Chapter 129 The Origin of the Cen Family
Although Weiyang was a small county, it had the appearance of being prosperous. What was different from the outside world was the path Cheng Nianying was currently traveling.
One foot was deep, the other shallow, and my nose was filled with a variety of strong smells: mold, stench... and the smell of blood.
"Wait here for now. The county magistrate is very busy with official duties. It is not his turn to interrogate you right now." The officer untied the chains, and a narrow prison cell came into Cheng Nianying's sight.
"I heard the officials at the gate say that they doze off all day because Weiyang is governed so well that there's no busy work to do on weekdays."
"You want to listen? What are you listening to? Where can you listen to it?" the official sneered.
Another official tugged at his sleeve and asked, "Didn't she say she knew the magistrate?"
The official choked briefly, but quickly said in a very low voice: "The county magistrate...the county magistrate is also a foreigner."
He thought Cheng Nianying couldn't hear him.
But the pill that Cheng Nianying took is still taking effect, and her hearing is excellent.
It turns out that Yin Heng is also a foreigner in their hearts.
A foreigner who can be manipulated?
Cheng Nianying couldn't help but think of the peaceful scene she saw when she first entered the city, but she didn't feel any better.
"Stop talking nonsense and go in." The officer was dissatisfied.
Another one interrupted and said with a smile: "You are beautiful. In fact, if you say a few soft words, it will be over..."
Cheng Nianying was unhappy.
When she pretended to speak softly, only Prince Danshuo heard it.
What is this thing in front of you?
Seeing that Cheng Nianying still didn't open her mouth after all the instructions, the officer cursed, "What a piece of wood!" and pushed her into the door.
Cheng Nianying staggered in, but did not fall to the ground.
The officer was careless and didn't notice this detail. He turned and walked away, muttering, "Shouldn't we tell our superiors?"
"I have to say, after all, she is beautiful, and perhaps she has other uses."
"Oh, oh, it's dedicated to that one..." "But what's her background? She's seen a lot of beauties, and they're all better at dealing with things than her."
"Perhaps it's because I've seen so much of that that this wood is fresh."
"That makes sense."
They walked away laughing.
This is why they did not do anything to Cheng Nianying.
Because they have people above them.
Cheng Nianying pursed her lips and reached out her hand, still holding the copper hairpin.
The tip of the hairpin was inserted into the lock, slowly groping and testing, and with a very light "click", the prison door was pushed open.
She walked on the uneven ground towards the light.
The originally quiet prison was suddenly filled with rustling sounds. Cheng Nianying turned her eyes and caught a glimpse of several faces clinging to the railings.
If it were someone else, they would have screamed in fear.
Cheng Nianying, however, looked at it intently.
Those faces were covered in dirt, emaciated, and staring at Cheng Nianying silently with their slightly protruding eyes.
A hint of surprise finally appeared on that numb face.
This was the first time they saw someone being brought in, and then walking out on his own in less than a cup of tea.
Cheng Nianying asked softly, "Who are you?"
They just stared with stiff eyes and didn't say anything.
Were you also caught like me? Cheng Nianying tilted her head.
She didn't ask them again.
She would get her answer anyway.
She continued walking forward.
The dark color on his body was gradually washed away by the light not far away.
Those imprisoned in the darkness looked at her, looked deeply at her, and just held the railings tighter, as if their bones would break.
…
Cheng Nianying easily escaped from the prison and climbed over the wall to the courtyard where Yin Heng lived.
The courtyard was peaceful and there was no one else there.
She then swaggered towards the main wing and came face to face with Commander Jiang.
"Why are you back?" Jiang Tuanlianshi was stunned.
"Where are the others?" Cheng Nianying asked.
"Inside the door."
Cheng Nianying responded with "Oh" and pushed the door open and went in.
Jiang Tuanlianshi was even more confused. How could this person look like a roadside escort? He was quite imposing.
Inside the door, the servant was grinding ink, and Yin Heng picked up his pen to write a memorial.
Yin Heng was a little surprised when he saw Cheng Nianying: "Miss Jiang, why..."
There was no need to hear the same words a second time. Cheng Nianying interrupted directly, "The officials from your yamen arrested me."
"What?" Yin Heng stood up suddenly, and his pen flew away.
Cheng Nianying caught it with one hand, returned it to him, and then said, "Someone stole my things, but they arrested me instead."
Jiang Tuanlianshi followed in from outside and said to himself, "This is a beautiful move."
"They stole your darts?" This was Yin Heng's first reaction.
"Did they put you in jail?" the servant asked anxiously.
"Well, yes." Cheng Nianying answered both questions in one sentence.
"Then how did you get out?" This was asked by Jiang Tuanlianshi.
"Walked out."
“…”
Yin Heng didn't have time to admire Cheng Nianying's ability, and hurriedly told his own experience:
"Two people came to file a complaint during the day. One complained about lost money, so the officers arrested his neighbor. Before he even came to me, he confessed. I felt something was amiss, so I checked the files and discovered that all those arrested in Weiyang's theft were neighbors, and they had all confessed without trial."
"The other one complained that his daughter was missing. He complained in the morning, and in the afternoon he said his daughter had returned home."
"There are many similar cases recorded in the files. They were all closed in this way without any confusion. Therefore, there is no unsolved case left."
"I asked the acting county magistrate, and he said he didn't know, saying most of it was done by the previous one."
"In short, everyone is pretending to be stupid." Yin Heng sighed.
Jiang Tuanlianshi interrupted, "You're from the Imperial Capital, right? You haven't seen much. You've just arrived and taken up your new post, so how can you expect people to obey you the moment you arrive?"
"At least I didn't hire anyone to kill you," he said.
Yin Heng choked, but he couldn't hide the anger in his eyes: "If this happens everywhere, won't it shake the foundation of the government?"
Cheng Nianying said softly, "Because you are a foreigner."
"What?"
"They said that Weiyang is very united and will not tolerate bullying by outsiders. You are also an outsider."
Yin Heng laughed: "When did I ever bully them?"
Cheng Nianying suddenly recalled the contents of the books compiled by Fu Yi. She understood what she hadn't understood before.
"That's fine." Cheng Nianying paused, "We just need to separate them by identity so that they can control the entire Weiyang."
She thought for a moment and said, "In other words, if we want to beat you, we have to first tell everyone that you are different from us. That way, no matter how we beat or kill you, we will have a legitimate reason."
Yin Heng's breathing stagnated.
"You're right... I just didn't expect the court's tactics of faction-building and grouping would be used among the people. Those who were beaten and killed have become the people."
Cheng Nianying said softly, "I just want to get back what was stolen from me."
She also recounted her experiences during the day, saying she only got a pair of earrings: "The rest must have been divided up among the spoils."
She said stubbornly, "I have to take them all back."
"Okay, take it back!" Yin Heng also gritted his teeth.
The servant boy asked, "But I don't know from whom I can get it back."
Cheng Nianying spoke out her conjectures one by one: "The pawnshop must be shady. They recognized me as a foreigner and specially brought me there to rent a place before anyone else could come and do anything."
"The officials were not clean either. They took me away without saying anything. They must have taken some of the spoils."
"They always offer their good things to the higher-ups, and those above them are not clean either; they will definitely divide the spoils among their hands."
"You said before that you would dedicate me to someone."
Yin Heng's face turned purple with anger when he heard this: "Asshole! Ridiculous! Beast!"
In contrast, Cheng Nianying herself was much calmer. She asked, "Who are you going to dedicate me to?"
Yin Heng then calmed down, thought for a moment, and said, "Someone from the Cen family."
"Cen?" Cheng Nianying was confused.
Yin Heng understood a lot about these things. He whispered, "Weiyang is a small county and should be insignificant, but no one in the court dares to look down on this place. This is because the ancestors of the great Cen family are buried here."
Cheng Nianying asked, "How many dynasties did they go through?"
Now she knows that she can use this to judge whether this family is powerful or not.
Yin Heng said, "Two dynasties. But even just two dynasties is remarkable. ... Their family produced a queen."
Only then did Cheng Nianying look a little surprised.
She remembered the queen she had met at the palace banquet.
At that time, the queen invited her to sit down beside her.
The splendor and beauty of the imperial capital seemed to be covered by a veil at this moment, swirling through Cheng Nianying's mind.
She suddenly thought of Fu Yi.
She knew then that the reason others treated her so kindly and warmly was because of Fu Yi.
Yin Heng continued, "The Cen family's old house is in Weiyang. Some of their branches haven't moved to the Imperial Capital yet. Staying in such a small place, they must be considered remarkable figures in the eyes of the locals."
Cheng Nianying responded, thinking that Yin Heng would probably not be able to bring down the Cen family.
A relative of the queen, that's very powerful.
It would be better for her to find the person and solve the problem with two slashes.
She turned and was about to leave.
Yin Heng hurriedly asked, "Where are you going?"
"Go back to the cell."
Yin Heng almost thought he had misheard: "Go back to the prison?"
"Well, once they send me to Cen's house, I'll be able to find what I lost."
"How can that be?" Yin Heng hurriedly chased after him.
"Nothing is impossible."
Cheng Nianying thought for a moment and said to him, "Although they divide people into locals and outsiders, I remember that the county government can't just employ locals. This is a rule set by the emperor, right?"
That was what Fu Yi mentioned to her when he talked about the various settings of the county government.
Especially high-ranking officials like prefects and military governors could only serve for three years and had to be transferred to other places after three years.
"Yes..." Yin Heng responded briefly, then laughed, "Miss Jiang, even though I've said it several times before, I still have to say it now. Miss Jiang, you're really smart!"
"I'll look up the county roster!"
Foreigners are oppressed here.
The same is true for officials who come from other places.
Even though we are weak, why can't we unite? Why can't we be a force that can pry open this situation?
Cheng Nianying is gone.
Jiang Tuanlianshi found all this uninteresting and turned away.
Yin Heng quickly finished writing the memorial.
Then he spread out two more pages of paper and started writing.
The servant asked, "Is it written for your family?"
Yin Heng hesitated for a moment. "I can't write to my family. If they find out, they'll just move me away immediately. No one will care about Wei Yang's affairs, so how can it serve as a test of my character?"
"That……"
"Written to Prince Danshuo."
*
Prince Danshuo was not very happy.
Even the court officials discovered it.
After the court was dismissed, the emperor called him over again and asked with a smile, "I heard that you were late for the banquet that day..."
"Unfortunately, my old illness came back, so I hurried back and drank two bowls of medicine."
"An old illness?" The emperor showed a look of worry, but then smiled. "You don't want to see the Queen's niece, do you?"
"How could it be? The late Emperor chose today's Empress for Your Majesty, citing the Cen family's beauty, virtuous conduct, and boundless grace. This Miss Cen, while not as graceful as the Empress, possesses a certain brilliance. How could I refuse her?"
One point.
The emperor choked.
He said, "You know my intention."
Fu Yi said, "I know."
"That's good... Then why are you so unhappy these days?"
Ever since the birthday banquet, the emperor thought carefully and realized that Fu Yi was happy for one day and then disappeared.
"Something is missing from the house."
"It's lost, so it's lost. I'll give you a reward and it will make up for it." The emperor didn't even ask what was lost.
Fu Yi smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes: "Yeah."
He quickly left the palace and met the Cen family's carriage on his way back home.
Miss Cen asked someone to open the curtains.
Fu Yi said calmly, "I've been feeling a bit unlucky lately, so it's inconvenient for me to talk to Miss Cen."
Even the curtains on this side were not rolled up.
Cen Yaoxin could only catch a glimpse of his vague outline, sighed softly, and replied, "Yeah."
The queen held a poetry banquet for her.
It was at the poetry banquet that she first met Fu Yi...and it wasn't a good first meeting. Not only was Prince Danshuo late.
He sat down at the far end, and when he looked at her, his gaze... was as if he was looking at an object.
The sound of wheels was heard.
Cen Yao came back to her senses and watched Fu Yi's carriage go away.
Fu Yi returned to the Prince's Mansion but had not yet entered.
"Prince, there is an urgent letter for you. It comes from Weiyang."
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