Lu Wenzheng and Xu Zhi originally wanted to visit Xiao Yongnian in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. Unexpectedly, before they got close to the prison door, they saw Dong Wu suddenly shouting "There is an assassin!" and they chased towards the southwest at a rapid pace.
Xu Zhi asked the two guards what happened?
One of the guards replied: "Just now we were patrolling here with Captain Dong, and suddenly we found someone lurking on the top of the cell, so Captain Dong went to chase him. Seeing that the situation was not good, the man fled to the southwest."
Lu Wenzheng said: "What does the thief look like?"
The guard said: "It was dark, and the man was dressed in black and had his face covered, so I couldn't see clearly."
Lu Wenzheng pondered for a moment, then turned around and asked Xu Zhi: "In your opinion, sir, who could this person be?"
Xu Zhi frowned and said, "Could it be that the Tianxiao organization sent him to assassinate him? Oh, if that's the case, wouldn't Xiao Yongnian be in danger?"
Lu Wenzheng nodded and asked: "Besides Dong Wu, who else is the commander-in-chief in the mansion now?"
Xu Zhi said: "Commander Ling arrested Ouyang Zhen and has not returned yet. Yuan Ping and Yang Zhen are also in the house."
Lu Wenzheng said: "Okay, you immediately notify Yuan Ping, Yang Zhen, Dong Wu and the others, and ask them to bring more capable guards to strengthen their defense and ensure the personal safety of Xiao Yongnian and Jiang Chun. No mistakes can be made!"
Xu Zhi said: "Students take orders." After saying that, he turned around and made arrangements.
After the explanation, Lu Wenzheng arranged for the two guards to follow up on Dong Wu's arrest.
But Dong Wu was patrolling and searching along the winding paths.
It was already dark, and the slanting branches and leaves occasionally blocked his view.
The man in front seemed to have excellent light skills and was very familiar with the terrain of the garden. He turned around and disappeared into the dark night.
Dong Wu was a little unwilling and wandered around the place where the man in black disappeared.
At this time, the sound of light footsteps suddenly came from the front. Under the dim moonlight, the ring of the ring was ringing, and a charming and graceful young woman appeared.
Before she walked in, he knew who this beautiful woman was just from her intoxicating grace. Mrs. Lu's eldest girl Lanzhu.
From the first moment he saw this woman, his heart was struck by her.
And Lanzhu also "repaid him with a peach and a plum", and his smiling smile once made him think wildly, and he fell into daydreams and fantasies many times and couldn't extricate himself.
But today, he was annoyed that he had lost the thief and was unable to communicate with him, and his mood was inevitably low.
However, Lanzhu took the initiative to say hello: "Dong Xiaowei, what are you doing here alone? There is so much dew that it will be bad if you catch a cold."
Dong Wu was moved and said: "Lanzhu, thank you. By the way, when you came over there, did you see a masked man in black?"
Lanzhu said: "What is the masked man in black? Where...is he?"
Seeing her face turning pale and her voice trembling, Dong Wu hurriedly said: "Don't be afraid, forget it if you didn't see her."
Lanzhu said: "Captain Dong, what happened tonight? I'm so scared. I don't dare to leave alone. I'm afraid of encountering black-clothed and masked people again. Please send me back." !..."
Looking at her tearful and pitiful look, Dong Wu felt pity for her.
What's more, he already had a very fond impression of this woman and was eager to go with her and act as a flower protector.
Dong Wu and Lan Zhu walked side by side on the winding path.
The east wind curls up, and the fragrant mist fills the air. The moon turns around the small corridor, and the clear light falls like water caressing the flowers, and the grass is faintly glowing with an alluring light.
Dong Wu glanced at her from time to time. Under the moonlight, he felt more and more beautiful about her, and he couldn't help but feel a little distraught.
Lanzhu seemed to feel that the other party was gazing at her affectionately, so she couldn't help but lower her head silently, shyly and silently.
Dong Wu only focused on her and forgot about the journey under his feet. Suddenly he heard Lan Zhu whisper: "We're here."
He suddenly regained his composure and let out an unnatural sigh. When he looked, he was already standing in front of Mrs. Lu's house.
Lan Zhu said softly: "Captain Dong, would you like to come over and sit down?"
Dong Wu suddenly remembered his mission and said hurriedly: "No, I have to go see Mr. Lu, you go back first!"
Lanzhu said softly: "Then...I'll go back first." He lowered his head and went in in panic.
Dong Wu stared at her back for a long time, as if he was in a daze.
At this time, the two guards who were looking for him came over and asked, "Dong Xiaowei, have you caught the thief? Lord Lu is waiting for you to go back and recover!"
Dong Wu then went with them to see Mr. Lu and told Mr. Lu about the arrest of the murderer just now, but did not mention anything about Lanzhu.
Human emotions are always very delicate. When it comes to certain ambiguous issues, they have subconsciously avoided them deep in their hearts.
Seeing Master Lu's disappointed expression on his face, he hurriedly added his opinion on the matter.
"Are you saying that the person eavesdropping might be someone from this mansion?"
Dong Wudao: "Yes. It is said that the houses in our mansion overlap and the pavilions and pavilions are twists and turns. How can an outsider be so familiar with the terrain here?"
Lu Wenzheng was silent for a long time and then said: "We will discuss this later. The top priority is to strengthen the vigilance and ensure the personal safety of Xiao Yongnian and Jiang Chun.
"Lieutenant Dong, you, Yang Zhen, Yuan Ping and the others will act separately and lead a tight defense. Don't let assassins sneak into the house and cause mischief. Do you understand?"
Dong Wudao: "I obey my orders."
What a tense, long night it had been. Everyone in Lu Mansion's heart was tense, holding their breath and concentrating, not daring to be negligent.
Yang Zhen led people to patrol around the Shangshu Mansion of the Ministry of Justice, while Yuan Ping led his troops to ambush near the prison, eagerly awaiting the appearance of the assassin.
The moon moves up to the zenith little by little, and it's almost the third watch.
Yuan Ping became a little impatient after looking at him, thinking: Did the assassin realize that the house was on alert and didn't dare to come?
While he was still thinking, a guard next to him touched him and whispered: "There is movement!..."
Sure enough, a shadow flashed on the roof. Yuan Ping's heart beat wildly.
Sure enough, hard work pays off! While Yuan Ping was celebrating, he saw the shadow on the room move and "meow". It turned out to be a cat.
A false alarm. Yuan Ping let out an angry "poof" and scolded the guard: "You want to scare me to death? You startled me all at once!"
It was dawn and the night was uneventful. Although everyone was relieved, they could not help but be disappointed.
At this time, Dong Wu brought people to take over. Yuan Ping said hello to him and led him away tiredly.
Dong Wu asked everyone to disperse and patrol around the cell, while he sat feebly on a chair and thought wildly. The more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he became.
He admitted that he had been jealous of others, and even resented Mr. Lu for not using him seriously.
Sometimes he couldn't help but think, since he couldn't get the appreciation of his boss and the attention of his colleagues, what was the point of doing it by himself?
That's why he slacked off for a while and used wine to buy himself drunk.
But sometimes he still has some illusions. He wanted to return to those high-spirited days through his own efforts.
Therefore, he tried every means to find opportunities to express himself, such as the arrest of the murderer last night. It's a pity that God didn't help me, and I spent a long time in vain.
Moreover, Mr. Lu seemed to be quite disapproving of his performance. With his flat expression and understatement, he was really frustrated now that he thought about it.
Looking at the soldiers patrolling back and forth in front of him, he couldn't help but feel resentment from the bottom of his heart, complaining that Master Lu looked down on him.
The dangerous moment was last night, in broad daylight, the sky was clear, could the bad guys come? But you sent me here, you clearly look down on me!
Just when he felt that he had nowhere to vent his anger, he suddenly saw the chief jailer approaching in panic, with a face as pale as dirt and saying: "Dong Weiwei, something serious has happened! Xiao Yongnian...he suddenly bled from all his orifices and died!..."
Dong Wu felt his head buzzing, and he was stunned for a moment.
Xiao Yongnian is dead? impossible! The assassin hasn't appeared yet, why is he dead?
He staggered towards the prison of the Ministry of Punishments. He himself didn't know how he ended up in the cell where Xiao Yongnian was held.
A horrific scene appeared in front of us: Xiao Yongnian was lying on the ground with his teeth and claws spread out, his face was blue and purple, his eyes were wide open, and his face was distorted.
Blood oozed from the eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, crisscrossing it, adding to the sense of terror.
He was still holding half a bun tightly in his hand. Next to it was a rice bowl that had been smashed into several pieces, and vegetable soup was splashed all over the floor.
At first sight of this situation, Dong Wu felt shuddered. At the same time, he also guessed the cause of Xiao Yongnian's death, but he still asked numbly: "What's going on?"
The chief jailer said: "I'm not sure. He was fine just now. After the cook in the kitchen brought the food, he only ate half of it and then yelled that we were going to poison him. I thought he was trying to play something. It's a trick, just ignore him, whoever wants him will..."
What follows is a series of words to excuse yourself.
Dong Wu's face was ashen, and he naturally had no intention of listening to the other party's long-winded excuses. He just asked himself: What should I do? what to do?
He was originally hoping that something would happen while he was on duty, giving him a "heroic role", but the sudden incident in front of him caught him off guard and made him confused.
It seems that trying to use this matter to bring yourself a good opportunity in the future is a mirage; how to exonerate yourself is the most important thing now.
After staying for a long time, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go see Lu Wenzheng.
Needless to say, Lu Wenzheng and Xu Zhi were shocked and annoyed when they heard the news. After looking at each other for a long time, Lu Wenzheng calmed down and sent Xu Zhi to find out the ins and outs of the case.
Xu Zhi went out. Lu Wenzheng was pacing back and forth in the study alone, feeling very heavy.
He had to admit that he had miscalculated in this regard.
From yesterday's contest with Xiao Yongnian, he had already seen that Xiao Yongnian was not an invulnerable egg. Using Xiao Yongnian as a breakthrough point, he might be able to find a link to attack the Tianxiao organization.
Therefore, the appearance of the masked man in black made him really nervous; although he was on high alert, he still allowed the enemy to take advantage of the loophole.
Who is this mysterious masked man in black? As Dong Wu said, is he really a spy in this mansion?
At this time, Xu Zhi came in and reported to him the ins and outs of the case he had found:
Xiao Yongnian died of arsenic poisoning, and the poison was in the cabbage soup he drank half a bowl of.
So Xu Zhi called in all the chefs in charge of prisoners' meals for interrogation.
The cooks complained repeatedly, and the young cook who was responsible for preparing meals for prisoners in Xiao Yongnian's area confessed that he would not dare to do anything in the soup.
"Do you know the details of these chefs?"
Xu Zhidao: "The student has investigated carefully. The chef's surname is Ding, Xing Er, and he is known as Master Ding Er. When he was twelve years old, he came here with his master to do odd jobs, and it has been twenty-three years now. He is a loyal and honest man. , did his duty, and the students thought it couldn’t be him.”
Lu Wenzheng said: "There are also sanctimonious hypocrites."
Xu Zhi said: "But what kind of bad guy would be so stupid? He would openly poison people and personally bring the food to poison people to death."
Lu Wenzheng nodded thoughtfully.
Xu Zhi added: "The cabbage soup was made by Ding Er and his four apprentices. During this time, everyone was busy in the kitchen. At this time, the poisoner should have no chance to attack.
"Then, when the vegetable soup is ready and put into bowls according to the portions, Ding Er will instruct his apprentices to deliver the slices in order.
"When it was Xiao Yongnian's turn to see off his children, only Ding Er and his young disciple Liu Xiang were in the kitchen..."
At this time, Xu Zhi asked the two of them separately for some details, and their confessions were basically the same:
They were about to deliver the meal when they suddenly heard a loud "bang" in the courtyard. They were startled and hurriedly came out to take a look. They saw that the porcelain basin used for washing vegetables had been broken for some reason and water was flowing.
The two thought it was the civet cat raised by Liu Xiang that was causing trouble, and they only cursed it as bad luck. After that, the two of them carried the food load, and nothing unusual happened on the way.
Lu Wenzheng pondered, and the problem was found: the assassin must have broken the porcelain basin to lure the tiger away, and took the opportunity to sneak into the kitchen and poison him.
Xu Zhi added: "There are eight people in this area sent by Ding Er's master and apprentice, but the assassin can accurately put the poison into Xiao Yongnian's bowl, which shows that he knows the situation in our house very well. It seems that this person must There is no doubt that he is from this mansion!"
Lu Wenzheng nodded approvingly. Now it is basically certain: there is a spy in Shangshu's mansion of the Ministry of Punishment; or someone from the Tianxiao organization is undercover in this mansion.
This is a very dangerous thing. If this person is not eliminated, there will be endless troubles!
It’s just that there are hundreds of people in the Lu Mansion, all kinds of people, how can we find the spies? Knocking on mountains and shaking tigers? Or lead a snake out of its hole?
It's just that the spy is very cunning. After this action, he may lie dormant for a period of time and wait for the opportunity to move after the situation calms down.
Therefore, there is no need to rush this matter. We can only wait for the opportunity to make plans.
Lu Wenzheng and Xu Zhi were planning their next move when suddenly there was a rush of footsteps outside the door.
Then, Caiming burst in and shouted excitedly: "Master! Master!..."
Seeing her recklessness, Lu Wenzheng couldn't help but his face darkened and he said, "What's wrong?"
Caiming, who is cheerful and lively by nature, was filled with unspeakable joy at this time. He forgot the etiquette for a moment and realized that he had lost his composure.
She hurriedly concentrated her voice, saluted the two of them, and replied: "Master, Jiang Chun...Jiang Chun is awake!..."
