In the fifth year of Taihe, September Xinyou, the beginning of Xu.

Jiannan Road, Xichuan, Chengdu Province.

After the fox committed suicide, Li Deyu was so shocked that he couldn't help himself. He ordered someone to send Ling Hu's body to the Yacheng mortuary immediately, and at the same time ordered Fa Cao to quickly send someone to examine the autopsy. Before Li Deyu left, he left the goldfish bag on his waist and temporarily handed over the right to move the tooth army to the marching Sima Li Huaishen.

However, Li Huaishen's adaptability is far worse than Li Deyu's after all, and in the face of such an unprecedented emergency, when he was at a loss, he had to search the officials who went to the banquet in Yanning Building one by one to prevent the same party, but found nothing. also quickly sent troops to block the Linghu Silent family residence in Chongmingfang, and the officialdom of Chengdu Mansion suddenly became panicked.

To add insult to injury, someone had ulterior motives, and at the beginning of the year, under the blockade of all means, the news that Linghu was plotting to assassinate Li Deyu on the banquet in Yanning Building did not spread. In a short period of time, several versions of the story were circulated, and for a while rumors of conspiracy theories were rampant. Li Huai, who had just been in charge of the coveted power of the festival commander, was deeply anxious, and the joy of temporarily holding the goldfish bag also disappeared.

There are rumors that Ling Hu Mu is a hidden pile eyeliner planted by the Niu Party next to the Jiedu Envoy, and this assassination is a desperate bet by the Niu Party in the DPRK and China on Li Deyu, and the result is not strict and self-defeating, so that the identity of the fox is exposed, and he is ambushed on the spot.

Some people also say that Ling Hulu was deprived of the key to the library because he was suspected by Li Deyu for no reason, so Ling Hulu wanted to die to make his will clear, and the envoy was embarrassed and caused an uproar in the officialdom. Therefore, the death of Ling Fox is also customary as suicide, after all, what the scholar thinks in his heart cannot be figured out by the logic of ordinary people. In order to avoid the conspiracy theory causing consterration, officialdom hastily listed this version as the official explanation for the matter.

Some people blame it, some people are wronged, and some people mourn it.

Ling Hu's body was sent to the Yacheng mortuary, and the autopsy was personally examined by the Chengdu Prefecture Law Cao Cui Bo, and the festival made Li Deyu and Cui Bo enter the mortuary together with a stick of incense, but they did not come out for a long time.

"Huayuan," Liu Zhan whispered to Li Huaishen with some concern, "Now that something like this has happened, that Zhang Yijun ...... Have you ever seen that? ”

Li Huaishen seemed to have a trace of hesitation at Liu Zhan's question, and his eyes flashed. However, it was only a fleeting flick of his fingers, and he shook his head and replied, "I have never seen it." ”

Liu Zhanzheng still wanted to ask something, and Li Zhi hurried over.

Seeing that Li Huaishen, Wei Rong, Liu Zhan and other marshals were all at the door of the mortuary, they were about to go straight to the meeting, but they were blocked by the tooth soldiers. Because after the incident, Yanning Louya, who was in charge of security at that time, will be immediately held accountable and punished severely. Therefore, the tooth soldiers guarding outside the mortuary at this moment naturally did not dare to slack off, and idle people were not allowed to enter.

"No one is allowed in."

"Who's giving the order?" Li Zhi asked loudly.

The tooth soldier's eyes glanced at Li Huaishen slightly, and he was silent. Li Huaishen relieved the siege of the tooth soldiers, straightforwardly, and made a forked hand salute, "My order, in extraordinary times, I hope the envoy understands." ”

Li Zhi looked Li Huaishen up and down, his expression was serious, but there was no sarcasm in his words, "It's not too late to make amends." Li Sima was conscientious, and all the princes saw it, and Zhi certainly understood. ”

"What do you mean by making amends?" Li Huaishen was immediately angry by Li Zhi's yin and yang strange tone, "The guard of Yanning Mansion is not in charge of Hua Yuan, but it is Li Zhi's envoy, who disappeared for half an hour before, and now it is late, I don't know what is going on?" ”

"Hehe, there is such a big event in the banquet of Yanning Building, and all the guests present see it, this is going to be spread, and Chengdu Mansion must not disturb people's hearts? The planting is to unify the voice one by one, so it is 'long overdue'. Li Zhi took a deep breath and didn't look at Li Huaishen, "For a long time, a certain person has never advertised what kind of gentleman he is, but if a certain person makes a mistake, then he must admit it." It won't be like some people, who are obviously in charge of half of the guards of Chengdu Mansion, and they have never hesitated to take credit, but now that something happened, they hurriedly cleared up their involvement and took a bite back......"

"Who did the envoy say to bite back?" Li Huai's eyebrows jumped, Li Zhi's remarks completely annoyed him, "After the incident, if it weren't for Huayuan's timely blockade, Chengdu Mansion would have been in chaos now, but the envoy said all the good things here, entertained the deceased, and kept talking ...... cool words."

Seeing that the two did not give in to each other, Li Huaishen, who had a bad temper, was obviously on the verge of exploding. The tooth soldiers and a few bureaucratic adjutants were not of high rank, and they did not dare to say anything.

Li Zhi sneered, pointed to the outside of the mansion, and interrupted: "Blockade in time? Li Sima got the goldfish bag, and the first thing he did was to dismiss a few tooth soldiers, and sent someone to immediately block Ling Hu's house. The matter is not secret, and the trouble is boiling in Chongmingfang, and the rumors are all from Chongmingfang, and in the end, someone has to come to clean up the aftermath for Li Sima, this is a good thing that Li Sima did? ”

Li Huaishen was so blocked by Li Zhi's words that he didn't know how to refute it, after all, as he said, things happened suddenly at that time, and Li Huaishen didn't think much about it. Jiedu immersed Li Deyu in the pain of Ling Hu Su drinking and committing suicide, and Li Huaishen simply and rudely sent people to block Ling Hu's house. However, what Li Huaishen didn't expect was that the rumors appeared so fast that he even felt that someone had deliberately leaked the news and walked around the rumors, and he once suspected that the rumors were spread by Li Zhi, the envoy of the Jiedu branch in front of him. However, the evidence was insufficient, and this time he had no choice but to be helpless against Li Zhi's accusations, so he swallowed this breath.

"What do you think?"

"The reason behind the fox suicide at the banquet is just to express dissatisfaction, and the reason behind it has long been decided. In addition, he also reminded Jie Shuai in time, explaining that he had no intention of assassinating, this matter was extremely simple, and Li Sima made such a big move, but everyone was in danger. Li Zhi's eyes seemed to be deliberately lowered, and the grief of his gestures was extremely realistic and skillful, "Ling Hu is young and died a pity, now how to settle his family, comfort his family, and deal with the aftermath is the top priority......"

Li Zhi's clever rebuttal made many people present feel that there was some truth, and they couldn't help but nod their heads, and there was only regret for Ling Fox between his words.

Wei Rong saw that the smell of gunpowder in the atmosphere had dissipated a little, so he hurriedly took this opportunity and said with a sense of mediation: "The envoy is right, it's a pity, what a good young talent, why do you need to seek death and life?" ”

Li Huai pursed his lips and looked at Li Zhi's expression deeply, but he couldn't find any flaws, and for a while he felt that Li Zhi was still a little right. He had to sigh and go down the steps given by Wei Rong.

"What does that envoy mean is that the tooth army that ordered the fox to stay in the house was withdrawn?"

Li Zhi saw that Li Huaishen's proposal was right in the middle, and he was secretly happy in his heart. After all, if there were tooth soldiers guarding Ling Fox's house, how to deal with that secret letter would be a big problem, so he changed his attitude, was full of modesty, and said: "Plant ...... I don't dare to say that this is the best policy, but it can indeed make people feel at ease...... Of course, now that Li Sima is in charge of the goldfish bag, it should be decided by Li Sima! ”

Li Huai pondered deeply for a long time, but he couldn't think of a better way to calm down the rumors, so he had to nod slightly to the communication on the side.

"Okay, then...... Do as the envoy says. ”

After receiving the order, he quickly ran in the direction of the Yacheng Mansion Gate. And Li Zhi saw that the plan succeeded, and knew that it was not too late, so he said a few more greetings, and said goodbye with a smile.

"Plant ...... There are still important things, and it is rumored that it needs to be blocked, so he will be temporarily retired. If Li Gong asked, he also asked Li Sima to inform him that Zhi had come. ”

In the mortuary, Li Deyu and Facao Cuibo were separated from Ling Fox's body, silently facing each other.

Both of them were dressed in plain white cloth clothes, and beside Cui Bo, all kinds of fine knives were readily available.

"Next, please take a seat for Gong Li." Cui Bo crossed his hand, he was nearly forty years old, he had been engaged in the affairs of the Criminal Department for more than ten years, and he had seen hundreds of corpses, all kinds of decomposition levels, so the autopsy was not a problem for him. However, on weekdays, he often interacts with Ling Fox, so when he heard that Ling Fox was silent, and at this moment, he was standing next to Ling Fox's corpse, and he would also maintain his apparent composure.

“‘…… For the world, fight for ......'"

Ling Hulu's last words kept echoing in Li Deyu's ears, making him unable to hide his sadness, obviously he had high hopes for Ling Hulu.

He still can't accept that the hot-blooded secretary of the Shuai Mansion who was alive more than an hour ago has turned into a cold corpse at this moment, and it is impossible to open his eyes again.

"Is there no other way?"

"If Li Gong wants to know what poison Ling Hu died of, he must immediately open his abdomen and make a judgment based on his face and body, the longer he delays, the more difficult it is to decide, and there is no other way." Cui Bo's tone was extremely firm, with a sense of intransmissibility.

Li Deyu seemed to have made up his mind after some ideological struggle, and after hesitating for a moment, he nodded to Cao Cuibo, turned his back, and walked to the corner of the mortuary.

"Let's get started."

Cui Bo's hands and feet were nimble, and he cleaned his hands skillfully, wrapped two layers of thin silk cloth around his mouth and nose, picked up a sharp willow leaf knife from the side, and with the other hand, he searched for Ling Fox's neck and chest all the way down, and gently pressed Ling Fox's pale skin downward. Finally, he stopped at the position where Linghu closed his stomach, used a willow leaf knife to cut a small opening half a palm long in his abdomen, took a plain white thin silk, and poked into the abdomen of the corpse for a long time before slowly pulling the thin silk out.

The thin silk was still stained with half-coagulated blood clots, slightly blackened. Cui Bo looked at it carefully for a moment, then threw the thin silk into the basin of water and began to carefully observe Ling Fox's face and body.

Cui Bo was preoccupied in front of him, busy before and after. Li Deyu's mind kept echoing the words that Ling Hu Mu had said to him before he died, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt a little strange and suspicious, as if Ling Hu Mu was trying to convey something, and there was a hidden meaning inside.

"'There are people in the DPRK who don't want Li Gong to make meritorious contributions......'"

Everyone understands this sentence, but if you think about it carefully, if the DPRK really doesn't want Li Deyu to make contributions to the surrender of Victoria, and just demote the official, why should he act so viciously that Li Deyu must be killed? This is also a doubt.

“‘…… With this temptation, I laughed at the princes and hoped that the princes would forgive ...... sins.'"

Tempted by this?

What is the temptation to kill oneself by drinking in public? Are there any people who are in the know? This suspicion is also two.

Xu was still a little immersed in the pain of Ling Fox's suicide, which affected his judgment, and Li Deyu couldn't think of a reason for a while. I can't help but secretly say in my heart, if Zhang Yijun was present at that time, with his calm and ice-like heart. Maybe things can still turn around, and maybe even prevent Ling Hulu's suicide in advance.

However, there are no ifs......

"Li Gong......" Cui Bo seemed to have reached a conclusion, took off the thin silk that covered his mouth and nose, covered Ling Hu's body with a layer of white linen, walked up to Li Deyu, and arched his hand: "It was Yunshan Bully ...... who killed Ling Hulu."

"Yunshan Poison?"

Cui Bo nodded, "...... This poison is taken from the miasma dense forest and is extremely difficult to encounter. If pierced into the wound, it will kill instantly; If taken orally, a few drops can cure people with tremors all over the body, blood-red eyes, pale lips, and blood clotting, and a moment later can take a person's life. And there are a lot of blood clots in the fox's abdomen, which is also the same as this......"

After Li Deyu heard this, it seemed that the tragic situation before Ling Hu's death resurfaced in front of him, and what was even more dangerous was that if it weren't for Ling Hu's life for his life, it would be him Li Deyu who was lying on the desk at the moment.

However, listening to Cui Bo's description of the nature of this poison, a layer of ripples appeared in Li Deyu's mind at the same time.

"This poison ...... Didn't you see blood and seal your throat? Li Deyu guessed.

"Exactly!"

This makes the whole thing even more confusing. Seeing that the blood sealing throat is the exclusive product of Lingnan and Nanzhao, the fox is kept in Chengdu Mansion, Xichuan, how can there be such poison?

Li Deyu suddenly felt that a huge conspiracy network was spreading around him, and what was involved in it seemed that it was not just a party struggle in the court.

Ling Hu Mu should be entrusted by someone to assassinate the envoy at the banquet, but the person who entrusted Ling Hu Mu to invite him never thought about Ling Hu Lu's loyal attitude towards Li Deyu. Therefore, although Ling Hu Mu was poisoned, he preemptively killed himself, in order to make a clear ambition to Li Deyu and that person, and at the same time use his own death to arouse Li Deyu's vigilance.

Li Deyu breathed deeply, his eyes trembling slightly.

Although he still doesn't know what kind of force is behind the person who entrusted Ling Fox to keep this request. But he knew that the other party had already torn his face and made the fox die without it, and he must not just forget it. Cui Bo looked at Li Deyu's gloomy look, and couldn't help but shiver.

Li Deyu thanked Cui Bo and walked slowly to the gate of the mortuary, as if whispering: "I don't share the hatred of the sky......"

With a "squeak", he pushed the closed heavy wooden door open. Li Huaishen, Wei Rong, Liu Zhan, several Jiedu judges and tooth soldiers, all stood in front of him, and bowed to the Jiedu envoy.

"Quickly send the tooth army, blockade the house of the fox and lock it, search it thoroughly, and send it to the ...... immediately if there is anything suspicious Be quick! ”

Knowing that Li Huaishen had just given the completely opposite order, Wei Rong, Liu Zhan and the other adjutants could not hide the embarrassed expressions on their faces, looked at each other, and sweated for Li Huaishen in their hearts.

However, Li Huaishen looked calm and leaned forward. took out a stack of papers from his sleeve, leaned on Li Deyu's ear, and whispered something softly.