Wu Chongxun took his wife to the Hot Spring Palace, which later became known as the Huaqing Pool. Du Jingting sent Wu Chongxun and his wife away and immediately began to prepare an apology feast. At the same time, he sent someone to look for his son.
As he was preparing, the officials and nobles of Chang 'an arrived one after another. They were all invited by the Du family, and their attitudes toward this matter could be roughly sensed from their identities. Those who had a close relationship with the Du family or were dependent on the Wu family mostly sent their nephews as a token of appreciation.
This apology banquet was a humiliation to the Du Clan and a slap to the Wu Clan's face. Those who had friendly relations with the Du Clan or relied on the Wu Clan naturally wouldn't send out their Clan Heads or highly respected elders to support Zhang Changzong. Even those who were loyal to the Li family mostly sent their nephews as representatives. Although the Wu and Li families fought openly and secretly, they shared a common hatred for the Second Zhang.
The five sons of the Prince of Xiang only sent their youngest brother, Li Longfan, to go through the motions. This was a Jun Prince, and Du Jingting had to personally welcome him. Du Jingting had just welcomed Li Longfan in when Longqing Square sent someone to report.
Bōshō of Longqing Square sent a shopkeeper who rode a mule to Anyi Square. The Du family steward, who welcomed the guests in front of the mansion, came forward and was shocked to learn that the young master had hanged himself. He hurriedly led the servant into the manor.
Du Jingting was forcing a smile with Li Longfan when the steward suddenly came in. Du Jingting frowned and apologized to Li Longfan. He walked over and asked in a low voice, "Is Wen Tian back?"
The steward whispered, "Ah Lang, Eldest Langjun has been found, but … but …"
Du Jingting said angrily, "But what? He doesn't dare to come back? This unfilial son! The Du family has been through ups and downs for hundreds of years. There have been times when we were ten times more embarrassed than today. What is there to be afraid of? As long as he doesn't admit defeat and doesn't give up, no one can trample on the Du family with his pride and ambition. What's the big deal about a temporary setback? "
The steward found it hard to speak, but he had to. He lowered his voice and said bitterly, "Ah Lang, Eldest Langjun … he hanged himself by the Longqing Pond!"
"What?"
Du Jingting felt as if he had been struck by lightning and staggered a few steps back. His vision darkened and he almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Li Longfan reacted quickly and rushed forward to support him.
…
"Ah … Ya …"
Yang Daier opened her small mouth and made a few babbling sounds. Yang Fan gently pushed a scarlet ball decorated with tassels hanging above the small bed. The red ball swayed, and Yang Daier immediately stopped making noises. She just stared at the red ball blankly with a pair of lacquered eyes.
Wan'er stood at the side and smiled, "Dai'er is more obedient than her sister when she was young. I remember when Si Rong was her age, although she wasn't as naughty as Nianzu, she still cried a lot. Xiao Man was exhausted. Dai 'er is very obedient. As long as she is fed and clean, she will not cry or make a fuss. At most, she will squeak a few times. Once you coax her, she will become obedient. "
Yang Fan smiled and said, "It's her own good to have children. Dai'er is indeed obedient, but if she is more naughty than Si Rong, you should praise her for being lively and energetic."
Wan'er wrinkled her nose at him. She bent down to look at her beloved daughter and kissed her on the cheek. She raised her head and saw Yang Fan's thoughtful expression. She knew his mind was wandering. She didn't know what he was thinking about. She stopped smiling and asked with concern, "What is it? Is the matter with Du Wentian very troublesome?"
Yang Fan shook his head and said, "Even if there is trouble, it's not my trouble. I am thinking about something else … "
Yang Fan gently stretched out a finger and touched Dai'er's palm. Dai'er, who was looking at the red ball curiously, immediately held his finger with great strength. Her eyes did not move away from the red ball, but she had already opened her mouth and showed a silent smile.
Her smile was a natural reaction of happiness. It was not because she knew that her father was teasing her. Yang Fan still smiled back at her and said slowly, "I am thinking about … should this trouble fall on Zhang Changzong or Wu Chongxun …"
…
"Of course, Zhang Changzong should be the scapegoat!"
Shen Mu rested his head on Qiqi's soft and plump thighs. His precious son was trying his best to climb over his thighs. His chubby arms and legs struggled for a long time, but the thighs in front of him were like a huge mountain that he could not climb over.
The little boy angrily raised his head and howled. Qiqi wanted to help him up, but Shen Mu pushed her away and said, "Don't worry about it. Let him climb on his own. This son should not be spoiled. Otherwise, when he grows up, he will become a piece of trash like Du Wentian. That would be a disaster for us."
Qiqi glared at him and said unhappily, "Go! My son will not grow up to be that kind of wastrel! " But in the end, she did not help her son. The little boy howled. Seeing that his parents were not willing to help, he widened his eyes, pursed his lips, and continued his great undertaking.
Qiqi combed her hair and said softly, "Why do you think it is better to let Zhang Changzong be the scapegoat?"
Shen Mu said leisurely, "What good is there if this matter is revealed? The Du clan would hate Wu Chongxun for this, but so what if he hated Wu Chongxun? Even if Wu Chongxun killed Wu Chongxun to vent his anger, could the Du clan really use the heir of Prince Liang as an apology?
The final result of this matter is that the Wu Family, the Li Family, and the Du Family will become the laughingstock of the world. The Du Family, as a large family in Guanzhong, will become enemies with the Wu and Li Families. The Wu and Li Families will completely break off this marriage alliance because of An Le's adultery, allowing the Second Zhang Family to reap the benefits.
The Second Zhang Family is the biggest variable in the future and is also the variable that we cannot control. Promoting the Wu and Li Families' alliance and eradicating the Second Zhang Family's influence is a plan that we have long formulated. We cannot change it casually. Letting him be the scapegoat is the most beneficial for us. "
Qiqi patted her son's soft butt to show encouragement and said to Shen Mu, "Are you going to tell Yang Fan this?"
Shen Mu said, "I do not need to tell him anything, and he does not need my guidance or teachings. He is telling me this matter to tell me that he has already created an opportunity for us. It is not convenient for him to make an appearance, and I should add fuel to the fire. I will make use of this matter to promote the alliance between the Guanzhong local factions and the Wu and Li Clans. "
Qiqi sighed and said, "I really do not understand men like you. Why can't you just say it directly? Why do you have to beat around the bush?"
Shen Mu smiled and said, "Because he similarly does not want to give me the feeling that the Obvious Sect is still leading the Hidden Sect. Treating each other with respect is the foundation to maintain the peace between our two sects, and not relying on our personal friendship. A woman with long hair and big butt like you will naturally not understand such matters. "
Qiqi rolled her eyes at him. It wasn't that she didn't understand, but she wasn't interested in such matters. Her interest was in gossip. She curiously changed the topic and asked, "What about Wu Chongxun? What is he doing now? "
Shen Mu said lazily, "Him? He and An Le went to the Hot Spring Palace to take a mandarin duck bath."
Qiqi's eyes let out an excited glow. "His wife is having an affair, and he is still going to take a mandarin duck bath? Is he so ambitious? Do you think he will find a chance to drown An Le? "
Shen Mu said indifferently, "The Clear River Fang Clan is a prestigious clan in Shandong, and Fang Xuanling is a famous minister. He is in charge of all the departments and has been in charge of government affairs for twenty years. His power is enough to overturn the court, but his daughter-in-law, Princess Gaoyang, is having an affair with a monk, and his son, Fang Yiai, is actually guarding the door. He has great power in the imperial court. I always felt that this matter was exaggerated. How could there be such a man in this world? Now, I believe that a person with balls might not necessarily be a man! "
Qiqi burst out laughing and said, "No way. I feel that Wu Chongxun is able to endure what others can't. He is an outstanding man. You should learn more from him."
Shen Mu looked at her and said, "You want me to learn from him? What are you trying to do?"
Qiqi winked at him mischievously and said, "If you are like him, wouldn't I be able to have an affair confidently and confidently?"
Shen Mu narrowed his eyes and revealed a dangerous expression. "Who do you want to have an affair with?"
Qiqi tilted her head and calculated. "I can have an affair with anyone. For example … Yang Fan. How about it? Look, he's younger than you, more handsome than you, and he's in a position of power just like you. Not only does he wield great power in the dark, but he's also more prestigious than you in the open. Such a good man, aiyaya … "
As Qiqi spoke, her eyes began to turn watery as if she had fallen in love.
Shen Mu snorted and said, "Alright, then go ahead and give it a try."
Qiqi pretended to be innocent and asked, "If I really try, what are you going to do? Hang Yang Fan by the Long Qing Pool and treat me with love? "
Shen Mu rolled his eyes at her and said, "I will sink you into the bottom of the Long Qing Pool."
Qiqi bit her moist lips and said softly, "Are you willing to do that?"
Shen Mu said with a straight face, "Of course! A man with balls will definitely be willing to do that! "
"I will bite you to death!"
Qiqi showed her power and rushed towards Shen Mu with her mouth wide open. However, she only pecked him lightly on the lips in the end. Their precious son panted and finally climbed over his father's legs. He placed his hands on the bed and arched his little butt. He turned his head to look at his parents and smiled proudly …
…
Du Wentian was dead. This cockroach that had been beaten many times, but the more he was beaten, the more tenacious he became. Finally, he died.
With Du Wentian's death, there was no need to continue the Du family's apology banquet.
When Zhang Changzong saw the state of Du Wentian's death, he knew that he would definitely be the scapegoat. Yesterday, Wu Chongxun had visited the Du family but was arrogantly rejected. He had even spread the news that if the Du family did not apologize, he would not let it go. Then, Du Wentian had been hanged by the Long Qing Pool.
Anyone would think that this had something to do with him. Some people even came to the conclusion that after Du Wentian learned that Wu Chongxun had tried to mediate but was rejected, he had angrily gone to the island to argue. His words had offended Wu Chongxun and he had been humiliated and beaten by him. Du Wentian felt that he had let down his family and had nowhere else to go, so he had hung himself.
This rumor had been widely spread in Chang 'an. But when Liu Qietian saw Du Wentian's body at the crime scene, he did not believe it. It was impossible for Du Wentian to have hung himself.
When the Bōshō of the Long Qing Pool heard that there was a murder case, he immediately brought people to the lakeside. When he learned that the deceased was from the Du family of Fan Chuan, he knew that this was not something he could handle, so he immediately reported it to the Wan Nian County. When the Wan Nian County Magistrate heard that the deceased was from the Du family, he immediately went to see the Chang 'an Local Government Magistrate.
Finally, the Chang 'an Local Government Magistrate, Liu Qietian, led nearly a hundred people, including the Judicial Military Counselor, the Imperial Judge, the Wan Nian County Magistrate, the Wan Nian County Lieutenant, the Patrol Inspector, the Errand Officer, and so on, to the Long Qing Pool. After some investigation, they found five dead horses and four corpses in the Long Qing Pool.
After identification, the four corpses were Du Wentian's attendants. It was even more impossible that they had committed suicide. Du Wentian had brought four bodyguards, five living people, and five horses to die by the Long Qing Pool. Besides Zhang Changzong, who else could have done this? This was clearly Zhang Changzong's revenge, naked revenge.
But if this case was determined to be a homicide, Zhang Changzong would be implicated. Who would dare to interrogate him? Who would dare to interrogate him? Just thinking about Zhang Changzong's backer made people shudder. Liu Qietian, the Judicial Military Counselor, the Imperial Judge, the County Magistrate, the Wan Nian County Magistrate, and the chief of detectives of the torture room gathered together and discussed for a long time.
They were not discussing the case at all. It didn't matter how Du Wentian died, and it didn't matter whether they could find the murderer or not. What mattered was how to judge this case so that Zhang Changzong wouldn't be implicated, so that these local officials wouldn't use their small arms to twist the Queen's leg.
In the end, they reached a unanimous opinion, "Du Wentian committed suicide!"
Du Wentian's tongue was cut off. It didn't matter that his tongue was cut off, because he still had the strength to commit suicide. Du Wentian's lower body was also mutilated. It didn't matter, because he wouldn't die right away. As long as his vitality was strong enough, he would be able to take off his belt and climb up a tree to commit suicide.
But his eyes were also gouged out, so it wouldn't make sense to say that he committed suicide. A person with his tongue cut off, his lower body mutilated, and his eyes gouged out could still climb up an old locust tree, take off his belt, and hang himself. This was not a small feat. If he could commit suicide like this, it would be an insult to the intelligence of the world.
But there was no lack of absurd things in the officialdom. When they used some extremely absurd reasons to appease the victims and the people, in fact, they themselves didn't believe that such a ridiculous reason could be trusted. But if they gave you a reason, you didn't have the right to refute the reason he gave you, and that was enough.
So, the "truth" of Du Wentian's death was revealed: he committed suicide!
But why did Du Wentian commit suicide? If he committed suicide because he was tortured inhumanely, then the government would still have to track down the murderer. The reason why they came up with such an absurd conclusion as suicide was because there was no murderer. Then, the problem would return to the starting point.
Zhou Yan, the experienced arrester who had worked in the Chang 'an Local Government for 30 years, solved this problem perfectly after a careful investigation of the crime scene, "The victim's eyes were pecked blind by crows, and his tongue and lower body were eaten by wild cats and dogs. The wounds on his body were all caused by this. Conclusion: the victim was not injured before hanging himself. "
Liu Qietian was very satisfied with this result. He handed over the task of informing the victim's family to the Magistrate. The Magistrate then passed the task to the County Magistrate. The County Magistrate then passed the task to the County Lieutenant.
The County Lieutenant pondered for a while and felt that it was not appropriate to announce the result right away. It would be better to delay the case for a while, and then inform the victim's family of the "investigation result". The case had already come to a conclusion, but still had to be investigated and tried. This was not uncommon in the officialdom.
Du Jingting did not care about the County Lieutenant's assurance that the murderer would be brought to justice if it was a homicide. When he saw his son's body, he had already determined that the murderer must be Zhang Changzong. He did not expect the officialdom to uphold justice for him, because it was impossible for the officialdom to bring the murderer to justice. He had to take revenge himself!
Du Jingting hugged his son's body and cried, "Son, let's go home, let's go home!"
Du Jingting struggled to lift his son's body. Two family members rushed forward, took Du Wentian's body from his hands, and helped him into the carriage.
Du Wentian sat next to his son's body, holding his hand, and swore, "Son, I will definitely avenge you! Does he think he can be safe with the emperor's support? He is delusional! Our Du family has been operating here for hundreds of years. There are some things that even the emperor can't take away unless I am willing to give them up. Zhang Changzong will pay for his arrogance and cruelty! "
…
The carriage carried an old man and a dead man, slowly leaving Long Qing Lane.
As the carriage was leaving, a horse galloped towards them, brushing past them. Wu Zetian sent a messenger, and the messenger went straight to Yang Fan. Yang Fan read Wu Zetian's secret edict and went to see Wan 'er immediately. Wan' er read the edict and couldn't help but sigh. She said sadly, "The Sage saw through my intentions after all."
Yang Fan put his arm around her shoulder and said, "It's okay. Dai 'er will eventually return to her family. This way, there will be no more twists and turns in the future. Now that the emperor has made such an arrangement, we have a good reason to meet in the future. Isn't it easy for you to see your daughter? As for clearing the Shangguan family's name, there will always be a chance. "
Wan 'er nodded and asked worriedly, "Langjun, how do you plan to bring the child back to the Yang family? We can't have a child for no reason. How about … how about adopting him?"
Yang Fan said, "That's not appropriate. Why would I adopt a baby out of nowhere?"
He paced around the room for a while and suddenly looked up at Wan 'er and said, "Don't worry. I have an idea!"
Yang Fan hurried back to his residence and saw Gu Zhuting sitting in the bamboo forest with her hands resting on her cheeks. Her eyes were full of tears. He didn't know what she was thinking about, but there seemed to be a flash of excitement and joy in her eyes.
Yang Fan walked around her twice, but Gu Zhuting still didn't notice. Yang Fan sat down next to her and waved his hand in front of her eyes. Gu Zhuting suddenly woke up and said embarrassedly, "Ah Lang."
Yang Fan asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Gu Zhuting blushed and shook her head. She said in a low voice, "Nothing. I'm just a little absent-minded."
Yang Fan sighed and said to Gu Zhuting, "Ting 'er, there's something that only you can do now."
Gu Zhuting straightened her back and asked, "What is it?"
Yang Fan said in a low voice, "Pregnant! You have to pretend to be pregnant! "
Gu Zhuting's face suddenly showed a strange expression. She said hesitantly, "Pregnant?"
Yang Fan knew that she didn't understand why he had to do this. He was about to explain to her when Gu Zhuting said, "I … I'm really pregnant now …"
This time it was Yang Fan's turn to be stunned, "Really? You're pregnant. Are you sure? "
Gu Zhuting bit her lips and nodded shyly. She said in a low voice, "My … my period didn't come, so … so I asked Divine Doctor Mu to take my pulse. Divine Doctor Mu concluded that I'm pregnant."
Yang Fan was stunned for a long time. He couldn't help but laugh, "Great! Anyway, Xiao Man has already given birth to twins. It's not a big deal for you to have twins. I'm talented, hahaha … "
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