After Bai Qiuxue left, Chen Yibing slowly got up and followed him to the door of the backyard, and after making sure that Bai Qiuxue was far away, he muttered: "I can't beat it, I don't want people to say it, my legs are numb on my knees." ”

Xu Jianping returned to the wing, packed up the futon, ignored Chen Yibing, picked up the wooden box and slipped away from the backyard.

Page 4 of the case: Uncle He Ping, now twenty-eight years old, is a scholar who has failed to make the list, he is handsome, his face is like an engraving with distinct facial features, and he looks like he wants to be bohemian and uninhibited, but the pathos inadvertently revealed in his eyes makes people very pitiful. When he died, he was drinking and writing poems with several friends in the riverside restaurant, drinking and drinking began to smoke from his mouth and nose, and then burned his whole body to death, the death was very tragic, it is said that Uncle He Ping cried bitterly while crawling, and wanted to climb into the river, but when he climbed to the river, he was already lifeless, and finally the head fell into the river, and the body skeleton was left on the riverbank, and Xie Zhutou finally did not get the head back. It was this case that happened in front of everyone's eyes, and everyone thought it was incredible. It is precisely because there is no murderer or murder weapon in full view of everyone that the case spread rapidly.

Changle Fang, the name is a teahouse, but in fact, it is a gambling house inside. Gambling in the Han Dynasty is a criminal act, and the Han law clearly stipulates that anyone who gathers a crowd to gamble will be whipped with 100 boards, confiscated the "floating wealth" at home, and those who open casinos will be punished for theft.

But even though the criminal law is so strict, the gambling atmosphere of the Han is still repeatedly prohibited, and people always say: small gambling is enjoyable, but they never think that all vices are cultivated from childhood.

Xu Jianlai came to Changle Fang today, not for a small gamble, but for Uncle He Ping's spontaneous combustion and death on the day he drank with him.

Zhou Papi, formerly known as Zhou Jiumao, is the ninth in the family, and has been operating a teahouse gambling house in the south of the city for decades, raising many thugs in captivity, and the people in the rivers and lakes are called the old nine in the south of the city.

"Duo, Duo, Duo" saw the gambling house with the door closed, and knocked directly on the door with a knife.

"Who" opened the door by a burly, shirtless man. Seeing Xu Jianping knocking on the door with a knife, he was obviously angry: "Who are you, this is the territory of the ninth brother in the south of the city, dare to run here to spread wild" After speaking, he was ready to drive Xu Jianping away.

Xu Jianping was not in a hurry, put the wooden box in his hand on his shoulder and said: "Xu Jianping, I will ask you Zhou to inquire about something."

"You don't know what to do, you are really here to find death, how can you call the name of the ninth brother" After speaking, he directly stretched out his hands and wanted to restrain Xu Jianping.

Xu Jianping bent down, dodged the bear hug, and stabbed the strong man's crotch directly with the tip of the wooden box with his backhand, and hit it with one blow.

"Ahh

I saw a bare-chested man holding his crotch with both hands, desperately jumping in place. Obviously, this blow has already hit him hard.

Xu Jianping didn't say anything, he directly pushed open the door and stepped over the threshold with his feet raised.

When the people in the inner room heard the movement, they ran out one after another and surrounded Xu Jianping. Everyone had a different type of weapon in their hands, but most of them were sticks, poles, and the like. After all, in the Han Dynasty, spears are still military supplies, and ordinary people still can't have them at will.

Xu Jianping was not afraid, opened the wooden box in his hand, took out a long knife from it, put the wooden box on the ground, put his hands on the hilt, and shouted into the house:

"Contemptible Xu Jianping, I just want to talk to you Boss Zhou today, and if you know each other, you will let me go."

"No matter who you are, today you have folded the face of our Changle Fang, how can you let you go out safely" At this time, a sturdy young man led by him had a gloomy face and shook the long stick in his hand. Then with a wave of his left hand, he signaled his men to prepare for the siege.

Xu Jianping was not afraid, he directly pulled out the knife from the sheath, threw the scabbard in his hand aside, held the handle of the knife with both hands, and shouted:

"Come, let's go together."

"Slow"

In the hall walked in the distance a fat man over forty years old, with a fat head and big ears, and a big round belly, like a waddling duck. Closer, you can clearly see that the fat on his face is trembling, sweating profusely, and it seems that he is really tired enough to walk such a long way.

Seeing that the fight was about to start outside, he immediately got up in a hurry and ran quickly, but unfortunately he was too fat, and he worked hard, but the speed was not much faster, and the two fleshy arms shook very strongly, and his round belly was up and down, but unfortunately he was still running slowly. "Lord Xu, it's all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding, it's just a little one in the inner hall, I don't know that Lord Xu is coming, and I ask for forgiveness" When he walked to Xu Jianping's side, Zhou Papi was already out of breath, and nodded at Xu Jianping with a kind face.

With a "snap", I saw Zhou Papi reflexively slap the sturdy young man who was leading the way: "Why are you still pestle here, don't you get out of here."

"The little ones are not sensible, and please let the adults not be ordinary." Zhou Papi turned to face Xu Jianping again, his face like a bodhisattva.

Xu Jianping also peeled the skin one by one this week, is this the quintessence of Sichuan?

At this moment, Xu Jianping's inner tension finally let go, although Shicai looked very imposing, but Xu Jianping was gambling, he didn't dare to do anything with him in the gambling week, he was betting that even if he fought, it was good, and they would not beat themselves to death with a wooden stick in their hands.

Seeing the main owner come out, Xu Jianping also took the opportunity to pick up the scabbard that had just been discarded on the ground. This mother's coolness still has to pay a price, and the knife cut actually cracked a crack. "Where is it, Xu has just arrived, I heard that you are a fun place here, this is not to nag, it is rumored that Nancheng Lao Jiu, I have it in the world, and I hope that the shopkeeper of Zhou should not be blamed."

"That's all the people in the rivers and lakes giving Zhou face, joking words, it can't be taken seriously, come, come, come. Enter the house, enter the house" Zhou Papi's personality is just like his body shape, and he is very sleek.

"Good Tea"

This Zhou Papi is really a wonderful person, obviously he also knew the purpose of Xu Jianping's coming, and after taking Xu Jianping into the inner room, he withdrew from everyone. "Lord Xu, why is Uncle Ping here visiting today?"

"That's true, I came here today to learn some things about Uncle He Ping and see if I can find some clues."

"Well, if we talk about other things, we can't guarantee it, but when it comes to Uncle He Ping, the little one must know a thing or two." Zhou Papi sat at the tea table with his stomach upside down, stroked his belly with one hand, pushed Xu Jianping's teacup with the other, and motioned Xu Jianping to drink tea.

"Listen to me." Xu Jianping held the teacup, sniffed it, looked at the bottom of the cup, and drank it in one gulp.

"This Uncle He Ping, he was originally a scholarly family, his ancestors raised a person, he was also competitive, and he was admitted to Xiucai at the age of 15, so everyone called him He Xiucai. When he was young, he was also a figure in us, but after three consecutive years failed to pass the exam, since then he began to indulge in gambling, Lord Xu, you know, gambling on this matter, there is no possibility of winning, over time, a huge family business will be lost to him, even his own parents were angry with him to death. ”

Xu Jianping's expression was very grim after hearing this, and Zhou Papi quickly explained when he saw this face: "It's not Zhou, Zhou hasn't opened this teahouse yet." ”

Xu Jianping didn't think about it for a while, and after Zhou Papi's self-recruitment, he said directly: "Although Uncle He Ping is not the one who ruined your family, you are violating the laws of the court by opening a gambling house, which is a serious crime."

"Lord Yan, the little one is also living a life, but he didn't dare to do this kind of illegal thing, this is a serious teahouse, a serious one" After speaking, he stuffed a purse from under the table.

Xu Jianping took it in his hand, weighed it, and estimated that it was no less than a hundred taels, which was a bloody investment: "You will tell Uncle He Ping the details of the day he was killed." ”

"That day, He Xiucai came to find a certain person, saying that he wanted to repay the money, a certain didn't dare to believe it at first, which one he really gave the tea money he owed here before, and then he also pulled it and said that he wanted to invite him to eat and drink, and then he came to the drunken fairy building by the river, and a few of us were halfway through eating, and he suddenly began to be on fire, and then he was burned alive." What Zhou Papi said was the same as the situation recorded in the case.

"Did Uncle He Ping's money go to your gambling house to win?" Xu Jianping felt that it was impossible for Uncle He Ping to make a windfall for no reason, either to win the lottery or to win it by gambling.

"That's not it, he brought it with him when he came, and he still doesn't understand that in the past, he was penniless. Later, I also found out that he had gone to Xiaoxiang Pavilion to drink flower wine the night before, where did this come from? Zhou Papi obviously investigated himself afterwards, and when he heard Xu Jianping ask about money, he hurriedly told what he knew.

"Well, this is a strange thing, by the way, this case, I advise you to ask less, and be careful of getting into trouble" Xu Jianping thought of the methods of the people behind this case, and didn't want Zhou Papi to be implicated.

"Lord Xu, don't really say it, the person who arranged to inquire didn't come back the next day. After that, Zhou Mouke stayed in this building every day, and he never left this building for seven days. Zhou Papi was obviously scared. No wonder when Xu Jianping came tonight, there were so many guards in the courtyard, and at first Xu Jianping thought that these people were thugs raised by Zhou Papi in captivity, and they were used to watch the scene. Now it should be to protect his own personal safety.

"Shopkeeper Zhou, thank you for your hospitality today, you are still staying here recently, and after the case is closed, you will go out again" Xu Jianping didn't expect that today was just a whim, and he came to learn about some of Uncle He Ping's deeds. Unexpectedly, Xu Jianping really found other clues, it seems that Uncle He Ping's death is related to his windfall.

"Change the name of your teahouse, change your business, and close the business below" Xu Jianping saw that Zhou Papi was not a big evil person, so he deliberately gave a way for Zhou Papi to be peeled. After all, when it comes to private gambling houses, sooner or later, the yamen will come to arrest people.

"Thank you Lord Yan for reminding me, and I will call someone to replace this plaque tomorrow." Zhou Papi is obviously also a smart person, and instantly understood what Xu Jianping meant.

"I can't do it, let's go" Xu Jianping immediately got up, threw the purse in his hand to Zhou Papi, and carried his long knife.

At night, there was a little starlight in the night sky, which made the night appear more profound, Xu Jianping looked up, looking forward to the dawn after the darkness. Xu Jianping and Shi Ran walked back to the yamen.

The shirtless strong man leaned on the corner of the courtyard and looked at the sparse starlight, as if he was sad......