Chapter 70: Very good. He wants a handful of seeds, and he wants to sow them.
Zhuang Hongxiu is dead.
She died quietly, but no one who learned of her death was at all surprised. After all, the Marquis of Jing'an's Mansion was already rotten to the core, so who would care about the life or death of a useless person like her?
After coming out of the Marquis' Mansion, He Zhiliao was still holding his breath. He originally thought that Zhuang Hongxiu was the murderer, and that as long as he got rid of her, he would be avenging his mother. But in the end, there was still another murderer.
Compared with Zhuang Hongxiu, He Hongan is actually more difficult to kill, so we still have to take a long-term view.
Chun Jian looked at him with great concern and said comfortingly, "Don't worry, Master. Even if we do nothing, they will still get their comeuppance!"
It's retribution.
They will certainly all receive retribution, so why kill so many people at this time?
【Let’s go back home.】
He raised his lips and smiled softly, and felt his whole body relax a lot. He certainly would not just pin his hopes on retribution.
The hatred had to be eliminated with his own hands, but he was in no hurry.
Seeing that he was in a better mood, Chunjian quickly supported him with a smile and talked to him about other things to divert his attention.
It was still spring, and the weather was pleasant.
The marriage between the Third Young Master Pei and the Imperial Merchant Qi family was also finalized. It was scheduled for the fifth day of April, which was Grain Full, a rare auspicious day.
The Pei family had sent all the betrothal gifts when the engagement was made. The Pei family has never been partial. Even though He Zhiluo was not what the Pei family wanted at first, the betrothal gifts given to him were all complete and generous.
However, Qi Guan's status was different after all, so many of the items given to men and women were secretly replaced with other things. However, some were left to support him when he went out.
As the imperial merchant family, the Qi family was naturally wealthy, and the "dowry" they prepared for Qi Guan was exceptionally generous. He naturally wasn't so malicious as to take everything away, but he had to give some instructions to the mansion.
"I am getting married now, and the affairs of the mansion will still be in charge of my second uncle. If you have other matters, you can come to the Pei Mansion to find me. But my second uncle must keep a good eye on these children. If they dare to let me know that they have done bad things outside, I will definitely not let them off easily." Qi Guan sat upright in the upper seat, wearing a red wedding gown, which made him look particularly gentle.
However, the words he spoke were still cold.
"I have already prepared generous dowries or betrothal gifts for you, but if I find out you are misbehaving, I will deduct every penny from yours. If you don't want to be embarrassed in the future, you better keep your tails between your legs!" Qi Guan glanced at his brothers and sisters, "If you behave well, we will be brothers and sisters. But if you don't behave well, I will clean up the mess myself."
He emphasized the last four words, telling them clearly that they were not allowed to take advantage of his status to do evil, and certainly not to rely on his family background to do evil.
Although the Qi family is a royal merchant and cannot compare with those high-ranking officials and dignitaries, the Qi family has money, a lot of money.
Even if they are after money, there will be people knocking on the door, but if they find out that their dowry or betrothal gifts are not generous, no one will pay attention to them. After all, children who are not loved by the family will suffer.
Qi Guan's words really frightened them. After all, he really would kill people, and the "purity" he mentioned would definitely not be as simple as sweeping someone out of the house.
Second Uncle Qi immediately said, "Don't worry, Guan'er, I will definitely take good care of the family and won't let you worry about anything. I will also supervise them well in the future and won't allow them to cause trouble."
The Qi family’s current status is all thanks to Qi Guan. Second Uncle Qi is a gentle person by nature, so naturally he would not compete with him for anything.
"Okay, you're getting married today, so don't talk about this anymore." Qi Guan's mother reminded him softly.
When other people get married, they all shyly wait in the house to get married, but he is the only one who can sit upright and start scolding all the family members in the house, and there are even some words of fighting and killing in his words. Isn't it scary?
Qi Guan nodded slightly. He naturally didn't want the wedding dress sent by Pei Ding to be dirty. After saying some harsh words and giving some instructions, he went back to the house to wait for his wedding.
The wedding between the Pei and Qi families was extremely lively. In the final analysis, it was a combination of power and money. What was even crazier was that the relatives and guests of both families were received in Songhexuan.
Songhexuan has three floors, all of which are used to receive guests.
Pei Ding welcomed Qi Guan back home. Without any trivial formalities, they went straight into the house to worship and enter the bridal chamber, and then went to a restaurant for a drink. It was quite casual.
The marriage between the two families was naturally much more lively than the prince taking a concubine. There were many guests coming and going, and the blessings and gifts were abundant.
In the blink of an eye, it was night.
He Zhiliao was also not idle. Not only did he take care of the mansion, but he also went to Songhexuan to entertain guests. Given the current status of the Pei Mansion, the guests who came and went were naturally either rich or noble, and they could not be neglected.
He leaned on the couch, letting Chun Jian and others massage his legs and shoulders. He closed his eyes and was drowsy. It was obvious that he couldn't wait to take a bath with Pei Ji.
Squeak——
Pei Ji pushed the door open and came in. Seeing him like this, he laughed, "Why wait for me when you are so tired?"
He Zhiliao blinked his sore eyes. He usually went to court and rarely saw her during the day, so he could only wait until night to be with her. Gradually, he got used to it.
Pei Ji directly carried him up and said, "Then let's go take a shower and rest early."
The feeling of sleepiness is always so strange. I almost can't hold on just by sitting, and I feel like I can fall asleep in the blink of an eye. But when I really get into the bathtub, I inexplicably don't feel sleepy anymore.
Seeing that he was in high spirits again, Pei Ji also wanted to do something else with him.
There was already a resting place in the ear room, which made it even more convenient for them. After they were done having fun, they could continue taking a bath.
He Zhiliao was originally leaning against Pei Ji's chest, but after a few breaths he sensed something was wrong. It seemed as if something was pressing against him, and his earlobe instantly turned red enough to bleed.
But he did not resist, nestling in his arms, letting him rub gently, and letting him hold his hand and move it. However, his palm seemed to be burned. The hot water in the bathtub surged with his movements, making him a little confused about what was hot.
After a simple tidying up, Pei Ji carried him out and placed him on the chaise longue. Although it was a bit crowded, it didn't seem like a big deal when they were really making a fuss.
He Zhiluo was exhausted physically and mentally these days, so he let Pei Ji cover himself with a quilt and sleep for two days. Today, he finally let him come and he became particularly crazy.
He Zhiliao leaned against him, holding onto the back of the chaise longue. Pei Ji also held onto it tightly with both hands. With frantic movements, he finally pulled the back of the chair down...
The last one was particularly heavy. He Zhiliao's eyes were blank and he fell down on his unstable knees. When he was about to hit his head, Pei Ji pulled him tightly into his arms, holding his waist with one hand and holding his chin with the other hand to kiss him.
My body was covered in sweat, and tears were unconsciously sliding down the corners of my eyes...
Pei Ji held back his tears and held him in his arms to bathe him again. This time, He Zhiliao did not wake up and slept very soundly in his arms.
The next day.
Pei Ji specially took leave to accompany him at home. These days are happy days, and there are no major events in the court now, so it is okay not to go to court.
He Zhi slept until noon, when his rumbling stomach woke him up. His whole body ached as if it had been crushed, and even some parts of his body felt strange.
He wanted to raise his hand to shake the bell, but found that the bell was placed thoughtfully above his head. When he shook it, Harumi came in.
Now that it was warmer, he had changed into thinner underwear, and the marks on his body could still be vaguely seen. Chun Jian only needed to look at his wrists and neck to know how intense it was.
"My son-in-law just went to change his clothes after practicing martial arts. I will help you wash up and someone will bring the food later." Chun Jian helped him up.
He Zhi's legs trembled, but luckily it didn't hurt there, otherwise he would have to stay in bed for a few days.
The chairs were cushioned with goose down, and were very comfortable to sit on.
He was washing up when Pei Ji came in with food. He gave Chun Jian a look and Chun Jian immediately retreated.
"Are you feeling okay?" Pei Ji rubbed his shoulders with both hands, looking at the person in the mirror with an exceptionally gentle expression. "Does it hurt? I applied medicine for you."
He Zhiliao nodded, then shook his head slightly.
Pei Ji asked, "A little uncomfortable but not painful?"
The little cicada blinked at him and didn't even have the strength to nod.
Pei Ji pinched his cheek and smiled, "That's good, this is the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician in the palace. He said it is an excellent health-preserving medicine. You should take good care of it. I will ask him for more later."
He Zhiliao's cheeks flushed, but he still nodded.
He had breakfast and lunch at the same time, and he ate more than usual. No wonder he always lost weight but never gained weight. After all the trouble Pei Ji had done to him, how could he gain weight?
After lunch, He Zhiliao felt much better, but still a little sore. He quickly ordered Pei Ji to serve him, bring him tea and water, massage his waist and legs, and he wished he could use him as a servant.
Pei Ji was happy to be close to him. If he had to avoid him because of what happened last night, he would find a place to cry!
The Pei Mansion was exceptionally quiet today. Everyone closed the courtyard doors and went about their business separately. There were small kitchens in the courtyards on both sides, and no one disturbed anyone else. Even the servants walked quietly while doing their work, not daring to make any noise.
"There is a market outside today. Do you want to go and have a look?" Pei Ji asked. There was nothing lacking in the house, but it would be fine to go out and chat.
The purpose of going out is to relax, so it doesn’t matter whether you buy things or not.
Hearing him say this, He Zhiliao nodded quickly. He had injured his bones last night and felt tired and sore all over, so of course he needed to walk around.
The two of them quickly packed up, prepared the carriage and went out.
The market street was a little far away from them. After all, the capital was very big and the streets were two miles apart. But it was very good for the dignitaries and would not affect the streets where they lived.
The market is always bustling, but the things sold over and over again are the same.
When He Zhiliao thought about the fields he had seen on the farm before, he suddenly wanted to buy some vegetable seeds. He thought that when the time comes, he could open up a small piece of land and sow some seeds casually, and maybe they would grow.
He thought this matter was extremely simple, just like sowing beans to make soldiers. The more he thought about it, the more interesting it became. He took Pei Ji with him to buy vegetable seeds.
"Do you really want to plant?" Although Pei Ji was not lazy and didn't know the difference between crops, he had no interest in farming.
After all, in his opinion, these are what ordinary people should do. The wealthy and powerful families only need to buy the county's grain from the people. Otherwise, who will the people sell their grain to?
Furthermore, there is the harvest from the farm, which is more than enough to eat throughout the year. There is always a surplus every year, which is distributed to the servants in the mansion.
He Zhiliao nodded. If it could be grown, wouldn’t it be a fun thing?
Pei Ji was helpless. "Then it's up to you. Spring planting has already passed, and I don't know what you want to plant."
【Just buy whatever you have. I’m not picky.】
"Oh? Really? Then buy some coriander seeds!" Pei Ji said as he was about to take him to the vendor to choose, but he realized that his arm was being pulled back tightly.
He Zhiliao hugged his arm tightly, with resistance written all over her face.
He doesn't want cilantro!
Smelly.
Pei Ji sighed softly, "What a delicious dish! You're just too picky. You'll love it when you're a little older."
He Zhiliao shook his head like a rattle. He would never like to eat coriander!
"Buy some spring vegetables and plant them for fun. If you can grow them, your family will eat them. If you can't, just plant flowers." Pei Ji didn't need to bother him with these little things. Spending a little money could make him happy, so why bother to make him angry?
He Zhiliao nodded immediately. There was indeed someone selling vegetable seeds, but there were not many seeds left. The vendor saw that the two of them were dressed well, so he wanted to give them the vegetable seeds. Pei Ji didn't argue with him, but bought some other things from him.
Just a small handful of seeds was enough to make He Zhiliao happy.
[Back in the Marquis' Mansion, Chunjian and I were so hungry we almost had to chew grass. At the time, we thought, if only we could grow vegetables...]
He looked calm when he said this. Although he didn't seem to be unable to let go, he still felt a little sentimental about the past days.
After all, he had lived such a hard life, and the ultimate source of his suffering had not yet been punished.
"They are bad, you are good." Pei Ji smiled and held his hand. The wide sleeves of his robe covered the clasped hands, but could not hide the love in each other's eyes.
He Zhiliao certainly knew that he was good. He had suffered from criticism and hardship since he was a child. He was bullied and insulted, verbally abused, and beaten and kicked, but he had never grown bad to the core.
I will not offend others unless they offend me.
Even though he often made malicious assumptions about others, that was just because he was cautious and he never took the initiative to harm others. He believed that it was already very good that he had not grown up in a place like Jing'an Marquis Mansion.
Of course he is a good person, but they are the ones causing harm.
Whenever he heard him talk about the past, Pei Ji was filled with guilt, and even his eyes would become sore. He really knew that He Zhiliao's pain was different from that of ordinary people, so he always wanted to give him the best in this life.
When visiting the market, one would naturally not just buy a small handful of seeds. Pei Ji wanted to buy the whole market for him and buy everything he saw, but he was stopped by He Zhile.
What does he want those cloth shoes for!
The prices at the market here were particularly cheap, and He Zhiliao had a particularly pleasant time shopping there. She happily followed Pei Ji back home.
Pei Ji then instructed the housekeeper to find two people who knew how to till the soil and plant crops, and to open up a small field in their yard so that He Zhiliao could use the seeds he had just bought.
The capital has become restless again recently.
First, He Ruman, the legitimate husband of Duke Zhou's mansion, inexplicably set fire to his mother's house and burned himself to death. Such a matter would naturally fall under the jurisdiction of the patrol camp, and they needed to register the matter and bring it to justice.
As for the latter——
During this period, people have been missing, both men and women.
The patrol camp has been working hard on this, but has never been able to find anything. However, it is spring now, and the noble ladies and gentlemen of the aristocratic families like to go out for spring enjoyment or have fun on picnics.
Several bodies dug out by wild dogs were found in the suburbs of Beijing, and those bodies were exactly those of the people who had been missing during this period!
These were children from ordinary families who died in the suburbs inexplicably. No matter what, the patrol camp had to give a reasonable explanation.
It would be fine if they had simply died of natural causes, but their bodies had broken bones, their eyes gouged out, and even their tongues cut off. After examination by the coroner, it was found that the bodies of these unmarried men and women had been damaged to varying degrees.
This is an extremely abominable incident!
"The drums in front of the patrol camp are almost broken!" Even though Yuan Ming used to be so strict and upright, he was a little overwhelmed at this moment. "Master Pei, I really don't know how to investigate this matter!"
After he said this, he subconsciously looked at Pei Ji.
Yes, Pei Ji.
Emperor An was furious when he learned about this. He had never expected that such a thing could happen under his rule. He immediately ordered Pei Ji and the patrol camp to investigate the matter thoroughly. If the Ministry of Justice needed cooperation, he would have to provide full assistance. Therefore, this difficult task fell on him again.
Pei Ji pondered, thinking that such a bad behavior was something that an ordinary person would never do or be able to do.
His Majesty ordered him to investigate the matter thoroughly, and he also guessed that it might be the work of a powerful family. Although the corpses found so far have already decayed, they can still be seen how fresh and beautiful they were before they were born.
But beauty is like poison to ordinary people.
"First, go from street to street and ask if anyone has seen where they went before they died, as well as check the guards at the city gates. So many people died mysteriously after leaving the city, the guards at the city gates cannot escape blame." Pei Ji said in a low voice.
Rather than anger, there is more helplessness.
This matter can only be investigated step by step, and it cannot be made known to everyone, otherwise the people of Tianqi will inevitably be in panic, and they will not dare to trust the court or Emperor An.
Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it.
This is what Emperor An fears the most.
After hearing his words, Yuan Ming immediately prepared to investigate according to his instructions.
Pei Ji entered the coroner's room again. Although the coroners were somewhat capable, they might overlook certain clues. He always felt that the bodies must be related.
There was lime sprinkled in the coroner's room, and the strong smell actually dispersed a lot of the bloody and rotten smells in the room. He frowned and walked in. There were four corpses placed in the room.
Empty eye sockets, empty mouth, broken arms and legs. Although the marks of humiliation on the body have disappeared, the scars left by the torture are still there.
Especially the tooth marks all over the body, which had formed scars after many days of death, which showed how hard the bite was.
Pei Ji frowned. One of the participants must be incompetent, otherwise he would not be so cruel, as if he was trying to prove something.
But he couldn't take the tooth marks out for all the nobles in the capital to compare. He still had to find some more powerful evidence, but he didn't find anything else.
Pei Ji felt it was strange. The perpetrator must have his own quirks. These corpses were trophies to him, so he must have left something on them. He might have searched everywhere for the hidden items...
He looked the bodies up and down, and his eyes suddenly fell on their dry hair. If there was any place on the body where something could be hidden, it must be here.
He frowned and began to gently stroke the corpse's head. It might be something extremely subtle that would not be discovered by the coroner, so he had to be extra careful.
Pei Ji soon felt something wrong at the back of the corpse's head. The rotten skull was sticking softly to his hand, but he could still feel a slight roughness.
He immediately parted the hair and found a spot that was severely rotten. He rubbed along that spot and quickly pulled out a needle.
"Someone come!"
"Master Pei." The guards from the patrol camp rushed in immediately. "What are your orders, Master?"
Pei Ji tilted his head to look at them, "Please call the coroner."
The two guards went to do it immediately.
The coroner hurried over, took the silver needle from his hand, looked at it again and again, and had to admit his negligence.
"Please forgive me, sir. This needle is extremely small and I didn't even notice it..." The coroner quickly admitted his mistake and apologized. Although he didn't know what the needle was used for, it was his negligence, so he was wrong.
"The silver needles are secret, so it's normal that you haven't noticed it. But have you found anything wrong?" Pei Ji said in passing. The coroners have been in the patrol camp for more than ten years. Even if they have no merits, they have worked hard.
The coroner said, "Because it's been so long, the silver needle is no longer visible, but the area around the wound is faintly black, which is enough to prove that the needle is poisonous."
"What kind of poison can you possibly find out?" Pei Ji asked.
"I still need to compare a few more things and will be able to give you an answer later," said the coroner.
Pei Ji did not ask any more questions. This matter was full of doubts and extremely difficult to investigate. No clues could be missed, otherwise the thieves would not be found before he was in trouble.
These people did not die of natural causes. The capital has been silent for some time, as if anyone who dares to go out on the streets will be the next to be thrown into the wilderness.
Pei Ji has been working non-stop these days, and He Zhiliao has also been busy. This matter is of great importance. Most of the powerful people want to know what the current situation is. Since they can't ask Pei Ji, they naturally have to ask his legitimate master.
Therefore, although Pei Ji did not mean it, it made He Zhiliao suffer instead.
At this time, he was sitting in a teahouse. The private room was full of people who were supposed to be sitting there. They were all staring at his mouth, as if they wanted to rush forward and pry his mouth open, just like a three-court trial.
He sighed secretly in his heart. Not to mention that he really didn't know about this matter, even if he did know, he would not tell the inside story to these ladies. He could not guarantee whether there were people with ulterior motives among them.
"Such a terrible thing happened under the emperor's feet, it really makes us all uneasy! Those people are really despicable. Don't they think other people's lives are also lives?"
"What's the point of saying more? You and I don't know who did it, and who knows where those filthy people are hiding?"
"Amitabha, I was almost scared when I learned about this..."
These ladies either looked embarrassed or frightened, but more often they were angry and resentful. They all wanted to know who dared to do such a thing.
Maybe it's curiosity, maybe it's justice.
He Zhiliao could only shake his head. He really didn't know any of these things. Perhaps the situation was too bad this time, so Pei Ji refused to tell him. All he knew came from these ladies!
Why do these people want to surround him?
God damn, that doesn't make sense!
"Never mind, we only want to know this out of concern. We are both women and men, how can we bear to see such a thing?"
"But we also know that someone who can act like this can't be a simple person."
They all looked troubled, all expressing dissatisfaction with the powerful, even though they were the wives of the powerful.
Thinking of those people who died in such a tragic way, he felt a dull pain in his heart.
They could have died of illness, exhaustion, or old age... all of which are more acceptable than this.
It's so pitiful, life is so fragile and short.
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Shhh~
May the motherland prosper forever, happy National Day, dears, remember to come and see me~[kiss][kiss][kiss]
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