Chapter 728： Eighteen poses!

Chapter 728 Eighteen postures of death!

In an instant, the quiet courtyard became a mess.

The slaves scattered in panic, "Help, someone broke into the door!"

The maids and women were even more timid. Some of them fainted as soon as they rolled their eyes when they saw the menacing soldiers.

In the backyard, the host and his wife had just gotten up and were about to eat when they heard the noise and didn't know what was going on.

The head of the family, who was only thirty years old, walked to the door with dark circles under his eyes. Before he could speak, he was blocked by soldiers, who asked loudly: "Are you Xiao Yuanqing, the Secretary of Food and Grass of the Ministry of War?"

The old man was stunned for a moment, with some fear in his eyes, and he bravely asked: "It's me, why did you break in so early in the morning..."

The soldiers didn't have the patience to wait for him to finish speaking. When they heard that they had found the right person, they stepped forward and knocked him down, tied him up in twos and twos, removed his chin, and carried him out.

The young lady who chased her to the door desperately chased after her and asked, "Who are you? Why did you arrest my master?"

The soldier dodged her pull and said loudly: "We belong to the Northern Expeditionary Army. Xiao Yuanqing was involved in the case of smoking hibiscus ointment in Yaochi. We are now ordered to arrest him and put him in jail pending trial!"

“Anyone who resists the interception will be killed without mercy!”

The young lady didn’t know whether she was frightened by the sentence “Kill without mercy”, or she heard the word “Yaochi” and understood that the crime had finally been committed.

She had a pale face and did not pull any more, letting the soldiers carry her husband out.

Liu Yuanqing was as frightened as a quail. He wanted to beg his wife to save him.

It’s a pity that apart from drooling all the way, I can’t say a word...

At the same time, more than thirty families in Xindou suffered such shocking arrests.

In some families, the male master was kidnapped.

But more families have lost their legitimate sons or grandsons who relied on and loved them.

Because the family felt distressed and spent too much food, money and supplies, they kept the legitimate sons and grandsons and sent away the unfavored concubines and concubines.

As a result, this became the thing that everyone regretted most in the rest of their lives.

Who would have thought that enlisting in the army is not a matter of suffering, but a safe haven and a steel-making furnace for forging talents.

But if you stay at home, you will be coveted, regarded as a cornucopia by Yaochi, dragged into the water, and become a useless person!

Some families knew that their children were involved with Yaochi, but they didn't take it seriously.

After all, the family is rich, and it doesn’t make much difference whether the child goes to a brothel to drink and listen to music, or to go to Yaochi to smoke and spend money.

But some families are already troubled by the growing money hole and have secretly made trouble several times...

At three o'clock in the morning, Marquis Xinting brought several boxes and escorted hundreds of people directly to the gate of the palace.

This time, all the prisoners involved in the case were not sent to the Criminal Department, let alone Dali Temple. Instead, they were imprisoned directly in a vacant row of houses outside the palace. Thirty or so rooms were enough.

Thousands of soldiers from the Northern Expedition were personally guarding the place to prevent anyone from colluding with the confession, and even more to prevent anyone from waiting for an opportunity to silence them.

Hearing that Marquis Xinting had come to report, the emperor immediately summoned him.

Half an hour later, the golden bell hanging at the highest point of the palace rang. All officials of the fifth rank and above urgently put on their official uniforms and rushed to the palace.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, saying nothing, waiting for the courtiers to arrive one after another.

Whether the courtiers knew the inside story or not, they all lowered their heads and did not dare to raise them easily.

Because anyone with eyes can see that the emperor is furious. Anyone who dares to get into trouble at this time will definitely die in eighteen ways!

Soon, all the officials arrived, including Li Laoer, Mr. Wen and Liu Zhiheng. Because they had received the news in advance, the three of them were relatively calm, but they also lowered their heads and did not give anyone a chance to see clues from their expressions.

Manager Yi looked around and shouted loudly: "Kneel down!"

All officials quickly knelt down and shouted long live the mountain.

However, the emperor did not shout as usual.

A deathly silence filled the hall. After a long time, the emperor said: "Since I came to the throne, I have failed to defend Tianwu Jiangshan and retreated to the south of the Yangtze River. I feel ashamed of my ancestors and lineages. I always reflect on it and encourage everything.

“I dare not say that I worked hard, but I also tried my best to fulfill the duties of an emperor.

“I hope that one day the country will be rich and the people strong, the Tartars will be driven out, and the rivers and mountains will be recovered.

“I don’t expect you to be like me, but you must do your duty to live up to the emperor’s salary and be loyal to the emperor, right?

“But some people regard my kindness as a joke and cannot use it for me or the world. Instead, for a little personal gain and enjoyment, they intend to corrode Tianwu’s backbone and destroy the current good situation!

“I am very angry! Today, I will let you see what happened and what I did wrong?!”

The emperor's face was livid, he slapped the table and ordered: "Marquis Xinting, tell these fools from beginning to end, let them see what good things their sons and grandsons have done!"

The ministers stood up and carefully stepped aside, leaving only Marquis Xinting standing in the middle.

Xintinghou took out a small jade box and said: "Years ago, Chen He, a soldier in the Northern Expedition Army, died suddenly. In his luggage, a strange-looking tobacco rod and jade box were found.

“After examination by doctors, Chen He died of an overdose of some kind of medicine similar to Wu Shi Powder, which caused his energy to be exhausted and died.

“After a long investigation, I found a courtyard called Yaochi. On the surface, it was a place for drinking and having fun, but it actually lured young officials and children of aristocratic families to smoke a kind of hibiscus ointment.

“Hibiscus ointment can be used as medicine in small amounts, but after heating and smoking the smoke, it can make people excited, mentally active, and even fall into daydreams and indulge in pleasure.

“But if you take it for a long time, you can become addicted. If you don’t continue, your life will be worse than death.

“After Yaochi successfully lures the so-called customers, they will increase the price. Such a box of hibiscus paste cannot be obtained for a hundred taels of gold. Many customers sell their belongings just to continue taking the food.

“But Yaochi was not greedy enough, because most of the children of the aristocratic families enlisted in the army and entered the military camp of the Northern Expeditionary Army, and there was no source of customers.

“So, Yaochi used the son of the eldest princess, who was the most addicted to cigarettes, to cooperate with the eldest princess. His daughter Bao Lei used private gatherings and flower viewing banquets to seduce young ladies from various families and take hibiscus ointment..."

“Gudong!” Before Marquis Xinting could finish speaking, an official standing not far away fell down in shock.

Everyone glanced at it and understood.

This official is over fifty years old. He had a daughter when he was almost forty years old. He loves her as much as his life.

I heard that his daughter and the granddaughter of the eldest princess are very close...

Xintinghou did not pause and continued: "After I get the news, I will report it to the emperor.

“Your Majesty, in order to prevent more people from being harmed, ignored that the person behind the scenes was not found out, he ordered me to seal Yaochi last night, and arrested more than 100 Yaochi stewards and clerks, as well as more than 40 guests who were smoking hibiscus ointment.

"Then based on the list of names checked out of Yaochi, more than 30 people who did not enter or leave Yaochi last night were arrested. The eldest princess's mansion was also searched and all were brought to justice."

After saying that, he looked at the emperor on the dragon throne and saw the emperor nodding.

He added: "Perhaps your lords only heard what I said, and you don't know the dangers of hibiscus ointment. It happened that a few people were addicted and were making a noise, so I will let you see it with your own eyes."

(End of this chapter)