Chapter 268: A Heinous Crime
"They said that the two brothers were about to make a fortune, enough to buy out the entire village. By then, they would be able to hold their heads high and make sure that the people in the village would no longer look down on them as they did before."
"We drank a lot at that time. The Ge brothers were often criticized by the elders of Zuojiazhuang for being lazy because they did not farm well and were idle all day. However, the Ge brothers just thought that they were looked down upon because they were not from Zuojiazhuang. They often said such things as "the situation changes over time". Zuo Dali did not take it to heart."
"Now that I think about it, I feel that the Ge brothers are very suspicious. And since the flood, no one in Zuojia Village has seen the Ge brothers again. Because the flood came suddenly that night, and the house where the Ge brothers lived was at the edge of the village, and the house was not built firmly, people thought that the brothers were washed away by the water and didn't take it seriously."
After Zheng Yakun finished speaking, He Yanxiu frowned and asked, "Where are the two Ge brothers, who are highly suspected, now? Have they been caught?"
"They were caught, but only Ge Da was caught. Ge Er was dug out." Zheng Yakun replied.
"Dig it out?" The Third Prince's eyes widened, and after a moment he suddenly realized, "Who is behind this, killing to silence the witness?"
"That's right." Zheng Yakun nodded. "According to what Ge Da said, after they accomplished the deed that night, they went to the agreed place at the agreed time to ask for the reward. However, what they got was not the promised 500 taels of silver, but a fatal disaster."
"Those people were dressed in black, their faces covered, and they swung at the two of them with steel knives. Ge Er was caught off guard and died on the spot. Seeing that the situation was not good, Ge Da hurriedly escaped. Although Ge Da was smaller than Ge Er, he ran very fast and was very good at swimming. He climbed the river bank and dived into the Hong River, thus avoiding the pursuit of the crowd."
"After Ge Da got rid of those people, he secretly ran to the place where Ge Er was killed, dragged Ge Er's body away, and buried it in a remote place. Then the floods broke out, and everywhere was flooded one after another. More and more people fled, so Ge Da disguised himself and mixed in with the victims, trying to leave here and fly away in order to save his life."
"We found Ge Da this time because he accidentally injured his leg while fleeing. The wound on his leg festered and he had a high fever and fainted on the side of the road. He was recognized by someone from Zuojiazhuang who was also fleeing. That's how we got the clue to capture Ge Da."
"After the people I sent out captured Ge Da, they treated him with a doctor, and he was able to save his life. Probably because he had experienced life and death, and saw that so many people had suffered because of the dynamiting of the river bank, Ge Da felt sorry for it. In addition, his own brother was killed by the villain, so Ge Da was so angry that he told the whole story."
"Ge Da said that the person who ordered him was a short, fat middle-aged man with a black spot the size of an apricot on the back of his left hand. The painter drew a portrait based on Ge Da's description. The yamen runners searched everywhere based on the portrait and finally found the identity of the middle-aged man."
"Who is it?" asked the Third Prince.
"He is Xiang Cong, the steward of the household of Xiang Xiujie, the prefect of Zhengxin Prefecture." Zheng Yakun replied.
"Humph, how can a steward have such courage? It must be Xiang Xiujie who did it!" The Third Prince snorted coldly, "I really didn't expect that this prefect would actually blow up the river bank and cause great suffering to the people in the area!"
It's really crazy! "He is willing to do such a thing, which shows how big a thing he wants to cover up is." He Yanxiu said.
The Third Prince's brows knitted tighter and tighter. "It seems that this case really needs a thorough trial. Come! Bring the prefect Xiang Xiujie and his steward Xiang Cong here. I want to have a thorough trial!"
"Yes." Someone took the order and left.
"Report!" The yamen runner came in and said with a bow, "The people who were causing trouble in the porridge stall just now have confessed. They said that they were instructed by the advisor of Fuwang prefect Wan Qirui to make some trouble, and the bigger the better. That's why they threw sand into the pot and made accusations, intending to create chaos."
Excellent!
It seems that there will be more than one case to be tried today.
The Third Prince spoke again, "Go get it!"
"yes!"
"Wait!" He Yanxiu opened his mouth to stop him, and then said, "When you go to arrest people, don't make a sound, especially when you arrest Xiang and Wan, just say that the Third Prince wants to invite them to discuss disaster relief matters, and ask them to come quickly without delay."
Don't alert the enemy!
"Yes!" Everyone took the order and left.
When the sun set, several waves of people returned to the government office of the Hong Zheng Mansion one after another.
That night, the entire Hong Zheng government office was brightly lit, and shrill screams resounded through the sky, startling the birds in the trees and causing them to fly all over the sky.
The next day, it started to drizzle early in the morning, and it didn't stop until after lunch.
Although the rain had stopped, the sky was still gloomy. Dark clouds covered the entire earth, making the air extremely stuffy and making it hard to breathe.
The Third Prince sat on the threshold of the government office with his head lowered.
It was motionless, like a clay sculpture.
"Have some tea, Third Prince." He Yanxiu said softly, "You have been trying the case all night, listening to so many things, and speaking so many words. You must be thirsty."
The clay-like Third Prince finally reacted. He raised his head and looked at He Yanxiu with bloodshot eyes. "Cousin, what do you think his attitude and reaction will be when the memorial about this matter is placed on the emperor's desk?"
"Then, Your Highness the Third Prince, how do you think the current emperor will react?" He Yanxiu did not answer, but asked in return.
"Your Majesty has always been diligent in his work and loves the people. He hates corrupt officials. If your Majesty knew about the crimes of Xiang and Wan, he would surely be furious and punish them severely!" the Third Prince replied.
Last year, in order to encourage farming, the court allocated a large sum of money and required all prefectures and counties to build canals in the fields and purchase oxen as official oxen for farmers to rent and use.
Xiang and Wan embezzled most of the silver. They only sent people to build wells and canals to pretend they had water, and they bought only a few official cattle to serve as a facade.
They thought that no one was supervising this matter, but they never expected that the Ministry of Revenue would investigate. Fearing that their deeds would be exposed, they blew up the river bank, causing floods to destroy the farmland...
If there is a flood, it is possible that farmland will be submerged, canals will be destroyed, and official cattle will be lost.
It can be said that in order to conceal the evidence that they had embezzled tax money and not used it for farming, Xiang and Wan did not hesitate to blow up the river embankment and let the flood submerge everything so that no one would notice the clues.
(End of this chapter)
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