Xiao Feng stood at the gate of the Ministry of Works, and the janitor immediately rushed in to report.

Zhao Wenhua jumped up: "What? What's what? Did he name me and say he was looking for me? Tell him I'm not there! ”

The janitor said with a bitter face: "The villain said to come and see, you may not be there, my lord." Master Xiao said that he was ordered to investigate the case, and if he walked in and found that you were lying, he would say that you were resisting the order. ”

Zhao Wenhua was taken aback, this big hat has always been his specialty, and he didn't expect Xiao Feng to buckle it no worse than himself!

After a while, Zhao Wenhua greeted him with a smile on his face, and he and Xiao Feng exchanged hands with each other, and they were so affectionate that they almost hugged each other and kissed each other.

"How can Xiao Zhenren have time to come to the Ministry of Works? I've been busy in the past two days, and I sent someone to watch at the construction site for your view of entering the WTO! ”

"Lord Zhao has worked hard, I have wanted to come to see you for a long time, and I have never been available. It's not Banzai that asked me to take over the case of the dry well female corpse in Shuntian Mansion, so I came to visit Lord Zhao by the way. ”

Zhao Wenhua blinked, feeling that Yan Shifan was really powerful, and this Xiao Feng was indeed powerful, both of them could think of this step.

"Gujing female corpse case? I've heard of it, but it doesn't have anything to do with the eight poles of the Ministry of Works, right? Is there anything that can help Xiao Zhenren? ”

Xiao Feng patted Zhao Wenhua's shoulder affectionately, and deliberately lowered his voice to speak.

"Lord Zhao, please take me to the Skillful Craftsman Hall, I want to find someone to ask."

The Ming Dynasty did not have a special office for the manufacture of items for the royal family, which was set up later in the Qing Dynasty.

The skilled craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty were basically under the Ministry of Industry, and there was an internal classification, but there was no clear official establishment.

In addition to being responsible for large-scale projects, the Ministry of Engineering also studies some delicate objects, so there are many skilled craftsmen.

In addition to making some delicate things for the palace, the Skillsmith Hall is mainly responsible for providing talent reserves for the Shenji Battalion under the Ministry of War.

Firearms and warships require a lot of delicate parts, and this is where the people in the Craftsman Hall can play a big role.

Xiao Feng knew that if he wanted to realize many ideas, he would definitely use the Skillsmith Hall. However, Zhao Wenhua has always controlled the Ministry of Industry, and Yan Shifan will also take over the Ministry of Industry later, which is indeed a problem for himself.

Zhao Wenhua blinked his eyes, pondering Yan Shifan's explanation to him in his mind, and continued to smile on the surface.

"That's fine, I'll take you. I don't know who Xiao Zhenren wants to ask for? ”

Zhao Wenhua's voice deliberately became higher, but Xiao Feng lowered his voice very low.

"Find the one who polished the three jade pendants in the first place."

The tone of the two of them seemed to be Xiao Feng talking to Zhao Wenhua about some secrets, and Zhao Wenhua was desperately trying to show others that there was no secret between the two of us.

Zhao Wenhua didn't know why Xiao Feng did this, but he had his own intuition and experience: this person was extremely ruthless, digging a pit at any time, and he couldn't be fooled.

So there's nothing wrong with doing the opposite! So his voice became louder.

"Oh, look for Zeng Zao, he's old, his hands are unstable, and he has been taking apprentices for the past two years, and he doesn't do it himself."

This is also the fine tradition of the craftsman's hall, the skilled craftsman relies on his hands, and when people are old, their hands are unstable, and they cannot make delicate objects by themselves.

But the experience is still there, and staying in the Craftsman Hall as a master can not only train new people, but also continue to earn money to support life.

Zhao Wenhua thought that his answer was seamless, and his voice was extraordinarily high-pitched, so that almost everyone could hear it. Unexpectedly, Xiao Feng suddenly became louder.

"Oh, it turns out that Zeng Zao has an apprentice, I understand, I understand!"

Zhao Wenhua was puzzled: What, you understand? What do you understand?

He wanted to ask, but Xiao Feng stopped talking nonsense with him, urging him to lead him to Zeng Zao.

Zhao Wenhua was suspicious and took Xiao Feng to the Qiaojiang Hall to find out Zeng Zao. Zhao Wenhua had completed the task, but insisted on refusing to leave.

Xiao Feng didn't care either, because he knew that every punctuation mark in his conversation with Zeng Zaoban here couldn't be kept secret.

Even if he drove Zhao Wenhua away, as long as Zeng Zaoban was still in the Ministry of Industry, he would not be able to refuse Zhao Wenhua's order.

"Zeng Zao, this jade pendant was polished by you?"

Zeng Zaoban is in his sixties, his eyes are still clear and sharp, he looked at the Jingwang jade pendant that was split into two pieces, and regretted falling again and again.

"That's right, this is exactly what the villain grinds, how can it be broken like this!"

Xiao Feng took out another complete but slightly thin jade pendant.

"What about this one?"

Zeng Zaoban was taken aback, reached out and took the jade pendant, and looked at it over and over.

"This piece is not made by villains. It's just that this jade material is so rare, it can't be another piece of jade, it must be one of the three jade pendants. The words should have been worn out and re-engraved, right? ”

Xiao Feng was noncommittal: "If you really do this, can you do it?" ”

Zeng Zaoban nodded, and shook his head again.

"Two years ago, the villain would have been fine, but now my hands are shaking, and I want to grind it like this, carve it like this. I can't say it's definitely not, but it's hard. ”

Xiao Feng pointed to a few young people in the Craftsman Hall who were carefully carving.

"What about the apprentices you brought with you? Can you have this craft? Master Zhao reminded me that you have an apprentice. ”

Well? Zhao Wenhua was stunned, did I prompt it?

Zeng Zaoban shook his head: "The jade is hard, and it is difficult to polish it, not to mention that the words must be just polished off, and they cannot be polished too thin, and the corners must be re-polished and rounded."

It's not only about kung fu, it's about talent. Some of them are good, but they certainly can't do it. ”

"Do you have any other apprentices besides the people here? You don't really wait until you can't do anything to start taking apprentices, do you? ”

Xiao Feng looked at Zeng Zaoban with a smile, Zeng Zaoban hesitated, and was about to speak, when Zhao Wenhua suddenly coughed.

Zeng Zaoban hesitated and stood up.

"I am now the Qincha who is ordered to handle the case, and if I ask you now, I will ask you what I want to ask. Are you trying to deceive you?

Do you know that because of this case, the magistrate of Shuntianfu has already arrested me and sent me to the Imperial Prison, do you also want to go in and be his companion? ”

Xiao Feng's tone was flat and smiling, but a huge sense of oppression instantly made Zeng Zaoban breathless.

"No, no, no, the villain doesn't dare, the villain did have an apprentice before entering the Ministry of Industry.

It's just that the apprentice has a bad heart, and when he followed the villain to carve a big family, he intended to seduce other people's concubines.

Later, the villain expelled him from the school, so he was not considered a villain's apprentice. The villain was hesitating about this just now, not daring to deceive the adult. ”

Xiao Feng nodded, indicating understanding.

"Did you ever see each other again?"

Later, the villain entered the Ministry of Industry, and he was also a member of the imperial court. The scoundrel also came to my door and wanted me to introduce him to the Skillsmith's Hall. I knew he was misbehaving, so I ignored him. ”

"How's his craft?"

Zeng Zaoban looked at Zhao Wenhua, and then looked at Xiao Feng's smiling face, and always felt that Xiao Feng was more terrifying.

Zhao Wenhua wanted to refute it, Wang Tuiguan was arrested and imprisoned was not like that at all, but he couldn't speak, so he could only let Zeng Zao think about it himself.

"The villain doesn't dare to lie, although the bad character is poor, he is quite talented, and he has also obtained my true biography. If it is him, he should be able to polish this jade pendant. ”

"Do you still have any clues about this person? Do you know where he lives and what he does for a living? ”

"The villain didn't dare to talk nonsense, he had no contact with him after I rejected him.

I heard that he had done something for a wealthy family in Beijing, but then there was no news. I really don't know where he is now. ”

Xiao Feng sighed melancholy, the clue was broken, although he suspected this apprentice, but there was a vast sea of people, where to find it?

Seeing that there was nothing more to ask, Xiao Feng took his leave and left sullenly.

Zhao Wenhua stared at Xiao Feng's back and disappeared into the distance, turning his head to look at Zeng Zaoban.

Zeng Zaoban was still nervous, his legs trembling and his voice trembling.

"My lord, I didn't say anything wrong, this is the crime of deception, I really dare not lie!"

Zhao Wenhua laughed unexpectedly, and patted Zeng Zaoban's shoulder indifferently.

"Don't worry, the things you said are concealed, and he can find out from other channels.

That apprentice of yours used to play your banner in the capital, and many people knew about it. If you hide it from him, you will be caught by him.

Of course, it's better if you don't say it, but what you say is the truth, but the clue is broken, and he has nothing to do. ”

Seeing that Zeng Zaoban was still uneasy, and he wanted to stop talking, Zhao Wenhua straightened his face.

"It's none of your business, and you don't need to know anything. The less you know, the better it is for you. ”

In the last sentence, Zeng Zaoban knew that it was the truth, and he nodded again and again, eager to forget about it immediately.