A major case, a shocking case, occurred in Jianglin City recently. There were rumors before the Yuan Day Festival that there were "ghosts" walking at night in the inner city. However, under the atmosphere of the Yuan Day Festival, the people did not I didn't pay attention to the rumors about this "ghost" walking at night.
After the Lantern Festival, the people had long forgotten about this "ghost" walking at night, but today, this shocking case finally awakened the memories of the people of Jianglin.
One of Qi Yun's men, Fan Mou, the right-hand minister, actually died at the hands of "ghosts" last night. Not only that, the entire Fan Mansion was also massacred overnight, with no one spared.
As soon as this news came out, the government and the public were shocked. When the emperor heard that he had lost his arm, he fainted in court. The civil and military officials in the court were so shocked that they called the imperial doctor. Finally, he slowly regained consciousness after pricking the acupuncture points with gold needles and taking medicine orally.
The emperor was angry, the heaven was furious, and ordered a strict investigation into the case of "Ghosts Walking at Night". Nine guards came out, but after several days of investigation, all to no avail. In anger, the emperor issued an edict to dismiss the governor of the Nine Gates Division and imprison him. All the Nine Gates guards on duty on the night of the incident were beheaded in public display. He also issued an edict, ordering Duanmuqiu to regain control of the Nine Gates Division and continue investigating the case.
The incident in the court, along with the "Ghost Walking at Night" case, instantly spread throughout the streets and alleys of Jianglin City. People were panicked for a while. Not to mention the Qiyun officials in the inner city of Jianglin, everyone was in danger, but also the four cities in Jianglin City. , the prosperity of the past is gone. After nightfall, every household closes its doors to thank guests. There are no lights in the entire Jianglin City. Looking from a distance, it looks like a dead city.
On the contrary, the residence of Yan Ruohai, the Grand Master of the Army Guard, has become a bustling place. Officials, big and small, who have friendships with Yan Ruohai and those who have no friendships and have entrusted people to establish friendships, are constantly visiting, from morning to night. Without interruption, the threshold of Yan's Mansion was almost trampled to pieces by this group of people.
These officials just wanted to beg Yan Ruohai to send the children of the Yan family to protect their own homes and preserve the glory that they had finally obtained.
Grandmaster Yan, who rarely appeared in public on weekdays, finally showed his demeanor as a master at this moment. No matter how big or small the officials in the court were, he responded to anyone's request and sent the disciples of the Yan family to protect him, which attracted praise from all the officials in the court.
The common people had no choice but to ask Grandmaster Yan for help. Those with rich family resources went to find some people from the Jianghu community and hired them as housekeepers to protect their family wealth. The poorer families could only close their doors tightly after nightfall. Door, pray to God for protection.
Strange to say, since Duan Muqiu regained control of the nine sects and Master Yan sent out the Yan family's disciples, the city of Jianglin has been peaceful for a while. All the officials have finally relaxed and the haze of "ghosts walking at night" has finally dissipated. A little.
A spring breeze rushed into Jianglin City with warmth, signaling the change of seasons and the long winter was finally over. However, these hints of spring could not completely heal the haze of "ghosts walking at night".
The spring breeze blew into an official residence in the inner city of Jianglin, and blew on the face of a man who was looking up at the sky. The official was only wearing a middle coat, not afraid of the coldness of the sky. He sighed slightly, his eyes full of worry. .
A woman walked out of the room behind her, with a cloak draped over her arm. She walked slowly behind the official, put it on him, and said softly: "Master, it's so late, why are you still not sleeping?"
"Hey! To this day, I still can't believe that my right-hand minister, Qi Yun, could die so hastily."
"Master, don't think about Prime Minister Fan anymore. It's been so long. Didn't the Holy One also order Duanmuqiu to take charge of the nine sects again? Who is Duanmuqiu? He is the King of Hell. He is a ghost. , we must also be afraid of the Lord." After the woman finished speaking, she seemed to have remembered something sad, her face suddenly darkened as her charm was still there, and she began to sob slowly.
When the official heard his wife's cry, he hurriedly turned around and held his wife's hands, pitying him and saying, "What's wrong? Who made my wife sad? Is it because the servants didn't serve her well? I told the master that I will kill you with a stick."
Seeing the master's expression, the lady hurriedly wiped away her tears: "It's none of other people's business. I just thought of my poor brother. To this day, there is no trace of him alive or dead. I begged the master that day to transfer him to the capital, but... The master just refused to allow it, so..."
At this point, the lady sobbed even more vigorously, crying until the pear blossoms were wet with rain.
When the official saw this, although he looked a little impatient, he still comforted him: "Madam, please don't be sad. That Wan Jun has already been convicted and imprisoned. Madam also knows Chongzhi's temperament. If you bring him to Jiang Lin, you will definitely
Bad thing, Madam also knows that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince values her husband very much. In the future, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will ascend to the position of Ninth Five-Year Plan, and then Chongzhi will no longer have to stay in remote places like Lingzhou. He will accept his wife as his husband, and come to How about arranging a lucrative job for Chongzhi? "
After listening to the official's consolation, the lady finally stopped crying, wiped her tears and said, "But... after all these days, Lingzhou still has not found Chongzhi's whereabouts..."
"Madam, don't worry. Chongzhi must have offended Wanjun because of his cleverness. He found a place to hide temporarily. My husband also wrote a personal letter to Sicheng, the governor of Lingzhou, asking him to find Chongxia's whereabouts no matter what." The official. Continue to comfort the woman.
With her husband's promise, the woman finally stopped crying: "Thank you, sir, and..."
Before he finished speaking, he heard a servant from the mansion come to report that Duan Muqiu, the governor of the Nine Gates, had come to visit.
There was some doubt in his eyes, and the official turned to the woman: "Madam, go back to your room first, and I'll go see Master Duanmu."
When the wife heard Duanmuqiu's name, she hurriedly grabbed her husband's arm and spoke with a panicked look on her face: "Master, Duanmuqiu is the king of hell. He comes to visit late at night..."
The official sneered and said: "Humph, King of Hell? Duanmuqiu is just a vicious dog beside the Holy One. His Highness the Crown Prince has long disliked Duan Muqiu. If the Holy One had not protected him back then, His Highness the Crown Prince would have taken away his dog. His life was not based on the case of "Ghosts Walking at Night", so the Holy Spirit re-enabled him. Madam, please feel free to go. As a husband, you can go and meet him, and then sleep with your wife."
"I still have to be careful. No matter how much your Highness the Crown Prince values you, you will never do it for your Majesty and Your Majesty..." The woman seemed extremely worried about Duan Muqiu's visit and tugged on the official's sleeve to warn him.
The official looked at the woman's aging face and felt bored for a long time. He only wanted to send Empress Duanmuqiu away to accompany his new concubine. He thought of the tender skin, the shy little face, and those few It was very tight and lubricated... He impatiently pulled away the woman's hand, and said in a colder tone: "Madam, please go now, as my husband has to receive guests."
After saying this, he turned around and looked towards the main hall with his servants leading the way. The woman was left sighing slightly and returned to her room.
Duanmuqiu looked at the official hall with a cold face. Everywhere he looked, no matter whether the tea cups presented by the servants or the decorations in the hall, were of the highest quality, he couldn't help but sneer, and the coldness in his eyes gradually grew.
"Lord Duanmu, I came to visit late at night. Cao Jing was not welcomed from afar. Please forgive me, Lord Duanmu. Please forgive me."
The official who came out of the back hall quickly, with a smile on his face, smile lines bursting out of the corners of his eyes, held out his fists and greeted Duanmu Qiu.
"Master Cao's words are serious. Duanmu came to visit rashly. Master Cao is not surprised. Duanmu is already flattered." Although Duanmuqiu's words were polite, he never raised his hand across the knife, and there was a slight coldness on his face.
This kind of look, in the eyes of people like Cao Jing who have been working hard in the officialdom for many years, will not show any emotion, only a slight dissatisfaction in the eyes, and then immediately return to normal.
"Lord Duanmu, what are you talking about? Cao was thinking of paying a visit a few days ago to congratulate you on regaining control of the Nine Sects..." Cao Jing hurriedly opened his mouth and cupped his hands, his eyes moved slightly, and he saw Duanmuqiu standing next to him, in the cup of tea. The tea was not touched at all, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes, and shouted angrily at the servants in the hall.
"Asshole, Lord Duanmu is here. You guys don't know how to take care of me. This cup of Chinese tea has gone cold. Quickly go get some hot tea or good tea."
The servants are in trouble and cannot tell what kind of person Duanmu Qiu is. The servants can be slaves in the house of Cao Jing, the minister of the Ministry of Rites. Naturally, they have heard of Duanmu's name as "King of Hell". How can they dare to slack off? Don't say that all the people in this cup are from the top. When the tea was ready, the tea in the cup was slightly cold, so the servants were busy replacing it several times. But when the master opened his mouth, the servants could only break their teeth and swallow, then bowed forward and wanted to go. Change to the cup of tea beside Duanmu Qiu.
"No need, Mr. Cao, Duanmu is here on business..." Duanmuqiu finally withdrew his gaze from Cao Jing's home, and directed his gaze like a knife directly at the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in front of him, who was only wearing a middle coat.
The weather was getting warmer, and there were even more silver-threaded charcoal fires in Cao Jing's house for warmth, but Cao Jing felt waves of chill under Duanmu Qiu's gaze. After hearing Duanmu Qiu's official words, he knew what he meant, and immediately waved his hand. Shut back all the servants.
When Duanmu saw this, he looked back slightly. When the nine guards who came with him saw this, they immediately understood.
The man immediately turned around, walked out of the mansion, and waited outside.
Seeing that he and Duanmu Qiu were the only ones left in the lobby, Cao Jing suppressed the chill in his heart and said with a hint of flattery: "Master Duanmu, why are you coming to Cao's house so late for such important matters?"
Duanmuqiu did not speak immediately, but turned his eyes to the window, as if looking at the sky, walked a few steps, and then turned back and replied: "Why did Mr. Cao say this? I just have nothing to do, so I can't come to visit Mr. Cao."
Hearing this, Cao Jing was startled, and his eyes showed a little anger. He was an important member of the imperial court after all. Duanmuqiu first said that he was visiting at night on official business, but then said that it was nothing. He didn't ask for a greeting, and he didn't say why he was here. It was really rude. , but he had no choice but to regain control of the nine sects, and the holy family was prosperous, so he had to hide his anger and speak.
"Master Duanmu, where is this? Cao wishes that Master Duanmu would come as a guest every day... However, I am worried that it will delay your business, so I ask this question."
"No problem, the time is approaching, Master Cao just needs to wait for a while."
After hearing this, Cao Jing couldn't ask any more questions. Duanmu Qiu was currently in charge of the nine gates. In addition to the imperial palace, officials of the second and lower ranks in Jianglin City were immediately captured and taken into custody without asking for orders. Naturally, he did not dare to offend, so he had to stand by and serve carefully. , I kept wondering what Duanmu Qiu meant by coming here.
Don't do anything wrong and don't be afraid of ghosts knocking on the door. Not only did Cao Jing do enough wrong things, what's more, the person who came to the door was not a kid, but the King of Hell. As the hall fell silent, the longer the time went by, the more uncertain Cao Jing felt, and he couldn't help but If you want to talk to Duanmu Qiu a few more words, you might be able to get some clues and you can deal with it in advance.
"The night is still long. I wonder if Master Duanmu is hungry. Why don't Cao go and instruct his servants to make some midnight snacks for you..."
"No need." Duanmuqiu replied with only two words, then remained silent and continued to look out the window.
Duanmuqiu's attitude made Cao Jing more and more panicked. His eyes moved slightly, and he said again: "Ah, by the way, after the case of the ghost walking at night came out, all of us went to seek help from Master Yan. He is so kind-hearted." Dafa, I also have a descendant of the Yan family to take care of me at home. Otherwise, I can invite them and introduce them. In this officialdom, if we meet in the future, we can all be considered..."
"Master Cao seems to have talked a lot today." Before Cao Jing could finish speaking, Duanmuqiu had already turned his head and raised his eyes to interrupt. Killing intent was gradually rising in those piercing eyes.
Seeing this look, Cao Jing became even more panicked, and hurriedly explained: "No, it's just that it's getting late, and Cao... is a little tired, so... I want to have a conversation with the adults to temporarily relieve his sleepiness. I won’t lose my etiquette in front of Lord Duanmu.”
"It's okay, sir, if you want to take a nap, please do so, but... you can't leave this hall."
As soon as these words came out, Cao Jing was shocked. Duanmu Qiu's words were not the way to be a visitor. He was simply treating himself, the Minister of Civil Affairs, as a prisoner.
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