The eleventh year of Xuyang, July 14
It has been nine days since Liu Xin came to the imperial capital, and today was supposed to be a day off.
Zhengyang cares very much about the number nine, and many things are related to nine. For example, officials take a bath every nine days.
Liu Xin's joining date was calculated from the day he first arrived, because the old Liu Baihu passed away on that day. According to the rules, from that day on, Liu Xin was already a member of Jin Yiwei.
Therefore, the ninth day, which is July 14, should be his holiday. However, because the case of the Royal Horse Supervisor was not solved, Liu Licheng canceled everyone's rest. After the case was completed, they all took a rest.
In the early morning of this day, Liu Xin had just arrived at the Hundred Household Office, and before the meal was ordered, a fan from Dongchang came outside and handed a note written by Yuan Dongxiang himself into Liu Xin's hand.
After ordering, Liu Xin came to the check-in room, opened the note, and looked solemn.
He was familiar with the name Gui Qinchen, because he was one of the three remaining horse-raising eunuchs, and there were only two left alive.
Gui Qinchen turned out to be a warrior in the Dacheng realm, which is consistent with the identity of the murderer of the Yumajian murder case.
By this time, the Royal Horse Supervisor case could actually be solved. Although it did not meet the emperor's requirement of finding out the real culprit behind the scenes, the case itself was considered solved.
But Liu Xin felt vaguely that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what was wrong.
Yuan Dongxiang also pointed out this point, so in the note, Yuan Dongxiang stated that he would report this matter to Dongchang Admiral Mi Yusong. At the same time, the case would not be concluded because His Majesty the Emperor wanted The mastermind behind this, not just a so-called real culprit.
Yuan Dongxiang asked Liu Xin to continue to trace the whereabouts of Si Yanqing. This woman could embezzle the salaries of eight eunuchs who raised horses. It was impossible for her to do it herself. Moreover, the whereabouts of this person could not be found in the household registration, which made it even more certain. There is someone else behind her.
Liu Xin put down the note, thought of the two dice, took out two copper dice from his arms, and fell into thinking.
At this time, Senior Brother Cheng came in with a stack of books. Of course, he was not here to deliver books. He left Liu House early in the morning, but came to Baihu Station later than Liu Xin, just to receive information from the secret investigation team. Then he got unexpected news.
Arriving at the check-in room, Senior Brother Cheng saw Liu Xin's expression and immediately understood: "You already know the news?"
Liu Xin nodded and pointed at the note sent by Yuan Dongxiang. Senior Brother Cheng glanced at the note, smiled and joked:
"With the support of the county king, the sources of intelligence are stable."
However, Liu Xin had no expression on his face and handed the two copper dice in his hand to Senior Brother Cheng and said, "Senior Brother Cheng, please check it for me. Someone lured me out last night and gave me these two dice and brought them with me." I went to a Shuntian gambling house, and I guess these two dice belong to this gambling house."
"Someone lured you out!" Senior Brother Cheng was shocked. Liu Xin didn't tell him about this all morning.
After concentrating for a moment, Senior Brother Cheng said in a deep voice: "I asked the covert investigation team to plant spies near Liu House."
Liu Xin stood up and said, "There's no rush, the other party doesn't seem to have any ill intentions. Please, Brother Cheng, please check the details of this gambling house as soon as possible. I'm going to report the death of Gui Qinchen to my superiors now."
Senior Brother Cheng said: "This matter is not trivial. Liu Licheng probably already knows about it."
Liu Xin smiled: "This is the self-consciousness of a subordinate. I have the self-cultivation of a subordinate!"
When he arrived at the Qianhu Office, Liu Xin did not find Liu Licheng in the duty room. He found a scribe to inquire and found out that Liu Qianhu was not on duty today, and they did not know where Qianhu had gone.
When Liu Licheng was not found, Liu Xin wrote a note briefly describing what Yuan Dongxiang had told him.
Before leaving Qianhu Station, he saw an old official running over. Liu Xin recognized this person. This old official was in charge of Jinyiwei's logistics horses, and he had received three horses from him that day.
At this time, this man came in a hurry, and Liu Xin already knew what was going on.
Sure enough, the old official said that Liu Xin had taken three horses, and if there were no special circumstances, it was time to return them to the stables.
Liu Xin said a few words and said that he would return it before the next shift. The old official thanked him profusely, turned around and went back.
Liu Xin looked at the old official's retreating back, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared. He remembered that the three horses were confiscated by the Qianhu Office in the Outer Beicheng City that day, and the Qianhu Office in the Outer Beicheng City was none other than Shao Shiwang.
Unexpectedly, they met again.
Liu Xin returned to Baihusuo with a plan in mind. He called Luo Bei, who was practicing martial arts alone in the backyard square. Luo Bei clicks on time every day and goes off duty on time. He practices swordplay by himself in his spare time.
Looking for Luo Bei together is actually a fox pretending to be a tiger's power and trying to pull the tiger's skin off the prince. Luo Bei seemed to be a martial arts fanatic and was not very interested in things other than martial arts. When Liu Xin came to see him, he just muttered a few words in a low voice, saying that Liu Xin had affected his practice, but then quickly followed Liu Xin. New, silent.
The two found a carriage and wandered all the way to the outer city. The yamen of the Qianhu Office in the outer north city was located in Chongbeifang outside Chongwenmen.
The place was easy to find. Liu Xin and Luo Bei got off the car and saw the government office of Qianhusuo in Outer Beicheng standing on a busy street. The front of Qianhusuo in Outer Beicheng looked much more grand than that in the inner city, and its area was also larger. Not small.
When the two captains guarding the gate saw Liu Xin wearing a fish-dragon suit, they recognized him from the clothes at a glance. So one of them came forward excitedly, first saluted with clasped fists, and then asked politely about Liu Xin's identity. Intention.
Hearing that Liu Xin came to see his Qianhu family, he said that Shao Qianhu was not on duty today.
When Liu Xin heard this, he suddenly became suspicious. Neither of them were on duty today.
Liu Xin then asked if Baihu was there, and the captain immediately said that a Xin Baihu happened to be at Qianhu's office. This Xin Baihu was Shao Qianhu's deputy and assisted Shao Qianhu in handling official affairs.
As soon as Liu Xin heard this, he knew that this Xin Baihu was Shao Shiwang's little secretary. It was probably this Xin Baihu who took care of all the complicated affairs for Shao Shiwang. This is the same as the Thousand Households in the Inner East City. Liu Licheng rarely handles some chores, and Cheng Guotao helps him complete them.
The role of Xin Baihu is similar to that of Cheng Guotao.
Liu Xin entered the Qianhu Institute and was led all the way in by the school captain.
There are more civil servants in the Thousand Households Office in the outer city than in the inner city. The steps are hurried when walking, and it seems to be very busy.
When walking through a side hall, Liu Xin saw several burly men in blue sitting around, and it seemed that there were two Jinyi guards sitting there talking to them.
Because it was just a quick glance, Liu Xin didn't take it to heart.
When they arrived at the check-in room, they found that Xin Baihu was not there, so the captain asked Liu Xin and the two to wait while he went to look for Xin Baihu.
After the people left, Liu Xin looked at the room. He wondered if it was Shao Shiwang's room. Compared with Liu Licheng's room, this room was much larger. There are also many calligraphy and paintings on the walls, which look extraordinary. In addition to the desk shelves and bookshelves, there is also an antique shelf with many antiques on it.
"Thousands of households in this outer city live a very prosperous life." Liu Xin joked.
Luo Bei on the side just looked at the weapons rack in the corner of the check-in room and turned a deaf ear to Liu Xin's words.
Liu Xin also quickly glanced over, only to see that there were only three weapons on the weapon shelf:
A sword, the scabbard is dark blue, engraved with wave patterns, and both ends of the scabbard are inlaid with sapphires, which looks very expensive at first glance.
A long gun. The body of the gun is mostly made of jet black hardwood. The middle part and the tail end of the gun body are respectively wrapped with a layer of dark gold metal. The first reaction at a glance is that it has an overwhelming atmosphere.
A Xuanhua ax, the whole body is dark silver, the handle and the ax body are integrally formed, and the handle is wrapped with animal skin. The beating marks on the ax body are very obvious, showing irregular and fine lines, which are patterns that can only appear in steel that has been tempered for hundreds of times.
The first thing he felt after seeing these three weapons was that they were expensive. Then Liu Xin's pupils shrank slightly, and he realized that these three weapons had a lot of origins.
Luo Bei, who was on the side, had withdrawn his gaze at this time and glanced at Liu Xin. He happened to see the shrinking pupils in Liu Xin's eyes, with a trace of surprise on his face.
From a mere hundred households, could he tell that these were three top-notch weapons?
Such a thought came into Luo Bei's mind, but he immediately wiped it away and said silently in his heart that it was impossible.
The three weapons on the weapon racks in the duty room of Qianhu Station in Outer North City were all extraordinary.
In the eyes of true masters, weapons made with ordinary skills, materials, and techniques can only be described as inferior.
Really good weapons can be divided into four levels in the eyes of experts, which is also the currently recognized classification among warriors.
From low to high, they are divided into four grades to one grade, among which the fourth grade is called: Master
This level originally represented the highest level of weapons in the world. After Emperor Wu's city unified the world, it collected too many weapon refining skills and techniques, and also brought together a large number of masters in weapon refining. These people used to work independently and each had their own inheritance. When they gathered together and had massive official resources to teach each other, the level of weapon refining has improved rapidly in the past ten years.
Therefore, the master-level weapons of this fourth level are basically based on the previous works of these masters. Now, the works of their disciples can even reach this level.
But even if weapons of this level have fallen behind, there are still countless people in the world who are eager to get such a weapon, which can be regarded as a sharp weapon and can improve their own strength.
The third level is called: standard
The change in standard weapons also occurred after Emperor Wu's city unified the world. Due to the integration of technology, the level of the official construction bureau has increased significantly. Some special standard equipment far exceeds the so-called master level in terms of practicality, compatibility and other basic aspects. The most typical one is Jinyiwei's standard weapon Xiuchundao. The Xiuchundao is the most typical standard equipment, but because the materials used are very particular, even in Jinyiwei Nei, only 100 households or above can have a true Bailian Xiuchundao, which is the standard level.
The second level is called: Huangyu
This is an official forging method at a higher level than the standard. Unlike the standard, the standard can be manufactured in batches, while the imperial objects are individually refined by senior weapon refiners. It represents the highest level of official standards. Because generally speaking, weapons of this level will be awarded to meritorious ministers as royal gifts from the royal family, or used by the royal family, so they are called imperial weapons.
The first level is called: exquisite
Weapons at this level are all exclusively crafted and completed by the most skilled forgers in the world. Each one is a masterpiece passed down from generation to generation. Perhaps limited by the materials and craftsmanship, its practicality will not be much higher than that of the Imperial Weapon. After all, the latter represents the highest level of craftsmanship. But in other ways, its significance goes far beyond the artifact itself. One of the more representative ones is the Fish Intestine Sword, the sword that Jing Ke used to assassinate the King of Qin.
At this time, it can be basically concluded that the three weapons that appeared on the weapon racks in the Qianhu Station in the Outer North City are imperial weapons and are the best weapons. After all, the ultimate weapon is not necessarily more practical than the imperial weapon. The latter is more about the blessing of reputation.
There are three imperial weapons, Shao Shiwang is worthy of being a noble person, and his background is as profound as that of an ordinary royal family!
Liu Xin was thinking like this, and when he heard footsteps behind him, he retracted his thoughts and turned around, just in time to see a middle-aged man wearing a Baihu fish dragon suit walking in. This man had a broad build and a round face. , looking shrewd.
His temperament is quite similar to that of Cheng Guotao.
"Hahaha, this is Liu Baihu, what kind of wind has brought you here? My Qianhu Office in Waibei City is really shining brightly. They say that Liu Baihu is very talented at such a young age. Today, he is very talented. It turns out that’s the case.”
Xin Baihu laughed and led Liu Xin to sit down, looking at Luo Bei curiously. Liu Xin introduced him in time:
"This is Luo Bei, a close confidant of the Yongzhou County Prince. He has been guiding the work in my Baihu Office these days."
When Xin Baihu heard that he was a confidant of the Yongzhou County King, his eyes immediately shone, his smile became even brighter, and his buttocks ejected before he was even hot, leading Luo Bei to sit down.
Luo Bei waved his hand indifferently and said expressionlessly: "No need, I am Liu Baihu's follower now."
Xin Baihu was stunned for a moment, then smiled again. When he sat down again, his butt only touched the chair slightly. He asked with a smile: "Liu Baihu, Luo... Luo Shaoxia, I heard from the captain that you are here to see Shao Qianhu. What a coincidence. He is not here today. He should be going to Beizhen Fusi for a meeting." ”
It turned out that he was going to a meeting. No wonder Liu Licheng was not at the Qianhu Office. But why didn't the civil servants know that Liu Licheng was going to the meeting? This meeting was probably an impromptu meeting. If it was a regular occurrence, then the civil servants should not have known about it.
Liu Xin didn't want to waste time with Xin Baihu. After a few pleasantries, he went straight to the point and explained his purpose.
Xin Baihu frowned after hearing this. He seemed to be hesitant, but the corner of his eye swept over Luo Bei's body, and the hesitation immediately disappeared. He stood up, cupped his hands and said, "Liu Baihu, please wait a moment. I will go to the civil servants and ask, if it is really our people who took the horse away, I will definitely return it."
Xin Baihu summoned a school captain and gave a few instructions. The school captain left in a hurry. When Xin Baihu came back, he explained with a smile on his face: "If it is really our people who took the horse away, Liu Baihu But don't blame it. This outer city is different from the inner city. There are three religions and nine streams, and everyone is there. If our patrol officer sees our Jin Yiwei's horse at a glance, he will certainly ask about it. Liu Baihu also said so , in order to carry out the mission, you people were not with the horse, so to be on the safe side, the patrol officers took the horse away."
Listening to the perfunctory explanation, Liu Xin just smiled and didn't say much. Not long after, a captain reported back. Xin Baihu came back after listening, smiled and said that the horse was found, and then said that he would arrange it He sent the horse to Baihu in Wenxuanfang with a very good attitude, but Liu Xin knew that Xin Baihu was doing this for Luo Bei's sake.
There were rumors that Shao Shiwang was a little greedy and could only get out but not get in. Liu Xin originally planned to put in a lot of trouble, but with Luo Bei's tiger-skin flag, the matter was easily solved.
Declining Xin Baihu's enthusiastic offer to stay, Liu Xin and Luo Bei left Qianhu Office in Outer North City on the grounds of official business.
After Liu Xin and Luo Bei walked away, Xin Baihu's smile suddenly turned cold. He waved to summon a captain, whispered a few instructions in his ear, and the captain left in a hurry.
On the way back to Wenxuanfang Baihufu, Luo Bei asked: "Did you use the name of the county prince to handle your own affairs?"
Liu Xin turned back and looked at Luo Bei in confusion: "Your county king asked you to follow me, didn't he just ask me to do things in his name?"
Luo Bei was speechless.
Liu Xin chuckled. At this time, the carriage was about to pass Chongwenmen. Liu Xin saw the figure of Senior Brother Cheng from the opened curtain of the carriage. At this time, the latter was walking towards the outer city and passed the carriage Liu Xin was riding. .
With a thought in his mind, Liu Xin immediately stopped the carriage and asked Luo Bei to go back to Baihu's sword practice while he got out of the car and chased Senior Brother Cheng.
Luo Bei glanced at Liu Xin indifferently. He didn't care where the latter went or what he was doing. He was so happy and free that he just happened to go back to practice his sword. The Zhengyang Martial Arts Competition was going to be held in less than two months, but he was He will participate on behalf of the Yongzhou Guards for the Yongzhou County King. In this martial arts competition, he was determined to win the top three places, so that the Yongzhou County King could win the bet with the princes and princes.
Liu Xin, who hurriedly caught up with Senior Brother Cheng, changed into regular clothes in a restaurant and immediately learned the information about Shuntian Gambling House from Senior Brother Cheng.
This Shuntian Gambling House is one of the largest gambling houses in the imperial capital. It has a profound background. One of its owners is the most mysterious, but the secret investigation team still found it. This person surprised Liu Xin because he had just left this person's Qianhu residence.
"Shao Shiwang actually opened a gambling house, and he turned a blind eye to the law that soldiers were not allowed to engage in business." In addition to lamenting the constant bad relationship between him and Shao Shiwang, Liu Xin was also a little surprised. Shao Shiwang was more courageous than he imagined. Even bigger. Although he also had the title of earl in addition to Qianwai Qianwai, a deep-rooted hereditary title, but earl was only the lowest level of title, and his ancestor was just a military commander who followed Emperor Wuyang. But his courage is really quite big.
Senior Brother Cheng nodded and frowned: "Shao Shiwang is the largest and most mysterious owner of this gambling house. The other three owners are just ordinary rich people. For his status, the business of this gambling house is a bit too big. Among the imperial capital , this is a birthday where people are making money every day, and countless people are staring at it. If there is not enough energy, it is impossible to maintain it. But this Shuntian Gambling House is not only one of the few gambling houses in the imperial capital. , or the largest one among them.”
After a pause, Senior Brother Cheng looked at Liu Xin with solemn eyes: "Shuntian Gambling House has seven branches in the outer city, but they are all ordinary gambling houses. The one in the cheap shop in the inner city is the only one opened in this area. The city’s gambling house. It is not only a gambling house, but also a restaurant and a place to find flowers and flowers.”
Liu Xin thought for a while and nodded silently. He only had a quick glance under the moonlight last night, but the small building occupied a large area and had an exquisite appearance. The door panels and window frames were all hollowed out with detailed patterns, which was different from ordinary gambling houses.
An ordinary gambling house is just a small shop front, with a sign hanging on the door and some Pai Gow sieves engraved on it, and the door is usually separated by a curtain. But Shuntian Gambling House is much more sophisticated.
Liu Xin suddenly thought that the purpose of Senior Brother Cheng going to the outer city was also for the Shuntian Gambling House. Could it be that there was something special about this gambling house.
Liu Xin asked Senior Brother Cheng about the purpose of going to the outer city. Senior Brother Cheng looked at Liu Xin with helplessness in his eyes: "Senior Brother, I was just going to be lazy, but I was caught and exposed by you, a hundred households, eh."
Liu Xin said in a deep voice: "Senior brother, don't make trouble!"
Brother Cheng straightened his expression and said, "I won't joke with you. The covert investigation team found out that the shopkeeper of the Shuntian Gambling House in the inner city is a woman named Gui Wanqiu. This Gui Wanqiu is Shao Shiwang's mate, and she usually Living in the outer city. Because it involves the mysterious person who lured you away from Liuzhai last night and deliberately exposed the Shuntian Gambling House to you, I decided to personally check this woman named Gui Wanqiu. Now the purpose of this mysterious person is not Qing, you can’t act rashly.”
That mysterious man was like a heavy stone, hitting Liu Xin's heart. He had only been in the imperial capital for nine days, so who would find him?
Is it someone related to the Royal Horse Prison case, or another character who has already noticed his identity.
Hey, if you have a hidden identity, you will become suspicious. It's really unpleasant, Liu Xin muttered in his heart.
"Senior brother, since we want to investigate, I will go with you. That mysterious man brought Shuntian Gambling House into my sight, and he used such a simple and crude method. He must have wanted me to investigate. If I don't do anything , but everything has been found out. This mysterious person or the mysterious organization behind him will definitely be suspicious, which will be detrimental to my identity." Liu Xin frowned, the case of the Royal Horse Supervisor was still hidden in the fog, and A mysterious man suddenly appeared. The water in the imperial capital was really deeper and turbid than imagined.
Senior Brother Cheng thought for a while: "You are right. Moreover, what I care more about is this woman's surname."
Liu Xin was stunned for a moment, then realized what he was doing and said in a deep voice: "Gui!"
Senior Brother Cheng nodded and said solemnly: "At this juncture, such a coincidence deserves our attention!"
