The night is quiet, and the candle shadows flicker red.
The firelight swayed on Uka's face, and his face looked dull in despair, his eyes were dark green and his eyes were divergent.
After Yun Qi finished speaking, he moved his head slowly, as if he still didn't react.
"Aren't you here to report the crime?" Yun Qi said casually.
Uka lowered his eyes and clenched his fists with both hands so hard that a vein popped out of his forehead. After hesitating again and again, he suddenly raised his head and said urgently: "Someone wants to kill me."
Yunqi put his index finger on his head and nodded nonchalantly: "Well, what next?"
Uka bit his lip and said with fear, "I know it's the murderer who wants to kill me. It's not Brother Su. He's here to kill me. I know it."
Yun Qi and Lu Anran exchanged a look - they were talking incoherently, maybe they were scared out of their wits?
Lu Anran looked at Wuka, "Who is the murderer?"
"The murderer of Yin Subaru!" Uka stood up suddenly, his voice rising, "Kill me, and no one will testify for Xu Shaokai. He can get away with it, and no one can do anything to him."
"Did you see the murderer?"
Wuka dug his fingertips into the palm of his hand hard, his finger bones turned white to green, and his eyes were firmer than ever before, "He is more than seven feet tall, very strong, and has brute force in his hands. He can easily subdue me with one hand. If it weren't for Su Brother, I didn’t intend to break in, it would be easy for him to kill me.”
"What else? What else did you see?"
"It was too dark to see clearly, but I felt his sleeves, which were made of silk, linen, and cotton, and other things..." Uka shook his head in embarrassment, "I was so scared at the time that I couldn't notice anything more."
Yun Qi put down his hands, sat up and held hot tea in his hands, saying meaningfully: "It doesn't matter, you have seen enough."
Wuka glanced at Yun Qi timidly, "Prince Yun, is this... really okay?"
Yunqi sipped his tea and blinked his peach blossom eyes in confusion. Does that mean you have other questions?
"Oh, that's right." Yun Qi waved, "Su Ji, you heard it, right? Take him down to ask him in detail and draw a portrait of the murderer. I'll leave this matter to you."
Before Uka was taken away, he hesitated to speak, "I'm afraid the murderer will come find me again."
Yun Qi said: "Wouldn't it be better to just take the stolen goods and reap the benefits?"
Uka wanted to cry but had no tears.
Su Ji was simply more reliable than Yunqi and agreed to send someone to secretly protect him for a few days until the case was concluded.
After Wuka left, Yunqi snapped his fingers, and a man walked in from the door and saluted Yunqi with a cupped fist.
Lu Anran was not surprised when he saw Yun Qi gesturing behind someone's back, but he couldn't help but glance a few times at the yamen officer wearing the uniform of a prison officer, wondering in his heart that there were still people listening to Yun Qi's words.
Yun Qi said succinctly and concisely: "One of my own."
Lu Anran understood at once that this was the person Yun Qi brought from Shengle County. He probably found some way to get into the Criminal Division justifiably. But she had never thought carefully about why Yun Qi was so honest in front of her.
"You have already sent someone to spy on Uka?"
Yun Qi used the tea lid to push the foam with graceful movements, "This kid looks timid and cowardly, but he dares to quietly appear at the murder scene alone in Yin Pleiades. Either there is a ghost or he has seen a ghost."
Lu Anran nodded: "There are indeed contradictions. He is very scared and panicked, but when he tells some things, he is too clear and clear, as if..."
Yun Qi raised his lips and smiled: "Prepared specially?"
"Yes, that's how it feels."
Yun Qi blew the hot tea and chuckled: "No matter if there is something wrong in your heart or not, the truth will be revealed sooner or later." After drinking the tea, he covered the teacup, threw it on the table, raised his head and said, "Tell me, what's going on? "
His subordinates were shocked as they listened to the back-and-forth conversation between Yun Qi and Lu Anran. He had followed Yun Qi for a long time and knew that his eldest son was far from what ordinary people saw, and he had never seen him be so honest with anyone.
No matter how turbulent his heart was, he calmly said on his face: "I have followed Uka for a few days. He only walked around Jixia Palace. There was nothing unusual except that he was suddenly assassinated on the way down the mountain today."
"My subordinate wanted to stop him, but Master Su broke out and Uka bumped into the murderer again. Seeing that the two of them were not in danger, my subordinate did not show up."
There was a smile on Yun Qi's lips, but there was no trace of smile in his eyes. He said in a calm tone rarely seen in Lu Anran: "Has the perpetrator been caught?"
The man lowered his head even lower: "At that time, Uka suddenly fainted and fell to the ground. Mr. Su shouted that someone had died. When the subordinate looked back, the man was gone."
Yun Qi suppressed the smile at the corner of his mouth, his eyes were not sharp, but there was an indescribable noble indifference.
The subordinate knelt down on one knee, without making any excuses for himself, and solemnly said: "This subordinate neglected his duty and voluntarily accepted the punishment."
Yun Qi gave it a neutral look and said, "Remember, go ahead."
This meant that he would continue to stare at Uka and receive punishment later, and his men were ordered to retreat.
Turning his head and meeting Lu Anran's gaze, Yun Qi raised the corners of his mouth and naturally showed his former ruffianism, "What's the matter? This prince is so charming that I'm dumbfounded?"
Lu Anran was familiar with many aspects of Yun Qi, including the flamboyant and joking ones. He presented the world with the image of a prodigal son who played with the world, and he always showed himself free and easy and immoral in front of her, but she almost forgot that first Yunqi after meeting for the first time.
Cruel, cold, and sharp.
In his hand was no longer the Fengyue Jade Bone Fan, but a sword that could seal the throat.
"Look at how stupid you are." Yun Qi chuckled and knocked Lu Anran on the forehead with a jade bone fan. Seeing that she still maintained her original appearance, he actually twisted a piece of pastry on the table and handed it to her mouth. He said coaxingly: "After eating brother's dessert, you will listen to brother from now on."
Lu Anran raised his hand to brush it away, his eyes half lowered, and the emotions in his heart were extremely complicated for a while.
Yunqi noticed something unusual and was about to ask when Guanyue came back.
"Your Majesty, I've been caught. His name is Wang Er. He's a hard worker. He usually does odd jobs."
"According to Wang Er, a weirdo started to find him some time ago. He gave him five copper coins a day and didn't ask him to do anything else. He would bring a wooden cart to the door of Jingzhao Mansion early every morning and wait for a stick. Incense and then push away.”
"As for where he is from and where he lives, Wang Er has no idea."
Lu Anran asked: "I don't know where he lives, where did he pick him up from?"
Guanyue is very reliable, and he obviously knows everyone well. He immediately said: "He will wait in advance at the entrance of the alley next to a rice shop on Zhuque Street. When the time comes, Wang Er can just go and pick him up. I have already checked that place, a gathering place for the lower classes. It’s rather confusing.”
Any place with grandeur, bright moon and clear breeze will naturally have smoky air, sludge and muddy water, and the capital city is no exception.
To the northwest of Zhuque Street is such a place. Brothels, gambling houses, martial arts halls, and theaters are all mixed together. People from the lowest level are there to make a living. The population is chaotic, and they only earn food and clothing every day. Who cares about other people's business? .
But no matter how chaotic it is, without identity and guidance, it is impossible to gain a foothold in the royal capital city.
"How about checking based on the identity tag that was stolen before? Can we get some clues?"
Lu Anran just asked, but he didn't expect Guanyue to have thought of this in advance, and replied: "There are indeed people living there with these two names, but they were all short-term rentals, the beds have been replaced, and nothing was left. .”
The so-called short-term rental is to put a big kang in a room and cover it with about 20 quilts. Each bed represents a bed. It is rented alone to poor people who cannot afford to rent a house. It is better than sleeping on the street.
Guanyue took out a roster from her chest, opened it and saw that it was densely filled with names.
"Wang Shouren is written here, and there is that place, Hongda."
The covers of the albums with different leathers include Tongxiang Lane Erwulu and Anlefang Hu Mansion respectively.
Guanyue said: "One is in the west of the city, and the other is in the north of the city."
Lu Anran closed the book, "He is very careful."
Guanyue took it and said helplessly: "It's a pity that I checked it all in vain."
Yunqi raised his lips: "Not necessarily. Someone once told me that people will always leave some traces when they live in this world, unless they turn into ashes."
Lu Anran was stunned and looked up at Yun Qi.
This is what she said to Yun Qi in Mengdu.
Guanyue didn't notice the strange atmosphere between the two and said, "I'll go check it out more carefully."
It was late at night when we came out of the Criminal Division, and the spring weather was getting a little warmer. At least the cold wind was no longer raging in the royal capital.
Yun Qi unfolded the jade bone fan and shook it casually twice, then looked to the side, "I have been full of thoughts since just now. What are you thinking about?"
Lu Anran looked up at the stars for a moment, staring at Yunqi with his dark eyes, his eyes clear and slightly confused, "I can't understand this case, I can't understand the world, and I can't understand you."
Yunqi's eyelids were halfway down, and when he looked at people from above, he had a scornful aura. However, his peach-blossom eyes were lifted up to the end, and he was naturally sentimental. The corners of his mouth slowly raised a curve, and he said: "In troubled times, people's hearts are easy to change. The joys and sorrows of the world never connect, so what if you can understand them, but what if you can’t understand them?”
Then, he sighed softly, as if saying to himself: "I won't hurt you after all."
Lu Anran's heart felt like a string was plucked, his whole body trembled slightly, and his fingers slowly curled up.
—
Lu Anran didn't sleep well that night. He woke up two or three times in his sleep. When he got up at dawn, he felt a little dizzy.
Chunmiao put down the basin and saw that Lu Anran's expression was not good. "Ms., maybe she caught a cold from the wind last night."
Lu Anran rubbed her head. She didn't get sick often but it made her feel more uncomfortable. She took a piece of paper from the table and wrote down a prescription, "Go to the medicine hall and grab some medicine. You should be fine after taking it for a day."
Chun Miao folded it and stuffed it into her purse. After laying out breakfast, she added: "Miss, please go as soon as you finish eating. The weather in the south is really unbearable. It cools and warms for a while. It's as unpredictable as a three or four-year-old child." "
In the past, Lu Anran would have listened to Chunmiao indifferently for a while as she talked about the hot and humid weather in the south, and then thought about where they were in Mengdu. However, today she had an unbearable headache and didn't have much patience. She was about to ask Chunmiao to shut up. Miao stopped on his own.
It would be fine if he didn't say anything, but he still looked at Lu Anran from time to time with a look of hesitation.
After a few times, Lu Anran pressed his forehead with two fingers and said feebly: "What do you want to say?"
After receiving the order, Chunmiao immediately threw the rag to the side, curled her lips and said angrily: "I want you to tell me, the old lady is partial to the second wife. She obviously has nothing to do with the second young lady. Seeing the young lady coming to the capital city, it's not true. The second young lady must be forced over."
Lu Anran was startled, but did not expect this, and said, "Lu Jianyu is coming to the capital?"
