The moonlight is cold and the night breeze is blowing.

The Wanhualou in the East City was brightly lit, noisy and chaotic, the guests hurriedly came out, disheveled, looking at the flying horses surrounded outside, the battle armor was sensen, the war knives were cold, all like wolves and tigers, they all panicked, rushed out of the gate and wanted to leave, but were directly blocked back by the flying horses.

When Xu Shiji arrived with the team, the scene was already under control, but a captain greeted him with a black face, hugged his fists and said: "General, something happened, the shopkeeper was killed in the room, and he also sealed his throat with a sword." ”

"What...... What? Xu Shiji was taken aback, even the shopkeeper of Wanhualou was killed, obviously there are people behind him, Wanhualou is just on the table, and it is also confirmed that the clues of the report are correct, and the people behind them are panicked.

"Lead the way!"

Xu Shiji shouted coldly, followed upstairs, and came to a private room on the second floor, there was a person lying on the couch, looking like he was in his forties, with green silk scattered, his clothes were not messy, and his face still had a shocked expression before death, Xu Shiji had been on the battlefield for a long time, experienced, and he guessed a lot at a glance, and asked: "Find someone who is familiar with the situation." ”

Soon, a girl was escorted in.

"See, isn't it your shopkeeper?"

The other party glanced at it in a panic, and hurriedly said, "Yes, it's the shopkeeper." ”

"Who else can come in this room?"

"Back to ...... Back to my lord, this is the private place of the shopkeeper, no one is allowed to come in except herself, oh, there is another one, her personal bodyguard can, but only at the door. ”

Xu Shiji keenly grasped something and asked, "What about the bodyguard?" ”

"I don't know, I should be there." The woman hurriedly said.

"Gather all the people in the lobby." Xu Shiji looked at a school captain.

The other party nodded knowingly and hurriedly went, Xu Shiji looked at the woman and asked, "Talk about the bodyguard, tell everything you know, and don't hide it at all." ”

"My lord, the slave family doesn't know, the shopkeeper never talks about her bodyguard, and the bodyguard doesn't speak, everyone thinks it's dumb, it's a middle-aged man, so tall." The woman gestured and added, "It's scary to look at following the shopkeeper with a cold face all day long." ”

"Is there anything obvious special?" Xu Shiji asked.

The woman thought about it carefully, shook her head and said, "No, it just looks very cold." ”

Xu Shiji asked a few more questions unwillingly, seeing that he couldn't ask anything, he estimated that people had gathered, and took the woman downstairs to recognize the person, but he couldn't find anyone, Xu Shiji was unwilling to let the woman continue to identify, and wondered in his heart, the flying horse came suddenly, and the bodyguard killed people and killed people and then didn't have time to escape, unless he did it in advance.

Identification to no avail, Xu Shiji unwillingly returned to the shopkeeper's room, searched carefully, there were a lot of gold and silver jewelry, but there was nothing valuable, found a secret compartment, which was empty, obviously taken away in advance, and the most suspicious was the bodyguard.

"I'm afraid that the bodyguard is the person behind the arranger to follow the shopkeeper, both to protect, monitor, and kill if necessary, the person behind this is calculating." Xu Shiji thought to himself, and said to one person: "Let our noon come over." ”

The other party said yes and hurried away.

After waiting for a long time, Wu Zuo came over, and after a careful inspection, he said: "General, I have to go to the courtyard where the catapult was made to see, from the wound, the depth and width are exactly the same, it was done by the same person, the other party is a master with a sword, this kind of person has an extremely accurate control of strength, and he can't be wrong." ”

"Can you tell which one dies first?"

Wu Zuo looked at the corpse again, and affirmed: "General, about an hour on the other side of the courtyard, you should go to the courtyard side to extinguish the mouth first, and when you come back, you find that the flying horse is coming, so you will arrive first, kill the shopkeeper and leave." ”

"Then this person must still be in Chang'an City, even if Lao Tzu digs three feet into the ground, he must find out this person." Xu Shiji was furious, pointed to a team member and advised: "Inform Lu Guogong of the situation of the bodyguard, and ask Lu Guogong to focus on investigating the person who uses the sword, go quickly." ”

……

The Southern Yasi of the Forbidden Army, Cheng Yanjin was in command, and after receiving the report, he kicked and flew away, which actually involved Wanhualou, and was killed by someone first, how can this be endured, and immediately mobilize more people to search and arrest all over the city.

This night, the major underground gangs in Chang'an jumped and poured blood mold, and the cooperation was better, and they were beaten, and they couldn't ask anything, and they didn't cooperate with the direct slashing, without mercy, the bodyguards didn't find it, but found a bunch of fugitive murderers, and many of them had eyebrows.

Until dawn, the teams came back one after another, exhausted, frustrated, failed to find the bodyguard, no matter how much credit was useless, a general was worried that Cheng Biting Jin would make everyone angry and discouraged, and hurriedly said: "Lu Guogong, everything that can be checked has been checked, gangs, neighborhoods, inns, restaurants, will they have gone out of the city?" ”

"What did you just say?" Cheng Yanjin asked with a dark face.

The other party's face was panicked, and he said stubbornly: "I am worried that the murderer has left the city. ”

"Not this sentence, the previous sentence."

"Last?" The other party was a little confused, thought about it, and said: "I have checked everything that I said I could check." ”

"yes, that's it." Cheng Yanjin said excitedly: "The incident happened suddenly, the other party didn't have time to go out of the city, the city patrol soldiers also came to report just now, and no one was found to leave, since everything that can be checked has been checked, will you hide in a place that can't be checked?" ”

A speech, everyone was stunned, but they didn't dare to answer, it was too sensitive to be able to check, and everyone didn't have enough authority to check, such as the mansion of a senior official above the third rank in the court, such as the mansion of the honorable man, such as the prince's mansion, who dared to go in to check, isn't that looking for death?

Cheng Yanjin didn't dare to bring troops to the door easily, but there was a good way to have a direction, there were not many mansions that could not be checked who dared to shield the murderer, and they had to be Qin Huaidao's enemies, so once they were eliminated, there would be fewer suspicious characters.

At this time, a general reminded: "Lu Guogong, there are still embassies of various countries that have not checked. ”

The embassy represents the dignity of a country, and it cannot be easily checked, and it also reminded Cheng Yanjin that there are Tubo and Wa Guo who have had a holiday with Qin Huaidao recently, and these two are also suspicious.

Don't look at Lu Guogong's rudeness, but there is a fine in the rough, otherwise he would not become one of Li Er's most trusted henchmen, in charge of the Southern Yasi of the Forbidden Army, thought for a moment, looked at one person and said: "Your battalion of men and horses has taken off their battle armor, and they have not found the surroundings of the mansion in plain clothes, keep an eye on it, and report it immediately as soon as there is any trouble." ”

"Obey!" The other party understood and hurriedly went.

The forbidden army was busy all night, and they were not lightly tired, so Cheng Yanjin let everyone rest and left in a hurry.

Not long after, Cheng Biting Jin entered the palace, just in time for the court meeting.

Last night, the forbidden army searched all over the city, and all the civil and military officials knew what was going on, they were silent, and the atmosphere was a little solemn, someone dared to attack the protector today, and he would dare to attack himself tomorrow, this opening must not be opened, they were all speculating about who the murderer was, and they were familiar with each other's secret eye contact.

Wait for Li Er to come in and sit down, and the court meeting will begin.

First, the routine major matters were agreed, and after the affairs of the various ministries were finished, Li Er looked at Cheng Yanjin and Xu Shiji, and said in a cold voice: "Everyone must have known what happened last night, they dared to openly attack the ministers of the imperial court, stoning to death and injuring countless innocent diners, and also used catapults, with vicious methods and despicable behavior, what are they going to do?" This is a rebellion, I will never forgive, those who do not report it, and those who harbor the murderer will be punished with the same crime. ”

Rebellion is a big crime to kill the nine clans, and if you don't report it and cover up the murderer, the punishment will be great, and it can be seen that Li Er was angry, everyone was moved, nervous, and prayed that those second ancestors in the family would not stick to it, make up their minds, and go back to have a good investigation.

Li Er's words can be regarded as characterizing this matter, it is not a commercial competition, it is a rebellion.

Some people are not convinced, this characterization violates the laws of the imperial court, at most it is murder, but no one dares to jump out and touch the mold, and they all look at Wei Zheng, who dares to speak, Wei Zheng dares to speak, but he is not stupid, not to mention that he also appreciates Qin Huaidao, and he also received the errand of teaching children, one hundred yuan of silver a month, looking at the nose and the nose, when he didn't see it.

"Lu Guogong, British Gong, Gao Aiqing of the Criminal Department stayed, retired from the dynasty!" Li Erda flicked his sleeves, swallowing mountains and rivers angrily, majestic and unparalleled, coupled with a cold face, giving people a strong sense of oppression.

The generals left one after another, and after a while, only the three people who were named remained.

Li Er looked at Cheng Biting Jin and Xu Shiji, and finally fell on Gao Shilian, a handful of age, gray hair, but in good spirits, his eyes were slightly narrowed, making it impossible to see through, Li Er said coldly: "Gao Aiqing, such a big eucalyptus happened as soon as you took over the Criminal Department, this is a provocation to Aiqing, and it is also a test." ”

"Holy Lord, the old minister must do his best, fulfill his duties, find out the real culprit, and return peace to Lang Lang." Gao Shilian hurriedly said.

Li Er's expression eased: "Aiqing is Guanyin's uncle, and it is also my uncle, it is said that you should enjoy your old age in peace, but there are many affairs in the DPRK and China, and there is a lack of talents who can sit on one side, so I have to ask my uncle to go out of the mountain again, and this eucalyptus will be please." ”

"The saint is serious, and the old minister must do his best." Gao Shilian said solemnly.

"That's good, uncle goes first." Li Er nodded with satisfaction, his tone changed after seeing Gao Shilian leave, and asked, "Let's talk about it, what did you find last night?" ”

Xu Shiji glanced at Cheng Biting Jin and told Cheng Biting Jin in detail, followed by Cheng Biting Jin.

Li Er listened patiently, without saying a word, no one knew what he was thinking, until the two of them finished speaking, then he explained with a cold face: "Last night, the pharmacist entered the palace and told me his thoughts, which is very good, this matter is estimated to be difficult by the Criminal Department, Xu Aiqing, you keep an eye on the Criminal Department, don't let them relax, arrange to be confused, and you have to be real." ”

"Obey the order!" Xu Shiji solemnly accepted the order.

Cheng Yanjin reminded uneasily: "Holy Lord, where is the senior master of the Criminal Department?" ”

Li Er sneered and said, "Uncle I am an understanding person, and he will cooperate well." ”

"The minister is relieved, but he checked everything he could find last night, and the minister who couldn't check arranged for someone to keep an eye on it secretly, but if the murderer hides in a place that can't be checked and doesn't come out, it still can't be found, this matter will be difficult to do, and please make it clear to the saint." Cheng Yanjin hurriedly said.

"Check first, just use this opportunity to clear the unstable factors in Chang'an City, and return the people to stability, remember, don't disturb the people, let alone take the opportunity to oppress the people, otherwise I won't agree, as for the places that can't be checked, keep an eye on it, and once there are clues, enter the palace immediately."

Cheng Yanjin was relieved, solemnly accepted the order, and left with Xu Shiji.

Li Er looked at the backs of the two of them walking out of the main hall, his mood was a little depressed, he dared to openly attack Qin Huaidao's industry, the people behind him were either crazy, or they had something to rely on, and he thought of a few people in his heart, but there was no evidence, so it was not good to start directly, and shouted: "Come on!" ”

Wang De hurried in.

"Let the secret guard keep an eye on the Prince's Mansion and the East Palace, and don't startle the snake."

"Yes!" Wang De's face changed slightly, but he didn't ask much and hurried away.

Li Er's eyes turned cold, his fingers hit the eucalyptus, and he whispered to himself: "It's better not you, otherwise don't blame me for killing my relatives with righteousness, my country must not be chaotic." ”

……

Veteran music barbecue bar.

Princess Yuzhang hurried to hear the news, saw the wolf in her eyes, the whole person was not good, hurriedly entered the door, along the way people already knew the relationship between Yuzhang and Qin Huaidao, they all saluted and said hello, Yuzhang returned the salute one by one, very educated, asked, found He'er who was busy.

"I've seen the princess." He'er didn't expect Yuzhang to come early in the morning and hurriedly said hello.

"You and my sister, you're welcome, is there anything I can do?" Yu Zhang asked.

He'er was busy all night, exhausted, and said strongly: "Princess, you have also seen that the barbecue bar needs to be renovated, and there are many people's medical expenses and compensation, this is a lot of silver, the young master is not here, I dare not make my own decisions, but if it is delayed, it will have an impact on the reputation of the young master." ”

"How much do you have to pay? If I don't have enough money, I still have some private money. Yu Zhang hurriedly said.

When He'er heard this, he hurriedly explained: "It's not that there is no money, the house gritted its teeth and can still take it out, but I'm not sure if I want to pay now, or wait for the young master to come and then decide, the medical expenses are nearly 10,000 yuan, too many people were injured last night, all of them are extraordinary, and they were injured eating in our store, so we should compensate, hey——"

A sigh poured out the helplessness of He'er.

After all, she is just a maid, and she has always acted according to orders, where do you dare to call the shots.

Yu Zhang understood He'er's worries and asked, "If Brother Qin is here, what will he do?" ”

He'er knew this problem, and immediately said: "With the temper and personality of the young master, I will definitely pay compensation as soon as possible, and the amount will not be low, those who helped transport coal at the beginning died two hundred times, seriously injured fifty times, and lightly injured less than twenty times, depending on the severity of the injury, the medical expenses are calculated separately." ”

"Then pay according to this rule, we can't ruin Brother Qin's reputation, when Brother Qin comes back, I will tell him that is, I think Brother Qin will understand, reputation is more important." Yu Zhang said decisively.

The ancients regained their names and even did not hesitate to die for this.

Although He'er also wants to spend money to keep his reputation, but the amount is too big, he doesn't dare to call the shots, seeing Yuzhang's decision, his heart is a little calm, he thought about it, and said: "That's okay, just do it according to the old rules, Steward Jia also means this, if the young master comes back and doesn't agree, He'er will bear it, the princess is noble, and she can't lose her reputation." ”

After all, before he passed the door, he compensated a large sum of money for Qin Huaidao, and if it was passed out, he would have a reputation as a strong and loser, and it was not pleasing for a woman to be strong, and even more so for a loser.

Yu Zhang also thought of this, hesitated for a moment and said: "It's okay, as long as Brother Qin trusts it, whatever others say, let him go." ”

He'er stopped persuading and hurried away.

Yu Zhang followed to the side room where the accounts were settled, waited patiently for a while, and saw that He'er calculated the amount of compensation, which was actually tens of thousands of yuan, plus the redecoration and medical expenses, the total loss was almost 100,000 yuan, which was a huge amount of money, and he suddenly understood He'er's hesitation just now, who would dare to call the shots with such a large amount of money?

The two women exchanged a look, then nodded in tacit understanding, ready to advance and retreat together.

He'er immediately called a team leader of the village protection team and advised: "Xiaohu, let's go for a long time, go and notify the guests who were injured last night to come over, and if you can't come, you can send a representative, just say that our house is very sorry for what happened last night, and is ready to compensate everyone, let everyone come to this person to receive the silver, and then transfer more people to maintain it." ”

"Understood, do it right away." The other party left in a hurry.

He'er called an old man in the house and advised: "Uncle Niu, you can take a few people back to the house and bring 50,000 pieces of silver here, but the silver here is not enough to pay compensation." ”

"Drive my carriage and my guards." Yu Zhang hurriedly said.

Uncle Niu, the old man in the house, hesitated, He'er reacted, and advised: "Just do it according to the princess, the princess is the fiancée of the young master, and the future master mother of our mansion, using the princess's carriage is not a violation, go ahead." ”

The other party said yes and hurried away.

Yu Zhang asked the personal maid Xiao'e to follow and say, lest the guards disagree, and then smiled: "Sister He'er has a high prestige in attaching?" ”

"Don't you dare, Uncle Niu and they are all elders who watched me grow up, and they love me, our house is like a family, and when the princess enters the mansion, she will naturally know." He'er hurriedly said.

The two chatted for a while, and Jia Youcai hurriedly came over: "I've seen the princess." ”

"Uncle Jia is polite." Yu Zhang didn't dare to trust Jia Youcai, so he hurriedly returned the gift.

He'er diverted the topic and said, "Steward Jia, let's pay according to the previous rules, and the princess has agreed, what else do you have to add?" ”

"Follow the rules, the reputation of the young master can't be lost, even if the old people in our house eat less and use less, by the way, it takes a sum of money to redecorate, can it be turned around?" Jia Youcai asked.

"There are some difficulties, there is a sum of money that the young master has explained, and he must not move, can he wait a few days?"

Jia Youcai thought for a while and said: "Then I'll contact the workman first, let them advance the early silver, and settle it in a few days, and the delay will be silver for a day, and the young master will come back and see that it's not good." ”

"That's fine!" He'er agreed, Qin Huaidao was no more, and the two of them became the pillars of the house.

After Jia Youcai left in a hurry, Yu Zhang couldn't help but ask curiously: "What kind of silver can't be moved in the house?" ”

"This ......"

"It's inconvenient to say it, forget it, I'm just curious." Yu Zhang realized something and hurriedly explained.

He'er smiled embarrassedly: "It's not that it's inconvenient to say, but I promised the young master to keep it a secret, and when the young master comes back, you can ask him in person to be better." ”

"Then I won't ask, what can I do?" Yu Zhang realized that there was a bit of a gaffe and quickly diverted the topic.

"It's nothing for the time being, or, I'll bother you to give everyone money for a while, after all, you are the main mother, it's more appropriate for you to do this, I'll do it, let them write receipts and draw pledges, okay?"

As soon as Yu Zhang heard this, he could prove his relationship with Qin Huaidao to the outside world, and promised: "That's okay, Xiao'e, you can also help, Brother Qin is no more, we have to support the house, we can't fall." ”

The three of them smiled tacitly.

……

East Palace, Prince's Mansion.

Li Chengqian came out of a fragrant room, stared at a man in black and asked dissatisfiedly: "I just came back from the court, and I am going to make up for sleep, what is the matter, can you say?" ”

The man in black hurriedly said: "According to investigation, the shopkeeper of Wanhualou died in the boudoir, and the murderer is suspected of being a bodyguard next to him. ”

"The mute?" Li Chengqian asked in surprise, seeing the other party nodding, he pondered, his eyes gradually condensed into a slit, and said after a while: "At this morning's court meeting, my father was furious, ordered a strict investigation, and set a rebellion. ”

"It's rumored outside, my subordinates asked the people who ate at the barbecue bar last night, and they confirmed this, the loss is very large, and it can't return to normal in half a month."

"Hahaha, good!" Li Chengqian was excited, felt a bad breath, suddenly thought of something, and muttered: "Who is so bold? The owner behind Wanhualou has always been very mysterious, could it be him? ”

"Who?" The man in black asked curiously.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, pass the order, let our people not get involved in this matter, this is a big drama, it may cause a shock in the court, whoever touches will die, since someone has come forward, let's not block the way." Li Chengqian said excitedly, with some kind of conspiracy and calculation beating in his eyes.

……

Wei Wangfu.

In the courtyard full of flowers, Li Tai, the king of Wei, is chanting poems in the pavilion, next to the maid who is fanning the wind, not far away, several musicians are playing the song "Men should be self-reliant", some cicadas in the distance are tirelessly chirping, the breeze is slow, and the days are leisurely.

After a while, Li Tai stopped his pen and said with some annoyance: "It's almost interesting to practice for so long, what do you want?" If you don't practice well tomorrow, sell them all to Yihong Mansion, get out. ”

The musicians left in a hurry, their faces pale.

A man in brocade hurriedly came over, glanced at the musician who left, and waited not far away, King Wei waved his hand knowingly to signal all the maids to leave, looked at the person, and the other party hurriedly said: "King Wei, it has been verified that someone attacked Lord Qin with a catapult last night, and threw stones to soak the oil in the fire, causing a fire, killing and injuring countless people, and suffering heavy losses, suspected of Wanhualou doing it." ”

After hearing this, King Wei's face changed greatly, and he asked, "Is the news true?" ”

The man in black hurriedly said: "I'm not sure, but the shopkeeper was killed and the bodyguard was missing, I'm afraid that nine times out of ten it was the master behind Wanhualou who instigated it." ”

"The owner of Wanhualou has always been a mystery, there are still people who are so bold, the prince did it?"

"There is news from the inside, the prince's side is starting to clear up the involvement, it shouldn't be them."

"No, who else is so bold?" King Wei's face changed slightly, and on his slightly chubby face, the pair of small eyes narrowed into a slit, and the essence was shining inside, and he said in a cold voice: "This is a pit, whoever jumps will die, pass the order, our people don't get involved in this matter, this king also wants to see who is so bold and dares to argue with Lord Qin?" ”

"Could it be the five surnames and seven wangs? If so, I'm afraid it will affect the house, do you want to check it, so as not to get angry? The man in brocade reminded in a low voice.

"You're saying someone wants to blame the king?" King Wei was thorough at one point, and when he saw the man in brocade nodding, he smiled: "Don't worry, no matter who it is, let's respond to all changes with the same, it's better to make a big fuss, and the house is cleaned up, right?" This king should have resigned to his father in the past two days, and it is a pity that he can't see the big drama in Chang'an. ”

"I'm almost packed, and I'm ready to go."

"That's good, let's go, tell our people, if anyone jumps into the pit by themselves, don't blame this king for not being benevolent and righteous, there are disobedient people, nine times out of ten it is a spy sent by others, directly extinguish the mouth, in extraordinary times, this king doesn't want to cause a commotion, and then find someone to check, there is a chance to lead the fire to the prince, and you must not do it if you are not completely sure."

"Will it be revealed afterwards and implicated?"

"Do it cleanly, do you still need me to teach you this little thing?" King Wei's eyes were cold.

"The little one understands, and the little one retires." The other party went willingly.

King Wei chuckled: "This play is getting more and more interesting, Lord Qin, how will you make a move?" He bowed his head and continued to write as if nothing had happened.

In his eyes, there was a cold light!