When Shi Cheng and the others saw Zhao Ping again, Zhao Ping was half-lying in a mahogany chair, his eyes wandering aimlessly among the stacks of official documents on the table next to him.

Less than half a day has passed, and this high-spirited senior military attache of the Criminal Procuratorate seems to have been drained of his spirits.

"Sit down." Zhao Ping pointed to the three seats that had been prepared not far away.

After Shi Cheng and the others sat down, Zhao Ping straightened up and said something that surprised Shi Cheng: "Shi Cheng, after going through so many things, I have to admit that what you said before is right. ”

Shi Cheng looked at Zhao Ping sincerely, he didn't speak, he could see that Zhao Ping still had a following.

"I want to know, who the hell are you? Why do you know so much about the affairs of the Lu tribe? Zhao Ping asked.

Shi Cheng smiled and said, "It's very simple, my master, it's Shi Zhantian. ”

Zhao Ping's mouth opened wide in surprise, "Shi Cheng, you can completely trust me, if you don't want to say it, I won't force you, but you can't use this kind of statement to prevaricate me, right?" Everyone in the rivers and lakes knows that Senior Shi disappeared as early as twenty-six years ago, and his life and death are unknown, and he is likely to have fallen, he has never had an apprentice in his lifetime, why did you suddenly come out today with such a descendant? ”

Shi Cheng said helplessly: "If Lord Zhao doesn't believe it, Shi Cheng has nothing to say. ”

Zhao Ping looked at Shi Cheng for a while, sighed, and said, "That's it, you also have your secrets." ”

After that, Zhao Ping looked at Wu Neng and asked, "Wu Neng, the technique you used last night...... But tricks? ”

Shi Cheng and the three of them glanced at each other, and they also knew that this matter could not be hidden in front of Zhao Ping, so they nodded.

Zhao Ping frowned, "You are a survivor of Yanmen?" ”

Shi Cheng hurriedly grabbed in front of Wu Neng and replied: "No, Lao Wu's father got a book of ancient refining techniques by chance, which had some superficial tricks, and later passed on to Lao Wu. ”

Shi Cheng once saw articles related to Yanmen when he was reading idle books, and he knew that this sect seemed to be very unpopular in the eyes of the sects and officials in the Eastern Continent, although the author of the Western Continent did not know the reason, but Shi Cheng knew in his heart that he was in the Western Desert at the moment, and it was better not to make things happen casually, as for the inside story of the destruction of the Yanmen back then, it would not be too late to visit the Eastern Continent slowly and secretly in the future.

Zhao Ping nodded and didn't continue to ask.

Wu Neng's attitude towards Zhao Ping was still very uncomfortable, "Lord Zhao seems to have a lot of malice towards Yanmen?" ”

Zhao Ping said: "Those people in Yanmen, relying on their own tricks and tricks, are rampant in the countryside on weekdays, do you think I have any good impression of them?" ”

Shi Cheng and Tie Mian glanced at each other, both of them had some doubts in their eyes, Wu Neng was angry in his heart, but he still forcibly suppressed his anger and defended: "I think it's just some slander against our machine magicians by some major sects, how can we take it seriously?" Those peers in Yanmen may not be what you think. ”

Yanmen has always been a holy place in the hearts of all mechanism magicians, so Zhao Ping did not doubt Wu Neng's excitement, and then suspected that Shi Cheng's set of Wu Neng was just a loose cultivation mechanism magician.

"I didn't shoot at all your magicians." Zhao Ping shook his head, not wanting to dwell on this issue.

He looked at the official document on the desk and said to Shi Cheng and the others: "I will write a chapter today, and I should send it to the royal city before evening." The Xieyang Dao case is now over, and tomorrow I will leave to return to the royal city with the remaining brothers. Zhishashan was temporarily handed over to the yamen of the city to take over, and the army sent by the imperial court is also about to arrive, and the corpses and evidence from Zhishashan will be sent to the Wangcheng side together, and the officials in charge are trustworthy people, so you don't have to worry. ”

Speaking of this, Zhao Ping thought for a moment and continued: "As for you, I thought about it carefully, and decided to describe you as ordinary monks as much as possible in the recital, although I can't hide all the details, but Shi Cheng You are an outlier of Danwu double cultivation I won't take it out and make a statement, Shi Cheng, you are a Cheta after all, and you should know in your heart the current situation of the Southern Wilderness, and this is also for your good." ”

Shi Cheng nodded and said, "I can understand." ”

The atmosphere in the room was very depressing, and even Wu Neng didn't know what to say for a while.

After a moment, it was Shi Cheng who broke the silence.

He straightened up and calmly asked Zhao Ping, "Lord Zhao, dare to ask how you plan to describe Sun Jinyong's role in this case?" ”

Zhao Ping seemed to have been stabbed, his body trembled slightly, and Wu Neng, who was beside Shi Cheng, was also in a complicated mood when he saw this scene, and kept shifting his gaze back and forth between Shi Cheng and Zhao Ping very nervously. The iron face on Wu Neng's right hand was still indifferent, as if he was an outsider.

Zhao Ping finally calmed down. After a while, as if he had made up his mind, he exhaled and said slowly, "I will...... According to the facts. ”

"Cause and effect. This is what he taught me on the first day I entered the Criminal Procuratorate, but I didn't expect ......" Zhao Ping was a little incoherent, and his voice was slightly choked.

After Zhao Ping's mood calmed down slightly, Shi Cheng opened his mouth and said, "Lord Zhao, in fact, the whole case is not over yet. ”

The eyes of everyone present were on Shi Cheng.

Shi Cheng clenched his fists, and the poor people who lost their relatives due to the poisoning case came to mind, "The mastermind behind the previous poisoning case in the city has not been found yet. ”

Zhao Ping handed over two official documents and said to Shi Cheng: "Look at this." ”

After Shi Cheng took the official document, he just swept the first three lines before his brow furrowed.

Zhao Ping's eyebrows and eyes could not hide his anger, "A total of four middle- and lower-level officers in the city guard committed suicide in their barracks and homes last night. Gao Fu also came to report the case this morning, two subordinates who used to be Gao Yan's cronies, one hanged himself last night, and the other cut his wrists. This is nothing short of blatant provocation! ”

After reading all the official documents, Shi Cheng raised his head and asked, "Lord Zhao, do you think these people really committed suicide?" ”

Zhao Ping said helplessly: "We are all people with heads, you and I both know what it is, but the murderer did it very neatly, and the tricks in the yamen can't see any signs of his killing." ”

"The Lu clan has a lot of means, and camouflage the scene is nothing to them at all." Iron Mask said coldly.

Shi Cheng nodded and continued to ask, "Lord Zhao, I don't know if I can go and take a look at the corpses of those people." ”

Zhao Ping sighed and said, "I really can't do anything about this. Now that there is such a big mess in the Qincha Guard, I can no longer continue to exercise my powers, so I can only go back to Wangcheng immediately to report the matter. The city guards' investigation had been handed over to the Yunqiu City Yamen before, and it was impossible for the people on their side to let the three of you get involved in this case again. ”

"Fortunately, the investigation of the city guards is still ongoing, and it should not be affected by these cases. At present, the city guards who are suspected of being related to the poisoning case are basically soldiers who misbehaved on weekdays and whose ancestral homes are in other places. ”

After saying this long string of words, Zhao Ping exhaled his anger slightly, and then asked Shi Cheng: "Shi Cheng, do you have any plans now, the suspicion on your body has been cleared before last night's operation, and the official government in the city will issue a notice in the past two days to explain to the soldiers and civilians in the city that there is another person who is the real culprit in the poisoning case." So do you want to wait here for the results of the Yamen's investigation of the city guards, or continue to the royal city? ”

After thinking for a moment, Shi Cheng said to Zhao Ping: "I will find a way to go to the royal city in the next few days, the grasshoppers in Yunqiu City have been swept away, and I don't expect to get valuable information from the few remaining ants." I have every reason to suspect that Youhe may not be the only one responsible for the poisoning case, after all, he is a member of the Lu clan who has been upright, and he must need a white glove when dealing with the affairs of the open side. Judging from the fact that the white glove was able to stir up such a big storm in Cloud Hill City, I think it is very likely that his foundation is in the royal city. ”

After saying this, for the sake of insurance, Shi Cheng still added: "But I still hope to get information related to the results of the investigation here, I don't know if Lord Zhao can help me." ”

Zhao Ping looked at Shi Cheng and said seriously: "Shi Cheng, I don't care if you are the so-called apprentice of Shi senior, although you are a Chita person, but after going through so many things, I would like to believe that what you are investigating is indeed something related to Li Min's life, so I will help you." ”

Shi Cheng suddenly laughed, "Lord Zhao, no matter how powerful the Alliance Khanate's Territorial Guardian Elders and Military Machinery Division are, it is impossible to turn all the Chita people into secret agents, right?" ”

Zhao Ping didn't answer, but talked about another topic: "I'm not a Qincha after all, so I have to go back to Wangcheng quickly to resume power, and Wangcheng will send someone else to preside over the investigation in the future." However, my permission can still give me access to information related to the follow-up investigation here, and when you return to Wangcheng, you can go to Wangcheng Huibao Pavilion to find a person named Xu Jincheng, who is a distant relative of mine, and I will regularly ask him to reveal relevant news to you. ”

After saying this, Zhao Ping sighed lightly while looking at Shi Cheng, "Shi Cheng, the conflict between my Western Desert Kingdom and the Eastern Dan Kingdom in the west has a tendency to intensify recently. If you want to track down the Lu clan on the side of the royal city, with your identity, if you don't have some foundation and connections, I'm afraid it will be very difficult. But fortunately, you still have such a background as the Danshi of the Pharmacist Chamber of Commerce, so there is still room for maneuver. I will find a way to promote the investigation of the Lu clan in Wangcheng, as for you, many things in the future will depend on your own means. ”

As Zhao Ping spoke, he pulled out a newspaper from the table next to him and handed it to Shi Cheng.

Shi Cheng took the newspaper in his hand, he was familiar with the official language, and immediately recognized the name of this newspaper - "North Street Daily"

"This newspaper was just delivered to the Chincha Mansion yesterday. "North Street Daily" is a big newspaper for the people in my Western Desert Country, so it's not bad for me to give this to you. You can get a lot of unclassified information related to the royal city from this, and you won't be blinded when you go to the royal city. On the third page, there is a notice that Sheng Degong has sought medical treatment for his favorite granddaughter and princess of the city, and I suggest you give it a try. Sheng Degong has a long generation in the royal family, but he has the least real power in his hands, and now he is also dedicated to his old age, away from political affairs. I don't have a ...... about officialdom though. Sun Jinyong knows so much, but I also know very well that getting in touch with a figure like Sheng Degong can give you a big backer with the smallest taboo. ”

Shi Cheng put away the newspaper in his hand and said to Zhao Ping: "Then thank you Lord Zhao, please rest assured, I will pay more attention, and I will definitely try my best to find out all the Lu clan and their lackeys." ”

……

After coming out of the Qincha Mansion, Shi Cheng did not choose to go back to the inn directly, but stuffed some money for the coachman and ordered him to go to the Camel Bell Inn in the east of the city. Before leaving the Qincha Mansion, Shi Cheng asked Zhao Ping for information about Huang Yuan, but Zhao Ping's knowledge of Huang Yuan was limited to Huang Yuan being a businessman with a deep background. Therefore, Shi Cheng did not get more information, and after reminding Zhao Ping that Huang Yuan might have something to do with the poisoning case and the Lu clan, he took his leave and left.

"Lao Shi, take a look at my page of the newspaper, since I met you, I have been in a state of exhaustion, and I can't even find a little pastime." Wu Neng said boredly.

Shi Cheng originally wanted to tease Wu Neng with the "Cold-blooded Saint Venerable", but he planned to finish reading the "North Street Daily" in his hand as soon as possible, so he gave up this idea that flashed in his mind and handed Wu Neng the page of the newspaper he had just finished reading.

On the third page of the "North Street Daily", there was a notice posted by the Shengde Mansion, the content of which was exactly the same as what Zhao Ping said, roughly saying that Princess Hecheng was seriously ill. The Lord of Synder promised that if a pharmacist could heal the princess, he would be willing to pay him 200 tongbao.

"It's a lot of money, good guy, this money can make me dashing in the big cities of the East and West Continents for more than a month." After Shi Cheng finished reading the notice, he continued to look at the other news.

The North Street Newspaper is printed on the front and back, with a total of 12 pages. Pages 1 to 4 are the news of the royal city, pages 5 to 7 are some news and interesting facts about the entire Western Desert Kingdom, and one page is dedicated to the news publication area of the Keju Annual Tournament in the Gyeonggi region. Unlike the official documents of the imperial court, the headlines and contents of these newspapers for the people were quite easy to understand. Most of the short articles on these pages of Di Bao were concerned about this year's harvest problems and banditry in some areas, and a small page also published some new developments in the Xieyang Road case.

Seok Seung looked back, and on page four, a longer article slammed Chang Tao, the newly appointed chief of the six states of Gyeonggi, for saying that instead of thinking about how to calm the rising grain prices in Gyeonggi, he "connived at corruption and competed with the people for profit." In addition, an article on page 6 cautiously suggests that the Western Desert Kingdom may be able to draw on some of the ideas in the recent Wei court's "Helping the People with Money".

Shi Cheng kept this information in his mind and continued to look back.

The last five pages are related to foreign countries. Two of the pages are mainly two news items. The first major news was a fierce attack on the invasion of the Eastern Dan Kingdom on the border against the Western Desert Kingdom, and the second was about the imminent arrival of the Yuanliu City Lord in the Western Desert Country.

"The Yuanliu State has always maintained an ambiguous attitude towards both the Wei State and the Allied Khanate. However, at this time of tension at the border, the visit of the Yuanliu City Lord undoubtedly sent a signal that the Yuanliu Kingdom, which had complex ties with the Wei State, the Western Desert State, and the countries of the Cold Moon Continent, was likely to close its relationship with the Wei State in the future. For the enlightened world of Wei and his faithful friends, this was undoubtedly a victory for the tyrants of the Western Continent. ”

After reading the news, Shi Cheng set his eyes on the last three pages, and one eye-catching headline after another also came into view. Not surprisingly, with the exception of a small anecdote about the respective states, most of the content on the last three pages is related to the Union Khanate.

……

"Heavenly Khan Li Yuanfeng, the tyrant of the Western Continent, the threat of the Western Desert, the cancer of the world, and the public enemy of the enlightened world"

"If you don't respect benevolence, don't respect scribes, and don't admire civilization, the country of tyrants will not be far away"

Living under the Butcher's Knife and the Harsh Rule: The Kusa People of the Northern Steppe

……

"Don't these chief writers of the Di Bao even know the full name of the Eleventh Guards of the Union Khanate and the history of the troops?" After hurriedly sweeping through these titles, Shi Cheng's heart was quite helpless, "Judging from the wording, Li Yuanfeng, the first seat of the ruling elders of our alliance khanate, seems to be declining at a rate visible to the naked eye among the Eastern Continent countries. ”

"A year ago, when I went to the Eastern Continent with the merchant group of the Pharmacist Chamber of Commerce to do business, I also borrowed some mainstream newspapers issued in the Eastern Continent more than sixty years ago in a library, and at that time some of their ridicule of the Alliance Khanate was quite reasonable, but I didn't expect that gradually they would only repeat these major things."

In the ups and downs of Shi Cheng's thoughts, the carriage had arrived at the door of the Camel Bell Inn.