In the next few days, Xiao Fan calmly began to practice the slingshot stunt, in order to achieve the effect of excellence, he deliberately dug up the damp soil, and then kneaded the soil into a mud pill, put it in the sun to dry, this became the bullet of the slingshot, the dried soil formed a hard ball, after shooting out, the power was great, and the mud pill made a burst sound after contact with the target, and raised a burst of palpitating dust, after hitting, not only can make people break their tendons and fractures, its smoke effect can also give people a great visual impact.

It's a pity that Xiao Fan's slingshot stunt really can't be on the table, no, he can't be on the table or praise him too much, in fact, the mud pellet in his hand is shot out, and the head is very weird, the gods don't know where it will hit, and he himself doesn't know, so every time Xiao Fan practices the slingshot, there is no one in the dozens of zhang radius with him as the center of the circle, no matter people, animals, shrimps and crabs, even fleas can't be found.

The slingshot has been practiced to this level, which is unprecedented.

Xiao Fan himself practiced happily, turning a blind eye to the panicked fear of the people under the Xiao Mansion, for him, it is not bad to learn one more skill, the ancestor once said a very reasonable sentence: art is not pressing.

In the afternoon, a decree came from the palace, and His Majesty summoned him to announce Xiao Fan into the palace.

Xiao Fan didn't dare to slack off, hurriedly put on his official uniform, and went to the palace gate.

In the Wuying Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang still looked tired, his eyelids drooped, and he quietly watched Xiao Fan bow to him respectfully.

"Get up." Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was hoarse, like a lone lamp that was about to run out of oil, trying to keep himself from extinguishing. Although he looks like an old man who is dying of life, but between his eyebrows, he still releases a powerful majesty, which makes Xiao Fan feel awe from the bottom of his heart, the old man in front of him may no longer be young or healthy, but no one can deny that as long as he lives, he is a lion who must not be provoked, no matter how old the lion is, it is also a lion, and the beasts only have the share of prostrate submission in front of him.

Zhu Yuanzhang's wheezing voice was relatively short, the phlegm in his throat was hissing, he raised his eyes slightly, and also looked at Xiao Fan.

Zhu Yuanzhang has never understood this young man.

At the age of twenty, he acted and spoke cautiously, without the slightest hint of the young man's sharp edge, as if what was hidden under his young skin was a heart that was more vicissitudes than a centenarian. Zhu Yuanzhang has always wanted to know how many strange thoughts this young man has hidden in his head, and what kind of unruly and uninhibited soul he looks like under his seemingly respectful appearance.

Zhu Yuanzhang wants to know even more, such a courtier, can the weak Zhu Yunwen firmly control him in the future? Can you control him well?

Zhu Yunwen had admonished him several times about the disadvantages of the vassal king, and his words all showed his urgency to cut the domain, and Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent.

The disadvantages of the vassal king took root in his heart, and Zhu Yuanzhang gradually began to pay attention to it, but the degree of attention was far lower than that of foreign ministers.

For him, whether to cut the feudal domain is an internal matter of his Zhu family, although this matter needs to be solved, but there is no need to rush for a while, it needs a long brewing, but also needs a perfect plan, which does not hurt the feelings of the prince and does not shake the country,—— governing a big country is like cooking a small fresh, especially the huge measure of cutting the feudal domain that shocks the world, it needs to be more careful, if you want to hurry, you will not achieve it, and things will be reversed.

Maybe even Xiao Fan himself doesn't know, Zhu Yuanzhang actually knows his words and deeds clearly, he has instigated Zhu Yunwen many times in the open and in secret, and has a grudge with the fourth prince Zhu Di, Huang Zicheng and other things, Zhu Yuanzhang saw it in his eyes, but never mentioned it to anyone.

From the emperor's point of view, Zhu Yuanzhang's most taboo is that the courtiers collude in private and live in harmony, which is definitely a threat to the monarchy, but Xiao Fan has done a good job, offending people everywhere in the court, resenting people everywhere, and tossing himself into a disgusting thing that his grandmother does not love his uncle and uncle.

Zhu Yuanzhang likes such a courtier too much, and a minister with many enemies is a good minister. Xiao Fan...... Definitely a good minister.

This is also the main reason why Xiao Fan has acted mischiefly many times, and Zhu Yuanzhang still tolerates or even favors him.

Seeing Xiao Fan standing up and standing in front of the dragon case with a respectful expression, the corners of Zhu Yuanzhang's wrinkled mouth quietly hooked up a smile.

"Xiao Aiqing ......"

"The minister is here."

"Geng Xuan, the son of the Marquis of Changxing, was seriously injured, can there be progress in this case?"

Geng Bingwen recently said that he had entered the palace many times, and every time he cried in front of the palace about his son's tragic experience, begging Zhu Yuanzhang to make decisions for him, Zhu Yuanzhang was so annoyed that he had to summon Xiao Fan into the palace to ask.

Xiao Fan's eyebrows jumped, and his expression was still calm: "Back to Your Majesty, this case is quite tricky, the perpetrator took advantage of the night to kidnap Geng Xuan out of Geng's mansion, and beat him brutally outside the walls of Geng's mansion, the plot is so bad, the means are cruel, it is really mad, outrageous, the minister did not dare to slack off after receiving the order, after non-stop deliberation and judgment day and night, he can finally draw a conclusion......

Zhu Yuanzhang heard the interest, he leaned forward slightly, looked at Xiao Fan, and said slowly: "What conclusion?" ”

Xiao Fan's face remained unchanged, and he said calmly: "...... To be sure, the murderer ...... He's a bad guy. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang's face gradually turned blue: "............"

In the hall, the two monarchs and ministers were silent for a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang's tone contained anger, and he said slowly: "This is your conclusion?" ”

Xiao Fan listened to Zhu Yuanzhang's bad tone, and hurriedly said in a panic: "Your Majesty, there is really no clue about this case, the minister has been investigating it night and night, and he has investigated the people who have grudged with Changxing Marquis and his son Geng Xuan in the past, and still finds nothing, this case is ...... It seems to have become a headless unsolved case......"

Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly: "I don't believe it, someone at the foot of the Son of Heaven did such a bold thing, and he didn't leave any clues, and there was no headless unsolved case?" Hum! I'm afraid that you Jinyi Wei is incompetent, right? ”

Xiao Fan hurriedly knelt down and said in a trembling voice: "Minister...... Ten thousand deaths! ”

Zhu Yuanzhang's vicissitudes of life almost scraped a layer of frost, and he said in a cold tone: "If you have no clue, you can't catch the murderer, so why don't you stop this matter?" Where is the Marquis of Changxing, how can I explain to him? ”

Xiao Fan sighed in his heart, the real murderer is standing in front of you at this moment, discussing with you how to arrest the murderer...... Xiao Fan thought for a while and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, although it is very difficult to solve the case, if Your Majesty wants to give Changxing Hou an explanation, there is actually a way......

Zhu Yuanzhang's body suddenly leaned forward slightly, and said movingly: "Oh? How to explain to Changxinghou? Do you have a solution? ”

Xiao Fan was silent for a moment, then looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, and said slowly: "...... We can proclaim to the whole country and condemn the murderer's cruel behavior in stern terms, so that the murderer will feel uneasy on his conscience, or...... Ask the Taoist priest to do the trick and draw a circle to curse the murderer. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang: "............"

In the Wuying Palace, there was silence among the monarchs and ministers again...... For a long time...... Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly said with a pleasant face: "Xiao Fan, don't you think this method is too child's play?" ”

Xiao Fan thought about it, and finally nodded and sighed: "...... It's a bit of a joke indeed. ”

"Bang!"

Zhu Yuanzhang turned his face faster than he turned a book, his old face instantly turned blue, he was furious, slapped the dragon case fiercely, and roared hard: "Bastard thing!" If you know it's child's play, you will find out the murderer for me! Remember, I'm looking for a murderer! Murderer! Not condemn, and don't curse! I want his life! ”

"Panic! The minister is guilty! ”

Zhu Yuanzhang was still furious, panting and said: "It's been so many days since the case happened, why don't you have a clue at all?" Jinyiwei is so useless, what is the use of me asking you for these wine bags and rice bags? You...... You said! What have you been doing these days? Do? ”

"Minister...... The minister is practicing the slingshot...... Xiao Fan wiped his sweat in fear, thought about it, and hurriedly added: "...... In order to protect my Ming Dynasty, I practiced my slingshot skills......"

Zhu Yuanzhang: "............"

........................ "Get out!" Get out! Zhu Yuanzhang burst out a few words from between his teeth, he stared at Xiao Fan with a blue face, his eyes turned red, and he gritted his teeth and said, "...... Xiao Fan, I will limit you to within five days, solve this case, and arrest the murderer, whether he is dead or alive! Otherwise, I will treat you as a murderer and kill you alive! Did you hear that? ”

Xiao Fan bowed in a panic and said, "The minister's order!" ”

"Get out!"

Watching Xiao Fan escape from the Wuying Hall with his head in his arms, Zhu Yuanzhang slapped the dragon case indignantly.

"What a bastard!"

Standing in front of the dragon case and pacing back and forth for a few steps, Zhu Yuanzhang's angry mood gradually calmed down, he smacked his mouth, and suddenly thought about it.

“…… Wounding Geng Xuan, but not killing him, and throwing him in the thatched house of Geng's mansion, such a shady and inferior method, how can the more I think about it, the more I feel that it is the same as Xiao Fan's consistent behavior? ”

Xiao Fan frowned, and when he walked out of the palace gate in embarrassment, his expression was very angry.

has to be forgiving and forgiving, why does Lao Zhu always shout to catch the murderer? Didn't you just beat that kid from the Geng family? Didn't kill him, just lying in bed for a few months, how big of a deal could it be? The country is so big, there are so many state and government affairs to deal with, and it is unreasonable to keep holding on to a small matter?

Xiao Fan looked up at the sky and sighed sadly.

With such a small emperor, it is not easy to be a courtier!

What's next?

Find out the murderer!

Now the big question is: where to find the murderer? Lao Zhu limited him to solve the case within five days, which means that Xiao Fan must find the murderer within five days, in other words, Xiao Fan must find a scapegoat within five days and bear the charge of beating Geng Xuan on his behalf.

This sheep ...... It's hard to find.

After returning to the Yamen of Jinyiwei Town, Xiao Fan called Cao Yi.

"Brother Cao, come with me."

"Where's the adult?"

"Go to the Changxing Marquis Mansion, let's investigate the case and find out the murderer who injured Geng Xuan!" Xiao Fan said with a righteous face.

Cao Yi's expression suddenly became extremely strange, and at the same time, he secretly admired it in his heart.

Brother Xiao's official fortune is prosperous and soaring, and a person's success always has a certain reason. Just rely on Xiao Fan's acting skills, this expression, and this cheekiness...... It's unreasonable not to be promoted.

"Brother Cao, let's catch the murderer, not the annihilation, can your expression be normal?" Xiao Fan's face did not change, as if nothing happened.

Cao Yi looked left and right, and when he saw that there was no one around, he couldn't help but whisper: "My lord, but, but...... The real murderer ......"

Xiao Fan immediately took over his words and said awe-inspiringly: "That's right! The real murderer is to be investigated! Without investigation, there is no right to speak, so we must go to the Changxing Marquis Mansion to find out what is going on, and see who dares to injure the son of the Marquis of Changxing and destroy the happy marriage between Geng Xuan and the county lord of Jiangdu......"

Cao Yi was stunned and looked at Xiao Fan's righteous and awe-inspiring appearance, and couldn't help but admire it in his heart. - How cheeky does it take to have such a righteous and shameless voice?

Xiao Fan said with a solemn expression: "Brother Cao, since you eat Junlu, you should worry about the king, Your Majesty will strictly investigate and handle this case, you and I should do our best to handle it, we must catch the murderer who beat people, Lang Lang Qiankun, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, there is no royal law to ......"

Cao Yi opened his mouth for a long time, his eyes straightened, and after a while, he sighed: "I really didn't expect that my lord would be such a person full of a sense of justice, when you were the son-in-law of the Chen family in Jiangpu County before, if I understood your personality, you would definitely not be able to come to Beijing, let alone be an official......

"Why?"

"You must have been beaten to death by me."

In order to show the world that he was not a cold-blooded emperor who brutally killed the founding heroes, Zhu Yuanzhang specially gave Geng Bingwen, the Marquis of Changxing, a mansion to show his holy grace.

It's just that everyone in the world knows that the so-called founding heroes, those who have been killed, those who have died of illness, and now only Geng Bingwen has survived.

Of course, Geng Bingwen, Marquis of Changxing, knew better in his heart that the reason why he was able to escape Zhu Yuanzhang's butcher's knife was because of his relatively mediocre military talent, and the generals who were good at attacking cities and plundering land were all killed by Zhu Yuanzhang for a reason, fortunately, Geng Bingwen was not good at attacking on the battlefield, he was only good at defense.

A military general who can only defend militarily will not pose a threat to the ruler.

So Geng Bingwen survived, and he lived very well, since Zhu Yuanzhang didn't kill him, of course, he had to double his grace to show that the Son of Heaven was not a cruel tyrant who was mean and unkind, and the significance of Geng Bingwen's survival was to a greater extent, which was equivalent to showing the kindness of the Son of Heaven to the people of the world.

Geng Bingwen, Marquis of Changxing, also understands this, so he is more careful than any meritorious minister, good at observing words and feelings, knowing how to advance and retreat in a measured manner, not fighting when he should fight, retreating thousands of miles when he should retreat, even if he is wronged, he will never say anything, which is another important reason why he can survive.

Therefore, when Xiao Fan and Cao Yi led a few hundred households in brocade clothes to the door, Geng Bingwen did not stand up because he was the founding military general Marquis of Qinfeng, but greeted him out of the mansion in person with a courteous attitude, and even invited Xiao Fan and others into the Hou Mansion with a little humility in politeness.

Geng Bingwen was dressed in gray civilian clothes, looking very simple and low-key, in his sixties, with gray hair, gray beard, his face was dark due to the perennial battle, and a pair of cloudy eyes showed the vicissitudes of old age from time to time. Although his beloved son was inexplicably beaten and seriously injured and thrown in the thatched house, he was still able to maintain the grace of the Hou Ye when facing Xiao Fan, and there was only a faint sadness and anger in his expression.

After inviting Xiao Fan and Cao Yi to sit down in the inner hall of the Hou Mansion, Geng Bingwen sighed before speaking.

"Lord Xiao, Cao Qianhu, Your Majesty ordered the two of you to investigate the case of the dog being beaten, it is really the Son of Heaven, the old minister here has thanked the Son of Heaven in advance, and thanked the two adults."

After saying that, Geng Bingwen stood up and slammed Xiao Fan and Cao Yi to the ground with a solemn expression.

Xiao Fan was so frightened that he almost jumped up, and hurriedly hugged Geng Bingwen and said, "Hou Ye is polite, how dare the lower officials accept Hou Ye's courtesy?" Hou Ye was tormented. ”

Geng Bingwen sighed for a long time, and said with an obscure expression: "The old man's family is unfortunate, the dog suffered this disaster for no reason, and I don't know which bastard who killed a thousand knives did it, the Son of Heaven is acting so rampantly, it is simply a kingless law!" ”

Xiao Fan and Cao Yi laughed dryly.

"If this villain is caught, he should be cut with a thousand knives and ten thousand knives, and the old man will ask the Son of Heaven to cut off the eggs of the villain and feed them to the dogs, so as to eliminate the hatred in the old man's heart!" Geng Bingwen said as he spoke, his old face gradually filled with anger.

Xiao Fan and Cao Yi wiped their sweat, and the two of them cocked Erlang's legs together, clamped their legs tightly...... "What's wrong with the two adults?" Geng Bingwen looked at Xiao Fan and Cao Yi, who looked unnatural, and asked puzzledly.

“…… Urgency! The two of them said in unison, and then looked at each other again, their eyes full of relief.

is worthy of being a good brother, and even the nonsense is so tacit.

"The old man took two people to the toilet......"

"Ahh Don't use it for the time being, Hou Ye, don't be polite, let's talk about Ling Lang being beaten, let's uncover the curse first, if you take the murderer, you must inform Hou Ye, and ask Hou Ye to personally use his fists and kicks on the murderer......"

Geng Bingwen sighed again and said: "According to what the dog later said, that night, an unknown man in black avoided the family guard who patrolled the night, sneaked into his bedroom, and then put a knife against his neck, asking him if he wanted to be beaten or wanted to be knifed, the dog was controlled, so he said that he wanted to be beaten......"

Xiao Fan groaned: "In this way, the beating that Ling Lang received was voluntarily taken by him......"

Cao Yi hurriedly coughed loudly a few times, and gestured with his eyes, Xiao Fan turned his head to see that Geng Bingwen had a displeased look on his face.

"Lord Xiao, when he was coerced, in order to survive, not to arouse the murderer's murderous heart, everyone understands hypocrisy and wrongdoing, who is willing to be beaten when he is full?"

"Ahem, the lower official lost his words, Master Hou, please continue to ......"

Geng Bingwen glared at him dissatisfied, and then said, "...... Later, the dog was knocked unconscious by the man in black, and when he woke up again, he found that he had been violently assaulted outside the wall to the west of the house, and he was woken up by the pain and fainted again, and so on several times......"

Geng Bingwen's expression was already full of anger after he finished speaking.

Xiao Fan's face was full of pain: "Ling Lang is really pitiful......"

Cao Yi sighed: "Yes......"

“…… Ling Lang's vitality is also tenacious. ”

"yes......"

"The murderer only beat him, but did not kill him, which shows ...... The murderer's conscience has not yet been completely extinguished. Xiao Fan concluded in an authoritative tone.

Cao Yi hurriedly echoed: "Yes, yes, the murderer must be a murderer with a conscience, the kind of ...... that can be saved."

Xiao Fan smiled and arched his hand towards Geng Bingwen, and said, "Ling Lang met such a kind murderer, and he picked up a life, happy event, Hou Ye, this is a happy event!" ”

Cao Yi nodded: "Such a kind-hearted murderer with such a simple heart should be rewarded ......"

"Exactly!"

…………………… After an embarrassing silence, Geng Bingwen glared at Xiao Fan and Cao Yi with a blue face, and said coldly: "Have you finished speaking?" ”

"Uh...... That's it. Xiao Fan and Cao Yi looked gloomy.

"Humph! After finishing speaking, please ask the two to move to the dog's bedroom and start investigating the case. ”

“…… Good. ”

(To be continued)