Chapter 90 The real murderer
Gao Youcai looked in a horrible state. Deng Qianqiu quickly untied him and considerately brought a chair for him to sit on.

Under Zhou Hong's stare, he even diligently brought a bowl of herbal tea.

After a lot of effort, Gao Youcai drank some herbal tea and finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then he started crying out in pain.

He opened his swollen eyes and tried hard to see Deng Qianqiu clearly.

Deng Qianqiu gently stroked his back and said apologetically, "Eunuch Gao, this is my fault. I was late. Otherwise, Eunuch Gao would have died in vain. Eunuch Gao, in my opinion, it was a flood that washed away the Dragon King Temple. Family members don't recognize each other as family. In fact, Captain Zhou and the others didn't mean it. They were just joking. Don't take it to heart."

After hearing this, Gao Youcai seemed to have a sudden burst of energy. He was dying just now, but now he almost jumped up from his chair.

He raised his voice and said in a high-pitched voice: "Are you kidding? Are you kidding? Zhou Hong, I am your ancestor for eighteen generations. As long as I am still alive, one day, I will tear you into pieces. I will never coexist with you, wuwuwuwu..."

He lowered his head, stretched out his bloodstained sleeves, and began to wipe his tears. The sound was like a night owl, and his tears immediately spilled on his clothes. Then the blood and tears mixed together, which was indescribably creepy.

He cried in grief and said angrily, "These... these bastards, they taught me to confess, saying that I was Jin Si's accomplice, and even... they wanted to... they wanted to implicate Concubine Hu, and even His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu. If I hadn't gritted my teeth and refused to let go, today... today I would have really died without a burial place. Little guy, who are you?"

Deng Qianqiu hurriedly said, "My last name is Deng, and my name is Deng Qianqiu. I am a centurion of the Yiluansi. I am of low rank and my words are not taken seriously. Eunuch Gao, you know."

When people are in the most difficult times, the last straw they grab can always make them feel extremely kind.

Gao Youcai raised his eyes, took a deep look at Deng Qianqiu, and said with great emotion: "Brother Deng, even if I become a ghost today, I will never let these beasts go! These beasts who deserve to be killed, do you know how they tortured me? Even when I was being purified, I didn't act like this, beasts, beasts!"

He cursed repeatedly.

Deng Qianqiu expressed his understanding and said, "Eunuch Gao, please calm down. If you have anything to say, please talk to them nicely..."

Gao Youcai cursed Zhou Hong wantonly. Zhou Hong was furious. Veins appeared on his forehead and his eyes were fierce. Subconsciously, he pressed the hilt of the knife at his waist and held it tightly. Finally, his eyes, full of murderous light, fell on Deng Qianqiu.

He said in a deep voice: "Captain Deng, what do you mean by this?"

Deng Qianqiu met his angry eyes and said without showing any weakness: "I should ask you what you mean. If this case has something to do with Eunuch Gao, then at most we can ask him to ask a few questions. Why torture him like this? Eunuch Gao is old and has worked hard in the palace to serve His Majesty. Are you doing this to His Majesty, Eunuch Gao, and the Yiluansi?"

Gao Youcai couldn't help but open his swollen eyes and looked at Deng Qianqiu with gratitude.

In this palace where people are as wicked as devils, there are not many people like Deng Qianqiu who are willing to stand up and speak for others.

There is absolutely no trace of this young man being tainted by evil human hearts.

Zhou Hong grinned and said, "This is a rebel party!"

Deng Qianqiu looked at him straight and asked, "Who said he was a rebel?"

Zhou Hong subconsciously said: "You..."

Deng Qianqiu said: "Me? When did I say that?"

Zhou Hong was stunned and frowned deeply. The captain next to him seemed a little unconfident.

You have to know that the person they just tortured is the second most important person in the Imperial Household Department, who was originally a servant of Concubine Hu, and... His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu...

So the captains looked at Zhou Hong hesitantly, no longer having a clear idea.

Zhou Hong knew what was going on here, so he understood it better than anyone else... As long as Gao Youcai was not dead, none of them could survive.

Then, murderous intent suddenly rose in his eyes, and he smiled grimly and said, "Captain Deng, what do you mean by this?"

Deng Qianqiu said: "Whatever you mean, that's what it means. I will accompany you in whatever you want to mean."

People like Zhou Hong crawled out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood. When they arrived at the Yiluansi, their hands were stained with countless blood. They killed people as if they were killing chickens and never cared about the lives of ordinary people.

After hearing what Deng Qianqiu said, the murderous intent in his eyes became even stronger.

Deng Qianqiu was not trembling at all, but he still pretended to be calm and said, "When I came here, I told His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin that I would come to the Imperial Prison. What's the matter, Captain Zhou? From what I see in your attitude, are you going to get rid of me as well? I don't think you have the courage to do that."

At this point, Zhou Hong seemed to hesitate for a moment, and the murderous intent in his eyes finally dissipated a little, but was replaced by resentment.

"Captain Deng, do you think you want to embarrass us brothers? Now that this man surnamed Gao is here..."

Deng Qianqiu interrupted, "I am investigating this case under the order of the emperor. No one involved in the case will be spared, but innocent people will not be implicated. What's the matter, Captain Zhou, do you have other ideas?"

Zhou Hong was not a man who would act recklessly, so at this moment, he remained silent.

Deng Qianqiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

…………

Wuying Palace.

One after another, the reports from the Yiluansi were delivered to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang showed great concern about this case of rebellion.

It can be said that he even put all the major events in the world behind him.

Obviously, the case is progressing very smoothly, and it can even be said that there is considerable progress.

In Zhou Hong's report, it seemed that... Next, this major case should be closed. Naturally, what made Zhu Yuanzhang dissatisfied with these reports was that... Zhou Hong's reports were almost all about how the Yiluansi worked hard.

However, Deng Qianqiu’s contributions are rarely mentioned, and even if they are unavoidable, they are only mentioned briefly.

The part that took up a lot of space was how to capture the eunuch Gao Youcai from the Imperial Household Department, how to interrogate him, and how to pry open his mouth.

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows slightly, his eyes dark. After reading the report over and over again, he finally put it aside and said to the person next to him, "Captain Zhou has made a great contribution."

I don't know if your majesty meant anything, so I answered very cautiously: "Your majesty, Captain Zhou seems to have made great efforts in the past two days."

This statement was fair and impartial. He had definitely put in some effort. As for whether he had any merit or not, he did not understand His Majesty's thoughts, so he left a backup plan.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "How has Deng Qianqiu been these past two days?"

"That's not something I can ask." Ye Gai said, "But he hasn't been back since he left the palace. It's obvious that he was too busy in the past two days. After all, he's still young and growing. I'm afraid he needs a day or two of rest."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "He has worked hard. When he has rested, let him come to see me. He has made great contributions this time."

As soon as he finished speaking, an eunuch came in hurriedly: "Your Majesty..."

Zhu Yuanzhang was unmoved and just asked calmly, "What's the matter?"

The eunuch bowed and kowtowed, saying, "In the imperial prison, Captain Zhou and Captain Deng had an argument and it seems that there was a quarrel."

"Hmm?" Zhu Yuanzhang glanced sideways and asked, "Deng Qianqiu went to the imperial prison? Why didn't you report it in advance?"

"Your Majesty, Captain Deng was just there for the first time."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard the argument, he said, "Call them here and hurry up."

After waiting for two sticks of incense, Zhou Hong and Deng Qianqiu finally arrived and entered the hall to pay their respects.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Zhou Hong, whose face looked slightly pale, and his gaze fell on Deng Qianqiu, who was panting, with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

So he asked, "What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, there has been progress in the case." Deng Qianqiu said bluntly.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but have a hint of suspicion in his eyes: "Hasn't there been progress a long time ago?"

As he spoke, he looked at Zhou Hong again.

Zhou Hongze said: "Your Majesty, this Deng Qianqiu disobeyed his superiors and broke into the imperial prison without permission..."

Deng Qianqiu shouted, "I am investigating a case under imperial order. How can you say that you are trespassing into the imperial prison without permission? Moreover, you have wrongly accused an innocent person and tortured him into confessing. How can you still be justified?"

Zhou Hong glanced at Deng Qianqiu sternly and was about to speak.

But Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly grasped the key information in Deng Qianqiu's words and said, "What do you mean? Isn't this case almost solved? The person behind the scenes is Gao Youcai, the head of the Imperial Household Department."

Deng Qianqiu raised his voice and said, "Your Majesty, Gao Youcai has been wronged for eternity!"

Zhu Yuanzhang: "..."

At this moment, everyone in the hall fell silent.

Deng Qianqiu said: "From the very beginning, I never doubted Eunuch Gao..."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned: "If I remember correctly, when you were interrogating me, you pointed all the blame at Gao Youcai."

Deng Qianqiu said confidently: "Your Majesty, I am actually following Jin Si's words. Jin Si is cunning, and such a cunning person must have three burrows. He actually wanted to guide our thoughts to Gao Youcai all the time. Only in this way can he buy time for the person behind the scenes. This is a deception. Your Majesty is wise and has seen through it..."

After hearing this, Zhou Hong's eyes went dark and he almost couldn't breathe: "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Deng Qianqiu said in astonishment: "Captain Zhou, you are a captain, and you have been in the Yiluansi for a long time, and you are good at criminal law. Do you still need a subordinate like me to remind you of this? I am still a child, but I can see that this is Jin Si's trick. You don't really believe it, do you?"

Zhou Hong: “…”

What kind of person is Zhou Hong? In fact, if he is given enough time to think and calmly sort out the context of things, he may be able to notice something.

But the problem was that Deng Qianqiu had already taken the lead, and this case was of great importance. He was eager to make a contribution, and the only clue at the moment was Gao Youcai, so he acted without hesitation.

now……

Even greater doubts appeared on Zhu Yuanzhang's face.

But at this time, Zhou Hong sneered: "You said Gao Youcai was wronged, is Gao Youcai wronged?"

Deng Qianqiu said seriously: "Of course, because... the real person behind the scenes has been caught by me."

As soon as this statement came out...

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhou Hong were both moved.

(End of this chapter)