Ever since Su Shi decided to live peacefully in this world, he would exercise no matter the weather when he got up every morning.
However, this habit was broken early this morning.
He drank a lot last night because everyone at the table was toasting him with wine, but he couldn't help but drink.
Because everyone who drank with him seemed to be of high status. In addition to Sun Chengyi, Li Han, and Xie Ning'an, Li Xianzhang, the Minister of Rites, also attended the banquet.
While toasting, Su Cai learned that this Jinghu Poetry Fair was sponsored by the Shangshu Mansion, and that Li Shangshu's son Li Zhonghong also participated in the poetry meeting.
The Shang Shufu paid for it, and Su Shi became famous. Even Su Shi himself felt a little embarrassed, so he could only drink hard.
At this time, the song About Drinking was also circulated in the capital and became a poem that must be recited at every banquet. Every time a line was recited, everyone would have a drink with Su Shi. Therefore, after a banquet, Su Shi Already drunk to the point of unconsciousness.
Although Su Shi was very drunk last night, he was still ready to wake up in the morning.
The smell of alcohol from yesterday still lingered in the room. Su Shi opened the window, and the fresh air with vegetation immediately poured into the room, diluting the smell of alcohol.
Su Shi took a few hard breaths, and his still confused brain finally became clear.
He stretched his muscles and began to prepare for exercise.
But at this time there was a knock on the door.
The knocking on the door was not urgent, but it was knocking hard.
Su Shi was a little surprised that someone would come to him early in the morning, and even knock on the door to look for him.
If it were his eldest brother, he would not knock on the door at all, but would just open the door and come in.
Although Su Shi protested many times, Su Zhou just said coldly: "You weren't afraid to look at your butt when you were naked. Are you still afraid now?"
If he were a servant, he would not come to him at this time. Even if he wanted to come to him, he would only call softly at the door.
Su Shi was wondering when he suddenly heard Su Zhou's voice: "Are you up? Are you ready to wear your clothes?"
This made Su Shi feel a little strange. The eldest brother who never knocked on the door on weekdays actually learned to knock on the door today, and he was so polite.
But Su Zhou's voice sounded a little tired, as if he hadn't had a good rest.
Su Shi had no choice but to reply: "It's already fine."
Then he saw the door being pushed open, but the first person to walk in was not Su Zhou, but Zhou Jin.
Su Shi thought he was still hungover and was dazzled by the sight. He couldn't help but rub his eyes. When he looked at the door again, Zhou Jin was looking at him with a solemn expression.
"How will you be here?"
Su Shi looked at Zhou Jin blankly, and couldn't figure out why she appeared here.
And her expression looked very bad. She looked tired and her eyes were red, as if she hadn't slept all night.
"I'm not disturbing your rest, right?" Zhou Jin said weakly.
Su Shi shook his head, looked at her, and said with a smile, "It seems you need a rest more than I do."
At this time, Su Zhou also walked in. His situation was not much better than Zhou Jin.
Su Zhou smiled bitterly and said, "We didn't sleep all night."
"What happened?"
"Cui Peng is dead."
"Cui Peng is dead?" Su Shi was shocked: "When did he die?"
"Last night at a quarter of an hour."
"How did you die?"
"Falled into the river and died."
Su Shi frowned and asked, "Being pushed away from the river?"
"It was an accident." Zhou Jin finally sighed: "Brother Su and I checked all night last night, and finally came to the conclusion that Cui Peng's death was definitely an accident."
However, although Cui Peng's death was absolutely an accident no matter how you look at it from any angle, they just didn't want to admit it because it happened by chance.
They decided to investigate Cui Peng in the morning, and Cui Peng died in the evening. How could such a coincidence not make them suspicious.
Su Shi didn't say anything. He asked them to sit down first, and then asked Lin Mo to make a pot of hot tea.
After they drank a cup of hot tea and regained some of their energy, Su Cai slowly said, "Now can you tell me, what exactly happened?"
Zhou Jin told Su Shi in detail what happened last night. After Su Shi listened, he closed his eyes slightly and was silent for a long time.
"Have you found Cui Peng's body?" Su Shi finally asked.
Zhou Jin said: "It has been found. After examination, it was indeed drowned."
"How many people did you send to follow Cui Peng?"
"Three, and all three people's statements are consistent, and there is no contradiction."
"Cui Peng was originally a royal spy. Will these three people be discovered by him?"
Su Zhou said flatly: "It's impossible."
"Why?"
"Because these three people are all military scouts and have extremely rich experience. Even if Cui Peng was once a spy, it would be impossible to discover them."
Su Shi asked again: "The whole process was straight and nothing suspicious was found?"
Zhou Jin shook his head, because nothing special happened from the time Cui Peng went out to the time he fell into the water and drowned.
Su Shi thought for a while and asked, "Why did a group of escort cars suddenly appear on the bridge?"
Su Zhou said: "The escort car set out from Qinglong Mansion five days ago, transporting a batch of silk and satin, and the recipient was Duan Ji of Pingningfang. I checked the carriage's freight ticket and Duan Ji's account, and No doubt about it.”
Su Shi asked again: "Why did the wheel of that carriage suddenly break?"
"The wheels and bearings of the carriage were severely worn. At that time, the horse was frightened by the sudden wild dog and jumped around, causing the carriage to shake. Therefore, it broke and fell off, causing the carriage to roll over and Cui Peng fell into the water."
Su Shi frowned and said, "It's just a wild dog running around. How could it cause that horse to suffer such a huge fright?"
Su Zhou couldn't laugh or cry at this time. He smiled bitterly and said: "Because the horse was bitten by a wild dog a month ago and just recovered two days ago, so this time the wild dog suddenly jumped out and the horse's That’s why the reaction was so big.”
The swollen river water, hungry wild dogs, chance encounters with old friends, unexpected escort carriages, dilapidated carriages, horses bitten by wild dogs, so many coincidences came together to lead to Cui Peng falling into the water and drowning.
As long as one less thing happened during this period, Cui Peng would not have fallen into the river and drowned.
If the river had not risen, even if Cui Peng fell into the river, he would have been rescued soon. If he hadn't met his old friend by chance, Cui Peng would not have been so drunk. Even if the carriage rolled over, with his skill, he would not have fallen into the river. If there hadn't been a sudden escort carriage, even if the carriage rolled over, Cui Peng would have just fallen to the ground.
Of course, without the wild dog, Cui Peng had returned home safely.
It is absolutely impossible for anyone to control these things, so Zhou Jin and Su Zhou investigated for a whole night. Although they were unwilling to do so, they finally determined that Cui Peng died in an accident.
Su Shi finally came to his conclusion.
"Cui Peng did die in an accident."
