And what are you pretending for, Minister Cui? Wasn't it you who secretly sent the First Prince here? Do you think I know nothing about this?
Magistrate Li had many thoughts running through his mind, but he still spoke respectfully: "I have also seen the proclamation of condemnation, and indeed the Uyghur traitors should be driven out."
Vice Minister Cui frowned slightly. What he wanted to ask was not about driving the Uyghurs out at all. Was Magistrate Li an idiot?
He simply asked directly, "Have you ever seen the First Prince?"
"Never seen it before."
Magistrate Li only inquired about the case of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and was unaware of the Crown Prince's involvement.
Chu Xiang looked displeased and didn't want to engage in any more veiled banter with Magistrate Li. He said, "The Cui family in Longmen Town is a branch of the Cui family. Lord Cui wants to visit his family. Lord Li, please make the arrangements."
Vice Minister Cui said he wanted to go and see for himself, but he didn't need Magistrate Li to accompany him; he could just find a constable to lead the way.
Magistrate Li understands! They just want to sneak off, right? Alright, arrange it!
Summon Constable Xue and have him accompany Vice Minister Cui.
He told him privately, "Officer Xue, the real prince is the one in Ganzhou Prefecture. Vice Minister Cui didn't allow me to accompany him because he didn't want the people of Longmen Town to know his identity. Now, I don't know what this Cui wants with the prince. You might as well play along..."
Officer Xue nodded repeatedly.
Led by Constable Xue, Vice Minister Cui, along with his two bodyguards, went to Longmen Town.
Officer Xue first went to Cui Fude's house in a pretentious manner, and after a while, he returned with a grim expression.
“Lord Cui, I inquired with the Cui family’s neighbors and they said that a relative of theirs used to live there. He was a fool and was starved to death by them. Fearing trouble from his family, the whole family moved away.”
Minister Cui suddenly became anxious: "Did that fool starve to death?"
“Yes, it’s over there in that old house.” He pointed to the old house where “Jinyi” used to be tied.
Vice Minister Cui said, "Let's go and take a look."
Officer Xue led Vice Minister Cui to the old house of the Cui family.
The carriage stopped at the gate of the Cui family's old house. Minister Cui got off the carriage and entered the courtyard with his guards.
The old house was even more dilapidated. There was nothing to see in the yard. Once inside the old house, there was a broken three-legged bed and a broken iron chain that was clearly visible next to the bed.
Vice Minister Cui gently picked up the iron chain and examined it; there were still dark bloodstains on it.
Beside the broken bed, there were deep scratch marks on the wall from ten fingers, as well as dark bloodstains.
There were also crawling marks on the ground.
Based on the Crown Prince's hidden illness, these traces were indeed left by him.
Seeing that Vice Minister Cui was watching intently, Officer Xue volunteered again, saying, "Lord Cui, you keep watching. I'll go and call the neighbors next door. You can ask them anything you need to know."
That's exactly what Minister Cui wanted to hear. If Constable Xue didn't go, he really wanted to have his guards inquire with the neighbors.
Officer Xue immediately went to his neighbor's house—Aunt Zhang's house.
Aunt Zhang was at home making shoe soles with Zhang Xiangxiu. Since driving Ye Ting away, Zhang Xiangliang's illness had gradually stabilized. Although he was still timid, he had improved a lot.
When Constable Xue came in, Aunt Zhang became nervous again. She had already decided that no matter who asked about the Embroidered Uniform Guard, she would say "I don't know" and deny everything.
"What can I do for you?" Aunt Zhang was still very polite. The head constable and the county magistrate were both government officials.
"Aunt Zhang..."
Constable Xue briefly recounted the events and pleaded, "His Highness has already started his rebellion and is about to march from Ganzhou to the capital. If he succeeds, he will become our future emperor. If you can help him, you will surely be blessed in the future."
Officer Xue's intention was for Aunt Zhang to tell Vice Minister Cui, both openly and secretly, that the eldest prince was dead.
Aunt Zhang immediately agreed: "Okay, I understand, I'll go and tell them."
The Zhang family owes Jin Yi a debt, and Jin Yi is the eldest prince. Once he returns to the capital, he could very well become the emperor. Aunt Zhang is well aware of this.
If the Embroidered Uniform Guard successfully ascends the throne, Minister Cui and his family will surely perish.
Officer Xue was surprised that Aunt Zhang agreed so readily, and he secretly admired Magistrate Li's shrewdness once again.
Aunt Zhang and Constable Xue went to see Vice Minister Cui, and the second son, Zhang Xiangshan, said, "Mother, I'll go with you."
Aunt Zhang said, "Why are you going with them? Don't go."
Officials will avoid meeting with their superiors if possible.
"Mother, please call me. If something really happens, our whole family won't escape either."
Minister Cui looked at Aunt Zhang and her son and politely asked, "And you are?"
"Greetings, sir. I am your neighbor to the east, and my husband's surname is Zhang."
"Hello, Sister Zhang. I heard that Cui Fude raised a child in this yard before he passed away?"
"It's not about raising it, it's about keeping it tied up here."
Aunt Zhang said the child's name was Jinyi, and he was very handsome.
Vice Minister Cui asked, "Where did the person go?"
"It's been so long, I wonder where you've gone."
"Did you hear any noises when he was staying here?"
"I heard him howling. He's been here for over three months, and it seems he howled twice. It was terrifying. Trefford warned everyone in town not to come near him, saying he would kill people."
Minister Cui was relieved; it must be that fool Xiao Jin'an.
Has anyone come looking for him?
"I don't know. We have farm work to do every day, and the Cui family doesn't allow us to get close, so we don't want to cause trouble."
Zhang Xiangshan then chimed in, "My friends from town and I visited him. He's an idiot, chained up, and his legs were broken by the Cui family. He can only lie down; he can't even sit up. The Cui family often forgets to bring him food. He's so thin he looks like a skeleton; he must have starved to death."
He gestured, saying that everyone was terrified by the sight of the man in brocade robes.
Aunt Zhang pretended to hit him, saying in a panic, "Don't talk nonsense."
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