In the death row prison of the Jinling government office, a new guest was welcomed.
Magistrate Jia Yu's heart twitched for the third time.
Once at Rongguo Manor, once at the imperial envoy's door, and now again.
The death row prison of the Jinling government office was no small matter. Although the hardware was not up to standard, in terms of strength and intensity, it was comparable to the prison in the capital.
No matter if you were a murderer, a kidnapper, a robber, or a swindler, you would all be sent to the prison in the west of the city to make room for the new master. Now, in this large prison of the government office, there were more than a dozen cells, and there were only three masters living there. Now there was a fourth.
Mister Wang Qi, who came from the Wang family and was suspected of framing a loyal and virtuous family. He used to be a famous scholar in Jinling. Now that he was middle-aged, his reputation for being dissolute had dissipated. His cultivation skills were improving day by day, and he was a famous scholar in Xia Zhou. In the awkward situation of the Wang family not having enough descendants, he was already a leading figure of the older generation.
But now he was tied up in prison, looking battered and exhausted. As one of the four great families, the Wang family didn't even dare to fart.
There were also the famous Shi brothers, Shi Tailong and Shi Wengong.
The Shi family's Flying Bear and the Shi family's Falcon. They were young people who were in the limelight in Jinling and had boundless prospects. The two brothers had retired from the Tianyuan military. After returning home, they diligently studied and trained hard, preparing to participate in next year's military examination. They wanted to succeed in one fell swoop, be bestowed with the title of Golden Palace, and become the pillars of the country that flew straight to the clouds.
But now the two of them had a frightened and frightened appearance, completely different from the high-spirited appearance they had when they were running amok in Jinling. They were like frosted eggplants, dazed and dispirited, as if they had seen a ghost.
On one side was a famous scholar of the Wang family, on the other side were the twins of the Shi family. The origins of the four great families were already very troublesome, and besides, things were not so simple … Magistrate Jia complained incessantly and repeatedly ordered the officials and soldiers of the torture chamber to guard with all their might. If anything happened to the people inside, he would first kill them with one palm, and then hang himself.
Seeing the prefectural magistrate's resolute and fierce expression, it didn't seem like he was joking. Naturally, the yamen officials roused their spirits. Furthermore, the imperial envoy was here with the Emperor's orders. Everyone had to put in some effort to perform.
After Magistrate Jia sent the imperial envoy away, he personally inspected the security work of the prison. After he was done, he hid in the yamen and meditated. He was waiting for someone.
Just as the imperial envoy had said, he also felt that now that things had developed to this point, the people of the Prince of Zhongshun's manor should have contacted him … but he didn't really want to see them because with the imperial envoy here, Jinling had already become a big fire pit.
But some people can't be ignored just because you don't want to.
Magistrate Jia had already made up his mind. It was time for him to make a decision after this meeting. He wanted to see how the people from Prince Zhongshun's Mansion were going to persuade him and what else they had to say.
After that, he would have to make a decision.
But just as he was thinking, the situation developed in a strange way. Prince Zhongshun's men had not arrived yet, but the imperial envoy had returned. Not only that, he had also brought another criminal with him.
At the entrance of the death row prison.
The assassin had already been taken in by the jailers and then retreated. The people around him were dismissed, leaving only the imperial envoy and the magistrate. Jia Yucun looked at the entrance of the death row prison, the corners of his eyes twitching. Although he didn't know the assassin, he sensed the presence of trouble. He said in a trembling voice, "Sir, who is this?"
"An assassin," Jia Shidao said concisely. "He tried to assassinate my father and was caught."
Jia Yucun sucked in a breath of cold air.
He looked at the imperial envoy's expression. It was very calm, but under the calm, there was a surging anger. Yes, the previous incident at Rongguo's manor had already made this young imperial envoy furious. And this time, the one who had been hurt was his own father … This was something that no son could tolerate.
The magistrate thought of a very bad thing.
He asked in a trembling voice, "I wonder who he is …"
"He confessed."
Jia Shidao gave a smile that didn't have a smile. His exposed teeth were like that of a tiger or a wolf, as if he wanted to devour someone. "He's from the Prince's Mansion. This is a demonstration."
Jia Yucun's body shook violently. He took a step back, and his face lost all color.
He said blankly, "No … this is impossible …"
"What is impossible? This is a demonstration. This is a threat. This is telling me to mind my own business," Jia Shidao said lightly. "They did something wrong … The imperial edict is here, and the imperial order is the imperial order."
Jia Yucun's heart was in a mess. For a moment, he couldn't say a word.
Jia Shidao ordered, "Put him in the death row."
These words were like a thunderbolt, and it made the poor imperial envoy tremble violently. The famous scholar of the Wang family, the twins of the Shi family, and now an assassin from the Prince's Mansion of Zhongshun.
They were all in the death row … God knows what would happen.
The magistrate's voice carried a sobbing tone. God had pity on him. He was just a small magistrate. He just wanted to do a favor for a prince. He just wanted to happily plunder the land for a few more years, and then happily beg for bones to go home and retire … How the hell did he get involved in this kind of thing?
Magistrate Jia suddenly shivered. He pulled on the imperial envoy's sleeve and said in a low voice, "Sir, please investigate. This is very strange!
Prince Zhongshun has no reason to do this kind of thing! "
… Oh, it was Prince Zhongshun?
Jia Shidao looked at him without batting an eyelid, but his mind was quickly recalling the matter of Prince Zhongshun.
After the war, the affairs of the Empire had been transferred from the outside to the inside. Without the war, all kinds of internal conflicts came to the surface one after another. The only thing that could no longer be suppressed was the growing clamor for the appointment of a crown prince.
And the princes who stood out in the Great War of Tianyuan and gained initial merits and reputation had also entered the eyes of people from all sides. And Prince Zhongshun … was barely on the list.
Yes, a bit barely.
In terms of martial arts and courage, he was not the best. In terms of generosity, he was also not the best. In terms of intelligence and means, he was also not the best. In terms of military merits and achievements, there was no need to mention Empress Tensei, who was far ahead.
But this was also an advantage. It was that he seemed to have a little bit of everything. His martial arts were relatively good, he was more polite to the wise, he was a bit clever, and his military merits were passable. When a person had a little bit of all kinds of advantages, even if they were not the best, they could be considered to have some ability.
And according to the history books, although the crown prince was appointed by the emperor when the throne changed, the opinions of the ministers were sometimes very important. The difference was that the emperor would choose the most outstanding and most desirable descendant to inherit the throne, but the ministers would sometimes consider the problem from another angle.
— F * ck your mother, do you think we would choose a prince with deep scheming, superb means, a cruel temperament, and the son of an ambitious and ruthless person to be our future boss?
— Sh * t!
The crown prince must be generous!
Must be filial!
Must know the rules!
Must be timid!
Must be nostalgic!
Must feel ancestral!
Sect!
Of!
Law!
No!
Can!
Change!
That was probably it.
The struggle between the power of the emperor and the power of the ministers was the main theme of centralization for thousands of years.
So King Zhongshun was not the best in everything, but he had a little bit of every good point. Sometimes, he was more in line with the wishes of some ministers, especially the little bit of cleverness, which they liked very much.
And the most praiseworthy thing about this prince was loyalty. Loyalty and filial piety, in this day and age, in this country, these were the duties of being a person, the foundation of everything, the foundation of everything, the foundation of everything.
Moreover, his mother was very favored, and his grandfather's family was very rich, which also increased his competitiveness. Looking at the history books, it was not that there were no precedents of princes like him successfully reaching the top …
— But that was the end of it.
With a little pity, Jia Shidao made a conclusion about King Zhongshun's future in his heart.
He would be beaten to death in Jinling.
But this was not something he should be thinking about now.
Jia Shidao glanced at Jia Yucun, whose eyes were full of panic, his lips trembling slightly, and his eyes constantly changing. It seemed that he had said it unintentionally in his panic.
He also did not hear his brother's reminder.
He shouldn't be lying on purpose to test me …
Since he had said it unintentionally, it was most likely true.
The exposure of the other party's identity could explain a lot of things, and also solve a lot of mysteries. But this was something his brother needed to think about further. Now, he just needed to do what his brother had arranged.
"No reason?"
He sneered and asked Jia Yucun in return, "Why not?"
Jia Yucun quickly said, "Sir, you have the Emperor's order, and you have the token arrow in your hand. What reason would King Zhongshun have to anger you?
Attacking your father was a bad move, and His Majesty would be furious! "
— Yes, that was it.
His brother said that Jia Yucun would be suspicious.
Either he would be suspicious of the assassin's true identity, or he would be suspicious of the authenticity of the imperial edict.
Because it seemed that King Zhongshun did not have a reason to send an assassin to kill Jia Xu — after all, the prefectural magistrate did not know who the real chess player in Jinling was.
And what he had to do … was to dispel his suspicions.
He had to use a more impactful truth, another lie, and another bigger whirlpool.
So, Jia Shidao said faintly, "It's simple … He's hinting to me that he wants me to take a side. This order is not simple, and the Emperor's intentions are worth pondering."
Jia Yucun was confused. "… Please enlighten me, sir."
Jia Shidao looked at the prefectural magistrate and said faintly, "The Shi family is with the Empress."
The prefectural magistrate was stunned.
Then, his body trembled.
Jia Shidao continued, "Do you understand why the Shi brothers came to steal the coffin without any scruples? Do you understand why the Shi family wanted to get that thing? Do you understand why the Wang family covered up Wang Ren's death? Do you understand who killed Wang Zixing? Why would it appear in Wang Ren's coffin? Why would Shi Yiquan give up his two sons' lives?"
A series of questions and a huge amount of information shocked the prefectural magistrate.
Jia Yucun was shocked once again.
What he did not know was that their conversation at the entrance of the death row prison was blown into the prison by a light breeze. In this dark cell, the Shi brothers and Wang Qi were awake for a moment, and their sharp hearing allowed them to hear the conversation clearly.
Then, they trembled like sieves.