Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 278 What a coincidence?
February 2 night
Changxing County
"Master, please take a rest early."

In the largest mansion in the city, He Shihu, who was staring at the desk in a daze, was brought back to reality by the voice of the old servant outside the door.

He now regretted very much why he had mentioned that to Yizhihua.

If not for this, he should have been resting in his favorite concubine's room by now. Why would he be so frightened?

In fact, he was not very familiar with that flower. The biggest connection between the two was that they had met a few times when they worked for big shots in Beijing.

This is nothing. After all, the cards in the hands of the big shots are divided into different levels. There is a gap between those who do dirty work like Yizhihua and those who can put it in the open and those who can do it in the open.

In addition, after the fall of Beijing, he lost contact with the big shots. Unless something unexpected happens, he will probably never have anything to do with that flower again in his life.

But things in this world change rapidly, so how can there be any "certainty"?
Just after the Tartars swept across the south of the Yangtze River with overwhelming force, a flower that had not bloomed for a long time came back to haunt it.

Faced with such a desperate criminal, He Shihu, whose family inherited farming and reading, naturally wanted to avoid him. However, when he thought that angering him might put his family in uncontrollable risks, he finally chose to pretend to be submissive and gave up some money and food.

It was not known whether that flower was a righteous person or had other motives, but after receiving this batch of life-saving money and food, he not only stopped harassing He Shihu, but also helped him solve one or two minor troubles on the road.

As a result, the relationship between the two forces gradually became closer due to this chaotic time, and He Shihu casually mentioned during one of their meetings that the imperial court was going to take action against the local gentry.

Heaven and earth conscience!

He really said it casually.

In the final analysis, no matter whether Ruan Dacheng intended to start a massacre or just wanted to hit a few of the leading birds as he had rumored, he, a wealthy man far away in Changxing, would not be able to survive the first round.

What's more, his He family is no longer what it used to be. The endless revenge has made him unable to cope with it. How could he cause such trouble again?
But who would have thought
Alas~~~~~~.

He Shihu, who had been sitting there for half the night, let out a long sigh and closed the book on the table.

"Tell all the colleges that I will stay in the study tonight."

"Yes."

Listening to the footsteps outside the house gradually fading away, He Shihu seemed to feel a little sore in his waist and back. Then he leaned back in the chair for a while, but the soreness did not ease, so he ignored it and just focused on figuring out the current situation.

At first, he and Yizhihua both thought that Ruan Dacheng died at the hands of the defeated Qing soldiers, but when the case was reported to be spread through various channels, he had to be skeptical.

Afterwards, rumors about the case seemed to be stimulated and spread not only in various small circles, but also among ordinary people. There were also several bizarre and bloody versions of the story. Finally, He Shihu realized something based on his years of experience.

Among those rumors, the most widely circulated one was probably that a young man whose family was destroyed by Ruan Dacheng was avenging his father, but what concerned He Shihu the most was that Ruan Dacheng was indeed killed by the defeated Qing army. However, some people wanted to make money from this, so the case was dragged on even after the real murderer was caught.

He was too familiar with this kind of fact. If the big shot back then had made any move, he would have made them spread favorable statements among the people. With this experience, how could he not see the purpose of these rumors?

With a squeak.

Just when He Shihu put all his thoughts on figuring out this matter, a figure suddenly flashed outside the window, and then the door of the study slowly opened with a friction sound, and then a flower appeared in the room.

"Why don't we meet outside the city?"

"The situation is tense, it's safer in my house."

"You are safe now, but do you know how much risk I have to take to enter the city?"

"Alas~~~ There are too many people here, and if I go out of the city too often, people will always find me."

After chatting for a few more sentences, the two of them stopped arguing about the matter. Then Yizhihua found a chair and sat down as if she was at home. Only then did they turn the conversation back to the main business.

"This incident was probably not done by those defeated soldiers, but we have been worrying for nothing for several days."

Before he finished speaking, Yizhihua had already taken a piece of light green pastry from the dessert plate and put it into her mouth, but He Shihu, with a look of disappointment on his face, let out a loud "hi" before explaining in detail.

He understood clearly that the spread of the rumor must mean that someone wanted to pin the case on those defeated soldiers.

This person could be the prefect of Huzhou who was unable to report due to a deadlock, or he could be the real mastermind behind the scenes. If you think more deeply, even His Majesty and the ministers might be afraid and want to give in.

Of course, He Shihu didn’t care who it was specifically. The only thing he cared about was that if the relevant forces really reached some kind of agreement and were ready to close the case, then would those of them who were more or less involved in the case have a good ending?
This is not something He Shihu is overthinking. Throughout history, countless truths have been hidden in the collusion of various forces, and countless grievances have gradually become unknown due to various transactions.

How could someone like him who once had connections with the upper class overlook the key?

He knew very well that if a department official was attacked and killed, there would be a lot of casualties, but if the rumor was something that all parties wanted to see, then someone would have to become a scapegoat.

"Then won't it be a dead end for us?"

After hearing what He Shihu said, no matter how sweet the cake was, Yizhihua no longer had the mood to enjoy it.

He is a sly person who makes a living by cheating others. How could he not understand the trick after being reminded?

Honestly speaking, if it were three or four years ago, he would only worry about being shot from behind and would definitely not be afraid of being made a scapegoat by the government. But now he doesn't know whether his backers are dead or alive, how can he dare to take it lightly?

"I asked you to go out and hide away from the limelight, but you refused to do so. Are you afraid now?"

"You said it so lightly, you want me to stay out of the spotlight? Why don't you stay out of the spotlight?"

For He Shihu, the industries that can almost be said to be spread throughout Changxing County are the foundation of his He family's survival. But for Yizhihua, the foundation of his survival has become the group of brothers under his command who are brave enough to fight and kill.

After all, it is impossible for He Shihu to give up the accumulation of several generations, but how could Yizhihua give up the power accumulated in the first half of her life?

He Shihu was not unaware that his subordinates who dared to fight and kill were the capital for his evil deeds. He was just a little upset because Yizhihua was unwilling to escape.

Of course, this situation is not impossible to resolve, but their power is no longer the same as before, and it is unknown how effective it will be if it is implemented.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this. I came to you today to ask about the matter in the lake."

"In the lake?"

"Ah."

"Are you going to live in the lake?"

He Shihu felt helpless when he heard the words, but when he saw Yizhihua's extremely serious expression, he had to explain.

The only way he could think of to save his life now was to figure out all the secrets in the case before the parties took action against them, and spread them out, so as to destroy the fragile tacit understanding between the parties.

As for why we asked about the lake.
You must know that the military rations that Wu Yi raised from Jiangnan are still stored on the island in the lake, and the supply of many troops from Jiangnan still depends on there.

As the saying goes, those in power are confused, but bystanders are clear. The Huzhou prefect's gang was troubled by various mysteries and never thought that the place where the crime occurred was only a few dozen miles away from Taihu Lake. If there was a group of people who went there under the guise of transporting grain,
“Hiss~~~~~.”

Yizhihua was not a stupid person after all. After hearing such an explanation, how could she not understand that this was probably the truth.

As for why these people and horses were included in Ruan Dacheng's itinerary,
In order to spread the news that he was only planning to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, the guy was delayed on the road for a long time.

"It's just a coincidence? They didn't deliberately use me as a shield?"

"It's hard to say." "You bastard, you are so unlucky."

"Let's not talk about this for now. Do you know Huating?"

"Oh!"

"Investigate the case according to your orders! Anyone who acts rashly will be killed without mercy!"

Just when He Shihu was about to ask Yizhihua something, the door was suddenly pushed open by brute force, and then several soldiers armed with blades and crossbows rushed in.

It’s over.

That's too late.

Seeing this situation, He Shihu suddenly felt despair.

In the past few days, he not only figured out where the real murderer might come from, but also had some ideas about the various key points in the case.

But no matter what, his reaction was still a beat too late. After dragging on for such a long time, all parties had no patience to wait any longer.

He could easily imagine what would happen next. It was probably that the He family of Changxing County not only bullied men and women and robbed people by trickery, but also cruelly killed the Minister of Justice who was sent by the court to investigate various crimes in the wilderness.

Upon hearing of this great evil, Your Majesty was furious. After a thorough investigation, he decisively sent troops to completely wipe out the evil gentry who was causing trouble in the local area.

All are happy.

The imperial court saved face, the people behind the scenes saved money, but the He family's legacy for generations remained intact.
Alas~~~~ I am not as strong as others, what can I do?
With this in mind, He Shihu slowly closed his eyes, and then he heard the sound of weapons clashing.

"Watch out! Don't let him hurt his life."

As he heard the voice, he felt his arms being bent back by a great force, and then a sour and smell rushed to his forehead.

"What are you doing?! I have made great contributions to the imperial court, how can you humiliate me?!"

"The imperial court? Are you qualified to mention the imperial court? Why didn't you think of the imperial court when you were robbing people by trickery? Why didn't you think of the imperial court when you killed Ruan Butang? Now that disaster is imminent, you only think of the imperial court. It's too late!"

"I didn't kill Ruan Butang! You lackeys, don't even think about getting a confession from me!"

I don't know what words provoked He Shihu. He had clearly acted as if he had accepted his fate before, but after saying a few words, he suddenly struggled.

After all, Yan Yingyuan had caught countless criminals. Although he was puzzled by the other party's behavior, he did not hesitate at all.

"Hmph, although you failed, the fact that you sent people to kill the imperial officials is a foregone conclusion. It doesn't matter whether you want to testify or not."

Although Yan Yingyuan had never seen anyone who dared to kill high-ranking officials such as ministers in the first half of his life, he had captured several officials such as county magistrates and county magistrates who had their lives taken.

In his opinion, these people, regardless of their identities, can be called fugitives, and it is understandable that they go crazy when they are caught.

But who would have thought that after he said this, the fat man, whose emotions were in turmoil, actually stared at him with wide eyes, as if there was a huge loophole in this sentence.

"What are you looking at?! You will not be able to escape death, and even your family will be exiled!"

"Not the Zhu clan?"

After hearing these words, Yan Yingyuan was speechless: As expected, those who can do such things either have something to rely on or have a bad brain.

"take away!"

"General! Are you really not going to kill the clan?"

"Why? Do you really want your relatives, friends, and neighbors to go down and accompany you?"

Seeing that the fat man was asking questions again, Yan Yingyuan could not help but sneer at him. But who would have thought that after he said this, the fat man's face changed from gloomy to bright. After just a breath, he shouted in a stern voice: "General! I can help you solve the case! I can help you achieve this great achievement!"

"you?"

After staring at the fat man with suspicion for a while, Yan Yingyuan was a little undecided.

In the past, if the suspect did not reveal any useful information, policemen like him would most of the time ignore such doomed people.

But this case was different from the previous ones, and he really didn't want to miss any opportunity to obtain information.

Therefore, even though he thought that the fat man was probably scared crazy, he still asked hesitantly.

"Yes! Me!"

Survive in desperate situation, these are the four words that fill He Shihu's mind.

Killing an official is a crime of treason, and there are examples of people escaping the crime even if there is enough power to support them. However, he is certain that if this crime falls on him, his entire family will most likely be executed.

But what did the general say?
Send to exile!

This is not the way to deal with treason!
In this situation, although He Shihu, who had been thinking about this matter for several days, was not sure what had gone wrong, he knew that this was the He family's last chance.

"General! You are looking in the wrong direction. There are more than just the local garrison and the fleeing soldiers who have weapons!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

As He Shihu expected, as soon as he said this, the general took a step towards him. But when the general asked him a question, He Shihu closed his eyes and said nothing as before.

"You all go out first."

Yan Yingyuan was very familiar with this kind of situation. He just wanted to propose some conditions. If the fat man could provide some useful clues, it would be fine for him to agree to some of them.

"Go ahead."

"I am filing a complaint."

"Tell me what you know first, and then decide based on its value."

"Okay, General, I see that you look very righteous, and I don't think you will break your promise."

He Shihu seemed to be extremely trusting of Yan Yingyuan, a stranger, but he knew that this was just a helpless move because he had no bargaining chips.

After a while, Yan Yingyuan walked out of the room with a serious expression, and at this time, Lu Shaochun and others came slowly.

"Counselor Yan, is it from the lake?"

"It's probably related to the lake, but it's not that simple."

(End of this chapter)