In the twenty-seventh year of the Great Calendar, the Chu Dynasty calendar, the fourteenth day of the winter month, the night.

The eldest prince Chu Zizhan and Shang Luoyan, the commander of the black armor guards, led more than ten horsemen to ride the black armor guards, and secretly went out of Kyoto Mansion and headed for Qijiazhuang.

"Great Prince, why do you set off at night instead of during the day?"

Before leaving, Shang Luoyan carefully checked the distance, according to their speed, they could reach Qijiazhuang before noon on the 16th, and if they walked during the day, they could pass through the inn to rest for the night, but now Chu Zizhan insisted on setting off at night, which made Shang Luoyan very incomprehensible.

Chu Zizhan thought for a while, and did not directly answer Shang Luoyan's question, but asked rhetorically: "Lord Shang, how long have you been in court?" ”

Shang Luoyan was stunned for a moment, not knowing why the eldest prince in front of him suddenly asked this question, so he had to answer truthfully and said: "If it is counted from the time the lower official joins the army, it should be twenty-five years. ”

"Since it's been twenty-five years, then you should know the habits of my second brother, if I leave Kyoto Mansion with great fanfare during the day, he will definitely be aware of it, and now that we set off at night, even if he notices it, he will be a little late, and he will not arrive at Qijiazhuang before us."

Shang Luoyan naturally knew about the grievances between the eldest prince and the current crown prince.

"The eldest prince, this matter is His Majesty's will, no matter how bold the prince is, he will not make a hindrance from it."

Shang Luoyan's implication is obvious, that is, "The eldest prince, you are a little too careful."

Chu Zizhan didn't think much of what Shang Luoyan said, he sneered, and then said to him: "Hehe, you don't know our Royal Highness the Crown Prince too well, he is not good at things on the surface, he is good at things in secret." ”

"You mean······ Prince, he will be making trouble in secret? ”

Chu Zizhan nodded matter-of-factly, and then said to Shang Luoyan: "It's really not his character not to do something, let your subordinates cheer up, be careful, and when we get to Zhuozhou Mansion, let's take a rest." ”

Just when Chu Zizhan was leading the black armor guard to Qijiazhuang, on the other side, in Qijiazhuang, Qi Xuan was discussing the matter behind Qi Hanshan with the heads of the houses in Qijiazhuang in the conference hall.

"Hey, it's a pity, it's just a little bit, that person is so slippery, like a loach, he grabbed the other party's shoulder a few times, but with a twist, he slipped out of my hand." It was a middle-aged man who spoke, who looked to be about thirty-one or two, tall and full of tendons, so that he couldn't even be conspicuous in the crowd.

It seemed that the man's temper was a little irritable, and after speaking, he thought of chasing the murderer yesterday, and there was an inexplicable anger in his heart, and he couldn't help but clench his hands into fists and slam them on the table.

With a "boom", the crimson solid wood table was slapped with a muffled sound, echoing in the room and not dissipating for a long time.

"Qi Lei, don't be irritable." It was an old man with a white beard who sat majestically on the right-hand side of the table.

"Second uncle! How can you tell me not to be irritable, you don't know yesterday, just a little bit. Speaking of which, the man named Qi Lei was about to raise his hand and smash his fist against the table again, but he thought of what the "second uncle" said just now, hurriedly withdrew his hand, and then looked at the old man with a smile on his face, and said: "Hehe, second uncle, don't stare at me, it's not okay if I don't shoot, you said that there is such a big thing in our Qijiazhuang, can I not be in a hurry." Isn't it true that Ah Song's family, his father and his daughter-in-law were killed by that person, and now he is going crazy and leading people everywhere to find that person, I guess his temper is not much better than mine. ”

"Hmph, this is the council chamber, if you want to get angry, go and help Ah Song find the murderer." The old man, known as the second uncle, sat in his seat and snorted coldly at Qi Lei.

This old man is Qi Hanshan's second brother, Qi Chongshan.

Qi Lei smiled and said, "I'm not going, it's dark outside, and now it's dark outside, so I have to find when to go." ”

"Hmph, you're also the manager of the second room, your family is even eight years old, you can't be serious, don't always be hippie and smiling, what kind of system." The old man seemed to be angry with Qi Lei, and the beard on his mouth was faintly shaking.

"Second uncle, don't be angry, I'm not used to it." Qi Lei didn't dare to look at the second uncle who was sitting there blowing his beard and glaring, but turned his head to the side, as if he was about to be eaten by the other party when he looked at him.

While the two were arguing there, many people came in the chamber one after another.

Qi Zhen, the steward of the third room, Qi Yu, the steward of the fourth room, and Qi Hai, the steward of the fifth room, entered the conference hall, said hello to Qi Chongshan and Qi Lei respectively, and then found a place to sit down, and they seemed to have just finished their own affairs, their foreheads were covered with sweat and they were panting.

"How's it going, did you find it?" Qi Lei saw several people entering the house together, so he couldn't wait to ask.

Qi Hai in the fifth room is the youngest here, and his body is a little fat, because he has been busy looking for the murderer just now, so the breath in his body has not calmed down, and he gasps when he speaks, and the fat on both sides of his face also fluctuates up and down with the sound of wheezing, so it's not funny.

"Second Brother······ Qi Hai exhaled slowly, and then continued, "The three of us went to Houjia Village in the east, Fangqing Mansion in the south, and Zizhu Forest in the north, and we didn't see a suspicious figure, so ······."

The other two seemed to have exhausted their physical strength because of the search for someone, and since a few people entered the house, they had been lying on the table, motionless, if it wasn't for Qi Hai mentioning them, they wouldn't have bothered to look at Qi Lei sitting opposite.

Originally, Qi Hai wanted to scold to vent his inner resentment, but he felt that he didn't have the extra physical strength to scold the other party now, so Qi Hai also learned from the other two, like dead people, and collapsed weakly on the table, and the fat face full of fat was distorted and deformed.

Qi Lei listened to Qi Hai's words and glanced at Qi Chongshan on the side, meaning, look, I'll just say that I can't find anyone now.

Qi Chongshan didn't pay attention to him, but thought about Qi Hai and the three of them and asked, "What about the Linqing Mansion in the west, who went?" ”

This time it was not Qi Hai who answered, but Qi Zhen, after all, Qi Hai had used up almost all the remaining strength after saying so much just now.

"Big brother took Qi Song over, and he should be back soon."

When Qi Chongshan heard that Qi Xuan and Qi Song had gone to Linqing Mansion, he nodded, and then said, "I hope they have some news there." ”

While he was talking, the door of the council hall was pushed open again, and everyone looked over together, only to see Qi Xuan and Qi Song appear in front of the door.

Several people in the room, except for Qi Lei, were a little excited, and even Qi Zhen, Qi Yu, and Qi Hai, who were slumped on the table, straightened their waists and looked at Qi Xuan, as if they were waiting for some answer.

Seeing everyone's eager gazes, Qi Xuan didn't speak, just lowered his head slightly, and then sighed softly.

Everyone's expressions returned to their previous appearance, and it seemed that only Qi Lei was still there with his head raised, looking at everyone with an expression of "I knew it would be like this".