After looking through the file, Xu Chucai frowned and said: "Twenty sergeants who escorted grain and grass were besieged and killed, but in the end, Da Zhou only found a dozen mutilated corpses...... In the dossier, only eighteen people can be put on the register......"

Xiao Qinglang bowed his head and said in a solemn tone: "I asked Brother Qi about this matter, and he said that on the battlefield, there are many soldiers whose bodies are nowhere to be found because of the death in battle, so it is not uncommon for the roster to be wrong. ”

"What's more, in addition to the heroes who died in battle, there will also be people who have escaped. After all, swords and swords on the battlefield are not as good as training in the guardhouse, so there are often people who run away after the battle halfway. ”

Although the law of the Great Zhou Dynasty punished those who escaped from the battle very severely, it could not resist the appearance of some timid people among the soldiers who joined the army due to compulsory military service.

His face was heavy, and his expression was a little solemn, obviously thinking of something that Xu Chu had failed to discover.

There are some things that are not suitable for involving Xu Chu now, so even if he knows that she has no dissenting intentions, he is not willing to easily announce his speculation about the emperor and the king of Qi.

Since she likes to conduct autopsies, she just does post-mortem investigations, and he is in front of her to resist the rest of the wind, rain, snow and frost.

Just as the emperor suspected that someone was collaborating with the enemy and treason, and even suspected that some powerful ministers in the court had already had two hearts.

And the killing of the envoys may have been just an introduction, trying to provoke a war between the Great Zhou and the surrounding vassal states. In the end, the man behind the scenes wanted to make a profit.

If there is also turmoil in southern Xinjiang at this time, the people of the Great Zhou will surely suffer.

Now it is obvious that the prime minister, who is the emperor's right-hand man and a model for the world, has lost his prestige because of the fact that the flower is not sick. Even if the emperor tried his best to suppress the impeachment of him, he could only suppress it for a while, and he could not prevent those people from making trouble again.

If they guess correctly, there will be even bigger traps waiting for them next. And the next person may be the King of Qi who holds military power, or ...... Xiao Qinglang himself.

And the means will probably be like framing Hua Wuxi, first making him a thorn in the eye of the so-called emperor's henchmen and a person who is feared by the emperor......

In the battle of Northern Xinjiang, the king of Qi made great achievements, shocked the barbarians from all directions, and made many small royal families unable to sleep at night when they heard his name. In the end, they all made overtures to Da Zhou. It can be said that in the army, the reputation of King Qi is much higher than that of the emperor.

If it weren't for the fact that the emperor was older and had already secured the throne, and the three of them had a deep relationship and would not be provoked. I'm afraid that at this time, there must be ministers with ulterior motives who are thinking about the matter of imperial power.

And Xiao Qinglang is admired by the people of the world because he is in charge of the prison. He deterred many corrupt officials in the court with his honest and honest handling of the three law divisions, which made many people jealous, which was enough to be the most important position beside the emperor in addition to the king of Qi and the prime minister. In addition, he grew up beside the queen and the prince of the East Palace since he was a child, and he was the two-character prince of the former emperor, which is not dishonorable, so if the emperor is jealous, it will not make people feel unusual.

When he thought of this, Xiao Qinglang's eyes were obviously gloomy for a moment, but the gloomy color under his eyes disappeared for a moment.

Xu Chu suppressed the panic in his heart, and said to Xiao Qinglang, who was a little cold: "That person's hands and eyes are all over the sky...... Didn't the prince really think about his identity......"

Perhaps, that person is not clever in means, but he is the master under one person.

For a moment, she only felt a chill all over her body, what a crisis and whirlpool were hidden in this seemingly prosperous and comfortable capital. Vaguely, she felt that the crises were like a dense net, forcing people into a whirlpool that was enough to break people's flesh and blood.

Xiao Qinglang closed the paper in his hand, rubbed his forehead as if tired, and said in a low tone: "If it is as Xiao Chu guessed, then what should it be?" ”

At this time, his face was calm and there was no hint of laughter, which made Xu Chu chuckle in her heart, she didn't have time to think, she only felt cold hands and feet. Xu Chu looked at him so fixedly, and only after a long time did he speak with difficulty: "Since ancient times, ministers and magnates who have been highly accomplished have inevitably come to an end. At this time, even if you want to retreat bravely, I am afraid that it will be difficult to get out......"

Xiao Qinglang saw the struggle flashing in her eyes, and finally gathered into deep worry, and couldn't help leaning back on the chair with a shallow smile. He looked at Xu Chu, his eyes wandered slowly, and he said, "If you let the emperor and Brother Qi hear this, I am afraid that the hearts of both of them will be broken." ”

"If the emperor really has that meaning, I'm afraid that there will be no Jing'an Palace in this world." His eyes were deep, and with a faint deep meaning, he looked out of the dark study window, where only the palace lights flickered. He especially remembered that when the Jing'an Palace, he didn't care about the layout and design. It's just that the two imperial brothers attach great importance to the feng shui and courtyard of the palace, and the eldest brother of the prince of the East Palace personally looked for Qin Tianjian to see, and many of the unique objects were also sent by the prince of Qi to Zhang Luo.

The three of them, like brothers, fathers, and sons, naturally their feelings will not be as absurd as those royal families who fight openly and secretly for the throne and even fight for the throne.

As he spoke, he attached his warm palm to Xu Chu's somewhat chilly hands.

"The emperor is not a faint king, and he will not do anything like a flying bird to feel good and a bow to hide, and a cunning rabbit to cook a dead lackey." After Xiao Qinglang finished speaking, he slightly bent the corners of his lips and said in a slightly joking tone, "Besides, haven't you seen the two brothers, you have the method of observing words and feelings, how can you not see whether what the emperor said when he saw you at that time was sincere or false?" ”

When Xu Chu heard this, his hands and feet began to warm up. She breathed a sigh of relief, if she really cared, she was confused. Although she knows that she is in a high position, she must not show her mood, but no matter how good she is at hiding her emotions, she will not be able to escape the clues of micro-expressions.

Although the emperor was ridiculous that day, his expression and eyes when he spoke to him did not look like a person hiding a chill. And his tolerance of Xiao Qinglang was also unexpected by her. Although she felt strange at the time, she could understand it if she thought about it carefully.

Now looking at Xiao Qinglang's meaning, I really think about it too much.

If the emperor really has murderous intentions, how can a character and mind like Xiao Qinglang not feel it?

These days, I have been with him by myself, and I have already figured out his temperament. Although he is as elegant and extraordinary as the bright moon and clear as an immortal, he is not a holy father, if the emperor really has murderous intent towards him, then he will be on guard in advance, how can he respect the emperor?

Thinking of this, she breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the emperor is not afraid of him, as long as they still have a brotherhood, then no matter how the people behind the scenes set up, they will find a way to break the situation, and they can find more clues along the way.

With this in mind, she turned her attention to the dossier in her hand again. After a long time, she was suddenly stunned and said, "No! Back then, the escort grain and grass were ambushed, but there was one person who escaped! ”

She raised her head suddenly, but heard Xiao Qinglang slowly and leisurely say in unison with her: "Zhuang Songqing, the grain officer!" ”

Just when Xu Chu was stunned, Xiao Qinglang once again threw out a piece of news that shocked her heart, "Zhuang Songqing is actually the father of Zhao Deyong, the young secretary of Honglu Temple. After his father disappeared on the battlefield, his mother remarried and became the Zhao family, and he also changed his name and surname, and even the file and household registration were changed again. ”

Xu Chu was not surprised that Xiao Qinglang would have a good background for an inconspicuous official, and he did not doubt whether there was something biased and wrong in his words. What shocked her now was that Zhao Shaoqing, who had been receiving envoys from the Seventeen Kingdoms, had such a blood feud with the people of Northern Xinjiang.

If so, wouldn't he have enough motives to kill?

Also, where did the missing Zhuang Songqing go?

She had doubts in her heart, and then looked at Xiao Qinglang's expression, it was obvious that there must be side involvement in the dossier. Immediately, she no longer hesitated, and reached out to open the files of several butchers who had been swept by herself.

"Zhao Butcher once participated in the Battle of Wusun, and this battle was tragic, and the northern frontier was led by Yalikun, and Nabi made suggestions...... After this war, Northern Xinjiang once skinned several captured soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty and made straw men. ”

"The Butcher of Qian was also seriously wounded in a battle in which Nabiyan was named a prophet, and many of his fellow soldiers were killed."

"These butchers, in the defeats, have appeared in Nabi."

In other words, the five butchers they screened out all had a grudge against Nabi. Moreover, at that time, it was precisely the envoys who came to confront the Northern Xinjiang and the Great Zhou that led the whole of Northern Xinjiang to confront it......

Almost all the clues come together and end up pointing in one direction. The idea that the murderer was just one of the butchers has changed at this time, and perhaps they should not have thought that the murderer was just one person in the first place.

Xiao Qinglang slowly raised his head and said slowly: "Back then, there were traitors in the army who communicated with Nabi, which led to the leakage of secrets in the army, and countless casualties in several battles. ”

And Nabi, because he had a comradeship with many soldiers in the army, already knew where some soldiers married and settled down on the frontier, so he had kidnapped and mutilated the families of many soldiers. It's just that because of the urgency of the war on the frontier, the soldiers married in private or privately decided on lifelong matters, and they did not have time to report it in the future, and they were not even included in the file. ”

The curvature of the corners of his mouth gradually deepened, and he said with a little coldness: "I have heard Brother Qi Wang mention those things, the people of the northern Xinjiang mixed into the surrounding cities are vicious and ferocious, peeling skin and cutting meat, and feeding pigs and dogs with human flesh often happens. It's just that compared to the safety of the frontier, there are not many written records of those female dependents who died tragically. ”

After all, in the frontier, in times of war, the most common thing is the dead, so that even the people have begun to become numb to death.