Jiang Lingyao was only three years old when the incident happened.
She didn't understand anything that happened at home. If the separation of life and death was not too tragic, an ordinary child would probably not remember anything from the age of three.
But it was the heart-wrenching pain of separation that Jiang Lingyao still remembers to this day. She has never forgotten it for a single day in the past ten years.
Today, when she looks at her grandfather's name again and thinks of the old days, how can she not be heartbroken?
Jiang Lingyao cried as if she wanted to scream out all the anger in her heart. She felt wronged and depressed. Her hoarse cries made people feel extremely sad.
Shen Suning held her tightly until Jiang Lingyao finally calmed down. She did not ask Jiang Lingyao why she was like that, but just said, "Senior Sister, let's go back and read the rest of the letters. Let's go home."
Jiang Lingyao nodded, wiped her face with a handkerchief, and forced a smile at Shen Suning: "Are you scared?"
Shen Suning shook her head. She always had no expression and was always cold and lonely, but at this moment, Jiang Lingyao could feel her concern.
"Sister, when Master left Beijing, I felt the same way," Shen Suning said, "I have no father or mother, Master adopted me as his daughter and raised me up. I felt like the sky was falling when I left him."
Fortunately, there was Jiang Lingyao at that time. She was the one who stayed by my side and accompanied me through those hectic years.
When Jiang Lingyao heard her talk about the past, she knew that her junior sister was smart and she had guessed that this case was related to Jiang Lingyao, which was why she said this.
Jiang Lingyao wiped the tears from her face carefully with a handkerchief, her expression reiterated with determination, she said, "Let's go home."
When the mottled door opened, it was a quiet alley outside with no one waiting.
Jiang Lingyao carefully put the wooden box into her sleeve, then rode to the alley entrance with Shen Suning. She gave a few instructions to the yamen runners guarding the alley entrance and quickly returned to the Jiang family.
This time, Jiang Lingyao really didn't have the heart to wash or change clothes. She simply climbed in through the window and asked Xingyun to guard the door while she reopened the rosewood box.
She had already read the handkerchief in the box, which contained Li Hong's account of how someone secretly gave him five hundred taels of silver to change the record of his confession and promised that he could redeem Xiuying after the success, and the two of them could escape.
Li Hong was so worried about redeeming Xiuying that he could hardly sleep day and night. Now that so much money is placed before him, how can he not be tempted?
Moreover, the charge against Master Qiao had already been made, and how could a mere inspector like him fight against the man who had brought down Master Qiao? So Li Hong thought about it and decided to take the money and leave with Xiuying.
But after the couple arrived in Wanping, he heard that all the members of Taifu Qiao's family had died. After thinking it over, he still felt guilty, so he asked Lin Xiuhong, who had changed her name, to embroider the handkerchief.
If there is a chance in the future, he still doesn't want to let Master Qiao's family die unjustly like this.
Jiang Lingyao looked at the handkerchief again, then touched the envelope and took out a piece of paper.
Although it was a long time ago and fifteen years have passed quickly, the paper has been heavily protected and has been preserved intact.
Except for the yellowing of the paper, there is no major problem.
Jiang Lingyao took a deep breath and slowly unfolded the paper.
It was a page of file records, which recorded the year, month and day, who interrogated, what the witnesses said, and finally the signatures and seals of all the people.
The content of the interrogation was consistent with what Li Hong described, but the name of the interrogator was included. The Jinyiwei who interrogated him at that time was named Xue Dingshan.
Jiang Lingyao's hands trembled. She raised her head in disbelief and subconsciously looked at Xingyun who was guarding the door.
Xingyun grew up with her and knew her life story very well. At this moment, her eyes were red and she kept staring at the thing in her hand, which made Xingyun feel heartbroken.
Suddenly being looked at by Jiang Lingyao's bloodshot eyes, Xingyun felt even more uncomfortable and asked subconsciously: "Miss, what's wrong?"
Jiang Lingyao shook her head slowly, then lowered her head again, carefully read the page of the file, and then put it back into the rosewood box.
Jiang Lingyao put the wooden box on the table, she stood up and walked step by step to the window.
In the summer afternoons, there is a faint sound of cicadas.
The day was bright, the birds were singing, the flowers were fragrant, and there was a gust of warm wind outside the window, which brushed against my face along the window sill.
Jiang Lingyao's hands and feet were cold.
She was confused and flustered at the moment, and couldn't calm down.
Jiang Lingyao squinted her eyes, letting the mottled light and shadows penetrate through the window and shine on her young face.
Xue Dingshan, it’s actually Xue Dingshan?
No matter how Jiang Lingyao guessed, she never expected it to be him.
Once she started analyzing the situation, Jiang Lingyao's panicked heart quickly calmed down. She took another deep breath, opened her eyes and looked calmly at the swaying crabapple trees outside the window.
Xue Dingshan was originally a civil official. He was a fellow Jinshi in the Jingde period. His official position was neither high nor low. He was just a Yuwenlang of the Imperial Household Department and was not taken seriously.
However, when Emperor Tianyou was restored to the throne at the end of the Zhengtong period, he seized the opportunity and cooperated with the outside forces, and somehow became a great contributor to Emperor Tianyou.
Because of this, he rose to prominence and became a favorite of Emperor Tianyou. Because of this contribution, he was not only transferred to the Jinyiwei as a commander, but also was granted the title of Marquis of Zhengyang.
Half of the nobles in the Ming Dynasty were born into a horse family. Throughout history, there are less than ten people like Xue Dingshan who took an unconventional path.
The reason why Jiang Lingyao was particularly familiar with him was because Meng Xinyue married Xue Yaozu, the legitimate son of Xue Dingshan. Jiang Lingyao and Meng Xinyue did not get along well. When Meng Xinyue got engaged, Jiang Lingyao also heard a little about the Xue family.
Due to Xue Dingshan's despicable path to power, he had bad relations with both civil and military officials. During the Tianyou Dynasty, the Marquis of Zhengyang was a lone minister. Because of this, he rose through the ranks and served as the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei for several years.
As a result, before he could even get comfortable in his position as the second-rank commander, Emperor Tianyou suddenly passed away, and he was suddenly left without a backer.
Just when everyone thought that the Xue family was doomed, Xue Dingshan went to cling to Yang Ge Lao's thigh again, and insisted on recognizing Yang Ge Lao, who was only ten years older than him, as his godfather.
This really dropped everyone's jaw.
You have to know that Yang Ge Lao himself rose to the position by currying favor with the Imperial Concubine. If he did not dare to call His Majesty "Dad", I estimate that Yang Ge Lao himself would have called the Imperial Concubine "Mother". However, there is always a mountain higher than another. When it comes to shamelessness, Xue Dingshan is even worse than him.
But Xue Dingshan's move really worked. Not only was he not driven out of his position as the deputy commander of the capital, but he worked steadily for another two years. It was not until the third year of Xuanhua that he completely left the Jinyiwei and went to the Wucheng Bingmasi.
Xue Dingshan gave up his civil career and joined the military. The Jinyi Guard had real power, but the Wucheng Bingmasi had connections. In this way, he was able to maintain his position as the Earl of Zhengyang safely.
If you look at it this way, Xue Dingshan really had a peaceful and smooth life. Apart from having few friends at home and his colleagues in the officialdom looking down on him, he really had no other worries.
But the only thing that made him uncomfortable was that his family had few children. He only had one son and one daughter. The son was naturally Meng Xinyue's husband.
Jiang Lingyao's eyes gradually darkened. If the person who did it was Xue Dingshan, who was the mastermind behind it? Xue Dingshan was definitely not a person with such great ability. There must be someone secretly behind him.
But during the Tianyou years, Xue Dingshan's biggest supporter was actually Emperor Tianyou.
Thinking of this, Jiang Lingyao felt more and more uncomfortable.
If the late emperor wanted to get rid of my grandfather and the Qiao family, even if he is kind and compassionate now and has a close relationship with my grandfather, it would be difficult to overturn the verdict.
Thinking of this, Jiang Lingyao couldn't help but sigh.
Her mind was a little confused for a moment, but Xingyun suddenly said, "Miss, the aunt is back."
Jiang Lingyao paused slightly, she immediately turned around, and when she lowered her head, she realized that she was still wearing the official uniform of Officer Qiao.
The case back then was confusing and Jiang Lingyao couldn't figure it out for the time being, but she still had to take off this disguise now. Otherwise, if Duan Nanqi saw it, he would definitely say that she was not careful enough and couldn't even disguise herself well.
Should I continue to wear this disguise?
It is very convenient for Magistrate Qiao to be the one who will not make too many inquiries, but what if it is replaced by the arrogant Magistrate Jiang?
Jiang Lingyao's eyes darkened slightly. She thought about how to continue investigating the case in the future and said, "I understand."
She asked Xingyun to help her change her clothes. After she spoke to him briefly, Xingyun whispered, "Thank the Bodhisattva, Wanping will be fine this time. The murder case was solved in a few days, and the clues were found. Miss should be very happy."
Jiang Lingyao had calmed down by now. She tried to remember Xue Dingshan's resume and even planned her next steps, so she was in a relatively calm mood.
By the time she changed her clothes and washed up, it was almost time for dinner.
Today, Aunt Wang and Uncle Li came back early, so Jiang Lingyao asked the small kitchen to prepare a meal and send it to the west courtyard. She then gathered her emotions, walked out of the house, and went to the dining room as she did in the past.
Nanxi had not arrived yet, so there were only four cold dishes and two bowls of Tremella and Pear Soup on the dining table.
Jiang Lingyao didn't even have to wait for Duan Nanqi. She directly told the maid to serve the meal, and then she slowly started to eat the soup.
This soup had been tempered with well water, so it tasted sweet and cool, and was very helpful in soothing the liver and relieving depression. It also soothed her anxious mood caused by the case in the past few days.
Jiang Lingyao let out a long sigh and said, "This is delicious. Let's give one to Wang Ma and the others."
She was talking to Xingyun when they heard footsteps outside.
Immediately afterwards, Duan Nanqi, wearing a moon-white long gown, sat down leisurely next to Jiang Lingyao.
Yesterday, the two of them were arguing and each sat at one end. Today, Duan Nanqi took the initiative to sit next to her, and there was no reason for it.
Jiang Lingyao put down the spoon and looked up at Duan Nanxi.
Duan Nanqi had already put away all his Jinyiwei attire by this time. His moon-white casual clothes made his face look like a handsome jade, and he even had the temperament of a graceful young man.
The coldness and murderous aura brought by the Feiyu suit on him were restrained by the white jade headband on his head. His eyes were as bright as stars when he looked at Jiang Lingyao.
His beautiful peach blossom eyes looked fixedly at Jiang Lingyao, with a look of inquiry in his eyes.
Jiang Lingyao turned her head subconsciously and hastily touched the corners of her eyes, wondering if her eyes were still red.
She thought Duan Nanqi would ridicule her, or discuss yesterday's events with her, and would not feel comfortable until they had a showdown.
But there is none of that.
Duan Nanqi just looked into her eyes, and a bright smile gradually appeared in those peach blossom eyes.
"Today, the flowers and lanterns are on, I wonder if my wife would like to appreciate the light and accompany me to see the sky full of lights?"
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