Chapter 332 Chen Li and Chen Zao
Upon hearing that the matter was of great importance, Magistrate Gan did not dare to be negligent. He immediately ordered someone to fetch the household registration files and personally accompanied Zhu Lan to look through them.
Zhu Lan read very carefully, and did not read until the evening, before he put down the last volume of the file with some tiredness.
Magistrate Gan came over and respectfully handed the records in his hand to Zhu Lan. These were the families with the surname Jin that he had found. He wondered if among them was the person Zhu Lan was looking for.
"Thank you for your hard work, County Magistrate. Please go and do your work first. I will call you if there is anything else."
After Magistrate Gan left, Zhu Lan began to look through the household registration files of the Jin family members. There were only three households in total.
Zhu Lan paid special attention to the time when the descendants of these families registered their household registration, but found that no family had given birth to a child twenty years ago, let alone twins, a boy and a girl.
So where are the Jin couple mentioned in the Annotations to Various Philosophers? Or have they already moved away from Jiangzhou?
While Zhu Lan was thinking, Magistrate Gan came back and said he remembered something.
"If the superior is looking for someone with the surname Jin, then these are the only ones I have mentioned. But if you are talking about twins, I do have some vague impression of them."
Zhu Lan's eyes flashed, and he immediately asked.
Magistrate Gan seemed to be trying to recall something from a long time ago. "Twenty years ago, a couple did give birth to twins, a boy and a girl, but their surnames were not Jin."
"Oh?" Zhu Lan thought for a moment, "Since it happened twenty years ago, it's such a long time ago, could you remember it wrongly?"
County Magistrate Gan shook his head slowly, "I won't be mistaken. In the customs of our Jiangzhou, twin boys and girls are a sign of good fortune and a great joy.
That year, I had just arrived in Xiangyang County to take up my post when I encountered such a happy event. In order to bring good luck, I even sent people to deliver a lot of food, so I was deeply impressed. And that year, there should have been only such a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, in the entire Xiangyang County. "
"That couple's surname is not Jin?" Zhu Lan confirmed again.
"No." This time, Magistrate Gan answered with great confidence, "The family's surname is Chen. I can't remember the couple's names, but I remember the two children."
Magistrate Gan said that he sent a basket of red dates and a basket of pears.
“Poor people name their children at will, and cheap names make it easier to raise them.
I sent the gifts, and the Chen couple simply named the children Chen Zao and Chen Li. "
"Chen Li!?" Zhu Lan was a little surprised.
"Yes, that's her. This girl is determined to study and often goes to Zhaoping County. She says the academic atmosphere there is good and that there was a female top scholar there!"
Zhu Lan immediately asked: "Since they are twins, where is the boy?"
"Hiss..." Magistrate Gan seemed to be suddenly stumped by the question and thought for a long time, "Oh...it seems that the boy died not long after he was born? It seems that he died of illness, and his parents buried him in a hurry without even holding a funeral. They only came to the county government to inform us afterwards."
Zhu Lan immediately realized that this was the person he was looking for.
Chen Li's brother Chen Zao, the baby boy who died young, should have been the baby who was selected into the palace and exchanged his identity with the real prince when the plague was raging that year.
In the fire that occurred in the side hall of Concubine Lan’s bedroom, was Yan Xiuyun, who survived, the real prince - or was he Chen Zao?
As for why Jin became Chen, Zhu Lan thought that it was probably because she was involved in the secrets of the palace, so she changed her name to avoid trouble.
But if escaping is useful, why would there be so many right and wrongs in this world?
Zhu Lan lowered his eyes and sighed, then told Magistrate Gan that he needed to see the Chen family immediately.
"Chen Li's father was named Chen Rong, and he passed away a few years ago. Now only Old Lady Chen and Chen Li and her daughter are left." County Magistrate Gan said to Zhu Lan.
"Then please ask them both to come over."
Magistrate Gan nodded and immediately sent a bailiff to look for the person.
Zhu Qingyan and Chu Xin, who had been sent away by Zhu Lan to stay in the inn, came back.
"Zhu Lan, what on earth are you doing?" Zhu Qingyan walked up to Zhu Lan and asked with some dissatisfaction.
I only know that Zhu Lan is looking for the Jin couple, but I still have no idea why she is looking for them.
Although he said before that he didn't care what Zhu Lan was going to do, how could he really not care? Moreover, he now had a vague intuition that there was a huge danger hidden behind this matter.
Zhu Qingyan looked slightly annoyed, "If you don't tell me, I won't care about you anymore!"
Zhu Lan considered for a moment and said, "Okay, then you stay."
Zhu Qingyan looked better. Chu Xin poked his little head out from behind her and looked at Zhu Lan expectantly.
Zhu Lan patted her head and said, "Chu Xinguai, go play with the yamen runner brother."
Chu Xin looked a little disappointed. Although he was unwilling, he still listened to Zhu Lan.
"Sister Zhuangyuan, you will find the murderer who killed my aunt, right?" Chu Xin asked, looking up.
"...I will." Zhu Lan said to her seriously.
Xiangyang County is not big, so it is easy to find people.
Soon, Old Lady Chen and Chen Li were taken to the county government office.
The two men looked obviously uneasy, and looked at the government office with awe and worry.
It is a fear of power that comes from the bottom of the hearts of ordinary people.
The yamen was not opened in court. The two men were taken to a side room, and as soon as they saw Magistrate Gan, they knelt down and kowtowed.
"Miss Chen, we meet again."
A familiar voice sounded, and Chen Li raised his head suddenly. When he saw Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan, he became obviously more panicked.
She remembered it clearly! The girl had a pleasant conversation with the thieves on the river, and later she even pulled out a sword from her waist and robbed one of the thieves.
Isn't this just black eating black?
Magistrate Gan coughed lightly and said in a dignified voice, "These two are gentlemen from the capital, and I have something to ask you."
It took Chen Li a long time to react, but the fear in her eyes became even more intense, and she nodded hurriedly along with Old Lady Chen.
County Magistrate Gan turned around and smiled, "You two gentlemen, please feel free to ask them anything you want to ask. I will not disturb you for now."
After saying that, he walked out and closed the door.
Zhu Lan pondered for a moment, then he considered and asked Old Lady Chen:
"Twenty years ago, someone found you and wanted to bring your newly born son Chen Zao into the palace, right?"
Old Mrs. Chen shuddered all over, as if something painful had been touched upon.
"Zao'er, my Zao'er..." Old Mrs. Chen began to mutter, and her eyes soon turned red.
There was also reluctance in Zhu Lan's eyes.
After all, only one child survived the fire, and he became the current Crown Prince Yan Xiuyun.
For Mrs. Chen, the past twenty years were like losing her son. If it weren't for the situation, Zhu Lan would not want to open up a mother's scars so cruelly.
Zhu Lan asked softly: "Does your son have any special characteristics?"
Now that Chen Zao's biological mother has been found, if Chen Zao has any characteristics such as a birthmark, they can try to go to the prince to verify it.
If the prince's characteristics do not match, then it proves that Yan Xiuyun is not Chen Zao, but a real prince.
But if it matches...
Zhu Lan's eyes darkened slightly, but he heard Old Lady Chen shaking her head and saying sadly that when the child was born, she only had time to take a look at him, and then the child was taken away not long after.
Old Mrs. Chen couldn't remember any of her son's characteristics.
"Alas, my poor Zao'er, I am afraid that one day when I am buried in the underworld, I will not be able to recognize my son..."
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