Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 168 A Warm Night

A criminal case occurred in the south of the city, where a mother and son were killed. The initial judgment was that the case was murder and robbery.

This matter did not attract much attention.

Yin Ping'er, a famous actress in the capital, died at home, killed by a single knife. However, it was just the death of a prostitute, and the government investigated for several days without any clues, so they sealed the file as an unsolved case.

These two things were submitted to Shuntian Press, and Tang Yin was responsible for reviewing them, but they were ultimately not published.

Tang Yin believed that the two cases involved the imperial court, and Shuntian Newspaper was not suitable for publication unless the murderer was caught. Otherwise, if the newspaper was published now and the imperial court did not catch the murderer, it might get into trouble.

Tang Yin is now much more down-to-earth. He works peacefully in the newspaper industry and works diligently every day.

After finishing the review today, I went to find Xu Jing to inquire about Chen Ce's situation.

Xu Jing had no choice this time. Although he passed the provincial examination, he was not yet a Jinshi. He also had to take the palace examination, not to mention his official friends.

Moreover, this time Chen Ce was involved in a murder case, and the victim was someone from the East Factory, so he was in great danger.

Xu Jing sighed deeply. Although he trusted Chen Ce very much, Chen Ce also told them that he would come back safely.

But Xu Jing felt that Chen Ce might be just trying to comfort them.

But he didn't tell Tang Yin about these things.

Tang Yin would come to him every day to ask about the situation, but he didn't know much more than Tang Yin.

"Let's go to Huaihua Hutong and see. Maybe the teacher will come back suddenly without making any noise." Tang Yin said to Xu Jing.

Xu Jing smiled bitterly. It would be great if it was true. However, looking at Tang Yin's expression, he didn't want to hit Tang Yin. He took a deep breath and said, "That's right!"

"Maybe Master Chen came back quietly."

Although he knew this was impossible.

Xu Jing certainly believed in Chen Ce's ability, but no matter how powerful a person is, he is still just a person. Chen Ce is a person, not a god.

It was a murder case, and the victim was someone from the Eastern Depot, in public, with so many witnesses and evidence. Even if he was lucky enough not to be sentenced to death, he would still be charged with exile and imprisonment. How could he be released so easily?

Xu Jing followed Tang Yin slowly towards Huaihua Hutong. Just as he reached the entrance of the alley, Xu Jing's body suddenly stiffened.

He looked at the entrance of the alley in front of him in disbelief, rubbed his eyes vigorously, and said in astonishment: "Tang, Tang... Bohu... That, that is not..."

Chen Ce?!

Isn’t that Mr. Chen?
He he he, he really came out?
Why did he come out like this?!
Xu Jing seemed to think he was hallucinating. Tang Yin also looked in the direction of Xu Jing's finger, was slightly stunned, and then ran over quickly.

"teacher?!"

Chen Ce looked back at Tang Yin and Xu Jing who were standing not far away, smiled slightly, and asked, "What's the matter?"

He is still as calm and composed as before. He is still the same Chen Ce, the complete Chen Ce!
"You, come out!"

Tang Yin had tears in his eyes.

Xu Jing also walked over quickly: "Mr. Chen, are you okay?"

Chen Ce nodded and said, "What could be the matter?"

I have to admit that his words sounded a bit pretentious, but it felt different when Chen Ce said it.

Chen Ce smiled and said, "Didn't I tell you, I'll be fine."

"You don't believe it?"

Of course I don’t believe it. Who can believe it?
You killed someone, and you just walked out like that so brazenly. Who would you trust?

Xu Jing said stiffly: "The letter... is true."

Well, obviously he didn't believe it.

Chen Ce said tiredly: "I'm tired, it's okay, you guys should go back to sleep early."

Chen Ce turned around, waved back, and walked towards Huaihua Hutong with his hands behind his back, leaving Xu Jing and Tang Yin staring at each other. Their eyes met, and then they suddenly withdrew. They seemed to see each other's eyes were red, which was embarrassing. Madam Wu always turned on the lights very late these days, fearing that Chen Ce would suddenly come back late at night and there would be no lights in the alley to guide the way.

Chen Ce asked her to wait here without worry. She knew that she could not help much. After all, she was just a common citizen at the bottom of the Ming Dynasty. She could not enter the Ministry of Justice unless she went to jailbreak.

She knew she didn't have the ability to jailbreak.

She would go outside the Ministry of Justice to inquire about news very early every day, and would not come back until very late at night. She would often hear scholars in the market discussing various cases. Sometimes she would be terrified, and sometimes when she heard that a murderer had been acquitted, she would pester the other party and ask questions for a long time.

She always has to find hope to support her.

She doesn't have much knowledge. She was once very popular, but that was only in the past. Now she is just an ordinary citizen in Shuntian Prefecture, no different from ordinary people.

Faced with power, government, and the imperial court, all she could do was pray to gods and Buddhas, and pray that the government would show leniency.

This is the powerlessness of the common people of the time, the feeling of powerlessness in the face of public power.

But Mrs. Wu did not do nothing.

If he is really sentenced to beheading, it seems much easier to rob the execution ground than to rob the prison?

Late at night.

Mrs. Wu went out and looked towards the next door. As usual, she was about to turn back and turn off the lights.

"Aren't you asleep yet?"

A voice that couldn't be more familiar rang out, causing Madam Wu's delicate body to suddenly freeze.

She turned her head blankly, then quickly returned to her room, took the kerosene lamp in her hand, carefully protected the faint light, went next door, and handed the key to Chen Ce.

With the help of the lamp, Chen Ce opened the door of the courtyard, entered the central hall, and lit all the lights in the house.

The house was spotless. It was obvious that someone had come to clean it regularly during this period. It was even cleaner and tidier than when Chen Ce lived there himself.

They are all trivial things, but so thoughtful.

Madam Wu's eyes were red, and she held back the tears that had just fallen in the courtyard. She asked, "Have you eaten?"

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "Not yet."

"I'll go make you a bowl of noodles."

Chen Ce said: "Forget it, we still need to light a fire, which is quite troublesome, let's eat tomorrow."

"You need to eat. You're not in good health." Madam Wu insisted and went to Chen Ce's kitchen.

Chen Ce sat tiredly in the middle hall. There was a teapot on the table. He poured a sip of tea and drank it down with a gulp.

To my surprise, the tea was still warm.

How many times do you need to change the tea in a day? Isn't it troublesome?
Soon a bowl of steaming noodles was served, along with a fried egg, golden and oily, with some chopped green onions sprinkled on it.

Chen Ce was really hungry. He had always been self-sufficient before and had never had to open his mouth for food like this.

He began to eat the noodles in big mouthfuls. Mrs. Wu's cooking skills were quite good, not worse than his own. The noodles were delicious, and the fried eggs were also delicious. They tasted even better with a little soy sauce and vinegar sprinkled on them.

After Chen Ce finished eating, Madam Wu brought a basin of hot water from the kitchen, put the towel in the hot water and wrung it dry.

Chen Ce took the hot towel and wiped his face casually. He was really too sleepy to bear it any longer.

"I'm going to sleep first."

Madam Wu nodded vigorously.

After Chen Ce went to bed, she began to clean up the mess, washing all the pots and pans, and finally tiptoed back to her own yard.

Back in her room, she could finally cry peacefully. All the worries and concerns she had had over the past few days turned into tears and burst out.

(End of this chapter)