The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 616: Diverting trouble to the east
Wang Qi was startled, his eyes trembled, and he quickly said, "Besides, he gave me ten strings of cash. I have an eighty-year-old mother who is starving, and a child who is less than three years old who is crying for food. I also have to support my family. Seeing that this is something that will bring honor to the King of Shu, I did not refuse."

"Although I survive by acting as a matchmaker, I don't steal or rob. I make a living with my two legs and one mouth, and I have never violated the laws of the court. I didn't know that I could be convicted of a crime by spreading the name of the King of Shu. If I had known this, I would have starved to death rather than accept money. Please spare my life, sir."

Wei Zheng glanced at the meat below with disgust. It was as if the other party had memorized his words a thousand times. He didn't even have to think about them. It just came out of his mouth. It was obvious that he had prepared these "incisions" in advance in case of emergency.

Wei Zheng frowned and asked, "Do you know the person who gave you the money?"

"do not know."

Wang Qi said quickly, "I have been hanging around in the West Market for many years, and my eyes are very sharp. Anyone who has seen me once will remember that I have never seen this person before, and he has never shown up again since that time."

"Describe to me what he looks like."

Suddenly, Wang Qi said in embarrassment: "Sir, he has an ordinary face and an average height. If he were mixed in the crowd, you wouldn't even look at him a second time, but..."

Seeing Wang Qi's hesitant look, Wei Zheng slammed the gavel, and the quiet hall suddenly rang out like thunder, scaring Wang Qi: "But what?"

"Hurry up and tell me."

"Sir, what I said is all true. I was a little curious when I saw this man was so generous and straightforward. I secretly followed him and walked three streets with him. I saw him bribe seven or eight brokers in the West Market like me."

Wang Qi said, "Later, two people were just as curious as I was, so they followed him secretly and saw him walk to a secluded corner and ask for instructions from a master sitting in a sedan chair."

"Oh?"

Wei Zheng's eyes lit up, and he asked with great interest: "Do you know the two people who followed? Also, did you see clearly what the person sitting in the sedan chair looked like?"

"know."

Wang Qi nodded, then said angrily, "They are my competitors. Even if they turned into ashes, I would recognize them. They are Liu Saner from Anping Street and Zhu Gui from Yining Street. I have never seen the master sitting in the sedan chair, and I don't have any impression of him."

Wei Zheng turned to look at the leading officer of the county government office, only to see him nod slightly to indicate that he knew both men.

Wei Zheng immediately ordered him to take people to bring the two men, as well as other bribed brokers like Wang Qi, back to the county government for interrogation. The officer took the order and left.

"Wang Qi, I'll give you a chance to atone for your sins, but it depends on whether you can seize the opportunity." Wei Zheng smiled slightly.

Wang Qi said flatteringly: "Please give me your orders, sir. As long as I can do it, I will serve you at your service and go through fire and water for you."

"Um"

Wei Zheng nodded, pointed at the master who was taking notes and said, "This man is particularly good at painting. You and Liu San'er and Zhu Gui, who will be captured later, should describe to him in detail the appearance of the person in the sedan chair you saw that day, and ask him to draw a picture of that person. Is it possible?"

"This is a trivial matter. I will definitely follow your instructions. I still remember the man's appearance. He was fat, with a short beard, and looked very wealthy. He was easy to recognize." Wang Qi nodded repeatedly in response.

Next, Wei Zheng interrogated many people, but most of them were ordinary people who spread rumors and heard the story from others. The only ones with real evidence were brokers like Wang Qi. It seemed that there was someone behind this matter, and all the clues pointed to the fat middle-aged man in the sedan chair.

Finally, after several people's discussion, the master drew a rough portrait after repeated revisions, but with just a few strokes, it was impossible to tell who this person was.

Wei Zheng had no choice but to pack up and go to report to the emperor.

After court dismissed that day, Wei Zheng rushed to Chengqing Palace, where Zhangsun Wuji and Cen Wenben were serving him. Wei Zheng stepped forward and presented the results of his three-day investigation.

"Your Majesty, I have been investigating for three days. Most people heard it from others through word of mouth. But the final clue points to a dozen brokers in the East and West Markets. Many of these people said they saw a man in a sedan chair directing the matter from behind."

Wei Zheng asked for instructions: "This is the head portrait of this person described by these people. But since that day, this person has never appeared in the two cities again. Even the people who arranged to contact those brokers have not appeared. It's as if he has evaporated from the face of the earth. I am here to ask the emperor whether a warrant can be issued to arrest this person."

Li Shimin picked up the image and looked at it, his face filled with confusion.

Cen Benwen on the side was startled and his eyelids twitched twice. He recognized at a glance that this person was very similar to Quan Wanji who was beside Li Ke. Suddenly, he remembered that Quan Wanji often went to the Prince of Shu's Mansion a few days ago and was always discussing something with Li Ke.

Now seeing the image Wei Zheng brought over, he suddenly realized that Li Ke might really know about this matter.

On the other side, Changsun Wuji glanced at Cen Wenben, whose face was a little tense, and smiled slightly in his heart. He deliberately picked up the portrait, looked at it for a long time, and said puzzledly: "This old minister has seen countless people, and this person looks very familiar, but I can't remember where I have seen him." "Lord Cen, you are known to have seen countless people and have a photographic memory. Take a look too. Do you have any impression?" Changsun Wuji said as he handed the image to Cen Wenben.

Cen Wenben took the portrait awkwardly, and pretended to look at it. He said with an unnatural expression: "Your Majesty, there are many people who look alike in the world. I, like Lord Changsun, look very familiar, but I can't remember where I have seen it."

Changsun Wuji sighed inwardly. Cen Benwen was really too slick. He was indeed an old official trained in Jiangnan. He chose words carefully and was flexible in both advance and retreat. He did not say that he knew him, nor did he say that he did not know him. He was vague. Even if Quan Wanji was exposed in the future, he could pretend to be suddenly enlightened and realized that this person was his rival.

Li Shimin looked at the two confused ministers suspiciously, then took the portrait and looked at it. He also felt that many people in the court looked alike, but he couldn't say anything casually. After all, there was no evidence. It was really hard to convince people with just this blurry image.
Finally, he had to throw it to Wei Zheng and said, "In this case, why are you still hesitating? You can post it in the capital area and offer a reward for his arrest."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After Wei Zheng made his request, he left when he saw that Li Shimin had no other arrangements.

As soon as he walked out of Chengqing Hall, he heard someone calling his name from behind. Wei Zheng turned around and saw Changsun Wuji chasing him out.

"Old Wei Zheng, why are you running so fast? I have something to talk to you about."

"I still have work to do, old man?"

Wei Zheng said, "If you have anything to say, please tell me now. Don't delay my work. The emperor is still waiting for a report. If you catch him soon, I will be relieved."

"Hey, if you put up notices all over the street, people will be scared away. What if the people behind you see that the matter has become a big deal and kill people to silence them? Then you will never be found again in your life."

What Changsun Wuji said made sense. Wei Zheng was stunned for a moment, then asked solemnly, "What do you think?"

"To tell you the truth, it's fine if these people flatter the King of Shu, but they also belittle the Crown Prince. I've long disliked them and have sent people to keep an eye on them. I wanted to ask the Emperor to give me this task, and then I'll investigate them thoroughly."

Zhang Sun Wuji glanced at Wei Zheng and said helplessly, "It's just that the emperor was concerned about my stance and was going to give this job to me, but he changed his mind at the last minute, so you, Wei Zheng, took advantage of it."

"Look, these are the suspicious people I have been eyeing for a long time. Since the emperor has given you the task, I will give you the clues as well. I hope you can solve the case as soon as possible and avenge the prince."

"oops"

Wei Zheng slapped his forehead and said, "I've known for a long time that you, Changsun Wuji, are a know-it-all. How could I have forgotten you? You are the prince's uncle. Facing such public opinion, you will definitely not sit idly by."

"Humph!"

Changsun Wuji said indignantly: "You old fellow, you didn't forget it, you are afraid that the one who spread the rumors is me."

Seeing Wei Zheng's expression of "Isn't it you?", Changsun Wuji's face turned cold and he threw his sleeves: "I would never do such a thing to damage the reputation of the prince, let alone implicate the emperor."

After saying that, he ignored Wei Zheng and went straight back to Chengqing Palace.

Wei Zheng looked at Changsun Wuji's back, then looked at the piece of paper in his hand with three names and addresses written on it, with a look of confusion in his eyes. Isn't it him?

Judging from the results, the initial beneficiary of this rumor was the King of Shu, and the later victim was also the King of Shu. So Wei Zheng guessed that the mastermind behind this was either someone around the King of Shu or someone around the Crown Prince, and Changsun Wuji was even more suspicious.

But now seeing that he actually gave the clue to himself, it can be seen that Changsun Wuji has an open mind.

Then who is it?
Is it really Jie Li?
Wei Zheng held the note tightly in his hand. He knew that Changsun Wuji would not speak without a purpose. Since he gave him a clue, it must not be insignificant.

Thinking of this, although there is a possibility that Zhangsun Wuji might use them, Wei Zheng still wanted to investigate. He returned to the county government office and handed the information of the three people to three teams of yamen runners respectively, asking them to act at the same time. In this way, even if the news leaked, they could always catch one of them.

Of course, if he fails to catch all three, he won’t be able to continue serving as the county magistrate for ten thousand years.

But what Wei Zheng did not expect was that in less than half an hour, all three were captured. Wei Zheng breathed a sigh of relief and began to look at the three people kneeling in the hall.

A storyteller, a middle-aged man, and a young man in a purple robe!

(End of this chapter)