Chapter 597 Overturning the Case and Zhao Paner's Reflection

Gu Qianfan was a little hesitant, not knowing whether to report the matter to Lin Hao or talk to his father first.

"Click~!"

However, before Gu Qianfan could think it through, his mind was distracted and a tile at his feet made a clicking sound, not sure whether it was broken by himself or by Gu Qianfan.

"Is there someone?" The people in the house were discussing how to pin the hat monster case on Duke Anguo. The commander of the Palace Front Division heard the sound from the roof and immediately discovered that there was someone on the roof.

Seeing that his whereabouts were exposed, Gu Qianfan turned around and ran without saying a word.

"Qi Zhongcheng, what should we do?"

Commander Cui saw that the matter was about to be exposed, so he immediately asked Qi Mu.

If the matter were to be spread, he didn't know whether Qi Mu was in trouble or not, but as a small commander of the Palace Front Division, he would definitely be in trouble.

If things go wrong, the whole family may be implicated.

"Why don't you chase him?" Qi Mu said with a gloomy face, "I want to see him alive or dead."

In fact, Qi Mu is not much stronger than Commander Cui. If the hat monster case is exposed, not to mention Xiao Qinyan and his followers, they will definitely seize the opportunity to kill him. Even Ke Zheng, who is also a member of the Qingliu faction, may not be able to save him.

Afterwards, Commander Cui brought his own direct subordinates and a group of deadpools raised by Qi Mu's family, and went to chase Gu Qianfan frantically.

Although Gu Qianfan was very skilled, he could not withstand the rapid pursuit of the people on horseback from behind.

"Surround him!" Gu Qianfan was blocked in the middle of a street by Commander Cui. Then Commander Cui said proudly:

"Gu Qianfan, I didn't expect it to be you!"

"Hehe, last time in Qiantang you relied on having a good father to do whatever you wanted. This time, even the king of heaven can't save you!"

Commander Cui sneered and said that he naturally knew Gu Qianfan. Not only did he know him, but he was also the only person besides the top management who knew that Gu Qianfan was Xiao Qinyan's son.

"Commander Cui, I advise you not to make mistakes!" Gu Qianfan tightened the sword in his hand, took a look at the current situation, and then said expressionlessly:
"Since you know I have a good father, you should know the consequences of provoking me!"

"If you know what's good for you, leave now. I, Gu Qianfan, can pretend that I haven't seen you tonight!"

As life and death were at stake, Gu Qianfan no longer cared about his conflict with Xiao Qinyan, and began to use his identity as Xiao Qinyan's son to scare Commander Cui.

At the same time, he used his mouth cannon to wait for an opportunity to escape.

However, what Gu Qianfan didn't know was that the more he tried to use Xiao Qinyan's tricks, the more murderous intent the other party would become, because Qiantang County Magistrate Zheng Qingtian was actually Commander Cui's brother-in-law.

Commander Cui's parents died early, and he was raised by his sister and brother-in-law, but Xiao Qinyan killed Zheng Qingtian's entire family.

Commander Cui seemed to know that villains die because they talk too much, so he didn't say much to Gu Qianfan. He waved his hand and said directly:

"Kill~!"

So Commander Cui's men immediately drew their bows and arrows, ready to kill Gu Qianfan on the spot.

"Bang bang bang bang bang~!" Suddenly there was a series of dull crackling sounds, and then Commander Cui's men and Qi Mu's assassins were hit by muskets and fell to the ground one after another.

You should know that the kinetic energy of a heavy matchlock gun is as high as 7,000 to 8,000 joules at its muzzle velocity, which is greater than that of a modern rifle.

The bullet is heavy and has a low speed. Once it hits someone, it is like being hit by a sledgehammer, and the damage is huge.

More than 20 of the more than 40 people surrounding Gu Qianfan fell down at once. Seeing that there were fewer people in the encirclement, Gu Qianfan rushed out directly from the gap.

At the same time, a group of people rushed out from the front and back of the street and surrounded Commander Cui and others. At this time, the leader Lin Zhi waved his hand and said:
"Kill~!"

Gu Qianfan came to Lin Zhi and asked in surprise:

"Commander Lin, this~!"

Looking at the one-sided massacre in front of him, Lin Zhi said with a smile:

"The Marquis said that you are impatient and I'm afraid you will come to investigate Qi Zhongcheng overnight. You should know that the Marquis found out that Qi Mu has more than 20 assassins!"

"The Marquis is also afraid that you will be in danger, so he asked me to bring people to protect you and see if we can catch him."

At this time, Commander Cui and seven or eight of his assassins were captured alive on the street, and the rest of his men were all killed. There were a few who were seriously injured, but they were dealt with in an instant by the people from the Imperial City Bureau.

Gu Qianfan was stunned. These people looked more like military soldiers rather than the Imperial City Administration.

At this time, Lin Zhi also saw Gu Qianfan's doubts, so he said:
"These people are all good fighters in the army. Many people in the Imperial City Division have been bribed by the ministers in the court. So when the Marquis arrived at the Imperial City Division, he replaced all the people there!"

Gu Qianfan felt unhappy when he heard this, and then he looked towards the Qi Mansion not far away and asked:

"Then, as for Minister Qi, I just heard Commander Cui and Minister Qi planning to frame the hat monster case on Duke Anguo~!"

However, Lin Zhiming interrupted Gu Qianfan directly and said calmly:
"Okay, I'm sorry to have troubled you today, Lord Gu. In fact, the Marquis already knew what you said. We will take care of the rest!"

"You should go back quickly! So as not to worry Lord Xiao! By the way, give this letter to Lord Xiao, and tell him about what happened to Qi Mu today!"

With that, Lin Zhi led his men to Qi's Mansion, but Gu Qianfan suddenly realized at this moment that he had become the bait for fishing!
Looking at the envelope in his hand, Gu Qianfan felt uncomfortable for some reason. He had become the bait and now the messenger. It seemed that everyone treated him as a pawn!

Gu Qianfan then returned to the Xiao Mansion, handed Lin Hao's letter to Xiao Qinyan, and told him what happened tonight.

Xiao Qinyan didn't actually react too much to his son being used as bait.

In his opinion, people who have no use value are pathetic.

Although Lin Hao used his son as bait, he also sent Lin Zhi with a large army to protect him. In fact, there was no great danger.

This move not only wiped out Commander Cui and Qi Mu's assassins, but also captured the two of them in one fell swoop!

On the contrary, it was Commander Cui and Qi Mu who sent their assassins to kill Gu Qianfan without hesitation, which made Xiao Qinyan feel resentful.

He then enlightened and comforted his son and explained the interests involved. After Gu Qianfan left, Xiao Qinyan immediately went into the study and began to write a memorial...!

······
The next day, the sky was about to brighten.

"Knock, knock, knock!" There was a slight knock on Sun Sanniang's door, followed by Lin Zhi's low voice: "My Lord, it's done!"

After being awakened, Lin Hao glanced at Sun Sanniang, who was becoming younger and younger and curled up in his arms like a cat.

"So big and so white!"

Sun Sanniang spent several hours to extinguish the anger that Zhang Haohao had provoked yesterday, so she was sleeping soundly at the moment and had no intention of being woken up by the knock on the door.

Then Lin Hao put on his clothes and went out.

"No accidents, right?" Lin Hao asked.

"My Lord, please rest assured that I can do the job!" Then Lin Zhi said with great joy:

"When Gu Qianfan sneaked into the Qi family to eavesdrop last night, we helped a little, so Qi Mu discovered Gu Qianfan..."

After recounting what happened last night in detail, Lin Zhi finally said:
"I have to say, the matchlock gun you invented is really powerful. No matter how powerful the master is, no one can escape from a single shot!"

"If the flintlock rifles that the Marquis mentioned are mass-produced, we will have an additional weapon to deal with cavalry in the future!"

Lin Hao waved his hand, interrupting Lin Zhi's flattery, and then said:

"A batch of flintlock rifles have been produced. We will intensify the training of soldiers with muskets and strive to train 30,000 soldiers within half a year. Since this matter has been entrusted to you, you must pay more attention to it!"

"Yes, Lord Marquis!" Lin Zhi said excitedly when he heard it.

At this time, the concierge came running over and reported:

"My Lord, Eunuch Cui is here!"

It turned out that Xiao Qinyan had written a memorial last night and went to see Zhao Heng early this morning to report it to Minister Qi and Commander Cui. Finally, Zhao Heng asked the eunuch Cui who served him to find Lin Hao.

Then Lin Hao dressed up, took the confession letters from Commander Cui and Qi Mu, and went to the palace.

After seeing Lin Hao, Zhao Heng directly threw Xiao Qinyan's memorial to Lin Hao and asked:
"Marquis Jing'an, is it true that Xiao Aiqing complained about Zhongcheng Qi and Commander Cui?"

Lin Hao was not polite either. He directly took out the confession letters from Qi Mu and Commander Cui and said:
"Your Majesty, what Prime Minister Xiao reported is indeed true. In fact, there is more to it than that. The hat monster case and the port smuggling case are both related to Prime Minister Ke. It's even related to an old case from the Jingde period..." Then Lin Hao took advantage of this opportunity to implicate many ministers in the court into this major case. In the end, Zhao Heng became impatient.

Even his urge to smoke came back, so Zhao Heng said anxiously:
"This matter will be handed over to Marquis Jing'an to handle as soon as possible and reduce the adverse effects!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will handle it immediately!" Lin Hao and Xiao Qinyan looked at each other.

In the next three days, Lin Hao set up a large-scale imperial prison and arrested many stumbling blocks in the court, while Xiao Qinyan arranged many people to replace the positions of these ministers.

For a time, half of the court was occupied by Xiao Qinyan's people, and their power increased greatly. However, what Xiao Qinyan didn't know was that most of these people had defected to Lin Hao.

Three days later, Lin Hao came to the palace to report. After listening to Lin Hao's report, Zhao Heng repeatedly praised Lin Hao as his most trusted minister.

Therefore, Lin Hao was relieved of his duties as the Imperial City Administrator and Lin Zhi was appointed as the acting Administrator of the Imperial City Administrator.

Afterwards, Lin Hao was given the title of Shangzhuguo and promoted to the second-rank General of the Zhenjun Army, commanding the Ever-Victorious Army of Bianliang, which was also the Imperial Guards!
Zhao Heng's pardon was absolutely shocking, but unfortunately most of the people in the court at that time were Lin Hao's people, so no one objected.

So Lin Hao took control of the most elite military force in Bianjing City.

Finally, after Lin Hao expressed his gratitude, in addition to reporting a series of cases such as the hat monster case and the smuggling case, he also recounted the case in which Zhao Paner's father was wrongly accused, in order to redress Zhao Paner's father's wrongful death.

Zhao Pan'er's father was the Luoyang Patrol Inspector, a seventh-rank official whose main duties were to patrol and defend against thieves (border defense and anti-smuggling), including recruiting soldiers to defend the border and maintain domestic security.

It is equivalent to the position of commander-in-chief of the provincial border defense corps today, which means that Zhao Pan'er's father was the commander-in-chief of the Luoyang Border Defense Corps.

What crime did Zhao Pan'er's father commit? It was because he disobeyed the imperial order, opened the city gate and killed the northerners, and the Left Censor Xiao Qinyan charged him with causing chaos in the two countries.

At that time, Xiao Qinyan's official position was Zuo Sijian, in charge of admonitions and satires, also a seventh-rank official, similar to the censors of the Ming Dynasty (this position is usually held by young people because they are not so worldly-wise and are fearless and dare to speak and act).
So Xiao Qinyan reported Zhao Pan'er's father to the Dali Temple, which led to the killing of Zhao Pan'er's father, the confiscation of his house, and Zhao Pan'er being reduced to a court musician (a slave). In other words, Xiao Qinyan was definitely the direct culprit.

But when Lin Hao was trying Qi Mu, he found the real murderer from his memory, and the man who killed Zhao Pan'er's father was Qi Mu.

Back then, Qi Mu actually collaborated with the enemy and betrayed his country, and had long been bought by the Liao Kingdom in the north.

Zhao Paner's father was the inspector of Luoyang. While investigating border defense and anti-smuggling, he found clues that someone was colluding with foreign enemies.

Then he was tricked out of the city, which provided evidence that he had deliberately killed the Northerners, but Qi Mu's cleverness was that he did not do it himself.

Qi Mu instigated Xiao Qinyan, who was then the Left Censor-in-Chief, to go to the Dali Temple to report Zhao Pan'er's father.

Because they were not only good friends but also members of the Qingliu faction, Xiao Qinyan believed Qi Mu's words and reported Zhao Paner's father.

This led to the unjust case at that time. Xiao Qinyan later discovered that he was being used, and then he surrendered to the Queen. Only then did he part ways with Qi Mu's Qingliu faction and become political enemies.

However, no evidence of Qi Mu's guilt has been found, which is why Qi Mu must suppress Xiao Qinyan.

Looking at the solid evidence that Lin Hao placed in front of him, Zhao Heng actually didn't react much.

Because he had not yet taken control of the court at that time, it was only after he took control of the court several years later that he easily acquiesced to Zhao Pan'er's subordinates and pleaded for Zhao Pan'er to be released from his nationality.

Since Lin Hao wanted to clear Zhao Pan'er's father's name, and the mastermind Qi Mu was imprisoned and confessed his crime, Zhao Heng ordered:
"Tell the Dali Temple to re-investigate the case of Zhao Pan'er's father being wrongly accused, and clear their family's name as soon as possible!"

After saying that, Zhao Heng yawned tiredly, but Lin Hao was not in a hurry to leave, but continued shamelessly:

"Your Majesty, I heard that there is a girl named Zhang Haohao in Bianjing, who is the best singer in the Song Dynasty. I wanted to redeem her, but she is still a singer~!"

Before Lin Hao could finish his words, Zhao Heng said impatiently:
"That's enough, she's just a singing girl!" At this point, Zhao Heng said to Eunuch Cui:

"You go and do it yourself now. Give that Zhang to Marquis Jing'an as a reward. You personally send him to Marquis Jing'an's mansion!"

"That's it!" Zhao Heng said and left in a hurry, because he was craving for a cigarette at this moment, and he yawned uncontrollably, he really couldn't help it. He was too lazy to waste time with Lin Hao, so he quickly sent Lin Hao away!

Afterwards, Lin Hao returned to the Marquis' Mansion and told Zhao Pan'er everything about her father.

After listening to Lin Hao's story, Zhao Pan'er could no longer hold back her tears.

Then, regardless of the presence of Song Yinzhang and Sun Sanniang, he suddenly hugged Lin Hao and said with emotion:
"Thank you, thank you!"

Zhao Pan'er didn't expect that Lin Hao had been investigating her father's case for her and even helped her father overturn the verdict. This made Zhao Pan'er not know how to thank Lin Hao.

As if he saw through Zhao Paner's thoughts, Lin Hao whispered in her ear:
"I don't want your thanks. If you really want to thank me, my family is still short of a head lady. I wonder if Miss Pan'er is interested in being the head lady of the Lin family!"

Zhao Paner's body froze when she heard that, and then for some reason, she fell limp in Lin Hao's arms. This man seldom said sweet words to her (she thought so), but what Lin Hao did every time always made her feel heartwarming.

Just as I was about to nod my head in agreement, I heard the doorman's voice from outside:
"My Lord, Eunuch Cui is here with Miss Zhang Haohao, who was gifted by His Majesty!"

······
Zhang Haohao didn't expect that her fate would be completely changed on just the third day.

Three days ago, when Zhang Haohao was chatting with Lin Hao, she found that Lin Hao seemed interested in her and thought of Song Yinzhang and Zhao Paner.

She thought Lin Hao would definitely come to see her the next day, but disappointingly, Lin Hao did not come to see her on the second day or the day after.

She thought Lin Hao was no longer interested in her, and just when she was about to give up that unrealistic fantasy.

Unexpectedly, a eunuch named Cui suddenly came from the palace today, bringing the emperor's decree, and awarded her to Lin Hao, and also processed the documents for her to be released from prison.

She was actually awarded to Marquis Jing'an. When Zhang Haohao received this decree, she was shocked.

This made her feel mixed emotions. In her expectation, Lin Hao would definitely use his connections to redeem her and take her away to become his concubine or something.

Later, she learned from her father-in-law that it was Lin Hao who asked the emperor for her. Zhang Haohao secretly thought that she was not wrong and Lin Hao was indeed interested in her.

At the same time, her heart was filled with gratitude and admiration for Lin Hao, which was better than simply redeeming her.

To put it bluntly, even the mistress of the house in the future would not easily embarrass him. After all, she was bestowed upon the Marquis by the steward himself. Although her status is low, her identity is different.

Afterwards, Zhang Haohao, who was filled with joy, happily got on the carriage heading to Lin Haohou's mansion.

······
Although Zhao Pan'er knew that Zhang Haohao was a reward given to Lin Hao by the government, she still felt a little uncomfortable.

Not only Zhang Haohao, she also knew that Lin Hao often went to Sun Sanniang's room at night and did not come out until the early morning.

And she was always sticky with Song Yinzhang, but she could actually accept all this, after all, they were both her good friends.

But this Zhang Haohao had both good voice and good looks, which finally made Zhao Paner feel a sense of crisis.

Zhao Pan'er didn't know yet that Lin Hao had done something unknown to Gao Hui, otherwise he wouldn't be so wary of Zhang Haohao.

Not only is Zhang Haohao similar to her in every way, having changed from a musician to a civilian, but Gao Hui is different. She and Lin Hao are truly a perfect match and can become the mistress of the family.

Lin Hao noticed something was wrong with Zhao Pan'er, so he patted her on the back gently and then whispered in her ear:

"Don't worry, as long as you are willing, you will be my mistress!"

When Zhao Pan'er heard this, she immediately began to reflect on herself.

In fact, she also understood that Lin Hao was a marquis after all, and he would definitely have more than three or two concubines in the future. What she didn't expect was that it would come so soon!

Originally she vowed not to be anyone's concubine, but after she was abandoned by Ouyang Xu, she began to waver in her decision.

She even thought that it would not be a bad idea to be a concubine of Marquis Lin Hao, and she could barely accept it.

After all, Lin Hao was a marquis, so even if she was a concubine, it would not humiliate her.

After all, she was once a slave, and even if she became a good woman, she could not change her past.

Otherwise, why would she support Ouyang Xu, hoping that he would pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi, and then marry him in a formal ceremony to become the Jinshi's wife and the mistress of the family?

Therefore, she hesitated again and again in her heart, and was ambiguous with Lin Hao. Later, she was ready to accept her fate, but she did not expect that Lin Hao later hinted that he could marry her as his wife.

At this time, her mentality changed again, and she began to feel uncomfortable about Lin Hao's relationship with Sun Sanniang and Song Yinzhang.

But today, Lin Hao asked the government for Zhang Haohao, and Zhao Pan'er suddenly woke up. Lin Hao had done so many things for her, but had she done anything for Lin Hao?

If I still want to have Lin Hao all to myself, can I really become Lin Hao's legal wife?
Although Lin Hao has now promised to let her become the head lady of the Lin family, when she looks at Song Yinzhang and Zhang Haohao, who were also from lowly families who turned to good women, she immediately thinks of her past.

At this moment, Zhao Paner couldn't help but ask herself:
"Am I worthy of Lord Lin Hao?"

At this moment, Zhao Pan'er's thoughts unknowingly went from one extreme to another.

(End of this chapter)