Chapter 207: Past Events (V)
The government investigated for a month, and as the sensation of the Nangong family being wiped out overnight faded, the government hastily closed the case.
It happened that the government cleared out a group of bandits during that period, so they blamed the Nangong family's massacre on the bandits.
Wen Tingkuan naturally didn't believe it. During that month, he secretly inquired from many sources, but did not find any clues.
The other party was very thoughtful and had set up the plan in advance.
Wen Tingkuan relied on his own strength and had no official status, so he could not move forward.
Because no relatives went to the government to identify the body, the house that was sealed off by the Nangong Mansion became "household assets" and was confiscated by the government.
As soon as the government takes over, it will be sold.
One hundred and eighty-seven people died overnight. It was a terrible disaster and no one dared to buy it, so the price was kept very low.
Wen Tingkuan found old man Chen again and asked him to buy Nangong Mansion on the grounds that he was old and wanted to find a spacious place to enjoy his old age and was not afraid of the so-called evil spirits.
He also signed two agreements with Old Man Chen in private.
One is the 'House Purchase Agreement'.
It was clearly agreed that Old Man Chen would be the nominal buyer of the Nangong Mansion, but the house actually belonged to Wen Tingkuan.
The second one is the 'Bequest and Support Agreement'.
It was agreed that Wen Tingkuan would be responsible for the living, raising and burying of Old Man Chen, and the house would belong to Wen Tingkuan after his death.
The reason why Wen Tingkuan took such a big detour was mainly because he was worried about alerting the murderer and letting him notice something was wrong, which would bring disaster to his family.
He needs to guard the house for the Nangong family and return it to Nangong Mu's aunt and niece after finding them.
After the house was bought, the guarding officers and soldiers were withdrawn.
Wen Tingkuan went to Nangong Mansion again during the day.
He searched the Nangong Mansion carefully again and found a bloody hidden weapon in the ruins. There was a rabbit-shaped mark on it, but this mark could not tell who it belonged to.
I can only verify it slowly.
Soon, the results of the autumn examination were announced.
Wen Tingkuan passed the high school entrance examination and ranked among the top ten, becoming a juren.
The government prepared a Luming Banquet for the newly-minted scholars, and Wen Tingkuan went there prepared, with the purpose of finding out which family the mark was related to.
Unexpectedly, he actually found out some clues.
He had no intention of reporting the clues to the authorities.
The hasty conclusion of the case shows that the government is not taking any action.
In other words, someone put pressure on them to close the case early.
However, Wen Tingkuan did not have time to investigate further.
When Wen's mother learned that her son had passed the imperial examination, the breath she had been holding on to completely disappeared, leaving only her last breath.
Wen Tingkuan bought a carriage and hurriedly took his mother back to Luohe Town.
He knew that his mother had one last regret, which was that she did not see her grandson being born.
When they left home, his wife was already four months pregnant. Now, she is more than eight months pregnant and is about to give birth.
Wen's mother vaguely heard her son say that he wanted to take her back to see his grandson, and she managed to endure the half-month drive.
When I returned to Luohe Town, I saw Liang Yuhe, who was pregnant.
When Liang Yuhe learned about her mother-in-law's condition, she became anxious and her stomach started to flare up a few days earlier.
After a night of suffering, Liang Yuhe successfully gave birth to a son, Wen Zhiyan.
When Wen's mother heard her grandson crying, she suddenly recovered from her dying state and even held her grandson in her arms for a while.
Unfortunately, it was just a flash of light.
Three days later, Wen's mother passed away.
Before leaving, he patted his son and daughter-in-law's hands and gave them many instructions, including the Nangong family's affairs.
For Wen's mother, everything she experienced that night will never be forgotten even in heaven.
Such a kind family died so tragically that it became a source of resentment and helplessness in her heart.
She told her son to become a high-ranking official in the future, to be a good official, to find out the murderer, to tell the Nangong family the truth, and to let them rest in peace in heaven...
Wen Tingkuan knelt beside his mother's bed, kowtowed, and sent his mother away.
In the Dayan Dynasty, when a father died, his children had to observe mourning for three years.
When a mother dies, children observe a one-year mourning period.
During the period of mourning, all celebrations and visits at home are prohibited. The deceased is not allowed to hold office, take exams, or get married. He is also not allowed to travel far away or participate in other people's festive activities.
As a result, Wen Tingkuan naturally could not participate in the imperial examination in February of the following year.
The imperial examination is held every three years, and he can wait.
Wen Tingkuan stayed at home to mourn for his mother and take care of his wife and son.
The truth behind the Nangong family's massacre can only be investigated later.
…
After the one-year mourning period was over, Wen Tingkuan was able to stop mourning.
He went to Mizhou City again, and because he was worried about his wife and children at home, he took them with him.
But after a year, the best time to verify it was missed.
He continued to investigate based on the clues he had found before, but found that all the people who knew the truth had been silenced.
He and his wife and children stayed in Mizhou for three months without any progress, but they accidentally found the whereabouts of Nangong Mu's aunt and nephew.
Wen Tingkuan and his wife and children hurried to a small village under the jurisdiction of Mizhou, but they were still a step too late and the village was deserted.
He originally wanted to continue searching along the same trail, but he saw that his wife looked very pale. He asked the doctor to take her pulse and found out that she was two months pregnant.
Wen Tingkuan didn't dare to travel with his wife and children anymore, so he returned to Luohe Town.
After ten months of pregnancy, Liang Yuhe gave birth to a daughter, Wen Lier.
In the same year, Emperor Shunlong ascended the throne and opened a special examination. Wen Tingkuan took part in the examination a year in advance.
The imperial examination requires going to Beijing, a long journey.
His daughter was still young, and Wen Tingkuan was only going to Beijing to take the exam, not to take up a position.
So, he once again entrusted his wife and children to his Yue family and went to Beijing alone.
Wen Tingkuan was quite capable and passed the provincial and palace examinations smoothly. He was ranked second in the imperial examinations and entered the Hanlin Academy for three years.
Because of his poor background and lack of any background, he was sent to Jinyun County, Huizhou as a seventh-rank county magistrate.
He returned to Luohe Town to pick up his wife and children to take up his post. Later, due to his outstanding performance during his tenure, he was promoted to the position of Yuwenlang of the Ministry of Revenue in Beijing. Later, he was promoted to Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue, and now he is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
More than 20 years passed in the blink of an eye, and he did not disappoint his mother's expectations.
He became a high-ranking official, a good official, and also found out the real culprit who wiped out the entire Nangong family.
He was waiting, waiting for Nangong Mu and his nephew.
Now, Wen Tingkuan finally got what he had been waiting for.
——
There was dead silence in the main hall of the Su Mansion.
Mrs. Su hugged Nangong Ziyun, who had fainted from crying, and her eyes were also filled with tears.
Wen Li'er at the door was also crying loudly.
After Yan Shixu left the room, she woke up and followed him with the help of her maid.
She also wanted to know what happened back then, but she didn't expect it to be so tragic.
Hearing the suppressed crying outside the door, Yan Shixu suddenly stood up and went out.
Wen Li'er threw herself into his arms and cried uncontrollably.
"Your Majesty, the Nangong family died tragically. You must chop off the murderer's head and exterminate all nine generations of his clan!"
Yan Shixu's face also became very gloomy, and in his dark eyes, there was a hint of an impending storm brewing.
…
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