Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Zhu Song raised his eyebrows, looking a little arrogant,...
Zhu Song and the other two sat in the inner hall again, looking at each other.
After drinking a cup of tea brewed by Qu Zhoubai, Gu Huaiyu spoke first, "Since the person has been captured, you should return to the palace first to report and see what the emperor thinks."
Qu Zhoubai nodded, "I think so too."
Zhu Song had a different opinion. "Reporting this way might anger His Majesty. Since he said the Lin family was wronged, why don't we investigate first? If it is true that the Lin family was murdered, then Lin Feng's actions are excusable and not punishable by death."
Otherwise, just for causing such a big commotion in the capital, he would be sentenced to death. Zhu Song wanted to save his life.
Gu Huaiyu wasn't surprised by his idea and simply said, "But since the person has been captured, His Majesty must have known about it. Let's split up. Old Qu will return to the palace to report, while Brother Song and I will interrogate Lin Feng and quickly determine if there is indeed a hidden story behind the Lin family fire."
Qu Zhoubai responded and then entered the palace.
At the same time, Zhu Song and Gu Huaiyu also went to the Jingzhao Prefecture Prison to interrogate Lin Feng.
On the way, Zhu Song and Gu Huaiyu chatted, "Old Qu will definitely be scolded when he enters the palace to see the emperor."
Gu Huaiyu replied, "The Qingxi is fake. His Majesty will be unhappy and will definitely be angry. Old Qu is used to being scolded, so he will just listen and let it go."
Zhu Song said, "The three of us took the imperial examination in the same year. The two of us went to the Dali Temple, and he went to Jingzhao Prefecture. Back then, he went to the emperor to plead for mercy, saying that he also wanted to go to the Dali Temple, but he was scolded by the emperor, who said that being an official was like picking vegetables at a market. He retorted that if he had known he wouldn't get a share, he would not have come, which made the emperor so angry that he blew his beard and glared at him. Later, the emperor got used to scolding him, and he would summon him to the palace to report on his work and scold him whenever he had nothing to do. I wonder if Old Qu has gotten used to it after all these years."
Gu Huaiyu said, "Whether Old Qu is used to it or not, His Majesty is used to scolding him. A few years ago, he even transferred Prefect Zhao to the Northern Province to grow lychees because of Old Qu. Poor Prefect Zhao is in his seventies and eighties and still can't get away with it."
Zhu Song said, "The production of lychees in Beizhou has increased significantly in recent years. Although Zhao Fuyin is in his seventies or eighties, he still has his own way of growing lychees."
Gu Huaiyu said, "If he wants to come back, he has to behave well, otherwise he might be transferred to the northern desert to control desertification again."
Zhu Song said, "That's impossible. Can he still control desertification at his age?"
Gu Huaiyu lowered his voice and said, "I heard that when he went to Beizhou, the emperor told him that if he remained passive and lazy, he would be sent to the northern desert to control desertification."
Zhu Song sighed, "How tragic. I really hope I never encounter something like this in my lifetime."
As they were talking, they arrived at the prison. Zhu Song and Gu Huaiyu walked in side by side. Zhu Song came to where Lin Feng was imprisoned and said to the guard, "Open the door."
The yamen runner opened the door, and Zhu Song and Gu Huaiyu walked in. Lin Feng saluted politely, "Greetings, Your Excellency."
Zhusong said: "Stand up and speak."
Lin Feng stood up as he was told and said, "Tell me everything you know."
"yes."
Thirteen years ago, Lin Feng was only five years old. In his memory, that day was no different from any other day, but during that period there were always endless guests at home. However, Lin Feng was too young and was not allowed to go to the front hall, so he played in the yard.
When it got dark, he went to bed. He didn't know how long he slept before his mother covered his mouth and pinched his arm and woke him up. When he opened his eyes, he saw his mother's frightened face. He was scared, but he couldn't cry because his mouth was tightly covered.
When his mother saw him wake up, she said to him, "Feng'er, something happened at home. I'm hiding you in bed now. No matter what you see, don't make a sound, or I'll never make lotus cake for you again."
As soon as he finished speaking, he was stuffed under the bed before he could even come back. In order to hide it from others, several boxes were stuffed in to block him inside.
Just after he finished all this, he heard the door being kicked open. He fell to the ground and asked his mother, "Who are you?"
He looked out from the gap between several boxes and saw only pairs of black boots, bright red blood flowing on the ground, and his mother's eyes that were still open after death.
The bad guys left and set a fire. The fire grew bigger and bigger. He couldn't bear it anymore, so he came out from under the bed. The whole Shuyun Villa turned into a sea of fire. He was scared and ran out frantically, thus saving his life.
Lin Feng's words ended here. "Sir, this is what happened. My family was murdered. Sir, you must give us justice."
Zhu Song didn't respond to his question, but instead asked, "What happened next?"
Lin Feng was a little surprised, "What happened later?"
Zhu Song asked, "Where did you go after leaving Shuyun Villa?"
Lin Feng hesitated, his eyes evasive, "I...I."
Gu Huaiyu chimed in, "You've been pretending to be a traitor and causing chaos in the capital. The emperor has personally ordered your arrest. If you continue to lie, even if we want to help you, we can't. Do you want to let the injustice of the 31st Lin family member remain buried here forever?"
Zhu Song said, "The Jingzhao prefect has already entered the palace. If there is no sufficient evidence to prove that what you said is true, you will probably not see the sun tomorrow. And without a plaintiff, such a long-ago event can only be treated as a story."
Gu Huaiyu looked at Zhu Song and said, "Let's go."
Zhu Song also responded cooperatively, "Yeah."
The two turned around and were about to leave, but Lin Feng quickly stopped them, "No, sir, don't go. I'm going to tell you something."
"After I ran away from Shuyun Villa, I fell in the woods and then developed a fever. After I recovered, I lost my memory. I lived as a beggar in the capital for three years, until one night, I was so hungry that I was looking for food on the street and saw a luxurious carriage.
I went forward to beg for food and was originally driven away by the coachman, but the noble man in the carriage saw me and gave me a plate of cakes and asked if I would like to go with him and that I would have enough to eat in the future.
Of course I do.
The nobleman took me to a house on the outskirts of the city, and I settled down there.
Until a few years ago, I became feverish again and recalled the past.
I vowed to seek justice for my family, but the incident happened long ago, and I was powerless. The murderer, who could have wiped out my entire family without a trace, must have been very capable. So I had to make a big fuss so he couldn't stop me from speaking out. So I came up with a trick. I wanted everyone in the capital to pay attention to this. As long as there were enough people, no matter how powerful he was, he wouldn't be able to stop me.
Zhu Song said, "Although there are many loopholes in your words, time is urgent and we don't have time to waste with you. When we return from Shuyun Villa, I hope you can tell the truth."
Lin Feng lowered his head and said nothing. Zhu Song and Gu Huaiyu came out of the prison and led their men to Shuyun Villa without stopping.
There is no trace left of the fire thirteen years ago. Zhu Song and Gu Huaiyu stood on the highest ground of Yeguipo and looked down. The Phalaenopsis orchids all over the mountain swayed in the wind, and in the sunlight, they looked like millions of butterflies spreading their wings at the same time.
Gu Huaiyu asked, "Can you tell where the Phalaenopsis orchids are most abundant?"
Plants grow well where there are corpses underneath, but at a glance, the plants in this area are all so dense that it is difficult to distinguish the primary from the secondary.
Zhu Song scanned carefully several times and finally pointed to a spot, "Dig there."
Although Gu Huaiyu didn't see anything special about the place he pointed to, he still ordered his men to dig.
After thirteen years, the plants grew lushly, but the soil layer did not increase much, and the dark soil underneath could be dug out with a slight dig.
Gu Huaiyu naturally saw it as well, and said to Zhu Song, "Yes, that's obvious."
Zhu Song replied, "No big deal."
Gu Huaiyu was curious, "Tell me, how did you figure that out?"
Gu Huaiyu's eyesight may not be as good as Zhu Song's, but it is not much worse. He can say with certainty that there is nothing special about that place.
Zhu Song tilted his head to look at him, raised an eyebrow and said, "Want to know?"
Gu Huaiyu knew him too well, "What do you want?"
Zhu Song said, "My mother has made an appointment for me with Miss Zhang to go to Xuanyin Pavilion to listen to music the day after tomorrow. Can you go in my place?"
Gu Huaiyu was a little surprised. "Didn't Aunt Meng go to Xiangguo Temple? How can she still make an appointment for you?"
Zhu Song shook his head and curled his lips helplessly, "I don't know, but I got a letter anyway, telling me I must go."
Gu Huaiyu hesitated and said, "Everyone said they must go, so it's not appropriate for me to go."
Zhu Song said, "She only said that she must go, but she didn't insist that I go. Anyway, she is in Xiangguo Temple, and she has always liked you, so she can't bear to scold you. So you can go in my place."
Gu Huaiyu hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing, "Now you can tell me how you figured it out."
Having achieved his goal, Zhu Song stopped arguing and explained, "The Lin family is in business, so their residence naturally prioritizes wealth. Leaving the bustling city to settle here necessarily requires stricter feng shui. Look at this place, surrounded by mountains and shrouded in clouds and mist. According to feng shui, this kind of terrain is a treasure trove, a rare find. However, this area is spacious enough to build a five-story house, but such a house would be too much for the Lin family. Therefore, they will inevitably choose to reduce the size of the house and expand it into a garden, with the house naturally located in the center."
Gu Huaiyu was a little surprised, "You can also read Feng Shui?"
They grew up together, but they didn't even know that Zhu Song had this skill.
Zhu Song raised his eyebrows, looking a little proud, "Brother, I'm capable of a lot more."
At this time, the yamen runner announced loudly, "Sir, we have dug up bones."
The yamen runner on the other side also said: "Sir, there are some here too."
"Let's go down and take a look." Zhu Song said as he took the lead in walking down the steep slope.
After thirteen years, the body had turned into bones. Since it had not been collected for burial, the bones were not in a complete shape and had to be pieced together manually.
Zhu Song ordered the yamen runners, "Go get some water, wash the mud off the bones, and arrange the bodies in order."
The words were reasonable, but the yamen runner was very embarrassed. "Sir, we can wash it, but we really can't put it aside. We need to call a coroner."
Going to call the coroner now would waste time, so Gu Huaiyu said, "You guys wash, I'll arrange."
The yamen runner was a little surprised when he heard this, "Master Gu can do this?"
The yamen runners of Jingzhao Prefecture had no idea about Gu Huaiyu's abilities. They just thought that he was so handsome and could actually do the work of a coroner.
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