Jiang Shen and others did not understand what Han Changmu meant and did not dare to agree to his words. However, it would be false to say that they had not heard anything, so they could only nod vaguely.
Han Changmu raised his chin with a half-smile.
Meng Suige understood, took the four notes, walked quickly to the desk, solemnly unfolded them, flattened them, and placed them in Jiang Shen's hand.
Han Changmu raised his chin towards the four neatly arranged notes and said calmly: "Sir, Mr. Ge, these are the tapes found on several soldiers in the east dormitory last night. Please identify them and compare them with the ones issued last night. Are there any similarities between the test papers?"
Jiang Shen's expression changed slightly. He took the note suspiciously and read it word by word. His expression changed a little with each piece he read.
Finally, with his face livid and his cheeks trembling slightly, he placed the note on the desk and asked in unbelievable shock: "Mr. Han, is this, is this the entrainment discovered last night?"
Han Changmu nodded: "Yes, there are two more people who have it written on their bodies. The subordinate has already ordered someone to copy it."
Jiang Shen took a deep breath and said in a low voice: "Although these are not the same as the test papers," he hesitated, looking very difficult.
Han Changmu suddenly had doubts in his heart, but he didn't show any trace of it on his face. He leaned forward and said, "If Mr. Ge has something to say, it's okay to say it. There are no outsiders here."
Jiang Shen concentrated for a moment, and finally struggled and said: "Baowen, go get those previously sealed sets of examination papers."
Wang Jingzong stood up hurriedly and said: "Yes, I will go immediately."
Seeing this, Ruan Ping'an also quickly stood up and said: "Lord Pavilion, your subordinates will also come with you."
Jiang Shen nodded: "Go and come back quickly."
Han Changmu asked in confusion: "Lord Pavilion, what is this?"
Jiang Shen raised his hand, stopped what Han Changmu was saying, and said slowly: "Master Han, please be patient."
Mu Rongjun watched Wang Jingzong and Ruan Pingan go out, his face darkened and his eyes flickered.
After a while, Wang Jingzong and Ruan Ping'an entered the door holding several stacks of bagged Mi Feng examination papers and glanced at Jiang Shen.
Jiang Shen took a deep breath and said, "Leave it to Mr. Han."
Han Changmu didn't know what was going on, but he didn't ask any questions. He took out the dagger from his boot, cut open the seal with the wax seal, and pulled out a handwritten examination paper from it, which was the book of the classic.
He froze for a moment and opened all the remaining bags.
There were a total of five textbook examination papers, which were placed at hand. He looked at them one by one, and his expression became increasingly ugly.
Before Han Changmu could ask anything, Jiang Shen sighed: "Mr. Han, these are the classic test papers for this provincial examination. For each provincial examination, there are six test papers for each session. Choose from these six. One copy will be printed and distributed, and the remaining five copies will be sealed and archived immediately. Mr. Han, the folders you found last night are all different, but they all come from these five exam papers that have been invalidated, sealed and archived."
Han Changmu had already noticed this, so his expression turned particularly ugly.
And the test paper that Bao Cheng got was surprisingly from this invalid test paper.
The provincial examination examiner arrived three days before the exam started, drafted the exam questions in Gongyuan, and then printed them. However, the questions that have been leaked now are the exam papers that have been invalidated, not the ones selected for printing.
As a result, this matter is very strange.
The invalid examination papers are immediately sealed and archived, while the selected examination papers are sent to the craftsmen for printing.
This process has been handled by many people. Even if there are layers of guards from the Internal Guards of the Internal Security Department and the Imperial Guards of the Beiya Imperial Guards, it is difficult to say that there will be no omissions.
Comparatively speaking, it is much easier to get the selected exam papers than to seal the archived exam papers.
This person can get the sealed and archived test papers, but why can't he get the selected test papers?
If I got the selected test paper, why wasn't it leaked?
Han Changmu rubbed these thin pages, his brows furrowed, puzzled.
After thinking for a moment, he suddenly raised his head: "Sir, Mr. Pavilion, where are these invalid examination papers stored?"
Jiang Ge said: "It's in the warehouse next door, and there are soldiers guarding it day and night."
Han Changmu pursed his lips and said calmly to Jiang Shen and the others: "Master Pavilion, sirs, please keep this matter secret for the time being."
Jiang Shen and others knew the seriousness and said in unison: "Don't worry, Mr. Han."
Han Changmu put the examination papers back one by one and said, "Sir, can I take these examination papers back and examine them carefully?"
Jiang Shen was stunned for a moment, nodded and said: "Master Han, it's up to you."
Two soldiers were guarding the door of the warehouse next door. When they saw Han Changmu and the other three approaching, they saluted in unison.
Han Changmu nodded and said: "I want to go in to investigate, please open the door."
The lock on the warehouse door is extremely complicated and cannot be opened by a single soldier.
Hearing Han Changmu's words, the two soldiers looked at each other, said yes in unison, turned around and went to call for help.
There are a total of twelve soldiers stationed in the warehouse, working in teams of two, rotating every two hours, and there are a total of six keys to unlock the door, each of which belongs to the six soldiers.
In the time it took half a cup of tea, the six soldiers with the key arrived and saluted like Han Changmu in unison.
Han Changmu nodded and asked quietly: "Has the key ever left you since you came?"
The six soldiers looked at each other and shook their heads: "Sir, I always carry the key with me and never take it off."
Han Changmu did not ask any more questions, but said quietly: "Unlock it, I want to go in and investigate."
The six soldiers took the keys they carried close to their necks and walked to the door together.
There seems to be no difference between these six keys, but these six people can distinguish them very clearly, and they are also familiar with the movement of opening the lock.
Yao Yao watched these people unlock the lock intently, his eyes lit up slightly, and he leaned forward and said to Han Changmu: "Sir, it is a six-petal plum blossom chain lock."
Han Changmu turned his head in surprise: "Have you seen it?"
Yao Yao pursed her lips and nodded slightly. It was obvious that she still had something to say, but she lowered her eyes and said no more.
Han Changmu put his hands behind his back and twisted his sleeves, thinking about how to pry Yao Yao's mouth open.
There was only a soft snap, and the delicate lock was opened, and the iron chain fastened to the lock came apart.
The leading soldier saluted: "Sir, please."
Meng Suige walked to the door first, leaned sideways to avoid the crack in the door, and reached out to push the door open.
In fact, Meng Suigai was too cautious. This door had just been opened once, how could there be any hidden weapon.
It is said to be a warehouse, but it is actually a square dark room. Except for two opposite doors, there are no windows and no sunlight can come in. The lighting relies entirely on lamps and candles.
Meng Suige walked into the room with a candle, and then lit the lamp holder on the wall, and the room suddenly lit up.
The warehouse is not big, and the layout is very simple. There are desks and a bed under the wall facing the door, and two bookshelves are placed on the walls on both sides, with the tops next to the ceiling.
Sealed dark yellow paper bags are neatly placed on the bookshelf, and the seals are stamped with wax seals.
These paper bags are placed according to the date they were sealed, and the corresponding contents are recorded on the seals.
Han Changmu picked up a paper bag and saw "Sealed on March 27, 1 volume of this book" written on the seal.
These are obviously test questions that were drawn up before the content of the examination paper was officially determined. After they are invalidated and no longer used, they must be sealed and archived by the Ministry of Rites after the provincial examination.
Han Changmu looked down one by one in front of the bookshelf and found the place where the five sealed scripture examination papers were stored.
He put the paper bags back into place and stacked them neatly, then lay down in front of the bookshelf and stared at them.
There were few people in this warehouse, and the soldiers only guarded outside and would not come in. A thin layer of dust fell on the bookshelves and paper bags.
The layer of dust is so thin that you need to look carefully at the light to see it.
The warehouse was extremely quiet, with only the shallow breathing of a few people.
Yao Yao walked a few steps along the bookshelf, suddenly narrowed his eyes, squatted on the ground, pointed at the ground and whispered: "Sir, come and take a look."
Han Changmu walked over quickly.
There is also a thin layer of ash on the ground. The candlelight shines on it, and the thin layer of ash flows slowly in the light.
Where no one has walked, the dust is even, dyeing the dark yellow wooden floor a light gray-white color.
Wherever people walked, the dust was messy and mottled. The layer of gray and white varied in depth and lightness, and the dark yellow wood grain on the wooden floor became clearer.
The ground that Yao Yao pointed to was covered in thin dust, with half a footprint vaguely imprinted on it.
Han Changmu knew very well that the three of them did not go to this place just now, and they did not need to go to this place when they came to pick up the five examination papers.
Han Changmu knelt down, looked at the blurry half of the footprint carefully, and asked softly: "Can it be removed?"
Yao Yao thought for a while, raised his head and said to Meng Sui: "Mr. Meng Qi, please go out and get a clean handkerchief, and then bring in a basin of clean water."
Meng Sui sighed, turned around and went out.
Han Changmu stood up, stood not far from the footprints, and looked at the bookshelf.
This footprint is a bit far away from the bookshelf. Standing where the footprints are and reaching out to pick up the test papers on the bookshelf, you have to lean forward slightly and stretch your arms straight, which is obviously not that convenient.
If the person who left this footprint wanted to get the exam papers from this bookshelf, why didn't he come closer?
Han Changmu walked slowly a few steps in front of the footprints, concentrated for a moment, and looked up at the roof.
When he arrived, he carefully looked at the layout of Mingyuan Building and vaguely remembered that the roof of this warehouse should be the corridor on the second floor.
The entire Mingyuan Building is made of brick and wood. The outer walls are all made of blue bricks, but the inside of the building is made of wood. Because it was built for a long time, there are squeaking sounds when walking on the old wood. , it sounds extremely clear.
He stared at the roof. The dark yellow wood grains were connected into pieces, almost making people dizzy.
Not long after, Meng Suige walked in cautiously, carrying a basin of clean water and a clean handkerchief on his shoulder.
Yao Yao poured water on the handkerchief carefully, so as to wet the surface without letting the water soak into the handkerchief. Then, she straightened the handkerchief and said to Han Changmu: "Sir, please help me."
Han Changmu and Yao Yao stretched out the two ends of the handkerchief and slowly covered the footprints with the handkerchief.
After a while, the two of them stretched the two ends of the veil again, picked it up and turned it over to see that the dust was imprinted on the veil, because the veil was not soaked by water, but the surface was slightly moist and dusty. It touched the veil and was not smudged.
When the dust was on the floor, it blended with the wood grain on the floor and was not clearly visible. Only half of a footprint was vaguely visible. After it was printed on the snow-white handkerchief, the footprints became particularly clear.
It is indeed half a footprint, and it is the sole of the forefoot, without the heel.
But the pattern on the sole of this shoe is too ordinary. Almost everyone wears shoes with such a pattern, and it is impossible to tell what kind of shoe it is from the pattern.
Yao Yao gestured with his hand: "Sir, it should be a man's footprints."
Han Changmu nodded: "This man was very careful when he came in, leaving only half of his footprints." He turned his head and looked at other places. The dust was a bit messy, but in this place, the dust was very neat. With only this half of a footprint, it is obvious that few people come to this place.
He looked at the door: "How did the person get in? Did he unlock the door with a key?"
"Impossible." Yao Yao shook his head firmly: "The lock at the door is a six-petal plum blossom chain lock. Six keys must be unlocked at the same time to open it. If any one is missing, or any key is inserted into the wrong keyhole, the lock will be damaged. It will be scrapped immediately and can no longer be opened.”
Han Changmu nodded: "I also saw it. The lock and chain are made of black iron. It is difficult for ordinary swords to split. Moreover, the lock and chain are brand new. They were obviously specially made for this provincial test. The boss There’s no sign of being chopped.”
Yao Yao added: "The six keys are on six soldiers respectively. If someone can get one key, it is possible, but if it is possible to collect six keys at once without alarming the soldiers, then it is possible." It’s unlikely.”
The duty hours of these six soldiers are separate. They are paired with an ordinary soldier and rotate every two hours. The next day, these twelve soldiers will be disrupted and regrouped.
As a result, the six soldiers who carried the key had no rules to follow in their guarding and repairing. It was not that easy for Songxi to get the key while they were repairing.
Han Changmu narrowed his eyes: "Maybe this person really didn't come in through the door."
Meng Suige was stunned for a moment and looked around: "But there are no windows on all sides. Could it be that he got in through the wall?"
Han Changmu looked up at the roof and said thoughtfully, "Maybe it fell from the sky."
As soon as he finished speaking, an idea flashed in his mind, and he suddenly ordered: "Meng Suige, go upstairs, find the location of the warehouse and knock on the floor, then use the lamp to carefully shine on the ground, while shining, knock on Hit the floor." He paused and then said: "Ask the internal guards to go upstairs and strictly guard the doorways of all the rooms on the second floor. No one is allowed to come out and watch."
Meng Suige didn't know what was going on, but he still said yes and went upstairs.
Not long after, there was a burst of rapid but neat footsteps on the roof. After the footsteps stopped, the thumping sound hit the roof.
Han Changmu looked up and said softly: "A Yao, turn off all the lights in the room."
Yao Yao instantly understood what Han Changmu wanted to do, exclaimed, and extinguished the light on the lampstand in the corner. After walking to Han Changmu's side, he blew out the lamp in his hand.
The warehouse suddenly became dark, and it was so dark that one could not see his fingers.
Han Changmu took a moment to adapt, and then found the place where Yao Yao was in the darkness.
After he calmed down, he looked up at the roof and walked back and forth.
The thumping sound on the roof was endless, and each sound was very clear. Wherever the sound landed, Han Changmu walked.
In the darkness, he walked unsteadily. He stretched out his feet to test for a while before taking a step.
Yao Yao stood still and did not move. He just turned his head and looked around carefully.
The two bookshelves were hidden in the darkness, with only the whitish dust faintly visible.
Her gaze fell on the second floor of a bookshelf.
A little warm fluorescence seemed to be reflected in the misty dust.
Her eyes narrowed and she didn't say anything rashly. She just noted the location.
Han Changmu was spinning under the roof, and the constant thumping sound fell above his head, like thunder.
Suddenly, the thumping sound moved to the place where the footprints had just been discovered. Han Changmu squinted his eyes, as if he caught a glimpse of a faint ray of skylight in the dead darkness.
Yao Yao's eyes lit up and he said anxiously: "I'll ask Meng Suige to stop."
Without waiting for Han Changmu to speak, she stumbled out of the warehouse and went upstairs in a hurry. I don't know what she said to Meng Suige, but the thumping sound always stopped above the footprints.
Han Changmu squinted his eyes involuntarily. He could see clearly that there was indeed a faint light leaking from that place, but it was extremely subtle and undetectable.
He thought for a while, pushed the door open and went out, ordered the soldiers to guard the door, and then went upstairs.
The second floor is the residence of eighteen fellow examiners. The rooms are smaller than those on the first floor, and the furnishings are not as exquisite and gorgeous as those on the first floor.
At this time, such a loud commotion outside had already alerted the eighteen fellow examiners, but they were all huddled in their rooms, not daring to come out to watch the fun, let alone make any accusations.
After all, it is the inner guard who is running errands outside. Who can afford to offend the inner guard?
There are no lights in the corridor on the second floor, and the windows are narrow and small. Even during the day, the corridor is dimly lit.
The place where the abnormality was discovered was located at the end of the corridor, and it was even darker.
Han Changmu stood at the entrance of the stairs and saw two people squatting under the lights at the end of the corridor. He didn't know what he thought of, pursed his lips and smiled, and walked forward.
Yao Yao heard the footsteps and turned around to see Han Changmu. She was surprised and said, "Sir, have you discovered anything?"
Han Changmu nodded: "Yes." He said to Meng Sui: "Take a few internal guards to guard the warehouse and light the lamps."
After Meng Suige left, Han Changmu took out his dagger and inserted it into the gap in the floor under the light.
This floor is actually the floor slab on the second floor. It is also made of wood. It is laid very cleverly. The lower part is made of staggered thick wood beams, and the upper floor is paved with ash trees about four feet long and half a foot wide. become.
Looking up from the warehouse, you can see the thick beams, and walking on the second floor, you can see the exquisite and gorgeous wooden floor, which shines with dazzling luster after being waxed.
The blade traced a circle along the gap, and the gap that could only leak a glimmer of light seemed to become larger.
Han Changmu jammed the gap with the blade of the knife and tilted it upwards, and the floorboard tilted up.
The bright lights in the warehouse suddenly poured out.
The two of them lay down in a brightly lit place and looked down, taking in a clear view of everything in the warehouse.
Yao Yao gestured with his hand to mark the hole in the floor that had been pried open: "Sir, this hole is too small. You can only put your hand in. No one can get in."
"Don't worry, try something else." Han Changmu took the dagger and raised the floor next to him in the same way, but those floors did not move at all.
Since the rest of the floor was motionless, it was impossible for someone to get in through such a small hole.
Han Changmu was lying on the hole, just in time to see where the half-footprint was.
He squinted his eyes. He couldn't get down from here. So, how did this half of the footprints be left, and why did it happen to be facing this hole.
He rubbed his brows, feeling quite distressed.
Yao Yao was quiet for a moment and asked from the side: "Sir, people can't go down, but things can go down. Why not try flying claws or something like that."
Han Changmu nodded and gave instructions to the inner guards.
Not long after, the inner guards brought various forms of flying claw ropes and the like.
One of the inner guards lay down next to the hole, first slid the flying claw down the hole, shook the flying claw, and tossed it left and right.
Although the flying claw was thrown very close to the bookshelf, it could never reach the things on the bookshelf.
The inner guard tried other items one after another, but all failed.
Han Changmu shook his head: "This hole is almost in the middle of the warehouse. No matter what you put in it, it can't touch the things on the two bookshelves."
Yao Yao was also a little discouraged. After thinking about the place where her flying claws touched just now, it was indeed impossible to touch the fluorescence. She took a step forward and whispered a few words in Han Changmu's ear.
Han Changmu's eyes lit up: "Really?"
Yao Yao nodded: "Yes."
Han Changmu was overjoyed and ordered the internal guards to keep an eye on this place, then hurried downstairs.
As soon as he entered the warehouse, he walked to the bookshelf that Yao Yao mentioned. He searched back and forth on the second floor shelf with a candle for a long time, and sure enough he found a place with a faint fluorescence.
He said in surprise: "Sure enough, A Yao, look at it, it should be wax oil."
Yao Yao stepped forward quickly and looked at each other intently.
It was a bit of white wax oil, which became translucent after drying. Because it was so thin, it almost reflected the color of the shelf.
When there is light, there is no trace of the wax oil, but when the light is turned off, the little bits of fluorescence from the wax oil are so eye-catching in the darkness.
It seems that the wax oil was dripping on the bookshelf not long ago, and before it dried up, it flickered with fluorescence. The person holding the lamp had already left the warehouse, otherwise he would not have noticed this faint blue fluorescence.
The candle itself will not flash a faint blue fluorescence. Only candles that are powdered with luminous stones will emit a faint blue light.
This kind of candle is expensive and not very practical. Ordinary people will not use it at all. Even rich people rarely use this kind of candle.
On the contrary, it is the flower building in Pingkangfang, which uses a lot of candles.
It is said that burning this kind of candle in the room has a warming effect.
Han Changmu blinked twice, not knowing whether the effect was real or not.
