The bird on the ridge was startled by the "squeak" of the door opening and landed sharply on the treetops not far away.

Song Ran couldn't sleep well last night and woke up early. As soon as he walked out of the room, he saw that Shen Hanxi was already dressed and standing beside the carriage parked in the atrium of the inn, explaining something to Xia Xiaoqiu, who didn't know when he would come back.

The warm morning light fell on him, and it was difficult to suppress his compelling aura that emanated carelessly.

She didn't bother them, she went to the well to fetch water by herself, and washed her face briefly.

The icy well water irritates every pore, and the drowsy mind gradually clears up.

After Shen Hanxi and Xia Xiaoqiu finished talking, they boarded the carriage, and as soon as they sat down, a small body also came in, the man was dressed as a close attendant, and he was biting a baked cake in his mouth. If it was an ordinary attendant, her move would be bold, but the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard, the envoy, just glanced at her and said, "You go home with Xia Xiaoqiu, this official still has important matters today, and I don't have time to send you in person." ”

She touched the baked cake from her mouth, swallowed the bite she had bitten off, and said, "My lord is going to investigate the case, and I am also going to join in the fun." Before he refused, he raised his eyebrows slightly, "Yesterday, I originally wanted to follow the adults to listen to the drama and watch the excitement, but the drama was not heard, and the excitement was not seen, the adults can't let me go home disappointed, right?" ”

His hand in the folds of his clothes paused, and he couldn't help but look at her again: "Isn't yesterday's excitement enough for you to see?" ”

"That's a fright." As she spoke, she tugged at his sleeve and looked at him with dark eyes, "I'm a close attendant of the adults right now, and many people saw it yesterday." Let me follow, and I will not hinder you in your official business. ”

She has always known how to advance and retreat, and she is not pampered and arrogant, and it is rare to ask him for anything, thinking that she usually wants to be 108,000 miles away from his circle, but today she suddenly wants to accompany him to wade into this troubled water, and her heart can't help but soften.

Song Ran saw that although he didn't answer himself affirmatively, he acquiesced in his attitude, and immediately stretched his eyebrows and said, "Thank you, sir." After thanking him, he borrowed someone from him to report to Uncle Zhong and the dumb man in the house, so that they would not be worried.

She was so engrossed in eating the pancake that she didn't notice that his gaze was getting deeper and deeper at her.

Suddenly, I heard him say: "Miss Song eats so deliciously, the officials who hurt her are hungry." ”

She paused: "Didn't the adults eat?" ”

He said lightly: "I got up too early, I have no appetite." As she spoke, her eyes fell on the half of the pancake in her hand.

She paused and handed it to him: "Then how many bites do you eat to pad your stomach?" ”

She was polite, thinking of his temperament, she would definitely not be willing to eat something stained with other people's saliva, but who knew that he stretched out his slender fingers and took it, and calmly bit into his mouth.

In her complicated expression, he raised his eyes: "What is Miss Song doing with such a fuss, didn't this official eat it yesterday?" ”

She hadn't reacted at first, but after a moment she understood what he meant, and her cheeks immediately burned. couldn't help but sneer, is there such a hooligan as him? But he was calm, so he drank hot tea and swallowed half of the baked cake into his stomach.

Song Ran asked him, "My lord, where are we going now?" ”

He said: "Dali Temple has found out where the gunpowder came from. ”

Song Ran's eyelids jumped: "So fast? ”

It was found out in just one night, and the efficiency of this Dali Temple is enough.

In the southwest corner of the inner city of Ling'an, about three kilometers away from the imperial palace, there is a royal gunpowder factory. This gunpowder factory was originally subordinate to the Ministry of Industry, and together with the Crossbow Workshop Administration and the Jiafang Administration, it was an important ordnance institute in Dajing. There is a eunuch in the factory, more than 40 craftsmen, and some temporary helpers, and the daily production of gunpowder is 1,000 jun, and the standing reserve can reach tens of thousands of jun.

"Nine years ago, there was an explosion at its original site, killing and injuring nearly five or six hundred people and damaging more than 10,000 houses. In addition, the Holy Lord had just ascended the throne, and the political situation was unstable, and soon rumors spread everywhere, almost shaking the entire country. ”

Song Ran listened to Shen Hanxi's explanation, and also remembered the appalling incident, and said: "I heard that the sky collapsed that day, it was as dark as night, and the ghosts and gods in Ling'an City cried and cried, and there were thousands of people who were crushed and frightened to death on the road. Some people say that this is the work of ghosts and gods. Others said......"

"Someone else said," Shen Hanxi did not shy away from it at all, and continued, "The evil elephant descending from the sky is a reminder that the current saint is a faint king. ”

She couldn't help but look at him: "Is it difficult to make this case......"

He said unhurriedly: "The explosion case of that year was investigated by this official with full authority. The explosion occurred in a strange way, and the cause of the accident has not yet been ascertained. ”

The corners of Song Ran's forehead twitched, and he was puzzled: "How do I remember, there was a surviving gunpowder craftsman at that time who confirmed that the explosion accidentally occurred while they were making gunpowder. The Ministry of Industry was also dismissed as a result. A thought suddenly came to my heart, and the corners of my forehead jumped even harder, "Is it difficult to ......"

He straightened the folds of his clothes and lightly confirmed her guess: "All indications indicate that this matter is very likely to be a natural disaster, but if it is really a natural disaster, it will answer the accusation of the rumored 'faint king', so this case must not be closed as a natural disaster." ”

Song Ran's fingertips moved, listening to Shen Hanxi's casual tone ringing in his ears: "That year, the official investigated many people, and the Ministry of Industry Shangshu was one, and the rest of the officials couldn't remember clearly. He thought about it for a while with his hand on his forehead, and said, "I remember that several officials were beaten to death by their own officials because of 'bewitching the public'. His eyes fell on the person beside him, and seeing that she was silent, his eyes couldn't help but become alienated and cold again, "Are you starting to dislike the official again?" ”

She raised her eyes to meet his gaze: "In order to appease the people, adults have no other choice." He exhaled deeply and said, "There are some things that I can't do, and I don't want to do, doesn't mean that I can be superior to others, nor does it mean that I am qualified to judge those who make trade-offs." She lowered her eyes and sighed, "On the contrary, I feel very sorry for my lord, and in this position, I have to do many things that people like me are not willing to do." However, people like me often hate adults for the sake of the noble 'goodness' in their hearts, and they feel that they are particularly reasonable. ”

Her words easily touched the corner of his heart that no light could shine.

He had been in the dark for too long, sometimes wondering if his actions were out of desperation or simply to make his life better.

For so many years, some people were afraid of him, hated him, and looked down on him, and even earlier, there were people who bullied him and trampled him, but no one dared to feel sorry for him.

"How do you know that this official is for the peace of the people, not for the sake of consolidating his position in the Holy Place?"

She asked him rhetorically, "Is that the kind of person you are?" ”

Through a glimmer of light through the curtain, he could see the dust suspended in mid-air, and he suddenly thought that if he was a demon struggling in the world, then she was probably the light that was lit for him on the edge of the world and hell.

Such a dazzling, dazzling light.

As if afraid of being burned, he turned his head away and did not answer her question.

The carriage quickly stopped in front of the gunpowder factory, Song Ran jumped out of the carriage first, dutifully helped Shen Hanxi down, her eyes met, she winked at him, a little cunning.

The corners of Shen Hanxi's lips hooked, and he walked forward casually.

Dali Siqing and the supervisor of the gunpowder factory were already waiting outside the door, and after saluting him, Xu Bingquan said: "Lord Shen, the gunpowder that blew up the ship this time came from this gunpowder factory. ”

Shen Hanxi's gaze swept over the dark green under his eyes, and he knew that he had indeed not slept all night yesterday, and hooked his lips and said: "It's hard work Lord Xu, and this official said that in the entire Dajing Dynasty, no one is more quick than Lord Xu." ”

The corners of Xu Bingquan's lips twitched, and he slandered in his heart: "It's not you Shen Hanxi, it's the same as urging orders, you have to send someone over every other hour to ask about the progress, and now you're praising me in a fake way?" Hum! ”

He was rich in drama in his heart, but he said: "That villain dares to murder Lord Shen, this official, as the secretary of Dali Temple, naturally has to do his best to find out." His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also sent someone to spread the word overnight, asking the official to catch the real culprit as soon as possible, so that he could give an explanation to Lord Shen, and also to the dead and injured people. ”

Shen Hanxi smiled coldly and said, "The news of the East Palace is really well-informed, and it is really thanks to His Royal Highness the Prince's concern." ”

Xu Bingquan heard what he said, and couldn't help but secretly guess, isn't Shen Hanxi quite close to the East Palace, and now the prince is also relying on his support, but how can he hear that they don't agree with each other? Could it be that between Shen Hanxi and the crown prince, it is also a big drama?

was immersed in his own world, when he heard Shen Hanxi's teasing tone: "Lord Xu's belly slander has to be corrected, or he will practice his acting skills, so as not to let the official see it." ”

Xu Bingquan paused, straightened his waist and said, "How can this official have it." Lord Shen, please, if there is a gunpowder craftsman in the factory, Lord Shen, you have to listen to it. ”

Shen Hanxi smiled again, and raised his feet to enter under the guidance of the factory supervisor.

Song Ran buried his head behind him, not attracting anyone's attention.

It was a small courtyard, running east-west, with several buildings scattered throughout it, with the gunpowder workshop located in the westernmost part of the house, and the factory supervisor's office in the easternmost part.

After inviting Shen Hanxi to take a seat, the eunuch who supervised the factory sent a craftsman in. The craftsman was about sixty years old, he was an old man in this factory, he looked silent, and his temperament was a little strange, and when he saw Shen Hanxi, he was not as scared as others, so he only saluted plainly, and stood there with his hands up, waiting to be questioned.

Shen Hanxi waited for him to speak.

The factory supervisor said: "Yuan Liu, Lord Shen is here, and he still doesn't tell the truth about the situation." ”

The old craftsman glanced at the young man in the seat, and said slowly: "The gunpowder on the ship that was blown up yesterday is indeed from our factory. ”