Lin Sui'an was lying on the bed, blinking, a little confused.
The sky is bright outside the window, the wind is sunny, and the rustling of the bamboo forest is caressing the eardrums like piano music. It feels indescribably comfortable. There is still a faint soothing fragrance in the room. She remembers this smell when Ling Zhiyan stayed overnight. Hua Yitang once specially ordered someone to burn it in the house, named: Chi Chi Chunri Makes Gentleness.
Sure enough, it is a precious incense that costs three ounces of money per furnace, and it is very effective in helping you sleep. She had woken up after a stick of incense, but no matter how she thought about it, her memory of last night only stayed on the half-bandaged wound of Hua Yitang, and everything after that was completely fragmented.
When did she fall asleep?
How did you come back?
Lin Sui'an lifted up the quilt and looked at her body. She was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. She grabbed her sleeves and smelled it. The familiar fruity wood fragrance answered the questions in her heart.
It seemed that Hua Yitang carried her back.
Lin Sui'an stretched out comfortably, put on fresh new clothes, washed briefly, and carried Qian Jing out of the door. The sunlight outside the door made her squint her eyes, and then she saw the sun in the morning light. Hua Yitang.
He was wearing a snow-white robe, with the cuffs and hem tied into a hazy thin blue. His tall and straight figure was like an iris swaying in the wind. The glazed jade hairpin was crystal clear and reflected the color of his hair on the temples. Lin Sui'an thought of two words: youthful appearance, red face and green temples.
"Good morning, Lin Sui'an." He smiled and shook his sleeves, "How do I feel about my clothes today?"
Lin Sui'an: "... Beauty is a disaster."
Hua Yitang smiled even brighter, "That's fine."
Lin Sui'an was helpless: "Today I went to Dali Temple to investigate the case, not to go to the beauty pageant."
"Chen Yanfan, the minister of Dali Temple, was once an in-law of the Feng family. Because of the Feng family's previous case, he always wore small shoes for Ling Liulang. Today we are going to support Ling Liulang, so we mustn't dress too rudely. Did you see that I'm wearing this? There are exquisite ones, such as blue clouds and cedar trees, white cranes with wings spread, hairpins with lightning in the wind, and -" Hua Yitang unfolded his fan with a snap and made a pretentious pose, "Thousand-mile Jiangshan Fan!" When combined, it means 'Qingyun Straight Up, Kunpeng Ten Thousand Miles' , a blockbuster, can determine the country's meaning!"
Lin Sui'an: "..."
She only saw the words "Peacock spreads its tail".
"Is Jin Ruo back?" Lin Sui'an walked out of the garden quickly, "Doctor Fang, have you gotten up?"
Hua Yitang followed up with a long stride, "Jin Ruo was probably tripped up by the Dongdu Jingmen matter, and he hasn't seen anyone yet. I just saw Yita carrying the tea pot to Doctor Fang's room. He should be here soon. Get up. For breakfast, Mu Xia has prepared your favorite red rose suluo cake, yogurt fruit cheese, mutton buns, and just cut the meat. It is not suitable to eat raw or cold food in the morning at this time of the year——"
Lin Sui'an paused and turned to stare at Hua Yitang's face.
Hua Yitang: "What are you doing?"
"You seem to be talking a lot today," Lin Sui'an came closer. "When you feel guilty, you talk a lot."
Hua Yitang's eyes turned to the side, "I, I have nothing to feel guilty about..."
Lin Sui'an narrowed his eyes: "Last night you——"
"Nothing happened when you were asleep last night! I swear!" Hua Yitang raised his hands and shouted.
Lin Sui'an: "..."
She saw Hua Yitang's sleeves sliding down to his elbows, revealing a section of his fair arms. There was a circle of black and blue on his wrists, which was obviously caused by someone grabbing him hard. It turned out that he was wearing blue clothes today. The cuffs of the shirt were to cover the injury.
Moreover, look at the location and size of the bruise——
"Could it be..." Lin Sui'an looked at his hands in surprise, "I did this?"
Hua Yitang pulled up his sleeves, raised his eyelids and glanced at Lin Sui'an, "I sent you back to your room last night...you suddenly pulled me into the bed|under the curtains...Thanks to my nimble skills, I was able to escape smoothly... ..." The long eyelashes flickered, "You also know how strong you are. Naturally, a frail and dandy like me can't bear it..."
Lin Sui'an's expression cracked.
Emotionally, of course she doesn't believe Hua Yitang's words, but intellectually, facts speak louder than words. The bruises on Hua Yitang's wrists are ironclad evidence. Could it be that her body still has the habit of sleepwalking? But after she recalled it for a while, her dream from last night was blank.
Could it be her subconscious behavior?
This, this, this, this... isn't this even more unclear? !
Hua Yitang sighed again, "At that time, you said something in my ear——"
Lin Sui'an: "...ah?"
"You said-" Hua Yitang bent down, his eyes turned into crescent moons, "Yun Zhongyue, don't even think about escaping...Pfft! What's your expression, hahahahahahahahaha-"
Lin Sui'an: "..."
She wants to kill this guy!
Lin Sui'an walked away angrily, but she didn't see Hua Yitang behind her, staring at her back, touching the bruises on her wrists, her ears turning crimson in the morning light.
Sure enough, just as Hua Yitang said, when they arrived at the waterside pavilion, Fang Ke was having breakfast with an angry face after waking up. Eta's hell potion tea was steaming with black steam. Needless to say, after drinking it, he smelled it. She was full of energy. Because Jin Ruo, the No. 2 foodie, was away, one-third of the breakfast was left, which made Mu Xia feel a little depressed and she had a grimace while driving.
Jingxingfang, where the Sixty-sixth House of the Hua Family is located, and the imperial city where Dali Temple is located are both in Luobei City. Go out of the South Gate of Jingxingfang, return to Yifang, and go straight north along the road between Sigongfang and Qinghuafang. , passed Daoguangfang, and arrived at Xuanren Gate in the Imperial City.
The city wall of the imperial city is different from the square wall. It has a structure of rammed earth on the inner base and brick cladding on the outer layer. It is strong, thick and impregnable. Looking westward along the huge black-painted city gate with gold nails is the famous Yingtianmen Gate Tower. At the beginning of the morning, the dawn drums rumbled, and tens of thousands of birds that inhabited the imperial city fluttered their wings and flew over the scattered roof beasts. Officials from three provinces, six ministries, one, three temples, and five ranks and below carried food boxes and faced the rising sun one after another. Rushing to work in various government departments is a great sight.
It was already past Sichu when Hua's carriage arrived outside the east city gate. Naturally, there was no such lively scene. Carriages were not allowed in the imperial city. Mu Xia could only stay outside the imperial city gate. Ling Zhiyan was already waiting outside the city gate. For a long time, tokens were shown to attract people to walk into the city.
Dali Temple is located on the south side of Shangshu Province, adjacent to the Provincial Palace Supervisor and the Military War Supervisor. Compared with the majestic and domineering Shangshu Province, the architectural style is obviously much cleaner and more elegant. The officials I met along the way were all holding files in their hands and walking in a hurry without squinting. Obviously the work pressure is quite high.
Ling Zhiyan walked quickly and spoke quickly, "Yesterday, I reviewed the files related to the corpse case in the past five years overnight. After screening and screening, I found that the case was more complicated than imagined."
Hua Yitang: "How do you say that?"
"I suspect that these corpse burial cases are caused by the same murderer. Moreover," Ling Zhiyan pushed open the door of the Documents Hall, and the unique cold atmosphere in the Documents Hall came to her face, with a faint smell of ink, "and it is very possible There are not just four sects, but fifteen sects.”
There was an empty wooden case in the center of the case hall. All the previous files had been moved away, leaving only a dozen or so cases lying on it. Ming Shu was clearing away the candles on the table. Looking at the number of candles, Ling Zhi's face was clearly visible last night. It's a blast all night long.
Ling Zhiyan invited the three of them to sit down and pushed the file in front of Hua Yitang. Lin Sui'an was dizzy when he saw the dense handwriting on the file. He was very sensible and took a back seat. He then went even further, leaning against his big wooden box, with his hands in his sleeves, He actually started to take a nap with his eyes closed.
Lin Sui'an glanced at him without moving his eyelids for a moment, "I can't trust other people's autopsy results. It's a waste of time to look at them."
Lin Sui'an: "..."
Boss, you are free to do whatever you want.
The work progress of the high-speed scanner Hua Yitang was as stable as ever. In just one cup of tea, he finished reading the fifteen files, frowned and shook his fan.
Ling Zhiyan: "On the tenth day of March in the sixth year of Xuanfeng, a female body was found at the outlet of the Shanglinfang canal. She was about eighteen years old. She had a beautiful appearance and the body was well preserved. After investigation, it was found that she was the daughter of a good family in Congshanfang. Her name was Li Sanniang. She went missing on the first day of March in the sixth year of Xuanfeng. Her family reported it to the police in Jingzhao Mansion. The cause of death was that she was strangled to death and her body was thrown into a canal. The murderer has not been caught so far. "
Lin Sui'an: "It was the sixth year of Xuanfeng, two years ago?"
Fang Ke: "In such a large Eastern Capital City, with a population of over a million, it is not unusual for dozens of people to die every month."
"The strange thing is that every two months or three months, similar cases appear. Bodies are found in ditches. They all died of suffocation. They were all dumped after death. The deceased were all young women. And these The corpses all have one thing in common. The corpses are well preserved." Ling Zhiyan paused, "According to common sense, the corpse will definitely become swollen after being soaked in water——"
"Perhaps the body was not soaked in water long enough?" Lin Sui'an glanced at Fang Ke, "Or maybe the body underwent some special treatment."
Fang Ke didn't speak, and moved his fingers slightly.
Hua Yitang's fan went through the files on the case one by one, "For the four cases before January of the seventh year of Xuanfeng, the autopsy records said 'the body was complete, the skin was smooth, the expression was calm, and the cause of death was strangulation.'" From Xuanfeng Beginning with this case in March 2007, the cause of death became suffocation. The body had no obvious trauma. The autopsy box also added a sentence: 'The deceased's appearance looked like he was sleeping.' Since February this year, the autopsy box has also been marked. There is an additional sentence: 'The skin color of the corpse is slightly pink'. In two cases in September and October, the description of 'the color of the corpse is like life' appeared in the autopsy grid."
Ling Zhiyan: "Since August this year, rumors of evil spirits have appeared intermittently in Dongdu. On the second day of November, which is the day when Hua's motorcade entered the city, a new female corpse was discovered in Yi Shui Canal. The condition of the corpse was the same as yesterday's Yunshui The one found in the river is very similar, and can even be called beautiful. The rumors of evil spirits have become more and more intense, and many people have connected the previous cases, saying that this monster has an extraordinary origin and likes to suck the blood of beautiful women. "
Lin Sui'an: "Is there any connection between these deceased people?"
Ling Zhiyan shook her head: "The fifteen women are all unmarried and good-natured girls. Their addresses are scattered in various districts in the east capital. They don't know each other, and they have no intersection with their family members or neighbors."
Lin Sui'an clicked his tongue: Could it be that he was killing people indiscriminately?
"There is another thing in common. They all went missing first, and their bodies were found seven to ten days after their families reported it to the authorities." Hua Yitang glanced at the file, "But the reasons for going out are different, and the places they went to are also different. same……"
"It's useless to talk on paper," Fang Ke stood up with the big wooden box on his back, "Let's go see the body first."
Lin Sui'an suddenly became energetic: "Are all the fifteen corpses there?"
Ling Zhiyan: "At present, there are only the last two female corpses. The rest of the deceased have been claimed by their families and returned home, and they have been laid to rest."
Lin Sui'an: "Can the specific address of the deceased's grave be found?"
Ling Zhiyan: "Huh?"
"Hmm, cough, cough!" Hua Yitang hurriedly smoothed things over, "Lin Sui'an means that the case is complicated and may require a second autopsy, so it's best to be prepared."
Ling Zhiyan nodded: "Ms. Lin is really thoughtful."
Fang Ke turned back and glanced at Lin Sui'an, his eyes quite suspicious.
It takes about a quarter of an hour to walk from the Document Hall to the Corpse Hall. Hua Yitang deliberately slowed down, pulled Lin Sui'an and whispered, "Do you want to read the memories of all the corpses?"
Lin Sui'an: "As long as there is a corpse's skull."
Hua Yitang frowned, "Have you forgotten what you promised me last night?!"
Lin Sui'an patted Hua Yitang on the shoulder, "Don't worry, I remember it very clearly, and I will definitely take you with me when the time comes."
Hua Yitang breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "What did you see yesterday?"
"It should be a cloth shop, but unfortunately I didn't see the name clearly." Lin Sui'an was a little unsure, "And I feel that the memory time is much shorter than before."
"what for?"
"Currently, I only know that the scene in the memory is related to the state of the deceased at that time. Maybe the deceased did not pay special attention to the scene in front of him at that time." Lin Sui'an recalled the previous blurred memory caused by Wu Shi Powder, "Or maybe the deceased was not conscious. clear--"
Hua Yitang knocked on the fan and frowned.
The Corpse Collection Hall of Dali Temple, like the yamen in various places, is located in the coldest northeast corner. It is surrounded by tall locust trees and low shrubs, which provide shade from the sun above and moisture from below.
There was a young official in a red robe waiting outside the corpse collection hall. Lin Sui'an looked familiar. It was only when Ling Zhiyan stepped forward to greet him that he remembered that this man had been seen at Fan Bajia before. He was Zhang Huai, the young minister of Dali Temple. , seems to have a good personal relationship with Ling Zhiyan.
Zhang Huai smiled a little awkwardly, "On the order of Duke Chen, the minister of Dali Temple, I have been waiting here for the fourth son of the Hua family for a long time, and invited the fourth son to go to the flower hall to talk -"
Before he finished speaking, Fang Ke bumped him aside, "Get out of the way, you're in the way."
Zhang Huai was staggered by the knock. In the blink of an eye, Fang Ke and Lin Sui'an had entered the corpse collection hall and hurriedly stopped Hua Yitang, "Mr. Chen means to ask Silang Hua to go immediately -"
"Zhang Shaoqing, have you ever heard that the dead are the most important?" Hua Yitang knocked Zhang Huai's hand open with a fan and said with a smile, "If the Dali Temple Master insists on competing with the dead, you can lie down inside and wait for me."
After saying that, he dragged Ling Zhiyan through the door.
Zhang Huai was stunned for a moment, touched his nose, and said "cough" twice.
A head emerged from the bushes on the south side of the Corpse Hall. The hairline was almost as high as the top of the head. The few hairs were pulled into a mini bun the size of a glutinous rice ball. A row of blue veins popped out of the shiny forehead. But it wasn't Chen Yanfan, the minister of Dali Temple.
"He has no respect for his elders, he is rude and unruly, and he speaks without restraint. He even cursed me to die early!" Chen Yanfan said angrily, "What kind of bad friends does Ling Zhiyan make?!"
Zhang Huai was helpless: "Mr. Chen, the sage ordered that this case be jointly investigated by Liu Lang and Huajia Si Lang. Even if you are unwilling a hundred times, you can't resist the order, right?"
"Silang Huajia is an uneducated dandy who knows nothing about investigating crimes! Don't mislead our Liulang!" Chen Yanfan moved the wooden ladder out of the bushes and put it up outside the ventilated window of the corpse hall, trembling. He climbed up tremblingly, pressed his eyes against the ventilation window to peek, and frantically motioned to Zhang Huai to look out for him.
Zhang Huai could only bite the bullet and go along with his immediate boss. Fortunately, the Corpse Collection Hall was in a remote location and few people passed by. Otherwise, people would have seen the dignified Dali Temple Minister and Dali Temple Young Minister doing such things as peeping around the corner. It was so embarrassing that he had no choice but to resign to save his face.
At this moment, Chen Yanfan, who was lying on the ladder, suddenly took a breath of cold air and whispered: "What is that gangster in red doing?!"
small theater:
About what happened when Hua Yitang sent Lin Sui'an back to her room
Hua Yitang gently placed Lin Sui'an on the bed, carefully took off his shoes, covered him with a quilt, tucked the corners of the quilt tightly, and sat on the edge of the bed quietly looking at Lin Sui'an's sleeping face.
Lin Sui'an seemed to be sleeping uneasily, his brows were frowning more and more, and there was a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. He was mumbling something, which was obviously gibbering in his sleep.
Hua Yitang frowned, "Mu Xia."
"What's Shiro's order?" Mu Xia appeared quietly.
"Bi'an Shenxiang."
"yes."
I was sleeping soundly just now, why did it suddenly become like this? Hua Yitang put the back of his hand against Lin Sui'an's forehead. Fortunately, he didn't have a fever. Could it be that he was too tired today and had a nightmare——
Suddenly, Lin Sui'an grabbed Hua Yitang's wrist and swung it to the side. Hua Yitang felt like a petal blown up by the storm. He flew up and fell down again. In the blink of an eye, he fell on the flower petal. On the bed inside Lin Sui'an, the bed curtains were shaking and making an ambiguous rustling sound.
Hua Yitang was stunned. He stared blankly at Lin Sui'an's sleeping face close at hand for a long time. He suddenly came back to his senses, his face flushed red, and he jumped out of bed. But as soon as he got up, he felt a strong force pulling him. Went back. Lin Sui'an clutched his wrist tightly and it hurt.
Hua Yitang didn't dare to move. He knew Lin Sui'an's strength too well. If he was not careful, his little arm would be useless. He could only lie down beside him and wait for Mu Xia's rescue.
It's late at night, the stars have fallen asleep, and the wind has become quiet.
She could only hear Lin Sui'an's breathing in her ears, and Lin Sui'an's scent was on the pillow and bedding. Hua Yitang felt that her face was like a pancake on an iron plate. It was almost cooked, so she could only slow down as much as possible. Breathe and keep your mind steady. Gradually, his attention was attracted by Lin Sui'an's frowning, and he even felt as if his heart had turned into a bun, full of pleats.
But one of his hands was held by Lin Sui'an, and the other one could not reach out due to his posture. After struggling a few times, he could only move his head carefully, and put his forehead gently against Lin Sui'an's eyebrows. After a moment, he stepped back, and sure enough, , Lin Sui'an's brows relaxed a little.
Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Lin Sui'an frowned again.
The forehead was pressed together for the second time, and then moved away. The brows were loosened, then tightened, pressed again, pulled back again, wrinkled again, pressed again... This was repeated countless times. Hua Yitang couldn't hold it anymore, so he simply leaned over and kissed her. Lin Sui'an put his forehead against his forehead and closed his eyes.
This way, she won't have nightmares. Hua Yitang thought with satisfaction.
Mu Xia stood beside the bed, holding the rising soothing incense, feeling very conflicted in her heart.
Mrs. Lin slept soundly, and Shiro slept even more soundly. Should he wake up Shiro?
Mu Xia looked at their hands again. Mrs. Lin had already let go of Shiro's wrist, leaving a circle of faint bruises. But now, it was Shiro who was firmly holding Mrs. Lin's wrist.
Mu Xia thought for a while, put down the Soothing Incense, went back to Siyuan Garden, helped Hua Yitang get some new clothes and put them on the bedside, then sat on the bedside and let out a long yawn.
Forget it, don't bother, just ask Shiro to get up tomorrow morning.
Let them have a good sleep tonight. :,,
