The situation at the scene of the crime is not complicated at all: this is a male corpse, probably in his fifties or sixties. The fatal wound of the corpse was obvious, the corpse was divided in two, and it was broken up to the neck. In the corpse's right hand, a blood-stained gravel was clutched. Judging by his makeup, his profession should be a homeless or a beggar.

However, after a preliminary examination, he said that the surface of this person's skin was only contaminated with floating dust and fresh soil, and there was no black layer of "oily dead skin" attached to the homeless beggar, so his identity was doubtful; Judging from the fact that the fatal wound skin is rolled, the murderer should have stabbed the deceased in the back and beheaded him by cutting his throat, which was very old-fashioned.

As for the sharp gravel that the corpse held in his right hand, it was highly consistent with the fresh wound on his right ankle. Judging from the current situation, either the thief is playing tricks and releasing a "stone" as smoke; Either the deceased himself attacked the ankle and was then killed......

However, the traces and evidence left at the scene, as well as all the doubts in this case, are from the deceased himself; As for the identity of the murderer, the intent to commit the murder, etc., etc...... At the moment, there is no clue at all!

After the on-site investigation was completed, after the master and the servant filled out the corpse sheet, Luo Yuan ordered everyone to carry the dead body to Yizhuang not far away for parking; Tomorrow morning, after the sky is bright, and then re-check the file for the second time.

But who knew that the corpse had just been carried onto the ox cart by a few poor people, but Luo Yuan suddenly shouted:

"Stop!"

Immediately, he took the torch from the blind man's hand, knelt on the ground and carefully identified it, and carefully picked up two "broken wooden strips" from under the corpse......

Luo Yuan Luo prefect, the two wooden strips of the broken fork a pair; An ordinary sandalwood hairpin appeared in front of everyone's eyes!

After Luo Yuan pondered for a long time, he immediately took off a Son of Heaven token from his waist, showed it to everyone around, waved his hand and said in a deep voice:

"The Son of Heaven decrees here, and I, in my capacity as His Majesty the Emperor of Heaven, announce that this case is completely sealed. The corpses, files, corpse sheets, and drawings were immediately incinerated together, and no one was allowed to leave the bottom behind, let alone leak the slightest rumor; If this matter spreads, including me Luo Yuan, I will be beheaded all over the house! ”

Then, Luo Yuan flicked the sleeves of his robe and jumped into the carriage, and said to his coachman:

"Purple Gold Palace!"

At this moment, Emperor Tianyou had just rested for less than two quarters of an hour; Before even the distracting thoughts in his mind were cleared, Luo Yuan held the Son of Heaven token high and rushed to the door of the imperial study. Tang Fuquan, who was napping outside the door, saw Luo Yuan hurriedly climbing the stairs and hurriedly descending to stop him; But in order to wait for him to drag Luo Yuan away, he was stopped by a light cough from Emperor Tianyou in the study......

Tang Fuquan looked worried, lowered his voice and said:

"My Lord Luo! His Majesty slept for less than half an hour...... You're ...... again. Hey......"

Luo Yuan apologized:

"Xia Guan doesn't want to drive late at night, but at the moment, state affairs are important, and I ask Tang Daban to understand Luo's difficulties......"

Tang Fuquan waved his hand helplessly, and then gently pushed open the door of the imperial study for him; Then he went to the back kitchen, wanting to prepare some calming medicine for His Majesty......

Luo Yuan lowered his head and walked into the imperial study, and he saw Emperor Tianyou dragging a thin quilt of yellow silk with both hands, just like a steamed nest, with his eyes closed and pretending to sleep.

"Shallow Creek...... What's the matter? ”

"Luo Yuan knocked on the Holy Lord... Xia Guan drove in the middle of the night, and he deserved to die......"

"Since Hua Yu started the war, I haven't been able to sleep soundly, and it has nothing to do with you. If there's anything, you can go back directly......"

"Yes...... Shen Gui, the king of Zhongshan in the secluded north, may have infiltrated Yanjing City, and his movements are unknown. ”

After finishing speaking, Luo Yuan held the broken sandalwood hairpin above his head with both hands. And Zhou Yuanqing opened one eyelid and took it in his hand to take a closer look:

"Well...... There is a hollow sandwich inside...... So where is the thing hidden in the hairpin now? ”

"Back to Your Majesty's words, this hairpin is a cheap ornament, which was originally a gift from the late Northern Shaman Li Xuanyu and decades ago. On the same day, Shen Gui visited Yanjing for the first time, and according to the previous agreement, he passed this thing on to the hands of his old friends and descendants; For many years, she didn't know that there was a sandwich in the hairpin! At this moment, presumably what Li Xuanyu had hidden in the hairpin had already fallen into the hands of Shen Gui. ”

After Zhou Yuanqing listened, he repeatedly played with these two worthless wooden hairpins; After being silent for a long time, he put this thing next to the pillow, nodded and said to Luo Yuan:

"Qianxi, according to me, maybe you are too careful...... Shen Gui's kid is more slippery than a loach, how could he sneak into Yanjing at this time? As for this hairpin, people want to quit, tigers want to quit the mountain, I estimate that he wants to repay Mrs. Zun's kindness...... Wrong! Even if the original thing is returned, how can it be repaid? Shallow Creek, where did this thing come from, you should explain it in detail, and don't let go of a single detail. ”

Listening to Luo Yuan's coherent introduction to the murder case, Emperor Tianyou, who was originally confused, became more and more sober:

"Well...... Where is the case file? ”

"It has been completely destroyed and sealed with the Son of Heaven token, Your Majesty should not worry."

After Zhou Yuanqing put his mind at ease, his eyes were empty, his hands repeatedly played with the two hairpins, and he muttered to himself at the same time:

“…… Since Shen Gui is not dead, why did he appear here and now, and even killed a beggar who was not a beggar...... The location of the crime was outside the South Gate, which means that both men came from south to north. Ding Yan, a soldier defending the city, said that he heard a cry for help and a cry of sorrow, but when he rushed over to investigate, this person had already died...... In terms of Shen Gui's skills, if he wants to kill people, it is impossible to leave him a chance to call for help...... The wound on the ankle, the bloody rubble...... I see! ”

At this moment, the great eunuch Tang Fuquan trembled and brought a vermilion lacquer tray, put four kinds of medicine cakes and a pot of soothing tea, and planned to turn around and exit the imperial study......

"Tang Fuquan, to pick the best hairpin, you don't need to consider the quality, the queen or the queen mother's ornaments are also in this list. After picking, tomorrow in the name of me, I will issue a decree to reward Mrs. Luo. Qianxi, you immediately ordered the drawbridge to be sealed, and informed Wang Zuocheng to prepare for battle. From this moment on, without my will, not a single soldier, not a single bird, nor a beast is allowed to fly out of the high walls of the capital. If what I expected is right, the mad dogs of the Worry Relief Army have already touched under my nose! It's good to come...... It's so good to come! ”

After finishing speaking, Emperor Tianyou lifted the quilt draped on his body, paced repeatedly in the imperial study, and still had words in his mouth, but he had already waved his hand to signal Luo Yuan to retreat from the errand......

Half an hour later, twenty-four Chiwu spies descended from the high wall of Yanjing South City and left the city; Twelve in the light, twelve in the dark; It was divided into three directions and six groups, and the carpet survey was carried out in three directions: due south, southeast and southwest in a fan shape.

Almost just as the group of spies in the southwest direction had slowly approached Zhuolu County, there was finally a slight abnormality.

The moon is bright and the stars are scarce, and in the depths of the dense forest, the sound of "shaking the fan" is no less than a thunderbolt on a sunny day; The three spies placed on the bright side instantly adjusted their positions, forming a triangular formation back to back with each other, and at the same time, the blades at their waists were already in their palms......

A tall, thin, handsome young man seemed to fall from the sky! While shaking the Wensheng fan with a burning bag, he said to the three of them with a smile:

"The mountain road is not easy to walk, so the people don't have to work hard to "go around their backs"! If I had tried to do it, you would have died a hundred times! I'll just say a few words today, and I'll leave as soon as I finish it......"

Speaking of this, Shen Gui raised his right hand and threw out a delicate and weird "wooden device":

"All the siege equipment of the Nankang Army has such a "gadget"! How much you can take out depends on your own creation! In addition, after you return to Beijing to regain your sight, you will tell Mr. Shui Zhu for me: The younger generation Shen Gui, say goodbye to you. ”

After finishing speaking, Shen Gui closed the fan, and with a wave of the sleeves of his robe, he disappeared without a trace......

And the first Chiwu spy took the delicate wooden device thrown by Shen Gui, and stroked the word "Heavenly Machine" embossed on it, thoughtful......

Since twenty years ago, the Chiwu spies under the command of the Four Princes have paid special attention to Shen Gui, the "outlier" of shamanism.

Between Nankang and Youbei, there are no eight poles at all; Therefore, Di Ting has basically adopted an attitude of indifference to the big and small affairs of shamanism; However, the Northern Yan Dynasty lived next to these foreign barbarians, and for many years there was no interruption in friction and mutual conquest, and they all accumulated blood debts from each other. For Beiyan, it will never let Youbei gradually grow bigger!

Therefore, the spy from Chiwu has a sufficient estimate of Shen Guiqi's person. And Shen Gui suddenly appeared tonight, said a few inexplicable words, and suddenly disappeared; It can be said that there is no distinction between friend and foe, and there is no detection of truth and falsehood. But these red black spies did not dare to turn a deaf ear......

An arrow chirping through the night sky with the sound of birdsong; A quarter of an hour later, twenty-four Chiwu spies reunited north of Zhuolu County. Sure enough, the other two people were also stopped halfway at the same time; The two groups of people in the south met a thin man whose feet did not touch the ground and his eyes were wandering; The two groups of people in the southeast met a little fat man like Maitreya Buddha, who spoke kindly and smiled......

And the caliber and speech of these three people are completely consistent.

The midsummer is short, and the sky is already a little blue-gray. And these old spies have long developed the habit of acting at the right time and making their own decisions. And the nature of the work of the spy is like a white horse passing through a gap, fleeting; With the current level of urgency, it is simply too late to go back to Yanjing to ask for an order and then go back to act......

So, after a short discussion, the people of Chiwu jointly decided on the next plan of action.

They wanted to take advantage of the fact that the sky was not yet bright, and try to surprise attack the camp of the Relief Army - Zhuolu County according to Shen Gui's words. If Shen Gui hadn't lied and stole this small wooden device, he would have been able to change the tide of the battle; No matter what the cost, it's worth a try!

Even if the whole army is wiped out, it will only be twenty-four lives! His family and children are now in Yanjing City!