Because the killing of more than a dozen ministers of the DPRK and China overnight on the Shangyuan Festival had too much to do with it, Xie An did not dare to slack off, and after receiving the holy decree, he rushed to the scene of the incident to investigate.

To be honest, Xie An initially felt that it would be better to bring his brother-in-law Chen Bei with him, after all, Chen Bei himself was a top master who could not only act as a veteran on the battlefield but also make a cameo appearance as an assassin on a moonlit night.

But it's a pity, this time Li Ji, the son of the Great Zhou Dynasty, named Liang Qiuwu to accompany Xie An to investigate the case, so Xie An could only temporarily let Chen Bei hide in his mansion to avoid going out, in the final analysis, the daughter-in-law accompanied by the daughter-in-law always has a better feeling than the brother-in-law, isn't it?

With Fei Guo, Su Xin, Li Jing, Qi Hao and other generals, Xie An and Liang Qiuwu took a carriage to one of the places where the Shangyuan Festival homicide occurred, Xiliu Hutong on the north side of Chaoyang Street.

In this alley, the extremely important key figure of the prince Li Wei and his party, Yu He, the imperial envoy of the right capital of the imperial history platform, was assassinated here.

When Xie An and Liang Qiuwu arrived, Xun Zheng, the commander of the Guard, had already blocked the entire alley with his patrol guards, and when he saw Xie An and Liang Qiuwu coming, Xun Zheng greeted him with a smile.

"Brother is a blessing in disguise this time, my brother was worried about my brother yesterday, I never thought that my brother Jiren has his own natural appearance...... Right now, the elder brother has to call the elder brother [Acting for the Ministry of Punishment] Lord Xie! ”

Xie An smiled bitterly and said self-deprecatingly, "Brother, don't joke about the little brother, the little brother is white now!" -- The temporary dismissal of the position of Shaoqing of the Great Prison Temple is just a position of the secretary of the Criminal Department, and there is no salary or allowance......"

"Brother is really ......" Xun Zheng shook his head with a smile and said in a low voice, "Even a fool like my brother can see it." Your Majesty intends to cultivate the elder brother, as long as the elder brother traces down the murderer, the word [generation] will naturally be written off...... At that time, my brother will be an official residence! ”

"The premise is that it can be found out, but if it can't be found, the position of Shaoqing of the Great Prison Temple may not be able to be kept......"

Xun Zheng opened his mouth, speechless, and after shaking his head with a wry smile, he turned around and saluted Liang Qiu Wuzuo.

Because Xun Zheng has a close relationship with the Eastern Army and the Liangqiu family. It's his own person, so Liang Qiu Wu is not too polite, and after nodding as a return gift, he looked around and asked, "When did Lord Xun send someone to close the street?" ”

Seeing Liang Qiu Wu asking about business. Xun Zheng smiled on his face, and said, "Around the time of today!" -- The news that I got at the second quarter of the hour, and the third quarter of the child sent someone to close the street! ”

"Didn't anyone touch it in the meantime?"

"This ......" Xun Zheng hesitated, turned to look into the distance, and followed his line of sight, only to see a bloody field in the distance. Guanglu Temple Qing Wen Qin was instructing several servants at the scene to inspect the body.

Seeing this, Liang Qiuwu frowned slightly, and after glancing at Xie An, he strode over.

Maybe I heard the creaking sound of boots stepping on the snow. Standing in a bloody field, Guanglu Temple Qing Wenqin turned his head and glanced at Xie An, Liang Qiuwu and the others, his eyes showed a little hesitation, and then nodded at Xie An and the others. This is only as a courtesy.

For Xie An, Wen Qin, the secretary of Guanglu Temple, the minister of the guard, and the commander of the Northern Army's Praetorian Guard, felt a little awkward. After all, before this, Xie An could be said to be the enemy of their prince's party, and now he suddenly turned an enemy into a friend, which really made him a little uncomfortable.

But then again, since Wen Qin is one of the four towns in Jijing, he is naturally not a mediocre talent, how can he not know that compared to Xie An, the eighth prince Li Xian is the most important political enemy of the crown prince Li Wei at the moment?

As for Xie An, he also felt a little embarrassed at first, and he didn't know how to talk to Wen Qin, but now that Wen Qin nodded at him, things were much easier.

Nodding at Wen Qin as a courtesy, Xie An asked familiarly, "Lord Wen, how is the investigation?" ”

Maybe it's because the goal is the same this time, Wen Qin didn't hide it, glanced at the carriage in front of him, shook his head and said, "In addition to Lord Yu Heyu, two horsemen were also killed, and this mansion has sent people to investigate the vicinity, and no one has witnessed this case!" - It's a veteran! ”

"No one witnessed the murder?" Xie An's face was stunned, you know, Chaoyang Street was one of the most lively streets during the Shangyuan Festival yesterday, and the assassin killed people near Chaoyang Street, but no one noticed?

Wen Qin shook his head.

Xie An frowned slightly, and followed Wen Qin's gaze to look at the three corpses inside and outside the carriage, he had just eaten lunch, and he only felt a wave of nausea in his heart.

At this time, Liang Qiuwu stepped forward, stretched out his right index and middle two fingers, probed the neck of Yu He's corpse in the carriage, and then checked the knife marks on the necks of the two coachmen, and then, turned his head to look around, pointed to a mansion wall and frowned, and said, "The assassin is waiting for Lord Yu here, and when the carriage passed, he jumped down, covered the mouth and nose of one of the grooms with one hand, and stabbed him to death...... Inside the carriage, Yu He heard the movement and sensed that something was wrong, and was about to lift the curtain to look around, but was nailed to death by the assassin through the curtain...... All three of them were killed before they could shout, and they were killed with one blow! ”

"Dagger? Dagger? Xie An asked curiously.

After carefully examining the wounds of the three corpses, Liang Qiuwu frowned and said, "It should be a dagger, but it is a little longer than an ordinary dagger...... Speaking of this, she glanced at Wen Qin.

Seeing this, Wen Qin nodded and agreed, "It is inferred that it is more than two feet long and one inch wide, slightly longer than an ordinary dagger, and shorter than a sword......

Glancing at Liang Qiu Wu and then at Wen Qin, Xie An was only stunned for a moment.

Good fellow, you can deduce the size of the murder weapon used by the assassin from the wounds on the corpse......

Especially Wu, who actually deduced the process of the assassin's murder from the traces left at the scene, which made Xie An secretly a little surprised.

He vaguely felt that he had underestimated his clumsy wife, although she was indeed not as smart as the eldest grandson Xiangyu, but her understanding of swords and blades was really amazing.

Perhaps noticing Xie An looking at him directly, Liang Qiuwu was slightly stunned and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong." Quiet? - Am I not right? ”

Xie An shook his head when he heard this, and praised in a low voice, "How could it be wrong?" It's just a word! - I have decided that if I investigate the case in the future, I will take you with me and let you be my deputy! ”

Liang Qiuwu was slightly stunned, and after understanding that Xie An really praised her, a little joyful smile appeared on her face, and she glared at Xie An coquettishly.

And all that. But Wen Qin saw it in his eyes, and thought that the two were flirting with him, so he was really a little displeased, and frowned and said, "[Acting for the Ministry of Justice] Master Xie." Your Majesty has entrusted you to investigate this case, I don't know what Xie An thinks about this? ”

Seeing that Wen Qin was suddenly embarrassed by himself, Xie An was a little puzzled, but when he looked at his face, he suddenly understood.

Obviously, Wen Qin, who is the party of the crown prince Li Wei, is eager to track down the murderer of Yu He. And Xie An is here to kiss me and me with Liang Qiuwu, no wonder this commander of the Northern Army Praetorian Guard is unhappy.

Thinking of this, Xie An coughed and said apologetically. "It's the official's gaffe! ――As for the murder of Lord Yu, the official is not in a position to make any judgment for the time being...... Let's go to the next place! ”

"Humph!" Wen Qin snorted coldly and brushed his sleeves away.

Looking at Wen Qin's cold back and leaving, Xie Anxin was a little embarrassed.

After all, there were more than a dozen murders. And the one who was killed was still a minister with an official rank of five or more in the DPRK, so it's not the time to have fun!

He patted his cheek. Xie An cheered up and walked towards the next crime site with Liang Qiuwu and others.

It was in Yongshun Hutong on the northwest side of Chaoyang Street, and the one who was killed was Zhang Ji, the Chinese scholar Lang Lang, like Yu He before, this Zhongshu Shilang returned home in a sedan chair last night, but encountered assassins on the way, and even took himself and four sedan chair men, all of whom were killed, and blood flowed all over the ground.

And this time, Xie An didn't talk or laugh with Liang Qiuwu anymore, and carefully checked every place he felt suspicious.

Looking at Xie An's serious expression, Wen Qin's face changed a little better.

From 1 o'clock in the afternoon to 2 o'clock in the morning, Xie An, Liang Qiuwu, Xun Zheng, Wen Qin, and others came to the scene of the murder of the ministers one by one.

And the place where Xie An is now is Changshun Hutong on You'an South Street, around midnight last night, the courtiers of Prince Li Wei and his party, Zhan Shi Zhou Zheng of Zhan Shifu, were killed here.

"Something is wrong......"

When Liang Qiu Wu and Wen Qin successively expressed their respective opinions

Xie An shook his head and looked around.

"What?" Wen Qin frowned when he heard this, and said unhappily, "Lord Xie doesn't think that this mansion's inference is wrong?" Okay, let's talk about what's going on! ”

Along the way, seeing that Xie An kept silent about this case, Wen Qin looked down on Xie An a little bit in his heart, and now he saw that he seemed to be dissatisfied with the calculation, and he was even more unhappy in his heart.

Hearing this, Xie An glanced up at Wen Qin, and seeing Wen Qin's face full of displeasure, he waved his hand and said, "No, no, Lord Wen misunderstood, this official didn't mean that!" As he spoke, he pointed to Zhou Zheng's corpse in the carriage with his right hand, and said hesitantly, "Lord Wen, you see, Lord Zhou was only killed by one person, and the groom who drove the carriage for him was only knocked unconscious...... But why did the right deputy governor of the Yushi Observatory, Yushi Yu Heyu, the Zhongshu waiter Zhang Jizhang, and the subordinate servant Cai Jin Cai and other adults were killed together with their own horsemen and sedan chairs? -- Why are there only a few exceptions, such as Wang Tianwang, the secretary of the Criminal Department, Hong Dehong, the squire of the Criminal Department, Zhou Zhengzhou, the Zhan Shi of the Zhan Shifu, the general Wu Su Wu, and the general Wang Changwang, the general of the light cavalry? ”

"This ......" Rao is Wen Qin is judgment of the case is the first to say, at this moment facing the question raised by Xie An, he was also speechless, hesitated for a while, and asked tentatively, "Lord Xie has to get the hidden worries?" ”

Glancing at Wen Qin, Xie An pondered for a moment, and suddenly said, "Lord Wen, this official wants to see His Royal Highness the Prince!" ”

"......" Wen Qin was stunned when he heard this, a little surprise flashed in his eyes, and he nodded hesitantly.

Riding in the carriage, Xie An, Liang Qiuwu and the others came to the Zongren Mansion in a mighty way, after all, because of the incident in the court this morning, the crown prince Li Wei and the eighth prince Li Xian were ordered by the son of heaven Li Ji to be escorted to the Zongren Mansion to face the wall and think about it.

Zongren Mansion is also called Zongzheng Temple, and its temple office is also one of the Nine Qings, similar to the Great Prison Temple, Zongzheng Temple is also an arraignment body, but it is oriented to the class of the members of the Great Zhou royal family surnamed Li, and its authority is higher than that of the Great Prison Temple.

Let's take an analogy. If a member of the royal family commits a crime, he must first make a statement at Zongzheng Temple, and then go to the Great Prison Temple for interrogation, and even during this period, Jongshoji Temple has the right to transfer the royal family member who committed the crime at any time, and if the person is to be convicted, the opinion of the Zongzheng Temple and the Great Prison Temple can be confirmed. Otherwise, the trial will continue to be postponed.

Zongzheng Siqing is the only official position held by a member of the Great Zhou royal family in the Nine Qings, and the current Zongzheng Li Zhao is the cousin of today's son Li Ji for three generations. In terms of seniority, even the crown prince Li Wei and the eighth prince Li Xian have to call their uncle obediently.

And this person is precisely one of the relatives of the emperor who supported the crown prince Li Wei to ascend the throne as the emperor.

"You? Acting for the Ministry of Justice? When he heard Xie An's request, Zongzheng Temple Qing Li Zhao looked extremely displeased.

Of course, in fact, he didn't give Xie An any good looks at the beginning, and he didn't know that he was rigid in Zongzheng Temple all year round. still thinks he is a member of the royal family, and he looks arrogant.

To be honest, in fact, Xie An didn't need to give face to this old man, he just needed to sacrifice the sword of the Son of Heaven. I don't want the old man Li Zhao to disagree, but then again, after all, Xie An is not an arrogant person, besides. For a trivial matter of insignificance, offending a royal clansman. That's not something a smart person would do.

Thinking of this, Xie An turned his head and glanced at Wen Qin.

Noticing Xie An's eyes, Wen Qin stepped forward and said a few words in Zongzheng Li Zhao's ear, only to see that Li Zhao's eyes showed a little color, glanced at Xie An a few times, and then glanced at the sword of the Son of Heaven in the hand of Su Xin, the general behind Xie An, then nodded and said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is in the East Chamber, Lord Xie can do it himself!" ”

"Thank you!" With a bow, Xie An instructed the rest of the people to wait here, and then followed the officials who led the way to the depths of the mansion, except for Wen Qin and Liang Qiuwu, the rest of the people were waiting near the entrance of Zongzheng Temple, after all, Zongzheng Mansion is not a place where you can enter and exit freely casually.

After turning a few corridors, after a short time, Xie An, Wen Qin, and Liang Qiuwu came to the wing room where the prince Li Wei was grounded, and outside the wing room, the four henchmen of the prince Li Wei, Zhang Chang, Ma Lian, Wang Xu, and Wang Fu stopped them.

Seeing this, Xie An arched his hand and said in a deep voice, "Under Xie An, at the behest of His Majesty, on behalf of the secretary of the Criminal Department, I am investigating the murder of a minister in the middle of the court on the Shangyuan Festival last night, and I want to see His Royal Highness the Prince!" ”

Zhang Chang, Ma Lian, Wang Xu, and Wang Fu already knew Xie An, and when they heard this, they glanced at Wen Qin, and when they saw Wen Qin nodding, Zhang Chang entered to report.

After a while, Zhang Chang walked out of the house again, raised his hand and said, "Lord Xie, please!" ”

Xie An arched his hand and walked into the house, and Liang Qiuwu behind him wanted to follow up, but was stopped by Zhang Chang and the other four.

"I'm sorry, General Liangqiu, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince only said that he saw Lord Xie alone!"

Seeing this, Xie An turned around and whispered, "Wu, you are waiting for me here, I will go back when I go!" ”

Although he was worried about Xie An, Liang Qiu Wu thought that the prince Li Wei did not dare to disadvantage Xie An in Zongzheng Temple, and nodded when he heard this, and said, "An, be careful!" ”

"Hmm!" Nodding, Xie An pushed open the door and stepped into the house, presented in front of him, it was an extremely spacious room, because the doors and windows in the room were closed on all sides, so that the light in the room was extremely dim, although it was lit with a candle like a grain of rice, it didn't play much role, and it was depressing and boring.

And under the candlelight like a grain of rice, the crown prince Li Wei turned his back to Xie An, facing the huge mural of the character [Li] on the wall, sitting cross-legged on the ground.

Hey, this Zongzheng Temple turned out to be a place for self-cultivation......

Xie Anxin was a little surprised, walked over, walked to the side of the crown prince Li Wei, and looked at him condescendingly.

Under Xie An's surprised look, Prince Li Wei slowly opened his eyes, glanced at Xie An, and said lightly, "Xie Shaoqing seems to be surprised?" - No, it should be Lord Xie of the Acting Criminal Department! ”

"Huh?" Xie An was slightly stunned, then smiled with relief, and said lightly, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is really well-informed!" -- It has only been a few hours since the lower official received the holy decree, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has already known about it! ”

"If I couldn't even do this, wouldn't I, Li Wei, have been ousted from power by the emperor's brothers a long time ago? - Sit! Prince Ben doesn't like to look up to others! Prince Li Wei pointed to the futon next to him.

Good guy, are you still so arrogant when you are locked up here?

Shaking his head slightly, Xie An took off his official robe and sat on the futon.

Seeing this, Prince Li Wei let out a long breath, stared at the huge mural of the character [Li] on the wall, and said lightly, "Xie Shaoqing didn't go to track down the murderer, but came to see this prince, what do you want to do?" ”

Xie An thought for a while and said, "Just now, this official has already investigated the places where more than ten adults were killed, and found that something was wrong, so I have come to ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for advice!" ”

"What's wrong?" Prince Li Wei frowned slightly.

Looking at the face of the crown prince Li Wei, Xie An said in a condensed voice, "The ministers of the DPRK and the Central Committee who were killed last night were sixteen in total, but what this official is puzzled about is that among the sixteen adults who were killed, Yushi Yuhe, the right deputy governor of the Yushi Terrace, Zhang Ji, the waiter of the Zhongshu, Cai Jin, the servant of the door, and several other adults, together with the horseman and the sedan chair man, were killed together, however, Wang Tian, the secretary of the Criminal Department, Hongde, the waiter of the Criminal Department, Zhou Zheng, the Zhan Shi of the Zhan Shifu, Wu Su, the general of Xiaowei, and Wang Chang, the general of the light cavalry, were killed themselves, and they drove the horseman and carried the sedan chair, and they were only knocked unconsciousSafe and sound...... Why does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince think this is? ”

"Why?"

"It's very simple, there were two groups of assassins who assassinated those sixteen courtiers yesterday! - And one of them was sent by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, right? ”

"......" Hearing this, Prince Li Wei glanced at Xie An, his eyes changed slightly.

"According to the official's speculation, Lord Zhou Zhengzhou of Zhan Shifu was abandoned by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself, and it was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who ordered Jin Ling'er to kill him, and by the way, he solved the Xiaowei General Wu Su, the Light Cavalry General Wang Chang and several other confidants and generals of the Third Prince Li Shen who were placed in the military, as well as Wang Tian, the secretary of the Criminal Department, and Hongde, the squire of the Criminal Department, and blamed the matter on the Eighth Prince Li Xian...... Killing three birds with one stone! - Not only can he get rid of the henchmen of the three princes, but he can also take the criminal department into his pocket, and he can also ask the eighth prince to carry this black cauldron, and he is unable to compete with His Royal Highness the prince for the criminal department! - But what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince never expected was that a group of assassins appeared last night, killing Lord Yu He Yu, and killing the ministers of the DPRK and Central China, who His Royal Highness did not intend to kill! ”

“……”

Therefore, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince couldn't sit still, because His Royal Highness realized that he was being calculated, so he hurriedly united the third prince, the sixth prince, and the seventh prince, and even demoted his dignity to win over Xie...... Ah, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not only jealous of the Eighth Prince Li Xian, but also the person behind the command of another group of assassins last night! - Is that right, His Royal Highness the Prince?! ”

"......" glanced at Xie An, and the crown prince Li Wei didn't say a word.