. The Shi family has been in the limelight for the past two years, and they often don't give me face. I can't do anything about it. Now, even if I send a message, whether the head of the Shi family will come or not depends on his mood."
With a swish, the almighty Royal Token appeared in Jia Shidao's hand. He handed the token over and said, "Let the messenger take the token. I'd like to see if the old man from the Shi Family will come."