After the disaster, the Hongbunkan annex was full of charred ruins, except for the gate far away from the fire scene. The surviving guards and the warriors who had rushed to put out the fire sat on the ground with tiredness, and there were many buckets standing or overturned beside them, each of them covered in thick plaster, black from head to toe, and barely recognizable who was who. The brigades who rushed to the rescue came in and out, in groups of two or three, to quickly remove the wounded or surviving collections from the rubble.

Although it took less than half an hour to gallop from the city gate bureau to the Hongwen Pavilion Annex, Xue Ne's heart felt like he had passed three lives and three lives, and he beat the horse in a hurry in the night, almost beating the horse's buttocks to the flesh, but he still couldn't suppress the anxiety in his heart.

The guards at the gate and the brigade soldiers saw that it was Xue Ne coming, and they all intervened in his salute, but Xue Ne's mind was so big that he was almost completely unconscious of what they said and what he said, he staggered over and dismounted, tripped over the gravel on the ground, got up, walked three or two steps and twisted his feet, until he ran between the corpses lying in the clearing, lifted the white cloth of the corpses one by one, and checked their faces, wanting to know if there would be her inside.

This corpse was charred and flesh and blood, none of them looked like her, Xue Ne sat paralyzed on the ground, thinking to herself, didn't she come to Hongwen Pavilion? Could it be that I am too careful? Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he saw a brigade soldier come over and say, "Please Xue Lang to find out, what kind of thing is this......"

Xue Ne turned his head to look, but saw that what the brigade soldier was holding in his hand was Fan Ning's red silk hairband, but the end was scorched, he hurriedly snatched it and held it tightly in the palm of his hand.

"The bodies here are intact, and there are still a few bodies still in place, and they are no longer humanoid because they have been burned so badly......"

Xue Ne was already at a loss, at this time it was more like he was completely blind and deaf, if his heart was beating with a heavy drum, he would be suffocated, and the whole person would be more uncomfortable than dead.

If he had had been more attentive in the afternoon, and had gone to the Hongwen Pavilion with Fan Ning, or had simply come to pick up the objects for her, how could she have suffered such a catastrophe?

No, no one was seen alive, no corpse was seen dead, Xue Ne refused to believe that the girl who was as shrewd as a fire fox would die in this ruin. If Daigo filled the top of Xue Ne's head, his chaotic mind suddenly became extremely clear. On the other hand, everything around me seems to be extremely slow, and the birds, the smell of flowers, and the smell of burnt air are all clear.

Didn't see the scene, everything was still uncertain, Xue Ne thought so, stood up on the ground, his expression seemed to be a completely different person, his clear eyes were full of cold light, he ignored the dissuasion of his brigade army, picked up the ruins around him and walked into the treasure pavilion that had not been completely burned out. As far as his eyes could see, what his ears heard, what his nose smelled, and what his hands touched, all kinds of clues came to him like the tide of the Qianjiang River. Even though the Treasure Pavilion had burned to ruins, Xue Ne still used the impression he had from his previous visit to the Treasure Pavilion to quickly reconstruct it in his mind as it had been before it collapsed.

Xue Ne walked into this treasure pavilion that only existed in his imagination, and the first thing that caught his eye was two corpses on the first floor, one of which was pressed under the bronze tripod, one hand stretched outward, and the other hand curled up, mouth open, and the inside was full of black ash. The other was curled up not far from the first body, one hand behind the back of his head, the other with a forearm.

Xue Ne walked back to the corpse under the pillar, and found a mutilated forearm from the black charcoal ash, and a long sword fell from the ground, looking at the carved patterns owned by the guards, and then seeing that the two bodies were wearing leather armor, Xue Ne estimated that these two people should be the guards of the Hongwen Pavilion Annex, one of them was pressed by the smashed bronze tripod and couldn't move, and the other wanted to lift the bronze tripod to rescue the person, but he was pressed by his arm, and had to swing his sword to cut off his arm, but he couldn't escape and was choked to death by the smoke.

Apart from these two bodies, there were no other casualties on the first floor, except for countless broken porcelain tiles and pewter utensils that had been molten by the fire, and even a golden Buddha had been burned in the heat. Xue Ne climbed the stairs and came to the second floor of the Treasure Pavilion where the incident occurred, and a charred corpse fell behind the entrance pillar on the second floor, lying on the ground with his hands and feet curled up on his side, also wearing leather armor. Xue Ne stepped forward and stretched out his hand to pull the corpse's mouth open, but saw that the throat inside was not burned, and there were no obvious traces of soot like the two corpses just now. Xue Ne turned it over, but saw that there was a very conspicuous incision behind the leather armor, about an inch in size, if it was a sword wound, the sword should be about a foot long. Obviously, this person was not burned to death, but had died before the gangster set the fire, and the fatal wound was the wound in the back, and when the gangster wanted to set the fire, he was discovered by the guards who came up, so he was stabbed to death.

A few more steps inside, a gold and bronze vessel upside down on the ground caught Xue Ne's attention. Xenne picked it up and examined it carefully, showing marks of a blade. Xenne immediately looked around and saw that a burnt bookshelf had clearly been split in half by the sword, and that the split was lighter in color than the others. Xue Ne was a little puzzled: Could it be that the fire did not occur after the fight, but before? If not, how can there be burn marks of different shades formed by the burning of the planks and then splitting? But if so, then who is fighting whom?

Xanne was about to go to the upper floors when he caught a glimpse of a corpse lying under the stairs leading to the third floor. Xue Ne walked down the steps and came to the corpse, but saw that he was also curled up like another corpse found on this floor, there was no black ash in his mouth and throat, and he was also wearing leather armor, and there was a blackened sword next to him, and judging by his large head and the pearl of the Western Regions that he carried, this person should not be a Han person, but a Hu person.

Hu people? If you talk about the Hu people in the annex of Hongwen Pavilion, there is only the chief of the guard called Anukhan. Could he ...... Xue Ne shook his head, it was easy to feel that he had found some clues, but now he was vague.

Xue Ne got up and rummaged through the entire ruins, looking for all the places he could find, but he didn't find a body that might be Fan Ning's body, he was a little relieved, thinking that Fan Ning's martial arts were not practiced in vain on weekdays, he must have run out before the fire collapsed, and dropped the hairband to the ground in a panic.

Xue Ne came back to his senses, and before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the smile gradually disappeared from his face, and his eyes stared at the reinforcements coming from the door, only to see that he was holding a wanted notice in his hand, and the person painted on it was none other than Fan Ning.

Xue Ne has a gentle temperament and never competes with others, but at this time, he is angry, and he is as anxious as he was when he was a child: "You, you want to draw this wanted warrant very quickly!" ”

The man didn't hear the thorns in Xue Ne's words, and hurriedly smiled: "Xue Lang praised it falsely, it was given by the government, and Fang Cai Fa Cao and a few servants have already come to check it, and among the people in the hall when the fire broke out, only this female baby is missing, and it must be a murderous ......."

"The life is the murderer?" Xue Ne snatched the wanted warrant from the man's hand and tore it to shreds on the spot.

The man stood stunned for a long time, and said angrily: "Xue Lang, what are you doing here?" ”

"She's not a murderer, I'll prove it to the world!" Xue Ne said a word, turned over on the horse, met the surprised eyes of everyone, turned the horse's head, and galloped towards Chang'an City in the night.

Pingyang County Mansion is located in the northwest of Chang'an City Chongrenfang, since the Taizong period, Xue Rengui from Tian Shelang, until recently Pingliao East added officials into the knight, became the Pingyang County Prince, Xue family also restored the sixth ancestor of the Northern Wei Dynasty when the famous general Xue Andu Zhong Ming Ding Shi Sheng, the scenery is unlimited. In the same square, there are also the mansions of the twelve heroes of Lingyan Pavilion and the British Duke Li Tao, these two families will occupy the entire square area, and the remaining are only three or two ordinary official mansions, which look very few in front of these two big families with poetry and books.

Reasoning, Xue Ne is the eldest son of the princely family, and he goes out to escort the chariots and horses, and the servants hug each other, which is understandable, but he doesn't like this, and he still goes alone, without the grandeur of a prince and nobleman. Other aristocratic children are more fond of hunting and polo, and occasionally go to Pingkangfang to buy laughter, but Xue Ne not only doesn't know all three, but he is actually good at investigating cases, and doing the most despised deeds in the three hundred and sixty lines, even if the people in cloth are still taboo and avoid murder, he doesn't care, no wonder the world wants to call him a "fool".

On the way back from the Hongwen Pavilion Annex, Xue Ne's heart was full of thoughts about Fan Ning's wanted. Although the annex of Hongwen Pavilion is not as strict as the palace guard, it is also heavily guarded in the end, and it is impossible to climb over the wall to enter and then go out like a night thief. Now among all the people present, only Fan Ning's whereabouts are unknown, and the others are either dead or injured, according to ordinary logic, the murderer will not have anyone else except Fan Ning. If such a big thing happens, even the saint will be alarmed, Jingzhao County, the Criminal Department and Dali Temple must be urging like ants on a hot pot, and it is impossible to wait until the truth comes out, so whether it is right or wrong, the Lantian County Ya must give an explanation immediately, otherwise the impeachment of the prince Li Hongzhijing will be piled up in a mountain. And if it is said that it is a natural fire, it is not feasible, the annex of Hongwen Pavilion was originally supervised by the prince Li Hong himself, if there is a problem with the design, wouldn't the prince be impeached? Therefore, now that the Lantian County Government has taken Fan Ning as the real murderer and arrested him first, at least he can make a gesture that the case is being investigated, so as to stabilize the prince's reputation.

Of course, Xue Ne knew very well that Fan Ning could not be the real murderer of this case, because she had no motive to commit the crime. The two of them have known each other since childhood, although she is indeed good at martial arts, and sometimes she is a little rough, but she is jealous and hateful, and she is by no means indiscriminately killing innocent people, not to mention that this matter is related to Li Chunfeng. Although Fan Ning will tease Li Chunfeng on weekdays, he will never do anything disrespectful to him, Xue Ne once accidentally broke Li Chunfeng's sand table when he was young, and was chased and beaten by Fan Ning, how could such Fan Ning burn down the Hongwen Pavilion Annex, which stored her master's life's work "Tui Bei Tu"?

But Xue Ne also knew that the Criminal Department and Dali Temple were not places to talk about mercy, and before finding Fan Ning, he could only pray for God's mercy not to let Fan Ning be arrested so soon, otherwise he would be tortured and shed his skin if he didn't die.

Xue Ne was immobile on his face, but the noise in his heart was like a tsunami, just now he wandered on the fork in the road, and he couldn't hold back several times, wanting to go straight to the stargazing view to see if Fan Ning had returned to the view, but considering that now that the wanted warrant has been issued, the martial marquis will definitely set up an ambush around the stargazing view, if she rushes forward and is regarded as Fan Ning's accomplice, it will be even more difficult to help her clear her grievances.

But if left unchecked, the case will most likely end with the execution of Fan Ning. According to the "Yonghui Law", the destruction of the royal garden is the crime of "ten evils", and all the "ten evils" must be sentenced to death, without parole or commutation, and the so-called "ten heinous crimes" come from this. In particular, the more sensational and controversial the case, the more likely it is that the punishment will be severe, and the greater the possibility of unjust, false and wrongly decided cases under pressure.

Xue Ne took a few deep breaths and warned himself that if he wanted to clear his name for Fan Ning, he must ensure that he was not disturbed into the game, if he was also involved in the game, not only would he not be able to save Fan Ning, but he might even affect his parents and family. Although it was late, the most important thing at the moment was to hurry up and find the crown prince Li Hong. If you can't tell the prince what you find before tomorrow morning, I'm afraid you won't be able to go back.

However, in order to enter the East Palace to meet the prince, Xue Ne needs to change his clothes and prepare, change into a round-necked robe in official clothes and put on a veil, otherwise no matter what is a big event, he will be driven out by those eunuchs in the Inner Servant Province, Xue Ne doesn't want to entangle with those guys who can't make sense at such a critical juncture.

Xue Ne entered the house through the back door, walked quickly through the back garden, and returned to the small garden where he lived. Although his father has not returned from the Liaodong campaign, his younger brother Xue Chuyu is a good person, and he can hide, otherwise when his father returns to Beijing, he doesn't know what charges he will make up for him.

At the end of the path paved with fine pebbles, there is a delicate house with green tiles and cornices, behind which there is a forest of bamboo cultivation, in front of which are two tall pear trees, Xue Ne walked to the pear tree under a small pool, lifted the bamboo cover, only to see that this pool is actually through the hot spring of unknown place, the clear spring water is flowing, braving the misty white mist, Xue Ne used the bamboo tube to make hot water back to the wing, casually hung the sword with the osmanthus carved wooden hand cleaning platform, poured the hot water into the copper basin, bleached his hands lightly, dried with a clean cloth, stood next to the hanger and took off his clothes, Revealing a body of firm, fine-skinned white flesh.

At this moment, Xue Ne heard a "ah" sound from the wardrobe in front of him, although it was very light and short, it was still caught by Xue Ne's dog-like sharp ears.

Xue Ne was stunned, pretending to have something forgotten in his clothes, and quietly picked up the sword spike of the saber from behind his back under the cover of his body, and then walked to the side of the wardrobe, and climbed the handle of the cabinet door from the dead corner outside the wardrobe.

With a bang, the door of the wardrobe opened, and a red-clothed figure jumped out of the closet, which frightened Xue Ne, and in the next moment, a sharp sword was across Xue Ne's throat. Fan Ning, who was covered in mud, stood in front of Xue Ne, who was lying on the ground wearing only a pair of dirty pants, holding a sword in one hand and covering his eyes with the other.

When I urinate, I feel that this kid is as thin as a rod, and he either has a headache or brain fever all day long, coughing and wheezing, as if a slap can call him to death, not like a general at all. I don't know when he has grown into a slender and compact handsome young man, Fan Ning blushed and whispered: "You fool, did you find that someone in the room didn't put on clothes first?" ”

Xue Ne was in terrible pain, but he didn't dare to shout, but only replied: "If there is a thief in the room who wants to take my life, I must first take up a weapon to defend myself, otherwise...... What should I do if the thief stabbed me with a sword while I was changing my clothes? ”

Fan Ning withdrew the blade of the sword, closed his eyes and raised his hand to give Xue Ne two punches, the touch from his hand was extraordinary, it was Xue Ne's fine skin and tender flesh, which made Fan Ning more and more embarrassed, turned his back to him, and said angrily: "Since you know that it is me, why don't you hurry up and put on your clothes, who will you show your broken body!" ”

Xue Ne struggled to climb forward two steps and stood up, took off the clothes on the hanger, and changed them into two by dividing them by two, feeling that a big stone in his heart had fallen to the ground. After all, seeing Fan Ning standing in front of him well, and there were no serious injuries on his body, which made him feel more at ease than any evidence, Xue Ne walked around in front of Fan Ning, looked up and down, and asked in a low tone: "Do you know that you have become a fugitive from the Ten Evils?" You haven't been to this new house, how can you guess that this garden house is mine? ”

"Everyone in the Pingyang County Mansion knows that while the people who pick vegetables come to your house to send food for tomorrow's banquet to the back kitchen, I sneaked in and saw 'Shen Si' written in front of the door of this garden, and I thought that the master had taught me, 'Be cautious in thinking, be sensitive in action, and be attentive to words', aren't you called Xue Ne, I guess this should be your residence. In short, I haven't been seen, and I can't even affect you", Fan Ning propped himself up, and wiped his face with the water that Xue Ne's hands had cleaned up, revealing the girl's fair and ruddy cheeks, although she looked indifferent, her voice couldn't help but tremble, "You know about someone setting fire to the Hongwen Pavilion Annex...... I don't know who wanted to harm me and trap me into this game, I went back to stargazing to watch, but the master has not come back, this matter is not simple, could it be that the master has also encountered something unexpected......"

"Don't think nonsense, if it weren't for you, Master Li would be the number one suspect......" Xue Ne didn't finish speaking, and was beaten twice by Fan Ning's hand, which made him squeak and scream, and repeatedly begged for mercy, "I'm just talking about ordinary situations, ordinary ...... It didn't say that the person must have been killed by Master Li......"

"Come, come, come", Fan Ning knelt up straight, put his hands together and pretended to hand it over to Xue Ne, his peach blossom eyes were red, although his tone was sheng, his expression was pitiful, "You will arrest me and go to the official mansion now, isn't it a wanted notice for me all over the street?" Then you will be able to make a contribution in front of the prince, and you will no longer have to be that little city gate......"

Before he finished speaking, Xue Ne suddenly covered Fan Ning's mouth and held her in his arms, Fan Ning didn't know why, his eyes were dripping, and the knock on the door of the housekeeper Liu Yu sounded at the same time: "Da Lang, Madame asked me to bring you dinner." ”

Xue Ne's tone responded calmly, signaling Fan Ning to hide back in the cabinet, and according to the usual speed, he walked out of the wing room and opened the small door of the courtyard without slowness. The housekeeper walked in the door, bowed down and put the food on the stone bench in the garden, chatted with Xue Ne for a few words and then retreated, Xue Ne stopped for half a pillar of incense before opening the wardrobe and motioning for Fan Ning to come out: "You have been hungry all day, eat something, and tell me carefully about last night......

The food in Xue Mansion was really good, and the aroma was so fragrant that Fan Ning, who was already so hungry that his chest was close to his back, couldn't refuse, so he stepped forward and directly picked up the chopsticks, picked up the soup cake and ate it himself. While waiting for Fan Ning to finish eating, Xue Ne went through the clues he saw in the annex of Hongwen Pavilion again. Seeing the stains on her sleeves and the black ash on her shoulders, even if Fan Ning didn't say anything, Xue Ne could guess that the swordsmanship of the person who fought with her last night must be very good, but I don't know if he has an accomplice. Xue Ne supported his head with one hand, and there was a bit of stupidity in the confusion between his eyebrows, with this handsome face, he looked really unintelligent, but his mind was spinning rapidly, people and things, emotions and events were intertwined, and the logic was extremely clear.

Seeing Xue Ne's thoughtfulness, Fan Ning thought that he had made a decision, and after eating the soup cakes, he put down the dishes and chopsticks and asked, "So can you guess who did it?" ”

Xue Ne put down the hand supporting her head, turned to look at Fan Ning, and saw her expectant expression, so she couldn't help but think of teasing, and deliberately pretended not to understand: "Is it really not Master Li......?"

"Smack!" Fan Ning punched and kicked Xue Ne, "Dare to mention my master again, see if I don't kill you!" ”

"Alright, alright, alright!" Xue Ne hid and begged for mercy, "What I'm talking about is just an ordinary guess...... By the way, you must be the one who fought on the second floor of the Treasure Pavilion, right? ”

Although she successfully escaped from the fire, Fan Ning was still shocked when she recalled what happened at that time, but how could she show her cowardice in front of Xue Ne, clasped her hands around her knees, and said in a low voice: "The person who fought with me the night before was the one you and I both knew, the head guard of the roe deer-headed rat. ”

"Chief Guard?"

Xue Nadeng was stunned for a long time, and before he could respond, Fan Ning said again: "The chief guard once came to pick me up at the gate, but for some reason, after he entered the Treasure Pavilion, a fire broke out inside. When I rushed in, he was standing in front of the wooden cabinet where the "Tui Bei Tu" was kept, and it was empty. I fought him for a few rounds, but I didn't get any bargains, and I thought I could hurt him at least with a sword, so I let him shoot his Hidden Arrow while he stared at my sword, and he immediately swung his sword and slashed the bookshelves around him, stirring up dust, and then fled through the window while I couldn't see clearly. ”

"Do you really see that the man is the head of the guard? Is there a mask? ”

"Covered his mouth and nose, but I can still tell it's him, and that disgusting look can't be wrong."

"What's unusual about your outfit?"

Fan Ning raised his head and thought about it carefully, and replied: "The clothes are ordinary official uniforms, and I am also wearing leather armor, so I really don't think there is any difference." ”

The confusion on Xue Ne's face increased a little more, and he lowered his head as if talking to himself and said slowly: "I just went to the scene, the captain of the guard is dead, and there are signs that he died before the fire. ”

Fan Ning's eyes widened in shock, and he stumbled: "This ...... How is this possible, at that time I entered the treasure pavilion with him on the front and back feet, and there was no one else but me and him. ”

"Could it be that it's not the head guard at all, but someone else pretending?"

Fan Ning pondered for a moment, waved his hand and said, "It shouldn't be." I didn't go there yesterday, but when he came to pick me up at the door today, he did remember the scene when I came yesterday. Just ......"

"Just what?" Xue Ne asked, not letting go of Fan Ning's every word, every expression, and even every wink.

Fan Ning fell into deep thought, but he was not sure, shook his head and said: "It's just that with his kung fu, he is really too powerful, even above those partial generals in your father's military camp." But on weekdays, as long as I am a little angry, he will be like a mouse seeing a cat......"

Xue Ne smiled dumbly, thinking that it was not only herself, but others were also so afraid of this girl. In this case, there is a high probability that the captain of the guard was fraudulent, which would explain why the body of the captain of the guard found at the scene showed that he died before the fire. It's just empty words, if you want to clear up the grievances on Fan Ning's body, it's too far to rely on these alone. Xue Ne froze, and a shallow smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, as if he wanted to calm Fan Ning's chaotic mind: "I'll go to the East Palace to find His Royal Highness the Prince." ”

After speaking, he turned around and left, and was quickly twisted by Fan Ning's eyes, she felt that her hand was heavy, and she hurriedly loosened her strength, tugged on his sleeve, and couldn't stop saying: "You want to go to the East Palace, what should I do?" The streets are full of my wanted notices, the Taoist temple has also been sealed, the master still doesn't know where to go, once he is arrested in the criminal department, it is inevitable that a felony like me will commit a capital crime, can you bear to see me like this! ”

Fan Ning's strength was great, Xue Ne's slender body was shaken by her, dizzy and couldn't see anything really, he tried to break free from the clamps of her hands in vain, so he had to reply: "I know...... Now all the evidence is against you, if you are really caught, I am afraid that in a few days I will go to Duliuxia in the West City to collect your head. You just hide in this garden of prudence, I will quickly enter the palace to report the case to the prince, solve the case as soon as possible and clear your grievances, if you can still remember anything, tell me no matter how detailed. ”

Fan Ning smiled obediently and flatteringly in an instant, and gave Xue Ne a cross hand salute as a thank-you. Seeing Fan Ning's smiling face, Xue Ne's heart that had been hanging all night suddenly put down, responded with a chuckle, opened a small crack in the courtyard door, and saw that there was no one around, Fang walked out quickly.

Only then did he turn onto the main road outside the Shensi Garden, and saw two hexagonal lanterns coming towards him, Xue Ne looked up and saw that it was not someone else who swaggered behind the two servants carrying lanterns, it was his brother Xue Chuyu.

Although the two sons of the Xue family are both good-looking, Xue Ne is too handsome, but Xue Chuyu is not only handsome, but also has a bit of his father Xue Rengui's demeanor. In addition, Xue Chuyu is talented and intelligent, both civil and military, and is quite loved by Xue Rengui, and even wanted to pass on the title to him for a while. Xue Chuyu did not live up to Xue Rengui's expectations, last year in the Chongwen Pavilion student's polo match even won three yuan, archery skills are not inferior to his father, who is famous for his martial arts, at a young age in the capital high-ranking officials and disciples of the Xue family made a name for the Xue family, earning enough face. Even if he didn't press it on his face, the people in the mansion knew that Xue Rengui's attention to Xue Chuyu was not just out of doting on his young son, so they all competed for the service of his saddle before and after the horse, but they were a little negligent and neglectful of Xue Ne, the eldest son.

Xue Chuyu saw that Xue Ne was dressed in a costume, and saluted with a smile: "Brother is going out so late?" Why do you have to do it? ”

Xue Ne understood that his behavior was indeed a little abnormal in ordinary terms, and he had to explain: "No matter whether the errand of the City Gate Bureau is morning or night, if there is a need in the palace today, I have to rush there immediately. ”

Xue Chuyu smiled, and there were a few unusual rays of light in his eyes: "At night, I listened to the order of the Wuhou in the workshop, saying that the female apprentice of the Taoist priest who had known Brother Ah since childhood was wanted, and all the squares in Chang'an City were searching for him with all their might, did Brother know?" ”

Xue Ne was taken aback, thinking that this kid deliberately mentioned this matter, he must have wanted to see his reaction to judge whether he was in it, and he was calm, and he seemed calm and regretful: "Brother Wei knows, on the way home, I saw a portrait posted by Wuhou, how to say it, it was a little difficult to accept it for a while." ”

Xue Ne's experience of lying since he was a child was almost all for Fan Ning, he is not good at this, and his depressed and confused appearance at this moment is already the limit of his acting skills. Xue Chuyu stared at him for a while, Fang breathed a sigh of relief, and replied: "That's good, knowing that Brother Ah is not involved, Chu Yu is much more relieved." Chu Yu knows that his brother has always been involved in unsolved cases, and he can just check it out from the house, this matter is very involved, don't be stupid enough to cover up and connive, and the Xue Mansion will be in trouble. ”

Before Xue Chuyu finished speaking, he was interrupted by Xue Ne, only to see that his expression was solemn and cold as he had never been, and his speed of speech was still slow, but it was resolute: "Everything else is not as good as you for your brother, but if you don't bend the law for personal gain, you will naturally be above you." If Brother Wei really has a chance to take over the case, once the evidence points to Fan Ning's doing, Brother Wei will report it truthfully; But if the evidence shows that it was not Fan Ning's doing, her brother's death will not allow her to be wronged...... The hour is not early, so I will take the first step for my brother. ”

As he spoke, Xue Ne made a slight bow and walked away. Xue Chuyu's face was full of surprise, Xue Ne had always been self-denying at home for so many years, and it was the first time he had said such heavy words to himself, he looked at Xue Ne's back as he walked away, and asked Liu Yudao, the housekeeper on the side, "Is the eldest brother angry?" Did I say anything to irritate him? ”

Liu Yu smiled and replied: "No, Lang Jun also cares about Da Lang, the court is full of arrest of key criminals, and anyone will remind each other." If Da Lang is really angry, then he can only blame himself for being too small. ”

"Forget it, adults don't care about villains", Xue Chuyu shrugged helplessly, "By the way, I haven't said goodnight to my aunt yet, you can take me there." ”

"Lang Jun, please", as he spoke, the two walked towards the inner courtyard together, disappearing into the hazy night in the backyard of the mansion.

The East Palace is located in the east of the Taiji Palace, close to the Chongren Fang, where the Pingyang County Mansion is located. After dismounting and showing the token, and matching with the goalkeeper, the two guards began to search Xue Ne up and down.

Now the two saints are preparing to go to Luoyang, the eastern capital, and the military affairs in Chang'an City are sent to the Chongwen Hall of the East Palace for processing. This place is not only a place for the prince to study and handle government affairs, but also a noble school for the sons of relatives within four generations of the imperial family and the sons of the capital's third-rank and above, and it is also a place to store the secret documents of the palace, so it is not surprising that the guards are so careful. After the search, Xue Ne rearranged his sleeves and was taken to a side hall to wait.

After about two incense sticks, a guard walked into the hall and took Xue Ne all the way to the prince's study of Chongwen Pavilion, where Li Hong, who was only seventeen years old, was reading the recitals. As the eldest son of the emperor and the empress of martial arts, Li Hongsheng had long eyebrows and sideburns, eyes like autumn water, sparse facial features and beautiful jade, handsome and majestic with a bit of young wandering, beside him, two civil officials of Zhongshu Province bowed down the steps and presented the folds to him one by one. The guards brought a futon, placed it under His Highness, and seated Xue Ne. Xue Ne lifted his clothes, knelt on the futon, bowed his head and bowed. The crown prince Li Hong ignored him, and it was not until he finished reviewing the stack of folds that he put down the brush stained with cinnabar ink and waved his hand to signal others to retreat.

After everyone left and closed the door of the hall heavily, Li Hong said: "Get up, there are only you and me, no need to be formal." Came at night, but what clues did you have? ”

The case was decided, Xue Ne changed his previous Wen Tun, and said hurriedly: "There is a lot of mystery in this case, the murderer is definitely not Fan Ning, and the minister wants to ask His Highness for the post of county magistrate of Lantian County, where the Hongwen Pavilion is located, within three months, the real murderer can be made to confess his guilt and surrender to the law!" ”

Li Hong was not surprised by Xue Ne's request, he smiled slightly, "I expected you to say that. It's just that three months is too long, and the father and mother are afraid that they won't be able to explain, so Fan Ning will have to be arrested. ”

"Your Highness, this ......"

As soon as Xue Ne was about to plead, he was stopped by Li Hong raising his hand: "A person with a clumsy tongue just made a joke, and you can't hold it back?" Others may not know about your old affairs, but this palace knows it, you and Fan Ning have known each other since childhood, which is considered a good corner? This palace looks like she is very good, you are honest, do you have a personal relationship with her? ”

Looking at Li Hong's inquiring look with great interest, Xue Ne suddenly couldn't cry or laugh: "Human life is at stake, Your Highness don't joke anymore...... What's more, His Highness has never seen her, so how can he know that she looks good? ”

Li Hong didn't mean to stop, and while fiddling with the Ruyi in his hand, he raised his eyebrows and smiled: "What about the wanted notice...... But seriously, if you want to be appointed as the county magistrate of Lantian County, this palace must take this matter into account. When I met you in the Changle Fang case, this palace took a fancy to your dedication and selflessness to the unsolved case, if you broke the rules because of selfishness, how could this palace live up to the world? What is there to be ashamed of a manly husband, you just say, whether you want to or not for that girl? ”