Chapter 818: A Thief in the Night

The streets of the capital are quiet in the middle of the night, because it is the end of the month, there is no moon in the sky, and the stars are very rare, and almost all the people in the streets and alleys have turned off the lights and slept, and there are even more dark shadows in the surroundings.

When the night watchman rang the hour of the third watch, Zhang Yue had just come out of Du's house. Although he couldn't sleep for two hours when he went home at this time, this was the first time he had a deep conversation with his old father-in-law after returning to Beijing. But most of the time, it was Zhang Yue who was talking, Du Zhen was listening carefully, and the previous situation was reversed. In the end, although Du Zhen could not fully accept Zhang Yue's statements, he agreed to consider it carefully.

Zhang Bu, who walked in front, carried a windproof lamp with a glass lampshade in front of him, and Niu Dang, who was behind, was looking left and right, and the other two guards on the left and right were also firmly guarding Zhang Yue. On weekdays, when Zhang Yue was in the yamen, they did not nest at home all day long, and often walked around the market outside, and I heard that the night in Beijing has not been peaceful in recent years, and there are many night thieves and chickens and dogs after the night ban, and even in some remote places, there are also open robberies.

Just like this, I was vigilant and vigilant all the way, and I happened to meet two teams of patrolmen from the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses, and they were safe. But seeing that there is the West Fourth Archway in front of me, when passing by the mutton alley, a black shadow suddenly came out of the oblique. The man was also surprised to meet this group with the lights on, and he was stunned for a moment and then ran away. As soon as he ran like this, Zhang Yue, who was also a little caught off guard, suddenly frowned, and before he could give the order, Niu Dare shouted, and actually slapped his horse and caught up.

"This reckless stubborn cow, he is not in charge of catching thieves!"

Zhang Bu was startled, and after complaining, he took a few steps back with the other two to protect Zhang Yue, but Zhang Yue smiled: "He can't change his enthusiasm, the Hengzhu Xicheng Soldiers and Horses Division is behind him, and if he doesn't catch it, it's another matter, if he catches someone, he will send it back." ”

"That's not the case, it's already three or two o'clock, and the adults don't have two hours to sleep well after they go home, how can they still catch thieves, besides, it may not be known whether they are thieves." Zhang Bu and Niu dare to have the best relationship, but they have no problem with the other party's stubborn temper, and they can't help but sigh again at this time, "This guy has always been reckless, and he can't change it after so many years." ”

As soon as the words fell, the sound of horses' hooves sounded in front of him, and relying on the dim light of the glass cover lamp, Zhang Yue saw Niu Dare galloping back with a person in his hand, and jumped off the horse with people neatly before he got close. Seeing that the man was dressed in black and pants, and his small eyes were bumping, it was obvious that he was a thief, Zhang Yue didn't bother to ask anything, and said casually: "Since you got someone, you can take two steps back and send the Xicheng Soldiers and Horses." ”

The man in black was not tall, but he was lean, and when he heard the three words of Xicheng Terracotta Division, and saw that the big man who was holding him took the rope handed by the person next to him and was about to tie up people, he was suddenly frightened, and explained again and again: "The little one just went out at night to buy some medicinal herbs, and he was definitely not a thief......

"Not thieves, what do you see us running?" Zhang Bu saw that Niu dared to tie people into zongzi, so he said impatiently, "Besides, is it the theory that the thieves have their own soldiers and horses, and you tell them to go when the time comes!" ”

Seeing that the big man pulled the rope hard after getting on the horse, leading himself to leave, the man in black was even more frightened, and he couldn't be forgiven, he suddenly struggled to move to Zhang Yue's horse: "You just send the small one to the Xicheng Soldiers and Horses Division, and there is no benefit, and the small one is willing to give you a big windfall." The little one had just done a business in a house near Hecao in this mutton alley, and found boxes of gold and silver jewelry, and touched a little of it. As long as the uncles spare the small ones, the small ones are willing to add two to one...... The small ones are only taken 30%, no, 20%! The small sentence is true, the uncle doesn't believe that he can let them search the small body! ”

Hearing what the man in black said was outrageous, Zhang Yue didn't believe it, but when it came to the last sentence, he couldn't help but feel a move in his heart, so he nodded to Zhang Bu. Zhang Bu dismounted and searched carefully on the man, and sure enough, he found four pieces of gold, hurriedly stepped forward and handed them to Zhang Yue, and then lifted the lantern to shine on. Zhang Yue touched the gold, and his face was condensed.

There is a clear difference between the gold and silver cast by the imperial court and the gold and silver cast by the people, such as the gold and silver bills that the Zhang family gives to the juniors during the New Year's Festival. The gold and silver bars cast by the people are rough and feel different, and the gold and silver used in business transactions are inferior. After all, it is not the era of the great casting of ingots in the late Ming Dynasty.

But the few pieces of gold in his hand are angular and cornered, and at first glance they are from the official craft, which is rare even in the British government. How could such a thing be casually hidden in a mansion as the man in black said, and let this person easily touch it?

With the help of the light, Zhang Yue took a look at the fineness of the gold again, and then carefully weighed the weight. Sure that it should be gold, he glanced at Zhang Bu under his head. Zhang Bu, who knew Zhang Yue's temperament, immediately turned around, took out a silk handkerchief from his arms, stuffed it into the mouth of the black-clothed man without saying a word, and asked for another handkerchief to cover his head, and then tied the zongzi-like person to the back of Niu Dang's saddle.

"Someone's coming!"

While this side was busy, a guard behind him suddenly came out to warn. Zhang Yue looked back, and saw a group of people running here at the end of the street, led by a large lantern, and he could vaguely see a knee-length blue jacket wearing narrow sleeves. Seeing the movement here, the group immediately sped up. The leader screamed softly, and the rest of the people suddenly dispersed in a semicircle, and then outflanked them from behind, and actually surrounded everyone in the middle.

"Do you dare to walk around the streets and make noise during the night fast, and don't you know the law?"

Knowing that the movement here was indeed a little louder just now, Zhang Bu stepped forward, and after a few words of negotiation, he took out a silver medal of Zhang Yue. At this time, the man who looked like the leader waved his hand to let all the soldiers under his command retreat, and then led everyone to kowtow and salute. After all, he is the biggest here, but he is also the general banner of the Xicheng Terracotta Division, how can he be compared with the high-ranking officials of the third grade?

Although he was originally going to send the Xicheng Terracotta Division when he caught someone, he just asked the important joint, thinking that the commander of the Xicheng Terracotta Division was just a promise, and he was afraid that he would also ask him when he encountered this kind of major event, Zhang Yue was reluctant to rush to hand over the person, and only nodded his head and led the person forward through the West Fourth Archway.

Those inspectors of the Xicheng Soldiers and Horses Division saw Zhang Yue walking away, and someone couldn't help but ask the general banner: "Li Tou, I saw that there was obviously a person tied behind that person's horse, and there was a quarrel here before, why didn't you ask?" ”

"What kind of people are we on the brand name, we are going to kowtow when we see others, even if we are in command, we only have the right to nod and bow, how can we ask? Besides, who doesn't know the reputation of that Lord Zhang, it's hard to guarantee that it's not good for our Xicheng Terracotta Division to know...... I can tell you, tonight's events are rotten in your stomach, don't talk nonsense! ”

The people of the Xicheng Terracotta Division swore that they would never leak it, and after the West Fourth Archway, Zhang Yue ordered to stop first, and looked at the man in black who was tied up and pondered. It's naturally inappropriate to take it home like this, no matter what he asks, he oversteps his authority, but just let it go and hand it over to others, he can't get rid of the inappropriate feeling in his heart.

Thinking about it left and right, he didn't care that it was already the middle of the night at this moment, so he summoned Zhang Bu to give a few words, and saw him turn his horse's head and go straight away, so he sent another person to Jinyiwei to report the news, and took the others home.

Since he had ordered someone to come back and said that he would go to Du's house in the evening, although there were still people left on the West Corner Gate, everyone else had already gone to bed early. The two porters were a little surprised when they saw that Niu dared to carry a black-clothed man with a big tie in a big tie, but they still didn't ask a word. At this time, the second door was still left, but Zhang Yue did not go in immediately, but looked at the two mothers-in-law who watched the door and told Du Juan that she had something to do at night and rested outside, and then ordered Niu Dare to take people to the east wing of the courtyard of the outer study.

The man in black was only stunned and overwhelmed when he was gagged at first, and when he was blindfolded, it was a real trembling. He was taken off his horse, walked around and around for an unknown number of miles, and at this moment he was thrown on the ground and removed the blindfolded and gagged handkerchief, and he squinted for a while before he became familiar with the flickering lights in the room. But then there was an eerie silence in the room, and the man sat there reading without asking him or opening his mouth.

absentmindedly flipped through half of Jin Youzi's "Northern Expedition Record", Zhang Yue heard movement outside, and when he looked up, he saw that Zhang Bu had opened the thick curtain and entered the door. He was probably walking too quickly, and he still had a horsewhip in his hand, and his forehead was full of oil.

"I went to check all the houses in Mutton Hutong, and then there was some noise and pretended to be thieves, but the first few residents in it scolded for a while and turned off the lights. I paid special attention to the last of the family, who seemed to have checked the lamp for a while, and then went back to their rooms and slept without anything suspicious. ”

"If there is nothing suspicious, then the suspicious thing is the thief in front of you!"

Although he didn't believe that the man in black was telling the truth, Zhang Yue was still annoyed when he really heard what Zhang Bu said. Glancing at the bright gold on the table again, he gently tapped the table in front of him with his index finger, and said lightly: "Since it is not an ordinary thief, it makes sense for me to let people notify Jinyiwei, after all, Gonggong Lu is not there at night in Dongchang." Gagged people as they were, blindfolded, and let them take them back as soon as they came! ”

"Spare your life!"

The man in black finally tasted the taste - he originally saw that the furnishings in this room were not luxurious, and he still had a trace of luck, hoping that it was not an official who held him, and at this moment he couldn't help but cry and said: "The little one should be damned, the little one should be damned...... The little one didn't steal it from that house, the little one only knew that it was the property of the Sui Anbo family, and wanted to find a way to escape. The small ones are things that are touched in the yard of another house, as long as the adults let the small ones go, the small ones are willing to tell the truth! ”

"You say, I'll listen."

Zhang Yue just sat upright and spoke lightly. Listening to the man in black 1510 talk about how he sneaked into a mansion in Fengcheng Hutong, how he killed the dog, and how he touched the gold, the more he listened, the more suspicious he felt. In addition to the Li family of Fengcheng Hou, Fengcheng Hutong is the former Yongping Princess Mansion. But since Princess Yongping hanged herself and Fuyang Marquis Li Maofang died, the mansion has been completely depressed. Zhu Di remembered that the first generation of Fuyang Marquis Li Rang was meritorious, and he named a Li family concubine as the commander, but compared with the famous family in the past, it is not less than ten thousand miles.

Such a down-and-out family that has long faded out of the sight of the capital's magnates for many years, has the ability to prosper with gold, but it is impossible for someone to touch it casually, this is wrong!

While he was thinking, he saw the door curtain open and poke into Lian Hu's head. Throwing down the black-clothed man who claimed to be a thief on the ground, Zhang Yue went straight out of the door, and when he got to the outside, Lian Hu lowered his voice and said, "It was Lord Fang who was left behind by the Jinyi Guard who personally brought two people over." ”

Since Fang Ling entered Jinyiwei, Zhang Yue and him have not had close contact, so this is the first time Fang Ling has entered the door of this house. When the two met, although they felt that they had a lot to ask, when they spoke, Fang Ling just nodded lightly, and then asked: "I heard that I caught a small thief on the way, how could I remember to inform Jinyiwei?" ”

"Look at this."

Fang Ling took the four gold ingots from Zhang Yue's hands. After all, he has been immersed in this line for three years, and he is no longer the rich kid who was depressed after a slight setback. After looking at it again and again for a while, he finally saw the famous hall that Zhang Yue had never seen, that is, the two small raised dots at the bottom of the gold ingot. So, he raised his head and looked at Zhang Yue again, and after hearing the detailed explanation, he unconsciously took a deep breath.

"I'm afraid that what the little thief said is true, this piece should be the gold cast by Princess Yongping or the Yan Wangfu when the county lord got married, and Princess Yongan also has the same there, but the mark is different. As for the remaining three pieces, they should not be those batches, but they are also undoubtedly cast by the government. Metaverse, this matter may be an ordinary theft lawsuit, but it may also be significant. Give me people and things, and I'll secretly inform you about something, so you'd better leave it alone. ”

Zhang Yue already had a vague feeling, so he nodded silently at this time. Seeing the two people who came with Fang Ling silently entering the house, he soon came out with the black-clothed man with all kinds of flowers, and the cloth strip was draped on his tongue, and he watched the person being taken out of the courtyard door, hesitated for a moment and said: "Now that the palace gate is closed, otherwise I will let someone report Lu Feng instead of you." Now that you've brought people back, don't forget what you reported. ”

"I know, I don't expect that position at the top now, there is merit to share with others, and there is responsibility to share with others, what's wrong with that?"

Fang Ling nodded to Zhang Yue, and seeing that there was no one else in the courtyard, he stretched out his hands to shake Zhang Yue's four palms, and then sighed in a low voice: "In the past, I also thought about getting a background by virtue of the imperial examination, and then entering and leaving the court to uphold national politics, but I will never be able to do it again in the future." Although I am wearing the official skin of the brocade guard, my heart is not yet black, if you have anyone to take care of me, just tell me, I must be thoughtful. ”