Either the Princess of Annan County has seen this sister and knows her whereabouts and how she is doing, or this Gu Yanyan has an ulterior past, and the Princess of Annan County must hide it for her.
Han Changmu put the matter aside for the time being and did not ask further questions. He just continued to ask about the four beautiful pictures: "Since these four beautiful pictures are related to the treasure left by Emperor Ming, and the saint is also looking for this picture, then the saint must also know about it. , does he know how to open the mechanism of Emperor Ming's treasure?"
Princess Annan narrowed her eyes: "I don't know, he asked for this picture because he wanted to know how to open the treasure left by Emperor Ming."
Han Changmu smiled suspiciously: "Then, why does the saint want to have a child with the princess?"
This incident was a lifelong shame for the Princess of Annan County. When she heard this, her face turned red, not only with hatred, but also with anger. The joints of her hands turned white. After a while, she made up her mind and gritted her teeth and said: "This is The matter is related to the method of opening the last mechanism of Emperor Ming’s treasure. I’m sorry, I will tell the Crown Prince Han only after seeing that the Crown Prince is safe and sound.”
Han Changmu narrowed his eyes and said noncommittally, "Okay, I have a lot of patience."
Seeing that Han Changmu did not pursue the matter, the Princess of Annan County breathed a sigh of relief with lingering fear and glanced at Han Changmu.
The princess of Annan County was actually suspicious. She knew that Prince Han's palace held heavy troops and had always been feared by Emperor Yong'an. Although Emperor Yong'an and Prince Han were related to each other by marriage, they had always been at odds with each other.
So as the eldest son of King Han, Han Changmu was naturally feared by Emperor Yong'an.
At the beginning of last year, Han Changmu suddenly handed over his military power and entered the capital as an official. Although the world publicly praised Emperor Yong'an and King Han for their harmonious relationship, privately it was rumored that the crown prince of Han had entered the capital. Jing, the name is to be reused as an official, which is to use one's body as a pledge.
The princess of Annan County thought that since she had become a hostage, she could only protect herself. How could Han Changmu have the courage and confidence to confront and compete with Emperor Yong'an.
She was originally suspicious of Han Changmu's methods.
But now it seems that he really has the confidence to compete with Emperor Yong'an.
With this thought in mind, she blurted out: "Prince Han, do you think he will win?"
Han Changmu said expressionlessly: "Nothing in this world is certain, it's just a try."
The Princess of Annan County smiled sadly: "Yes, in worldly affairs, if you gamble, you will win or lose. If you don't gamble, you will definitely lose."
The drums sounded loudly. Just after the end of the year, most of the candles in Annan County Prince's Mansion were extinguished. In the dark night, the pale moonlight was reflected on the lake. The lake water rippled, and the ripples spread, like a crescent moon. Torn, broken and messy.
There was silence everywhere. Someone died in the back room, or he was hanged. The death was ugly and very unlucky. Another person was imprisoned again. The west room was mostly empty. The remaining one was called Shidong. The maidservant no longer dared to live alone, so she moved to another room and squeezed in with other maidservants.
Shichun died suddenly, and hanging was a taboo method for everyone. She was a maid, and her body was not allowed to stay in the house overnight. It should have been sent directly to the mass grave with a torn mat and a roll.
But now that Leng Linjiang has intervened in this matter, and concluded that Shichun did not hang himself, but was murdered in order to find out the case, then the body cannot be moved out for the time being, and can only be temporarily placed in the West Room, and two arrangements were made A brave young boy was guarding the house.
No matter how courageous these two young men were, they did not dare to enter the house. They stood shivering under the eaves opposite the west room. They only dared to look at the door of the west room from a distance, but did not dare to get even half a step closer.
"Hey, go ahead." The boy with the square face poked the boy next to him with his elbow and whispered.
"Why don't you go! Why did you ask me to go!" The boy next to him had a sharp chin and a pretty face, but he didn't have a good temper. He raised his thick eyebrows and glared at him and retorted.
Sifang's face was neither angry nor angry, and he gave in and said, "I'm scared, but you are so brave."
His sharp chin choked up. He wanted to be neat but felt that his face was dull. He stumbled and said: "I, I, I won't go. I heard that people who hang themselves are particularly ugly and can easily become Evil ghost."
The square-faced man glanced at the window of the west room and felt frightened. His face turned pale with fright: "Really or not, you, don't scare me."
The pointed chin also frightened himself, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly: "I, I heard what others said, and I haven't seen it either."
While they were speaking, a black shadow passed quickly in front of their eyes, like a fleeting cloud that was difficult to capture.
The two of them looked at each other, scared out of their wits, screamed, and hugged each other tightly.
"Ghost, there is a ghost, there is a ghost." The two of them were mute for a moment as if someone had strangled their throats. Suddenly, the tone of their screams changed, and they were no longer like human voices.
The two people screamed repeatedly, supported each other, and staggered away.
The scream was so brutal that the other two rooms in the back room were instantly lit with candles. There was rustling movement, and someone opened the door with a puzzled look and took a look outside.
The warm night wind blew slowly, and the courtyard was completely empty. There was not even a ghost, let alone a human being.
Where did the ghost come from? You must be blind.
With a "bang" sound, the person who stuck his head out impatiently closed the door and continued to sleep with his head covered.
After a moment of silence, a maid emerged from behind the vermilion pillar. She glanced around, lowered her head, walked to the door of the west room, opened the door, and slipped in quietly.
The room was dark, and the night breeze blew in through the open window, adding a bit of chill. There was a withered yellow mat spread on the ground, and a piece of white cloth on it rose and fell, outlining the outline of a human figure.
The maid closed the door with her backhand, leaned against the door and breathed lightly, calmed her mind, and walked over quietly.
There was dead silence under the white cloth.
The maid stretched out her hand to uncover the white cloth and saw Shichun's face turning pale. Even though she was mentally prepared, she was still startled by the unexpected and ugly expression.
The maid regained her composure, squatted down and pulled out the hairpin from Shichun's head. The bun fell down, her eyes shrank, and she groped for a moment in the black and oily hair.
Suddenly his expression changed slightly, and he muttered to himself: "Why not."
She looked suspicious and reached out to touch it carefully.
"Are you looking for this?" The lights suddenly turned on in the room, and a faint and cold voice sounded.
The maid was so frightened that she raised her pale face and looked at the visitor with horror.
I don't know when there were so many people in the room. Han Changmu and Princess Annan were standing at the front, and there were a few people standing behind them, all of whom she had seen today.
Han Changmu raised his hand, holding a piece of silver needle with a dark luster in his hand. It is not accurate to say that it is a silver needle. This needle is half as thick as a hairpin rod, and the place where the needle should be threaded is carved into a plum blossom shape. , such a needle is hidden in the bun and cannot be seen without looking carefully.
Four or five lights illuminated the west room as brightly as day. The light fell on the faces of these people, each of them had a cold and solemn look as if they wanted to eat someone, which scared everyone to death.
The light fell on the silver needle, and the black light was so cold that it made people palpitate.
"Are you looking for this needle?" Han Changmu's eyes were cold and stern, and the needle in his hand was like a sharp sword, poking straight into the maid's eyes.
The maidservant trembled violently in fear, staring at the silver needle in Han Changmu's hand, and whispered at the corner of her lips: "You, you, how could this be in your hands?"
Ruyu clicked her tongue twice and sneered: "Shidong, I didn't know you were so brave, touching a dead person in the middle of the night."
It turns out that this maid is Shifuji who originally lived in the same house as Shiharu.
Shidong shook his head quickly: "No, no, it's not me, I'm not, I didn't."
Ruyu looked at Shidong as if he were a fool, lowered his eyes, and moved his eyes to look at the white cloth that had been lifted away. The sneer on his face was as sharp as a knife: "You still refuse to admit that I have been caught. You think I am blind." Or do you think I’m stupid?”
Shidong said with a mournful face: "No, maid, that's not what I meant, maid, I have convicted myself!" She had already turned pale, and fell to her knees with a "pop", and the sound of "dong dong dong" kowtow could not be heard.
"Now that you are aware of your guilt, let's talk about it." Han Changmu sneered, holding the needle between his two fingers, and spoke calmly.
Shi Dong was crying so hard that he almost lost his breath from sobs: "Servant, slave, I was threatened, I was forced to have no choice!"
Ruyu took a step forward and shouted with a cold face: "If you don't tell the truth, who knows if you were forced to do anything! Are you trying to protect someone? Tell me!"
Shidong knelt on the ground and looked around at the people in front of her with tearful eyes. They all looked fierce. She shivered and felt that her life was cut off.
She closed her eyes. It would be death if she said it, but it would be death if she didn't say it. That's all. It would be enough for her to die alone. Why bother, why bother to have a group of people die!
She gritted her teeth, widened her eyes, and her eyes were slightly protruding, with a look of determination on her face.
Han Changmu's heart skipped a beat when he saw Shi Dong's appearance. His body moved in the light of the calcium carbide fire.
At the same time, Shidong rushed out decisively, rushing towards the wall quickly and violently.
Who knew that instead of the severe pain and splatter of blood that she had expected, she bumped into something neither soft nor hard, and the force of the rebound knocked her back hard. She sat down on the ground, unable to move for a long time. Can get up.
Seeing this, Ruyu called two maids to come forward, one on the left and one on the right, clamping down on Shidong's arms, then pulled out a handkerchief and quickly gagged her mouth.
"I told you that you dared to seek death even if you didn't say anything. You thought that if you died, it would be over. You are the son of a family in this house, and the family's identity and deeds are all in the house. It is easy to die. It is rare to live but not to die. No!" Ruyu became angry and cursed loudly.
Shidong was shocked and turned pale. He kowtowed and begged for mercy over and over again.
Yao Yao stood at the back. Listening to Ruyu's words, she felt a little weird, but she couldn't tell what was wrong. She just felt that Ruyu's words sounded like a threat to Shidong. She stared at her with a good look. Watching Ruyu and Shidong's movements, they were afraid of missing any details.
Shi Dong made the collision with the determination to die, and used 100% of his strength. The collision caused Han Changmu to have unbearable abdominal pain. He clutched his stomach and bent down with a painful expression.
Seeing this, Leng Linjiang hurriedly stepped forward to support Han Changmu and asked worriedly: "How are you, Jiuchao, how are you?"
Han Changmu turned his head and glanced at Yao Yao, only to see that her eyes did not fall on him, let alone any worries. He shook his head helplessly, smiled bitterly, straightened up and said, "It's okay."
Then he took out his arm and walked up to Shidong.
Leng Linjiang naturally saw the way Han Changmu looked at Yao Yao, chuckled twice, stepped back to Yao Yao, and poked Yao Yao with his elbow: "Hey, Jiu Chao is injured, why don't you show concern? , after all, he is your superior, and your future promotion and wealth will all depend on him."
"Don't be ridiculous. How strong can a girl with no strength be? If she can hit him with just one bump, then he is really made of tofu." Yao Yao glanced at Leng. Linjiang glanced at him and said with disdain, then changed his face and looked at Leng Linjiang with a smile: "Besides, Mr. Shaoyin, you are a low-ranking official. A low-ranking position cannot lead to promotion and wealth. From now on, you will reach the pinnacle of life. It all depends on you, sir."
Leng Linjiang took Yao Yao's hand away with a look of disgust on his face and said, "Oh, that's all I'm good for."
Yao Yao smiled flatteringly: "This is of little use, Mr. Shaoyin, the wealth and future of everyone in our Jingzhao Mansion Office are in your hands. One day you will be promoted to Jingzhao Mansion Yin. Don’t forget to give those in humble positions a share of the pie.”
Leng Linjiang chuckled: "Ah Yao, I just love to hear you talk."
Han Changmu walked up to Shi Dong, waved the silver needle in front of her eyes, and said expressionlessly: "Shi Dong, was someone else asked you to come get this thing?"
Reading with rice balls
Shidong was gagged, unable to speak, and her arms were tightly held down, unable to move. She struggled violently twice, making a whining sound from her mouth, and nodded heavily.
Han Changmu glanced at Ruyu and said, "Take the thing out of her mouth."
Ruyu hurriedly said: "No, this little hoof wants to die. He might bite his tongue and commit suicide."
Han Changmu pursed his lips and said nothing, and glanced at Princess Annan lightly. The look in his eyes seemed to say that such a servant who could talk back would have died eight hundred times if he had been in Prince Han's palace.
Princess Annan's face suddenly felt dull, and she scolded Ruyu in a low voice: "Why are you talking to the Commander-in-Chief? Go and let her go!"
Ruyu's face turned pale, and she glanced at the two maids in embarrassment.
The two men let go of Shidong and took off the veil from her mouth.
Shi Dong regained his freedom and immediately rushed to Han Changmu, hugging his legs, crying with snot and tears: "My lord, my lord, this maid, this maid was forced to , please, please save your maid, please save your maid."
Before she finished speaking, with tears still lingering, Shi Dong snorted, her words stopped abruptly, and she collapsed on the ground and passed out.
Everyone looked at Han Changmu's hand withdrew from the back of Shi Dong's neck in astonishment.
Han Changmu didn't feel any embarrassment at all. He waved his hand and commanded calmly: "A Yao, take her down and interrogate her strictly."
Yao Yao was stunned for a moment when his name was suddenly called, and he quickly responded. He didn't show it on his face, but he was thinking angrily in his heart, why do you always have to ask her for things like interrogating people? She looks very Is it fierce?
In full view of everyone, Yao Yao walked forward with a sullen face, grabbed Shi Dong's skirt with one hand, lifted her on his shoulders, and walked out with ease.
Everyone was stunned and opened their mouths slightly, not knowing what to say.
An Qi was the first to come back to his senses and looked at Yao Yao who had already walked out of the door. He was stunned and speechless: "This, this, isn't this the girl Leng Shaoyin sent?"
"Yes, she, isn't she injured?" Ruyu held her chin, her eyes flashing with a hint of gloom.
The Princess of Annan County looked at Han Changmu and sneered at herself: "Sir Shi Shi is indeed very resourceful, even willing to sacrifice his own subordinates." Her charming eyes moved slightly: "That Meng Suigai is also Mr. Shi Shi's. Subordinate."
Han Changmu said two words without changing his expression and his heart not beating: "Exactly."
The drama of catching a thief in an urn came to an end. Han Changmu and others rested in the guest room. The princess of Annan County ordered someone to bring in a sumptuous supper.
She had endless gratitude. When Shichun died, she knew that Shichun had almost stolen the four beautiful pictures. Shidong threw herself into a trap. She knew that someone was plotting the prince's poisoning.
She had very complicated emotions towards Han Changmu. She was extremely grateful to this man for stopping Shi Chun's actions, but she was also wary of Han Changmu's all-pervasive methods, and she even hated him for threatening her with the four beautiful pictures.
Cooperating with such people is tantamount to seeking the skin of a tiger.
The late-night snacks at Annan County Prince's Mansion are particularly exquisite. Every dish has its origin, but the portions are a bit small, and most of them are gone in one bite. Only the pot of bird's nest porridge is huge.
While Leng Linjiang was eating, he raised his head and glanced at Han Changmu with hesitation.
Han Changmu took a sip of bird's nest porridge, put down the porridge bowl gently, and looked at Leng Linjiang with a half-smile: "Just ask whatever you want to ask, and I will tell you what I can."
Leng Linjiang, who had been holding back his words all night, finally found an outlet to vent his anger. He asked without stopping: "Jiuzhao, what's going on with Princess Annan, what's going on with the prince, you guys?" Which song are you singing tonight?" He paused slightly and asked hesitantly, "What are you looking for?"
Before Han Changmu could say anything, a chuckle came from the door. Yao Yao held up a few pages of tissue paper and said slyly: "Master Shaoyin, what's the matter with you? You're so curious. Curiosity kills you." Cat, do you know?"
"What do you mean, curiosity killed the cat?" Leng Linjiang laughed and said, "What does curiosity have to do with cats?"
Yao Yao raised his eyebrows, walked to Han Changmu calmly, handed the pages to Han Changmu, calmly filled a bowl of porridge and sat next to Leng Linjiang, smiled narrowly, and said There is a profound meaning in it: "Master Shaoyin, too much curiosity will not only kill cats, but also people."
Leng Linjiang was stunned for a moment, and the smile on his face slowly solidified, but he smiled again in an instant: "Yes, you are right, I don't have enough brains, just being curious and romantic is enough."
Yao Yao pursed his lips and smiled.
She knew that Leng Linjiang was the most transparent dandy.
Han Changmu lowered his head and slowly drank the bird's nest porridge while looking at the few pages of tissue paper at hand. His face darkened little by little. Although the content written on the paper was within his expectation, it was difficult. , it was still beyond his expectation.
He rubbed the corner of the paper, raised his head and asked Yao Yao: "Has anyone been sent to her home?"
Yao Yao nodded: "After getting the confession, I told General Meng Qi, and he personally took the internal guards there." She raised her eyes and looked at the sky outside: "They will be back in about half an hour."
Han Changmu naturally trusted Yao Yao when he was doing things. He nodded and said, "Has the medicine been delivered to the front hall?"
Yao Yao said: "Send it over. After the medicine takes effect, Princess Annan County should send someone over."
Han Changmu relaxed, put his hands behind his head, leaned back on the chair, and closed his eyes slightly: "I'll be busy for a while."
Leng Linjiang showed an expression of great sympathy: "Hey, the night is long, wouldn't it be a pity not to have to sleep."
After that, he was not curious about what was written on the pieces of paper in Han Changmu's hand, and walked out the door without hesitation.
Yao Yao smiled and stabbed Leng Linjiang in the back: "Master Shaoyin, curiosity is the root of all evil."
Hearing this, Leng Linjiang froze, as if there was an evil ghost chasing and biting her behind her, and ran away without a trace.
The moment the door was opened, the slightly cold wind in the middle of the night came in along the crack of the door, diluting the strong smell of food in the guest room, and making people feel clear.
Han Changmu raised his head and stared at the closed door with a gloomy expression. His eyes flashed with a hint of emotion: "You deliberately wanted to drive him away."
"What, what's the purpose?" Yao Yao snorted and drank two mouthfuls of bird's nest porridge. He raised his head and said blankly, "Sir, what's the purpose?" She looked at the empty porridge bowl, stood up and filled another bowl, and clicked her tongue: "This The bird's nest is really good, but there's a little too much rice."
Han Changmu looked at Yao Yao who was skillfully pretending to be stupid, opened his mouth, shook his head helplessly and smiled: "If you like to drink, just drink more."
Yao Yao hummed: "Bird's nest is a precious commodity, so naturally I have to drink more."
Han Changmu smiled: "If you like it, go back to your house and ask someone to stew it every day."
Yao Yaoquan pretended not to hear these words and did not answer. He took a sip of porridge and looked out the door anxiously: "It stands to reason that the medicine will be effective soon. Why hasn't Princess Annan sent someone here yet?" , she must have regretted it."
"No." Han Changmu said firmly: "With the four beautiful pictures in our hands, she dare not regret it."
Yao Yao hummed, remembering Ruyu's behavior when she caught Shidong in action, she suddenly raised her head and frowned slightly: "Sir, I feel that something is wrong with Ruyu."
Han Changmu asked in confusion: "What's wrong? What did you find?"
Yao Yao explained the situation just now in detail, and said cautiously: "Look, sir, Annan County Princess will not do such things as mixing medicine and feeding it with her own hands, but she will not do it with her hands. So, Whoever will do it will naturally be the person she is closest to and most trusts. If this person has problems, then, no matter whether the medicine is real or fake, something will happen to the person."
