55 New Year's Eve
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The Xinghua Restaurant was filled with the aroma of meat and the atmosphere was warm and harmonious. In the Imperial City's Zichen Palace, there were also many people and music.
Attending Emperor Chengping's New Year's Eve banquet was a sign of great imperial favor. Everyone perked up and took turns congratulating the emperor on his peaceful and prosperous times and his great grace.
After three rounds of drinks, the emperor was slightly tipsy and his ministers relaxed a little. They toasted each other back and forth, flattering each other relentlessly.
Xie Linchuan toasted everyone in turn, then smiled and drank the wine offered to him. He had a very good alcohol tolerance, always downing a full glass in one gulp, but his face did not show the slightest sign of drunkenness.
At this moment, he came to the back row, carrying a silver pot and holding up a wine cup. He said to Lu Fei, "Mr. Lu, I offer you a toast. I apologize for any offense I caused you the other day."
Xie Linchuan had always been arrogant and unruly, but had he ever uttered the word "wrong"? His humble behavior was truly puzzling.
Lu Fei perked up his spirits, and hurriedly said he dared not, and after saying his humble words, he was ready to drink the cup to the full.
Xie Linchuan put the wine cup to his lips, but paused for a moment, a smile spreading across his face: "Xie has remembered something else..."
His eyes, glittering like stars, fixed on Lu Fei, leaving no room for evasion. "Master Lu, you're already over twenty, why haven't you married yet?"
Lu Fei felt as if a thunderclap had struck his head, and his heart went cold. Fortunately, he was good at cultivating his Qi, so he only frowned slightly.
Seeing Lu Fei's alert look, Xie Linchuan became even more interested and said with a smile:
"How about I introduce you to a good marriage?"
He raised his hand and pointed in the distance, passing by the princesses and ladies sitting in front of the north gate one by one, and finally landed on an elegant and noble girl.
The person wore a towering lotus crown and a saffron-colored velvet robe. In the candlelight, she spoke and smiled sweetly, gentle and amiable. It was Princess Fu'an, Zhao Yunshu.
At this moment, the Third Prince Zhao Kan came over leisurely. Seeing Xie Linchuan, he raised his wine cup and said, "Prince Xie, I've been looking for you everywhere, and you've come here unexpectedly."
Xie Linchuan smiled and said, "Your Highness, I am doing something very good."
The Third Prince was such a smart man that he came here specifically to help Lu Fei out. He smiled and said:
"Speaking of great news, it's already the end of the year, why haven't we heard good news from the Crown Prince? The Purple Palace's arranged marriage was last autumn."
He touched his nose and glanced at the women, seeming a little embarrassed: "You don't know, my silly sister's eyes were swollen when she heard about this."
Xie Linchuan pretended to be drunk, chuckled, and turned the wit around again:
"That would be great! Princess Baoqing is unmarried, and Lord Lu is unmarried, so they'd be a perfect match. It all depends on whether Lord Lu likes it or not."
He was simply drunk, talking nonsense and matching people up at random.
When the Third Prince heard this, he actually started to think about it.
Lu Fei hurriedly said, "Your Highness, please don't worry about my humble servant's affairs. Your Highness is drunk, go drink some sobering soup."
Xie Linchuan laughed heartily, then shook his head, revealing a smug and amusing look, and went to the prince's side.
But after a while, he was seen leaning sideways again, talking to the ladies. As expected, the unmarried princesses cast shy glances in his direction.
After Lu Fei finished negotiating with the Third Prince, he closed his eyes and tried his best to endure it. When he opened his eyes again, he was already calm and composed.
Xie Linchuan ridiculed Lu Fei for a while and was in a good mood.
When he returned home, he was full of witty remarks at the family dinner, making Mrs. Xie and Mrs. Liang laugh.
His father Xie Yan always found fault with him, but today he did not lose his temper. He smiled and drank the wine he offered, and even gave him some lucky money.
There is a tradition of staying up all night on New Year's Eve, but Mrs. Xie was old and Mrs. Liang was not in good health, so they went to bed. Xie Yan had official business to attend to.
Xie Linchuan is full of energy all day long, and staying up all night to guard the night is a common occurrence for him. This year, he has always been the one to guard the night.
He ordered his servants to light candles, illuminating the entire palace as brightly as day, so that they could "light up the waste" to celebrate the New Year instead of the others. He then went into the Listening Spring Courtyard and flipped through a military book.
At midnight, Pinglin rushed in like the wind, panting, "My Lord!"
Xie Linchuan was so absorbed in watching that he felt a little annoyed when he was interrupted by him: "What? Are you in a hurry to reincarnate?"
After saying this, he burned the secret letter, which was two fingers wide and was sandwiched between the military books, with the candlelight.
When Xie Linchuan was unhappy, cold words were still good. Pinglin was used to it and only said his own: "Madam Jiang, she was arrested by the officials!"
Xie Linchuan's eyes flashed, and he jumped down from the rose chair: "What's going on? Explain it clearly!"
"It happened just two quarters of an hour ago. Apparently... it was someone from the Lin'an Prefecture Office. The details are still unclear."
Xie Linchuan grabbed the black cloak, picked up the black whip, and walked out like the wind.
Outside, heavy snow fell, blanketing the earth in a blanket of silver. The evergreen pines in the garden were now covered in white, their greenness invisible.
Xie Linchuan walked to the door and was hit by the cold snow, which instantly calmed him down.
He smiled coldly.
Didn't you tell me not to interfere? Didn't you treat me like an enemy? I'll make you suffer so you know how good I am!
He then slowly walked back into the house and ordered, "Don't get involved for now. Send someone to watch over it, and report back to me if anything happens."
Pinglin had no idea what his master was thinking. Wasn't he madly in love with her, and now he didn't care? Not daring to show it on his face, he just said "yes" and was about to leave.
"Wait a minute—" Xie Linchuan glanced out the window. Heavy snow was falling quietly. He said, "Be careful, don't catch a cold."
Pinglin was stunned. When had the prince become so considerate, even caring about them, his servants?
Suddenly realizing that this person was talking about the one in the Lin'an Prefecture jail, he said, "Don't worry, my lord. Pinglin will save you some trouble."
The next day, the snow finally stopped at daybreak. Xie Linchuan had a very hard night and summoned his spies from the government office to inquire personally.
The person was a middle-aged woman who was in charge of the women's prison. She lowered her eyebrows and said submissively:
"I received orders and chose the cleanest cell. There are absolutely no rats or cockroaches there. The quilts and candlesticks are all new. I also lit two braziers to prevent you from being cold."
Xie Linchuan nodded, feeling slightly relieved. He then asked a few more random questions before coughing lightly and asking carefully, "Did she... cry?"
The woman smiled and said, "No, Madam Jiang is truly... a heroine." She then described in detail the circumstances surrounding Jiang Qinglan's imprisonment. "Madam Jiang hadn't been convicted yet, so she came here in the government carriage and didn't get cold on the way."
"After being imprisoned, she was dazed for a while, and then fell asleep. Perhaps she was afraid of the dark, so she left the oil lamp lit. I saw that she slept very well and didn't even turn over all night."
"This morning, this servant brought breakfast: two meat buns and a bowl of pumpkin porridge. Madam Jiang ate them all."
After hearing this, Xie Linchuan felt relieved at first, but then felt upset again. He sneered inwardly: You heartless guy, I'm getting so anxious here, but you're eating and sleeping well!
I felt a little sorry when I heard that she was afraid of the dark and slept with the light on.
Then I heard the woman say:
"Because today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, the government office is closed, and the director didn't come until the afternoon, so the case hasn't been judged yet. This morning, a woman named Wang and a man named Xue came by."
When Xie Linchuan heard the word "Xue", he immediately frowned: "Xue Qi?"
The woman nodded: "That's the name."
In just one night, Xie Linchuan had already found out the whole story of Jiang Qinglan's imprisonment.
He had originally planned that if she panicked or burst into tears in prison, he would immediately jump out to save her.
Little did she know that she not only ate well and slept well, but also met Xue Qi.
Good, good, good! Even when she was in trouble, she didn't even remember that she had such a big backer like him! Xue Qi is nothing!
Thinking about how busy he had been all night and how anxious he was, but ended up with such a result, Xie Linchuan was filled with anger for a moment.
His woman was still kneeling on the ground, with her head lowered and her face submissive, clearly waiting for a reward.
He casually pulled out a gold ingot, slammed it on the ground, and said viciously, "Get out!"
The woman thought she had done a good job and had long wanted to receive a reward and become rich, but she didn't know how she had offended this devil and was immediately scared to death.
Seeing a ball of golden light shining at her feet, she was delighted again. She immediately picked it up and crawled out tremblingly. When she reached the door, she heard another loud shout:
"Keep watching over the affairs of the government office!"
…
The criminal officer of Lin'an Prefecture was named Fang, who was in his forties. He was not good-looking, but he was quite shrewd.
Originally, the Spring Festival and the three days before and after it were holidays, but positions like the Criminal Law Office, which is in charge of grassroots civil litigation, require rotation throughout the year.
Fang Xingcao was unlucky as it happened to be his turn to be on duty on the first day of the first lunar month.
Just as he arrived at the government office full of resentment, he heard that a murder almost occurred on New Year's Eve, and the victim and the suspect were now in jail, waiting for him to interrogate them.
He was even more miserable in his heart.
When the man was brought out, they saw that the victim was a young man in his twenties, with a frail scholarly appearance, shifty eyes, and timid behavior.
The defendant turned out to be a young and slim girl.
She wore a jade-colored cloud satin coat with a lace pattern, and a three-pleated skirt with golden branches and hundreds of flowers. She had curved eyebrows, a sweet smile,
Although he was not wearing any gold or jade on his head, he had an otherworldly demeanor and looked as if he was not here to be tried, but rather to watch a show leisurely.
There was another older woman with a pair of almond-shaped eyes standing beside her. She looked extremely shrewd and seemed to be her friend.
Fang Xingcao thought to himself: This girl has such an impressive demeanor, could she be some official's daughter, falsely accused by this young man? I'll have to investigate thoroughly later to avoid offending anyone.
Thinking of this, he called his trusted servant to inquire about Jiang Qinglan's origins.
After everything was arranged, he stroked the small mustache under his lip and shouted, "Who is here?!"
Everyone in the hall was standing. One of them, upon hearing this resolute shout, felt his legs weaken and he knelt down, saying tremblingly, "My name is Yao Jun. I live in Willow Alley, Xie Street. I'm the victim."
Yao Jun then poured out his family's sufferings.
He said that on the morning of New Year's Eve, they bought food at the Xinghua Restaurant and ate it. The couple were poisoned. His wife was weak and almost died. Her life or death is still unknown.
When Fang Xingcao heard this, he thought that the bailiff who arrested people last night was also confused.
Although it was stipulated that both the victim and the suspect must be imprisoned before a verdict was reached, what would happen if a patient in the family died? He immediately ordered the bailiff to go to Willow Alley.
Then he asked Jiang Qinglan: "What do you say?"
Jiang Qinglan first introduced himself, then looked at Yao Jun carefully and said:
"Yesterday, the Xinghua Restaurant served pork bone stewed with vermicelli, mutton and radish soup, and lotus root, kidney bean and pork trotter soup. Which soup did Mr. Yao and your wife have?"
"Sauerkraut and pork bones stewed with vermicelli!" Yao Jun said confidently.
In fact, he bought vegetables with great fanfare yesterday, put the vegetables at home, and turned around to go to the gambling house without tasting a single bite, but he clearly remembered that he bought the kind with pickled cabbage.
After hearing this, Wang Hui Niang sneered, "Where are the bones? It's clearly pickled cabbage, pork belly and vermicelli stew! You don't even know what you're eating. Are you going there to eat, or to pick a fight?!"
Seeing Wang Huiniang's sharp eyes, as if she wanted to scrape his bones and flesh, Yao Jun felt a little frightened and said hurriedly:
"Yes, that's right. Pickled cabbage and pork belly stewed with vermicelli! Madam is poisoned. I was confused and remembered it wrong!"
Jiang Qinglan smiled and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner:
"Your Excellency, the pickled cabbage and pork belly dish in our shop is usually stewed with vermicelli noodles."
"It's just that they ran out of vermicelli yesterday, and the vendors had closed their stalls for the New Year. Since they couldn't buy vermicelli, they used to make a stew with bean curd. Yesterday's customers all knew about it, and they'd know it if they asked."
Fang Xingcao also knew something was wrong. He slapped the wooden stick and shouted, "Yao Jun, what did you say?"
Yao Jun shuddered with fear, but his eyes turned:
"Master Xingcao, I bought some vegetables and only ate a few bites before going off to do something else. I didn't even notice whether they were vermicelli noodles or tofu skin. My wife ate the rest, which is why she was severely poisoned, while I was only slightly poisoned. That's why I've come to file a complaint."
What he said makes sense.
At this moment, the bailiff came back and said that the doctor had seen Mrs. Yao at Yao's house, and as Yao Jun had said, she showed symptoms of poisoning.
Mrs. Yao was dying and could not get any answers from her no matter how hard she tried to question her. The neighbors testified that Yao Jun had brought back a bowl of vegetables yesterday.
The criminal officer thought to himself: Yao Jun has witnesses, so there is no need to kill his wife for a false accusation. If this woman cannot produce new evidence, it will be troublesome.
The person who was just sent out to inquire about the girl's whereabouts has not yet returned any news.
At that moment, he had no choice but to ask Jiang Qinglan again: "Madam, what do you say?"
Jiang Qinglan said, "If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext."
"When running a restaurant, food safety is paramount. How could I not be prepared? I keep samples of every dish every day, write the date on them, seal them with wax, and throw them away every three days."
Wang Huiniang opened the bamboo basket and found seven or eight sealed porcelain jars inside. The yamen runner handed her the jar with the words "La Yue 30" on it.
Fang Xingcao had been thinking that this girl must not be an ordinary merchant woman, and he had been thinking about how to make a big thing small and a small thing nothing.
Seeing that she had a clever plan, he opened the jar in public and found that it was indeed sauerkraut, pork belly and bean curd. After showing it to the coroner, he fed it to the wild cats in the government office.
When Yao Jun heard that Xinghua Restaurant kept samples of the food every day, his expression changed.
Wang Huiniang had already inquired with Xue Qi this morning and knew that this man was a gambler, so she shouted:
"Yao Jun, you owed thirty taels of silver to Ruyi Casino last month. How come you paid it off in the past few days and still have some spare money to gamble again?!"
When Yao Jun heard this, he immediately trembled like a sieve and stammered, unable to speak.
Seeing that the wild cat was fine and Yao Jun had the same expression, Fang Xingcao slammed the wake-up stick and said, "Someone, bring the clamps!"
Yao Jun almost peed his pants and could only stammer:
"I owed a gambling debt, and since the Xinghua Restaurant was doing good business, I wanted to extort some money."
"I originally wanted to say I had a stomachache from eating, but when I got home from the gambling den, I saw my unlucky son, Da Niang, had committed suicide by taking arsenic. Fortunately, he didn't take much and was discovered early, so he was saved."
"So I thought, this is a good opportunity to pin this on the Xinghua Restaurant."
Fang Xingcao breathed a sigh of relief, then asked curiously, "Whether it's arsenic poisoning or just an upset stomach, a doctor would know at a glance. How did you know you could get away with it?"
Yao Jun was tortured and confessed honestly:
"Your Excellency may not know this, but I learned medicine for a few days in my early years from a quack doctor. Sauerkraut and bacon, if not properly preserved, can cause poisoning, much like arsenic poisoning."
Jiang Qinglan thought to himself: The two types he mentioned are, to put it bluntly, nitrite poisoning and arsenic poisoning. I just don't know which quack doctor has such ability.
But her focus wasn't here, so she continued, "A few days ago, someone saw the manager of the Pan Family Tavern at the back door of your house..."
Yao Jun shuddered with fear. The manager of Pan's tavern had already told him that even if the plan failed, he would be given a sum of money. But if he betrayed them, not only would he not get the money, he would also be beaten.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Nonsense, what manager? I don't even know him!"
The criminal officer was also surprised when he heard the words "Pan's Tavern".
Anyone who can expand his business in Lin'an City has a complex network of forces behind him.
The official owner of Pan's Tavern is Mr. Song's brother-in-law. Does anyone know if he is helping Mr. Song to settle his debts?
He wanted to make a quick decision and get rid of the Pan family. He slammed the wake-up stick and shouted, "How dare you, Yao Jun, fabricate charges and frame innocent people. You deserve thirty lashes of the cane and three months in jail!"
He left the court without even mentioning Pan's Tavern.
Jiang Qinglan also knew that there was someone behind the Pan family restaurant and this matter could not be easily dealt with, so she did not dwell on it too much. After all, she still had a backup plan.
When Wang Huiniang saw the Criminal Law Officer leave, she also pulled Jiang Qinglan to leave: "Go back early and jump over the fire basin. It's unlucky to be in prison during the New Year!"
Jiang Qinglan suddenly remembered something: "Let's see if he gets beaten before we leave."
Wang Huiniang thought she was afraid the yamen runners would be partial, so she whispered to her, "Yao Jun is a pauper, he's definitely not going to bribe. If he gets 30 strokes of the cane, he'll either die or get injured."
Jiang Qinglan still insisted and said with a smile: "Let's wait and see."
Today was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and the criminal department was busy going home. They had just judged the case and left. When the beating took place, there were no onlookers, just two yamen runners, Jiang Qinglan, and Wang Huiniang.
After twenty strokes of the board, Yao Jun's skin was torn and he cried out in pain.
The bailiff was about to raise the board to hit him again, but Jiang Qinglan offered a few coins and said he wanted to say a few words to the man.
The two yamen runners hadn't expected such a benefit from working overtime during the New Year, so they quickly agreed. Jiang Qinglan then asked, "Is there anyone taking care of your wife at home?"
Yao Jun lay on the wide bench, breathing weakly, and nodded, "She has a younger sister who is also married in Lin'an City. She is here today."
Jiang Qinglan asked the yamen runner to bring pen and ink: "Write the divorce letter, and I'll ask them to be gentle with the ten strokes of the cane."
Yao Jun was also a scholar in his time, and he was very elegant. His wife's family used to run a small business and they lived a comfortable life.
However, Yao Jun failed the imperial examination and became addicted to gambling, squandering his family's wealth. His wife wanted a divorce, but he refused.
Yesterday was New Year's Day. His wife had been waiting for him to come back, and finally he came back with a bowl of vegetables.
She thought he had changed his mind and was so happy, but he turned around and went to the gambling house again. She was immediately disheartened and took poison.
Jiang Qinglan didn't know about these things, but he subconsciously felt that if he encountered a gambler, he must cut the Gordian knot quickly.
If the woman really wanted a divorce, she would have done good deeds and accumulated merit. If she was like Zhang Yueniang, who was also mentally unstable, she could just burn the divorce agreement, and it wouldn't affect anything.
Yao Jun didn't want to write the divorce letter.
He himself became addicted to gambling and squandered the family fortune. His wife at least had a few relatives who could help her out from time to time, but if they divorced, where would she be able to get help?
But Wang Huiniang threatened him again:
"If you don't write, you'll get ten more strokes of the cane. If your legs are broken and you're thrown into jail, you won't be able to escape from the rats who will start gnawing at you. There are so many rats in that jail."
Yao Jun shuddered when he heard this and almost wet his pants. He quickly wrote the divorce letter.
Jiang Qinglan put away the divorce agreement and asked two yamen runners to carry out the execution. The runners were understanding and asked with a smile, "There are still ten boards left. Do you want a light or heavy beating?"
Jiang Qinglan laughed and said, "He falsely accused me without any evidence. I'm not a Bodhisattva, so how can I forgive him?"
"The severity of the matter is up to the officials. Why are you asking me, a mere woman? Please, sirs, please go ahead."
He ignored Yao Jun and left the office with Wang Huiniang.
Meanwhile, Xue Qi had already handed over evidence of the Pan family's liquor store's tax evasion to the Lin'an prefectural government. Meanwhile, Pan Kai was also getting anxious and angry.
Back at Jiangmi Lane, Tuantuan ran out with red eyes, threw herself into Jiang Qinglan's arms, and sobbed.
Jiang Qinglan smiled and said, "Don't cry, sister is fine."
Wang Huiniang swung a cypress branch dipped in water and sprinkled it on Jiang Qinglan: "It's New Year's Day, and you've caused such trouble. It's too unlucky!" She then asked her to jump over the fire basin.
Jiang Qinglan didn't care at all: "Eating a prison meal is nothing for me, but they are going to bleed real money this time."
Wang Hui Niang still felt distressed: "Oh, you must have suffered a lot staying there for one night. You are most afraid of rats and cockroaches."
Jiang Qinglan was also puzzled: "The women's prison told me that I haven't been convicted yet, I'm just a suspect, and I don't need to stay in the waiting cell."
"The one she arranged was quite good. There were no mice, and there was even a toilet. The breakfast was good, too."
Although it made sense, Wang Huiniang still had some doubts: "That's not what I heard. It's eerie and scary."
After hearing this, Jiang Qinglan felt a little suspicious, but he was busy during the New Year holiday and soon put the matter behind him.
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