Zheng Xintong couldn't help but think of two years ago, when his uncle Wang Qinghong was also surrounded by the Dongchang people. Then, the next time he saw him, he was beheaded on the execution ground.
There was a hint of panic on her pretty face. Even when Wei Xiu took out the blood letter just now, she had never been so at a loss.
Zheng Xintong asked, "Where is my father?"
The servant said hurriedly, "The master has already rushed to Wang's residence after hearing the news."
Hearing that Zheng Zhongming had left, Zheng Xintong felt a little relieved.
At this moment, she looked at Wei Xiu again and felt that these two people were simply stupid. No wonder they were taken advantage of! They even regarded the other party as a good person.
She gave them good advice, but they didn't appreciate it.
That’s all.
They are asking for death.
She wanted to see if the Zhenbei Palace would still protect them after achieving its goal!
Zheng Xintong was about to say something else when he saw several Dongchang men striding in. When he saw the leader, Jingzhao Yin immediately stood up in respect, hurried down and saluted respectfully.
Wu Ning first bowed to Sheng Xiyan and said a few greetings, such as "Ms. Sheng, how are you these days?", "Come to our Dongchang when you have time", "The new chef in Dongchang is the best at making Jiangnan-style pastries", etc., and then looked at Jingzhao Yin.
Jingzhao Yin did not dare to be impatient at all, and said with a smile: "Eunuch Wu, why bother you to come here in person?"
Wu Ning said calmly, "I'm here to tell the governor. He heard that a tragic case happened in Jiangnan, and the victim reported it to Jingzhao Prefecture. The governor said that in our prosperous times, the world is peaceful, and such evil things have never happened before, and we will never tolerate them." He raised the corners of his mouth and continued in a sharp voice, "Since the suspect is not in the capital now, in order to prevent him from escaping with malicious intent, I will seal off the prefecture in Dongchang first."
Jingzhao Yin felt even more depressed.
Wu Ning said, "Master Chen, the governor said that you can take your time in the trial and don't rush. We in the East Factory will keep an eye on the people for you. When the time comes to confiscate the family property and exterminate the clan, no one will be able to escape."
When she heard the words "confiscate the property and exterminate the clan", Zheng Xintong's expression changed drastically and she almost lost her composure. She tightly gripped the armrests of the armchair and managed not to lose control.
Jingzhao Yin was sweating profusely. After he finished speaking, he bowed and said, "I know. Please tell Eunuch Wu that I will handle the case properly. I will not disappoint the governor's high expectations."
Wu Ning smiled slightly, and her smile made people shudder.
He said, "No problem. Mr. Chen, you have been in this position for many years. It is time to move up."
Jingzhao Yin's eyes lit up, he was overjoyed when he heard the words, and couldn't help swallowing his saliva.
The meaning is so obvious, if I can do this job well, maybe I can get a promotion? !
If he fails to do it well... then it will definitely not just be a matter of taking off the black veil, I'm afraid his head will have to be "moved" as well.
For the sake of his head and veil, this task must be done well!
Wu Ning brushed his robe and said, "I have to go back and report, so I'll take my leave now."
Jingzhao Yin hurriedly said, "Goodbye, Eunuch Wu."
Wu Ning turned around and seemed to have just noticed Zheng Xintong. She glanced at him and said, "So it's the Second Miss Zheng. I seem to have heard that, in this capital, the Zheng family has the final say."
"You can't just say that casually." He said slowly, "Otherwise, I'm afraid the Zheng family will soon be gone in this capital."
Zheng Xintong slapped the armrest of the chair and said angrily, "How dare you!"
Has Dongchang become so arrogant that he openly threatened Jingzhao Yin in front of her and even dared to belittle the Zheng family. Seeing Jingzhao Yin just being submissive and not daring to say a single "no", she became even more furious.
Once upon a time, when the Zheng family was at its most powerful, who dared to be so rude and presumptuous in front of her?
Wu Ning smiled and said, "If you don't believe it, just wait."
Zheng Xintong's face turned pale and blue, and she spoke with difficulty: "Chi Yu, this is your own decision, don't regret it."
After saying this, Zheng Xintong stood up and walked away, with the maid holding the cloak in her hands, hurriedly following her.
Wu Ningsi ignored him and said cheerfully to Sheng Xiyan, "Miss Sheng, I will go back first. You can come and play when you are free."
Sheng Xiyan smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Eunuch Wu. Please tell my brother about this for me."
Wu Ning quickly agreed and left.
As soon as he left, Jingzhao Yin became a little restless in the court. Sheng Xiyan comforted him and asked him to leave the court first and wait until Wang Qinghe returned to the capital before continuing the trial.
Jingzhao Yin was as if he had been pardoned. He thanked Sheng Xiyan profusely, wiped the sweat off his forehead, and respectfully escorted her out. Chi Yu was stunned and said, "No wonder power moves people's hearts."
Sheng Xiyan glanced at him with a smile, which reminded Chi Yu of the events in the court. He immediately stood up in awe and asked, "Miss Sheng, where did the prince take Xiu'er and the others?"
Sheng Xiyan said: "The capital."
Chi Yu organized his words and said, "What I mean is, can we catch him?"
You say you're suppressing bandits, but you don't even know where Wang Qinghe is?
Sheng Xiyan said with certainty, "Yes." Since Chu Yuanchen brought Wei Xiu and Sheng Yan with him, he must be very sure. "You don't have to worry about Xiu'er. With Achen here, nothing will happen."
Chi Yu nodded.
Since Miss Shengda has said so, I believe the person will be caught soon.
Once this man is caught, there will definitely be another trial. Originally, neither he nor Wei Xiu thought that they would have to go to court, and they had not made any preparations.
He had to think carefully about how to make Wang Qinghe speechless and admit his guilt in the court.
His eyes were blazing and his heart was filled with great passion. Although he was a useless scholar, he was quite eloquent. His time in the capital was not in vain as he made friends with many distinguished scholars.
His mind quickly flashed through some ideas of who he could go to, and then he followed Sheng Xiyan and asked, "What can we do? Do you want me to find some students to boost morale?"
"No need." Sheng Xiyan smiled faintly, "Let's go back to Zhenbei Palace first and wait for them to come back."
Chu Yuanchen asked her to bring them to Jingzhao Prefecture, and he would not be without any backup plan.
"Zheng Zhongming is about to get rid of you, so it's safest for you to stay in the Zhenbei Palace." Sheng Xiyan said, "Don't just walk around casually."
As they were talking, Sheng Xiyan noticed that Zheng Xintong was looking at her from a distance.
Sheng Xiyan crossed her arms in front of her, raised her chin slightly, and looked over provocatively, as if to say: What can you do to me?
Zheng Xintong held the reins of the horse tightly. The maid helped her put on the cloak and asked, "Miss, do you want to go back home?"
She turned her head away and said in a deep voice, "Let's go to my uncle's house."
As she spoke, she jumped onto her horse.
The Wang family is also a prominent family in the capital, with generations of descendants.
The Wang family was divided five years ago, with the eldest son Wang Qinghong inheriting the family business, while the rest of the sons were all separated. Wang Qinghe and he were born of the same mother, and they had a very good relationship. Even after the division of the family, they bought a mansion next to the original Wang Mansion and lived next to it.
Zheng Xintong pursed her red lips tightly, adding a hint of sadness to her beautiful face.
She still remembered that two years ago, when the Wang family was ransacked, she also rushed to the Wang family, but what she saw was a group of Dongchang barbarians wearing pointed hats, just like now!
Zheng Xintong's heart ached.
On the street where the Wang residence was located, in addition to the Dongchang bandits, there were also guards from the Zheng family, who blocked the entire street so tightly that no passerby dared to walk in this direction.
These guards were all veterans from the Imperial Army, with strong physiques and long swords on their waists, and they were in a standoff with the Dongchang bandits. There were only two Dongchang bandits guarding the gate, which made the Wang family guards seem even more morale-boosting, and they seemed ready to draw their swords at the slightest disagreement.
When the guards saw that it was Zheng Xintong, they made way for him.
"Daddy."
Zheng Xintong called out, dismounted and walked over quickly.
Zheng Zhongming nodded to her and said angrily, "Get out of the way!"
These words were spoken to Shen Qianhu.
As soon as he got the news, he rushed over directly, but was stopped outside by a group of Dongchang barbarians. He waited for a long time before the Qianhu came out to see him.
Zheng Zhongming: "..."
He was used to having everything go smoothly in his life, but at this age, he has to endure the anger of an eunuch.
Xiao Shuo gave him a cold shoulder, and for the sake of the overall situation, he endured it. Now, even a mere Dongchang Qianhu dared to give him a cold shoulder. Does this mean that they think Zheng Zhongming has a good temper? !
Zheng Zhongming endured it again and again: "I want to go in."
"It's Mr. Zheng." Captain Shen had a cold face, as if Zheng Zhongming owed him tens of thousands of taels of silver. He casually cupped his hands and said, "I have official duties to attend to, and I don't have time to socialize with Mr. Zheng."
Zheng Zhongming only asked: "What crime did Wang Qinghe commit?"
Captain Shen did not answer but asked, "Master Zheng, don't you know?"
Zheng Zhongming sneered: "What do you think?"
"In that case," Captain Shen said calmly, "When we take him to the East Factory for trial, we will naturally know what crime he has committed."
"We need to think carefully, should we chop off his head or put him to death?"
His voice was shrill, and he spoke these words in a rhythmic manner. Although there was no unnecessary emotion in his voice, they were still furious when they heard it.
Zheng Zhongming: "..."
Zheng Xintong held the handkerchief tightly.
This is simply arrogance to the extreme and disregard for the law.
He almost said it directly. Once he is thrown into Dongchang Prison, he will be charged with whatever crime you want him to be charged with.
Zheng Zhongming frowned and said in a cold voice, "Captain Shen won't let me in?"
Captain Shen said to his men in a sharp voice, "Look at how you do things. All kinds of people, whether related or not, are hanging around the door and making a lot of noise. If this gets out, people will think that we in the East Factory are all good-for-nothings who can't even do such a small thing."
This is a blatant indirect attack.
The Dongchang guard immediately clasped his fists and said, "I understand. I will never let the insignificant Xiao Xiao cause trouble here again." When he mentioned Xiao Xiao, he did not forget to glance at Zheng Zhongming.
Zheng Zhongming laughed in anger and clapped his hands lightly: "Dongchang is indeed powerful. No wonder people in Beijing are terrified when they hear about Dongchang. But, I want to see how long Dongchang can remain powerful."
"Today, this commander-in-chief must break into this gate!"
Zheng Zhongming recalled that he was also stopped outside the Dongchang that year. He was confident that the emperor would not tolerate Xiao Shuo's deceitful behavior, and waited patiently for the emperor to come forward to uphold justice. Who would have thought that what he waited for was the death of Wang Qinghong.
He will not make the same mistake twice.
Shen Qianhu snorted contemptuously, as if mocking his arrogance.
Zheng Zhongming said righteously: "As the governor of the Beijing camp, I have the duty to protect the safety of the capital. Wang Qing is out to suppress bandits, and Dongchang has wantonly sealed off his residence. I can't help but wonder if Dongchang has colluded with the bandits to plot something bad."
Zheng Zhongming spoke with righteous indignation.
Then, he waved his hand and ordered: "Stop!"
He took the lead and strode forward.
Zheng Xintong followed beside him, her rosy lips slightly curved.
There were only three people at the gate of the mansion, including the Dongchang guards and Captain Shen. They would not be able to stop them. Even if they transferred people from inside, Dad would have broken in long ago.
This was an opportunity that Dongchang took the initiative to hand over, giving Dad an opportunity to severely suppress Xiao Shuo's arrogance.
Xiao Shuo has been accumulating power in the capital for a long time because no one has been able to suppress his power. As time goes on, he will become more rampant, and people will be more in awe of him. Once he suffers a setback, his prestige in the court will be greatly affected. At that time, Dad will take advantage of the situation.
Zheng Xintong felt very calm.
She was too short-sighted. She only saw the house raid at Dongchang and didn't expect that her father already had a plan.
She was sure that if her father had been so decisive when her uncle got into trouble, Dongchang would not be what it is today.
Zheng Xintong stood straight with an arrogant and fearless manner.
"Girl, be careful!"
Zheng Xintong was stunned for a moment, then he heard a sound of breaking through the air, and a feather arrow came towards him, the arrow tip reflecting the dazzling sunlight.
She was startled and couldn't help screaming: "Ah——"
The arrow came so suddenly that no one had time to react.
Zheng Xintong dodged quickly, and at the same time, he felt a slight pain on his cheek as the arrow had already flown past his ear.
Zheng Xintong raised her hand and touched her cheek, and felt a sticky wetness on her palm. She slowly looked at her palm, and what she saw was a glaring blood red.
Zheng Xintong's heart seemed to skip a beat, and the same words flashed through her mind: Her face! Her injuries.
“Daddy!”
Zheng Xintong was so frightened that she grabbed Zheng Zhongming's sleeve and was about to cry.
She completely ignored the fact that the arrow just shot was not aimed at her head, but was so accurate that it would have brushed past her ear. If she hadn't dodged, it wouldn't have even hurt her skin.
There was a man standing on the wall of Wang's mansion, holding a bow in one hand and looking down cynically. Then, he picked up a feather arrow, bent the bow and pulled the string, and gave Zheng Zhongming a provocative smile.
Zheng Zhongming's face changed drastically, and he shouted, "How dare you!"
Captain Shen said calmly: "Master Zheng can give it a try. Do we dare to do it?"
As he spoke, he smiled, but his face was always stern, and when he smiled, it looked really ugly.
He went on to say, "Master Zheng, the Dongchang has reportedly been conspiring to commit treason and evil. Wang Qinghe is suspected of being a traitor and an evildoer. The Dongchang is investigating him. If you intrude without permission, you will be guilty of the same crime as the criminal."
He slowly raised his hand, an extremely slow movement. When his hand was raised above his head, the young man standing on the wall had already pulled the longbow to full string, and the arrow with a cold white light was aimed at Zheng Zhongming's head.
Zheng Zhongming: "..."
Zheng Zhongming couldn't help but look serious, for he realized that if he took one more step forward, the arrow would surely hit his head.
A year ago, he had broken into the East Factory. At that time, he was facing Xiao Shuo directly. But now, Xiao Shuo felt that he was not worthy of talking to him face to face? Let a thousand households get rid of him.
"ah!"
The young man on the wall let out a cry that was so fake that it was no longer fake, and the next moment, the arrow was released from the bow.
The guard's face changed drastically and he hurriedly stood in front of him. Zheng Zhongming drew his sword and swung it in the direction of the arrow.
He deflected the feather arrow with one blow of his sword, and his right arm ached slightly from the shock. It was conceivable that the young man standing on the wall had great arm strength and could easily pull the heavy bow.
"It was an accident." The young man said hurriedly, "Please forgive me, Captain. I pulled the bow for too long and my arm was numb. That's why I couldn't hold it steady. I won't do it again next time."
He said this with a joking face, and Captain Shen also reprimanded him a few times: "Su Chen, you are becoming more and more outrageous. What if you accidentally scare Lord Zheng?"
The attitudes of these two people in their exchanges couldn't be more fake.
Su Chen quickly took out another feather arrow and drew his bow again, saying, "Don't worry, Captain. I won't fail this time."
When he aimed the arrow at himself again, Zheng Zhongming had no confidence in the statement "I will not miss".
He believed that if he really dared to break in, the Dongchang would probably pretend to have failed and get rid of him.
He and Xiao Shuo have been at loggerheads for a long time.
He originally firmly believed that Xiao Shuo would not dare to confront him due to the hindrance of the imperial guards, but now, his confidence was somewhat shaken.
If Xiao Shuo was given a good reason, would he not take action? If it were him, he would wish Xiao Shuo dead.
Zheng Zhongming's face turned blue and pale.
He looked at the arrow aimed at his head, but ultimately he did not take that step forward.
After all, his intention was not to completely break off with Xiao Shuo now; it was not the right time yet.
Originally, he wanted to break into Wang's house, take away Wang's family members, and embarrass Xiao Shuo, but it seems that this is not going to work... Now, it is far from the point where he would risk his life.
He gritted his teeth and finally turned and left. Faintly, he seemed to hear Shen Qianhu laughing with regret, as if he was regretting that he did not take that step.
Zheng Xintong hurriedly followed, and the guards also followed behind them.
Zheng Zhongming said in a deep voice: "What happened?"
Zheng Xintong told him everything. When he heard that it was Wei Xiu and Chi Yu who caused the trouble, Zheng Zhongming could not help but get furious and sighed, "Qinghe, you are still too soft-hearted."
Zheng Xintong suddenly had an idea and asked, "Could it be that my uncle has sent someone to attack Wei Xiu and the others again?"
Zheng Zhongming just said: "Qinghe is too inefficient in doing things."
He had already taken action, but he did not get rid of the two men immediately, and gave them the opportunity to come to the capital.
Years ago, when Zheng Zhongming found out Chi Yu was in the capital, he knew that he could not keep Chi Yu.
Back then, it was because Xiao Shuo was keeping an eye on him everywhere. Zheng Zhongming was afraid that once Chi Yu died, Xiao Shuo would find evidence to suppress him again, so he saved his life.
Two years later, after their initial limelight had passed, their presence became even more conspicuous.
Wang Qingyang said that it was an accident, and he thought it was good, but he didn't expect that Wang Qingyang would be so slow in doing things.
Zheng Zhongming's eyes darkened slightly.
Zheng Xintong asked, "Dad, what should we do now?" She glanced in the direction of the Wang Mansion and suggested, "Should we let my uncle leave Beijing first?"
Zheng Zhongming shook his head and said, "No."
At this moment, leaving Beijing would mean fleeing for fear of crime, and Xiao Shuo would be able to stir up trouble even more.
That's true.
"Xiao Shuo is a very sinister person. He is like a rat in a dark ditch, waiting to bite someone at any time." Zheng Xintong frowned in disgust, and suddenly her eyes lit up and she said, "Dad, the King of Zhenbei has left the capital to chase my uncle. Should we take this opportunity to... cut off Xiao Shuo's arm?"
Zheng Zhongming raised his eyebrows and looked at her.
Zheng Xintong let go of his hand that was covering his cheek, letting the blood on his cheek blur, and said calmly: "The King of Zhenbei only brought two children with him. Even if he brought all the guards in the palace, there would only be a few left. This time, my uncle led a battalion of 3,000 people out, which is enough..."
She raised her hand and made a sweeping motion.
Zheng Zhongming pondered her words.
As everyone knows, Xiao Shuo is now allying with Chu Yuanchen because he has his eyes on Chu Yuanchen's military power. If Chu Yuanchen is gone, Xiao Shuo will at most have the Jinyi Guards, and at most the Twelve Guards.
In fact, Zheng Zhongming has been considering when to take action to purge the emperor's side.
After the loss, he is now more cautious because he knows that Xiao Shuo will never give him another chance.
He only has one chance.
It's either victory or defeat.
It's either life or death.
And now...
"Dad, let's take a step back. Even if we fail, it will only be my uncle who will be hurt, and it won't be implicated to you." Zheng Xintong said extremely coldly, "And if we succeed, Xiao Shuo's biggest ally will be gone. What else can he use to fight Dad?"
Zheng Zhongming nodded slowly. This opportunity was indeed rare.
"I'll have someone pass the message to Qinghe."
Zheng Zhongming hurried back home, and soon a young man rode out of the house.
He rode all the way out of Beijing, and when the sun was about to set, he finally caught up with Wang Qinghe.
Wang Qinghe was just over thirty years old, with an ordinary appearance and sinister eyes.
Hearing this, he smiled and said, "Brother-in-law, have you finally made up your mind?"
He had long ago advised his brother-in-law not to be indecisive or too soft-hearted, but his brother-in-law just thought too much.
"Okay." Wang Qinghe said, "Go back and tell my brother-in-law that I will make sure Chu Yuanchen never comes back."
He had a proud smile on his face and sat on a tall horse, looking very majestic.
There are two brothers in the Wang family, one studied literature and the other studied martial arts. Wang Qinghong was once the governor of Jiangnan Province, and Wang Qinghe is now the deputy general of the Three Thousand Battalion and Zheng Zhongming's most trusted right-hand man.
"I know where Chu Yuanchen and the boy surnamed Wei are."
Chu Yuanchen prided himself on being a famous general, but in his opinion, he was nothing more than that.
Wang Qinghe gave the order: "Organize the troops."
Zheng Zhongming had been on guard against Xiao Shuo for a long time. Starting before the Chinese New Year, he quietly moved a part of the imperial guards to another place under the pretext of a military performance, away from Xiao Shuo's sight.
Dongchang and Jinyiwei are both Xiao Shuo's hawks and dogs. In order to prevent him from finding out, the relocation can only be done step by step.
Once enough troops have been accumulated, it will be time for Zheng Zhongming to "clean up the emperor's side."
He didn't dare to give this task to anyone else except Wang Qinghe.
It happened that bandits were rampant in the capital, so he took away the imperial guards in the name of suppressing bandits. Now he had a total of 3,000 people under his command, and it was easy for him to encircle and suppress Chu Yuanchen, and he could also easily push the blame on the bandits.