The Yamen of the Criminal Department has always been the heaviest place in the six departments of the Imperial City, especially today, early in the morning before the dawn, people come and go here, the big and small officials who are wearing robes with the crown of the head are all solemn, like condensing frost eggplant, colleagues see each other but hurriedly intervene in a salute, and do not care about half a conversation.

The head of the criminal department, who looked like a god, led a thin young man to hurry up, took the lock and key from Si Men Langzhong, and walked away quickly, bypassing the office area, through the long corridor, to the cold cellar.

The cellar was extremely dark, and the young man raised his head, revealing a childish and delicate face, staring intently at the word "Yongning" on the lintel, his eyes narrowing slightly. This person is none other than Xue Ne. Before he arrived in Yin this morning, Xue Ne received a decree from the prince appointing him as the special supervisor of the Hongwenguan case, which is the meaning of letting him start investigating the case quickly before the Criminal Department.

Today is September 15, and it is also the last time that the emperor will visit the sun before moving to Luoyang, the capital of the gods. Xue Ne can't fight for the prince in the court, all he can do is to solve the case as soon as possible.

The cold face master opened the heavy iron door, and the expression on his bearded face was very uncertain, and his voice was low and deep: "The witness is inside, Xue Yushi comes with me." ”

There was a row of orange-orange oil lamps lit in the dark cellar, and the brighter the light, the darker and more terrifying it became. There are seven or eight secret chambers in this place, the one on the east side is for torture and interrogation, and the west side is for morgues. Xue Ne walked into the room on the east side of the head, pulled out a stool, sat in front of the wooden desk, and after a while, a scrivener in charge of recording hurriedly walked in, and after bowing to Xue Ne, he sat at the other end of the stool, and then a guard named Feng Er was brought in.

Taking advantage of the gap between Xue Ne and the witness, the two palms at the door whispered:

"Who is this young offspring? Why do you look like this? ”

"You don't know him? He is the eldest son of General Xue, Xue Ne......"

"Pacified General Xue Rengui of Goguryeo? How did such a brave man give birth to a little white-faced son? Besides, isn't this case reported to the prince? Why didn't it come from the East Palace, but him? ”

"You can be quiet, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is very serious about this Xue Da fool, and has ordered him to supervise this case for the imperial history, and in the future, he will only come and go here more often......

"But I've heard, isn't the suspect already identified? Why did the prince still send Yushi? ”

"It must have been decided, but he has not been caught, and this person is fierce, I am afraid that it will be difficult to catch, so the prince sent an inspector."

"Oh? Who is it? ”

"The female apprentice of Li Chunfeng of the Secret Pavilion Bureau......"

"How can a little lady break into such a disaster? Kill so many people? ”

"Scared, that girl is not an ordinary little lady, that is a red-clothed yaksha......"

The echo in the corridor was buzzing, and the sound was very unclear, but Xue Ne in the room still keenly caught the words "Red Yaksha", and he coughed lightly as a point, and the two palms did not dare to speak, and pretended to have nothing to do.

After the witness was verified, Xue Ne began to question, although he has always been not good at words, but this matter involves the face of the crown prince Li Hong, Xue Ne sank his temperament, and slowly asked: "Is the hall Feng Er?" Where were you at the time of the fire? ”

Feng Er replied: "Back to the official master, the little one was at the gate at the time, and he saw the inside of the Treasure Pavilion burning. ”

"Who were you with at that time? Is there a certificate? ”

"Back to the official, the little one and Wang Wu are on duty at the gate. From the time of the incident to the change of guard at Shenzheng, the two of us were on duty. ”

The soldier on duty at the gate can be said to be the key to this case, because although Xue Ne knew that the captain of the guard might have dropped the bag, he didn't know when and where the murderer entered the Treasure Pavilion, let alone when the bag was dropped, he sat up straight and asked solemnly: "In the four hours you have been on duty, who have entered and exited the gate?" ”

Feng Er scratched his head and said, "How can I remember this, there are probably about three or five groups of people." The little lady named Fan Ning was the last to come. ”

"Where's the Captain? Have you ever been out and about? ”

Feng Er scratched his head again and rolled his eyes, as if he was desperately recalling: "The boss has been with us since we were on duty." Although I have been to the Treasure Pavilion because of the pick-up and drop-off of these guests, I have never left the gate of the courtyard. ”

This was strange, Xue Ne thought to himself, he thought that the chief guard must have gone out, so he gave the murderer a chance to drop the bag. Could it be that the murderer had already infiltrated the interior of the Hongbunkan, or was it simply someone inside the Hongbunkan?

Xue Ne asked a few more questions, and after the scribe made a record, Feng Er drew a charge, and Xue Ne ordered someone to take him down, and then sent another celebrity to witness Wang Wu coming up, and asked: "From the succession to the fire yesterday, where are you and who are you with?" ”

"Back to the official, the villain has been guarding the gate with Feng Er, until the inside was on fire, and he didn't even go to the thatched house."

"Do you remember who was here during your time on duty?"

Wang Wu recalled and said, "I want to think about it...... First of all, someone from the Hongwen Pavilion came to the main courtyard of the Hongwen Pavilion to take the original of the "University", and then there were internal servants who came to take the restored draft of the "Twenty-four Heroes of the Lingyan Pavilion" around the third quarter of the first month, and then there was nothing until the monks of the Famen Temple came to the Lotus Sutra in order to borrow and copy the "Lotus Sutra", and then the little lady came as soon as they left. ”

A thought flashed through Xue Ne's mind, and he asked slowly, "Are there any of these people you mentioned just now who are inconsistent with the number of people who came and left?" ”

Wang Wu scratched his head and said, "I don't know about this, after all, the boss has always followed, so I don't care." ”

I'm afraid that the chief guard is an accomplice, Xue Ne clenched his fists tightly, and couldn't help but be anxious. However, these people also do things according to the rules, and what they do is understandable, who would have thought that their chief guard might have been secretly replaced?

When Xue Ne came back to his senses, the subject of the questioning had been replaced by a third person, and when he looked closely, it was actually a thirteen or fourteen-year-old child.

"What's your name? Where were you at the time of the incident? Xue Ne asked.

The child was timid, and seemed to be a little afraid of Xue Ne, so he didn't dare to look him in the eyes, so he only lowered his head and said, "My name is Shen Qi, and I was ...... at that time Patrol in the backyard. ”

"Who can testify for you?" Xue Ne asked again.

"That's it...... I'm alone", Shen Qi buried his head lower, and his voice became smaller and smaller.

Is there no witness, Xue Ne looked at Shen Qi's cramped and uneasy appearance, obviously thinking that he might be suspected, so he became more and more afraid.

To say that there are indeed no two people on patrol, Xue Ne controlled his voice and said in a soothing tone as much as possible: "Don't worry, I won't suspect you because I don't have any witnesses, you just need to tell me everything you see, and after I hear the confessions of all of you, I will make my own decision." ”

Hearing this, Shen Qi felt a little relieved, and immediately said eagerly as if he wanted to defend himself: "I have never been on duty around the backyard from time to time, and during this time, I have seen people going upstairs through the windows of the treasure pavilion on the first floor facing the backyard. ”

Xue Ne immediately came to his senses, leaned forward obviously, and his speech speed was rarely accelerated by two points: "Who have you seen?" ”

The young man swallowed his saliva and said timidly to Xue Ne: "First I saw our guard chief leading a group of monks to carry the boxes upstairs one by one, and then I didn't see anything when I turned around and came back, and when I turned around again, I saw Long Si hurrying up from the stairs, as if he was going to call the guard chief." Then he came back in a circle, and saw the chief of the guard leading a little lady in red clothes upstairs. ”

Although this kid has no witnesses, the situation he saw is basically the same as what Wang Wu said at the gate, so this kid's words should be believed. Xue Ne was thinking about it, and the child said, "Later, when I turned half a circle to the back wall, suddenly there was a fire on the second floor. I was paralyzed from fright, and I wanted to rush to the front gate to fetch water and fight the fire with everyone, but before I could stand up, the access to the front yard was blocked by burning and falling wood. I had to stay in the backyard and watch it burn. Until the whole attic collapsed, the little lady in red jumped directly from the second floor with a sword, and then escaped over the wall. ”

Xue Ne immediately noticed the abnormality in it, and hurriedly asked, "What do you mean, Fan ...... Before the lady in red escaped, no one escaped from the backyard over the wall? ”

Shen Qi nodded dumbly, as if he didn't understand why Xue Ne would ask back.

Xue Ne fell silent, and according to Fan Ning, she escaped through the same window immediately after the prisoner who jumped out of the window. There is an obvious contradiction between this and what Shen Qi said, could it be that Shen Qi is lying?

Next to be brought in was an old man. Xue Nezhong pulled his thoughts back again and asked, "What is the old man's surname?" Where were you at the time of the incident? ”

The old man coughed and said to Xue Ne: "The old man is surnamed Tian, and everyone here calls me Tian Laohan." The old man has no other skills, but he writes well, after all, he used to be a teacher, and now he is responsible for transcribing scriptures and classics. At the time of the incident, I was on my way home when I was about to go to my home. But not long after I arrived, I heard the noise of the nearby Wuhou shop, saying that it was out of the water. ”

"Dare to ask where the Zun family lives? How far is it from Kobunkan Annex? Xenne asked.

"In the east of Lantian County, the distance is about ten miles. Don't look at my age, it's still okay to walk, but you can't walk fast......" He coughed twice.

Although there is no definite witness to prove that he was not at the scene at the time, looking at his old and frail appearance, if he can get home around Shen Zheng, at least he must set off around the beginning of the year, and if there is no one to assist him, it is impossible to go back and forth in the middle, and if so, he should not be the arsonist.

However, listening to the confessions of the previous three people, it seems that there is no mention of this old man going out, Xu is habitually only talking about outsiders, and does not include his own people. Just in case, Xue Ne asked again, "Didn't you should have copied the manuscript the day before yesterday?" Why did it go back another day? ”

"Don't hide it from the official, my cough was caused by the wind and cold the day before yesterday. If it weren't for the fact that I couldn't do it, I wouldn't have delayed it. ”

"You are sick, have you gone to Lang Zhong to take a look?"

"The official still doesn't understand the hardships of our ordinary people, a little wind and cold, where can I have the money to see Langzhong?"

Xue Ne was quite ashamed, and seeing that there was nothing to ask and no suspicion, he took out of his pocket, gave him two pieces of silver, and beckoned the old man to go home early to recuperate.

The last one to come in was a burly man who was more than eight feet tall, and when Xue Ne saw that he was tall and horse-tall, and had some similarities with the captain of the guard, he couldn't help but raise his vigilance and asked, "Who are you?" What do you do in the museum? ”

The man glanced at Xue Ne and asked, "Who are you?" The fine skin and white flesh don't look like the official of the Criminal Department, why should I listen to you? ”

It is not uncommon for witnesses to be arrogant and uncooperative, since they want to get more clues, they must communicate patiently, Xue Ne introduced himself seriously: "Cheng Gate Lang Xue Ne, on the order of the prince, came to supervise this case, which is the special supervision of this case......

Who knew that the man snorted and said with disdain: "The special imperial history, which means that the case will be removed after the case is closed?" Then I'll talk to you about the balls. ”

After that, he got up to leave, but was stopped by the two guards at the door and said, "Without the consent of the imperial history, you must not leave without permission!" ”

Seeing that there was no way to escape, the man had no choice but to shrug his shoulders and stare at Xue Ne with a smile: "Okay, just play with your baby and play with this bad person." ”

With such an arrogant attitude, Xue Ne looked the same, and asked Fang Cai's question again: "Who is the surname, what is the position, and where was the person at the time of the incident?" ”

"My name is Zhang San, and I am in charge of managing the arsenal in the museum, preparing swords, leather armor, etc. I was in the warehouse at the time of the incident, and I escaped as soon as I found out about the fire, and then I followed to extinguish the fire. ”

"Is there anyone with you in the warehouse?"

"How can there be anyone else, just me."

"So even if you weren't in the warehouse at the time, no one knew?"

"There is only one guard in the arsenal, which is a rule set by the Emperor and the Queen of Heaven. If you have any doubts, you might as well ask those knives, forks, swords, and halberds, maybe they can speak, and they can tell you who the murderer is", the big man smiled with his hands, not taking Xue Ne's question seriously at all.

"Since you are in charge of weapons and armor, did you find that your leather armor and sword were missing a few days before the incident?"

This is a key question. If any weapon and armor are missing, it can prove that there is an external criminal, after all, the body of the guard captain is wearing leather armor, but the man's flesh trembled, and he retorted sharply: "How is it possible! I, Zhang San, am not a vegetarian, and since I came to the Hongwen Pavilion five years ago, I have never lost a single soldier here! ”

Xue Ne was surprised, and confirmed again: "Before the incident, you never left the warehouse, and you didn't meet anyone else in the warehouse, right?" ”

"Exactly," the man yawned and rubbed the corners of his eyes, as if he was very dissatisfied with the morning call for him to inquire.

This is strange, if this person is not the murderer, then his words are equivalent to putting an end to the possibility of external criminals, how can there be two guards who are exactly the same as the leather armor, one of them must have leather armor and the other is not wearing, and this makes Fan Ning's confession and the situation at the scene inconsistent. Could it be that the murderer took off the leather armor on the corpse of the guard chief, put on a duel with Fan Ning, and then took it off to put the corpse back on? Judging from Fan Ning's description, the time left for the murderer is only the blink of an eye, so it doesn't look like he has the opportunity to do so!

Seeing that he couldn't ask for more information, Xue Ne had to let Zhang San leave. I thought that after interrogation, Fan Ning's suspicion would be reduced, but who knew that her suspicion was even more serious, especially when the young man Shen Qi said that he only saw Fan Ning fleeing from the backyard, and the strong man Zhang San said that there was never a loss of armor blades, which was the most unfavorable to Fan Ning. If Fan Ning is really caught, I am afraid that her suspicion will be difficult to clear.

No, the murderer must have some way to make the impossible possible, but he hasn't discovered it yet, Xue Ne thought so, sighed softly, got up and walked out of the gate of the criminal department.

"Hu cake, tea soup, mushroom rice! Hu cake, tea soup, mushroom rice! ”

At five o'clock, the eastern city of Chang'an City is bustling and noisy, Hu merchants drive camels, transport the treasures of the Western Regions through the streets and alleys, and you can see vendors selling tea cakes and cherry dumplings everywhere. A thin and handsome young man looked around, I don't know which rich family it was, a pair of clear eyes but a little vigilant, too fair face with two mustaches, looks quite eye-catching. This person is none other than Fan Ning, who got up early this morning and saw that Xue Ne had gone out, so she changed her clothes and slipped out of Xue's mansion, wanting to find Li Chunfeng's traces.

Li Chunfeng has a wide range of interests, not only loves astronomical calendars, deduction of actuarial calculations, but also loves singing, dancing and storytelling.

It's still early, the song and dance hall in Pingkangfang has not yet opened, it is too eye-catching to go at this time, Fan Ning decided to go to the restaurants and restaurants that the master likes in the West Market to have a look, this big circle turned down, and still did not find any trace of Li Chunfeng, she didn't feel a little discouraged, where is the master in this huge Chang'an City? Is it the same as her, who was victimized by adulterers?

The center of the West Market is the Equalization Bureau, which is set up to prevent traders from running short of catties and shortages, and today both sides of the Equalization Bureau are posted with notices of Fan Ning's wanting, and her cold and beautiful face is matched with the bounty text on both sides, which is quite a bit heinous. Fan Ning glanced at it, lowered his head and hurried past, and soon blended into the crowd.

The Fang Market in Chang'an City will always be so lively, but the conversation in the streets and alleys has changed from "Xue Rengui's Great Destruction of Goguryeo" two days ago to "The Red Yaksha Fierce Hongwen Annex", which is also mixed with various rumors about the fighting method of Li Hong, the prince of today's court, and He Lanmin, the bachelor of Hongwen Hall. Fan Ning recalled that he had heard his master mention that although the nephew of the Queen of Heaven, He Lan Minzhi, was talented, he was absurd and unreasonable, and he was not on good terms with the crown prince Li Hong, and often openly opposed Li Hong in the court.

But if he really wanted to hit the prince, he could have done something more direct, so it was really the opposite of the opposite, Fan Ning denied his idea, and continued to go along the road to the wine shop that Li Chunfeng loved.

What Fan Ning didn't know was that on the second floor of this wine shop, there was a criminal official who was also paying attention to the big case of the Hongwen Pavilion Annex. This person's name is Gao Min, about twenty years old, born with a long face, trim eyebrows and handsome eyes, slightly dark complexion, tall and compact, seemingly inconspicuous background, should be a broken nobleman cited by Kaoke, today is the day he let go, but he did not rest, flipping through Xue Ne's interrogation records, reading page by page is extremely careful, the criminal department clerk who was just Xue Ne's file stood beside him, and described the details of Xue Ne's interrogation to Gao Min, and even his facial expressions were not let go.

Gao Min closed the file and turned sideways, and said to the scrivener: "It's hard."

The scrivener thanked him for his salute, and then asked, "Director Gao, do you want to give the file to Li Sixing?" ”

"Let's go", Gao Min said, returning the file to the scrivener, and looking into the distance by leaning on the railing, but saw that the buildings in Chang'an City were like a labyrinth, high and low, and there seemed to be no end.

Some people are born into a big family, calling for each other, Gao Min never envies, he knows very well that the chess game has already begun, and his son is only in his own hands.

Today is the day of the Pingyang County Mansion to set up a banquet to celebrate the housewarming, after noon, there are many dignitaries and nobles in Beijing to congratulate here, Xue Ne only came back from the criminal department, was invited by the housekeeper Liu Yu to the gate, and Xue Chuyu greeted the guests outside the gate of Shishi Town.

Xue Nefang was appointed by the crown prince Li Hong as the supervisor of the imperial history, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with him, but the guests who came and went were obviously a little enthusiastic about him, which couldn't help but make Xue Chuyu, who had always been like the stars holding the moon, a little unhappy, and his words were a little ridiculous: "Brother Fang came back from the Criminal Department, and he still had a bad aura on his body, so he was only afraid of some collisions, why didn't he change his clothes and come again." ”

Xue Ne remembered the case and Fan Ning, and as soon as he was stunned, he turned his head and left, who knew that a lot of weight suddenly fell on his back, he looked back, and saw a girl in a full-breasted skirt crawling on his back, smiling very coquettishly: "Why did I come, you are leaving?" ”

This full-breasted skirt girl is Li Yuanxi, the great-granddaughter of the British Duke Li Tao, who has known Xue Ne since childhood. It is said that when both were still in their wombs, the mothers of both sides pointed to each other's stomachs at the banquet and half-jokingly agreed that if they were both boys, they would marry brothers, if they were girls, they would marry sisters, and if a man and a woman would become husband and wife. Later, Xue Ne was born prematurely, a month earlier than Li Yuanxi, and her whole small body was wrinkled, but fortunately there was no major problem; And Li Yuanyan was born at full term, two pounds heavier than Xue Ne, and the two were put together, but they couldn't tell the difference between men and women. Now that the two are both famous generals, they have not yet married, and many people can't help but speculate that the two of them will get married when Xue Ne has a little action. Today, Li Yuanyan came here dressed up, painted with peach blossoms, charming and compelling, and her gestures were quite a bit of the demeanor of the future housewife, which attracted the attention of others.

Xue Ne was not good at words, especially when he saw the girl, and he was only a little better when he grew up, but today Li Yuanyan was lying on his back, which still startled him: "County Lord, you go down, come down!" ”

Li Yuanxi is the great-granddaughter of the British Duke Li Tao, and she is also the pearl of the Li Mansion. Seeing Li Yuanyan's unabashed favor for Xue Ne today, Xue Chuyu didn't want to mention it in his heart, so he stepped forward and greeted with a smile: "The county lord is here, it really makes my Xue family shine!" Mother has been thinking about you for the past two days, you might as well let Chu Yu take you to the Buddha Hall......"

Who knew that Li Yuanyan didn't pay attention to Xue Chuyu at all, climbed down from Xue Ne's back, and walked straight forward with him: "You haven't looked for me for many days, I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sent you to handle the case of Hongwen Pavilion?" I really didn't expect that it was that Fan Ning who killed the murderer, I said a long time ago, that girl didn't look like a good bird, I didn't expect to dare to kill ...... this time"

"Fan Ning is not a murderer", Xue Ne was not expecting it at all at this time, and directly interrupted Li Yuanyan's words, and walked with her to the warm pavilion where her mother offered Buddha, and said in a low voice, "But the county lord, this time I really have something important to ask you for help." ”

"But do you want to borrow any weapons?"

"It's not borrowing weapons, it's borrowing people, is the wind shadow busy lately? Didn't your father send him an errand? Xue Ne asked slowly, but there was a rare anxiety in his tone.

"I don't have any important errands, but I heard from my grandfather that a handful of Turks are plotting to infiltrate Chang'an recently, waiting for an opportunity to create trouble. It is said that they do not belong to any of the 'Ten Arrows Tribe', do not respect the law of etiquette, and only want to avenge the death of the Jieli Khan, intending to cause death and injury in this Chang'an City. ”

"Is there any physical evidence?" When Xue Ne heard this, she suddenly became a little excited, and as soon as she grabbed Li Yuanyan's shoulder, she looked at her fixedly, which made Li Yuanyan's face red, her mind was blank, and she forgot how to answer.

Suddenly, a stone flew from nowhere, and it hit Xue Ne's head with a "snap", and he felt that his eyes were dark, and he fell to the ground like a soft noodle.

When I woke up again, I was back in my room.

After dealing with several visits from his mother and Li Yuanyan, it was already time for the banquet, Xue Ne sent them away, and finally found a few traces of cleanliness, sat up with his forehead propped up, and said in a low voice: "Come out." ”

Without thinking about it, he knew that it must have been Fan Ning who hit him with a flying stone, and since the day they met, she had been on a bad relationship with Li Yuan, and Fang Cai must have seen him talking from a corner, so he flew out of the stone to hit him.

He was beaten very little, but Xue Chuyu was very attentive and took his subordinates to look for assassins, thanks to Fan Ning's good kung fu and quick hiding, so he was not discovered, otherwise I don't know what kind of chaos would have happened.

Hearing Xue Ne's call, Fan Ning came out of the cabinet, sat beside him, looked at the swollen bag on his forehead, and said with a smile: "This is two points more handsome than usual, I don't know if Li Yuanyan likes you like this?" ”

Xue Ne grabbed her slender finger that wanted to poke her forehead, and smiled helplessly: "If I say a few words to Li Yuanyan, you will send flying stones to hit me?" I don't hurt, what if you're seen? ”

Fan Ning shrugged her shoulders, looking indifferent, as if she was not afraid even if she was really discovered.

Xue Ne's deep eyes were as deep as a cold pool, and he stroked his swollen and painful forehead, and sighed: "I don't know what is going on with you and Li Yuanyan, it seems that they have been arguing since the first meeting......

"Where do I rarely quarrel with her, it's obviously her, who has been targeting me since she came to watch you when she was eight years old, and she still wants to frame me that day. Who knew that instead of pitting me, he buried himself...... When you marry her in the future, I won't dare to associate with you......"

The speaker had no intention of listening, Xue Ne was stunned, and his eyes suddenly dimmed, like a starless and moonless night: "Who said I want to marry Li Yuanxi." ”

Fan Ning was shaking her head, Shu was bored in the wooden cabinet for a long time, hearing Xue Ne say this, she turned her head in surprise and looked at Xue Ne, only to see a light smile on the corner of his mouth, but there was indescribable sadness hidden in his eyes.

"I have someone I like", Xue Ne met Fan Ning's blank gaze, and a bright and gentle light burst out of his pupils, envious of the meteors in the sky, "I will only marry her." ”