Lu Taotao's mention of punishment shocked the old cat for a long time. He opened his mouth for a long time before closing it.
"Hmph, you dare not tell the truth when you ask the Criminal Division about the case?" Lu Taotao strutted in with his hands behind his back and his hands outstretched, imitating 90% of Su Ji's posture.
Old Mao raised his head, still suspicious and unbelieving, "You women, are you in charge of the punishment department?" He had never heard of a female official in the punishment department.
Lu Taotao rolled his eyes, and a hint of cunning flashed in his eyes. He turned his right wrist, took a sign and waved it in front of the old cat, "The waist card of the Criminal Division, can this be faked?"
The old cat had venomous eyes, and he immediately realized that this waist card was indeed real and could not be faked.
But when it comes to Ti Xing Si, he is not completely unfamiliar with it. After all, he has been secretly asking a lot during this period. On both sides, there is also the deputy envoy in charge of the affairs, named Jiang, who is obviously an old man."
There is no way any one of them can compete with the three women in front of him.
Lu Taotao tossed his cards and said, "Who told you that we are cloud bastards, old thief Su and other old men? Listen up, I am the first-class head catcher of the Criminal Division, Mr. Lu, and this guy in red clothes next to me The thugs of the Punishment Division, and the beautiful lady with a fairy-like air are of course our Mistress of the Punishment Division, family members, do you understand?"
Wu Fang took the lead and struck a blow, and Lu Anran wanted to cover Lu Taotao's mouth.
Lu Taotao puffed up his chest, "How about it, are you qualified?"
The old cat's eyes kept moving, wondering whether he was considering or making various calculations.
Lu Anran glanced at the waistband in Lu Taotao's hand - where did it come from?
Lu Taotao chuckled and leaned into her ear: "Old thief Su stole it from there."
Lu Anran held her forehead, believing that Su Ji had not noticed it yet.
"I can tell you." Old Cat finally made up his mind.
Lu Anran also quickly responded: "If there are any conditions, you'd better think about it clearly before talking about it."
Lao Mao was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect that she could guess what else he said next, and said: "This matter has something to do with you."
—
After untying the old cat, he returned to the hall. After everyone sat down, the old cat began to speak.
"First of all, I really don't know who is behind the scenes. Why do you think I didn't leave the capital and run for my life? Because I came here for the real culprit behind the scenes."
The old cat was rough-looking, and the circles under his eyes were black and blue from being immersed in women's sex for many years. But when he talked about this, his expression was full of calmness and solemnity.
"I know that the first woman who asked me for a tattoo was named Jin Yu'e, and I also know that she and Xianglan knew each other before. Later, she arranged the tattoos for Liu Changhe, and it was Xianglan who arranged it." This explains why the cleaning maid saw him and Xianglan. The reason for the 'private meeting'.
Lu Anran: "Why do you do these things?"
The corners of Lao Mao's mouth lowered and he said in a deep voice: "You said before that I learned skills from a master in Buzhuang, and later asked the master to punish me, but you don't know that he almost beat me to death. If it weren't for another apprentice, there would be no old master in the world. The person Cat.”
The apprentice followed the old cat longer than the old cat, but he had no talent at all in dyeing cloth. He was often beaten, scolded, and hungry, so no one paid attention to him, so he secretly rescued the old cat.
"After that time, he and I ran away." The old cat sneered: "They only ridiculed my brother for not having any talent for color dyes, but they didn't realize that my brother had a pair of skillful hands that no one in the world could match. "
Later, Lao Mao attracted the attention of a tattoo artist because of his keen sense of color, and the brother also learned the craft from another master.
"We kept in touch. After studying kung fu for more than ten years, I became famous in this industry. It happened that my master died of illness and the house was left to me. We lived together on Jiaer Street, Tonglinfang."
Old Mao has a bad habit of being greedy, and his brother is particularly greedy for money because he was hungry when he was a child. "Jiang Chao doesn't like to go out when he has nothing to do. He stays at home and does various handicrafts. Later, when he became famous, he only accepted orders with high silver taels. Going out less.”
Jiang Chao is the name of the brother who saved Lao Mao. They have no relatives anymore, and they are no different from each other's brothers.
"Once, Jiang Chao told me that he was going out for a few days. I was very surprised." Lao Mao knew his brother's character. Unless necessary, he would not leave the house for half a step, let alone live outside. "Of course I want to When I asked clearly, what he told me at that time was that a customer from another place paid a huge price to make a set of large standing cabinets and a step-down bed. The items were too big, so I had to go to someone else’s house to make them.”
Later, Jiang Chao reported the deposit amount to Lao Mao. Lao Mao had no doubts when he heard it. The offer was too high. No wonder Jiang Chao found it difficult to refuse.
Lu Taotao didn't understand, "It's just a cabinet and a bed. Even the golden nanmu doesn't have to be so expensive, right? Do you need to put in so much effort?"
The old cat smiled quite complacently and said: "That's because you don't understand my brother's craftsmanship. The furniture he makes not only looks exquisite on the surface, but most importantly, there are secrets hidden inside."
There may be a mechanism hidden behind each wooden board. It can be used as a gadget for entertainment when nothing happens, and it can also protect your life in case of trouble.
"Interesting, I want it too." Lu Taotao's big eyes lit up.
The old cat's smile faded, "I left home more than a year ago, and I have never seen him again."
Lu Anran heard something, "Is this case related to him?"
"Jiang Chao is very trustworthy. He promised for twelve days that he would definitely come back on that day, but he didn't." Old Mao said slowly and calmly: "There was still no news after fifteen days, so I looked for him based on the address he left. , and when I inquired about it, I found out that there was no such family at all!”
At this point, Lao Mao recalled what Jiang Chao said earlier and felt something was wrong.
Lao Mao searched for it for several months without any news, "until I saw a banknote at Qiongxian Tower."
—
Imperial Palace, Linhua Hall.
Wang Qie gently pushed open the palace door. The benzoin inside was already burning to the end. He opened the window a little and heard movement behind him. He immediately turned around and knelt down: "I woke up Your Majesty. I deserve to die."
The emperor rubbed his eyebrows and opened his eyes. His tiger eyes became clear from the turbidity, "What time is it?"
"It's just time to arrive."
"It's time to get up." The emperor stretched and took a sip of tea from the table.
Wang Qie lowered his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, Crown Prince Nangong is waiting outside."
"When did you come?"
"At the end of noon, he asked his servants not to disturb the emperor."
The emperor closed the tea bowl with a faint smile on his face, "This child is much more sensible than my sons."
Wang Qie didn't dare to answer, but when the emperor said again: "Let him come in." He stood up, bowed his waist and stepped back.
As soon as Nangong Zhi entered the main hall, he was filled with the smell of benzoin. After bowing, he said, "Has the emperor not been sleeping well recently?"
The emperor stood up from the dragon chair, walked down the steps and said, "Nothing, I had a frightening dream last night. The king made such a fuss that he had to let the imperial doctor diagnose his pulse, so he lit incense during the lunch break today."
Wang Qie smiled coquettishly, "The emperor's dragon body cannot be ignored, and the slaves dare not be careless."
Nangong Zhi echoed: "The prince is right, for the country's major plans, the security of the country depends entirely on the emperor alone."
"You, you, come here to criticize me." The emperor raised his index finger, pointed at the south palace, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, do you think I should make him go on a southern tour or a northern tour? My ears have been clean for two days."
Wang Qie listened to the emperor's disgust, but his face was full of smiles, and he said with a smile: "The days of patrolling outside will be long. I am afraid that the emperor will be thinking about the prince again."
The emperor raised his hand and scolded with a smile: "Go away too, I will eat everything around me."
Wang Jie knew that the emperor and Nangong Zhi had something to say, so he bowed and left, and when he closed the palace door, the second prince came from a distance. Wang Jie put down the door knocker and flicked the dust fly, just as the second prince also walked up to him, he saluted and said: "Slave, here you go. Second Prince, please greet me."
The second prince looked towards the palace door and asked, "Father, you haven't woken up yet?"
Wang Qie kept smiling: "Please ask the second prince to come back later."
When the second prince left, he didn't know whether to feel regretful or relieved. His steps were actually lighter than when he came.
Wang Qie shook his head secretly. In comparison, Nangong Zhi was talented, young and promising. No wonder the emperor favored him. Regardless of whether he was the crown prince or the second prince, he was still a little green and could not calm down.
However, Wang Qie glanced at the palace door with his peripheral vision and quickly stopped all these thoughts. This was not something he could speculate on at will.
In the palace, the emperor patted Nangong Zhi's shoulder and said seriously: "What I just said was not a joke."
Nangong Zhi raised his eyes: "Your Majesty wants me to leave the capital?"
—
In Jiqingfang, Old Mao took out a silver note worth one hundred taels from his sleeve and handed it over.
Lu Taotao grabbed it and turned it over. On the top was the word "Zhengtong Bank No.", on the left was the small word "An Zi No. 109", in the middle was the denomination of the banknote "One Hundred Liang", and in the far right corner was The words 'Seventeenth Year of Daning'.
"Isn't it just a banknote?" Lu Taotao threw it to Lu Anran carelessly, "It stinks."
Lu Anran's nose was sensitive, and he immediately smelled the greasy smell, powdery smell, and sweat smell caused by contact with different people above...
The three people looked left and right, and saw that it was indeed an ordinary one hundred taels of silver notes. It might be a surprise to the poor, but the few people present obviously would not lose their composure for a mere one hundred taels.
"Are you sure this banknote is related to Jiang Chao's disappearance?" Lu Anran asked?
"Of course." Lao Mao said without any hesitation, "Because this banknote was made by my brother Jiang Chao!"
Lu Anran subconsciously objected: "Impossible. In this dynasty, the Ministry of Industry has always minted money, and the Papermaking Institute under the Ministry of Revenue prints banknotes. They are all under the jurisdiction of the court, and private individuals are not allowed to print them."
The old cat said: "Of course this is the process you are talking about for real money."
"Is this a counterfeit currency?" Lu Anran's pupils trembled slightly, "Not only are banknotes complex in craftsmanship, they are difficult to forge. Counterfeiters also need to be able to obtain Sichuan paper, but this material circulation and purchase has been prohibited in all dynasties."
"I told you, my brother is a craftsman." Old Cat emphasized: "There are no more powerful craftsmen like him in the world."
Lu Taotao grabbed the hundred taels of silver notes again and looked over them, "I can't see the difference."
Whether it's the pattern, paper or gravure specially used to prevent counterfeiting, it's all exactly the same as the real thing.
The old cat stared at the banknote, "Only I can see it, because he is asking me for help in this way."
