"Gao Sizhi, I'm a little strange, Wang Jiansi has rich experience and enough qualifications, how can he be a petty official from the eighth grade?" On the way to Beishi, Li Zhen couldn't help but ask Gao Jiandao, he was really curious about Wang Jiansi's experience.

Gao Jian sighed softly: "It's hard to say, although he is not from the imperial examination, but he has also done the position of Dali Temple, but more than ten years ago Li Jingye raised troops in Yangzhou, and his brother also participated in Li Jingye's army, and died in Runzhou, and later Wang Jiansi was liquidated by the imperial court and imprisoned for questioning, thanks to Di Xiangguo's intercession for him, he was saved from death, but his official position was lost, and he was also named in the Ministry of Officials. ”

"It's really a pity" Li Zhen couldn't help but sigh with emotion, Wang Jiansi's ability to show clues from subtleties really impressed him.

While talking, the two entered Nanshi, Nanshi was bustling as usual, with a weaving of people, Li Zhen had not entered Nanshi for a long time, it used to be because his eldest sister's wine shop was in Nanshi, but now he suddenly remembered that his eldest sister had transferred the wine shop, and Nanshi basically had nothing to do with him in the future.

After a short time, they came to the jewelry store, a small street densely distributed dozens of jewelry shops, some of which were simple and ordinary for the common people, and some of which were luxuriously decorated, only for the princes and nobles.

The Luo Zhutang they were looking for belonged to a medium-sized shop, but it was very distinctive, selling only all kinds of pearls and pearls, and Li Zhen saw a decorative fake pearl from afar, the size of a pumpkin, hanging among various flags and signboards.

"This is it," Gao Jian said with a smile, pointing to the fake pearl above his head.

Li Zhen looked at this shop, the door of the shop hall is very small, like squeezed between two high-rise buildings, although there are also three floors, but it looks very narrow and cramped, there is a signboard hanging on the door, with gold edges and black backgrounds, there are three big silver characters with dragons flying and phoenixes dancing: 'Luo Zhutang,.

At this time, two guys greeted him with a smile on their faces, "Welcome to the shop"

An internal guard warrior shook the bronze medal of the double-headed eagle in front of him, and said coldly: "Internal guard case"

When the two guys heard that it was the internal guard, their faces changed in fright, and they turned around and ran towards the store, and after a while, a very fat middle-aged man came out of the store, his name was Luo Sheng, he was the proprietor of Luo Zhutang, and he was also the big shopkeeper, he was nervous, and he arched his hand again and again: "Villain Luo Sheng, welcome adults"

Li Zhen turned over and dismounted, ignored him, and walked directly to the store, more than a dozen internal guard warriors also rushed in, Gao Jian shook his head secretly, and hurriedly pulled Luo Sheng over and whispered: "That one just now is the internal guard Commander Li, you should have heard of it."

"Know, Know"

Li Zhen's name is known to everyone in Luoyang, of course Luo Sheng knows, his heart is pounding, the internal security commander came to his store to handle the case, what did he do?

Luo Sheng invited Li Zhen to the Guike Hall on the second floor, and ordered someone to serve the best tea, Li Zhen and Gao Jian sat at the small table, Luo Sheng stood aside with his hands down, looking extremely nervous, Gao Jian smiled: "We just came to inquire about some things, Shopkeeper Luo doesn't have to be nervous, please sit down"

Luo Sheng heard that they were just here to inquire about things, he breathed a sigh of relief, and glanced at Li Zhen timidly, without Li Zhen's consent, he didn't dare to sit down, Li Zhen nodded, "Please sit down"

Luo Sheng sat down at this time, Li Zhen beckoned, and one of his subordinates handed over the brocade box, he opened the brocade box, and inside the box was the pearl earrings left by the assassin, Li Zhen pushed the box to Luo Sheng, "Shopkeeper Luo, please take a look at this bead." ”

Shopkeeper Luo had already vaguely understood their intentions, and his heart was more stable, he hurriedly concentrated and carefully looked at this pearl, he immediately recognized it, and exclaimed: "This is the seven-leaf sea pearl of the Wa Kingdom, produced on the Qiye Island of the Wa Kingdom, and it is the bead sold in the small shop." ”

"How can you be so sure?" asked Li Zhen puzzled.

Eight years ago, a Japanese merchant sold this batch of pearls to Yangzhou, a total of only 300, which caused a sensation in Yangzhou jewelry store, when my father ran to Yangzhou and bought all 300 pearls at a high price of 50 per pearl. ”

Gao Jian couldn't help but laugh and said: "A sea pearl is actually sold for fifty times, your father is very courageous."

Luo Sheng said a little proudly: "At that time, a high-grade sea pearl was worth the most consistent money, but my father bought one with fifty guan money, and many insiders said that he was crazy, but it turned out that since then, there has never been such a good quality sea pearl, and now such a sea pearl will be sold for at least two hundred and fifty yuan." ”

"How can you be so sure that there will be no more?"

"After the Qiye Haizhu incident, my father's reputation spread in the industry, and Luo Zhutang has also become the first sign of the pearl category. ”

Li Zhen heard that he made sense, and pointed to the sea pearl in the box and said, "Then look at this one, do you still have an impression?"

Luo Sheng took out a handkerchief, wrapped his fat and short fingers, and carefully picked up the bead, he frowned suddenly, Li Zhen knew that he saw it, so he said: "This bead has been hollowed out, and it contains poison." ”

When Luo Sheng heard that there was a poison in it, his hands trembled with fright, and the beads almost fell to the ground, so he hurriedly put the beads back in the box, shook his head and said: "It's a pity, such a good bead is actually hollowed out, it is simply a tyrannical thing." ”

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly said to Li Zhen: "I really want to have a little impression, a few years ago, we hollowed out a seven-leaf sea pearl, is it this I can't remember, I'll go find the master."

Li Zhen nodded, "Go ahead"

He struggled to get up and hurried out, at this time, Gao Jian whispered to Li Zhen: "All the guards said that there were no women among the assassins, but a woman's pearl earrings were found at the scene, I wondered, is this a little strange?"

Li Zhen was stunned, "You mean to say that someone deliberately left it behind to mislead our judgment?"

"Not necessarily, I just think it's a little weird, let's wait for them to identify."

Soon, Luo Sheng brought in an old craftsman with a gray head, about sixty years old, with a wrinkled face, Luo Sheng introduced: "This is the oldest bead maker in our shop, Guo Laojiang, his beading skills are second to none in the Tang Dynasty, and the seven-leaf sea pearl I said is his craft." ”

Old craftsman Guo stepped forward and knelt down and kowtowed, "Xiaomin meets Commander Li"

"You're welcome, old craftsman, please take a seat"

Luo Sheng and Guo Laojiang both sat down, Li Zhen pushed the brocade box to him again, and Luo Sheng said in a low voice: "You must be careful, there is a poison in it." ”

Guo Laojiang nodded, he put on a pair of extremely thin sharkskin gloves, slowly picked up the pearl, and explained to Li Zhen with a smile: "Unlike other pearls, this seven-leaf sea pearl likes cold and is afraid of heat, try not to touch it with your hands, the heat on your hands will make it dull, in fact, we don't advocate making it into a necklace." ”

"If you don't make decorations, then what's the use of it?"

Next to him, Luo Sheng said in a low voice: "It is generally used to make a spiritual weapon and hold it in the mouth, so it is also called Dingyan Pearl, which is said to prevent the corpse from rotting." ”

Li Zhen and Gao Jian glanced at each other, this pearl turned out to be a spiritual weapon, which really surprised them.

At this time, Guo Laojiang narrowed his eyes, clamped the pearl with a lotus copper clip, took out a five-inch silver needle from the tool box, and slowly picked out a gold pill on the pearl's head, separating the gold and pearl inlaid on the earring, and a hole the size of a mung bean appeared on the pearl.

Guo Laojiang slowly poured the poisonous powder inside on a thin silk scarf, the poisonous powder turned out to be golden, which made Li Zhen's heart tremble, he suddenly thought of Chilian Jin, Chilian Gold is colorless and tasteless when it is liquid, but after baking it into powder, it becomes golden.

At this time, Gao Jian reached out to get the thin towel, Li Zhen was quick, and grabbed his wrist, "Don't touch it"

The people around were startled, and couldn't help but retreat, as if those golden medicinal powders were poisonous snakes, Li Zhen asked for a pair of gloves to put on, carefully wrapped the medicinal powder, and wrapped it in layers of oiled paper and put it into a leather bag.

He asked the proprietor Luo Sheng to rinse the hollowed-out pearl with water repeatedly to ensure that there was no trace of golden powder, and then handed it back to Guo Laojiang, who looked at the pearl carefully, and then sighed and said: "This is the seven-leaf pearl I hollowed out three years ago, it is my craft, I recognize it."

Li Zhen perked up and hurriedly asked, "Do you remember who entrusted you with the hollowed-out pearl?"

Guo Laojiang glanced at the proprietor, he is only responsible for life, he doesn't know who the guest is?

Luo Sheng pondered for a moment and said slowly: "If it is really the seven-leaf pearl three years ago, then I still have a little impression, to be exact, I remember very clearly, it was sent by King Wei's Huang butler, saying that King Wei's concubine wanted to hollow out this seven-leaf pearl." ”

'Wu Chengsi, Li Zhen seemed to open a window in his heart, he thought of those golden medicinal powders that looked very similar to Chilian gold, and then linked it with Wu Chenghe, this assassination case became clear, could it be that Wu Chenghe's Wu family general did it?

Li Zhen knew that although Wu Chengsi was nominally exiled to Lingnan, he lived a princely and luxurious life in Guangzhou, no less than Luoyang, and even more freewheeling than Luoyang, and he was very likely to remotely control Wu Furong to assassinate Li Dan.

At this moment, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside, and I only heard someone say urgently: "I am engaged in Dali Temple, and I have an urgent matter to find Gao Sizhi"

Li Zhen then ordered: "Let him come in"

A Dali temple engaged in the immediate rush in, whispered a few words to Gao Jian, Gao Jian couldn't help but be stunned, Li Zhen saw this, doubted in his heart, and asked: "What happened?"

Gao Jian smiled bitterly and said, "The surviving personal warrior of the Xiangwang escaped. ”