Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 736: Suicide, Gift Giving
After bringing the news to the Kong family, which was like a dark cloud pressing down on the city, Zhu Tingfang returned to the Wucheng Military Command in a calm and composed manner. In fact, until the moment he went to the Kong family, the guy pretending to be the messenger had survived two rounds of interrogation, but had not yet revealed his motives or the mastermind behind the scenes. But when he came back, he finally got some news.
"Did the guy confess? What did he say?"
The deputy envoy of the South City Military Department was very nervous after receiving such a hot potato. Now that Zhu Tingfang was back, he had a backup plan, so he hurriedly reported: "He said that before the eldest prince committed suicide, he asked him to pretend to be a messenger and announce the news. As for why the eldest prince asked him to do this, this person almost bit off his tongue before he could explain."
As soon as these words came out, Zhu Tingfang's face suddenly turned cold. Fortunately, he almost bit off his tongue instead of having already bitten it off, otherwise he really had to consider whether the deputy envoy of the army should be replaced! He stared at the man for a long time, and when he saw that the other party was looking at him head-on , without looking around or lowering his head to avoid his gaze, he laughed.
"At least you were careful enough and didn't make any big mistakes."
Although this was not a compliment, the deputy envoy still felt relieved - when working under Zhu Tingfang , one does not seek merit but avoids mistakes... That is the most basic requirement, because once one makes a mistake, he will be taken down without mercy!
At this moment, seeing Zhu Tingfang moving forward, he followed closely and asked carefully: "But since this man wants to die, even if his mouth is blocked now, it may not last long. Moreover, if he wants to confess, the gag must be removed, so I am really in a dilemma. I heard that there was a doctor who had a secret technique that could prick the cheek with a silver needle to make people unable to bite..."
Before the other party could finish his words, Zhu Tingfang said coldly: "If he really wants to die, there are a thousand ways to do it. He can even suffocate himself to death by holding his breath! So there is no need to go through so much trouble. Bring him to see me."
When the bound and gagged man was brought in front of him, Zhu Tingfang looked him up and down, then said calmly, "If you are a warrior who truly cares about the eldest prince, then you must have prepared yourself for death, and you wouldn't have asked for death earlier or later, revealing that it was the eldest prince who ordered you to impersonate the messenger before asking for death."
The deputy military envoy standing by was immediately shocked. Yes , according to Zhu Tingfang, if it was really the eldest prince who ordered it, and he was determined to die, then he should have died immediately after the crime was exposed. If he could not endure the torture and confessed, then he would die. Wouldn't it be too late?
After Zhu Tingfang revealed the biggest secret in the heart of the fake messenger, he was immediately shocked. His face, which was already ashen, became even uglier at this moment, but he stared at Zhu Tingfang with his eyes for a long time, and then suddenly lowered his head.
The deputy envoy of the army standing by thought that he was a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water, so he reached out and grabbed the man's collar in a rage, but the next moment he realized something was wrong. When he looked down again, he saw that the man's head was hanging down, and he died silently! He was shocked and subconsciously let go of his hand. When he saw the man collapse to the ground, he realized that he had caused a big disaster!
"grown ups……"
Seeing the deputy envoy looking at him in panic, Zhu Tingfang said unhappily, "Don't apologize. I'm not blind. I can see that he's dead! It's just that I revealed that he wasn't the eldest prince's man, and he died so suddenly. If he really committed suicide, this kind of person should be a dead soldier, and you can't stop him."
Having said this, he stepped forward, squatted down, checked the other person's pupils and breath, removed the gag, checked the situation in the other person's mouth, and then with a serious expression, he examined the other person's chest. After a long while, he stood up.
"The cause of death is unknown. The coroner should come to check . It doesn't look like there was poison in his mouth, or he bit the poison sac between his teeth and committed suicide. But you don't have to take it too seriously. He is a real assassin. As long as he finds a loophole, he will commit suicide. Even if he is tortured..."
Zhu Tingfang paused, then said calmly: "What you can get out of a person like this by torture may not be true. In short, I will report this matter to the emperor and plead guilty. I will take full responsibility for it. You don't need to worry. And those who arrived at Xuanwu Gate in time and captured this fake messenger will be rewarded separately."
The deputy envoy of the army was relieved immediately. So, although working under Zhu Tingfang was tiring and exhausting, there were at least two biggest advantages. First, the responsibilities that should be taken would never be pushed to subordinates, just like Wang Jie, the former governor of Shuntian Prefecture. Second, the merits that should be taken would never be erased, so the subordinates would also compete for the first place.
He bowed and thanked sincerely, and when he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and asked carefully, "Sir, I remember your wedding date is coming soon, right?"
"The day after tomorrow." Zhu Tingfang answered in a nonchalant tone - as if the one getting married the day after tomorrow was not him, but someone else.
At this moment, the deputy military envoy took a deep breath. Seeing that Zhu Tingfang had been staying in the military headquarters these days and had never returned home, he thought that the wedding was still ten days away and had forgotten the actual wedding day! He racked his brains to say a few auspicious words and persuade people not to come to the government office tomorrow, but Zhu Tingfang directly blocked what he wanted to say.
"Public affairs are more important than private affairs. I will take a leave of absence the day after tomorrow. When you go out, tell the others that those with high status can come to my house the day after tomorrow to drink a glass of wedding wine, but no gifts will be accepted. They don't have to worry about it. As for the others, I will have someone send a banquet over. Firstly, it will make up for their regret of not being able to go, and secondly, it will be my reward to everyone."
"Of course, to prevent alcohol from causing trouble, there are only various kinds of water, but no wine!"
The deputy military envoy had been promoted through the ranks, and he had only seen superiors who took advantage of festivals and birthdays to accept gifts, but he had never seen a superior who invited people to a wedding but did not accept gifts. If it were someone else, he would have wanted to advise him, as he would inevitably be impeached by the censors, who would say he was taking the opportunity to buy people's hearts, but the cold and hard young superior in front of him undoubtedly did not need him to do so.
Because when did the Duke of Zhao and his son not attract jealousy? When they were leading the army to fight outside, didn't the impeachment books almost pile up like a mountain in the Ministry of Public Administration?
So, he could only laugh dryly and agreed, making up his mind to spread Zhu Tingfang's words as soon as he got out, to avoid the possibility that some people would go to great lengths to prepare gifts only to have them rejected - as for whether the things that had already been purchased could be returned, that was another matter - this way, he could still sell a big favor.
After delivering the extremely bad news to Master Kong Jiu, who was frightened and caught a cold, and then faced another suicide at the South City Military Division, Zhu Tingfang did not continue to work hard and stay in the government office to keep an eye on the situation. Instead, he set off for home at sunset. When he reached Xuanwu Gate, he keenly noticed that there seemed to be a rider behind him.
He quickly turned his head and saw that the person who casually intruded on his group without causing any reaction from his followers was Hua Qi. He couldn't help but frown. You know, it was through Hua Qi that he learned that the news of the eldest prince's death was true, and the real messenger had arrived in the capital earlier.
He immediately said, "Why, what is the emperor's order?"
"Can't I come to see you without the emperor's order? I say, Zhu Da, you are too heartless. After all, I have watched you grow up and taught you martial arts for so many years. Can't I come and care about you?" Although he teased a few words, Hua Qi knew his limits. Seeing the expression in Zhu Tingfang's eyes that said, "Just try to say another word of nonsense," he laughed.
"Okay, no more nonsense. The eldest lady just got rid of the burden of the eldest prince's matter, and it was a pleasant surprise that she got Mr. Kong involved. But I have to take a few coroners with me to check whether the person really committed suicide or faked it. So I will definitely not be able to make it in time for your wedding, and I can't even say whether I can make it in time for Yingying's wedding."
Hearing that Hua Qi came to see him for this, Zhu Tingfang's impatience disappeared immediately, replaced by a real regret. After all, he had a small part of his current martial arts skills from his father, but a large part from Hua Qi. Zhu Ying still called Hua Qi Uncle Hua, but he... when he was a child, he actually called him Master first and Master second.
However, when he grew up, he found it hard to accept Hua Qi's unruly character. In addition, this guy always liked to play tricks on people, so he kept his distance from him. But at this moment, he couldn't help but ask, "Are you leaving now? Haven't you told Yingying?"
"Of course. He is a prince after all. Even if my father disliked him and expelled him, and he seemed to have ordered a bunch of people to cause chaos in the capital, he is still my son after all. There must be an explanation for his death."
Hua Qi shrugged, then sighed and said, "As for the eldest lady, if I go and tell her in person, I will definitely get a lot of complaints, and I might even have to stand there and listen to her scolding the eldest prince... I'm already unlucky enough, and I really don't have the interest to listen to her scolding again. Here, this is a gift for the two of you. I originally wanted to give it to you at the South City Military Division, but now that I've met you, it's just easier."
He took the saddle bag and took out two brocade boxes, one long and one short, and handed them to Zhu Tingfang: "This small and short one is for you, and the big and long one is for our eldest daughter. Tell her that since I didn't forget to give her a gift, she should not say the tight-hoop curse behind her back. I will apologize to her when I come back. Well, the other imperial attendants are waiting for me. I'm leaving now!"
Zhu Tingfang didn't care about the difference between the two boxes, one big and one small. He was about to ask for clarification, but unexpectedly Hua Qi just waved his hand, turned his horse around, whipped it, and disappeared in a flash.
That's why he just hates this guy who appears and disappears all the time, speaks half-heartedly, and is never serious.
Zhu Tingfang, who was upset, rode his horse into the Xuanwu Gate with a gloomy face. Zhu Yi and other guards behind him, who had just let Hua Qi approach, were afraid that their well-intentioned behavior would arouse the eldest son's dissatisfaction, so no one dared to say a word. As a result, when the group arrived at the gate of Duke Zhao's mansion, Zhang Shou, who happened to be sent over by Wu to help after returning home, only felt that there was a tropical depression surrounding the opposite side.
The Zhu brother and sister are simply the opposite of each other. Zhu Ying is like the scorching sun in the sky, always shining, while Zhu Tingfang is like the gloomy, quiet, cold and deep black moon in the night sky... Of course, they can be very scary when they are as violent as fire!
However, Wu had asked him to go to Zhu's house to ask Zhu Tingfang if there was anything he, the future son-in-law, could do to help him since Zhu Tingfang was getting married soon. Since he happened to run into Zhu Tingfang and saw his expression of impending disaster, he simply asked directly, "Brother Zhu is about to get married, what unpleasant things have happened to make you look so stern? Look how scared everyone is."
Zhu Yi, who was standing behind, was shocked when he heard Zhang Shou's teasing opening remarks. He wanted to remind Zhang Shou that his eldest son was in a bad mood, but it was too late. Seeing Zhu Tingfang jump off his horse and walk to Zhang Shou with an expressionless face, he was extremely worried that something unpredictable would happen in the next moment, but he did not expect that he would hand a long brocade box to Zhang Shou.
"Hua Qi gave it to me."
Hearing these four concise words, Zhang Shou doubted whether Zhu Tingfang was possessed by Ah Liu. But seeing the gloomy expression on his face, he knew that it was inappropriate to tease him at this time. When he noticed that Zhu Tingfang had a brocade box in his hand that was similar in style but much smaller than his, he was slightly stunned and then made a very realistic guess.
"Master Hua Qi went to Huairou, so this is an early gift?"
Zhu Tingfang was about to nod, but he saw Zhang Shou chuckle and open the brocade box directly. Even though he was not a strict and etiquette-abiding person, he couldn't help but stare at him with wide eyes, and then shouted angrily: "Zhang Shou, what are you doing!"
"If it was a gift from someone else, it would be fine, but if it was from Master Hua Qi, he would definitely want the recipient to open it and take a look at it right away." Zhang Shou said this, and after seeing clearly what was in the brocade box, he raised his head and smiled at Zhu Tingfang, "It seems that Master Hua Qi didn't tease me and Yingying after all. I can take it to her without worry. I'll leave first."
Seeing that Zhang Shou had left him and walked straight in, Zhu Tingfang was stunned, and even the Zhu family guards behind him were all dumbfounded. Why did they feel that Zhang Shou was more like the master than Zhu Tingfang, the legitimate young master?
Zhang Shou knew that he was being too polite, but he had long known Zhu Tingfang's character, so he certainly had no interest in wasting time with his brother-in-law. After entering the Zhaoguo Mansion, he learned that Zhu Ying was in Qing'an Hall as usual, so he went straight there. When he found that the lady and Jiu Niang were indeed there, he smiled and gave Hua Qi's early gift to Zhu Ying.
"I was afraid that Mr. Hua Qi was playing a trick on me, so I opened it and took a look. It should be something you like, Yingying."
"A Shou, you are so treacherous!" Zhu Ying's eyebrows were raised and her face was full of anger, but when she opened the brocade box, she showed a happy expression. Because the box did not contain gold, gems, or precious things like seal stones. It was a pair of short swords with simple styles, and each sword tassel had a jade pendant, one named Bingxin and the other Hanqing.
