Li Ke cut his hands behind his back, and walked directly to the main hall of the Assassin's Mansion without saying a word along the way.

The seats in the hall were neatly arranged, and they were obviously ready to welcome Li Ke in preparation for receiving the wind and washing the dust. Now, the big and small officials can only stand in the hall with their hands down carefully, and they don't dare to come out.

Li Ke sat in the hall, his face was almost expressionless, and a pair of eyes coldly swept over everyone in the hall, silent for a long time, but he didn't speak.

The atmosphere in the hall was almost suffocating. Although it was a cold weather in early spring, Zhao Chong's forehead was also covered with cold sweat, and Wu Facao's legs were trembling slightly.

Seeing that the atmosphere was so awkward and stagnant, Quan Wanji took a few steps forward and came to Li Ke's side, bent down and whispered, "Your Highness, please calm your anger...... I've heard about the previous things. It's a misunderstanding. ”

"Quan Changshi, in fact, you are too worried, this king is not angry." Li Ke suddenly smiled and waved his hand easily, "I have just arrived, and this king can be regarded as an acquaintance with you today." In this way, I shouldn't be able to catch this king as a fellow water ghost, right? ”

"Hehe......" The officials and generals present all squeezed out a dry laugh, and the atmosphere was a little more lively. Wu Facao and Zhao Chong became more and more nervous, and their wry faces were even more ugly than crying.

Li Ke was more relaxed and casual, he touched his belly and said, "Sit down, everyone." The king is really hungry, and the food in prison is not what people eat. What are you waiting for? Honor! ”

"Thank you, Your Highness!" The officials breathed a sigh of relief and sat down one after another.

Quan Wanji stood aside and looked at Li Ke in a daze, very confused for a while, not knowing what Li Ke meant. He thought to himself: According to His Highness's previous character, he has been so wronged and insulted today, he should have been furious, and even whipped people. What's going on now, how does it feel like he's a little unfathomable?

"Quan Changshi, you can sit down and have a banquet!" Li Ke said with a smile, and pointed to the upper seat next to his head.

Quan Wanji had to bow back with a wry smile and said, "Thank Your Highness for the seat." However, shouldn't this seat be reserved for General Qin? ”

"No need. He's not going to be here today. You sit. Li Ke waved his hand and smiled mysteriously.

Quan Wanji smiled helplessly and shook his head, knowing that Li Ke and Qin Mubai, a pair of sworn brothers, are both smart characters, what are they plotting with each other, how can they make a statement or guess a clue? Let's let them go, and see how Li Ke behaves today.

A moment later the feast was served, and everyone sat down separately to eat and drink. Li Ke was really hungry, and he didn't care about it, and he ate half full by himself first, so he had a little heart to deal with the officials and generals who were full of him in the hall.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this king has traveled thousands of miles from the capital to Xiangzhou for the first time, and if he is not familiar with the place, he will rely on your colleagues to help him in the future." Li Ke got up with a glass of wine and left the table and walked to the hall. Everyone else put down their chopsticks and sat down, listening.

"Among the colleagues here, except for the long history Quan Wanji, who came with this king, and Wu Facao and Zhao Xiaowei, who met in a hurry, I don't know any of the other kings." Li Ke smiled and said, "Why don't you take the initiative to make an introduction?" Well, let's start with the governors. The following is Sima in the long history. Where is Sima in Xiangzhou? ”

"Here's the lowly duty!" An official in a red robe hurriedly got up, walked to the hall and bowed down to Li Kezheng, and said respectfully: "Humble Wei Huanchen greets His Highness!" Thirty-eight years old, Jingzhao people, Zhenguan two years to raise the Ming scriptures, on the Xiangzhou Sima has been more than three years. ”

"Wesmas, well, fortunately." Li Ke nodded with a smile, pondered for a moment, and asked, "I don't know what the relationship between Sima and Dr. Chang'anwei's family is?" ”

"Reply to Your Highness. The humble ancestor was born in the Guanlong Wei clan and is a relative of the Chang'an Wei clan. Wei Huanchen replied.

Li Ke looked at Wei Huanchen carefully, and couldn't help but be a little surprised: "It turns out that Wei Sima is from such a famous family, it's really disrespectful!" ”

"Don't dare, don't dare!" A smile appeared on Wei Huanchen's face, and there was a vague sense of incomprehensible pride, and he hurriedly arched his hand, "Your Highness has the royal blood of the two dynasties, and it is truly noble!" ”

Li Ke nodded, motioned for Wei Huanchen to sit back, and looked at each other.

Datang pays attention to family background, and Chang'an Weishi is a typical famous family.

Next, one person took the initiative to come out and introduce himself to Li Ke. In this current environment, you don't have to guess to know that he should be the highest-ranking among the officials and generals here. Not surprisingly, this man with a powerful face but a bit of grace is none other than Du Chengyuan, one of Qin Mubai's deputies and the lieutenant of Guoyi in Xiangzhou Prefecture.

Coincidentally, this person is also a Jingzhao person, who was born in the Du family of the Guanlongshi clan at the same time as Wei Huanchen, and Du Ruhui, the founding prime minister, is still a family relative!

In later generations, there was a saying, "Weidu in the south of the city, go to the sky five feet", which is no longer suitable to describe the full grace of Chang'an Webster and Du's family.

Wei and Du are both old and famous families in the Tang Dynasty, and the family is prosperous and wealthy, and there are many talents in the family, and there are more prime ministers and generals since the Northern Wei Dynasty, and there are many marriages with the royal family, and they are also very closely intertwined with other famous families. Nowadays, the Wei and Du families are in Chang'an, because Li Shimin accepted a daughter of the Wei family as a concubine, and the Du family is a pillar like Du Ruhui.

Li Ke never expected that in a small Xiangzhou, the sons and nephews of the Weidu family were officials here! If it weren't for the presence of the prince himself, if he were an ordinary official, Wei Huanchen and Du Chengyuan might not have taken him seriously!

……

At this moment, in prison.

Qin Mubai asked the cellmates to invite Chen Yan to the innermost cell, that is, the cellkeepers threatened to put him and Li Ke in the iron prison room.

Facing each other, Qin Mubai almost didn't recognize Chen Yan for a while.

The heroic woman of the past is now wearing a fishy stench, her face is as pale as paper, and the shackles and shackles are so harsh.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" The corners of Chen Yan's mouth twitched slightly, and she seemed to smile and said, "You don't have the expression that old friends should have when they reunite." ”

"You sit down first." Qin Mubai said to the door again, "Heizi, let that prison untie the shackles." ”

"No need." Chen Yan said lightly, "The prison was ready to be released to me, but I refused." ”

"Why?" Qin Mubai said in surprise.

"Because I killed someone, I'm on death row." Chen Yan still said indifferently, "The murderer deserves death, since you are an official, the more you must not abuse your official power to destroy the strict law of the king." ”

Qin Mubai was speechless for a while, and his brows furrowed again.

"I'm happy to see you again." Chen Yan smiled slightly, raised her hands to make the shackles make a biting sound, and said, "It's a pity that I'm already a prisoner of the stairs, and I can't raise a glass with you." ”

"Tell me, what's going on?" Qin Mubai asked.

Chen Yan smiled to herself and said, "Is it necessary?" It is indeed an indisputable fact that I killed 17 people in one fell swoop, and I deserve to be punished for my crimes. Even if it is the emperor, he will grant me amnesty. I know you have the heart to save me, but can you hide your mouth, and in the end you won't be burned? I deserve to die, and I don't want to trouble you. ”

"Think of it as a small talk, and you should always be able to tell me why you killed those seventeen?" Qin Mubai asked.

Chen Yan was silent for a moment and nodded: "Since you want to hear it so much, then okay......"

It turned out that after Chen Yan stayed in Jiangzhou for a while, she was ready to take a boat back to her hometown in Jiangnan to take care of some things. That night, it was passing near the Eight Ghost Ferry in Xiangzhou. Screams and fighting suddenly came from above the river, and a boat not far ahead caught fire.

Chen Yan was originally a chivalrous person who walked the rivers and lakes, and she jumped off the boat and swam over without hesitation, ready to save people. It turned out that there was a fight on the boat, and it was nearing the end. Seventeen black-clad assassins had already slaughtered the ship's full of people and searched the ship's treasure and cargo, and were preparing to escape. Chen Yan's appearance surprised the other party very much, and he immediately started killing people.

At that time, she was in a hurry to save people, and she didn't think about escaping at all, so she fought with the other party. After the fierce battle, all seventeen people on the other side were killed by her sword. At this time, the fire on the ship was getting bigger and bigger, and Chen Yan searched hard in the boat, but found no live hole. Only then did she realize that it turned out to be a ship of salt barons who had smuggled salt - that is, she had inadvertently intervened in the battle between the salt barons!

At this moment, several official ships drove over and blocked Chen Yan tightly.

Previously, Chen Yan's boat had fled ten miles away from the waterway, and there were dozens of corpses on fire at the scene, and no one witnessed her to justify her. She didn't have much affection for the people in the government, and at this time she knew that it was difficult to argue, so she decisively dived into the water and prepared to escape. And the officers and soldiers were well prepared, and hooked her out of the water with a deep-water crossbow spear, and a large net caught her.

Later, she was thrown into a death row prison and held in solitary confinement without trial, and from the beginning to the end, not even a single person dared to approach her, let alone talk to her. Therefore, Chen Yan still can't figure out what kind of people she killed.

……

When Chen Yan spoke, Qin Mubai was looking at her, and saw the scars left by the iron hook and claw and the stabbing spear and sword on her body, such as the shoulder, pipa bone, etc., and some scars were already festering, almost sticky with her clothes, and could not be separated.

……

After Chen Yan finished speaking, she smiled and said, "That's the story." I know I'm not killing good people, but whether it's a good guy or a bad guy, if I kill it after all, then I deserve to die, don't I? ”

"You weren't like that before." Qin Mubai wrinkled his brows and said, "You have been walking the rivers and lakes for so many years, and it is definitely not the first time you have killed someone. ”

"Not bad." Chen Yan stood up and took two slow steps, turned her back and muttered, "After the Jiangzhou case, I vowed not to defy the law again, and I am also ready to retire to my hometown and become a civilian woman." Because since then, I have understood that there are still feelings, reason, and law in this world, and it is true that there is no need to solve all problems with killing and swords. It was also you and the prince who made me understand that the people in the government are not necessarily stupid and greedy......"

"Then you don't need to be a substitute." Qin Mubai said.

Chen Yan was slightly stunned, turned around and said confusedly, "What do you mean by this?" ”

"You're just killing a group of people who deserve to be killed, what's the crime?" Qin Mubai lightly picked the corners of his mouth and said softly, "If my expectations are correct, you should have killed the water ghost of Xihe Cao." This group of people, who have no way to loot the river, even dare to do it with official food and salt, they are the real death row prisoners! ”

"So what?" Chen Yan smiled with some disappointment, "I'm just a civilian, and I don't have the power to execute them, do I?" ”

"If I say you have, then you have." Qin Mubai smiled mysteriously, "I can't say that you are the secret envoy sent by someone from my Qin first, specifically to investigate the case of the water ghost in the West River Channel?" ”

"This ......" Chen Yan's eyes lit up, still shaking her head, "Is this inappropriate?" You haven't taken office in Xiangzhou Mansion yet, how can you send a secret envoy to investigate the matter of the Xihe Caoshui ghosts? Isn't this a self-deception? ”

"Huh! Logically, it is indeed unreasonable. Qin Mubai said with a smile, "However, many things in this officialdom are often unreasonable and reasonable. Because my rulers are greater than them, whatever I say, that is. Besides, the water ghosts in the West River Tank are so bad that everyone can get and punish them, even if others understand that I am deliberately making an excuse to excuse you, they have no nonsense to talk about. In this way, whether it is in terms of sentiment or law, it is still tenable. ”

"......" Chen Yan was silent for a long time.

"Chen Yan, I have to get you out." Qin Mubai said categorically.

"Hopefully, I won't trouble you......" Chen Yan frowned lightly, stared into Qin Mubai's eyes, and said solemnly.

"Don't worry." Qin Mubai smiled easily and confidently, "If I can't settle this little thing, then it's really a fool - come with me, right now!" ”