Gui Yuan

Chapter 20 Conspiracy

Du Yuan's mansion is not as eye-catching as Lin Ruode's, but it is also elegant.The study was right next to the bedroom, and the fire burned so fiercely that half of the bedroom was also burned down. At this time, it was completely unrecognizable, and there was a strong burning smell in the air, which made people uncomfortable.

Ning Qing covered her mouth and asked Tian Cheng, "Is it like this when you came here?"

"No, the fire was burning when we came, and we went back to report after we put out the fire."

"In my opinion, you have been tricked." Ning Qing glanced at him.

Tian Cheng was a little flustered, and quickly looked at Wei Yao, who asked for him, "What do you mean?"

Ning Qing didn't answer right away, walked to the strange burn marks in the bedroom, pointed and said, "Don't you guys think the fire is just right?"

Wei Yao followed up and took a look. It was indeed strange. The fire seemed to start from the study and spread to the bedroom inadvertently, but the fire only burned halfway in the end, and the bedroom door was still intact.

Zhu Yu asked: "You mean someone is confusing the public?"

"That's right." Ning Qing found a pier and sat down, pointing to the door of the bedroom, "Someone took advantage of the fire in the study and when others went to put out the fire, they took some evidence from the bedroom without anyone noticing, and there was a lot of noise. "

Wei Yao asked: "Do you think Du Yuan put the evidence in the bedroom instead of the study?"

Ning Qing smiled and looked up at him: "The bandit leader who committed suicide on Luoxia Ridge, why did he kill himself suddenly? Probably because he was worried about being caught back, and if he accidentally revealed something, the consequences would be unimaginable."

This question seemed irrelevant, but Wei Yao figured it out after hearing it, and looked at Ning Qing.

Fei Tian's eyes wandered between them, seeing that they understood clearly, he said impatiently: "What are you flirting with? Brother Lan Yu, don't be tricky, just speak directly."

As soon as they exchanged glances, the two looked away in a particularly tacit understanding.

Ning Qing coughed lightly to resolve the embarrassment, stood up and said seriously: "The bandit is willing to kill himself, why did he let Du Yuan who is only a short distance away from him? It only shows that it is useful to keep him. This matter involves a lot, Du Yuan is a prudent master, his wealth and life are all on this, so it is natural to put the evidence in the nearest place to be at ease."

Fei Tian suddenly realized.

"There is no clue here, so ask the living people."

-

Xuanzhou Prison.

One hundred and ten people were arrested at once, the prison is now overcrowded, and there are at least seven or eight people in a cell. Du Yuan and Lin Ruode are the only ones who can enjoy the treatment of a single room, but these two people are now more worried than each other. exhibition.

After a day's work, Du Yuan was haggard, without the slightest trace of his former spirit.

"Master Du was born as a Jinshi after all, and he was safe as an official in the imperial capital. Why did he end up in such a land after he was sent down?" Zhu Yu said with emotion.

Du Yuan's face was ashen, and he looked indifferent and indifferent.

He shrugged his head until a pair of feet appeared in front of him before raising his head.Ning Qing squatted down and asked him: "Master Du did not do well in the imperial capital at that time, did he?"

Du Yuan's eyelids moved slightly.

Ning Qing thought to himself: "Let me think about it, Master Du must have great ambitions when he was young and energetic, but now, the adults have joined them, and it is no longer what it used to be."

Hearing this, Du Yuan stared at him suddenly: "What do you know!"

Xu found out his intentions, and Du Yuan quickly calmed down: "Don't expect to use aggressive methods to be effective. I am already a criminal. After being escorted to Beijing, I will have the decision of the Ministry of Punishment and Your Majesty. I have nothing to say right now."

Knowing that Du Yuan is not a person who can tell the truth, it is not surprising that such a result, Ning Qing shrugged indifferently, stood up and said: "Although the officers and soldiers in the state capital are not good, they are not helpless. Before going to Luoxia Ridge, Master Du must have moved his hands and feet? I am just a little curious, who is the one whom Master Du is loyal to, and who can make you so desperate."

If he read it correctly, a complex emotion flashed in Du Yuan's eyes, and it was fleeting, followed by an expression of "I won't open my mouth even if you talk about the hype".Ning Qing smiled and didn't care too much: "It's okay, I will always know in the future."

After leaving Du Yuan's cell, Fei Tian asked, "Let him go like this?"

"He won't say anything. If you force him again, he can kill himself by biting his tongue in front of you."

Zhu Yu let out a long sigh: "It's a pity."

Many students, relying on ten years of poverty, have a sense of loftiness in their bones. Before they entered the official position, they felt that "the whole world is turbid and I am alone, and everyone is drunk and I am alone". Hope, I must not remember clearly.

It was inevitable that the two colluded, and Lin Ruode's cell was some distance away from Du Yuan, and when he saw someone at the door, Lin Ruode fell on the ground: "My lords, it was the villain who was delusional for a while, and did such an outrageous thing. "

Fei Tian sneered, "You're calling it a moment? I'm afraid this ghost has got on your body!"

Lin Ruode lowered his body even lower, not daring to refute.For people like Lin Ruode who are greedy for life and afraid of death, there is no need to work too hard, just go straight.

Zhu Yudao: "Get up, I have something to ask you."

Lin Ruode straightened up, but he didn't dare to get up. He knelt with his back on his knees and said respectfully, "Your Excellency, just ask, I will know everything."

"When did the southern barbarians on Luoxia Ridge come?"

Lin Ruode thought for a while: "About five years ago, around the same time as Lord Du."

"Do you know how they got in?"

Lin Ruode said with a sad face: "Perhaps they came in slowly from those border villages in batches, but I don't know the truth."

Zhu Yu glanced at Ning Qing, motioning for him to continue asking.

Ning Qing smiled and blinked, and poked Lin Ruode lightly: "It's not that we won't help you, it's just that what you said is really worthless. If you don't know anything, we don't need to waste any more time."

Lin Ruode was suspicious for a moment, then stared at him cautiously and said, "You, what do you want to know?"

"Where did that batch of food go?"

Lin Ruode was stunned, and said with a wry smile: "Don't you all know this, you have sold them in grain shops."

Ning Qing clicked his tongue: "Brother, you are so unkind, you have no sincerity at all."

"What do you mean?"

"The Ministry of Households provides disaster relief to Xuanzhou with one hundred thousand shi a year. Xuanzhou's harvest is not good, but it is barely self-sufficient. It does not need much relief food. Only part of the grain that originally belonged to Xingchuan enters the grain store. About [-] shi are not available every year. Wings flew away, could it be that you ate them?" Ning Qing said again, "I have read the account books of Xuanji Grain Shop, do you need to look again?"

Lin Ruode panicked completely, and hurriedly hugged Zhu Yu's leg: "My lord, the little one is willing to talk, and I hope the lord will spare the little one's life."

Zhu Yu nodded: "If you tell the truth, I can protect you."

Lin Ruode took a breath and said in a low voice: "There is a cave dwelling left by the predecessors in Luoxia Ridge. stand up."

This also explained why Lin Ruode also appeared in Luoxia Ridge yesterday, not to die, but Du Yuan knew that the place where the grain was stored was no longer safe, so he specially asked him to find a way to change his position.

Zhu Yu asked: "So, you should be able to find a place?"

Lin Ruode hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Lin Ruode led the way, and Wei Yao led his men to find the granary in Luoxia Ridge. It was densely packed with grain, and the quantity was astonishing.Fei Tian couldn't help but smacked Lin Ruode's back of the head: "The people are so hot, and you still have so much food, you don't want to get even a little bit of food, I'll beat you to death!"

Lin Ruode was slapped several times, screaming, unable to avoid it.

Wei Yao turned a blind eye and went with the fee, as long as the person couldn't die.He looked at the mountain of grain in front of him, wondering what he was thinking.

Carloads of grain were transported into Xingchuan. The desolate people who were lying at the gate of the city burst into tears when they saw this scene, and cheered and surrounded them one by one.Each household distributed food according to the head, and the rest was stored in the official warehouse.After the matter was reported to the imperial court, Emperor Wei Ren was furious, and immediately sent two officials to take charge of Xingchuan and Xuanzhou, and the chaos was finally brought into order.

At the same time, Emperor Wei Ren ordered that the guilty minister Du Yuan and the southern barbarian bandits be escorted to Beijing immediately, and the governor of Jiazhou sent special personnel to support them, and the matter was finally settled.

On the day the prison van drove out of Xuanzhou, the alleys were empty. The people of Xingchuan and Xuanzhou stood by the road, reluctant to throw food, and scolded this group of wolf-hearted people with their mouths. When they left the city, there were still many people chasing.

Zhu Yu, Fei Tian and the others returned to the inn early, while Ning Qing and Wei Yao strolled peacefully on the empty streets.

"The matter is finally settled. I shouldn't have caused too much trouble for my father-in-law along the way, right?" Ning Qing said with a smile.

Wei Yao slightly hooked the corner of his mouth: "You want me to praise you?"

"How dare you."

"Lan Yu." Wei Yao stopped, he was half a head taller than Ning Qing, Ning Qing had to raise his head slightly to meet his eyes.

"how?"

"You don't have to hide your edge anymore. I can't see what kind of person you are these days?"

Ning Qing just smiled and said nothing, Wei Yao said again: "You and the prince don't have to worry, if I really plot something wrong, you will die directly on Luoxia Ridge, you don't need to dirty my hands."

This statement was true, and it was also the Luoxia Ridge incident that made him and the crown prince let go of their grievances.The crown prince brought a military badge with him when he left the palace. If something unexpected happened, he could dispatch the garrison in the southern border. At Luoxia Ridge at that time, if Wei Yao had the wrong intentions, there was no need to come to rescue them, and neither would his subordinates. So hurt.

Ning Qing laughed: "My lord sees things clearly, we can't hide it even if we want to."

The two walked around and returned to the inn, where they bumped into Zhao Min and had a chat.

He suddenly said: "Speaking of it, there is one thing that I found a bit strange later. I visited Luoxia Ridge that night, and saw that there were two people who seemed to be the leaders, but only one committed suicide afterwards."

Ning Qing was startled, and asked, "You mean there is one more person?"

"Yes, I saw that he was escorted to Beijing just now."

Ning Qing thought about it carefully, and cried in his heart: "It's over, Du Yuan!"

-

The escort team went to the official road, and the sky was getting dark.

The Nanman in the prison car behind suddenly opened his eyes, stared fiercely at Du Yuan who was driving in front, opened his mouth slightly, and blew out the poisonous needle hidden in the bottom of his tongue.

Du Yuanben leaned his eyes silently, suddenly his neck felt sore, but after a while he spit out a mouthful of black blood and fell on the railing.The officers and soldiers who saw him off noticed and shouted in a hurry.Seeing that the matter was over, the Nanman took out the broken tile hidden in his sleeve and swiped his wrist vigorously, blood spurted out and wet the dry grass under his body.