"Sending a killer to take the mother's life is quite unusual for the mastermind behind this case." Yu Dingguo secretly sighed. However, in order to track down the perpetrator of the assassination, evidence must be found, and no one can be investigated in vain. And the only evidence of the murder at the moment is the sword that was stabbed on the mother's body.

Yu Dingguo carefully inspected the bronze dagger again. This sword has no written marking, and the form is no different from that used by ordinary people, and there is no special difference, so I will not be disappointed. He was not reconciled, so he put the sword on the desk, sat upright, looked and looked, thought and thought, and felt a little sleepy, so he put his hand on his cheek, tilted his head, squinted his eyes, and dozed off.

After only a while, he suddenly woke up, and the moment he opened his eyes, he only felt a white light in front of him, bright and dazzling. He raised his sleeves to hide his eyes, only to realize that it was the sunlight that fell on the dagger through the window lattice, reflecting a dazzling light.

Yu Dingguo was horrified in his heart, and looked at the sword several times again.

The hilt of this short sword is quite old, but the blade is as white as frost and snow, and there is not a trace of rust. He frowned and pondered, suddenly realized, patted the bookcase, looked up to the sky and laughed, and said, "Someone." An old official entered the room when he heard the sound and arched his hand: "Listen to the orders of the court captain." ”

Yu Dingguo looked at it fixedly, and couldn't help but be overjoyed: "But Yuan Cheng, I'm about to call you." ”

Yuan Cheng stood there with a puzzled expression on his face.

Yu Dingguo asked, "You were a city official in the West City before. Yuan Cheng replied: "My subordinates have served as city officials in Xishi for eight years. ”

Yu Dingguo asked again: "Then are you familiar with the workshops in the West Market?" Yuan Cheng didn't know why he asked this, and replied honestly: "The various workshops in the West Market are all known to his subordinates. ”

"How many workshops are there for grinding and washing copperware in the West Market?"

Yuan Cheng thought for a while and said, "There are six places, polishing the bronze mirror and the sword weapon." ”

"Aside from the West Market, where else can I polish and wash the bronzes?"

Yuan Chengdao: "No, only in the West Market." ”

Yu Dingguo was very curious: "Why is there no workshop for grinding bronze ware in other places?" ”

Yuan Chengdao: "Bronze grinding and washing are mostly copper mirrors, knives, swords, etc., of which copper mirrors are the most. To polish the copper mirror, it is necessary to use tin, mercury, alum, antler ash and other materials to make the mirror grinding medicine. Mercury is not easy to make and preserve, so craftsmen mostly operate in workshops. ”

Yu Dingguo twisted his beard and groaned for a moment, beckoned Yuan Cheng to step forward, picked up the short sword and handed it to him, and said: "This short sword is left by the murderer who assassinated Lai's mother, and I will find the murderer from it." You can see the difference. ”

Yuan Cheng took it and looked at it over and over again, this was an ordinary short sword, unmarked, so he said: "The subordinates are stupid, and they haven't seen anything unusual." ”

Yu Dingguo smiled and pointed to the sword: "You see, there is dirt left on the hilt of this sword, which is naturally worn for a long time, not newly cast." And the sword body is snow-white and shiny, as if it was newly created. Obviously, the murderer sharpened the dagger again before killing. ”

Yuan Cheng suddenly realized, picked up the short sword and looked it up and down, and said: "This sword body is extremely carefully polished, and it is not something ordinary people can do." If it is said that the murderer himself grinds and cleans, it is impossible to cultivate so brightly. Needless to say, this sword must have been polished by the hands of highly skilled craftsmen in the past few days to have such an effect. ”

Yu Dingguo nodded approvingly: "If you find the craftsman who sharpens this sword, can you ask about the whereabouts of the murderer?" ”

Yuan Cheng thought for a moment and replied affirmatively, "Yes." ”

Yu Dingguo suddenly thought of another question, and his heart was uneasy. He stared at Yuan Cheng with a worried face, and said: "The grinding craftsmen in the West Market handle a lot of grinding and washing things every day. This sword is of ordinary style, and there are no markings, and the craftsman may not recognize it. Even if you do, you may not remember who brought it. How this is good. ”

Yuan Chengdao: "If it's just this, Tingwei doesn't have to worry. The subordinates have dealt with the grinding craftsmen. The same objects seem to ordinary people to be similar in form, and it is difficult to distinguish them. But in the hands of the craftsman, you will see the difference between one thing and another. Moreover, it takes a lot of work to polish this old sword to achieve such a level of light, and it cannot be returned in a moment. Craftsmen often write down the name and address of the owner to avoid confusion when picking up the object. Therefore, as long as you find a craftsman who handles it, this case will have eyebrows. And craftsmen with such superb skills are rare to see in other places except for Chang'an West City. ”

Yu Dingguo was overjoyed, patted the bookcase, and said loudly: "You immediately take a team of arresters to Xishi, and be sure to find out who sharpened this sword." If the case is solved in this way, it will be a great achievement, and there will be many rewards. ”

Yuan Cheng surrendered his promise, lifted the bronze sword, and took a few trappers to go straight to Chang'an West City.

Yuan Cheng showed the sword to the craftsman to see, and asked if it had been polished by his hands, and the six workshops asked all over it, and the craftsmen all said that they did not grind it themselves. Yuan Cheng was also stunned at this time. Reluctantly, he took the dagger and inquired again from house to house, telling him to examine it carefully, but the craftsmen still said that they had never seen the dagger.

Yuan Cheng was depressed, put away the short sword, and prepared to go home. Then a little craftsman came over and said, "Let me see again." Yuan Cheng didn't hold out hope either, and handed over the short sword.

The little craftsman took the short sword, gently stroked the sword body with his right hand, raised it and turned it to the sunlight to inspect it repeatedly, and said, "This is my master's grinding." ”

Yuan Cheng was stunned when he heard this, and said, "You can look carefully." ”

The little craftsman's tone was affirmative: "It was polished by my master." After the sword is polished, it must be polished to make it shiny. Generally, the craftsman's polishing gesture is to wipe straight up and down and back and forth, but my master rubs it round and round, and he is regular round by circle, I can recognize it. Look at the sword body, the light refracted is circle by circle. ”

Yuan Cheng hurriedly took the short sword, looked at the sun on his back, and exclaimed happily: "Sure enough." Then he asked eagerly, "Where is your master?" The little craftsman said, "My master is old and has long since closed down at home. This is probably what he occasionally did with acquaintances. ”

Yuan Cheng said: "You take us over quickly." Suddenly, his heart moved, and he wondered: "Isn't it necessary to polish and wash the bronze ware in the workshop?" ”

The little craftsman said: "To sharpen and wash the sword, you can only use alum and antler ash, and you can do it at home without wading in mercury." ”

Yuan Cheng's heart that had been hanging was let go: "You take us to your master's house immediately." If this is done, it will be a credit, and the court captain will be rewarded. ”

The little craftsman said: "The villain doesn't dare to take credit. My master lives in Guanhou Street, so I'll take you there. ”

Jing Zhao Yin Zhao Guanghan was flipping through the case file, and suddenly his left eyelid jumped a few times, he blinked, closed it for a while, and when he opened his eyes, his right eyelid jumped a few more times. He didn't bother to look at the file again, reached out and scratched the bamboo slip aside, then slowly stood up with the bookcase in his hands, and paced through the lobby with his hands behind his back.

He searched the Prime Minister's Mansion on the grounds that his servant girl drowned, but also because he had a long-standing grudge with Wei Xiang, and Fan Mingyou and others provoked him, and he was angry for a while, which expanded the situation. Now calm down, and recall that there are many holes in this matter. The prime minister's wife forced the maid to death, and there was no evidence or physical evidence, only the confession of the mother.

He read the confession again, and he felt that it was unreasonable. If Tingwei investigates the case, it will be difficult for his mother to realize his words, and once the case is overturned, he will be guilty of handling the case untruthfully. So he gritted his teeth and sent his attendant Mantian to assassinate Lai's mother. If the mother dies, she will not retract her confession, so the evidence she provides can also become empirical evidence, and the prime minister's wife will be held accountable accordingly.

He slowly paced to the bookcase and sat down, suddenly uneasy, looked around blankly, there was no one in the hall, and shouted outside the hall: "Someone." ”