The ice outside several corpses had completely melted away, and the entire corpses were left to dry in the sun.
In the sunshine, the wet clothes looked very shiny. The material was made of fine brocade, soaked in water, and wrapped heavily around her body.
Wu Zuo picked up the hand of the corpse. This hand had traces of being soaked in water and was a little white. The nails were neatly trimmed and very clean without any dirt. The joints were not thick and obvious. He was not a martial arts practitioner and was not for sale. After working hard, there were faint calluses on the index finger of the thumb and the ring finger of the middle finger. Wu Zuo held the pen and gestured. The calluses just corresponded to the posture of holding the pen. It seemed that this person had been holding the pen for many years.
He rolled up the sleeves of the corpse. The arm was the same color as the hand. He turned the neck of the corpse and rolled up his trousers to look at the legs. They were as white as the arms and had no old scars. Such traces make it look like he is pampered and has not suffered much.
Han Changmu squinted his eyes with a sharp look, suddenly reached out and picked up the sleeves of the corpse and looked at it carefully, his face gradually darkened.
Yao Yao also squatted down and looked at the pattern on the cuffs. The pattern was like undulating waves, interspersed with circles of whirlpools. Clouds covered the fog in the distance, and mountains loomed. This was not a piece of clothing commonly used by Han people. Decorative patterns.
She frowned slightly and hesitated before saying, "This pattern is quite delicate."
Han Changmu nodded and saw something wrong with the pattern. He said bluntly: "It looks like the craftsmanship of Ye Ting."
Yao Yao smiled and did not answer.
Han Changmu took out the dagger from his boot, cut off a piece of his sleeve with a sizzle, drained the water, wrapped it in a handkerchief and put it away. He turned to He Zhenfu and Yao Yao and said, "I'm going into the palace. You The two of you are guarding here and don't let outsiders enter the Sese Building."
They both said yes.
Han Changmu met with Emperor Yong'an and reported the situation of the Tibetan mission and several cases one by one. After receiving Emperor Yong'an's approval, Han Changmu made all the decisions in the future. As long as it was not a big move to poke a hole in the sky, there was no need to come again. Reported back one by one.
He immediately took a reassurance and walked out of the Tai Chi Palace with the piece of clothing in his sleeve. As he walked, he was thinking about what was to come, and he had made general arrangements for these cases.
It was already dusk, and the setting sun filled the sky like a stream of blood. Ripples like water waves rippled on the glazed tiles, shining brightly into the eyes.
Han Changmu stopped for a moment in front of the Tai Chi Palace. The towering palace walls were like lead clouds pressing down on the top, which made people feel heavy in their hearts.
He concentrated for a moment, pinched the sleeve of his sleeve, and turned his head towards Yeting.
Wang Gui, the supervisor in charge of Yeting, heard the announcement, straightened his sleeves, and hurriedly came out with a smile, saluting Han Changmu: "Master Han is a rare visitor, hurry, hurry, please come in." With that, he bowed. He bent down and moved Han Changmu into the main hall.
This was the first time that Han Changmu met Wang Gui, the chief internal supervisor of Ye Ting. Before that, when he checked Ye Ting's thin books, he asked Meng Sui to come over. He did not come in person, and he did not expect that the famous Ye Ting, who was nearly forty years old, The head of the court, the internal supervisor, is a skinny man who looks to be in his thirties. His hair is as black as ink, his face is tight without a trace of wrinkles, and his skin is white and translucent, as if he has not been exposed to the sun for many years. He is pale. No blood.
He was a little strange. As Chen Xian said, this prince was just Wang Zhen's biological uncle, but the uncle and nephew were about the same age, while the other nephew, Wang Zhong, was only in his twenties. It seemed that the Wang family The relationship was more confusing than he imagined.
He suppressed his intention to explore the relationship between the Wang family, came back to his senses, and said with a faint smile: "I am here because there is a case involving a piece of physical evidence, and I would like to ask Eunuch Wang for advice."
Wang Gui's lean back stiffened for a moment, and he suddenly said with a normal expression: "Mr. Han, you are too polite. If you have anything to say, please say it directly. I know that I will tell you everything I want to say."
Han Changmu thanked him with a smile, took out the handkerchief from his sleeve, opened it layer by layer, held the sleeve, and asked with a serious expression: "Can you please identify it and see if this thing is made by Yetingli's craftsmanship."
Wang Gui took the sleeve and looked at it carefully for a long time. He frowned and said apologetically: "I really can't recognize it. However, the embroidery workers in Yeting are taught by palace doctors. I'll call you." Here comes the doctor from the palace."
Han Changmu nodded: "Then I'll thank you, Mr. Wang."
Wang Gui asked the young chamberlain to call Dr. Gong Jiao to come and answer. He personally poured fragrant tea for Han Changmu and said with a smile: "Master Han, try this tea. The tea is ordinary tea, but the water used to make the tea is the snow from last year's plum blossom harvest." Water has a different taste."
Han Changmu took a sip, nodded and said lightly: "It is indeed good." He gently put down the cup and asked as if unintentionally: "I heard that the prince has a mansion in Chongyifang. It is very well built. Plum Blossoms The blooms are even more impressive, I wonder if I will have a chance to appreciate the plum blossoms."
Wang Gui's hand holding the cup suddenly tightened, and the nervous look on his face quickly dissipated, and he smiled as usual: "As long as Mr. Han appreciates it, I will be honored."
Han Changmu smiled meaningfully and was about to speak when footsteps came from the door and a woman in her early thirties walked in. She had cloud-like hair and long eyebrows. Her appearance was not very beautiful, but she was more gentle. Wan, wearing a crimson skirt that outlines her slim figure.
The woman bowed and said, "My maid, Jiang Pingting, has met the prince, Mr. Han."
Wang Gui quickly introduced: "Master Han, this is the palace doctor who is responsible for teaching embroidery in Yeting. Madam Jiang, if Master Han has anything to say, just ask."
Han Changmu nodded and thanked him, handed over the sleeve, and asked in a deep voice: "Can Madam Jiang please identify whether this pattern is the craftsmanship of Ye Ting."
Jiang Pingting picked it up and looked at it against the light for a long time, then touched it carefully with her hand, nodded and said, "Yes, it's the craftsmanship of Yetingli."
Han Changmu breathed a sigh of relief: "Ms. Jiang, can you confirm?"
Jiang Pingting said firmly: "Yes, but this pattern is from five years ago. I haven't done this pattern in these years."
When Wang Gui first heard that the pattern was from Yeting, his expression changed. Then when he heard that the pattern was from five years ago, he looked at Jiang Pingting in surprise, his stubby eyebrows twisted, and he asked in surprise: " Yes, the batch from five years ago?”
Jiang Pingting nodded solemnly.
Wang Gui's heart faltered and sank.
Five years ago, five years ago again, what happened five years ago? Han Changmu frowned slightly: "Is there anything special about this pattern? How come Mrs. Jiang can tell at a glance that this is the pattern from five years ago?" ."
Jiang Pingting hesitated a little, glanced at Wang Gui cautiously, pursed her lips, and did not dare to say anything.
Wang Gui coughed lightly, his expression was as usual, and he said quietly: "Ms. Jiang, just say that there is no need to hide anything in front of Mr. Han."
Jiang Pingting put away her hesitation and said bluntly: "Five years ago, the envoys from the Western Regions came to Beijing to pay tribute. The saint originally ordered Ye Ting to prepare the clothes, materials and embroidery as rewards. After Ye Ting prepared them all, the saint failed. He changed his mind and let the Provincial Clothing Bureau in the palace prepare these things. The clothes and embroidery items originally prepared by Ye Ting were left idle. The sleeve in your hand is one of the embroidery items. "
Han Changmu said in surprise: "Even if these things are left idle, they should not be scattered around at will. After all, they belong to the palace."
Jiang Pingting looked at Wang Gui in embarrassment.
Wang Gui coughed lightly, waved his hand, and asked the serving chamberlains to retreat, and then said softly: "Master Han, I know this matter, let me tell you." He paused, Said: "Because this batch of clothing materials and embroidery were to be given to the envoys of the Western Regions at that time, the clothing materials and patterns were chosen to have the characteristics of the Western Regions. Later, the saint issued an edict to give this batch of clothing materials and embroidery to Chang'an. Zhuozheng, Zhuozhu, Sabao and others in the city."
Han Changmu frowned slightly: "If you put it this way, there is nothing unexplainable about this matter. Why are the prince and Madam Jiang in such trouble? They have to stand aside before they can explain."
Wang Gui sighed, took a sip of tea, and gave a bitter smile: "Master Han didn't know something. Originally, this was a good thing and a great grace. However, after these rewards were delivered to these people, they turned out to be so daring that they lost their minds. All the rewards were sold, and the things in the palace were allowed to spread among the people in the market. By the time the palace became aware of it, these things in the palace had passed through the hands of countless people, and they could not be found again. The palace There is no way to trace the whereabouts of these things, and if those Zhengzheng Zhusabaos are punished for this matter, it will inevitably cause confusion among the barbarians, so we can only press the matter and suffer a dumb loss."
Han Changmu was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect that a piece of sleeve could lead to such an inside story. He finally found the source of the embroidery, but he couldn't find it because the source was confusing. It was really frustrating.
"So, the palace also traced the whereabouts of these palace objects at first. Can the prince tell me the approximate whereabouts of these palace objects." Han Changmu took a sip of tea, leaned forward and asked.
Wang Gui tilted his head and thought for a moment, and said distressedly: "At that time, the old slave was not yet the chief internal supervisor of Yeting. He didn't know many things. He only vaguely knew a few Hu stores that he handled. I will write it down now. ."
Jiang Pingting quickly brought over a pen and ink. Wang Gui wrote a few store names with the pen and handed it to Han Changmu: "Master Han, that's all this slave knows."
Han Changmu took a look and saw a very familiar store name inside. He felt a chill in his heart. He put the paper away and thanked him before leaving.
Wang Gui smiled: "Master Han, you are too polite. If you have anything in the future, you can just ask me."
Han Changmu smiled and nodded: "Your Majesty, you are so polite. I would like to thank you."
Wang Gui sent Han Changmu out with a smile. Seeing Han Changmu walk out, he breathed a sigh of relief.
