In the inn, Mengzhou, Jingrong, Heshan and Sheng Lan sat around the table. After Sheng Lan relayed the conversation between Wang Shiru and the guards, Meng Zhou wondered, "Why did this Wang Shiru create such an illusion in the Chang family's mansion?" Could it be that he was trying to hide something? ”

Sheng Lan said: "I've heard some statements before, maybe it's related to this. ”

Meng Zhou said: "Let's hear it." ”

Sheng Lan, "I heard that in the past two years, three girls disappeared before and after the border city, and these three girls disappeared near the Chang family's mansion, but no matter how the government investigated, the missing girls never had any whereabouts, and the former official lord was also removed because of this incident. Later, Wang Shiru, who was supposed to leave office and return to his hometown, was somehow transferred to this place to take over the unsolved case, but unfortunately there was still no progress, but since Wang Shiru took over, there has never been a case of disappearance in the border city. ”

Meng Zhou knocked on the table and said to himself: "Disappeared near the Chang family's mansion, Wang Shiru has not disappeared since he took over, do you know the mystery of the Chang family's ghost house?" ”

Sheng Lan turned her gaze away, poured a glass of water and said, "I don't know." ”

Meng Zhou: "This thing sounds strange, it is necessary to investigate it carefully, so that we will act separately, Heshan and I will inquire about Chang and the three missing girls, and Brother Huai will be responsible for investigating the mystery of Wang Shiru's transfer." ”

Sheng Lan stood up and said, "I will follow Wang Shiru." ”

"That's very good."

Meng Zhou stood up and said, "Then there is Miss Lao Sheng." ”

After Sheng Lan left, Heshan spoke, "You are really restless, you are so tormented during the day, and you have to make some movement at night." ”

"You also saw it, the Sheng girl has chased me to my room, what else can I do?"

Heshan said angrily: "That's not because you are involved in this group of things, as long as you put away the heart of hanging the pot to help the world, maybe you can live in peace for a few days." ”

Mengzhou: "Oh, aren't you looking for someone?" Anyway, we are all inquiring about the news and looking for someone, so it always doesn't hurt to ask more about the news next to it, in case there is any new direction to find that Miss Lin, you, you just like a road to death, and you don't know how to move to the light when it's dark. ”

"Then you can inquire yourself." Heshan said, pushed open the door and left.

Meng Zhou glanced at Jing Rong and sighed, "This way of worrying about people is always so unpleasant, how can you please the girl in the future." ”

Jing Rong said helplessly; "You've got into trouble and you're still in trouble?"

Meng Zhou said pitifully: "I can't help it, you know a little bit about Miss Sheng's temperament, I'm a weak woman, how can I fight back." ”

"Weak woman, I think you're very powerful tonight, don't all the rag dolls call you 'broken corpses'."

Meng Zhou came to the spirit, "So Master, look, I still have something malleable, as long as you are willing to teach me those few tricks, I will definitely be able to draw inferences, and I will be your proud protégé in the future." When this reputation is out, you will be able to open a martial arts team in the future, and then you will get two pieces of silver, which is a double win, how about Master, do you think about it? ”

Jing Rong knocked on the table, "Is this what I'm talking about?" ”

Meng Zhou was deflated and pouted, "No." ”

"You've said it was important to save your life, so why risk it tonight?"

Meng Zhou was very aggrieved, "I was planning to call you tomorrow night, but who knew that Miss Sheng suddenly intervened in such a kick, I thought that Miss Sheng was strong in martial arts, and we were half old acquaintances, so I followed." How do I know that after looking away, Miss Sheng's martial arts are indeed not enough for the two of us to retreat. ”

Meng Zhou paused for two seconds, and said: "But this is not all bad, at least I know the depth of Miss Sheng's kung fu today, and now she suffers a loss for a while, and she will definitely have a long memory tomorrow." ”

Jing Rong said: "You have so many reasons, why didn't you talk to those people in black today." ”

"I told it, but it's a pity that the concubine has no intention of having a lover."

Jing Rong choked and said, "I started talking nonsense again." ”

Meng Zhou smiled heartlessly; "Okay, I know, I must be careful in the future, you can rest assured."

Jing Rong sighed, "Rest early." ”

"Good~"

The moon is bright outside the window, and in a small courtyard, the fragrance of wine fills the courtyard.

"Master, Childe's people are here."

Ling'er shook the wine in her hand and replied as if she was drunk, "Well, please come in." ”

From time to time, a woman dressed in yellow walked in, saw Ling'er's appearance, and said in a strange manner: "You are really good Yaxing." ”

"Or else?"

The woman in yellow took a step forward and frowned, "You know that Gongzi has long ordered you not to meddle in any affairs during this time, why do you still go to Changfu privately."

"What am I doing, what do I have to do with you?"

"You and I are both Childe's people, and we do our best for Childe, but if your actions today are known by Childe, do you know what will happen!"

Ling'er put down the wine, walked to the woman in yellow in one step, and smiled innocently: "You want to denounce me." ”

"Yes, I do, and not only that, but what you did before."

"Threaten me?"

Ling'er clapped her hands and smiled, "Okay, wow, then please." ”

"Mad woman."

The woman in yellow turned around and wanted to leave, but suddenly a cold light flashed in the corner of her eyes, and before she could dodge, the dagger was slammed into her body.

"You."

Ling'er turned the dagger, her eyes were cold, but her voice was gentle as if she was comforting an injured child.

"All I know is that only the living are qualified to speak. Also, don't wear clothes of this color in the next life, it's not for you. ”

Under the candlelight, those eyes gradually emptied, and the yellow clothes lost their color...

Jing Rong returned to the room, and caught a glimpse of Sanqi standing in the corner.

"Childe."

Jing Rong looked at Sanqi, who hadn't appeared for a long time, and said, "Have you encountered something difficult recently?" ”

Sanqi hung his head, his face was a little embarrassed, "Son, forgive the sins, Sanqi will definitely clean up the chores at hand." ”

Jing Rong looked at Sanqi and said, "What's the recent movement on Xie Chi's side?" ”

Because of Liu Yi's incident, the Shuiyang Gang was not only fined money and removed all the dark spots, but the government also dispatched personnel to conduct a one-month investigation and monitoring of several branches of the Shuiyang Gang. For these requests, Xie Chi not only accepted them one by one, but also donated a lot of silver money to the water conservancy projects built by the government. ”

"What about Gao He?"

Sanqi said: "Since Liu Yi's accident, Gao He has been very tight with Xie Chi. The subordinates investigated, and the actual amount of silver fined by the Shuiyang Gang did not match the amount of silver handed over, but in the final booklet handed in, these were all made up, and most of the shortfall required was from the high and the silver that was greedy in the past. And the so-called investigation and monitoring is nothing more than Xie Chi borrowing Gao He just to exclude dissidents. In addition, his subordinates have checked that the government project that Xie Chi intervened in was the construction of water conservancy in Xiaoshanyuan, which had been a headache in the past two years. The local government reported a shortage of money for this water conservancy project from the beginning, and it was delayed for two years and was not completed, but since Xie Chi intervened, the project has finally progressed. ”

Jing Rong said: "It seems that the reason why Xie Chi didn't connect with Liu Yi to hold Gao He is that he really has a backhand." ”

"What Childe said is that now when there is unrest in the Shui Yang Gang, keeping Gao He can indeed do a lot for him. It's just that as soon as this month passes, when the Shui Yang Gang helps to stabilize, this project will also be started, but I am afraid that Gao He will be difficult to live. ”

"Send a few people to protect secretly, and as soon as the half moon passes, I will give you evidence and let Kyoto issue an order to bring Gao He back to Beijing for trial."

"Yes."

Jing Rong knocked on the table and said, "What news is there from Lin Chen and Jiang Tingyuan?" ”

Sanqi took out two letters from his arms and handed them to Jingrong.

After Jing Rong saw it, he was silent for a while and said, "Tell Lin Chen that this matter is important and you must be cautious." As for Jiang Tingyuan, he brought him a message, and he was led astray step by step. ”

"Yes, Childe."

"Also, send a letter to Kyoto and ask someone to check whether the Li family interfered with the person who recommended Gao He and Wang Shiru to serve in the past."

"Yes."

After explaining the matter, Jing Rong turned his head and pointed to Sanqi's ear and asked, "I'm injured."

Sanqi rarely blushed, and was a little embarrassed to touch his ears, "Accident." ”

Jing Rong stood up and took a bottle of medicine from the cabinet and threw it to Sanqi, "Be careful." ”

"Yes, my subordinates understand."

The next day, Meng Zhou was lazy and went to the Heshan house, who knew that she had already disappeared from Heshan when she entered the room, and even with Xiaokong, there was no shadow. When she was helpless, she saw Jingrong downstairs at a glance.

"Brother Huai."

"You're up."

Mengzhou sat down and picked up a bun and said while eating: "Have you seen Heshan and Xiaokong?" ”

"They went out early in the morning to inquire about the news."

"Okay, what about you, what's going on with you in a moment?"

"Not yet."

Dream Zhou came to the spirit, "Just right." ”

She clapped her hands and stood up, "Get to work." ”

On the long street, Jing Rong watched Meng Zhou scurrying in front of various stalls, and without asking a few words, he tasted a lot of dim sum in vain. He suddenly remembered that Heshan had said that Mengzhou was like a crazy rabbit.

Jing Rong was helpless, and slipped by Mengzhou's collar before he went up, reminding: "Don't you still have something to do?" ”

Meng Zhou's eyes moved away from the pavement, with a sincere face, "Well, I'm doing it." ”

"And what did you inquire about?"

"It's been a long time since the Chang family's mansion happened, so I'll only hear a rough outline. However, someone did show us the way. ”

At the end of the alley, an old beggar in ragged clothes sat against the wall, wearing a broken bamboo hat, and a dirty porcelain bowl in front of him.

The jingle bell in the bowl rang around, and the old man slowly opened his eyes, and there was still three points of sleepiness in his chaotic eyes.

"Old man, I'll ask you about something."

The beggar glanced at the bowl and said in a dumb voice, "I wonder what the little boy wants to inquire about?" ”

"Chang's Haunted Mansion."

"That's a long story, what do you want to hear?"

Dream sat on the floor and put a piece of silver in the bowl.

"I want to hear about it."

The beggar glanced at the broken bowl and moved his body, and said slowly: "Chang De, the head of the Chang family, and his wife were originally small spinning households, and later made a fortune because of the cloth, and when the Chang family's cloth business was prosperous, they even went to Kyoto for a time. Later, Changde died unexpectedly when he returned to the border city from Kyoto, leaving only orphans and widows at home, and the business that should have been in Kyoto was also stranded. ”

Meng Zhou said: "Chang De is dead, is there no one to rely on the heirs of the Chang family or his subordinates?" ”

"Changde only has two unmarried daughters under his knees, and he is unable to support the great cause, and Changde suffered a lot of losses in his early years, so everything is done by himself, almost without borrowing the hands of others, and it is difficult for others to start Chang's cloth business."

Dream Week; "And what about later? Why did Chang become what he is now? ”

"Later, there was a period of rampant mountain bandits, and it was when the Chang family was weakened, this mountain bandit naturally would not let go of such a big piece of fat, in the process of looting, the mountain bandit leader saw the handsome two girls of the Chang family, and he moved the thief's heart, but the two girls swore to die, which annoyed the mountain bandit leader, and then those mountain bandits not only looted the Chang family, but also ruthlessly destroyed the Chang family."

Dream was shocked, "There is such a thing." ”

The old beggar held his hat and said, "However, a few days later, those mountain bandits were taken by the government and all of them were beheaded." Not long after, the official lord who was in charge of supervising the matter was also imprisoned and died tragically in prison. ”

Mengzhou: "Why? ”

"Because just after those mountain bandits were beheaded, someone anonymously reported the correspondence between the official lord and the mountain bandits, and the official lord forged the evidence of Chang's illegal crimes, and Chang's only a few weak women were left at that time, and they would not make a big splash because of the criminal evidence, so they could only succumb to the official authority. The officials and bandits agreed not to hurt the lives of the Chang family, and after the mountain bandits got their hands, the property of both parties was divided in two, and the mountain bandits got this vote to leave the border city, and the official lord also had to explain to the top. But later, the mountain bandits took all their belongings and threatened the government. So the government wiped out the mountain bandits in one fell swoop. ”

The old man sighed, "Among them, the most wronged is the Chang family, who was once in the market when he was brilliant, and ended up like this when he was down." ”

Meng Zhou was silent for two seconds and said, "That old man, do you know the three girls who disappeared near the Chang family's mansion." ”

"In the past, the Changfu sisters often held some tea parties and poetry parties in the house. The three missing children were regular visitors there. When Changfu was wiped out, some people sighed that their lives had escaped, but who knew that the world was impermanent, and they still couldn't escape after all. ”

"Can't hide?"

"Yes, when the Chang Mansion was destroyed, there were not only the Chang sisters present, but also a few girls who played with the two sisters on weekdays, but the group of mountain bandits were ruthless, and in order to cover up their ugly deeds, they burned all these girls in a fire, and finally did not leave a body to bury. There are also the three children, who are still missing. So later, when Chang's haunted, people said that it was because these girls were resentful and couldn't look at them. ”

On the way back, somehow I walked in front of Changfu in a dream.

In the dark night, the lights of thousands of homes only seem lonely, but in the daytime, it adds a bit of gloom. In the spring sky, it is like an alien who does not fit in, alone in the empty pool.

"You say, are the Chang sisters and those girls really dead?"

"Not necessarily."

Meng Zhou nodded, "What I see is slightly the same, but there is another key person to investigate in this matter." ”

Later, Meng Zhou opened the door and saw Sheng Lan standing outside the door, she said happily: "I just wanted to go out to look for you, but I didn't expect you to come." ”

"Let's go in first."

Meng Zhou turned her head and saw a man wearing a hat behind Sheng Lan, and she was busy getting out of the way.

After Mengzhou summoned Jing Rong, the man took off his hat and said, "I have seen all the chivalrous warriors in Xia Wang Xianwen." ”

Meng Zhou scratched his head and looked at Sheng Lan, Sheng Lan opened his mouth to explain: "This is the former Lord Assassin of the border city. ”

Meng Zhou suddenly said, "It turned out to be Lord Wang, and I was disrespectful." ”

Wang Xianwen waved his hand, "That's all in the past, I'm just an ordinary person teaching now." ”

Sheng Lan said: "These will be put away first, time is limited, let's talk about the immediate matter first." ”

Hearing this, Xiang Xianwen immediately said: "Wang heard that you are investigating Chang's matter, and there are some things that must be told to you in person. ”

Meng Zhou glanced at Jing Rong and said to the king: "Please speak." ”

"I was dismissed because I couldn't find out about the girl's disappearance, but because I found the clues to the case."

Wang Xianwen paused for a few seconds and said: "At that time, everyone thought that the Chang clan was wiped out, the mountain bandits were exterminated, and the assassin Shi was imprisoned was just the collusion of officials and bandits, but later when I was sorting out the case, I found that only the power of the mountain bandits or the assassin Shi was not enough to promote the tragedy later." ”

Sheng Lan said: "You mean that there is still a force manipulating these two sides. ”

Wang Xianwen nodded, "It's not so much an external force as a net." In addition, I was dismissed that year, and the matter of Shaoguang, the three girls you found in Chang's and the pianist in the capital are also related to this net. ”

Meng Zhou glanced at Jing Rong and said to the king: "So you haven't given up pursuing Chang's case all these years?" ”

"Yes, I haven't been able to let go of this case all these years, but the more I investigate this case, the more frightened I become."

Wang Xianwen said and glanced at Jing Rong and said: "The Chang family extermination case is just an introduction, and the forces involved in this matter are quite complicated, including the forces of neighboring countries, the big merchant faction in Kyoto, and the ministers of the imperial court. ”

Meng Zhou was shocked, Wang Xianwen said and took out a few envelopes from his arms and put them on the side of Jing Rong's hand, and said softly: "This is Wang's hard work over the years, not to mention anything else, Wang can be regarded as having an explanation to Chang's family." ”

Wang Xianwen stood up and bowed as he spoke, "There is another request below." ”

Sheng Lan looked at Jing Rong, picked up Wang Xianwen and said, "You just have to say it." ”

"My benefactor, Wang Shiru Wang Thorn History, he is too old to withstand the toss, I just ask him to enjoy his old age in peace."

Jing Rong knocked on the table and said, "Wang Shiru has been transferred so far that it has nothing to do with the Li family. ”

Wang Xianwen said in a deep voice: "Wang Tingshi has acted in a straightforward manner all his life, and he will never use this for personal gain. ”

"As soon as this incident comes out, there will be turmoil in the court, and it is impossible for those involved to retreat."

"I know that it is powerful, and the matter has come to this point, I will never give up, just want to change my heart."

After finishing speaking, the room suddenly fell into a deathly silence, and just when Meng Zhou was about to lose his breath, Jing Rong finally opened his mouth and responded lightly: "Okay, just according to what you say." ”

After Sheng Lan left with Wang Xianwen, Jing Rong turned around and saw Meng Zhou standing silently by the window, wringing his hands and not knowing what he was thinking.

"What's wrong with you?"

Meng Zhou glanced at Jing Rong and said in a low voice: "I just think that you are a little strange just now." ”

"And what do you think I should be?"

"I don't know."

Jing Rong smoothed the handful of stunned hair on the top of Mengzhou's head, and said softly: "It's okay, the coming day will be long." ”

"Huh?"

Just when Meng Zhou was confused, the door was pushed open, and Xiao Qi stood outside the door panting, and said, "Meng Gongzi is not good, Miss Sheng, the person she brought was robbed!" ”

The three of them followed the mark left by Sheng Lan all the way to the outside of the city, and finally found Sheng Lan's figure outside the broken temple.

Meng Zhou pulled Xiaokong and said to Chong Jingrong: "I'll take Xiaokong to hide, and you go to help Miss Sheng." ”

Sheng Lan glanced at Wang Xianwen's kung fu distractedly, and the masked man raised his sword and rushed straight to Sheng Lan's heart, Sheng Lan's eyebrows tightened, and he slid out sideways.

There was a crisp sound, and the stone collided with the sword and bounced to the ground, and the masked man deflected the sword in his hand, and hurriedly retreated.

At this end, Sheng Lan's left arm was taken by the power of Dao Qi, and he staggered and stopped.

The masked man looked at Sheng Lan and Jing Rong, and waved behind him, and seven or eight masked black-clothed people instantly poured out of the broken temple.

Seeing this, Sheng Lan clenched the sword in his hand and said: "These people are not small, not to mention that you still have the letters they want, I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with." ”

"It depends on whether they have the life to take it."

Hearing this, Sheng Lan looked at the group of black-clothed people, and teased Jing Rong: "Also, if King Huai'an misses, I'm afraid someone will be disappointed in you, the master." ”

"Jiang Tingyuan."

"Boring!" Sheng Lan's face changed, and he raised the sword in his hand and rushed forward.

The sky became darker and darker, and a pair of white and purple figures outside the ruined temple interacted in the dark, and the sound of swords colliding in the air gradually spread.

Meng Zhou was anxious in his heart, and asked Xiang Xiaokong: "You just said that Heshan went to the government to find someone, why hasn't he come yet, can't it be that there is some trouble again." ”

"Dream boy, don't worry, Brother Heshan will definitely come."

Meng Zhou said: "Xiaokong, you hide here, I'll go to the back to see if there are people from the government." ”

"Dream boy, you must be careful."

"Don't worry."