Glaring at Cui Fu, Xu De said angrily, "Don't talk nonsense. I asked you where you got it. Let me tell you, Cui Fu, if you can solve this case, it will be fine. If not, you will be killed by a thousand cuts."
Cui Fu's body softened when he heard this. He quickly said, "Eunuch Xu, Eunuch Xu, someone gave it to me!"
"Who gave it to you?" Xu De looked at Cui Fu and asked loudly again.
At this time, Cui Fu's expression froze. He did not say the name directly, which made Xu De narrow his eyes. It seemed that there was something going on here!
Turning his head to look at the little eunuch beside him, Xu De said with a smile, "Call Old Wilt Zhao in."
The little eunuch nodded and went out. Cui Fu was confused. What was he going to do?
Not long after, the little eunuch came back. There were two people behind him. There was nothing special about them. At first glance, it was obvious that they were guards.
However, the little old man walking in front looked quite unusual.
He was actually not old. He looked like he was in his fifties. He carried a big box on his back and looked like a doctor.
He squinted his eyes and smiled. After coming in, he did not look at Cui Fu. He bowed respectfully to Xu De and said, "Old Wilt Zhao greets you, father-in-law."
Xu De nodded and put down the teacup. He pointed at Cui Fu on the ground and said, "Take him away. I have something to ask him. I know your means. Don't kill him. You can do whatever you want."
"I only have one request. The next time I ask him, I want him to tell me everything he knows."
Old Wilt Zhao immediately laughed when he heard this. "Just wait and see, father-in-law!"
Then he ordered the two people behind him, "Take him away. We'll serve this father-in-law well."
Cui Fu was scared out of his wits. He was not stupid. He knew that he was going to be tortured!
It was too cruel. He just hesitated for a moment. He quickly crawled forward and said loudly, "Father-In-Law, I'm willing to confess!
I'm willing to confess! "As he said this, he kowtowed to Xu De.
Xu De was not moved by Cui Fu's begging. He did not believe Cui Fu now.
It was impossible for Cui Fu to hide anything from him. If Cui Fu had been willing to confess, then he could have let him go on account that they were both eunuchs.
But now, he could not. He wanted the truth.
The wording of the Emperor's secret edict was very strict. Even the words' act at your discretion 'were written.
He had worked for the Emperor for so many years and had never received such an imperial edict. At most, there were all kinds of restrictions and requirements, whether it was for the East Faction Guards or his own Inner Faction Guards. Xu De could feel this.
But this time, it was different. This time, the emperor's imperial edict was not only strict in wording, but it was also filled with anger.
If he made a mistake this time, he would not have a good end.
Although his position seemed stable, it would only take a single word for him to get rid of it. It was not as if there were no other people in the inner factory who could replace him.
Xu De would not waste time on Cui Fu. If he could not open the first gap, he would not be able to open the next one.
Elder Zhao ignored Cui Fu's struggle and shouting. Seeing that Xu De did not speak, he directly ordered, "Cover his mouth. It's not good to shout. If you shout hoarse, you won't be able to speak."
Seeing that Cui Fu was pressed down by the two people behind him, Elder Zhao smiled and bowed to Xu De, "I'll take my leave!" Then he bowed and left.
When Elder Zhao left, the expression on Xu De's face became serious.
Originally, Xu De thought that there would be no problems with Cui Fu. He could answer if he asked. If it did not work, he could just scare him. He did not expect it to be so complicated.
Turning his head to look at the young eunuch, Xu De ordered, "Pass the order to the people in Zhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Huguang, Fujian, Guangxi, and Guangdong."
"Investigate this longevity ointment for me. I need to know everything about it as soon as possible."
"Where it was produced, who produced it, who sold it, and where it was sold to. Tell them that if anyone is not diligent in this matter, they will be punished according to the family law.
Whoever does a good job, I will reward them handsomely. "
The young eunuch hurriedly agreed, "Yes, eunuch. This servant will pass on the order."
After the young eunuch left, Xu De once again picked up his teacup to drink tea. The matter that the Imperial Majesty ordered to be investigated must be investigated clearly.
The order was quickly passed out. Jiangnan's inner factory was immediately thrown into chaos. Everyone began to investigate information about the longevity ointment.
No one did not want to make a contribution, and no one wanted to be punished. The inner factory began to go all out.
The news was quickly summarized and sent to Nanjing like the wind.
That night, Xu De saw Cui Fu again. Compared to the last time, Cui Fu was sitting on the ground. His face was pale, as if he had been fished out of the water.
His body could not help trembling. He was frightened.
When Xu De saw this scene, he turned his head to look at Elder Zhao. He frowned and said, "Elder Zhao, are you stupid?"
Elder Zhao hurriedly said, "Eunuch, you can't blame me. I didn't even torture him. As soon as I set up the posture, he was so scared that he peed his pants. His whole body was shaking and he fainted several times."
Glancing at Cui Fu, Xu De could not help but curse, "Useless thing."
When Cui Fu heard this curse, he suddenly raised his head and saw Xu De at a glance. This time, it was as if he had seen his savior.
He crawled over on his knees and hugged Xu De's thigh. He cried bitterly and said, "Eunuch Xu, spare me!
I'm willing to say anything! "
Glancing at Cui Fu, Xu De sneered and said, "Let me ask you, where did you get the longevity ointment?"
Cui Fu hurriedly said, "The He family gave it to me. It came from the He family."
Xu De was stunned. "I asked where it came from, and you said it came from the He family?"
Just as he was about to turn hostile, he saw the young eunuch beside him winking at him. Xu De was stunned, but then he realized that this should be a family with the surname He.
Looking at Xu De with a little embarrassment, Xu De continued to ask, "What is the origin of this He family?"
Cui Fu did not dare to hide this time. He hurriedly said, "Eunuch, this He family is a big family in Jiangnan. They have shops in many places. The Silk Restaurant does all kinds of business. There is a Spring Breeze Restaurant in Nanjing City, which is the He family's business."
A big family?
Xu De sneered. A big family was the best. If it was not a big family, it was not worth it for him to personally deal with it.
"Tell me about you and the He family!"
Xu De said lightly, "Start from the beginning. Don't hide anything, or your end will be worse. Next time, it will not be so easy to pass."
"Yes, yes!" Cui Fu nodded repeatedly and told the story like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube.
The position of the guard eunuch had a long history. When it was first established, they did not have so much power, and their main responsibility was not as it was now.
The guard eunuch was the eunuch of the Garrison Army. The original purpose of the position was to monitor the local army.
Among the guard eunuchs in various places, the guard eunuch in Nanjing was naturally the most important.
This was the capital, and there were so many garrisons. Although Wei Guogong's Mansion was a hereditary Duke and had been guarding Nanjing for generations, the imperial court had always monitored this place the most.
This also made the power and responsibility of the guard eunuch in Nanjing very great, and their status was respected.
However, as time went by, the local guards decayed, and there were no rebellions in various places, so the duty of the guard eunuch changed.
In addition to the intensification of the struggle between the emperor and the civil officials, the guard eunuchs in various places became the continuation of the imperial power in various places.
In addition to the responsibility of building the army, they also had the responsibility of monitoring and investigating the local areas, which once again greatly increased the power of the guard eunuch.
In recent years, the national treasury had been empty, and the emperor's expenses had also been seriously reduced. The guard eunuch had a new responsibility, which was to search for treasures and silver for the emperor.
The emergence of this responsibility made the guard eunuch notorious. After all, these people basically took things by force, and in addition to filling their own pockets, they had done too many bad things.
However, under the banner of the emperor, the local people couldn't afford to offend them, and in addition, there were people who wanted to curry favor with them, which made them even more domineering.
In the Jiajing era, the power of the guard eunuchs increased greatly. They collected countless treasures for the Jiajing Emperor, and there were countless things for auspicious signs and alchemy that entered the palace.
Among them was the longevity ointment, which was deeply loved by the Jiajing Emperor.
After Cui Fu learned that there was longevity ointment in Nanjing, how could he not be interested? He instantly became interested, so he began to look for merchants who sold longevity ointment.
Because he was the guard eunuch in Nanjing, there were a lot of merchants who wanted to curry favor with him, so this kind of thing didn't take much effort at all.
Soon, someone came to provide Cui Fu with longevity ointment. This person was the He family.
The conditions proposed by the He family were very generous. Not only did they give Cui Fu longevity ointment for free, but they also promised Cui Fu to sell longevity ointment with them.
Through Cui Fu's hands, they would expand the sales channel of longevity ointment. This time, they offered the longevity ointment to Zhu Yijun, in addition to gaining favor for Cui Fu, they also wanted to open a sales channel.
If the emperor liked the longevity ointment, then it would inevitably spread in the capital.
Once it spread in the capital, the dignitaries in the capital would inevitably scramble for the longevity ointment. At that time, the He family would inevitably be able to make a fortune.
Now, the longevity ointment on the market was very expensive. One tael of longevity ointment was one tael of gold.
This was not a fiction, it was true. One tael of longevity ointment was sold for one tael of gold.
Hearing this price, Xu De's mouth twitched. My God, so expensive!
One could imagine how much profit there was. It was really a good business, but Xu De also knew that this business was about to come to an end.
Glancing at Cui Fu, Xu De put down the teacup in his hand and said with a faint smile, "No wonder you didn't say it. It turned out to be like this!"
If he hadn't been frightened by Xu De, Cui Fu wouldn't have said these words even if he was beaten to death. The treasure presented to the emperor was not to please him, but to sell goods.
But now he had to say it. Cui Fu could see that if he didn't tell the truth, this Xu De would definitely kill him.
"Let me ask you, who was the person who mentioned the longevity ointment to you?" Xu De lowered his head and stared at Cui Fu.
Cui Fu was stunned. He didn't expect that Xu De didn't actually ask about the He family, but about this matter. Of course, he wouldn't forget this matter.
After a slight contemplation, Cui Fu said, "It was the assistant minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Works, Zhao Lian."
"This servant remembers that at a banquet, Zhao Lian took out the longevity ointment and let this servant try it."
Looking at Cui Fu with pity, Xu De said faintly, "You also used the longevity ointment?"
There was a flash of fear in Cui Fu's eyes. He seemed to think of something and said with fear, "Yes, I used it."
After listening to this, Xu De understood that Cui Fu wasn't scared by Zhao Lian, but he was addicted to drugs.
The Imperial Majesty had told him in detail about the disadvantages of the longevity ointment. Once you took it, you would quickly become addicted.
Every time you became addicted, if you didn't take it, the whole person would suffer unprecedented pain, and finally, you would become neither a human nor a ghost.
After becoming addicted, as long as you didn't take it, you would want to take it. In that case, you would be willing to pay anything in exchange for a little longevity ointment.
It could be said that at that point, the whole person was like a crazy demon.
Originally, Xu De didn't quite believe it, but seeing this scene, Xu De believed it.
"The assistant minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Works, Zhao Lian!"
Xu De knocked on the table, and the expression on his face was uncertain. This was not good news for him.
If it only involved businessmen or gentry, it wouldn't be a big deal.
But if it involved an official in office, it wouldn't be easy to handle.
Now, Xu De had to think about how big this case should be. Once it became big, it would be a big case.
Since the Hongwu era, there hadn't been any big cases in the court. Once a big case was started, things would be troublesome.
If he wanted to arrest the Minister of Works, Zhao Lian, he must say that he plotted to assassinate the Imperial Majesty. Otherwise, it was basically impossible to touch the assistant minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Works.
But once this case was determined, it would be a big case of rebellion.
At that time, the people involved would have their families exterminated, and they would be exiled to the army.
However, Xu De also knew that these people had the intention to flatter and gain favor, and use this to do business. However, he was afraid that they wouldn't have the intention to assassinate the emperor.
Once a big case was started, it would be beyond his control.
This put Xu De in a dilemma. For a long time, Xu De still couldn't make up his mind.
After thinking about it, Xu De felt that he should first talk to Zhao Lian!
Turning his head to look at the young eunuch, Xu De said, "Go and invite the assistant minister of the Ministry of Works, Zhao Lian. Remember, invite him, and don't alarm anyone else."
"Yes, Eunuch!" The young eunuch answered, turned around, and ran out quickly.
Although Nanjing wasn't Beijing, there were still six yamens here, which represented half of the southern part of the country.
Although the status of the six yamens in Nanjing was far less than that of Beijing, it was more comfortable here, suitable for retirement, and suitable for accumulating power.
Many times, the court used Nanjing as a retirement place for officials, and at the same time, as a training place for reserve officials.
Zhao Lian was a young and ambitious official. He was 46 years old this year, which was still very young for an official.
Now that he was the assistant minister of the Ministry of Works in Nanjing, it could be said that his future was boundless. Once he was transferred to the capital, he would immediately be able to achieve great things.