Ming Dynasty: At the beginning, the house was ransacked and the ancestral temple was burned down.

Chapter 1 Ruthless and cruel officials!

It was the seventh day of the fifth lunar month in the twelfth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty.

Huguang Jingzhou Wei, Jiangling County.

The weather was gloomy, oppressively hot, and it was going to rain heavily.

At this time, the Zhang family's mansion was in chaos. Jin Yiwei's figures were everywhere, searching and moving, and there was no discipline at all.

"We searched carefully, and no one is left behind anywhere!"

Qiu Li, the right minister of the Ministry of Justice, tensed up like a violent fighting cock. Beside him stood a dozen officials from the Ming Dynasty.

Among these people were the eunuchs who were responsible for the rites, the officials of the six subjects, and the local magistrates and supervisory censors in Huguang.

Without exception, everyone looked tense and their faces were even darker than on this cloudy day.

This was already the third day of searching the Zhang family, but what they found was far from what they expected.

"How come it's only more than 107,700 taels of silver? It shouldn't be! Could it be that when I sent troops to surround the Zhang Mansion, the money had already been smuggled out and hidden by the Zhang family?"

Ren Yangxin, the censor of Huguang Patrol, looked livid. As soon as he learned that the emperor was going to order an inspection of the Zhang family, he immediately sent troops to surround the Zhang family mansion.

By now, the Zhang family has already completed the inspection, but even if the dowries of the Zhang family's daughters-in-law are taken into account, a total of just over 107,700 taels of silver and more than 2,000 taels of gold have been seized.

As for other gold and silver jewelry, agate vessels, brocade silk, jade belts, etc., almost all of them were rewards given to Zhang Ju by the emperor and the queen mother when he was still alive, and they all have legitimate source records.

After receiving such a search result, everyone was dumbfounded without exception.

You know, Zhang Juzheng has been the chief assistant for ten years! How could it be possible that it was not even one-twentieth of Yan Song’s family property?

It shouldn’t be!

Everyone present felt that it shouldn't be the case. After all, before they came, they had already made a budget to seize millions of taels of gold and silver.

Especially Qiu Li, she patted her chest in front of the emperor and boldly predicted: At least two million silver!

But now that the Zhang family has been turned upside down to find out so much money, everyone is naturally panicked and thinking about how to report it to the emperor.

"Has Zhang Juzheng's eldest son been recruited?" Qiu Li asked Zhang Cheng, the eunuch and eunuch in charge of the ceremony.

Zhang Cheng was now in charge of the East Factory. He shook his head and said, "I didn't expect that Zhang Jingxiu's bones were so hard. Even the Jin Yiwei sent him to prison. He refused to admit Zhang Juzheng's corruption and bribery, let alone reveal the stolen money." place to go.”

"Hmph, then the punishment will be increased! I don't believe that his words can be tougher than Jin Yiwei's punishment!" Qiu Li gritted his teeth. He refused to believe that the Zhang family only had this little property, it was definitely much more!

As soon as he finished speaking, a guard in uniform came over in a hurry to report: "Report! Sirs, something is wrong!"

"Zhang Jingxiu is dead!"

"What! Dead?" Zhang Cheng grabbed the man by the collar, widened his eyes and asked, "I just asked you to interrogate him, how could he die?"

The Jin Yiwei replied: "He hung himself from a beam while we were not paying attention..."

"Trash!" Zhang Cheng was so angry that he kicked the Jin Yiwei so hard that the wise man's crown on his head was thrown askew, "You can't even look down on one person, they are a bunch of trash!"

At this moment, everyone's long-tightened emotions completely collapsed.

"It's over, it's over, the trial has not come out, and another life has been caused, what should I do..."

Ren Yangxin no longer had the arrogance he had when he led troops to besiege the Zhang family, and there was only panic in his eyes.

The situation of the others was not much better. Although they all came under the order, the imperial order only allowed them to ransack their homes, but did not allow them to kill anyone.

On the other hand, not only was Zhang Juzheng's eldest son dead, but before that, seventeen members of the Zhang family starved to death because they were besieged for more than half a month!

Not much money was copied, but so many people died.

If this was impeached by some people in front of the emperor, no matter how much the emperor hated the Zhang family, he would not be able to justify it. "Why are you panicking!" Qiu Li shouted, his voice trembling a little. It was obvious that he was also panicked, but he still said firmly:
  "Zhang Jingxiu would rather hang himself than confess his father's sins. He wants to die to cover up his evil deeds. He is a godless son and father. This is a heinous act!"

"Isn't it just that one Zhang Jingxiu died? Zhang Juzheng had six sons, and one died and five more. Take them all to trial!"

"If Zhang Juzheng's sons are dead, then there are still grandsons who can be interrogated! I don't believe that he can't interrogate where the stolen money that Zhang Juzheng embezzled went to!"

At this time, Qiu Li had the potential to defeat everyone, and his ruthlessness shocked everyone.

Everyone has long heard that Qiu Li has a strong character and loves to fight. In his early years, someone was impeached by him and brought to the imperial court because he gave him five taels of silver, and he eventually ended up being disgraced.

In the eyes of everyone, an inhumane person like Qiu Li is simply a lunatic.

But now, they need such a lunatic to take care of things for them, and maybe even take the blame for them if necessary.

"So many people have died, so we have to give an explanation to the superiors, right?" Zhang Cheng calmed down, and the most important thing now was to throw the blame away.

Zhang Jingxiu died under Jin Yiwei's eyes, in other words, under his Zhang Cheng hands.

As the paw print eunuch of the Supervisor of Ceremonies and the emperor's dog, Zhang Cheng not only represented the inner court, but also represented the emperor.

All in all, he must not let public opinion get involved with the emperor, otherwise he will not know how he died.

There were all smart people present, so they naturally knew what Zhang Cheng was thinking, and it was only the fool who took the blame.

For a moment, the atmosphere became quiet because no one dared to speak.

"Report!" came another report, "Sir, Zhang Jingxiu's eldest son seems to be dying..."

"Why are people dying again!" Ren Yangxin was irritated and stamped his feet anxiously, "Zhang Jingxiu just died, so why should his son die too! It's really annoying!"

"Zhang Jingxiu's son is only six years old. He has been hungry for several days and the weather has been cold and hot. The child is weak, so..."

Before Jin Yiwei finished speaking, Qiu Li interrupted impatiently: "If you die, you will die. This is the fate of the whole Zhang family."

Qiu Li's words were quite ruthless, but he had never been a sentimental person.

The officials in the front yard were ruthless, and the Zhang family ancestral hall in the backyard could only be filled with weeping.

I don’t know if these Yamas who ransacked the house were afraid of the ancestors of the Zhang family. No matter how much trouble they made outside, no one dared to act recklessly in the Zhang family ancestral hall.

The Jin Yiwei just searched carefully and then left in a hurry, so the ancestral hall has become the safest place for the Zhang family so far.

"Uuuu, Hui'er, my Hui'er, your father is gone, why do you have to leave..." Mrs. Gao cried with her dying son in her arms.

Not long ago, she learned that her husband had committed suicide, and she was already devastated. Unexpectedly, misfortunes never come singly, and her only flesh and blood was about to leave her.

The eldest grandson of the Zhang family was about to pass away. All the Zhang family in the ancestral hall could do was cry silently. They had been imprisoned for more than half a month and were so hungry that they had no strength to cry.

"Hui'er, wake up, wake up..."

The child in her arms had died, and Gao's heart was dead. She raised her head blankly, with nothing but emptiness and despair in her red and swollen eyes.

The rest of the Zhang family members covered their faces and sobbed, unable to bear to watch any more.

"Father, you have a spirit in heaven. Open your eyes and take a look! That emperor's student who keeps saying he will take good care of your descendants, is this how he takes care of your descendants?"

Gao seemed to be crazy. He looked straight at Zhang Juzheng's memorial tablet and sneered.

Now that she has no husband and no children, she has no spiritual sustenance in life.

Just when she was about to end her life, a childish voice sounded,

"Sister-in-law, I think I saw Chonghui move!"

(End of this chapter)