Chapter 119 Zhou Hong is furious and targets Xiao Ying, demanding a retrial
While Xiao Yinghong was working hard to make money, Yu Qian also arrived in the capital Shangjing with Zhou Wang's ring.
Yu Qian rode in a horse carriage all the way, and it took more than ten days to reach his destination. He was so tired that he lost a lot of weight.
After arriving in the capital, he spent a lot of time asking about Zhou Hong's residence. Zhou Wang did tell him the address, but it was his first time in the capital and he had no idea where was.
Fortunately, God rewards those who work hard, and he finally found it.
Zhou Hong's family originally thought that it was a member of a side branch who came to extort money, but they didn't expect that they had encountered a devastating disaster and came to ask for help.
Although the relationship between the two families is quite distant and their great-grandfathers were brothers, Zhou Wang's family still comes to visit every Chinese New Year.
When encountering such a thing, Zhou Hong naturally could not sit idly by.
After listening to Yu Qian's explanation of the whole process, Zhou Hong was shocked. Zhou Wang actually thought that this was done by a village woman named Xiao Ying?
"I've also been following this matter. The Xizhou governor reported that it was the work of bandits from Black Wind Village. How can you be sure that it was Xiao Ying who did it?"
Zhou Hong's face was solemn. He was already forty-six years old and had been immersed in officialdom for many years. He had a natural aura and was intimidating without even getting angry.
Yu Qian sat below and didn't dare to look up at him, his whole body tense.
"Your Excellency, although there is no concrete evidence, Xiao Ying is definitely not an ordinary village woman."
He suppressed his inner tension and recounted his entire contact with Xiao Ying from beginning to end.
Including Zhou Tianci sending Yang Huai to follow the other party to find out the source of the potatoes, but the other party threw a ring as a warning, and Yang Huai never appeared again.
It also included Zhou Tianci sending Liu Lai Zi to burn down the other party's workshop. As a result, Manxiang Garden caught fire that night, and Liu Lai Zi's neck was twisted and thrown into the lobby.
"The Young Master and her have a long-standing feud. Just based on these two incidents, we know she's quite skilled. After learning that the Young Master hired bandits to kill their family, and was subsequently thrown into jail and released by the County Magistrate, it's not impossible that she would have killed the Young Master or even the County Magistrate out of anger."
The more Zhou Hong listened, the gloomier his expression became. He never expected that Zhou Tianci, that bastard, would dare to do such a thing.
Not only did they burn down other people's workshops, but they also bribed bandits to kill them. He wanted to say that they deserved to die.
But even if Zhou Tianci deserved to die, he should have been judged by the law, rather than being killed in private revenge.
"If what you said is true, then Xiao Ying is indeed a serious suspect."
Zhou Hong frowned. A mere woman actually had such great power that she even dared to kill the county magistrate. She didn't take the imperial court seriously.
"If that's the case, why didn't you tell us when the prefect sent people to investigate?"
He stared at Yu Qian coldly. Such important news was only revealed now. Was he planning to take it into the coffin?
Yu Qian smiled bitterly and said, "After all, it was the young master who provoked the other party first, and there is no evidence that Xiao Ying did it, so the master thought it was better to have less trouble than more."
"Who knew that Wei Liang would follow the clues and investigate me as well? He was left with no other options but to ask me to report this to you, my Lord."
Zhou Hong snorted coldly. This was indeed not a glorious thing.
"Even if I intervene to re-examine this case, I cannot cover up the things your master did. At most, I will change the punishment to be executed later in the autumn."
In this way, at least Zhou Wang's life can be saved.
Yu Qian was overjoyed: "I am grateful for your help and for saving my master's life!"
Mrs. Zhou, who was standing by, suddenly said, "Master, do you really want to intervene in this matter?"
"Zhou Wang is a branch of the Zhou family after all." Zhou Hong sighed.
Madam Zhou frowned. "What I'm saying is that this matter also involves the Ruyi Restaurant. Master, don't forget, the whole thing started because the Ruyi Restaurant bought Xiao Ying's spicy sesame oil. Business was booming, which led to Zhou Tianci hiring bandits to kill them."
"If Master really kills Xiao Ying, and Ruyi Restaurant loses its spicy sesame oil, aren't you afraid that the Ning family will be resentful?"
Zhou Hong paused slightly. He had not thought of this just now. The Ning family was a behemoth and he could not afford to provoke them.
Yu Qian was also surprised and hurriedly looked at Zhou Hong, fearing that he would retreat out of fear.
"What are you talking about, mother? The Ning family is powerful, but we are not bad either."
Another person spoke up. It was Zhou Hong’s eldest son Zhou Yanqing.
Zhou Yanqing also worked in the Dali Temple, but he was only a sixth-rank temple director. However, he was more impressive than many temple secretaries.
"No matter how powerful the Ning family is, they can only have a prime minister. My cousin Shu is the imperial concubine of the current dynasty and has given birth to the eldest prince. Her position is stable."
"We are only dealing with a woman who cooperated with Ruyi Restaurant. We are not dealing with the Ning family themselves. Can the Ning family use this as a pretext to deal with us?"
Zhou Hong's expression relaxed, and he nodded in agreement: "Yan Qing is right, and we are handling this impartially."
He was not without support. His younger sister was the wife of a second-rank imperial censor, and his sister's daughter was a noble concubine in the palace and gave birth to the emperor's eldest son.
With these, he has no need to be afraid of the Ning family.
Mrs. Zhou didn't say anything more after hearing this, she just hoped that she wouldn't get into trouble.
"What is Dad going to do?"
Zhou Yanqing asked excitedly.
Zhou Hong looked at Yu Qian and said, "You will go to the Dali Temple to report the case tomorrow. After I take over, I will report it to the emperor, and then we can send people to Yun'an County for a retrial."
"Thank you very much, sir!" Yu Qian's brows immediately lit up with joy. The task entrusted to him by his master was finally completed.
"Dad, why don't you let me go? After all, it's our family's business."
The light in Zhou Yanqing's eyes became even brighter. He hadn't left Beijing for a long time.
Zhou Hong glanced at him. How could he not see what he was thinking? However, it was indeed better to leave this matter to one of his own people.
"I'll assign Ding Fang to take charge, and you'll assist. Don't mess it up."
"Don't worry, Dad. I know what to do."
Zhou Yanqing was overjoyed, as long as he could leave Beijing.
Ding Fang is his father's man, a fifth-rank temple secretary. With his father's instructions, he believes there will be no problem.
The next day, Yu Qian went to the Dali Temple to report the case early in the morning. Zhou Hong took over the case naturally and only had to wait to report it to the emperor during the morning court session.
At the same time, Yun'an County also welcomed a new county magistrate.
Ning Yuanze and his wife, who came to take up their post, traveled for more than ten days and finally arrived in Yun'an County this morning.
Ning Yuanze didn't bring many people with him. There were only two ordinary carriages following him. One of them was occupied by two maids and two old women, and the other was filled with Ning Yuanze's belongings.
Each carriage is driven by two drivers. These drivers are all masters trained by the Ning family. They drive the carriages on the surface, but in fact they ensure safety.
"Is this Yun'an County? It's truly a remote place."
Seeing the not-too-high city wall in front of her, Lin Wan lifted a corner of the car curtain and looked at it curiously.
I saw people coming and going at the city gate, and their clothes and expressions were far inferior to those of the people in the capital, Shangjing.
"Husband, we will be staying in a place like this for three years."
She felt sorry for her husband. Her father-in-law was the Prime Minister. Why did he have to come to this remote place? It would be much better for him to stay in Shangjing.
Ning Yuanze didn't feel aggrieved at all, and even felt a little excited. This was where he was about to take up his post.
He felt that being a county official was more solid than being a minor official in the capital.
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