After listening to Li Zhiyun's words, Zhao Changlin pondered for a moment and said: "This case is complicated and confusing, and the subordinate officials are stupid. How dare you make rash guesses?" After hearing this, Li Zhiyun nodded, stood up and said, "Well, I'll bother Governor Zhao. , I bid farewell."
The next day, Li Zhiyun was bored at Chuwang Inn, so he asked Liu Yinglian to take her out for a walk. They left the inn with a few guards and headed straight to the south of the city. Li Zhiyun heard from Magistrate Wang that there is a Taiyi Palace in the south of the city. It was built in the Han Dynasty and has a history of hundreds of years. It is worth a visit.
After some inquiries, several people found Taiyi Palace. Taiyi Palace is actually a temple dedicated to the Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Taiyi, also known as Taiyi and Taiyi, is an alias for the Emperor of Heaven. "Historical Records" says: "The most noble of gods is Taiyi." Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs" of Chu also contains an article "Eastern Emperor Taiyi", which ranks very high in the genealogy of Chinese immortals, but its incense is not very strong. It is not as good as the ordinary Kitchen God and City God, let alone the popular ones in today's world. Gods such as Erlang God and Zigu God appeared out of nowhere. It is said that county officials are not as good as current officials, and this is roughly the case.
When everyone walked into the gate, it seemed deserted inside. There was only one Taoist priest cleaning the courtyard. This Taoist temple is really not small in scale. There are many temples, and there are more than a dozen large and small buildings. The main hall is four to five feet high. The few exposed pillars alone are thicker than two people embracing each other. However, the temple is in disrepair. , showing signs of dilapidation everywhere.
Several people walked into the main hall. The statue of Donghuang Taiyi was high in the hall. Although it was a little broken, it was still generally complete. It was just that there were three strands of beard under a rich round face. This appearance was different from other statues that Li Zhiyun had seen. It's like being reflected in a mold.
Li Zhiyun and Liu Yinglian stood in front of the incense table. They each stepped forward to offer a stick of incense, and then knelt down on the futon to salute. After worshiping the gods, Li Zhiyun pulled Liu Yinglian back. They left the main hall, turned around the corridor, and came to the side courtyard. Although this Taoist temple is hundreds of years old, it has no ancient artifacts, but the Han Dynasty stone paintings on the walls are worth seeing.
Han stone portraits began in the late Western Han Dynasty and flourished in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. They are stone decorative paintings carved on tombs, ancestral halls, Taoist temples, tombs and other buildings in the Han Dynasty. They are also a special type of stone carving decorative murals with distinctive themes.
There are several stone paintings on the walls of the side courtyard. Li Zhiyun took a look and saw a picture of "Car Making and Brewing", which showed the two labors of making wheels and brewing wine. The wheel maker was repairing the wheel teeth, and a woman behind her was carrying a baby and handing him parts, indicating that this was a family workshop. In the same picture, another brewer stands in front of the vat with his legs spread, as if tasting the taste of new wine. This is a necessary workshop in the market.
There is also a picture of "Betting on Cockfighting", which is two feet high and four feet long. Cockfighting has been popular as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It is not only a kind of entertainment, but also a gambling. Cockfighting and dog fighting were also popular in the Han Dynasty. "Hanshu: Food and Huo Zhi" says: "The rich children of aristocratic families, or the lackeys and horses of cockfighting, hunt and play, and bring chaos to the people." In the picture, two gamblers fight cocks, each armed with weapons and attendants, using Gold as a note.
After Li Zhiyun took Liu Yinglian to visit all the side halls, he left Taiyi Palace and returned to the inn.
In the evening, Li Zhiyun was practicing calligraphy in the guest room. Zhang Zheng burst in like a gust of wind and reported: "Your Majesty, the other party has crashed into the net." Upon hearing this, Li Zhiyun put the rabbit brush on the pen holder, stood up and said: " Okay, let's go right away!" He walked to the clothes rack, took off the sword and put it on, and then came out of the guest room with Zhang Zheng.
As soon as the two walked to the foyer, they happened to meet Liu Hong and his daughter who were returning from a walk outside. Seeing him walking in a hurry, Liu Hong asked: "It's so late, where are you going?" Li Zhiyun stopped and said: "Master Liu, the truth about the Lou family murder case will be revealed tonight. Are you interested in going to watch it? When Liu Hong heard this, he said: "Okay, I want to see who did it." Liu Yinglian on the side said hurriedly: "I want to go too." Li Zhiyun nodded and said: "Okay."
Several people came to the courtyard. Zhang Zheng had summoned more than a dozen guards, some of whom were holding torches. Li Zhiyun rode on the horse, Liu Hong and his daughter rode in the carriage, and the group left the King of Chu Inn and came to the north gate. Zhang Zheng took out the Chu Palace token and ordered the soldiers on duty to open the city gate. After everyone left the city, they went straight to Qiuhong Villa.
When he arrived at the gate of the villa, Li Zhiyun got off his horse, and Magistrate Wang came up to meet him. He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, we have blocked that person inside." Li Zhiyun nodded and glanced around. There were people and torches everywhere, and the government officials and guards had surrounded the whole house.
Liu Hong got off the carriage and walked over. He looked at the house in front of him and asked, "Where is this place?" Li Zhiyun did not answer directly, but said, "The mastermind behind the massacre of the Lou family and the gold and silver treasures he stole are all hidden inside."
"Then, why don't we go in?"
"Wait a minute, there are still people who haven't arrived yet."
Just as he was talking, Cai Hu next to him pointed with his hand and said: "They are coming." Everyone turned around and saw a group of people coming on the road. When the men and horses came to the front, Sang Xianhe, who was riding a horse, got off his horse, and Jun Song also got off the carriage. The two people walked up to Li Zhiyun and saluted him. After saluting him, Sang Xianhe said: "Your Majesty, it's so late. What's the important thing for you to call us out to this wilderness?" Li Zhiyun smiled and said: "Please come over here. Watch a good show.”
"What's the show?"
"You'll find out later." After Li Zhiyun said this, he turned to Wang Guang and said, "County Magistrate Wang, let's get started."
Wang Chuang nodded, waved to the government officials surrounding him and said, "Quickly, open the door!" The government officials immediately stepped forward, opened the door with force, and then swarmed in. In the yard, the guards blocking the gate were either knocked to the ground or fled in all directions. Li Zhiyun made a gesture and said: "Master Liu, General Sang, Du Biejia, please come."
Everyone followed Li Zhiyun into the gate, passed through the courtyard, and came to the hall. The hall was very spacious, with many government servants and guards standing at attention on both sides. The lanterns and torches in their hands illuminated the room like daylight. A short, fat man in his thirties wearing a silk shirt came forward. Although he looked nervous, he pretended to be calm, and said with cupped hands: "My lords, you are openly fighting, breaking into private houses, and you don't know what you want?" Li Zhiyun smiled and said: "You are the housekeeper, right? Please bring your master out. !”
"Sir, I don't understand what you mean."
"Why, do you still want me to send someone to invite you?"
"No need." Following a familiar voice, a figure walked over from the darkness. When the man came into the light, Sang Xianhe took a closer look and couldn't help being surprised and shouted: "Prince Zhao, why is it you?"
Li Zhiyun smiled and said: "General Sang, let me tell you that he is the owner of this Qiuhong Villa." Sang Xianhe was surprised: "Your Majesty, when did Governor Zhao have this courtyard? What happened to the general? have no idea?"
"That's because this courtyard was originally the private property of the former county governor of the Sui Dynasty." Li Zhiyun said, "Our Lord Zhao pocketed it."
"No," Zhao Changlin retorted, "It is true that this courtyard is the private property of the former county governor, but I did not take it as my own. It is still under the name of the state government. I only come here occasionally. Just staying for a few days.”
Li Zhiyun waved his hand and said: "Let's not talk about this for now, let's talk about the Lou family murder case first." Upon hearing this, Zhao Changlin stopped him in panic: "What is the Lou family murder case? How does this have anything to do with what happened tonight? ? Don't go too far." At this moment, Zhang Zheng came over, clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, the stolen goods have been found."
"Move here."
"yes."
Zhang Zheng waved his hand, and dozens of guards carried ten large boxes from the back hall and placed them neatly in the middle of the room. Zhang Zheng opened the box lids one by one, and saw that the boxes were filled with gold, silver and jewelry, shining brightly under the firelight. , dazzling. Everyone gathered around the box, admiring it and exclaiming in admiration. Sang Xianhe shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, where did you get so much gold and silver?"
Li Zhiyun smiled and said: "This is the property that was robbed by the Lou family, and our Governor Zhao is the mastermind behind the murder of the Lou family. He instructed three regiment soldiers, including Lu Sifang, Sun Fen and Diao Dagui, to sneak in late at night The Lou family, together with Liu Gu, the maid of the Lou family, stole the Lou family's treasures, but unexpectedly alerted the owner of the Lou family. In order to silence them, they brutally murdered nine members of the Lou family. "
When everyone heard this, their eyes fell on Governor Zhao's face. A layer of cold sweat broke out on Zhao Changlin's back, and he quickly denied it: "King Chu, you are talking nonsense! You said that I was the mastermind behind the murder of the Lou family. What proof do you have? I think you are making things up out of thin air and talking nonsense. . I would like to ask, why did you come to Pizhou this time? You said it was a private matter, but what kind of private matter is it? I'm afraid it's not that simple, right? I'm afraid you have already set your sights on the Lou family's huge wealth, right? "
Seeing that his crime was exposed, Zhao Changlin was naturally unwilling to surrender and began to turn his back on defense. He involved Li Zhiyun in an attempt to muddy the waters. Sure enough, his words confused Sang Xianhe and Du Song, and their eyes fell on Li Zhiyun's face.
Li Zhiyun had long expected that Zhao Changlin would not plead guilty easily and would definitely deny and make excuses in every possible way. He said confidently: "You are right. This time I came to Pizhou, I did come to see the building staff, but I came to him to discuss business. However, just two days before I arrived in Pizhou, The whole family outside the building has been killed, and everyone knows about it." Zhao Changlin sneered and said, "You are the prince and your power is boundless. How could I know that you didn't first send people to sneak into Pizhou to kill people and steal wealth, and then put the blame on others? ?”
Zhang Zheng couldn't help but get angry when he saw Zhao Changlin speaking so forcefully and speaking nonsense. He stared at him and said, "Bold maniac, you have committed such a heinous crime and everyone has gained the stolen goods. Instead of confessing honestly, you are just biting and biting like a mad dog." , believe it or not, I stamped you with a knife?"
