The autumn wind blew slightly, the sun had just risen in the east, and the city of Yuanjing was already bustling.
In front of a small stall with a basket and white smoke rising out of it, several men in coarse linen and linen clothes were discussing.
"Have you heard about the strange things happening on the outskirts of the city last night?"
One of the men dipped his bun in the sauce and continued.
"It was said that a farmer who was cutting firewood saw a group of people walking stiffly in the woods carrying a coffin! There is no funeral at night, I'm afraid they encountered something unclean!"
"I've also heard that it seems that even the maids and servants who lived in the nearby courtyard disappeared overnight. Maybe they were captured and buried with them!"
Another took a sip of the juicy bun and continued:
"There has been a lot of chaos in the city recently. Take the Qian family for example. Weird things happen every three days. This is because last night the eldest son's concubine, Auntie Sun, died after giving birth to a stillborn baby!"
"You're talking about the Qian family that raises silkworms, right? Didn't the eldest son of his family marry his aunt in less than a year?"
The diners at the next table also became interested and came over to ask.
"You didn't know this. A year ago, his family got lucky and married the eldest daughter of the Liu family, an imperial merchant who supplies silk and satin!"
"However, even after Qian Yuxi expanded his family business, he did not give up. He spent all day longing for Huajie and Liuxiang. Five months ago, he brought his sweetheart from Hongxiulou into the house! I heard that Aunt Sun was pregnant for a long time when she came in! If I were in the Liu family, I would definitely be I can’t bear it!”
After the man finished speaking, he looked at the attracted people around him with a proud look on his face.
At this moment, a cold female voice came from behind: "It seems you know a lot, please tell me in detail!"
"Which little lady..." The man looked back and swallowed the second half of his words.
I saw a woman with heroic features, wearing a crimson white pheasant pattern official uniform and a three-beam crown, looking at the two of them with half-squinted eyes.
"Sir, actually I heard from hearsay that everyone suspects that the Qian family has gotten into something dirty!"
The man paused and then said:
"A few days ago, the boy in his shop said he saw two money and jade boxes, and then someone died. Isn't this a ghost?"
The man's arrogance completely disappeared as he cupped his hands.
After hearing this, the woman smiled thoughtfully, then handed the copper coins to the boss, and left carrying the buns wrapped in oil paper.
It wasn't until the woman walked away that one of them asked: "Who was that just now? I have never seen a woman in office before!"
"You don't know this, right? That's the female scout appointed by the Emperor Wu Xuan a month ago, and now she's hunting Di Xue in Dali Temple!"
"But women can't participate in martial arts competitions, right?"
"You didn't know this! She disguised herself as a man and won the championship in one fell swoop, but a young man in white saw through that she was a girl and said it in public..."
Listening to the discussion of the two people behind him, Di Xue's thoughts couldn't help but return to the days in Shu.
At that time, I was just the youngest daughter of the Yuanshan sect, and my parents, eldest brother and second sister lived in a happy family.
Except for the hard times when he was learning martial arts, he was carefree at other times. He often followed his elder brother around the world and used his martial arts skills to settle disputes among sects.
But three months ago, a strange piece of wood with black and white patterns suddenly appeared in the room.
When he checked it, he cut his hand on the sharp thorns on the wood. After the blood seeped into it, the wood behind it actually started to burn.
The quiet and distant fragrance gradually penetrated my nose, and I fell asleep.
At this moment, he remembered his previous life eighteen years ago, when he was an orphan adopted by an old man from Dali Temple. The old man continued to make a living in Dali Temple after his death.
Later, the scholar Qi Liang killed the oiran because he failed to marry him.
But during the autopsy, he discovered that the oiran had died before being burned, and there were many doubts about the charred corpse called the oiran.
Then he was poisoned and mute, the autopsy report was tampered with by someone unknown, and Qi Liang was beheaded.
At that time, I was full of guilt. In order to fulfill my duty, I went to the mass grave to find clues on Qi Liang, but I was killed by two swordsmen...
Perhaps because of God's inspiration, he entered reincarnation after his death and was still born in Soochow.
It's just that this time is different from the previous life. I am no longer an orphan. I have the protection of my parents and older sisters, and I have martial arts by my side.
After waking up from the dream, the wood had been burned out, but the feeling of depression could not be eliminated for a long time.
Although many details of his past life can no longer be recalled, the thoughts in his heart become clearer and clearer. If Qi Liang's case cannot be solved, he will be uneasy forever...
Just a few days after remembering all the things in his previous life, he proposed to go to Yuanjing. The imaginary obstruction from his parents did not come. They just sighed and told him to be careful.
It turned out that as early as when he was born, a wandering Taoist came to give him advice, saying that he was constantly entangled with Yuan Jingzhong.
He would inevitably return to the whirlpool one day, so he left behind a crescent jade pendant that was exactly the same as the birthmark on the inside of his arm, saying that this object might help him tide over the difficulties.
After that, he went all the way north to Yuanjing, pretending to be his eldest brother to participate in the military election, hoping to enter the court and serve as an official to solve the case of Qi Liang's murder of the oiran eighteen years ago.
But after winning the championship, a young man in white exposed her daughter's body, and by some strange combination of circumstances, she became the only female official in the Soochow Kingdom...
With his thoughts wandering, Di Xue took the bun and walked towards Dali Temple. Today was the day to join the company.
After showing the fifth-grade temple arrest warrant, a pleasant-looking boy wearing a cyan patrol uniform came out:
"I've met Mr. Di. If you need anything, Han Shu, just give me your instructions!"
Di Xue responded politely and followed Han Shu into Dali Temple.
The courtyard is paved with green bricks, and weapons such as swords, guns, and sticks are placed on both sides.
In addition to the main hall, there are many rooms nearby, where Dali Temple officials work.
Passing by the square martial arts stage, we came to a small door.
Behind the small door is the center of Dali Temple. The left room is where files are stored, and the right room is the prison where prisoners are held.
Further inside, the backyard is where autopsies are conducted and where officials temporarily rest.
The furnishings are the same as they were eighteen years ago, but the old places will inevitably have to be repaired a lot.
Di Xue looked at the people around him and asked hurriedly: "Is there any difficult case in the temple today?"
Han Shu nodded: "Sir, a male corpse was fished out of the river in front of Dali Temple today. However, the face was destroyed and no one claimed it. It may become an unsolved case!"
Seeing Di Xue's interest, Han Shu suddenly became energetic and vividly told the story of how he found the man's body...
It turned out that the body was found by Li Hong, the third son of the Li family in the city. The Li family has been cleaning the river for generations. The river is cleaned every seven days, and today happens to be the seventh day.
Li Hong took his net bag and other things and went down into the river. It didn't take long for him to find that something was blocking the bridge hole upstream and there was a foul smell.
He thought it might be the body of an animal, so he swam over and pulled it out with all his strength, only to find that it was a naked dead body that had been soaked beyond recognition.
Although he was so frightened that he lost two of his souls, he had been dealing with the government for many years and knew that this matter was not trivial, so he endured the fear and dragged the body up!
The incident happened in front of the Dali Temple, so the patrol arrived quickly and brought the body back.
"But the autopsy is done here?" Di Xue said, pointing to a small house.
Han Shu showed hesitation, but he still said it: "Sir, Yue Si Cheng is responsible for this case. If you go in, I'm afraid he will throw this problem to you!"
Seeing this, Di Xue patted his shoulder to reassure him, then knocked on the door. After getting a response from inside, he pushed the door open and entered. There were very few windows in the room, so it was only bright with candles.
In addition to a few people in patrol clothes, there was also a middle-aged man about forty years old who was sitting on a stool and frowning. When he saw Han Shu, he immediately understood that Di Xue was the new temple policeman.
So he said politely: "Master Di is eager to handle the case when he first entered Dali Temple. It is really unmatched by those women in the boudoir!"
Di Xue's face was polite: "You are joking, I am also an ordinary woman, but I am a little better at solving crimes and dissecting corpses!"
Yue Jian was slightly stunned to hear the meaning of Di Xue's words, but since Di Xue was the emperor's chosen martial artist, he could only soften his expression, but then he said with a smile as if he had thought of something:
"Master Di is worthy of being the temple arrester selected by the emperor. He must be outstanding. I am entering Dali Temple for the first time today and there is no one who can take advantage of me. In this way, you can dispatch a group of people in the house at will. I have another case. If you want to deal with it, I won’t accompany you!”
After Yue Jian finished speaking, he quickly walked out of the room without waiting for Di Xue's response. Han Shu anxiously leaned into Di Xue's ear and said, "Sir, this is going to be troublesome!"
