In the Qinzheng Palace, the old Emperor Liang was tall, and there was an old chamberlain standing beside him; King Ling, Yan Di, Lin Kun, and Mu Jin are lined up on both sides.

"Yun Rui, has there been a result of this investigation?"

"Returning to the Emperor: The Chinese New Year's Eve bloody case has been basically investigated, and Dong Bi and Li Chen committed suicide at all!"

Old Emperor Liang raised two gray eyebrows: "How can this be explained?" ”

"In this regard, let's leave it to Dali Temple to explain!"

After King Ling finished speaking, Mu Jin stood up and said respectfully: "Back to Your Majesty, during the investigation of the scene that day, the dog and the captain Yan found suspicious marks left in the snow in the courtyard, and also found obvious water stains on the wound on the chest of one of the corpses, so after searching the inn and interrogating the shopkeeper and his wife, he found a lattice that had been divided into three parts in the utility room of the couple. The slot was given to the shopkeeper by the deceased the day before the crime. ”

"What? What the? The more I listened, the more confused I became! Emperor Liang was a little angry.

"Your Majesty, the most common thing used for forging is a sword, and a few days before Chinese New Year's Eve, it happened to be snowing heavily in the capital, Dong Bi was originally a blacksmith with good skills, the two used dripping water into ice to forge a sword, Dong Bi used this ice knife to kill and dismember Li Chen, and then cut off one of his legs with the ice knife, it should be too painful or the ice blade was broken, he did not continue to harm himself, but chose to stab himself in the chest to end his life. This explains that the room is locked from the inside, with no sign of entering from the outside at all; At the same time, the murder weapon could not be found at the scene and in the surrounding area, the puddle of water stains left on Dong Bi's chest and back, the suspicious marks left in the yard, all of them. ”

Emperor Liang was quite surprised: "According to what you say, it is indeed a reasonable explanation, why do they want to put such a game to kill themselves?" What is the purpose? ”

"Father, as for the reason, let the sons and daughters explain. When Erchen investigated the case, he found that the two were originally subordinate to the Xuanjia Army, and the two came to the Ping'an Army when his father decided to establish the prince's subordinate army. Just a few days before Chinese New Year's Eve, when the two deliberately pretended to drink and fight and violated military rules and were locked up, they came to steal the beams and change the pillars, sneaked out of the barracks and came to the capital, completing all the plans that Master Mu said before. When Erchen searched the objects they left behind, he found the portrait of Pingzhou and Dengzhou Prefecture Mu Lu Yanhui, so Erchen rushed to Pingzhou, but before investigating the case, he accidentally found that Lu Yanhui set up a bureau to deal with the lieutenant sent by the fourth brother to Pingzhou to recruit soldiers and wanted to suppress the turmoil in the quarry, and the source of the turmoil was the deduction of wages. When Erchen checked the accounts, he found that Lu Yanhui had lied about the amount of stones, and the ink-greedy stones were sold to a merchant, and the merchant handed over ninety percent of the silver taels from the sale of stones to Lu Yanhui! ”

"What!" Emperor Liang stood up angrily and scolded: "What a bold man, he dares to sell stones privately!" Can you check it? ”

"Back to my father, the human and material evidence is there, the two accounts have been sent to Dali Temple, and Lu Yanhui and Wu Danian have also been imprisoned in the cell of Dali Temple."

"Then you can search for the silver taels that are greedy for ink?"

"This ...... After searching Lu Yanhui's mansion and Wu Danian's mansion, Erchen did not find the silver taels recorded in the account book, but found the account book of Wu's transaction in Wu Danian's house, and the number recorded was not different from the number of stones that Lu Yanhui greedy for ink. ”

"What old family?"

"This retainer hasn't been found out yet."

"We must find out where the silver two went! Yunrui's trip has been fruitful, but it is also hard! ”

"It's a blessing to be able to share the worries of my father!"

"Lin Kun!"

"The minister is here!"

"Interrogate Lu Yanhui immediately, and sentence him together with the Criminal Department, he must confess truthfully, as long as he does not die, any means can be used!"

Although Lin Kun hesitated, he still agreed.

"I must have found out where the silver two went, and there was no one behind him! Yun Rui, this case is still up to you! ”

"Yes! Sons obey! However, Father Emperor, the Chinese New Year's Eve bloody case has not yet finished speaking. ”

"Then go ahead."

"The sons believed that they committed suicide on Chinese New Year's Eve in order to attract the attention of the imperial court so that the imperial court could send someone to investigate the matter, and they had already planned to point the clues all the way to Lü Yanhui. Both of them are from Pingzhou, and they were all victimized by Lu Yanhui and fled from their hometown before they joined the Xuanjia Army, and they were lowly and powerless to fight against Lu Yanhui, so they chose this way to expose Lu Yanhui's conspiracy! ”

"The Chinese New Year's Eve bloody case is closed, and Shu needs to know the whereabouts of those silver two."

"Yes, Lu Yanhui is just a state pastor, and he can covet such a huge amount of stone in a few years, if no one is behind his back, I am afraid that it will not be possible, and the delivery of stones and the settlement of silver have always been in the hands of the household department." King Ling paused when he said this, and raised his eyes to see Emperor Liang's reaction. Emperor Liang seemed to encourage, "No matter who it is, don't wronged good people, and never let go of the people behind the scenes, you must find out to me!" ”

"Sons obey orders!"

Walking out of the Qinzheng Palace, Lin Kun asked, "Will His Royal Highness King Ling go to Dali Temple?" ”

King Ling waved his hand, "This king is going to the inner palace to ask for peace for his mother, Dali Temple will interrogate Lu Yanhui first", and he ignored Lin Kun and left.

Seeing King Ling leave, Mu Jin said: "This case involves the household department, and I am afraid that there will be obstacles on the side of the East Palace." ”

"If this case is okay so far, I'm afraid that more people and things will be implicated, and then it will be even more difficult for you and me......." Lin Kun sighed.

Compared with the leisure of King Ling, the prince's mansion is filled with a tense atmosphere. The prince was pacing back and forth in the study at the moment, his brows furrowed, his forehead slightly sweating, and he fidgeted anxiously.

"Your Highness, drink some ginseng soup, I just boiled it." The crown princess put a soup bowl on the table and looked at her husband worriedly.

"How to be in the mood for soup! I don't know what the news is in the palace! ”

"......."

"Your Highness!"

The old man of the Prince's Mansion gently pushed open the door and walked in with his head down, "There is news from the palace!" ”

"Don't sell it, say it quickly!"

"King Ling has returned to Beijing a few days ago, Lu Yanhui has become a prisoner under the steps of Dali Temple, today King Ling has entered the palace to meet him, I heard that the emperor has allowed King Ling to interrogate Lu Yanhui to thoroughly investigate the quarrying case."

The prince's face changed from ruddy when he was anxious to snow-white in an instant, and the process was clearly seen by the crown princess: "Your Highness! ”

"This ...... How good is that? If Lu Yanhui can't resist the move, the palace will ...... Just ......."

"Your Highness! It's not time to despair yet! ”

"Xiru, do you have a way?"

"Your Highness, can Lu Yan keep this person's mouth? Can you withstand interrogation? ”

"This ......"

"Back to the crown princess, the old slave has been dealing with Lu Yanhui for many years, this person's greed for ink and stones, and the kung fu of deceiving the superior is superior, but when it comes to character, it is inferior."

"At the beginning, the prince used him for the sake of him sitting in Pingzhou, but now he can only lose the car to protect the handsome!" The crown princess said firmly, "Your Highness doesn't have to worry, getting rid of Lu Yanhui as soon as possible can ensure that Your Highness will not be implicated, the military has a concubine's mother's house, Your Highness can rest assured!" ”

Leaving Yue Yu and returning to the capital, Xuan Shaoning came back with merit, and at the beginning of the passionate promise to recruit soldiers, it is estimated that no one believed that he could complete it, at this moment standing in front of the Yu Palace, Xuan Shaoning's heart was not excited because of meritorious service, but there was a trace of worry hidden somewhere in his heart, like feeling an itch, but he couldn't scratch the right place.

"Back to King Yu, a total of 20,000 young adults have been recruited from Pingzhou this time!"

"Well done! I decided to enter the palace on a certain day, on the one hand, to ask for credit for you, and on the other hand, to bid farewell to my father and leave Beijing. ”

"Thank you King Yu for your love, but the last general still thinks that the merit will be waived, after all, the last general killed the court official, and it is already a blessing to be able to offset the merits."

"Speaking of Lu Yanhui's case, I have also heard about it, but I didn't expect you to be involved, but fortunately, King Ling did not tell his father about your killing of Zhang Shisan, and now he is doing his best to track down the corruption case in the quarry."

"Your Highness......"

Seeing King Yu looking at him with blazing eyes, he couldn't say anything when the words came to his mouth.

"Okay, you've worked hard for more than a month, I'll give you three days off, so let's rest."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

A burst of pain pulled Xuan Shaoning back to reality from his chaotic thoughts, and when he looked down, he saw that someone had thrown stones at him.

"Who is so bold!"

"Yo, Captain Xuan is so powerful!"

Without looking back, Xuan Shaoning could already hear who the voice was, and couldn't help but smile at the corners of his mouth, "It turned out to be Lord Xiao, disrespectful and disrespectful." As expected, it was Xiao Moyan who came, and there were Yan Keran and Mu Qingyuan together.

"I wonder if Captain Xuan can enjoy his face and wait for me to have a cup of tea?" It was Yan Keran who spoke.

"Since it was Captain Yan's invitation, how dare you refuse, please!" Xuan Shaoning made a gesture of please.

"Three adults, why don't you tell me where to go, so that I, the ordinary people, can lead the way?" Mu Qingyuan's words amused everyone.

"Needless to say, of course it's Leng Yue Zhai." Xiao Moyan smiled meaningfully.

The four of them came to Leng Yuezhai, went up to the second floor familiarly, and walked directly into the most private room without greeting. Xiao Moyan hissed, opened the sliding door, and saw that pastries and tea had been placed on the coffee table.

"Hey, Wantong is really getting more and more clever, she can expect us to come today, and even the pastries and tea are ready!" Xiao Moyan sat down unceremoniously, raised his hand and picked up a piece of pastry and put it in his mouth, "It's still my favorite green jade cake."

"Shut up!"

This sound not only made Xiao Moyan suddenly stop the movement in his hand, and half of the green jade cake had already been sent into his mouth, but what was even more frightened was the three people standing at the door, because this sound came from behind them. Xuan Shaoning and Yan Keran reacted very quickly, and at the same time they turned around and saw Qi Wantong dressed in purple, with a white lining revealing a side of the towering snow-white breast, a blue cloud spread out on the shoulders, and only a white hosta pinned to the bun was used, which was elegant and had a different style.

"Wantong, when did you appear behind us, we didn't even notice it at all!" Mu Qingyuan, who was the slowest to respond, was the first to ask.

"If we want to start, I'm afraid that the three of you will be crippled if you don't die, but you are a coincidence, so I won't have to tell you again. Qi Wantong pushed the three of them away and walked into the room.

"What do you mean? Are you looking for something with us? Xiao Moyan unwillingly put the second half of the green jade crisp into his mouth and asked.

"Just know how to eat, look who's coming!" Qi Wantong flashed her body, and the eyes of the four looked towards the staircase together, only to see a young man dressed in a blue and white robe, moon-white embroidered cyan moire trousers, blue and white boots, and the green silk was only tied with a white cloth belt, and he was followed by a handsome boy, his hair was braided high, his face was white and flawless, and the gray robe was tightly attached to his body, revealing his exquisite figure.

"Senior Brother Shen!" Everyone recognized the person at first glance as Shen Ming from Qingshan Academy. Just when everyone was paying attention to Shen Ming, Xuan Shaoning had already focused on that son.

"Luo Yao?"

"That's right, it's me!" When Gongzi heard Xuan Shaoning call out his name, he couldn't hide his joy and said, "It's been three months since I said goodbye to Annan last time. ”

"Luo Yao!" Xiao Moyan rushed out, stretched out his hand and held Bai Luoyao's arms, "We haven't seen each other for too long, I really didn't expect you to come to the capital, remember me, I'm Moyan!" ”

"Remember, remember! We've been classmates for seven years, and we've been separated for two years, and I won't forget you! ”

"Haha, I'm so happy that you can come, Luo Yao, I'm ......."

"Lord Xiao, how long are you going to stand at the top of this staircase and shout? Will you not stop until all my guests come and ask what is going on? Qi Wantong broke Xiao Moyan's hands, took Bai Luoyao and entered the private room.

"Hahaha" Yan Keran laughed and walked in with Xuan Shaoning and Mu Qingyuan, Xiao Mo said nothing, and everyone had to follow.

"Senior Brother Shen, when you go out of the mountain this time, could it be that something happened to Qingshan Academy?" Xuan Shaoning asked with great concern.

Shen Ming sat down cross-legged, his face calm, "It's not that there is something wrong with the academy, but before the New Year's Festival, Kexin went back to the academy to visit the master, and said by the way that you may have encountered the person in the fraud case who transferred the contract, and it happened that a few days later, Luo Yao sent this year's new medicinal materials to the academy, I was looking at the portrait of Wu Zhe who was found before, but I never thought that Luo Yao had actually seen this person." ”

"That's right, I did see this person at the border of Daliang and Donghu, the reason why I have an impression is because that day our Bai family's car transporting medicinal materials was temporarily placed on the side of the road, but it was directly damaged by a group of people, this scene happened to be seen by me, so I stepped forward to theorize, and the leader is this person, his face of a southern gentleman was originally very conspicuous at the border, but I didn't expect the temper to be very impulsive, not reasonable at all, that day we Bai family porter number is not many, and the other party is overwhelming, and it is not good for us to make trouble, so I have to endure it, As the convoy was leaving, I noticed that they were carrying stone. ”

"Stone?" With the experience in Pingzhou, as soon as he heard this word, Xuan Shaoning was immediately alert, "Can you see the logo of the car body clearly?" ”

"Those cars are completely unmarked." Bai Luoyao said affirmatively.

"I'll just say that I was not wrong in Yaojue Temple that day!" Yan Keran excitedly continued, "It seems that Wu Zhe has really been replaced, the fraud case was hand-picked by the emperor, and there are even people who dare to downgrade the offender under his nose, it seems that the power of the people behind this is definitely not simple." ”

Xiao Moyan widened his eyes, "Looking at the capital, I'm afraid there are few people who can have the ability, right?" ”

"It's either a feudal official or a relative of the emperor!" Mu Qingyuan answered.

"Don't speculate yet," Shen Ming interrupted Mu Qingyuan's words, "Combined with the information that several of you have gotten, it seems that this matter of transferring prisoners should be true, no matter which side of the force, one thing is clear, that is, it is definitely not as simple as saving the life of a prisoner." ”

"I have investigated, Wu Zhe is the son of Wu Danian, the richest man in Dingdu County, the Wu family is a big family in Dingdu, and they have been doing business for decades, and now they are involved in the business of silk, porcelain, medicinal materials, and stones, which can be regarded as a rich party in our Daliang." Bai Luoyao continued to add.

"Wu Danian? You say that the father of Wu Zhe is Wu Danian? Xuan Shaoning stared at Bai Luoyao with straight eyes, and repeatedly asked for confirmation. Everyone was shocked by Xuan Shaoning's abnormal behavior, but Shen Ming was the first to come back to his senses, "Shaoning, do you know Wu Danian?" ”

"I heard this name for the first time in Pingzhou a few days ago" Then, Xuan Shaoning recounted what happened in Pingzhou in a complicated and concise manner, and the people present suddenly realized.

That is to say, although Wu Danian is rich, but after all, he is only a businessman, although he is rich but not expensive, he wants his son to gain fame, but unfortunately this Wu Zhe must not be the material for studying, so Wu Danian tried every means to collude with Lu Yanhui to help him trade ink-greedy stones. But Lu Yanhui couldn't help Wu Danian in the imperial examination, and the fraud in the imperial examination was exposed, his son was imprisoned and sentenced to beheading, and it was very difficult to change his son with a fake and real transfer, which is not hard enough to have a court background. Qi Wantong told the beginning and end of the whole thing, but a very important link was missing in the middle.

"Now our conjecture is still short of evidence to prove, and the missing link in the middle needs to be solved by Wu Zhe himself." Shen Ming said solemnly.

Qi Wantong asked, "Senior Brother Shen, what are your plans?" ”

"I plan to go to the Donghu border, it is the business of Dali Temple to arrest the criminals, and once our conjecture is confirmed, Dali Temple will definitely not be able to escape responsibility." Shen Ming said to Mu Qingyuan, "Then Wu Zhe is so ruthless, sooner or later he will be recognized, rather than waiting to be passive at that time, it is better to take the initiative." ”

"Thank you Senior Brother Shen, my vigilance was not enough at the beginning, I should have thought of this follow-up possibility, but I have been negligent for so long, I have to find out about this matter, I will be with Senior Brother!" Mu Qingyuan asked seriously.

"I'm going too!" Xuan Shaoning said firmly, "King Yu has granted me a vacation, I want to find out." ”

"Shaoning, don't meddle in this matter, the King of Ling is responsible for the greedy ink stone case, and it has nothing to do with you after all!" Xiao Moyan was very puzzled by Xuan Shaoning's persistence.

"But I have personally experienced the case of fraud in the imperial examination and the case of embezzlement of ink and stones, and at this time, it is precisely the middle link that has a clue, and I can't sleep well if I don't know it!" In the face of Xuan Shaoning's insistence, Yan Keran supported: "Shaoning is such a person, he was like this when he was in Qingshan Academy before, since King Yu has allowed it, then go, I am duty, otherwise I really want to go with you." ”

"I'll show you the way!" Bai Luoyao looked at Xuan Shaoning and said, "After all, I have been to the border of Donghu, and I am a pharmaceutical merchant, so my identity is reasonable and it is not easy to arouse the suspicion of others." ”

"Then it's decided, we'll leave tomorrow!"