Fan Ning took a bath and wiped his long hair like a waterfall with a clean cloth, revealing a white and flawless little face. In the past few days, wearing the skin of "Ning Chungong", Fan Ning almost forgot what she looked like, shaking her little head in the bronze mirror, only to feel full of ridiculous life, she turned the screen, and wanted to talk to Xue Ne, but saw Xue Ne sitting with her back against the desk, not knowing whether to sleep or wake up.

Big cases followed, thinking that Xue Ne should be physically and mentally exhausted, Fan Ning gently walked around in front of him, wanting to cover him with a thin blanket, but saw that his face was flushed, his thin lips muttered, and he didn't know what he was talking about. Fan Ning was afraid that he would be sick, so he hurriedly reached out and touched his forehead, and said worriedly: "Why is your face as red as a pig's liver?" Don't just ride a horse and catch the cold......"

Unexpectedly, Xue Ne bounced up like an electric shock, staggered a few steps away, and stumbled: "I didn't, no, it's okay......"

During this period of time, although he was often in the same room with Fan Ning, the situation of his heartbeat at every turn had not been alleviated in the slightest, and he accidentally saw her delicate figure, which made this young man with strong blood and strength at a loss.

Fan Ning didn't notice Xue Ne's discomfort at all, smiled lightly, and looked at him with his cheeks raised, as if Li Chunfeng looked at Xue Ne on weekdays, full of love: "You are so capable of solving cases, why didn't you go to the Criminal Department on an errand?" Compared to the Gao Min I saw during the day, I am more optimistic about you. ”

"If you like to solve cases, it doesn't mean that you want to be an official in the Criminal Department", Xue Ne leaned over and sorted out the file materials in the cloth bag, classifying them into categories, "If you really want to say ideals, maybe...... I want to be like my father, to be a general who fights on the battlefield and defends his family and country. ”

Fan Ning didn't hold it up, and laughed out loud: "General? You can't even fight me, how can you fight your soldiers? ”

"How many people in the world can beat you? Besides, leading troops to fight is not based on martial arts but on resourcefulness, if there is only the courage of a horseman, how can you win a thousand miles? ”

This seemed reasonable, Fan Ning patted Xue Ne's brain melon, and said as if coaxing a child: "Yes, I heard that some Confucian generals in ancient times were unparalleled in wisdom, such as Zhou Yu of the Three Kingdoms...... Maybe we can ask for a beautiful lady like Little Joe! ”

Fan Ning's exquisite little face was close at hand, her smile was dazzlingly beautiful, but Xue Ne could only suppress her thoughts, and reluctantly got up and said: "Don't talk about this, I'm tired of investigating the case today, let's rest early, if it's still early to Chang'an tomorrow, I still want to go to the Criminal Department to take a look at the physical evidence left on the bodies of a pair of monks." ”

"But if there is a witness to the testimony, can it prove that there is doubt in the matter?"

"Yes, it's just that a few guards don't understand the mystery, and it's hard to say whether they will leave an impression. But you don't have to worry, no matter what, I am now the superintendent of this case, and since this clue has been found, the whole criminal department must take it seriously......"

Fan Ning was already tired, took out a small porcelain bottle of aloe vera to wipe his face, lay on the couch, and soon fell asleep. Xue Ne was completely sleepy, and the words of the abbot of Famen Temple were coiled in his mind, and the more he tasted it, the more he realized many strange tastes. If you can still say that you are "too wise and easy to die" and "deep and long-lived", why do you say that Fan Ning is "dragon and phoenix"?

If this was not said by the abbot of Famen Temple, but from the mouth of a fortune teller on the street, Xue Ne would definitely think that he was lying, but the status of the abbot of Famen Temple in the Tang Dynasty is not only in the attainments of Buddhism, but also in knowing people and looking at the situation, how can he talk nonsense?

As the night deepened, Xue Ne finally stayed up in a daze and was full of sleepiness, ready to go to the bed to rest, when suddenly a strange aroma came, extremely subtle, but it was still keenly captured by him. Xue Ne hurriedly got up, held his breath, and used all his strength to tear his clothes apart, poured tea all over them, covered his mouth and nose, and put the other one between Fan Ning's nose, and called urgently: "Ning'er, Ning'er, wake up quickly......"

Because of the shocking case in the annex of Hongwen Pavilion, Fan Ning was extremely panicked, she had slept very lightly recently, and she woke up at every turn, but she slept very deeply tonight, and woke up in the middle of the night, and saw the fire outside the guest room, she was so frightened that she pulled Xue Ne and ran away. Xue Ne stuffed the burden in Fan Ning's hand, pressed her shoulder and said hurriedly: "There are people in this store who have been incensed, you go downstairs first, take this mask, I will wake up the shopkeeper and evacuate the guests separately!" ”

"I'm with you!"

Fan Ning wanted to follow Xue Ne, but was stopped by him. Xue Ne glanced at Fan Ning deeply, his eyes were full of unspeakable feelings: "No need, if your identity is discovered, we are more dangerous, you go outside and call someone to put out the fire, I will come out later, if someone asks you about your identity, you will say that it is the martial artist I invited!" ”

Fan Ning hesitated for a moment, a little worried about Xue Ne, but after thinking about it, if he was seen, it would indeed cause a greater crisis to Xue Ne, so he nodded, put on a noodle, jumped off the inn against the firelight, and ran towards the Wuhou shop not far away.

Xue Ne understood that this matter was by no means simple, maybe it was for him and Fan Ning, he didn't have time to think about it, wrapped the evidence, knocked on the door of the entire corridor as quickly as possible, and called loudly: "It's water!" Walk the water! Wake up! ”

At this time, the fire had spread from the kitchen to the lobby, and Xue Ne instructed the awakened guests to cover their mouths and noses with wet cloths and quickly evacuate from the back door. Fan Ning and the Wuhou who shouted together to fight the fire, seeing that the Wuhou were hiding far away, splashing half of the water and half of the cost, Fan Ning was very anxious, and flew into the inn with two large buckets, and the noodles were blackened several times, and a water bubble was burned on his hands.

But the fire in the front store was suppressed, but the back store burned more and more intensely, Fan Ning shuttled through the evacuated crowd, but there was no trace of Xue Ne, she stepped forward a few steps, grabbed the placket of the shopkeeper who was beating his chest and asked, "What about Xue Shenyan?" Where is Xue Shenyan? ”

The shopkeeper was immersed in the pain of destroying the store, crying almost out of breath, and suddenly saw Fan Ning with a face in front of him, and he was instantly frightened and convulsed, let alone say a word. A middle-aged woman next to her timidly answered: "But is it an extremely handsome Langjun? There was a pair of sisters who were trapped upstairs and couldn't get out, so I saw him go upstairs to save ......"

This inn is the same as the annex of the Hongwen Pavilion, both are pure wood, the first floor has been burned to the ground, so isn't the second floor more dangerous? Fan Ning scolded in a low voice, tore a piece of the hem of his clothes, dipped it in water and stuffed it into the mouth of the noodle, and rushed into the fire again.

This kind of scorching feeling, strange and familiar, Fan Ning's thoughts could not be stopped back to the day when the Hongwen Pavilion was burned, her feet couldn't help but stagnate, and her whole body trembled, but she still rushed to the second floor with all her might, choking and shouting: "Xue Shenyan!" Xue Shenyan! ”

In a side room at the top, Xue Ne knocked on the door for a long time and no one answered, so he could only forcibly break in, only to see a girl with a seven or eight-year-old girl lying on the couch, it seemed that it was estimated that it was the two sisters, and they had been dizzy by the incense. Xue Ne had no time to wake them up, so he could only drag them to the staircase with great difficulty.

Fan Ning rushed up to the second floor, and when he saw Xue Ne, he couldn't help but shout irritably: "What are you doing?" Don't you want to die? ”

"Who told you to come up!" Xue Ne also had a rare temper, worried that something would happen to Fan Ning, and said hurriedly, "Get out quickly!" ”

Fan Ning ignored Xue Ne, picked up the girl from Xue Ne's side, only left the little girl for him to hold, and handed over the cloth strip to cover his mouth: "You choked on so much smoke, go quickly!" If you don't leave, it's too late! ”

Xue Ne didn't answer, and pushed back to Fan Ning's mouth, signaling her not to damage the noodles. The two didn't dare to hesitate any longer, and dragged down the wooden ladder one by one. The bigger the fire, the louder the crowd screamed, and before they stumbled down to the second floor, the wooden spiral staircase collapsed, and they couldn't see anything from the dust and smoke. Xue Ne struggled to push open the wooden cabinet that had collapsed at the back door, but the small space could still only accommodate one person. Xue Ne asked Fan Ning, who was carrying the girl, to go out first, and after Fan Ning put the girl in a safe place, he turned over and returned to the fire, wanting to take over the little girl. Fan Ning only felt that he was pushed by Xue Ne, holding the little girl and staggering down, away from the fire, and the door of the house slammed shut, and the fire was slammed into the fire, and the fire was shining, and the whole sky was red, Fan Ning put down the child, stepped forward and smashed the door as if he was dying, and shouted: "Xue Lang!" Xue Lang! ”

Wu Hou, who was guarding the inn Fengxiang Mansion, hurriedly pulled her away, but Fan Ning broke them away regardless of it, wanting to enter the sea of fire again, at this moment, the window on the side suddenly burst open, and a person flew out and threw her to the ground, the two fell out of the distance, and the body was covered with ash, and the rubble of the inn fell heavily to the feet, if you hesitate for a moment, the consequences are unimaginable.

Fan Ning was dizzy and dizzy, her face had already fallen, but fortunately, her little face was scorched black by the fire, and she couldn't see the appearance at all, she raised her eyes with great effort, only to see that it was not Xue Ne who was lying on her and couldn't stop gasping, his handsome face was also black and dark, but it added a bit of masculine and majestic spirit. Fan Ning couldn't help but reddened his eyes, if it weren't for others, he really wanted to punch him twice.

Seeing that the inn had collapsed and there would be no more danger, Wuhou Chang rushed up with more than ten Wuhou and asked for warmth: "Oops! Xue Yushi! Is it hurt? ”

Xue Ne struggled to stand up, and the hand behind his back motioned to Fan Ning to put on the noodles quickly, and said with his mouth: "Xue is fine, please ask Wuhou Chang to quickly check the cause of the fire, in addition, before falling asleep, I once smelled a very strange aroma, when you investigate, pay special attention to see if there is any incense ash, remember to keep it for identification." ”

"Yes, yes, come on, take Xue Yushi to the post house to rest!"

Fan Ning had put on the noodle again at this time, and returned to Xue Ne's side, but she didn't expect that he had no intention of interfering in the investigation of the case, which surprised her. But after thinking about it, although he is a special supervisor of the imperial history, he is in charge of the case of the Hongwen Pavilion Annex, and if he forcibly investigates the case here, it will not be possible to alarm the murderer and lose more than he gains.

After all, Xue Ne still took her, the most wanted criminal in Tianzi, a lot of inconvenience, Fan Ning remained quiet, honestly followed behind Xue Ne, took the burden on his back, and walked towards the post station.

Who knew that someone was blocking the way, it was the girl who Xue Ne was desperately saving, she stepped forward, bowed, and whispered softly: "Xue Lang's life-saving grace, the little woman is toothless and unforgettable, and I am willing to repay Xue Lang with all my might......"

This rhetoric is not new, I have heard it in the book, Fan Ning looked at the girl through the hole in the face, only to see that she made a special trip to wash her face, revealing a long little face, although it is not beautiful, but it is really a little moving, the admiration between the eyebrows and eyes is like canal water, can not be hidden. Fan Ning was about to use his elbow to push Xue Ne twice to make a joke, who knew that he was like a mouse seeing a cat, and hid behind Fan Ning with a dignified eight-foot body, and stumbled: "Little, little lady doesn't have to be polite, Xue Mou's move, a gesture, is not specifically to save you." ”

Fan Ning had always known that Xue Ne didn't like to be entangled with women, but she still was dumbfounded by not knowing how to pity the fragrance and cherish the jade. Sure enough, the girl's face was full of indescribable disappointment and sadness, and her mouth pouted as if she was about to cry, Fan Ning hurriedly continued: "Hey, by the way, dare to ask this little lady, but she is alone with her sister?" When the two girls go out, it is always a little dangerous, so they still have to take more precautions. ”

The girl was a little timid towards Fan Ning, who was wearing a veil of faces, but when she heard her pleasant voice, polite and gentle, like a polite person, she replied softly: "Thank you for this official...... I am a person from Chang'an, and I took my sister out alone to hide, and then went back when the limelight in Chang'an City passed. My father had already paid for us a month's stay in the hotel, and the meals were taken care of, but tonight something like this happened. If it weren't for the chaos in the city, who would want to leave their hometown, and now we can only hope that the storm will pass sooner and our sisters will be able to return home sooner. ”

"Wait, is something happening in Chang'an City?" Hearing the sound outside the strings, the girl in Xue Ne's eyes had already turned into a witness, and she immediately spoke sharply, and stepped forward to ask.

Under Xue Ne's gaze, the girl's cheeks turned red, and she lowered her eyes and replied: "The two of you may not have heard of it when you left the city, but in the past few days, Junchen has been searching around the city for girls born in the fifth year of Yonghui. ”

"Yonghui five years?" Fan Ning was stunned, remembering that he was also a fifth-year-old from Yonghui, and glanced at Xue Ne, his face was blank, "What are you doing to collect girls born in Yonghui in the fifth year?" ”

Two hundred miles away, under the clear moonlight in Chang'an, the red lotus who dreamed back at midnight heard a few extremely slight plucking sounds, and was shocked, got up and put on a thin shirt of emerald silk yarn, and walked out of the pile of brocade curtains.

He is like an immortal, as clear as Yeshui Zhuhua, but he has to be in the mud and cry out for the people's livelihood. Honglian just stopped and stared at him like this, unable to tell what it was like in her heart.

Li Hong turned around and saw the red lotus standing at the door, stopped plucking the strings, and said softly: "But I woke you up?" ”

In the past few days, something big has happened in the palace, Li Hong is unhappy, he can't solve it, the only person he wants to see is Red Lotus, who has been depressed for a long time, and he still can't bear it tonight, so he came uninvited. Sure enough, seeing her, Li Hong only felt that the big stone that had been pressing on his heart for many days moved away in an instant, like a spring breeze.

Red Lotus stepped forward and sat beside Li Hong, her little face was unusually beautiful and moving, and it was even more beautiful than when she was dressed up on weekdays, which made people unable to take their eyes off. Seeing Li Hong, Honglian was also unspeakably happy, and replied with a smile: "It's cold tonight, do you want to use some cheese wine?" Or make a pot of hot tea? ”

"There's no need, just sit here and talk to me", Li Hong put the lamb wool blanket on Honglian's body and smiled gently, "It's been a mess outside recently, if you need someone here, I'll transfer a few female officials to help you." ”

"The dignified female official of the East Palace, what's the matter with coming to Pingkangfang, if it is discovered by someone with a heart, it will be unfavorable to His Highness. Your Highness doesn't have to worry about me, I just don't have to go out. ”

Li Hong looked at the red lotus, and stopped talking: "I remember, you are also a ...... born in the fifth year of Yonghui"

"Yes, I am one year younger than His Highness, but I don't know what month or day it is."

Li Hong couldn't help but sigh lightly, and said with his hand on his forehead: "I don't know if you have heard of Princess Anding...... The reason why the case in the Hongbunkan annex did not make too much trouble was precisely because of the stability. Everyone in the world knows that I have a younger sister Taiping, but I don't know that Anding is the eldest daughter of my father and queen mother, but unfortunately she was born at the wrong time and died. ”

Honglian didn't understand why Li Hong asked her age first, and then mentioned Princess Anding, but she didn't ask, just spoke with him obediently: "I have heard about this matter, and I heard that the princess passed away, which seems to be related to Queen Wang. ”

"That's right, when Anding Fang was born, Queen Wang came to see her, and after leaving, Anding died mysteriously. The father was furious and believed that the queen had killed Anding out of jealousy of her mother, and this was the reason for the queen to be abolished. In the same year, my father implemented a new policy and made my mother the queen of heaven, and I became the eldest son and ascended to the throne of the crown prince. Sixteen years have passed since this incident, who knew that some time ago, the father and queen mother decided to move Anding to be buried in Deye Temple, and enjoy the prince's worship, but unexpectedly found that there were no bones in Anding's coffin at all...... At the same time, someone secretly reported to his father, saying that the matter of stability back then was set up by the queen mother, in order to frame the queen and seek the throne, and the stability was just a fake death, and then he was secretly taken out of the palace and raised in Chang'an City, and now he is 16 years old. When my father heard this, he was both shocked and angry, and even had a head stroke and was bedridden, and even though his mother was at odds with his father, he was still worried about his body, and begged his father to move to Luoyang, the capital of God, to recuperate, and handed over all the government affairs of Chang'an City to me. ”

Honglian then understood, why in the past few days in Chang'an City, there is a fifteen or sixteen-year-old daughter's official eunuch family in a mess, under the pretext of visiting relatives and friends, sent her daughter out of the city overnight, she comforted Li Hong with kind words: "The rumors are unfounded, most of them are unreliable, even if the emperor is angry for a while, when he thinks about it, he will find that this is just a means for someone with a heart to separate their husband and wife, and where will it really annoy the queen of heaven......"

If he really followed, Li Hong would naturally not be so worried, but the attitude of the queen mother made him suspicious, and he checked all the records in the palace of Yonghui for five years overnight. If you don't check, the more Li Hong looks, the more he feels upset and difficult to solve, he is turning around, looking at the red lotus, his expression is extremely complicated: "What I am afraid of is that there is a well-founded basis, it was Li Chunfeng who did things for stability sixteen years ago, and he actually adopted two swaddling female dolls in a year, how can people not be suspicious?" Now that this little old man doesn't know where to go, he can't even ask questions, how can I not be in a hurry? ”

Honglian obviously didn't expect this matter to have anything to do with herself, she was stunned for a moment, her eyebrows were bent, and her little face was as shy as a spring peach in the snow: "Your Highness...... Are you afraid that I am your own sister? ”