Domineering husband

Chapter 139 The Unforgettable New Year's Eve Dinner I Ate in the Prison

Li Qiao and Shen Hua came to the Seventh Prince's Mansion in a carriage. As soon as they jumped out of the carriage, they saw the door of the Seventh Prince's Mansion open and Meng Yue came out from inside.

"Brother Li? Brother Hua?"

"Brother Meng?"

"Brother Meng?"

The three of them were surprised when they met.

Meng Yue coughed lightly: "Isn't it just the New Year? I'm here to give the Seventh Prince a New Year gift."

Shen Hua opened her eyes wide and subconsciously said, "Isn't it too late for you to give it away? It's New Year's Eve It's gone."

Give yourself a New Year's gift to go to the peak, how can you give it on New Year's Eve.

"I delivered it once before. Didn't I make dumplings today? So I gave some to the Seventh Prince."

Meng Yue coughed softly as she said, "I made it myself. The gift is light and the affection is heavy."

Before Shen Hua could speak again , He frowned, pointed at Shen Hua's red eyes and nose and asked, "What's the matter? Where's Brother Xu?

" money." Li Qiao briefly explained, and then pointed to the door of the Seventh Prince's Mansion and asked, "Since the Seventh Prince is in the mansion, let's go in and see the Seventh Prince." "There is such a

thing? It must be a misunderstanding! Brother Xu How could it be possible to look at the silver at the rice bank!"

Meng Yue couldn't help but stamped her feet after being stunned, it's ridiculous!

"Quick, quick, the Seventh Prince is about to enter the palace to attend the dinner." He turned around and quickly walked up the steps in front of the Seventh Prince's Mansion.

The guards in front of the Seventh Prince's Mansion have heard the conversation between the three of them, and one of them has already entered the mansion to report to the Seventh Prince.

Soon, Li Qiao, Shen Hua and Meng Yue met the Seventh Prince.

The seventh prince was fully dressed and was about to enter the palace to attend the family banquet of the Sheng family. Hearing this, he told the three of them not to panic. There was still some time before the family banquet, so he could go to the household department.

Today is New Year's Eve, and it stands to reason that, except for some yamen that cannot take a holiday, such as the street patrollers and the imperial guards, who are in charge of Shengjing's security, the rest of the yamen have already been on holiday.

But the officials of the household department are checking the accounts today?

What account to check on New Year's Eve?

If you work hard like this, there will be demons when things go wrong.

The Seventh Prince brought Li Qiao and Mengyue to the household department—Shen Hua is a family member, and under normal circumstances, he cannot enter the inner city, so he can only wait at the gate of the inner city.

The three of them arrived at the household department, but there was no one in the household department, only two guards on duty were there.

The Seventh Prince called these two servants over to inquire. It turned out that before the three of them arrived, Chief Zhang of the Department of Household Affairs, Zhu Yuanwailang, the boss of the Food and Bank Department, and two other small officials from the Food and Bank Department had already passed away. Handed over Xu Ying to the Ministry of Punishment.

Xu Ying is a seventh-rank official. Although he is a sesame official in the Shengjing area, he is indeed the seventh-rank official under Sheng Hong's imperial edict. Now even if the people in the household department find out that he has made false accounts, they have no right to use it. lynching.

The people from the household department had no choice but to hand over Xu Ying to the Ministry of Punishment with the evidence, and the Ministry of Punishment temporarily detained her for trial in a year.

Li Qiao frowned after hearing what the guard said.

Xu Ying would certainly not admit to the crime of making false accounts, but even so, those small officials from the Ministry of Households actually sent him to the Ministry of Punishment?

This is too anxious!

The Seventh Prince also had a serious face: "Even if Xu Ying enters the Ministry of Punishments, he will only be imprisoned. Don't worry, you two, he won't suffer flesh and blood.

" Go, you guys follow."

Throwing down these words, the Seventh Prince turned around and left.

Ordinary people don't have the right to ride a carriage or ride a horse in the inner city. Those people from the household department must escort Shen Ying on foot. If he can run faster on horseback, he might be able to stop Xu Ying before he enters the punishment department.

He naturally believed in Xu Ying. To be able to become close friends with Li Qiao and Meng Yue, Xu Ying's character was absolutely fine.

Since you are a person of duty, it is best not to enter the Ministry of Criminal Justice, a scholar, don't be frightened by the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice.

The Seventh Prince rode his steed to the Ministry of Justice, Li Qiao and Mengyue trotted behind him.

The yamen of the Ministry of Punishment is in the inner city, but it is far away from the imperial palace. The Ministry of Punishment has a large prison. If the criminals inside escape, it is likely to threaten the safety of many nobles in the palace. A considerable distance.

But they are all in the inner city. If you walk faster, you can arrive in about two quarters of an hour.

When Li Qiao and Meng Yue arrived at the entrance of the criminal department, the Seventh Prince was nowhere to be seen, and of course, there was no sign of Xu Ying either.

Meng Yue worked here, and he led Li Qiao to the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs who was familiar with the way.

Meng Yue is the head of the Prison Office of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. Her job is to inspect the prisoners in the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice and manage a group of guards. Before today, Meng Yue never expected that Xu Ying would appear in the prison where he patrolled daily. .

The Seventh Prince came a step late, the people from the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of Punishment had completed the handover procedures, and Xu Ying was already staying in the prison.

However, because Xu Ying is an official, he doesn't have to suffer physically before the interrogation.

When Meng Yue and Li Qiao came to his prison door, he was talking to the Seventh Prince.

On New Year's Eve, the three friends actually met in this kind of place. Xu Ying looked at Li Qiao and Meng Yue, first smiled helplessly, and then sighed: "Brother Meng, Brother Li, please comfort me later. Brother Hua, I'm fine."

"Okay." Li Qiao nodded lightly; "I'll take Brother Hua home later, and let him stay at my house for a few days." The eldest

brother of the Shen family returned home, If Xu Ying can't go home, then only Xiao Qiu and his servants will accompany Shen Hua to celebrate the new year.

But the Xu family is in the capital.

The Xu family regards Xu Ying as their lifeblood, and now that Xu Ying is in prison, the Xu family will definitely go crazy over Shen Hua.

Therefore, he had to take Shen Hua back to his home.

"Thank you brother Li." Xu Ying cupped her hands towards Li Qiao.

Li Qiao forced a smile: "It should."

If it weren't for him, Xu Ying wouldn't be in jail on New Year's Eve.

"I just asked Xu Ying. He said that he was interrogated by Zhu Yuanwailang from the household department just now. They took out the account books and said that Xu Ying relied on making false accounts. In just three months, A total of one thousand three hundred and sixty-seven taels of silver was embezzled."

"Xu Ying did not admit it. But the surname Zhu is Xu Ying Shangfeng, and he produced evidence, and the Ministry of Criminal Justice can only follow the procedure."

"Currently the Ministry of Criminal Justice is on holiday, and will not officially go to the government until the Lantern Festival in the next year. Before that, Xu Ying has to stay in the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice." The

seventh prince frowned, looked at Li Qiao and said, "I know You are very anxious, but today is New Year's Eve, and the royal father and the imperial grandfather are waiting for us to enter the palace to participate in the family banquet. At this kind of festive moment, I don't suggest using this matter to affect their mood." "According to the royal father's

instructions It's a habit, after the third year of junior high, he will start to deal with the government affairs, you just wait a few days, I will mention this to Father Emperor on the fourth day of junior high." "

Before the fourth junior high, Xu Ying can only stay here. But you Don't worry, the Ministry of Punishment is my territory, and I will not let Xu Ying be wronged."

After hearing this, Li Qiao bowed deeply to the Seventh Prince: "Then I will trouble you."

Xu Ying and Meng Yue also Quickly thank the Seventh Prince.

The seventh prince waved his hand: "This is what I should do. The Ministry of Criminal Justice is in charge of this case. As the head of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, I should return Xu Ying's innocence.

" The principal does not occupy the original official position of the imperial court.

"Okay, I'm leaving first, I have to enter the palace. Meng Yue, you stay here with Xu Ying. Li Qiao, go and bring Mrs. Xu Ying over. He can visit the prison once a day." The Seventh Prince

said Come on, step up and walk towards the door.

Meng Yue should be.

Li Qiao hurriedly followed.

Xu Ying thanked the Seventh Prince again.

Li Qiao followed the Seventh Prince to the gate of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. The Seventh Prince explained a few words to the guards on duty, and then took Li Qiao to the gate of the Ministry of Criminal Justice.

The two soon left the Criminal Department.

The Seventh Prince handed the steed to his personal bodyguard, and just as he was about to speak to Li Qiao, Li Qiao preemptively said, "Seventh Prince, can I take a step to speak?" The Seventh Prince heard the words and pointed to the gate of the Ministry of Punishment not far away

. At the dividing wall between the inner city and the outer city: "Go there."

Standing at the corner, the Seventh Prince spoke first this time: "Do you think this is fifth brother's handwriting?"

"Your official does have such a guess. One thousand three hundred and sixty-seven taels, just this amount of money, it's ridiculous, with Brother Xu's family background, how could he value this amount of money?"

Li Qiao admitted directly.

Although the Xu family can only be regarded as a small fortune in Shengjing, it is one thousand three hundred and sixty-seven taels!

Isn't this insulting?

Only a fool would believe that Xu Ying would value such a small amount of money!

Seeing that he was so straightforward, the Seventh Prince couldn't help looking in the direction of the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice: "There are indeed many doubts in this case. Xu Ying said that he had read the evidence, and he said that the account book was fake. It was not written by him. But the trouble is, the handwriting is his."

"Then how likely is it that brother Xu is innocent?" Li Qiao couldn't help asking: "Brother Xu's family definitely doesn't have the one thousand three hundred and sixty-seven taels of silver!" "

According to That evidence shows that Xu Ying didn't take away 1,300 taels of silver in one go, he took them piecemeal, dozens of taels at a time. It must be impossible to find it."

"So, what can convict Xu Ying is the account book written in the same handwriting as Xu Ying but not written by Xu Ying." The

Seventh Prince did not answer directly, but only explained the current situation.

"Then what if Brother Xu is really convicted, the consequences will be as written in Dasheng's law, a fine of ten times the amount of money, loss of office, dismissal of fame, and three years in prison?"

"Yes." The Seventh Prince nodded heavily: "One thousand three hundred taels, this number is too small to confiscate the house. But if you lose your official position and fame, you will be imprisoned for three years. This life is over." However,

see With his nod, Li Qiao's face became heavy, and he immediately said: "I will try my best to return Xu Ying's innocence." "Thank you, the

seventh prince." Regarding the matter, when will the Holy Majesty determine the specific road map? I want Weiqing County to appear on the Grand Canal." As soon as the

words came out, the Seventh Prince looked him up and down, and then said with a serious face: "Still It's not certain that Fifth Brother did this."

"If Fifth Brother really didn't do this, then you would have offended Fifth Brother for nothing."

"You have elder brothers and sisters who treat you with great kindness, and younger brothers, There is a husband in the middle, so

you must not act impulsively." "I am not impulsive, I feel that if this matter is really done by the fifth prince, then he will definitely arrange all the details seamlessly so that you can't find any loopholes. "

Li Qiao said with a wry smile: "You are the head of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. He knows that this case must be tried by you. If Brother Xu is not 100% sure that he can be convicted, why would he choose to do it at this time?" "That's the case,

then Why don't you stimulate him a bit, in this case, you might find a flaw."

After all, the fifth prince's actions have always been simple and rough, not as deep as the third prince's.

As soon as these words came out, the Seventh Prince raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Makes sense.

Just now he went all the way into the Ministry of Justice, but he didn't meet any people surnamed Zhu. According to the normal route, he would definitely meet these people.

These people took a detour to avoid him.

Deliberately avoiding him, this alone is enough to show that these people have ghosts in their hearts.

But still too bold.

"I see, you go home to celebrate the new year first, and I will test the fifth brother at the family dinner tonight." "

Remember, don't act rashly, the fifth brother is different from the British public. You are an outsider to the father."

"But if you have a conflict with the fifth brother, then in front of the father, you are the only outsider. Do you understand?" "

Thank you, the seventh prince, for your reminder. Officials won't take the initiative to do anything."

Li Qiao hurriedly bowed again, thanking him from the bottom of his heart.

He understood this, so even though he knew that the Fifth Prince was going to take away Weiqing County's opportunity, he didn't get involved.

The fifth prince is Sheng Hong's own son, and it is the nature of all parents to protect their shortcomings. Although Sheng Hong is a wise king, he doesn't want to bet on this.

But now Xu Ying is implicated by him, a good seventh-rank official, on this New Year's Eve, he has to spend the New Year in the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice!

This is how he can celebrate the New Year with peace of mind.

He would rather the fifth prince come to him, and he is willing to bear all the consequences, but the fifth prince chose Xu Ying.

In his life, he was most unwilling to owe others, and he was unwilling to cause trouble to others, but now...

bid farewell to the seventh prince, who went to the palace to attend a family banquet, Li Qiao came to the gate of the inner city, and brought Shen Hua in.

Just now the Seventh Prince specially explained that Shen Hua can visit the prison for one hour a day.

Let Shen Hua take a look at Xu Ying first, then go home later and bring some food to celebrate the New Year with Xu Ying.

Xu Ying's mental condition was good, and her expression was as usual, but when Shen Hua saw him, she immediately collapsed and cried earth-shatteringly.

Xu Ying softly persuaded him for a while, and then he stopped crying. When the crying stopped, his attention was diverted, and he subconsciously looked at the environment Xu Ying was in.

Dasheng's prison has three walls of blue bricks, and the side facing the aisle has a wooden fence instead of the wall.

This is convenient for the jailer to look at the situation in the prison.

What Xu Ying stayed in was a single room, and several nearby cells were used to detain officials ordered by the imperial court, so the conditions were reasonable.

There is a small window on the wall, the air is not too turbid, the ground is clean, and there are teapots and water cups on the simple table.

The quilt on the bed was replaced by Meng Yue just now, and it looked like new.

Shen Hua looked around, then sniffed, and said in a hoarse voice, "It's much better than I imagined."

He thought that Xu Ying would be locked up with other prisoners. His cousin is a scholar, and he was raised by a rich man. He was too worried that his cousin would be bullied.

Seeing this, Xu Ying wiped away the tears on his face through the wooden fence, and said with a smile: "For sure, we have a relationship in the Ministry of Punishment. With Brother Meng here, how could I be bullied." Meng Yue stood aside

, Hearing the words, he immediately said: "No, I didn't expect that my identity would come in handy one day. Brother Hua, don't worry, I will stay here with Brother Xu for the next few days, absolutely not Let him be wronged."

"Huh?" Shen Hua was taken aback when he heard the words: "This is so bad."

Now it's Chinese New Year.

"It's okay, it's just Chinese New Year, it doesn't matter where you spend it, my elder brother and sister-in-law will understand."

Meng Yue said with a smile.

When a friend comes to his site, he must be with him.

Of course, the more important thing is that he is in charge of this area, and he is the most suitable to stay here.

Although Brother Li is an official, he still has to abide by the rules of the Ministry of Criminal Justice when he comes to visit the prison, at most one hour a day.

Including other officials of the Ministry of Punishment, even if they belong to the Ministry of Punishment, they are not allowed to contact prisoners without reason.

So, his position is a coincidence. Even if he stays in the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice for twelve hours a day, it is also in line with the regulations of the Ministry of Criminal Justice.

"Go back quickly and bring the food and drinks. This year's New Year's Eve dinner, we'll eat here. Don't worry, the Seventh Prince will restore brother Xu's innocence."

He comforted Shen Hua.

When Shen Hua heard this, tears started to flow out again, and he hummed heavily: "Okay!"

So Shen Hua and Li Qiao went back to Painter Shen together.

The Xu family was already waiting. After listening to Shen Hua's explanation, a group of people wanted to go crazy, but Li Qiao was standing beside them. They could only swallow their emotions and go back to prepare meals.

The Xu family left, Shen Hua took some Xu Ying's favorite food, went to Meng Yue's house with Li Qiao, brought Meng Yue's favorite food with her, and finally went back to Li's house.

Just now Xiaoqiu went to send news to the dealer, when Li Qiao and Shen Hua arrived home, Zhuang Wen was already waiting at Li Qiao's house.

Tao Zhu is preparing Li Qiao's favorite meal, he can't visit the prison, he can only prepare more good wine and food, so that Xu Ying can eat more satisfactorily.

Tao Zhu was not stupid, he had already guessed that it might be the handiwork of the fifth prince, but Li Qiao had to go back to the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, so he didn't ask any questions, just put a few dishes into a big pot, and then put the big pot to the small stove.

In this way, even in the prison of the Ministry of Justice, all the meals will be hot.

Soon, Li Qiao, Shen Hua, Zhuang Wen and Xu's family all arrived in the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice.

It was already dark at this time, and a group of people had an unforgettable New Year's Eve dinner in the prison of the Ministry of Justice.

Although the future is not very bright, but for the New Year, there must be a smile on the face, so this New Year's Eve dinner is quite lively.

By the time Li Qiao and Shen Hua returned home, it was already late at night.

Shen Hua's worries went away a lot, but today he had too much emotional ups and downs, so he was exhausted by now.

After a hasty wash, he went back to the house to sleep.

Afraid that he would think too much, Tao Zhu slept with him.

It was the first time for Li Qiao to guard the empty room alone, no, guarding the two cubs. He stayed up all night and practiced his abilities all night.

If it was the worst case, then he would definitely make the Fifth Prince pay the price.

Not only Weiqing County, but also the Fifth Prince himself.

Only superpowers can help him.

At the same time, he was also reflecting on himself, whether his response to Lu Wenrong's insults was too rigid.

But he thought about it all night, and when it was dawn, he swept away all his reflections.

No regrets.

Even if he does it all over again, he will fight back.

Fortunately, Xu Ying is only being imprisoned at the moment, and things have not reached the worst stage.

It can still be saved.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the atmosphere was a bit heavy. Shen Hua was here, and everyone was cautious. Only when Li Qiao distributed red envelopes did everyone smile a little more.

After distributing the red envelopes, several families wished each other New Year's greetings, and the whole morning passed.

Shen Hua rolled up her sleeves and prepared to make lunch.

He has to do something, otherwise he will cry, and his attention will be diverted only when he is busy.

Moreover, yesterday he discussed with Xu's family that Xu Ying's breakfast and lunch would be delivered by Xu's family, and dinner would be delivered by him.

He is preparing dinner now. In one afternoon, he will prepare some hard dishes for his cousin!

Li Qiao and Tao Zhu naturally wanted to help him, they had been busy in the kitchen for a long time, and in the evening, Qian San actually came.