Zeng Yu looked at the paper and asked Xia Chuan Pie: "Xia Chaofeng, this paper said, "Suddenly one night this month, I swept my clothes and played with my daughter, threw them away from the wall, and planned to take them around, and I felt like I was calling my neighbors to rescue me, and I was beaten to death. What does it mean?

Xia Chupi called Qu, "Where is this happening? My son Guiyu is in the store for good reason. Zhao Yuwu brought a messenger to arrest my son in the yamen. If he was really a traitor, how could he not run away immediately? What Zhao Yuwu said, "How many times have I been beaten? When did my son beat him? It was all nonsense. As for saying, "Sweeping his clothes and playing with his daughter, it was just to extort money."

Zeng Yu asked: "What's going on with the canan incense fan pendant of the son?"

Xia Chupi sighed and said, "Oh, this is really hard to tell. The Gannan incense fan pendant is said to be worth dozens of taels of silver, and it is indeed not my son's property. But by a god, I appeared on my desk. When my son saw that the pendant was cute, he tied it on the handle of the fan and played with it. Zhao Yuwu considered it to be his property. There were also witnesses in the neighbors - Mr. Zeng, you said that if this Gannan incense fan pendant was given to me by the Zhao family's wife, my son would hide it. How could he be so stupid that he would show it in front of the neighbors and even Zhao Yuwu?"

Zeng Yu nodded and said, "This is the reason, but the government sometimes ignores the case. The government wants the son to tell the origin of the Canan incense fan pendant. If he can't tell, it means there is a hidden truth."

"Yes." Xia Chupi said with a frown: "The origin of the pendant is really hard to explain. It seems that there are ghosts who are framing my Xia family's children. Although I, Xia Chupi, cannot be called a great charity, I have never done anything that harms the world."

Zeng Yu said: "Don't worry, no matter what, the man will not be a death sentence-"

Xia Chupi hurriedly said, "Your Majesty Zeng didn't know. When the dog son first went to the court, he couldn't answer the origin of the Guanzun's fan pendant, so he put on a stick. Poor my son's legs were sandwiched among two pieces of sandalwood. The executioner Zaoli held both sides with force and fainted from pain. After a while, the Guanzun asked him if he wanted to do something. My son had never done anything like that. How do you ask him to admit it? The Guanzun asked Zaoli to knock it again. It was a hundred times. I saw that his life was hard to save. I couldn't see it in the hall, and shouted Guiyu, my son, you should call him first. If he didn't ask him to do it, he would be beaten to death. My son couldn't bear it. My son couldn't bear the pain, so he had to admit that the Guanzun's fan pendant was thrown over the wall to seduce him, and he was self-righteous and not

I had committed adultery with Zhao's wife. The Duke ordered the Zhao's wife, He, to be hanged, and my son's evidence was confirmed. I went to the prison the day before yesterday. I was pitiful to my son's two calves bones were clamped, but I still cried and told me that he had never done anything traitorous. The Zhao's wife did not throw a fan pendant to seduce him. The fan pendant really didn't know where it came from. He said I would not admit my guilt, and I would rather be beaten to death than to confess. I have never done such a thing. If I admit it, the ancestors of the Xia family were shamed. These days, the Duke was busy guarding the thief and defending the city and had no time to let the Zhao father and son confront my son. Therefore, the case was not closed. According to my son's stubbornness, if the confession was turned on during the retrial, it would definitely be a decisive way. If there was no death penalty, the Duke would be beaten to death by the Duke in the court."

Zeng Yu shook his head. This is very difficult. He observed his words and expressions, measured his emotions and reasoned. What Xia Chuan Pi said was true, but his feelings were not false. He asked: "Did you see it with your own eyes when the son picked up the Canan incense fan?"

Xia Chupi said, "I was in Dongyan at that time. I rushed over when I heard that the dog was sued. He was just about to be tortured." As he said that, tears flowed down again.

Zeng Yu pondered for a moment and said, "I'll go to your store to take a look around."

This paper shop is quite small, with only one storefront, with a small eight-foot square patio inside. Behind the patio are three wooden houses, one for warehouse, one for Xia Guiyu's bedroom and study, and the other for kitchen. In addition to Xia Guiyu and a servant of the Xia family, there is also a 14- or five-year-old man. This guy is a native of Shangrao. He comes early and comes back late to help in the store.

The shops around Chenghuang Temple Square are all one after another, and there is no gap between adjacent shops. On the left of the paper shop is Zhao Yuwu's silk shop, and on the right is a large grocery shop. According to Xia Zhupi, his son has no contact with Zhao Yuwu's family. Zhao Yuwu looked down on this small paper shop. When they met opposite each other, they turned their heads and looked full of wealth.

Zeng Yu walked into Xia Guiyu's bedroom and study room, and cleaned it. There was a desk in front of the bed, and a row of books were stacked against the wall. There were ancient Chinese essays from the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, and there were also collections of eight-part essays from famous masters, and some collections of poems and songs. Looking at some papers with words written on the table, Xia Guiyu's regular script was well written, and he learned from Liu Gongquan—

Xia Chupi said sadly: "The dog son is 23 years old this year. He also studied in elementary school when he was young. He participated in two county examinations, and they were both unnamed on the list. Mr. Xia Liangfeng said that the dog son is not a seed of study, but it is better to do business and farming. Otherwise, he would become a waste if he read it. Therefore, since he was eighteen years old, I asked him to sell paper with me. The next year before yesterday, I asked him to take care of a small shop here. He was still thrifty. Who knew that a disaster would come from heaven-"

Zeng Yu knocked on the wall panel against the desk and asked Xia Chupi: "Then is the Zhao family store, right? Who lives in the neighboring room?"

Xia Chupi said: "It is said that it is the residence of the Zhao family's daughter-in-law He."

Zeng Yu looked around and said, if he was carrying it on a ladder, he could climb from the beam of the house to He's room on the partition wall. He could throw items to come here, and he told the young man quietly, "I'm useful to move the ladder."

Xia Chupi hurriedly said, "Go quickly and go quickly."

The young man quickly brought a short ladder about seven feet high from the warehouse. In order to prevent moisture, the paper shop store house was separated by several layers in the room to store papers. A ladder was needed to be moved from high places.

Zeng Yu visually found that it was very difficult to climb the beam of the house with such a short ladder, and he was still a little short of the boss. He asked, "Is there no other long ladder?"

The guy opened his mouth and looked stupid.

Zeng Yudao: "Go and borrow a long ladder."

The guy stood by the door and was at a loss, not knowing where to borrow it.

Zeng Yu smiled and said, "Forget it, there is no need to borrow a ladder." He asked Xia Chupi: "Xia Chaofeng, where is there another servant?"

Xia Chupi said: "Send him home to get the silver to handle the money, and he should come back tomorrow and the next day. Alas, he needs money for banned children and doctors for foot bones, and money is needed everywhere."

Zeng Yu had a slightly locked brow and felt that he had no clue. What Xia Chupi said should be credible. Xia Guiyu could not climb the bedroom of Zhao's wife with this short ladder. It was even more impossible for Zhao's wife to climb over. The key problem now is that the canan incense fan pendant could not come to Xia Guiyu's desk out of thin air. If this matter is not clear, the dilemma of this case cannot be solved.

Suddenly remembering something, Zeng Yu asked: "Xia Chaofeng, what kind of person is the son of the Zhao family?"

Xia Chupi said: "I didn't know either. I only do business and did not care about the neighbors' business. Now, for the case of the dog son, I have also inquired from many sources. Zhao Yuwu is a shrewd and mean person, and looks like a rich man, but his son Zhao Xu is not like him. He is nineteen years old, but he is like a twelve boy who has not grown up at the age of three. He has a bad appearance and is very demented and laughs a lot. His neighbors all call him Zhao Daiguan."

Zeng Yu asked again: "Why is his wife He quite beautiful when his son of the Zhao family is so incompetent?"

Xia Chupi said: "The Zhao family is rich, but He family gave birth to a daughter. And both of their parents died. They live according to their brothers. He Dalang was greedy for the Zhao family's wealth and married his sister to Zhao Daiguan."

Zeng Yu nodded, walked a few steps in the room, and asked, "Is He always in harmony with her husband?"

Xia Chupi said: "Others don't know the truth about the matter in the house. They only know that Zhao Yuwu is quite fond of his daughter-in-law, otherwise he wouldn't have given two precious fan pendants to his daughter-in-law to play with-"

"Two fan pendants?" Zeng Yu raised his eyebrows.

Xia Chupi said: "Zhao Yuwu said there was a Hanyu fan pendant. Because his daughter-in-law liked it, even the Ganan incense fan pendant was given to his daughter-in-law He. Zhao Yuwu falsely said that the two fans were all with my son. When the man came to detain him with a ticket that day, he turned around the shop inside and out, saying that he was searching for the stolen goods. Except for the Ganan incense fan pendant, he searched the paper shop capital and silver for more than a hundred yuan. Where did Zhao Yuwu say that the clothes and treasures are worth a thousand gold? The Hanyu fan pendant also has no shadow. I don't know where the Ganan incense fan pendant came from. If it was thrown from He's wall, my son said that there was nothing wrong with him. He had never said a word to him, and before the disaster came from the sky, my son didn't know that the partition wall was the bedroom of the Zhao family's daughter-in-law."

Zeng Yu said: "Then He had found a short-sighted view, and now there is no evidence. The servant has a preconceived view, so it is difficult to overturn the case."

Xia Chupi certainly understood that Zeng Yu was saying the truth and said in tears: "It's really irresponsible. I can only persuade my son to confess his guilt, so he can avoid being punished. But I heard that the master of the mansion was most annoyed by such an affair case, and it involved human life. I was afraid that it would be sentenced to a heavy sentence. Although it would not die, it would be inevitable that he would be sentenced to imprisonment. If He had not died, he would have been punished dozens of people and recovered the stolen goods and entered the official position. Now it would be a pain."

Although Zeng Yu was determined to help the Xia family, he knew people but not the truth. Why did the Ganan incense fan pen appear in Xia Guiyu? I can't figure out this suspicious point, and he couldn't help the Xia family with all his strength. It's okay to help the Xia family, but it can't be inadvertent. This is a murder case.

Since I came, it was not easy to leave immediately. Zeng Yu said, "Xia Chaofeng, you are busy with yours. I will sit in this room for a while and see if I can understand it."

Xia Chupi said repeatedly: "Okay, okay, Mr. Zeng, sit down, Xiao Wu, go and bring the snacks and tea to this room, then burn the brazier to drive away the cold."

Zeng Yudao: "There is no need for a brazier--"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly heard the door of the shop facing the street being photographed and someone shouted, "Old Xia, open the door, open the door."

These days, the Xia family's paper shop has been closed and has not been opened. Just after Zeng Yu and Sixi's master and servant knocked in, the young man named Wu closed the store again. Because he was afraid that the Zhao family next door would come to cry, Zhao Yuwu wanted Xia Chupi to pay He's funeral money, saying that this was forced to death by Xia Guiyu. If Xia Chupi didn't pay the money, Zhao Yuwu would carry the body to the paper shop. Xia Chupi had no choice but to seal six taels of silver for the young man to send it. Zhao Yuwu thought it was too little and made a fuss.

The sound of slapping the door made people tremble. Xia Chupi was both sad and embarrassed, and whispered: "Mr. Zeng, please sit down, I'll go and take a look." He hunched out of the room and walked towards the store. Xia Chupi was in his early forties and grew older by twenty years.

When Xia Chupi and the young man left the room, Sixi said to Zeng Yu: "Young Master, I think that Xia Daguan was wronged. The Canan incense fan pendant may have been given to Xia Daguan. The Wuguanguan is very powerful.

Zeng Yu knew that there was a custom of worshiping the Five Gods in the south of Jiangnan. The Five Gods are also called Wulang God or Wuchang God. They are neither Buddha nor Taoism. They are actually a kind of evil demon. They are said to like to be lewd and daughters. There is an article about the bad deeds of the Five Gods in "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" that describes the bad deeds of the Five Gods--

Zeng Yu said with a sarcastic sarcastic sarcastic : "When you arrive at the court, is it easy to say that Canan incense was captured by the Five Gods?

Sixi scratched her head and said, "What should I do? Xia Chaofeng is so pitiful."

I heard Xia Chupi begging someone on the other side of the store, and on the other side, he was rude and sad. Zeng Yu walked out of the door, stepped over the small courtyard, and arrived at the big room on the street. Two Zaoli stood by the door with her eyes wide open. Xia Chupi begged, saying that she had asked her family to send money and never abuse her son who was imprisoned.

Two Zaoli saw a scholar coming out of it, and quickly stood up and bowed. This was a necessary etiquette. Zaoli was a low-ranking figure and was extremely humble. His children were not qualified to participate in the imperial examination. However, because they were in the government office, most Zaoli were good at pretending to be powerful and bullying good. Today, they were blackmailing money from Xia Chupi, saying how Xia Guiyu was eating and drinking in prison. If they didn't give them money, Xia Guiyu would suffer-

These two Zaoli, probably from the government office, were from the Criminal Department. Zeng Yu asked: "Why are the two toll-man? This Xia Chaofeng is the distant relative of the young actor."

The two Zaoli didn't know Zeng Yu either. They looked at each other and thought to themselves: "This Xia man named Xia found a scholar to support him. If a murder case is a waste of money."

The Zaoli, the left-shou, put on a formal face and said, "Since this husband is a relative of Lao Xia, he must also know what case his son committed. The master of the Mansion hates such a case the most. It is useless to plead with a juren or a Jinshi." The implication is that you, a little scholar, want to keep a close eye in front of the Mansion, are not so qualified.

Zeng Yu nodded and said, "I know about this case. I am asking you two about what happened to you? Is the Duke going to retrieve the case?"

A Zaoli said vaguely: "It's too soon. Now that the bandits have been wiped out, the master of the mansion will interrogate the case."

Another Zao Li knew that this scholar was here, so she was not convenient to blackmail Xia Chupi, so she pulled the narrow sleeves of Zao Li in front and said to Xia Chupi: "Old Xia, it's the case. I kindly reminded you that there is nothing else, I'll leave first."

Xia Chupi was anxious. The two evil spirits did not blackmail the property. Now they would have to torture his son Xia Guiyu when they went back. They hurried forward and dragged him down and said, "Two men, please sit inside, sit inside."

A Zaoli squinted his eyes and said, "There is nothing to sit here? Let's go." It was clearly a threat, and Zeng Yu, who was opposite the other side, was not afraid of it.
Chapter completed!