Chapter 110: Don’t trust a dead person’s words

In the hall, Zhou Yunzhi sat down and looked at the pretty girl below her. She was completely different from the noble ladies in Beijing who were spoiled and arrogant. Her almond eyes were free and lively, and her movements were calm, without any sign of restraint from a guest.

After hearing from my daughter that she was the daughter of my son's teacher, I felt closer to her.

Zi Ning stood up and bowed, "Hello, Auntie. I am Senior Brother Qingzhou's junior sister. My name is Xu Zining. You can just call me Zi Ning."

"Okay, okay, I heard you came from Jiangnan, but are you here alone?"

"I came here alone." Zi Ning nodded, a little embarrassed: "According to the plan, I should have arrived five days ago, but I misread the map, so I was delayed for a few more days."

"Oh, you are so brave. A girl traveling alone is not afraid of encountering danger." Zhou Yunzhi was really scared for her.

In recent years, due to the disaster in Lucheng, the people have been living in misery. There are frequent reports of bandits robbing homes, and the situation is not peaceful at all.

Ruan Qingzhou heard this and said gloomily: "Mom, you think too much. If the bad guy really meets her, who knows who will be the unlucky one."

Zhou Yunzhi frowned: "What are you talking about?"

"Brother, what you said is true. Bandits are no match for me." Zi Ning was not angry. She raised her hand and grasped the sword on the short stool. "But I didn't encounter any bad guys. I did save someone in the suburbs of Beijing."

Save someone?

Ruan Qinghuan admired and said: "Miss Xu is chivalrous and kind-hearted. She is willing to lend a hand to those in need. This is truly precious."

Xu Zining felt a little embarrassed by the compliment: "What a coincidence, that person was wronged. I said I would take him to the capital with me, but he refused no matter what. He also said that if he was discovered by his enemies, he would be killed without a burial place."

Is there someone who has been wronged?

After these words were spoken, several people in the hall looked at each other in bewilderment. Ruan Qingzhou was the first to speak: "This is not something you can joke about. Are you serious?"

"Of course it's true. I arranged for him to stay in a posthouse outside the capital. He told me that he would try to find Prime Minister He Anhe after entering the capital."

Ruan Qinghuan's expression became more serious: "Did he say what he wanted to do with Prime Minister He?"

"To seek redress, he said, his grievances were great, and only the prime minister could redress them." Xu Zining thought of the important matter, and asked, "Now that we are talking about this, I wonder if my aunt and sister know where the prime minister's residence is?"

**

In the prime minister's residence, Ruan Qinghuan brought Xu Zining to the study. He An was discussing with Ji Lingchuan about the suicide of the prefect of Suzhou. Suzhou was the largest prefecture in Dongzhao State, administering dozens of counties, large and small, and was an important grain-producing area.

A few days ago, the court received a report that the prefect of Suzhou had committed suicide at home. The unclear death of a prefecture governor caused quite a stir.

There are still nearly two months until the autumn harvest season, which is a time of leisure. The government of Suzhou has always been peaceful and stable. Now that something like this has happened, it is even more abnormal.

"The prefect of Suzhou is nearly sixty years old. I have dealt with him during the war because of food and fodder issues. He is a loyal and steady man, and it is not like he would seek death easily." Ji Lingchuan breathed a sigh of relief. No matter how he looked at it, this matter did not seem right.

He An said calmly, "Some officials around me have also expressed their opinions on this matter. Some people said that Governor Liu had been seriously ill in the past two years and he might have committed suicide because he couldn't bear the pain."

This is not completely impossible, but Ji Lingchuan still feels that a person who is not in a hurry or slow in doing things is unlikely to commit suicide.

There was a knock on the door, and He An straightened the paperwork on the table: "Come in."

The moment the door opened and he saw Ruan Qinghuan, He An smiled subconsciously: "Madam, why did you come back early?"

He'an knew that she was going back to the Ruan Mansion, and originally planned to pick her up in person after finishing these things, but he didn't expect that she came back by herself.

Seeing that Ruan Qinghuan looked a little solemn, He An became serious and waited for her to explain her purpose.

After greeting Ji Lingchuan, Ruan Qinghuan called in Xu Zining who was waiting outside the door, and explained the purpose of their visit to He'an: "Sir, this is Miss Xu, the daughter of Master Qingzhou. Before she came to Beijing, she saved a seriously injured man. The man said that he had been wronged and said that only you could help him get justice."

He An: “…”

Ji Lingchuan: “…”

It was the first time that Xu Zining met such a high-ranking official. Her first impression was that this person was difficult to talk to. His eyes were sharper than the swords in the hands of martial artists, and there was a look of scrutiny in his eyes as he looked at her.

The other one, on the other hand, looked much more pleasing to the eye. Based on her experience in the martial arts world, and the fact that there was a layer of wrinkles on the palm of his hand holding the teacup, she guessed that he was also a martial artist, or at least a military commander.

"Hello, gentlemen." Xu Ning bowed according to the etiquette of a man of the world.

He An: "Can that person tell you what his name is?"

"That man's surname is Pei, and his name is Pei Zhan." After saying that, he looked at Ruan Qinghuan embarrassedly and said, "Don't blame me, sister. I was entrusted with a task. That man told me many times that this matter concerns life and death. I can't say anything before I see the Prime Minister."

Ruan Qinghuan smiled and said, "You are right to keep your promise."

When she came here, she did ask about the person's identity, and Xu Zining bluntly told her that she couldn't tell her. It can be seen that although this girl is young, she is a person who values ​​her promises and keeps her word, and she has a better impression of her in her heart.

Pei Zhan?

He An and Ji Lingchuan frowned at the same time when they heard this.

Ruan Qinghuan collected her thoughts and found that He'an was looking at her. Just from this one look, she guessed that this Pei Zhanding was related to the Pei family.

Xu Zining handed the letter that person gave her to He'an: "He asked me to give this to the adults, saying that after the adults read it, they will understand everything."

After Ruan Qinghuan and Xu Zining left, He An's face became solemn and he slammed the letter heavily on the table.

Ji Lingchuan read the contents of the letter and his face was also not good: "The few sentences in the letter, although not clear enough, have led to the whereabouts of the huge amount of money in the corruption. How is so much silver and food different from the privately set up treasury and grain storage?"

These two things were expressly prohibited by the Dongzhao State. Anyone who privately set up a treasonous storehouse would be considered guilty of treason.

Recently, the prince received news that there was a large amount of grain in Qizhou that could not be consumed at once, and Qizhou was adjacent to Suzhou, which inevitably made people think of it.

In Dongzhao State, all cross-state sales of grain and grass require official documents from the government office, but even with that, ordinary grain merchants are not allowed to transport more than one thousand dan of grain at a time.

He'an picked up the letter, took out a tinder, lit it, and threw it into the incense burner next to him.

Ji Lingchuan looked aggrieved: "Suzhou and Qizhou are adjacent to each other. The letter said that Qizhou has a lot of grain and grass. If we want to consume this grain and grass, we can only go through Suzhou. Suzhou is a major grain-producing state for disaster relief in various places. It is more legitimate to consume this stored grain from here."

He sighed and said, "I'm afraid this matter is related to Prince Chen again. The emperor wants to protect him now. What if..."

"A letter alone won't explain much. Let's go to the inn and meet Pei Zhan in person."

Ji Lingchuan curled his lips when he heard this: "That's right, a dead person's words can't be fully trusted."