He Denggou narrowed his eyes: "Then, can we judge that although the murderer is not the same person, these people are all capable."
"Okay," Sun Ying nodded and said, "Not only that, these people are ruthless and ruthless."
He Denglou asked again: "Sun Wuzuo, are there a total of sixty-one people dead?"
Sun Ying was stunned and shook her head: "No, there are seventy people in total."
"Seventy people?" Qiao Yanda exclaimed: "What, what's going on? There are forty-three households with sixty-three people in Ramie Lane. Tong Lanying and Mu Mu ran out, so there are only sixty-one people left. Yes, little man, I won’t remember it wrong.”
He Denglou gave Qiao Yanda a calm expression and asked, "Sun Wuzuo, are all these seventy people women?"
Sun Ying said: "No, sixty-one of them are women and the remaining nine are men."
Qiao Yanda suddenly realized, and the look of horror on his face became even worse: "This must be someone who stayed overnight in Ramie Lane. How can this be so good? This, people from other houses died, how can I explain this?"
He Dengglou also sighed. This matter was complicated and involved, and it was not something that his little catcher could handle. He waved his hand, called a government official over, and ordered: "Send someone to chase Master Shaoyin at high speed, tell him what happened in Xiupingfang, and ask him to come up with an idea."
The Yamen Ying claimed that he was the one, took the sign handed over by He Denggou, and hurried back to Jingzhao Mansion.
He Denglou looked at Qiao Yanda who was panicking about applying, and said in a deep voice: "Qiao Fangzheng, now is not the time to panic or be afraid. You are familiar with many people in Xiupingfang, and you need to carefully identify who these nine people are."
Qiao Yanda responded with difficulty, her legs as if filled with lead, and she moved heavily to the side of the nine corpses.
Sun Ying uncovered the white cloth.
Qiao Yanda took one look and was so frightened that she refused to look at it a second time.
He Denglu said impatiently: "Qiao Fangzheng, you can't recognize him like this."
Qiao Yanda was so frightened that her legs trembled, and she kept crying out for injustice.
There was such a strange murder case just a few days ago. The tragic scene was still fresh in his mind, and now so many people died all at once. What happened this year? It was a bad year.
Or maybe the yin energy in Ramie Alley was too strong, and something unclean was brought in, which led to the disaster.
He had no intention of identifying the corpse. He just wanted to invite some real immortal masters to come back and perform a few rituals to give these people a salvation and remove their evil spirits.
He trembled and said: "Hey, why are you arresting the head? You villain, you are afraid."
He Denglu was stunned for a moment: "What are you afraid of?"
Qiao Yanda glanced at the undulating white cloth: "Death, death is too ugly."
He Denglu took a few more glances at the corpses and frowned slightly: "Is this ugly? You've never seen anything ugly, right?"
He was already very impatient. Such a big case, with so many people dead, might cause people to panic. If Dasheng listened to it, not to mention his arrest, even Lord Fuyin would be arrested. scolding.
This Qiao Yanda actually pretended to be afraid.
He Denglou grabbed Qiao Yanda's lapel, dragged him to the body, pressed the back of his head to look at it, and said with a fierce look like a bandit: "Hurry up and see, if the solution of the case is delayed, you will not be able to eat and walk around."
The thick smell of blood made one's breath suffocate. Qiao Yanda closed his eyes, barely opened his eyes and looked at the face of the corpse. He stared at it for a moment and shouted in horror: "This is, this is the Wang family on Cross West Street." My son-in-law is here!"
He Dengglou quickly asked carefully.
A yamen servant next to him was holding a pen and paper and writing down notes quickly.
Once you recognize the first one and get a good start, the rest will be easy.
Qiao Yanda identified them one by one.
These nine people were all frequent visitors to Ramie Alley. Although five of them were from other neighborhoods, Qiao Yanda recognized them at a glance.
These people had not been dead for a long time and their bodies had not changed, making them easy to identify.
After Qiao Yanda completed the identification, Sun Ying also examined the body.
The cause of death of these people is clear at a glance, and there is no need for an autopsy, nor does it need to be tested for poisons or other things. Even their age does not need to be checked. With Qiao Yanda here, he knows the people in Ramie Alley like the back of his hand.
Sun Ying washed her hands and said in a deep voice: "He Capture's head has been examined and everyone was killed with one knife."
He Denglu nodded with a heavy heart. This time, perhaps they were facing a group of extremely vicious people. Their skills may not be very high, but they were ruthless enough to attack ordinary people.
But why should such a group of people kill these people in Ramie Alley? They should kill all the people here without leaving any one behind.
What kind of hatred is this?
He was standing in the room where Mrs. Zhao lived, and through the window, he could see the back window of the abandoned house where the strange murder occurred.
Suddenly an idea flashed in his mind.
It is to silence people, to kill people to silence them.
These people must have suspected that the people in Ramie Alley had seen what happened on the night of the crime, and were afraid that they would leak out, so they would kill and silence them.
He suddenly thought of the coffin shop that was in trouble tonight, and couldn't help but his voice suddenly turned cold: "Qiao Fangzheng, do you know Ning Shunxiang from Yongchongfang?"
Qiao Yanda was stunned for a moment: "I recognize him. He is also a frequent visitor to Ramie Lane. He used to be Tong Lanying's best friend."
"In the past?" He Denglu asked puzzledly: "Why the past?"
Qiao Yanda said blankly: "On the night when someone died in the deserted house, Ning Shunxiang came to Ramie Lane to find Mrs. Zhao. Tong Lanying hated her so much that she said she would never let Ning Shunxiang enter her house again. ”
He Denglou asked sternly: "You remember correctly, is that really the day?"
Qiao Yanda became even more confused and nodded: "Yes, what happened that day was too scary. I really remember it."
He Denglu's expression suddenly changed.
How could it be such a coincidence? How could there be such a coincidence in this world?
All the people in Ramie Alley were silenced.
Ning Shunxiang's coffin was filled with water, and no one, old or young, was spared.
He Denggou was able to confirm that this was to silence people and kill people to silence them.
In order to cover up the strange murder in the deserted house.
It must have been Madam Zhao and Ning Shunxiang who saw the scene in the deserted house that night, but I don't know what they saw and why they refused to tell the truth when the Jingzhao Mansion and the Internal Security Department interrogated them.
The killers obviously didn't know who saw what happened that night, or they weren't sure whether the people in Ramie Lane saw anything at all, they were just suspicious.
With the thought that he would rather kill by mistake than let go, he killed all the people in Ramie Alley.
Thinking of this, He Denglou felt frightened and shuddered.
Seeing He Dengglou's expression turned ugly, Qiao Yanda asked cautiously: "He Captou, what's wrong? What's wrong with Ning Shunxiang?"
He Denggang glanced at Qiao Yanda lightly: "Tonight, Yongchongfang is flooded, and it is Ning Shunxiang's coffin shop that is burned."
"What!" Qiao Yanda was shocked.
He Denggou nodded: "Exactly, no one in that shop, old or young, escaped."
Qiao Yanda's body softened and she leaned against the wall, her face was haggard, and she murmured: "This, this is impossible, what on earth did they see, why didn't they tell the truth!"
Qiao Yanda obviously also wanted to understand why these people suddenly encountered misfortune. It was all caused by the murder in the deserted house!
He Dengglou said lightly: "Since Qiao Fangzheng knows how serious the matter is, let's take a good look back and see what unusual things happened in Xiupingfang during the day, what strange faces were in Ramie Alley, and Zhao Madam, have you ever said anything strange?"
Qiao Yanda closed her eyes, her mind in chaos.
Bright red blood sprayed in front of his eyes, and he was only afraid. He could not think of anything abnormal.
He Dengglou also knew that nothing would come out of blind questioning, so he lowered his tone and said, "Qiao Fangzheng, don't worry, just do your best." He paused slightly: "Tong Lanying and Zhao Mumu, I I need to take it back to the Jingzhao Government Office."
"Ah, oh, take it, take it," Qiao Yanda came to his senses. If the killer knew that there were two fish that slipped through the net in Ramie Lane, he would definitely not let them go easily. Tong Lanying and Zhao Mumu should indeed go to Jingzhao Mansion. , He alone could not protect them. He asked worriedly: "He arrests the head, will those people, will they come to kill them two again?"
He Denglu shook his head: "I can't say for sure, but Qiao Fangzheng didn't tell anyone else that Tong Lanying and Zhao Mumu were still alive, right?"
"No, I didn't say that. I know the importance." Qiao Yanda said anxiously.
He Denglou thought for a while, then lowered his voice and said to Qiao Yanda: "After dawn, the murder of Ramie Lane will definitely not be concealed. Then you will release the news that Tong Lanying and Zhao Mumu are still alive, but they were seriously injured and were picked up. I went to the Yamen Office of Jingzhao Mansion for treatment."
Qiao Yanda said "Ah" and looked at each other blankly.
He Dengglou nodded and said: "Yes, let's just say it. You don't have to worry about the rest. The Jingzhao Mansion Office will protect the safety of the two of them."
Qiao Yanda was also a smart man, and he immediately thought of He Denggao's intention for doing this, nodded heavily and said: "Don't worry, Mr. He, the villain knows how to say it, not only to scare the snakes off, but also to convince them."
He Dengglou breathed a sigh of relief, and his mind that had been tense all night relaxed. He turned to ask Sun Ying: "Sun Wuzuo, do these corpses need to be carefully inspected again?"
Sun Ying shook her head: "No need."
He Denglou ordered a few government officials to come out and said in a deep voice: "You guys go find a car and send these corpses to Yizhuang for temporary storage."
Several government officials had bitter expressions on their faces. With so many corpses, they might not be able to finish their work until dawn.
He Denglou thought for a while and asked Qiao Yanda: "Except for those nine men, do the other people in Ramie Lane have any relatives?"
Qiao Yanda knew what He Denglou meant by asking: "Some have it, some don't, but He arrests the head, since these people live in Ramie Lane, it's because the family doesn't tolerate it, and they can't get in even if they die." The family tree cannot be entered into the ancestral graves, and since they died violently, even their relatives would not come to collect them."
He Denggulu took a deep breath: "After dawn, you first go and notify their relatives and tell them that the body will be laid to rest in Yizhuang for three days. If no one claims it, the Jingzhao Mansion Office will incinerate it and bury it uniformly. "
Qiao Yanda was stunned for a moment, wondering if the word "incineration" would touch those people. Then he went to Yizhuang to pick up the bodies of his relatives and bury them, leaving a whole body at least.
He Denglou flipped through the roster he had just recorded and handed it to one of the government officials: "After dawn, you and others will notify the families of the other nine men according to the roster and ask them to go to Yizhuang to identify the bodies."
The officer said yes without hesitation.
After finishing the affairs in Ramie Lane, He Denglou thought about what happened between Ning Shunxiang and Madam Zhao, and felt more and more that the affair tonight was not an ordinary affair. He walked to Sun Ying and hesitated: "Sun Wuzuo, there is one more thing. , I would like to ask you a favor."
Sun Ying finished writing down the test booklet, raised her head and asked, "What's the matter?"
He Denglou and Ning Shunxiang briefly talked about the fact that the coffin was covered with water, and he might have seen what happened in the deserted house that day, and said: "I think it is believed that the coffin was covered with water, but there is no evidence, and I don't think so." Dare to make a decisive decision, I would like to ask Sun Wu to make a trip to see if I can find any clues, so that I can write a letter to Lord Shaoyin."
Sun Ying responded with the word "Okay" very simply, packed up the inspection box, and walked out: "Then let's go."
He Denglou was overjoyed, and with the remaining government servants, he jumped on his horse and galloped away.
On the way, he said to Sun Ying: "The house was burned very badly. No one ran out. They were all burned to death. The fire scene has not been cleared yet, and the bodies were left at the scene."
"Has the autopsy been done?" Sun Ying asked.
"Not yet." He Denglu hesitated.
Sun Ying's face darkened: "How can we judge that these people were burned to death before a post-mortem examination has been conducted? Isn't it too arbitrary?"
He Dengglou looked embarrassed and hesitated: "Well, Huang Wuzuo has taken a leave of absence."
Hearing this, a slightly cunning face flashed through Sun Ying's mind. He smiled sarcastically: "I get sick every now and then. I'm really old and frail."
He Denglu laughed dryly.
He has long been unable to stand the frivolous work of this person, but what can he do if he can't stand it? He doesn't count what he says, or in other words, he doesn't have the ability to be a coworker, nor can he find a better one.
Sun Ying also knew that telling He Dengglou this was embarrassing him, and asked: "Where is Zhang Youli? Didn't you clamor for me to see my autopsy last time?"
He Denglou suddenly realized, grabbed the government servant next to him, and said urgently: "Quickly, call Zhang Youli and ask him to go to Ningji Coffin Shop in Yongchongfang to see Sun Wu perform an autopsy."
The Yamen servant was overjoyed and rode away.
This time, He Denggou went to Ningji Coffin Shop for the third time. When he came back for the first time, all kinds of longevity materials were neatly arranged in Ningji Coffin Shop.
The second time he came back, Ning Ji's coffin shop was engulfed in a sea of fire.
When I came back for the third time, Ning Ji's coffin shop had been reduced to ruins. The night wind blew through, carrying countless ashes flying into the distance, and the air was filled with a strong smell of burning.
Several government officials and villagers were guarding the edge of the ruins. It was dark at night, and they couldn't find much in the dark. So these people did not search deep into the ruins. They just stayed outside and did not let anyone go in and destroy them. on site.
Zhang Youli arrived panting, and when he saw Sun Ying, he was so excited that he almost knelt down and kowtowed to become his disciple: "I've seen you, Sun Wuzuo."
Sun Ying looked at Zhang Youli carefully.
He had met Zhang Youli once before, and he only remembered that he was a young and timid child. Timidity was a big taboo in acting. When they met again this time, he found that the child's courage seemed to have developed, and the timidity before was no longer the same. It was so obvious that his heart moved and he glanced at Zhang Youli a few more times.
He said calmly: "I'm looking for someone to record the test report. Come on, I'll do it for you."
Zhang Youli rubbed his hands excitedly.
Sun Ying, this is a well-known figure in the writing industry. The Ministry of Internal Affairs treats her like a family heirloom. It is rare to see her in person on a daily basis.
If you can follow him to examine the body once, even death is worth it.
No, he can't die, he hasn't become a disciple yet.
Zhang Youli said a shy "Hey", holding a pen and paper, and quickly chased after him.
Ning Ji's coffin shop was indeed burned violently. The ground was covered with broken bricks and tiles. Everywhere he looked were black traces of smoke and fire. The beams were burned into several sections by the fire, and the roof was smashed to the ground. Make a deep hole.
Although it was burned beyond recognition, the appearance of Ning Ji's coffin-stored house can still be vaguely seen.
The three houses facing the street were opened up, and the plaques hanging under the eaves fell off, and most of them were lost due to the fire. Only the two words "Ning Ji" at the front were vaguely visible.
These three rooms were Ning Ji's coffin shop. The fire broke out in the middle of the night, and the coffin shop had already closed its doors. Although the shop was badly burned and most of the coffin materials were reduced to ashes, no one died.
After passing through the coffin shop, there is the mansion where Ning Shunxiang and his family live. It is a two-entry courtyard.
Walking around two osmanthus trees that were burnt to black, two people were sitting under the trees.
Sun Ying hurried over and turned around to see Zhang Youli holding a pen and paper, not leaving, and couldn't help but nodded secretly.
He first glanced at the two corpses, as if he was deliberately questioning Zhang Youli, but his tone was extremely casual: "Zhang Youli, tell me what are the characteristics of people who were burned to death?"
Zhang Youli thought for a moment and said cautiously: "The deceased's eyes were closed tightly, the outer eyelashes were burned, but the inner eyelashes remained, and soot and charcoal dust remained in the mouth and nose."
Sun Ying hummed noncommittally, pointed to the two corpses under the sweet-scented osmanthus tree and said: "Most of the clothes and hair of these two people were burned, and the skin and flesh on their bodies were also severely burned." He opened the inspection box and took out the cloth ball from it. Passed it to Zhang Youli: "Go and look at their mouths and noses."
Zhang Youli took the cloth ball, held it with bamboo tweezers, and carefully wiped the mouths and noses of the two corpses. The two cloth balls were covered with black soot and charcoal dust.
He asked Sun Ying cautiously: "Sun Wuzuo, it seems that these two people were burned to death, right?"
Sun Ying shook her head slightly: "It's too arbitrary. If you want to judge whether a person was burned to death, it is not accurate to just rely on the soot and charcoal dust on the mouth and nose and the burnt eyelashes. You also need to check whether there are any wounds on the body. , whether there are fatal injuries, it is best to conduct an autopsy if necessary."
"Autopsy!" Zhang Youli exclaimed, "How could the family of the deceased agree to this? If they are angry at the deceased, I'm afraid they will." He hesitated, and he felt that what he said was a bit inappropriate.
"It is the duty of a prisoner to restore the true cause of death of the deceased and to plead grievances for the deceased." Sun Ying looked worried: "How can I be a bad person if I am afraid of being blamed!"
Zhang Youli's heart was trembling, and he hurriedly responded: "You little man, you have learned a lesson."
Sun Ying pursed her lips and carefully inspected the heads, faces, and chests of the two corpses for places that could easily lead to death, and found nothing wrong.
He Denglou said from the side: "After the fire was extinguished, I asked Fang Zheng of Yongchongfang to come and identify them. He recognized these two people as the two young disciples accepted by Ning Shunxiang. The eldest one is called Wang Jin, and the older one is named Wang Jin. Eight years old. The younger one, Song Sheng, is twelve years old. He lives there on weekdays." He stretched out his hand and pointed to the west. There were two mostly collapsed rooms next to the coffin shop: "That's the coffin shop's workshop. They usually live there."
Sun Ying nodded, turned to Zhang Youli and said, "Write it down and record the conditions on the bodies." He paused slightly and said, "There are no wounds on the two bodies."
Zhang Youli hurriedly wrote and wrote.
The group of people then walked inside.
The two courtyards are not large, and can only be regarded as one and a half. The front half is used as a coffin shop and workshop, and the innermost courtyard is occupied by Ning Shunxiang's wife, concubines and children.
The most severely burned area of the entire mansion was the courtyard.
The courtyard walls and the buildings inside were all burned down. Although the fire was extinguished, the smoke still lingered on the ruins for a long time.
The thick smoke made people's breathing suffocate.
Inside the collapsed second door, there were three ragged people huddled in the ruins. One of them had his arm stretched out from the threshold of the second door.
The clothes and hair of the three people were burnt off, their bodies were all black and there was not a single good piece of skin on them. Their facial features, eyes, mouth and nose were all blended together, making it impossible to distinguish their appearance.
Zhang Youli was startled by the ferocious appearance of the corpse. He hesitated for a long time before he endured the fear and stepped forward.
Sun Ying said solemnly: "People who work as gangsters will come across any kind of corpses and cases. If you are afraid, don't do gangwork!"
Hearing this, Zhang Youli straightened his back involuntarily.
Sun Ying said slowly: "The age of a body that was burned beyond recognition can only be judged from his teeth and bones."
Zhang Youli calmed down, listened to Sun Ying's words, and took notes carefully.
Because all the clothes on the corpses were burnt, the inspection was easier. After carefully examining the three corpses, Sun Ying said quietly: "The three deceased are all men. The one who is about to crawl out of the second door is about twenty-six." By the age of twenty-eight, the one leaning against the wall is about eighteen to twenty-two, and the one in the innermost is about twenty-three to twenty-five.”
As she said that, Sun Ying looked at He Denglou.
Water leaked out of the coffin floor last night, and no one in the Ning family, old or young, was spared. In such a serious situation, after the fire was extinguished, He Denggou must have made detailed inquiries and knew the situation of everyone in the Ning family. .
He Denggou quickly took out the book, pointed to the people above and said: "Ning Shunxiang's second son and the family's coachman are all twenty-six years old. The boy next to Ning Shunxiang's eldest son is nineteen years old, and the boy next to the youngest son is nineteen years old. The boy is seventeen years old, and there is a nephew who lives at home who is twenty-two years old. The other ages are not quite right."
Sun Ying knew that such an unrecognizable body could not be identified simply based on age, and other methods were needed, but now was not the time.
He nodded slightly and ordered Zhang Youli to record: "There is soot and charcoal dust in the mouth and nose of the three people, the eyelashes are incomplete, and there is no external injury on the body. Other conditions need to be investigated."
Several people walked all the way deep into the mansion, walked over the ruins, and roughly inspected all the corpses. Everyone felt heavy.
There were more than twenty people in the Ning family, ranging from elders in their sixties to children as young as two or three, all fell on the ruins.
It is said that water and fire are merciless, and wherever they go they will be filled with sorrow.
But with so many families being wiped out at every turn, and not even a single family member left behind, who would cry for their death?
In just one night, nearly a hundred people died in Xiupingfang and Yongchongfang.
Such a crazy method is simply not something that ordinary criminals can do.
He Denggou can be sure that these murderers are just trying to silence themselves and cover up the murder case in the deserted house.
His face was gloomy and his voice was difficult: "Sun Wuzuo, these dead people need to be carefully inspected to identify their identities, right?"
Sun Ying nodded: "Yes, so why bother arresting the head? Find a few people to help send these corpses to the Internal Security Department."
He Denglou was naturally unfazed.
Sun Ying added: "I can sort out the results of the autopsy this afternoon."
He Dengglou's face was full of sorrow, and he sighed longly: "Such a tragic case, so many people died in one fell swoop. It's really hard for me, a small catcher, to make a decision. I have already ordered someone to send a letter to Mr. Shaoyin." ”
Sun Ying also sighed along with her. The Fu Yin and Shaoyin of Jingzhao Mansion had just left, and such a big thing happened in Jing. It was difficult enough to climb the stairs.
Sun Ying said again: "After dawn, Chief He will search the ruins again?"
He Denglu nodded: "Of course I want it."
Sun Ying said: "In that case, if you find anything difficult to identify, you can come to the Internal Security Department to find me."
He Denglou was overjoyed and hurriedly saluted and thanked: "Well, thank you Sun Wu for your work."
Sun Ying waved her hand heavily: "No need to be polite, it's all for errands."
Just like that, several government officials pulled a cart and dragged the body, followed Sun Ying out of the ruins and rushed to the Internal Security Bureau.
Sun Ying turned around and saw Zhang Youli standing on the edge of the ruins. He pursed his lips and shouted expressionlessly: "Zhang Youli, if you don't leave, who will record the prosecution booklet for me?"
Zhang Youli almost jumped up with joy, responded, and hurriedly chased after him.
He Denglu smiled and shook his head. This time Zhang Youli got what he wanted.
He then thought about the two difficult cases in front of him, and his heart suddenly became heavy.
He didn't do anything evil or evil, so why did God torture him like this?
It seems that he is going to burn incense and worship Buddha.
The sky was extremely dark, and the rolling mountains and forests turned into silhouettes, passing by quickly.
Yao Yao kept galloping and finally arrived at Yuhua Mountain before dawn.
When the Beiya Imperial Guards stationed at the foot of the mountain saw someone approaching on horseback, Ban Jianmo swung his sword in front of him and shouted loudly: "Who is this person!"
The voice was extremely ferocious and rough, and it was cold and awe-inspiring in the night.
Yao Yao quickly dismounted and handed the Imperial Guard's waistband and Han Changmu's handwriting to the Imperial Army.
The imperial guard lowered his head and glanced, then exchanged the two things to Yao Yao as if it was hot, and said with a smile: "It turns out he is a brother from the Internal Security Department, please come in quickly."
The Imperial Guard next to him poked him and said with a smile: "Brother, you are obviously a girl, you are blind."
The former imperial guard took one more look at Yao Yao, suddenly realized, and hurriedly apologized: "My eyes are clumsy, girl, don't blame me."
Yao Yao smiled broadly and said: "It doesn't matter." She got on her horse, walked past the imperial army, took off a sachet and threw it over. She smiled and said: "Brothers, thank you for your hard work. I'll give you some tea money."
Seeing Yao Yao walking away, the imperial guard who had previously mistaken Yao Yao for a man nodded at the weight of his bag and said with a smile: "This inner guard is not as scary as the legend says, he is quite generous."
The Imperial Guard next to her quickly made a gesture of silence: "You haven't seen her killing people, it's very scary."
The former Imperial Guard raised his eyebrows: "Have you seen it?"
The Imperial Guard next to him shook his head: "I haven't seen it before."
"Then how do you know that the way she kills people is so scary?"
"My guess."
"You are awesome. How did you guess it? Teach me."
"Didn't you see the knife on her waist? The smell of blood is very strong."
"Does she have a knife on her? Why didn't I see it?"
"..."
The people from the Internal Security Department were stationed on the mountainside. Yao Yao rushed over and saw a dark figure standing in the night. She turned over and dismounted, and threw the reins to the man with familiarity, saying: "Quick, get me some." Drink water, I’m dying of thirst.”
Gu Chen tied the horse, shook his head helplessly and smiled: "You will command me as soon as you come."
Yao Yao stopped and rolled his eyes: "Heartless, I'm here to help you. I almost fell off my horse when I ran. I'm still injured."
Gu Chen sneered: "Don't be ridiculous, does your injury count as injury to you? Others don't know you, but I don't know you?"
Yao Yao smiled noncommittally.
There was already a guard in the house who heard the commotion and quickly poured a cup of tea, let it cool and handed it to Yao Yao.
Yao Yao thanked Gu Chen and asked Gu Chen in a low voice, "How are you? Have you received the letter from Fei Nu? Do you have any clues?"
Gu Chen considered and said: "There are not many cooks on Yuhua Mountain now. His Majesty has his own royal cook, and the concubines, princes and princesses also brought cooks. It is estimated that other noble families also brought useful cooks to the mountain. The only ones who need cooks are the Imperial Guards and the Internal Guard, as well as the chamberlains and maids in the palace. These cooks are already on the mountain, and there are twenty-four of them in total."
"That's not much!" Yao Yao made a "puff" sound and squirted out a sip of tea. His almond-shaped eyes were round and bright, and his face was full of anger: "This isn't much, so why do you call it too much!"
Gu Chen hid: "Don't get excited, why, you want to eat people!"
Yao Yao raised his hand: "I still want to hit someone!"
Gu Chen quickly pressed Yao Yao's hand: "Okay, okay, you are great. There are still six hours until Li Sheng arrives at Yuhua Mountain. These twenty-four people can be said to be too many or too few. How can we best identify them?" quick?"
Yao Yao narrowed his eyes and asked, "Where are they now?"
Gu Chen said: "I put them in the big kitchen at the back, and there are internal guards guarding them outside."
Yao Yao said: "Lao Gu, do you know that the calluses on your hands can also be faked?"
"...What do you mean?" Gu Chen asked blankly.
Yao Yao sighed helplessly: "It means that it is not accurate to judge whether they are real cooks or fake cooks from the calluses on their hands. You still have to look at the cooking skills." She concentrated for a moment: "I'm hungry, can you? Ask each of them to make me a midnight snack."
Gu Chen glared and said, "One person at a time, you're not afraid of dying!"
Yao Yao smiled nonchalantly: "Have all the meat and vegetables been delivered to the mountain?"
Gu Chen nodded: "It was delivered here at night. It's still fresh. What do you want to eat?"
Yao Yao counted his fingers for a moment and smiled slyly: "Do you have paper and pen?"
The inner guard quickly took a pen and paper, sharpened the ink, and placed it on the desk.
Yao Yao wrote twelve dishes on the paper in a eloquent manner, even the requirements were written in extra detail. He slowly dried the ink and handed it to Gu Chen: "Aren't they twenty-four people? You can have these twelve Make two lots for each dish. Remember to write down the requirements clearly, and then let them draw lots and cook the dishes according to the above requirements. Remember to arrange for the inner guards to watch them and tell them that the saint wants to choose a few cooks. Whether you can be favored by the saint depends on this dish."
Gu Chen understood Yao Yao's intention in an instant, raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "If you are greedy, just say it, you are falsely preaching the imperial edict, and you will lose your head."
Yao Yao smiled nonchalantly. She had done so many things to lose her head that she didn't care about this one more thing. She smiled and said, "You're afraid of losing your head, so don't eat it for a while."
Gu Chen snorted: "If I don't eat, I still lose my head with you, wouldn't it be a great loss for me?"
Gu Chen did not leave this matter to others, but made twenty-four lots himself, took them to the backyard, stared at the twenty-four cooks, drew the lots, and lined them up in front of the stove.
This courtyard was used by the public kitchen to cook for the Beiya Imperial Guards. A large kitchen room occupied most of the courtyard, and there were more than thirty stoves in it, which was enough for these people to show off their skills.
The sound of washing vegetables and chopping vegetables resounded halfway up the mountain for a while. The kitchen was in full swing, the pale smoke rose into the air, and the steam filled the yard.
He Zhenfu opened the door curtain and walked in. When he saw old man Yao Yao sitting and drinking tea, he smiled: "I saw smoke coming from the yard from a distance, and I thought someone had set the house on fire. It turned out to be you." It’s coming.”
Yao Yao smiled: "That's what I said, I came here specially to buy some houses."
He Zhenfu smiled heartily: "Tell me, what dirty trick did you do again?"
Yao Yao snorted: "I made some late-night snacks for everyone. I'll serve them later. If you can, don't eat them."
He Zhenfu's face almost burst into laughter: "I know you have a lot of damaging moves. Mr. Gu and I were worried just now. You will have a solution as soon as you come here."
There was no look of relief on Yao Yao's face, and he shook his head: "That's not necessarily the case. Since they have the guts, they must have made complete preparations. The people sent here are probably people with advanced cooking skills. This The method may not work.”
He Zhenfu was very optimistic. He slapped his thigh and said with a relaxed smile: "It doesn't matter. If you can have a good meal, you will make a profit." He took a sip of tea and said: "You don't know, I rushed to Yuhua Mountain in one go yesterday and even had a meal." I didn't bother to eat, so I started working. I originally wanted to have a good night's sleep tonight, but then I received a letter from my lord, it's really not an easy time."
Since leaving Beijing, Yao Yao has always felt a little uneasy. He always felt as if something was going to happen, so he couldn't help but said: "I don't know what's going on in Beijing."
He Zhenfu said: "In Beijing, anything can happen in Beijing, it's okay. Whatever happens now is nothing bigger than what happens on Yuhua Mountain."
The two people looked at each other, cheered up and said, "Let's go and see how those people are doing with their late night snacks."
The kitchen was filled with large expanse of white heat, like a sea of clouds rolling in, escaping outside the door.
Some people have quick hands and have already put the vegetables in the pot, while some people have slow hands and are still struggling to chop the vegetables.
Yao Yao and He Zhenfu walked slowly behind everyone, stopping from time to time to take a look, smell and admire.
The two men looked relaxed, but in fact they did not let go of any clues.
With a "sizzling" sound, the fresh meat was put into the pot, and a little oily splash fell on the back of one of the people's hands. The man's expression remained unchanged, as if he didn't know what to do, and he took out the fresh meat without even stopping. , and fell into the pot without any trace, and the mellow aroma overflowed.
He Zhenfu took a few more glances and then walked forward.
Yuhua Mountain is much cooler than the capital city, but it is extremely hot in the kitchen. Ordinary people will be so hot and sweaty if they stand there for a while, not to mention these people have to stand close to the stove and be burned by it. The flames were scorching, and the clothes had already been soaked with sweat.
The smell of food was mixed with the smell of oil and sweat. The smell in the kitchen was really not that pleasant.
Yao Yao carefully examined everyone's expressions.
Most people frowned and seemed particularly nervous.
Several people looked relaxed and seemed confident.
There were also a few people who were a little far away from the stove. They didn't know whether they disliked the smell or were afraid of the smelly oil splashing out and scalding their hands.
Yao Yao looked at these people a few more times and wrote down their appearance.
After walking out of the kitchen, Gu Chen came up to him and asked, "How are you doing? What did you see?"
Yao Yao asked those people: "What are those people called?"
Gu Chen and He Zhenfu flipped through the roster and circled it.
Gu Chen said: "I just ordered you to prepare the dishes and put your name on the plate for identification."
It seemed like there was nothing to do now, so the three of them went back to the front yard together and talked about what happened on Yuhua Mountain.
He Zhenfu had just inspected Yuhua Mountain and said in a deep voice: "This mountain is too big, and the imperial army cannot set up defenses everywhere. They can only guard tightly around the palace. There are inevitably loopholes in the mountains. When you are summer vacation, Hunting is a common thing, if the saint wants to hunt in person this time, I'm afraid," He didn't finish his words, but everyone knew what he meant.
Yao Yao and Gu Chen looked at each other.
This was not the first time for both of them to go to Yuhua Mountain. They were quite familiar with the situation here and knew that He Zhenfu was telling the truth.
Gu Chen concentrated and said: "It can only be that the saint follows more forbidden troops on the day of hunting."
