Once the truth was revealed, the officials of the Criminal Department arrested Liu Yu on the charge of framing the imperial court officials. After apologizing to Mrs. Liu and Xue Ne, a member of the Criminal Department, Lang Yanjun led the crowd to leave Xue's mansion. It was getting late, and after Xue Ne personally sent Li Yuanyan back to his house, he hurried to the market to find Fan Ning, but when he arrived at the intersection of the separate sections, he didn't see Fan Ning.

Seeing that the curfew was approaching, and there were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the street, Xue Ne only felt worried and confused, for fear that something would happen to Fan Ning. But the more he cared, the more difficult it was to deduce where Fan Ning was, standing in the middle of the road, not knowing where to go.

Could it be that he was recognized by the patrolling Wuhou? With Fan Ning's skills, he has not been disguised in the past and will not be discovered, but now with the help of the painted skin fairy, how can it be exposed? Was he called away by an acquaintance? But Fan Ning is in a state of disguise at this time, and with a wanted warrant on him, even if he meets an acquaintance, he will pretend not to know him. Xue Ne thought about it, and only one possibility gradually came to mind: Could it be that Fan Ning went to Wuhou Shop to surrender himself in order to help him get rid of suspicion?

At this moment, someone patted him on the shoulder from behind, Xue Ne suddenly came to his senses, turned around in a daze, and saw that the person who came was Li Hong's personal guard Zhang Shun. Zhang Shun took a step back, smiled and intervened: "Your Highness said that Xue Yushi will definitely be able to turn evil into good fortune, it seems that as His Highness expected, Xue Yushi has already handled it properly." ”

"Why did you alarm Your Highness", it's really a good thing not to go out, and a bad thing to go a thousand miles, Xue Ne didn't expect this matter to reach Li Hong's ears so quickly, and specially sent Zhang Shun to condole, grateful and guilty, "It's just an ugly thing in the family, which makes His Highness worried." ”

"Since Xue Yushi has nothing to do, let's go to Dongshi with me", Zhang Shun said, pushing Xue Ne to walk quickly.

Xue Ne was worried about Fan Ning, turned his head to Zhang Shun and said, "Brother Zhang, wait a minute, that, why did you go to Dongshi?" But His Highness is calling? If nothing matters, can Xue go again early tomorrow morning? ”

Zhang Shun continued to push Xue Ne forward, without stopping a step: "Your Highness said that the matter of him looking for Xue Lang must be something that Xue Lang is anxious about, and he also said that you can just go with me." ”

"What is looking for me, is it what I am anxious about?" Xue Ne silently read this sentence, and his heart moved slightly. Although Li Hong sometimes seems to be unruly, he is actually the most reliable person in the world, since he said so, there will be no difference, Xue Ne no longer hesitated, and followed Zhang Shun to stride towards Dongshi.

Only then did Fan Ning make up his mind to turn himself in, in exchange for Xue Ne's safety, and jumped onto the roofs of several liquor stores in Dongshi, intending to wait for an opportunity to make trouble. Who knew that Li Hong was eating wine on the third floor of Donglin Pavilion, and when he saw the people on the roof, he immediately asked Zhang Shun to take her down.

Fan Ning almost fought with Zhang Shun, after seeing his Donggong token, he suddenly understood something, and followed him into the box on the third floor of Donglin Pavilion vigilantly, only to see that in the morning Fang saw the fancy swinger sitting in the room, full of delicacies, the aroma of wine wanton, even if he had just eaten Zhenzi noodles, Fan Ning couldn't help but swallow his saliva, pretending to be stupid and asked, "Who are you?" Why are you calling me? ”

"Who do you say I am, I am who I am", Li Hong smiled lightly, pointed to the opposite side of himself and asked Fan Ning to sit down, picked up the teapot on the side, and poured her a cup of tea.

Fan Ning was worried about Xue Ne, and he couldn't refute Li Hong's face, so he drank it all up, and intervened urgently: "Please save my family's chief official ......"

"Be cautious? What happened to him? ”

"Just now, Li Yuanyan came to Xue Yushi and said that the official of the Criminal Department found ironclad evidence in Xue's Mansion to shield the Qin criminals......"

Fan Ning was both guilty and anxious, and he couldn't suppress his emotions, but Li Hong's first reaction was that Li Yuanyan was jealous of Fan Ning, but he quickly denied this idea, supported his forehead with his hand and thought carefully, and replied with a chuckle: "It doesn't matter, if you care, it's just a mess, how could Shen Yan be framed because of this little thing, within half a time, he will definitely be able to turn the crisis into safety, and just wait and see." ”

Fan Ning didn't understand why Li Hong was so sure that Xue Ne would be fine, so he stiffened his body and maintained a posture of meddling, and didn't move for a long time.

"Sit down", Li Hong got up and went to the door and instructed Zhang Shun to let him go to Xue's Mansion to have a look, and then pointed to the empty seat at the end of the long table with a bone fan, and said to Fan Ning, "You have known Shenyan for a longer time, you should know him better than me, how can this kid be so innocent and innocent on his face." Don't have dinner yet? Whatever you want to eat, just order it. ”

With Li Hong's determined attitude, Fan Ning's heart settled down a little, and he stepped forward and sat down, only then did he realize that she, the most wanted criminal in the Tang Dynasty, was actually talking to the prince of the dynasty. She peeked at Li Hong, estimating that he was still a private patrol, and he was still holding the words of the swinger in Pingkangfang in the morning, Fan Ning secretly thought that there would be a few times in his life to rip off such a bamboo bargain, so he immediately ordered a few good dishes, and planned to wait for Xue Ne while eating.

Li Hong secretly looked at Fan Ning, although he couldn't see her appearance clearly, he could see that she had beautiful bones, a slender body, and clear eyes like water. If the red lotus is a clear water hibiscus, proud snow and cold plum, it has a vast fairy aura, Fan Ning is like a Luoyang peony blooming in the March sky, revealing a demagogic magic. This kind of aura seemed familiar, but he couldn't think of where he had seen it for a while, and when the shopkeeper personally served the food, Li Hong asked with a smile: "How long have Brother Ning and Shen Yan known each other?" ”

Hearing Li Hong's question, Fan Ning suddenly woke up two minutes, with chopsticks in his hand, thinking that this would not be the legendary decapitated meal? It is not a good sign that the prince of the court actually inquired about their privacy, and he haha: "It is estimated that it should be a little earlier than Brother Li." ”

"Really? Brother Xue and I met eight years ago, and we were still yellow-haired children at that time", Li Hong deliberately teased Fan Ning.

"When I met the head of my family, he was still wearing open crotch pants", for some reason, looking at Li Hong in front of him, Fan Ning was not afraid that his identity would be exposed, but quarreled with him with peace of mind.

"Then you ...... this year" Before Li Hong could speak, he saw Xue Ne and Zhang Shun pushing the door and walking in, and seeing Fan Ning sitting at the table and eating deliciously, Xue Ne breathed a long sigh of relief, and intervened at Li Hong with relief: "Thank you, Brother Li, ......"

Li Hong didn't want to ask again, stood up, and looked Xue Ne up and down: "I know that Xue Chuyu, who is not long-eyed, will definitely not hurt you, the hour is not early, the 'thing' will return to its original owner, go back quickly." ”

Fan Ning had already come to Xue Ne, and saw that he was unscathed, his little face was full of joy, and he could feel her cheerfulness through the skin: "It's okay?" ”

"It's okay, let's go back", Xue Ne saluted Li Hong again, and left Donglin Pavilion with Fan Ning in Li Hong's meaningful smile.

The breeze blew through the window lattice, Li Hong turned to look at the moon outside the window, and his mood was complicated. In addition to the big case of the Hongwen Pavilion Annex, there is a secret case in the palace from sixteen years ago, which seems to have something to do with Li Chunfeng, and it is also related to the child he adopted, but I don't know whether it is related to Fan Ning or Honglian, or whether it has nothing to do with her both.

Li Hong remembered that his father, Emperor Li Zhi, was so sad and angry, and even had a head wind, so he felt anxious, if Fan Ning was fine, if it really involved the red lotus, wouldn't it be a sin? Li Hong thought so, his handsome face reflected the lanterns hanging high outside Donglin Pavilion, flickering bright and dark, and his mood was also so cloudy, full of indescribable irritability.

It was curfew time, and every three or two steps, Wu Hou would come to interrogate, and Xue Ne took the seal of the East Palace and explained to Wu Hou again and again that he was allowed to go after that. Later, Xue Ne entered the Xue Mansion through the gate, and Fan Ning still climbed over the wall to enter, needless to say, after such a fuss today, the Xue Mansion temporarily became the safest place. Even so, Fan Ning still relaxed his usual gentle movements, and sat on the edge of the couch to slowly remove the disguise on his face.

Xue Ne saw that she was trembling in pain, so she hurriedly brought a basin of warm water, asked her to apply her face with a clean cloth, and personally helped her remove the skin. It has been posted for too long today, and Fan Ning's little face is red and white, and it has festered, and Xue Ne is extremely distressed when he sees it: "Who in the girl's family doesn't take care of their face, you are too careless, I don't know how long it will take to recover." ”

"Forget it, I'm not a golden branch and jade leaf", Fan Ning hung his long eyelashes, grabbed the hem of his clothes with his small hands, and endured not to let himself scream, "When I save my life now, where can I take care of this, anyway, I don't look good, sacrificing my face to save my life, it's worth it." ”

"Who said you weren't good-looking", Xue Ne focused on cleaning up Fan Ning's little face, and her thin lips, which were not good at words, accidentally confided in her heart, "In my opinion, you are the best-looking girl in the world, much better looking than others......"

"Huh?" Fan Ning couldn't care about the pain, sneered, grabbed Xue Ne's hand, and teased him as if he was playful, "Do you think I'm the best looking in the world?" Also, you are so big, except for my so-called 'Red Yaksha', I also know Li Yuanxi's true Yaksha, I am still much better looking than her. ”

Xue Ne was really teased so much that she couldn't speak, Fan Ning snickered to herself, and took off all the remaining disguises in three or two clicks, so painful that she grinned her teeth, and her small fists were clenched white. Xue Ne looked at her cat-like little face, unspeakably distressed, remembering Li Hong's reminder this morning, Xue Ne plucked up his courage, and wanted to show his heart through Fang Cai's words, and stumbled: "It's, in fact, ......"

"Lang Jun, Madame has something to look for you!"

Suddenly there was a soft cry of a maid outside the door, Xue Ne hurriedly responded, signaled Fan Ning to hide, got up and walked out of the garden, and walked towards his mother's Buddhist hall.

Mrs. Liu was copying the scriptures, and without raising her head, she motioned for Xue Ne to sit down. Xue Ne knew his mother's habits, so he took out a piece of sandalwood from the incense drawer and put it in the small furnace of the golden beast, and a faint fragrance seeped out of the furnace in an instant.

Mrs. Liu copied the scriptures, put down the chicken distance pen, raised her eyes to look at Xue Ne, and asked in a quiet voice, "Where is Fan Ning?" ”

Xue Ne was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but stumble a little when he replied: "Fang, Fang Cai's mother also saw it, Liu Yu did perjury......"

"I know that Liu Yu is committing perjury, and I also know that it was Chu Yu who was obsessed with his mind and framed his brother. But I'm your mother, how can I not know your character? Others may seek advantage and avoid harm, but you will not; Others may avoid that Fan Ning, and you will only rush in and not get out...... It's just a matter of time, what kind of pass is it now, you will kill your father and our whole family if you do this, do you understand? ”

Xue Ne didn't think for a while, frowning and not knowing what he was thinking. Mrs. Liu felt that her words were a little serious, although this child did not like to talk, but she was still very obedient and caring since she was a child, she forced her temperament, and said: "Mother will not force you to report to the criminal department, but you must not meet her in private...... Although your father is beautiful at the moment, but he has a self-respecting army and is far away in Liaodong, how many people in the court are angry, one is not good, our whole family is either in a different place, or exiled to the army, do you know the stakes? ”

After inspecting the corpses of those monks in Zhongnan Mountain today, Xue Ne faintly felt that this case was not as simple as stealing the "Tui Bei Tu", and it might also involve the Taiping of Chang'an and even the national Zuo of the Tang Dynasty. But Xue Ne would not easily pronounce these words, and only said: "Mother and Fan Ning have known each other for ten years, do you really think she will do that heinous thing?" ”

Mrs. Liu only felt that Xue Ne's question was full of stupidity, and said with a smile: "Wei Niang thinks that she is not heinous, can Wuhou stop arresting her?" Wei Niang said that you are not a cover-up, can the Dali Temple of the Criminal Department not cure your crimes? ”

Xue Ne lowered his eyes and looked at the Buddhist scriptures on Mrs. Liu's desk, the corners of his mouth flashed a wry smile, just in front of the official of the Criminal Department, his mother defended him and spoke for him, his heart was warm and moved, now it seems that she is mostly for the Xue family not to be implicated, and how much is out of pity for his son.

Time has changed, and his mother is no longer the woman who hugged him and told him about loyalty and faithfulness, she has too many people and things to maintain, contrary to him, and many differences are inevitable. Xue Ne didn't want to argue, let alone lie, so he only said: "I won't involve Xue Fu ......"

"You kid, how can you guarantee it? You are the superintendent of this case, you know the law and break the law, and the crime is added to the first degree, do you know? ”

"As long as Xue Chuyu doesn't make trouble, I promise that I will find out the suspect as soon as possible and clear up Fan Ning's grievances, not only will it not affect the Xue Mansion, but it will also make my father's face quite glorious", Xue Ne said slowly, his tone was calm and modest, but it had a convincing power, "If you are cautious and do not seek to be virtuous, you can give up the hereditary title to Xue Chuyu...... In this way, he will not get into trouble every day and endanger the Xue Mansion. But begging my mother to give me more than two months, I will definitely ...... It will not disappoint the world. ”

Fan Ning washed up, waited left and right, and Xue Ne didn't come, faintly sleepy. But as soon as she closed her eyes, she would think of those monks who died tragically, and she woke up in shock, tossing and turning and unable to sleep.

It seems that this is the case when she was a child, she went to explore outside the Taoist temple with Xue Ne during the day, she was always bold to walk in front, but after coming back at night, she was inexplicably afraid, and she always had to wait for Xue Ne to sleep peacefully. I really don't know how he resolved Xue Chuyu's false accusations so that she could stay here with peace of mind, Fan Ning faintly found that Xue Ne was not the same as when she was a child, she seemed to be more reliable and intelligent than before, which made her feel a little strange.

Just as he was thinking about it, Xue Ne came back, still holding a small white porcelain bottle in his hand, and seeing Fan Ning lying down, he stepped forward and put the porcelain bottle next to her pillow: "Aloe vera water, I'll go to the pharmacy to get it, you wipe your face." ”

Fan Ning propped herself up, opened the medicine bottle, the fragrance of aloe vera came to her face, she sniffed like a kitten, poured it in the palm of her hand, and gently patted it on her face, only feeling that it was cool and very comfortable, and the redness, swelling and pain on her face were much better.

"Are you hungry? I didn't eat two bites, I took them home, I just went to the kitchen to see, there was nothing to eat, only these dim sum cakes......"

"You eat, before I went to Donglin Pavilion, I ate the soup cake with Director Gao in Dongshi", Fan Ning only cared about the bruises, and didn't pay attention to Xue Ne's color changed several times in an instant, "Otherwise, how can I have the strength to deal with the prince for so long." ”

I don't know how many years the young man's heart has been stuffed in his heart, and he has grown from a bud to a giant tree, and he is uncomfortable at the mouth of his heart. How many midnight dreams, he wants to declare this deep affection, whether she has him in her heart or not, at least let her understand his heart. But now, Xue Ne vetoed this idea, Fan Ning was already homeless, if she didn't have him in her heart, how could she stay in Xue Mansion? What is her own mind compared to her safety?

"I'm going to go to Famen Temple tomorrow, I finally have a clue to the monks, I can't break it, you met with them that day, what else can you think of, tell me everything."

Fan Ning put down the small bottle and said, "I was about to tell you, when I went that day, just in time for them to come out, the group of monks were wearing dark monk's robes. Although Famen Temple is my Tang Dynasty Temple, it is noble and noble, and Buddhism advocates frugality and asceticism, so each of them has different degrees of tearing on their robes. ”

"Can you remember the rough torn orientation of their clothes?" This was a very important breakthrough, and Xue Ne was both nervous and excited and pinched Fan Ning's shoulder.

"I vaguely remember that everyone's position is not very different, so I'll go to Famen Temple with you tomorrow."

I don't know how many years it has been, I haven't gone out with Fan Ning, Xue Ne's mood suddenly improved, but he still hesitated: "Don't be in a hurry tomorrow, when the East Market opens, I'll buy you some fat powder and put it on your face first, and then apply it to make it much better......"

Fan Ning grinned and quipped, "I didn't expect us to understand this?" By the way, how did you resolve Xue Chuyu's frame-up, I have been worried, I'm afraid that you won't be able to break his ......"

"His framing is very low-level, Zuo is just taking perjury, trying to show that I have something to do with you. I guess it was Liu Yu who used the money to go to the stars and take your clothes, and I think he will definitely have your breath on him. When the peel of the tea bag on my body almost sucked up your smell, I pretended to finally figure it out, and immediately asked the official of the Criminal Department to release the dog......"

Fan Ning knew that Xue Ne's sense of smell was extraordinary, especially when solving cases, he was even more intelligent than a dog, and asked curiously, "What kind of smell does I have?" When I was in the Taoist temple, I always helped the master add lamps, did it smell of oily smoke? ”

The breath on Fan Ning's body is very light and sweet, like caramel on her lips, as long as she is close to her since she was a child, Xue Ne will feel inexplicably at ease, and the corners of her lips will hook up a shallow smile, and she will feel satisfied in any predicament. But he would never tell Fan Ning these words, only said: "Horizontal, horizontal and vertical don't stink......"

Fan Ning sighed, ignored Xue Ne, fell asleep, and soon fell asleep. Xue Ne sat in front of the desk, burying his head in combing through the clues.

The real culprit of the arson case in the annex of Hongwen Pavilion must have been among the crowd of people who entered and exited the annex that day, and Shen Qi and Zhang San, who he had suspected before, gradually ruled out the suspicion, and when they were at a loss, this group of monks appeared in the field of vision. The more the mysterious time of death, the tragic death, the more Xue Ne wanted to explore the truth, and he could almost conclude that this case was by no means a simple robbery of "Tui Bei Tu", so what kind of secret did it contain?