"If there is a second possibility, Ms. Shi is saying...
"The murderer was actually among the people we investigated, and he almost got away with it?"
The middle-aged female officer asked solemnly.
Rong Zhen nodded, shook his head, and suddenly asked:
"Could it be possible both ways?"
The middle-aged female official was slightly startled. Before she could ask a question, the cold girl Long Xiu in palace clothes walked to the window and stood where someone had stood before, overlooking the busy street below.
Whispering to himself: "How on earth was it done... The crowd in the bustling city was bustling, and the target was surrounded by guards. All I saw was the head falling to the ground... Could it be that a mythical thing was used, or was it a magician?"
The middle-aged female officer also glanced at a certain man who had fallen into the street, and couldn't help but ask:
"Ms. Shi, what level of cultivation do you think this person has? Is he a middle-level Qi Refiner?"
"The level of cultivation is not important. What is important is the way he kills people and the sharp weapon." After a pause, Rong Zhen asked without looking back: "Also, why did he kill Zhao Rushi in the street."
The middle-aged female officer frowned.
Rong Zhen lowered his eyes, but there was one thing she didn't elaborate on.
Zhu Lingxu fled and was intercepted and beheaded by Ouyang Lianghan at the city gate.
But according to Rong Zhen's careful investigation afterwards, Zhu Lingxu actually received two messages, one after the other, within an hour before absconding.
One is the well-known defection of the front army led by Zhu Yuheng in Jiangzhou Hall.
This is also what almost everyone believes is the direct reason that promoted Zhu Lingxu's absconding.
Only Rong Zhen knew that there was another piece of news that reached Zhu Lingxu's ears along with the previous one.
It was the assassination of Zhao Rushi in Longcheng.
Looking back afterwards.
Although it is unclear Zhu Lingxu's specific mood at the time, the news that followed may have prompted Zhu Lingxu to make a prompt decision to abscond in women's clothing without hesitation about the authenticity of Zhu Yuheng's story.
To the point where I didn't even take anything with me and ran away regardless of my own safety, fearing that I might be too late. In the end, he was indeed right. He reacted faster than the unprepared Rong Zhen and others. If the city gate had not been blocked, they would have been able to escape.
Therefore, there should be a connection between the two pieces of news, and it was a connection that made Zhu Lingxu immediately think of it, make him panic, and march on a dangerous road.
Rong Zhen had met Zhu Lingxu and knew that he was not stupid, but very steady and even cunning.
The one who can force such a smart man to death must be another smarter man.
Rong Zhen didn’t quite understand this game.
But I smelled a master's attack.
Because he witnessed with his own eyes the chain reaction caused by the incident between Zhu Lingxu and his son - the Wei family was defeated one after another in the court, the King of Wei returned to the capital in embarrassment, and the Wei family's attempt to use military power for expansion failed again, making all parties gloat at the misfortune.
From a standpoint, Prince Xunyang and Ouyang Lianghan in Jiangzhou, Prince Xiang's Palace in Luoyang, and even the Liberation faction headed by Di Fuzi all have suspected motives for promoting this incident.
Especially the closest ones, Prince Xunyang’s Mansion and Ouyang Lianghan.
After all, the previous secret conflict between Ouyang Lianghan and Zhu Lingxu was well known in Jiangzhou official circles.
Even on that day, Ouyang Lianghan turned a deaf ear to her and beheaded Zhu Lingxu, who fled in fear of crime and attacked the guard, without giving Rong Zhen any face.
This suspicion is certainly not trivial.
However, judging from the subsequent results, after the matter was fermented, Ouyang Lianghan refused the lucrative position of Commander Shi of the Marching Battalion after the cake was redistributed.
The entire Xunyang Prince's Palace only got one false position as Jiangzhou Bijiajia, and in the eyes of a discerning person, it is not known whether it is a blessing or a curse for the Prince of Xunyang Palace, Li Fusu. After all, except for the princesses and princesses, they are all focused on by Her Majesty the Queen. The men of the Li family who were "taken care of" seemed to have a bit of bad luck, and good fortune and misfortune probably depended on each other.
After the public beheading incident at the city gate, Ouyang Lianghan, who had taken the lead in the Jiangzhou Hall, took charge of the follow-up and finishing matters. He did not harm the concubines and servants of Zhu Lingxu's house at all, and even affected most of the generals appointed and dismissed by Zhu Lingxu. He treated them leniently and showed no sign of taking the opportunity to cleanse the "remnants".
Many people were summoned to hear the news, but only a few were sent to prison.
During the entire finishing process, there was loud thunder and light rain.
Except for Zhu Lingxu and his son, who died the most tragically, not a few people were affected, and not even a fraction of them, the female officer Caichang, could deal with it.
It can be said that it is not at all in line with the chilling atmosphere of "the troubled times".
This doesn't look like revenge at all.
More like... helping to wipe the butt and cover.
What's more, if we extrapolate from the perspective of the person with the greatest benefit, he is also the person with the greatest suspicion.
The one who is most suspicious should be Qin Jingqin, who is rushing to Jiangzhou quickly.
Wei suddenly resigned in disgrace, and was recommended by his wife to obtain the much-anticipated position of General Manager of the Jiangnan Road March.
The old general, who had been idle at home for many years, made a smooth comeback and was quietly reaping the benefits.
It's a win.
So, if it was really Ouyang Lianghan who did it, what was the purpose of making wedding clothes for others at the risk of being targeted by them, the court, and the palace's investigation agency, and risking the suspicion of being targeted by them and the court and palace investigation agencies?
Is it just that my hands are itchy, do I want to kill the old fox Zhu Lingxu for fun, make dumplings for this plate of vinegar, and also feed other passers-by?
Or that it's... some kind of belief and truth that Rong Zhen can't understand?
By the window, the girl in palace clothes looked coldly at the busy and bustling streets below and shook her head.
She didn't believe that there were people who had no selfish desires.
Just like Ouyang Lianghan's drastic measures in disaster relief and flood control in Longcheng County,
Didn't his outstanding political achievements in turn enable him to become famous all over the world, become a water conservancy master recognized by both the government and the public, and be promoted to Jiangzhou Governor, and even join the Xunyang Prince's Palace where he has the opportunity to rise?
But from this point of view, Ouyang Lianghan's suspicion is reduced a lot.
Rong Zhen frowned slightly, nodded slowly, glanced at the five scraps of paper in the red cloth bag, and asked the middle-aged female officer directly:
"What did you find about this new confetti clue?"
The middle-aged female officer shook her head guiltily:
"It's because my subordinates are not good at studying. The scraps of paper still cannot trace the murderer. There is also the smell of unknown sharp weapons.
"However, these scraps of paper with ink stains on them are obviously part of a certain piece of paper. Although it is impossible to find them completely, I still sent people to investigate the source of the corresponding paper and ink. This can be traced back to one or two, but we just need to waste time……
"The purpose of inviting the female historian to come this time is to let the female historian try... to see if she can catch this cunning guy."
Rong Zhen said nothing, stretched out his white palm and took the red cloth bag.
Five scraps of paper fell into her hand.
I saw the girl in palace clothes by the window clenching her fists, closing her cold eyes, keeping silent, silently pacing around the table, turning in circles, following a certain pattern.
The middle-aged female officer did not dare to rush and waited honestly.
At a certain moment, Rong Zhen suddenly stopped, turned his back to the middle-aged female officer, and shook his head:
"The source of the aura cannot be traced. This person probably has the method of concealing the aura. And the murder weapon has no aura left, just like an ordinary artifact."
When the middle-aged female officer heard this, she immediately showed a look of disappointment. Even the female historian, who is a high-ranking sixth-grade, beautiful girl and golden boy, can't do it...
"but."
Rong Zhen suddenly spoke, and when he turned around, he saw that she had not opened her eyes, she still clenched her fists and closed her eyes coldly:
"I saw something else."
"What?"
"Wenqi... is a poem."
After saying that, the girl in palace clothes immediately opened her eyes, still holding five scraps of paper in one hand, spreading the empty red cloth on the table with the other hand, lowering her head to spread it flat, she concentrated on the order without looking back:
"Get the ink."
Didn't ask for a pen.
The middle-aged female officer was full of energy and disappeared. After a while, she got an inkstone.
Five scraps of paper have been placed in different locations on the flat red cloth by Rong Zhen.
The middle-aged female officer stared intently, unable to see clearly how the cold and cold girl in front of her acted.
But most of the ink in the inkstone was missing.
On the red cloth, there is an additional poem, with fresh ink marks.
"This is a song about Butterfly...Lianhua?" The middle-aged female officer read it quickly and said in surprise.
Rong Zhen was also startled for a moment, frowned and muttered:
"The Yue girl picks lotus by the autumn water, her narrow sleeves are light and she reveals her golden necklace... She picks flowers in the shadow and looks like her face, her heart is only tangled with threads... The wind and waves are late at the beach of Yuchi, the fog is heavy and the smoke is light, and the companion when she came is missing... …The faint sound of singing returns to the distant shore, and the sadness of separation leads...to the south bank of the Yangtze River.”
There was silence at the table.
The two women had different expressions and silently appreciated the words.
"Is the sorrow of separation leading to the south of the Yangtze River..." The cold and cold girl in palace clothes thought about it silently, and her voice was not so cold: "The words are good."
The middle-aged female officer looked curious and picked up the key words: "Yue girl?"
Rong Zhen was calm and pointed at the red cloth: "The handwriting is the handwriting of the owner of the Butterfly Love Flower."
The middle-aged female officer's eyes lit up.
But when she took a closer look at the sample reconstructed from the ink characters, she let out a soft sigh: "What kind of handwriting is this? What kind of pen is it written with?"
Rong Zhen frowned slightly: "Actually, it's better to have distinctive features. It's easy to identify directly. In addition... I'll give it another try to see who it is."
She suddenly stretched out her hand, brushed her fingers over the strangely written ink characters on the red cloth, and quickly pinched her fingers under the wide sleeves with her other hand.
Close your eyes tightly, as if to deduce some kind of secret.
The middle-aged female officer saw that there was crimson light flowing on the snow-skinned neck of Si Tianjian's youngest "beautiful girl" in front of her, and the cuffs of the girl's palace skirt were shining brightly... It was as if Rong Zhen knew that her eyelashes were trembling. , she was doing something, she was in high spirits, smiled, and looked forward to it in her eyes.
"Well……"
But the next moment, the cold and cold-looking girl groaned on the spot, and a line of red blood slowly flowed from the corner of her lips.
"How is that possible!" Rong Zhen staggered unsteadily. She was forced to hold down the edge of the greasy table in front of her because of mysophobia. She opened her eyes and lowered her head, staring at the strange handwriting on the red cloth. Her little face was filled with surprise and confusion: "Something that is unknowable, unexpectable, and undeducible?"
This is the first time Rong Zhen has encountered such a situation since he was promoted to the Yin Yang Family Qi Practitioner with his evil talent.
The reaction was even more bizarre than discovering that this calm suspect had the ability to conceal his Qi and was also a talented poet.
Rong Zhen touched the corners of his lips with his fingers, lowered his head, and looked at the bright red blood on his fingertips with a dazed expression.
First time.
Her mouth was a little dry, so she turned her head and looked at the middle-aged female officer who was also shocked for a while, and the latter swallowed silently.
At this moment, at the corner of the busy street downstairs, a group of blue-clad headhunters loomed.
They seemed to be the criminal agents of Longcheng County Government, led by an old county captain surnamed Yan.
Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Rong Zhen silently wiped away the blood from her lip with her thumb by the window. She took a deep breath and regained her cold expression. She folded the red cloth, turned around and handed it to the middle-aged female officer, giving detailed instructions:
"You continue to stay. First, check the suspects who have stayed at this seat and are registered in the restaurant. Use their handwriting to identify them. If there are no clues, expand the scope and check the handwriting.
"In addition... don't bring anyone from the local government with you this time, even if it's an experienced old catcher, don't join. Our people will investigate alone."
The middle-aged female officer whispered: "Ms. Shi, what you mean is..."
Rong Zhen's expression was very serious, and he lived up to his previous calmness: "Just in case."
After thinking for a moment, she asked again: "Where is Zhao Rushi's body now?"
"Dagushan, Donglin Temple."
Rong Zhen nodded.
The next moment, the beautiful figure in front of the table disappeared.
…
Night, Donglin Temple, Sanhuiyuan.
From the moment I met Ouyang Rong.
Ah Qing never asked Ouyang Rong what he wanted to do when he came back.
Ouyang Rong didn't take the initiative either.
The two have a tacit understanding.
Ah Qing carefully put away his autumn clothes and baggage.
Ouyang Rong walked around Sanhuiyuan for a while and helped Yun Niang with some heavy housework.
After a while, Liu Mu woke up, and Ah Qing and Yun Niang immediately gathered around and started to get busy.
Seeing the arrival of Ouyang Rong, who was equivalent to the "half-son", Liu's mother was of course happy. She was about to get up tremblingly, but was gently pressed down by Ouyang Rong.
We chatted for a while.
Ouyang Rong accompanied them and had a meal together.
Liu's mother likes to ask questions about her parents' affairs, but Yun Niang is a little reserved.
Ah Qing, on the other hand, was immersed in cooking and listened carefully to the conversation between her mother and Ouyang Rong. She seemed to have a big appetite today and was particularly good at eating, which made Ouyang Rong smile and frequently pick up food for her.
At the dinner table, the atmosphere was harmonious.
Ouyang Rong asked a few questions whether Magistrate Diao often came to visit them.
Yun Niang replied immediately:
"Well, Magistrate Diao comes to visit every half ten days, but these two days are an exception. He came one more time, the day before yesterday. I heard that some corpse was being sent up the mountain, and there was a ceremony to be performed on the mountain. Magistrate Diao stopped by to visit my mother-in-law. "
"Corpse?" Mother Liu seemed to have heard this for the first time, and she couldn't help but look curious.
Yun Niang nodded and sighed:
"A few days ago, on Di Gong Street in the county, a foreign official passed by and lost his head in the street. He really lost his head. He was still riding his horse, and his head fell in front of the fruit and vegetable stall. I don't know why. The county government couldn't figure out who had done it. After a few days of delay, some people began to wonder if there were ghosts and gods at work.
"Since the fall of the Liu family and the eradication of obscene rituals, our county is no longer interested in practicing rituals, but people in Jishui County still believe in it.
"So the family members who came over discussed it with the county government and decided to send the body of the out-of-town official to Dagushan, where the eminent monks from Donglin would chant sutras and be saved...
"It seems that the corpse is still lying in the Buddhist temple. Fortunately, it is cold in autumn. If it is a hot day, the monks who have saved it will suffer. Abbot Shandao is busy with the ceremony of salvation. It seems that he will be buried in the next two days."
"I see."
The old woman patted Ouyang Rong on the shoulder, with a worried look on her face:
"We were still fighting last month, and this happened again this month. We are getting more and more restless these days, so we have to be careful outside."
"good."
Yun Niang talked about the so-called ghosts and gods with great interest, which made Ah Qing shrink his head, but Liu Mu listened with a solemn expression.
Only Ouyang Rong was calmly eating.
The previous chapter "One Hundred and Eleven" is still a repeat of the chapter content. Re-enter that chapter and refresh it. There seems to be a bug. Some brothers did not refresh it in real time. . .
(End of chapter)
