Capture the Jade:

After breakfast, Teng Yuyi was busy looking around. Seeing the talismans buried inside and outside the wall, she felt as if she had taken a reassurance. With Lin Chengyou’s formation protection, she would not have to worry about ghosts coming to disturb her at night .

I don’t know if this formation can resist the strange man’s sorcery. If it can, she and Duan Fu would not have died so miserably in the previous life.

While wandering around, Cheng Bo came over and said: “The craftsmen who filled the pond are here. Ladies, let’s go back to the pond and go to the moon.”

Du Tinglan was reading in the pavilion over there, and was inexplicably surprised when he heard the words: “Fill the pond?”

There is only one pond in the garden, and many willows are planted beside the pond. It is quite a charming scenery in spring, so why not fill it in?

“Don’t you like this pond very much? Every time you went back to Chang’an when you were young, you would sit by the pond and fish. It’s a pity to fill it up.”

Teng Yuyi coughed. She had long forgotten the taste of fishing when she was young, but the despair of struggling to die in the icy water was unforgettable. She had to put an end to all hidden dangers. The first object of transformation was this pond. It wasn’t because it took a few days to avoid the corpse evil, she would have already been attacked.

“When I see the water in the pond, I get a headache. I have long wanted to turn it into a cuju field.” Suddenly, Cheng Bo was winking at him. Teng Yuyi knew that Cheng Bo had something important to report, so he had to pull Du Tinglan stood up, “Sister, the craftsmen are coming in, let’s go back to the inner courtyard to talk.”

The two sisters returned to Tanshangyue, Du Tinglan returned to her room to choose an embroidered handkerchief for Gui Yu, and Teng Yuyi changed into men’s clothes and went to practice swords in the court.

Huo Qiu was sent to follow Du Shaotang, and Duanfu officially took over the task of teaching Teng Yuyi martial arts. Cheng Bo came just after teaching a few moves. The small study room: “Is there any movement in the West Market?”

Cheng Bo nodded: “The pig iron store that Peng Yugui mentioned is open, and that rogue named Zhuang Mu is also in the store.”

Teng Yuyi’s heart was pounding, Peng Yugui said before his death that Zhuang Mu gave him the silver thread, and as long as he kept an eye on Zhuang Mu, why wouldn’t he be able to follow the clues to find out the details of the man in black.

In the previous life, she died tragically at the hands of this person, in this life she must preemptively strike.

She took a few steps with her hands behind her back: “Have you found out about Zhuang Mu? Is he in the same company as the owner of the pig iron company?”

Cheng Bo said: “The name of the owner of the pig iron shop is Yumigui Azan, a Sogdian Hu. He fell ill a month ago and returned from his illness last night. The Hu people have been doing business in Chang’an since thirty years ago, and Azan’s pig iron company has been open for nearly ten years. From the face of it, there is nothing suspicious.

“As for Zhuang Mu, a rascal, he just came to Chang’an the year before last. He claims to be from Huihe, but he speaks Chinese very well. He is good at making iron, so he doesn’t have to worry about making a living. He used to work in a pig iron factory in Dongshi. Work, because the boss was too old to close the shop, so he came to the West Market to make a living. At that time, Yumigui was short of manpower, and Zhuang Mu has been working in ‘Yomigui’ since then. This man has no wife and no children. He is irritable, likes to drink and gamble on weekdays, and every time he loses, he will inevitably fight with others, and there are quite a few people in the workshop who know him, but they don’t have any close friends.”

Teng Yuyi asked: “Where was Zhuang Mu during the month when Youmigui closed?”

“Zhuang Mu lives in the store on weekdays, but the old slave once ordered someone to go in quietly to have a look. Zhuang Mu hasn’t been back to the pig iron shop in the month since it was closed. I have also searched the Douyi workshop, but I have not seen him. There are many people in the workshop, and if you continue to investigate, it is impossible to guarantee that you will not startle the snake, so the old slave has no choice but to give up, but the old slave is sure that Zhuang Mu is not here for a while. There have been two cities in the east and the west.”

Teng Yuyi wondered: “One month is not short, there must be a place to live. Does this person have relatives in Chang’an?”

Cheng Bo shook his head.

Teng Yuyi: “Without relatives, where can he hide as a rogue who wandered around the store? Why can’t you even find out his whereabouts, Uncle Cheng? He must have left Chang’an not long ago.”

“This old slave is waiting to be investigated carefully. If Zhuang Mu stays in Chang’an, whether he lives in an inn or goes to Huajie and Liuxiang to seek pleasure, it will be a lot of money. He works in a pig iron company and is determined It is impossible to get the money. Fortunately, after he showed up this morning, the old slave ordered people to inquire about Zhuang Mu’s whereabouts along the way, and after checking all the way, he found out that Zhuang Mu seemed to have come out of Chun’an Lane in Chongzhengfang this morning. .”

“Chun’an Lane in Chongzhengfang? Where is that?”

“It’s a place where noble people live together. It’s quiet amidst the hustle and bustle. The house prices are expensive. There are many officials in Beijing renting houses there. The residents are all famous people. The old servant is not sure whether Zhuang Mu is passing by. There, or did they live in Chun’an Lane the previous month, if Zhuang Mu stayed here, who took Zhuang Mu in? By the way, I heard that someone died in Chun’an Lane last night, and when the old slave sent people over, it happened to be Catch up with the yamen servants of Dali Temple to investigate the case.”

“Dead?” Teng Yuyi’s face turned serious, “Murder? Otherwise, why would Dali Temple be disturbed…”

“The people sent by the old slave didn’t ask carefully, so it may not be related to Zhuang Mu, but the old slave always thinks it’s a coincidence.”

Teng Yuyi sneered: “Since Peng Yugui got that silver thread from Zhuang Mu, Zhuang Mu’s skill is expected to be not bad. It’s easy for him to kill a lot of people. Let’s not talk about this, this person It’s easy to show up, he’s telling me I’m not, I’ll go and see what he looks like, Cheng Bo, help me prepare the chariot and horses first.”

She tried her best to recall the stature and attire of those murderers in her mind. Zhuang Mu could provide Yinsi’s deadly weapon, and he might be one of the murderers that night. As long as she saw this person, she might be able to recall some important clues.

“This man is dangerous, the old servant will accompany the lady to set off after arranging the affairs of the house.”

“You are the steward of the Teng Mansion, so you will inevitably attract attention when you go out.” Teng Yuyi said, “Let Duan Fu accompany me, and bring a few more skilled guards. By the way, can Grandpa come back today? I have Talk to him about important things.”

Cheng Bo is still worried: “The front is anxiously waiting for the use of military rations. The master was still in custody of the Weihe ferry yesterday. I don’t know if he will be able to come back today. Even if he does, it will probably be late at night.”

“No matter how late it is, I’ll just wait for Grandpa anyway.” In the past few days, she remembered a lot of things from her previous life, and she had to tell Grandpa about Peng Zhen’s possible mutiny with neighboring towns.

Before departure, Teng Yuyi went to the stable to lead her little red horse. The little red horse was running around in the stable, more energetic than yesterday, but she didn’t care much about people, and only glanced at Teng Yuyi with one eye. Before Teng Yuyi came to get close to it, it ran away.

“Don’t run away.” Teng Yuyi leisurely waved at it, “Come with me to the West Market.”

The little red horse paced slowly in the stable, ignoring Teng Yuyi.

“Hey, didn’t you have a very intimate relationship with me yesterday? Whether it’s food or living, come out and talk to me, I don’t believe that my place is not as good as Lin Chengyou’s stable.”

Speaking to tell the steward in charge of the horse: “It’s late, take it out, I have to go.”

“Absolutely not.” The steward said hastily, “This treasure horse has a strong temper, and he likes to bully students. The lady is not familiar with it, so be careful to be thrown down by it.”

Teng Yuyi waved his hand: “I’m very good at riding, I can’t break it.”

The steward refused to do anything, and the little red horse just wandered back and forth.

Teng Yuyi looked down at herself, and suddenly smiled: “Don’t tell me you don’t recognize me because I’ve changed into a man’s clothes?”

For the convenience of going out, she not only changed into men’s clothes, but also took off her usual sachets and incense sticks.

The little red horse neighed, and simply turned around, pointing its **** at Teng Yuyi.

Teng Yuyi touched the beard on her mouth, and it was too late to change back into women’s clothes. It seemed that she couldn’t get close to her little red horse today, so she had to ask the steward to give her another smaller bay red horse. , went out of the mansion to ride a horse, and took Duanfu and his party to the west market in a mighty way.

At the gate of the west market, just as the gate opened, Teng Yuyi dismissed the rest of the guards ahead of time, letting them deliberately lag behind her by a few steps, while she took Duanfu and led her horse to the market.

Youmigui Pig Iron Co., Ltd. is located in the busiest row of shops in the West City. The shop displays all kinds of high-quality Xueguang threat weapons, such as swords, knives, and lances…all of which are readily available. All of them are of the highest quality cold iron, and the price is several times higher than that of the nearby pig iron shop. Even so, there are still a lot of horses parked in front of the shop, and there is an endless stream of young men who come here to choose weapons.

Teng Yuyi walked around the neighborhood, then entered a cloth shop run by a barbarian across the street, went up to the second floor and sat down at a window seat, and ordered the store owner to bring up the softest fabrics in the store.

While waiting, her eyes kept turning to the other side, and suddenly she heard someone call in a rough voice: “Zhuang Mu.”

Teng Yuyi looked intently, and saw an unusually short and thin dark-skinned man coming out of it: “What’s the matter?”

***

Many officials and servants gathered in the main hall of Dali Temple, covering their sleeves and noses.

There are two corpses placed side by side on the ground. It seems that they are the couple sent from the same state capital. They must have been dead for a long time. stink.

Beside the corpse, an official from other places was busy stating the case: “The man’s name is Wang Zangbao, who is twenty-five this year, and the woman is Bai, who is twenty-two this year. Both of them are from the same prefecture. He makes a living by selling cooked food (Note 1). Wang Zangbao’s skill of making cooked food is passed down from his ancestors. The business in the shop was very good. Unfortunately, he got into the bad habit of cockfighting last year and lost a lot of money one after another. Fighting chickens offended a few local ruffians and attracted a lot of right and wrong. Wang Zangbao was overwhelmed by the disturbance, and wanted to take this opportunity to get rid of the gambling habit of fighting chickens. He simply sold the shop and brought his wife to Chang’an to make a living, but he was killed on the way. .Speaking of sin, Mrs. Bai is still five months pregnant—”

Just as they were talking, someone turned around and saw Lin Chengyou and Yan Sizhi, and hurriedly said, “Yan Sizhi, Lin Pingshi. This is Liu Facao from Tongzhou Prefecture.”

Liu Facao had heard of Lin Chengyou’s name a long time ago, and he took the initiative to greet him and said, “Lin Pingshi, Yan Sizhi, and the next official, Liu, have long admired his name.”

“Liu Facao has worked hard all the way.” Lin Chengyou arched his hands, and then turned his head to look at the corpse on the ground. There was an evil spirit lingering above the corpse, and the couple had turned into ghosts for a while.

He walked to the side of the corpse in a few steps, squatted down and lifted the shroud, although he held his breath in advance, he still turned his head away from the smell of the corpse.

Someone in the hall vomited, and several yamen servants held their noses and handed their handkerchiefs to Lin Chengyou.

Lin Chengyou waved his hand and said no, and turned his face to take a closer look. It was the corpse of a young and strong man, his face was already showing signs of decay, and there was a bowl-sized wound on his chest, as if he had been pierced by a sharp weapon. chest.

“Where were they murdered?” Lin Chengyou asked.

Liu Facao hurriedly replied: “He died in an inn on the road from Tongzhou to Chang’an. The inn is called Ju’an Inn.”

It is consistent with what Chen Erniang said in the story. Lin Chengyou inspected the corpse: “What is the cause of Wang Zangbao’s death?”

“The heart vein was broken. The murder weapon should be a butcher’s knife, pierced through the chest, and killed him with a single knife. Apart from this, there was no wound on Wang Zangbao’s body.”

After inspecting Wang Zangbao’s body, Lin Chengyou lifted the white cloth on the other side.

It was a young woman, and the huge umbrella-shaped wound on her abdomen was shocking.

Lin Chengyou’s gaze was fixed on the edge of the wound, and he read it correctly. Like the young woman named Liniang in the morgue, Bai’s wounds were torn open with bare hands.

This is worth thinking about. When killing Wang Zangbao, the murderer obviously had a knife, so why did he use both hands when taking the fetus.

If the two cases are committed by the same murderer——

“Liu Facao, on what date were the Wangs killed?”

“The night of the fifth day of March.”

“It’s been twenty days.” Tongzhou is not far from Chang’an, and it only takes five or six days for the fast horse. The murderer can come to Chang’an to commit murder after killing people in Tongzhou.

Lin Chengyou pointed to Bai’s abdomen: “I heard that you searched the neighborhood for several days after the incident, but did you find the fetus in Bai’s belly?”

Liu Facao shook his head with a pale face: “The lower official led people to search every mountain and questioned every passing vehicle, but they didn’t even find the remains of the fetus, and even the murder weapon was not found. Let the lower official see , the murderer should have escaped from Tongzhou overnight.”

The officials showed approval, but they were a little puzzled. Liu Facao was diligent in handling the case, and the case was soon to be solved. If so, why did he submit this case to Dali Temple?

If it is solved by itself, Liu Fa Cao will definitely be able to rate it as “upper” in the next year’s examination.

Liu Facao smiled wryly and said: “To be honest, the officials suspected that Wang Zangbao’s enemies did it. After investigation, the leader Poppi Hou Er had indeed hired a car to leave the same state. After getting the evidence, the officials put him on the road. Hou Er and his accomplices were arrested together in the county government office. After several days of interrogation, although Hou Er and the others admitted that they wanted to teach Wang Zangbao a lesson, they refused to admit that they had killed anyone. At this time, the colleagues searched Hou Er’s house again. A pig-killing knife was produced, the motive was obtained, and the murder weapon was also obtained. The subordinate officials immediately put Hou Er in prison. Unexpectedly, ghosts began to haunt the Yamen that night, and Hou Er was frightened to death. I thought it was time for the Wangs and his wife to calm down, but the commotion became more and more fierce. People in the yamen could see the female ghost looking for things all night. The governor said that there might be something wrong with the case, and ordered the officials to submit it to the police immediately. Come to Dali Temple.”

Looking for something? Also like Liniang last night, looking for her lost fetus everywhere? Lin Chengyou thought for a while and asked: “The murderer sneaked into the room and killed two people in a row. No matter how cautious he was, there would be some noise. What noises could be heard in the neighboring room of the inn?”

“Yes.” Liu Facao said, “On the night when Wang Zangbao and his wife were killed, two foreign businessmen lived in the next room. When they slept in the middle of the night, they were suddenly awakened by the cry of a baby. I didn’t hear that there was a baby next door, so why did I suddenly start crying? When I thought about it, I suddenly felt that the room was surprisingly cold, and then I smelled a strange smell, and then I didn’t know anything. The couple who knew the neighboring room died in the room last night. According to the inspection, the time when the Tians and his wife were killed was about the same time when the businessman heard the cry of the baby.”

Lin Chengyou was silent for a moment, he thought it was just a story made up by a child before, but now he realizes that it is true, so he can’t help but re-examine these two strange cases.

In the past, he also saw many monsters who took fetuses and ate them in Qingyun Temple’s classics. How could there be a cry.

Besides, how can a five-month-old fetus cry at the top of its lungs?

If it is the evil monster that makes a baby-like cry, it is not impossible, but it does not make sense. The two businessmen were stunned and escaped from the Tongzhou capital overnight.

Judging from this series of tricks, it is clearly not the work of a demon, but a certain murderer. Because he didn’t want to be found out by the government, he took a lot of trouble.

Lin Chengyou thought about it and stood up. If it was really done by humans, why did the murderer raise suspicions?

It was still early, and the senior officials of Dali Temple hadn’t shown up yet. Most of the halls were young officials below Sizhi. When Lin Chengyou asked about the case, none of the young officials went through the handover procedures.

This case involves two places in Chang’an and Tongzhou. If we really want to investigate it, we will have to go back and forth. Liu Facao from Tongzhou handles the case so quickly and has no clue. Moving to Chang’an will only make it more difficult, and it is destined to be a difficult one. Everyone is obviously unwilling to take on such a thankless job.

Lin Chengyou looked around, except for Yan Sizhi who was carefully inspecting the corpse, the other bosses were far away.

He smiled, there is no need to be so obvious.

Looking at those people, he said to Liu Facao: “Okay, I will discuss this case directly with Yan Si.”

Yan Sizhi hurriedly got up, and without thinking, he said: “I would like to ask Liu Facao to explain the case to Yan.”

The eyes of several young officials showed a bit of optimism. Lin Chengyou just happened to handle a few cases, so he thought he was invincible. It’s fine that this kid is not afraid of tigers, Yan Wanchun also joins in the fun, the cases in his hands have piled up into mountains, and he dares to take on this kind of mess, so he is called “Yan Fool”, which is really true.

Lin Chengyou said with a smile: “Before the official handover, I still have a lot of questions to confirm with Liu Facao. These details may not be recorded in the case file, and Liu Facao will have to help recall them personally. Please trouble Liu Facao to take a rest in the backyard , I will go to Yingchun Lane in Chonghuafang first.”

“Yingchun Lane in Chonghuafang——” Yan Si faced his doubts, “Isn’t that the residence of Liniang who was killed last night?”

“That’s right, Liniang’s death is exactly the same as that of Bai’s. I suspect that it was the same person, so I have to confirm one thing quickly. If Liniang was killed, the neighbors heard the cry of a baby. The cases can basically be closed, so it is very likely that someone will be killed in the future.”

As soon as these words came out, not only Yan Sizhi’s expression changed, but Liu Facao was also amazed.

Those officials put on an appearance that they had nothing to do with them, and walked in calmly. Lin Chengyou had already gone outside, but suddenly stepped back: “Hey, Wang Sizhi, Chen Sizhi, please Stay here, you can see that there are too many trivial cases in Xiaguan’s hands, and now that he has taken over this case, he really can’t do anything, in order not to delay the handling of the case, the miscellaneous cases in Xiaguan’s hands have to be entrusted to the two seniors.”

Wang Sizhi and Chen Sizhi tried to shirk without even thinking about it, and met Lin Chengyou’s smiling eyes, and swallowed their words again.

Lin Chengyou’s eloquence is not hindered. When it comes to the ability to speak fallacies, all the people in Dali Temple can’t compare with him. Besides, it’s okay if Lin Chengyou doesn’t make sense. For the sake of his future official career, how dare they challenge him openly.

Wang Sizhi was more flexible than Chen Sizhi, so he quickly responded: “Why did Lin Pingshi make such a statement, please turn the case around.”

Lin Chengyou smiled warmly: “Then I have to thank you two seniors.”

However, when the cases reached Wang Sizhi and Chen Sizhi, there was only one case about Lin Chengyou, and the rest were about Yan Wanchun’s.

The two are used to bullying Yan Wanchun, and they know that this person is always honest and will never take the initiative to throw his case to others. Don’t think about it, this must be Lin Chengyou’s idea. I only regret that I did it too obviously in the morning. No more words, I had to answer them all.

***

When Lin Chengyou arrived at Chun’an Lane, Gong Facao from Chang’an County was instructing the servants to seal off Liniang’s house. When he heard that Lin Chengyou was coming, Gong Facao rushed out to greet him: “Why is Lin Pingshi here?”

Lin Chengyou cupped his hands at Gong Facao: “I and Yan Si directly handled this case.”

Dismounting from the horse and taking a look around, Shu Liniang’s house is located at the end of the alley, which is very quiet and comfortable. Lin Chengyou stepped up the steps: “Apart from Liniang, who else lives in the house?”

“There are only six masters and servants, apart from Liniang herself, there are two maidservants, an old servant at the gate and two cooks.”

“Li Niang lives here alone? Where is her husband?”

Gong Fa and Cao Ping stepped back from the yamen servant and said in a low voice, “She is a housewife that Zheng Pushe raised outside (Note 2).”

Lin Chengyou looked at Gong Facao.

He didn’t believe Gong Facao’s embarrassment at first, because Zheng Pushe was notoriously fearful of internal affairs, but he didn’t know that the old man kept a few housewives quietly.

“Liniang’s surname is Shu, and she is twenty years old. Shu Liniang had to come to Chang’an to seek refuge with her relatives because she had not conceived a child yet, and her husband’s family refused to accept her. She stayed in Shu Changshi’s mansion. Later, she was shot by Zheng Pushe for some reason. Since then, Zheng Pushe has been Shu Liniang was placed here, and she would come to see her from time to time. Everyone in the alley knew about it, and only kept it from Zheng Pushe’s wife. After Zheng Pushe got the news last night, he was so shocked that he almost fell off his horse. I didn’t show my face, so I hurriedly sent the most useful servants around me to intervene in this matter, and also told the Chang’an county government to bring the real culprit to justice as soon as possible.”

Lin Chengyou thought to himself, no wonder Chang’an County handed over the case to Dali Temple that night, thinking it was for fear of delaying the pursuit of the murderer.

“How many months is Shu Liniang pregnant?”

“It’s just three months old.”

Lin Chengyou was taken aback, but Shu Liniang’s child was actually younger than Bai’s.

“Zheng Pushe was here last night? Does he know that Shu Liniang is pregnant?”

Gong Facao: “According to Zheng Pushe’s entourage, Zheng Pushe already knew that Shu Liniang was pregnant, so he sent an extra cook to take care of Shu Liniang. , I haven’t been to Chun’an Lane for ten days.”

Lin Chengyou went straight to the inner courtyard: “Who was the first to find Shu Liniang’s body?”

“These are Shu Liniang’s two maidservants. After Shu Liniang had dinner last night, she said she was tired and went to bed early. The servants in the house finished their work and went to bed earlier than usual. They slept until midnight. The children suddenly woke up from the cold. It was the end of Haishi. Normally, at this time, Liniang would call them to bring tea, but Liniang remained silent. The second servant was worried, and went into the inner room to look at Liniang, only to find that she was already dead. In bed.”

Lin Chengyou thought for a while, Liniang’s ghost broke into the Teng Mansion around the time of Zi, that is to say, Liniang turned into a ghost immediately after her death.

No matter how heavy the grievance is, it won’t be like this, unless…someone enlightens it. The strangest thing is that Liniang went directly to the Teng Mansion instead of looking for the murderer.

Thinking about Lin Chengyou’s arrival in the inner courtyard, he was greeted by a thick smell of blood. He entered the inner room and bypassed the screen. The situation on the bed was shocking.

The ground was also covered with large bloodstains, interspersed with many messy footprints.

“Have you checked these footprints? Have you found any outsiders?”

“I’ve checked it, and it’s all left by the maidservant and the cook. Although the old man at the door heard the news, he didn’t dare to enter the inner room. Just to be cautious, I asked the servants to take off their shoes on the spot. A comparison was made.”

Lin Chengyou carefully inspected the bloodstains in the house, and went to the window and outside the court to investigate. He went inside and out several times, not even letting go of the dust in the corners, but the murderer did not leave any traces.

“Have you searched all around? Have you found the fetus in Shu Liniang’s womb?”

Gong Facao shook his head slowly.

Lin Chengyou was silent, very good, Shu Liniang is the same as Bai’s in Tongzhou, the fetus in her womb just disappeared.

“Call all the servants in the mansion, I will interrogate them one by one.”

As a result, after asking, I found out that the five servants all fell asleep last night, and none of them heard the movement when the crime happened.

Fortunately, after repeated questioning by Lin Chengyou, the servants gradually remembered that they had smelled a strange fragrance before going to bed.

This is consistent with what happened to the two businessmen when the Tongzhou case happened. Lin Chengyou asked the servants to describe the condition of the fragrance, but the servants couldn’t tell. Lin Chengyou asked Shu Liniang if she had had any feuds with others in the past, or if she had quarreled with Zheng Pushe recently, etc. After asking dozens of questions, she got up and went to the adjacent house to inquire.

The neighbors in the neighborhood obviously heard about the tragedy last night, and all the doors were closed early in the morning, and almost no one walked around in the huge Chun’an Lane.

After finally knocking on the door of the house next door, the guards were already frightened. Before Gong Facao could ask, he wished he could shake his head like a rattle: “This old slave doesn’t know anything.”

Lin Chengyou put his hand on the door and said with a smile: “Hey, don’t rush to close the door, we haven’t finished talking yet.”

Seeing that he was a handsome young man in a low-level green robe official uniform, he didn’t care too much, he just locked the door firmly: “The master and wife of the mansion are not at home, so I don’t know what the two officials want to ask. “

Lin Chengyou pushed the door open without any excuse, and drove straight in: “I’m here to inquire about what happened last night.”

It took Lin Chengyou a lot of work to inquire about this, and finally learned from a clerk of the chef that when he woke up last night, the clerk heard the cry of a baby.

“Are you sure it came from the wall?” Lin Chengyou asked.

The man’s face was pale: “That’s right, I thought I heard it wrong, because there are no young masters or ladies in the house, so I listened in front of the toilet for a while before I realized that the cry came from It was heard from the house next door. The younger one thought at the time, could it be that the lady who lived alone gave birth? It was cold in the night, and the younger one shivered after standing for a while, and ran back to the room to sleep without thinking too much. .”

“Besides the crying of the baby, can you hear other sounds? For example, cries for help, or the voices of strangers?”

The buddy’s legs felt weak: “There are few cars and horses in our Chun’an Lane, so there is not much noise during the day, and it becomes even quieter at night. If there are any strange noises, the small ones should be able to hear them immediately, but at that time only I heard the cry of the baby.”

Lin Chengyou stared at the high wall between the two houses: “This place is quiet amidst the hustle and bustle. If someone stranger comes here, it should immediately attract your attention. Have you seen any strangers in the past few days?”

The clerk shook his head blankly, but a coachman said: “Yes. The villain remembered that there was a short black man wandering around the alley yesterday evening. After a few glances, the man saw me, and walked towards another intersection. There are only eight mansions in Chun’an Lane, and we are familiar with the servants in each mansion. We have never seen that man before. “

Lin Chengyou: “What does that guy look like?”

“It’s not tall, it only reaches the young master’s shoulder. He is dark and thin, with a big mole on his right cheek.”

Gong Facao frowned when he heard that, Chang’an city had at least thousands of such-looking rogues, how could he find out the whereabouts of that person just by listening to this description.

Lin Chengyou was full of patience: “Think about it again, is there something special about that person’s body and hands? What kind of clothes are they wearing?”

The coachman paused: “It seems to be wearing short brown clothes, nothing special, but this man’s hands are red and big, and there are many scars on the back of his hands and arms.”

Lin Chengyou stared at the coachman closely: “What shape is the scar?”

“I didn’t see it clearly, I only know that it’s all messed up, and even the joints are deformed, a bit… a bit like a burn, otherwise the villain wouldn’t pay much attention.”

Gong Facao thought to himself, who would have so many scars on the back of their hands and arms?

But I heard Lin Chengyou pondering and said: “Blacksmith? Or bricklayer?”

Gong Facao was taken aback.

Lin Chengyou asked for a pen and paper, drew a portrait according to the driver’s description, and asked the driver to confirm the location of the scar again and again before putting the portrait in his arms.

“Where is Lin Pingshi planning to go?” Gong Facao followed Lin Chengyou out of the house.

Lin Chengyou got on his horse: “Let’s ask here first, I’ll go to the pig iron shops in Xishi and Dongshi, and I’ll trouble Gong Facao to hand over the oral records of the people in the two houses to Yan Sizhi of Dali Temple.”

“No.”

Lin Chengyou drove his horse straight to Xishi, thinking in his mind, he has not yet found out whether Hu Ji was really murdered by Lu Zhaoan, and such a big case happened again, the case is so strange, it doesn’t make sense to say that there are no evil spirits at all .

Although Kuan Nu is capable, he doesn’t know the secret art of Minglu. It would be great if Juesheng and Qizhi came back. If Hu Jizhen’s strange illness is handed over to the two brats for investigation, he can also take the opportunity to experience them for a while. .

He calculated the date in his mind, the Taoist event in the □□ Palace ended a few days ago, and the two boys should come back by today at the latest.

Coincidentally, as soon as we arrived at the gate of Xishi, a calf cart passed by Lin Chengyou’s horse. The spring breeze was blowing, and the child’s clear and tender voice wafted out of the car, which sounded very familiar to our ears. .

“I bet, this brother will not like it.”

A smile appeared in Lin Chengyou’s eyes, he flicked the reins, and let his horse stop the calf’s path.

Ameng Yixi, the coachman: “My son.”

The door curtain was lifted, and two round heads came out of the car: “Senior brother!”

It was Juesheng and Qizhi, the two were so happy that they jumped out of the car first.

Lin Chengyou got off his horse with a smile: “When did you come back?”

Juesheng said happily: “I came back last night. I was afraid of disturbing my brother’s rest, so I didn’t go to Chengwang Mansion to report. I went to Dali Temple in the morning to find my brother. Yan Sizhi said that my brother went out to handle a case. I have nothing to do with Qizhi.” If there is something wrong, I will go to the West Market for a walk. Why is the brother here?”

Lin Chengyou patted the heads of his juniors in turn: “I should ask this question, why don’t you hurry up and record what you have seen and heard about the palace?”

Juesheng smirked, and Qizhi quietly hid his two fat hands behind his back: “Don’t worry, brother, we will remember it on the way back, and show it to brother when we go back.”

Senior Brother will celebrate his birthday in a few days, they have saved money for a long time, and they took it out in the morning, planning to go to West Market to buy a birthday gift for Senior Brother, but the gift has not been chosen yet, how can Senior Brother know in advance.

Lin Chengyou pretended not to see the two winking, and led the two of them to the side by the horse: “Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

“I’ve used it, how about you, brother?”

Lin Chengyou raised his eyebrows, he accidentally ate too much at Teng Mansion in the morning, and he is still overwhelmed.

“It’s just in time for you to come back. There have been several conspiracies in Chang’an City recently. Kuan Nu and Yan Sizhi don’t know Taoism. There is another matter for you to deal with.”

Juesheng and Qizhi Yilin: “Brother, please tell me.”

Lin Chengyou briefly told them how Hu Jizhen suddenly lost his soul, how he suspected that Lu Zhaoan was related to this matter, and how two similar strange cases occurred in Tongzhou and Chang’an.

“Original brother wanted you to help investigate Hu Jizhen’s matter, and you also happened to come to West Market, why not help senior brother identify someone first.”

As he said, he took out the portrait from his arms: “This person should know some sorcery. Compared with my colleagues, you guys are more or less able to deal with contingencies. There are too many pig iron shops in Chang’an City, and the West City will hand over to you.” Here it is for you, Senior Brother will go to Dongshi to investigate, if you see the man in the painting, immediately ask Ameng to go to Dongshi to pass on a message to Senior Brother, remember not to make the other party suspicious, because he is very likely to be the murderer of the two murders.”

Qizhi and Juesheng saw the face of the person in the painting and nodded seriously.

Lin Chengyou took the portrait back into his arms: “After finishing this matter, you all go to follow Lu Zhaoan.”

Juesheng scratched his head: “Brother, why did Shu Liniang’s ghost go to Teng Mansion?”

Of course they didn’t believe that Teng Yuyi had something to do with the murder, but how could Li Gui come to him for no reason.

Lin Chengyou was also thinking about this issue all morning, but last night Teng Yu said with certainty that all of this was probably Lu Zhaoan’s conspiracy, the purpose of which was to murder Du Tinglan.

But the case in Tongzhou happened on the fifth day of March, and Chang’an finished the Jinshi Banquet on the third day of March. Even if Lu Zhaoan had wings, he couldn’t rush to Tongzhou to kill people within two days. He may not have done the caesarean section last night, so how could he lure Shu Liniang’s ghost to Teng’s mansion in the first place?

Unless Lu Zhaoan has other accomplices.

But what is he planning? Is it worth such a big fight just because he is afraid that Du Tinglan will tell the fact that the two have been in love?

Intuition told Lin Chengyou that Shu Liniang was probably going after Teng Yuyi, which made him even more puzzled, who did Teng Yuyi provoke, and why did he encounter such bad things again and again.

Suddenly he thought of Ying Lingshi in his arms. In the morning, he only told Teng Yuyi not to leave the house at night. If she ran out during the day and encountered evil spirits, wouldn’t he be quarreled again.

Since Juesheng and Qizhi are back, why don’t you give them the stone, but they reached their fronts and stopped again.

As soon as Juesheng and Qizhi came back, he sent him to follow Lu Zhaoan, and then let them take care of Teng Yuyi.

“What’s going on, we’ll know when these cases are cleared up.” Lin Chengyou took out a few coins from his sleeve and gave them to the two, “I’ll buy some food outside at noon, remember to be cautious.”

After finishing speaking, he got on his horse and rode towards Dongshi.

Juesheng and Qizhi adjusted their Taoist robes and followed the crowd into the West Market. Although there were only a few strokes in the portrait of the senior brother, it showed the man’s features one by one.

Walking and stopping along the way, as long as they saw the pig iron shop, the two of them would walk around the shop twice under the pretext that they wanted to forge a Taoist sword.

Checked several pig iron shops one after another, but still didn’t see the person in the painting. They were hungry after walking, so they went to the bakery to buy cakes to satisfy their hunger.

Not long after I left the shop, I passed another pig iron company called “Yumigui”. Juesheng and Qizhi stopped to watch, there was a lot of people in front of this store, and the business was better than other places, just as they got into the crowd, they felt their clothes being pulled, turned their heads to look, and couldn’t help being stunned.

Uncle Duanfu?

Duan Fu’s face was expressionless, but his tone was very gentle: “My son wants to see the two priests.”

The two hurriedly followed Duanfu into the cloth shop opposite, went up to the second floor, and saw a bearded young man smiling all over his face.

Juesheng and Qizhi almost burst into laughter on the spot, and it really was Lady Teng.

“Prince Wang!!!”

Teng Yuyi was happier than them, and quickly greeted him: “You came back last night?”

“Yes.” Juesheng and Qizhi were overjoyed, “Prince, why are you here?”

Teng Yuyi invited them to sit by the window: “I’m here to do something. How about you?”

Juesheng and Qizhi were undefended in front of Teng Yuyi, and lowered their voices: “We are looking for someone for senior brother.”

“Looking for someone?” Teng Yuyi hurriedly lowered her voice, “I brought a lot of men out, do you want them to help you find them?”

Qizhi said gratefully: “No need, no need. This person may be the murderer of a murder case, so don’t disturb too many people.”

Knowing that Lin Chengyou often sent two younger juniors to help him with work, Teng Yuyi stopped asking more questions and changed the topic with a smile: “You haven’t had your lunch yet, I’ll treat you to something good.”

Juesheng and Qizhi were so happy that they could not close their mouths from ear to ear, and kept waving their hands: “Don’t bother Mr. Wang, we just ate the pancakes, and the brother gave us a lot of food money, enough for us to eat for a whole day .”

“He is him, I am me.” Teng Yuyi poured two cups of cane syrup for them, “Your senior brothers only know how to give money and never arrange for you. Invite you to dinner, today’s meal, I promise to let you try something new.”

When she was talking, she glanced at Yumigui across the street for almost half an hour. Zhuang Mu has been working in the store, and if there is no change before dark, then she can do it too Take it easy.

At this time, the shopkeeper came over with a lot of embroiderers: “This is the best cloth in the shop, and one piece is worth ten thousand gold. If the young master still doesn’t like it, the villain can’t do anything about it.”

Teng Yuyi turned her head, and immediately fell in love with the gold-treasure brocade with the Ruyi pattern of Buddha’s head green. It is rare that the color of Buddha’s head green can be dyed so clear, and it is rare that the embroidery is also top-notch.

The storekeeper is the best at distinguishing colors by looks, and hurriedly said: “Young master has good eyesight, this piece of brocade is an orphan, the villain spent a lot of effort to **** it from other fabric merchants, it is the only one in Chang’an, If you miss it, you will lose it.”

Juesheng asked curiously: “Does the prince want to buy fabric?”

Teng Yuyi gently caressed the brocade face with her fingers. She had never given grandpa a birthday gift in these years. Cheng, but with a calm face, he just said: “My grandpa’s birthday is coming soon, let me help my grandpa choose some soft materials. These are all so-so, but I don’t particularly like it.”

Qizhi: “It’s a coincidence, brother’s birthday is coming soon, Juesheng and I want to choose a birthday gift, but we don’t know what to give, Mr. Wang, how about you give us some ideas.”

Teng Yuyi was taken aback, he didn’t know how well the purple jade saddle was made, it was best to make it before Lin Chengyou’s birthday, so as to save Teng’s mansion from preparing another birthday gift.

“When is your brother’s birthday?”

“The seventh day of the next month.”

It will be soon.

She pointed to the pile of brilliant silk colors in front of her: “Why don’t you also send some fabrics for clothes?”

Qizhi shyly said: “This fabric is too expensive, Juesheng and I don’t have that much money.”

Teng Yuyi smiled and said: “Silly boy, you don’t need to give such expensive things. You can also have a look at the fan pendant, shoes and socks. Just make sense. Your senior brother loves you very much. He will be happy to give you anything you want.”

Juesheng hehe: “We rarely go out to buy things, I’m afraid we can’t choose well.”

Teng Yuyi looked at Juesheng and then at Qizhi. The two of them actually asked her for advice sincerely. He said there is a good ink studio nearby, why don’t I show you around later?”

Juesheng Qizhi nodded happily, Qizhi glanced out of the window unintentionally, his face changed instantly, and hurriedly pulled Juesheng’s clothes.

Teng Yuyi looked along, only to find that Zhuang Mu had come out of the shop.

She looked at the faces of Juesheng and Qizhi in doubt, and lowered her voice: “Is he the one you are looking for?”

Juesheng nodded hastily: “Last night, a pregnant woman was killed in Chun’an Lane, and the brother said that the murderer is very likely to be this person.”

Teng Yuyi thumped in his heart, and said in a deep voice, “His name is Zhuang Mu, and he works for the pig iron company opposite.”

Juesheng and Qizhi were stunned: “Young Master Wang also knows that person?”

Teng Yuyi hummed: “It’s a bit of a festival.”

After Zhuang Mu came out, he turned around at the door, bowed his head and went to the depths of the market.

Qizhi got up: “Not good, he wants to run away, I have to report to my brother quickly.”

Teng Yuyi couldn’t stop Qizhi, so she leaned out and gave a wink downstairs, the guards of Teng Manor nodded and followed quietly.

Teng Yuyi pulled Juesheng up and went downstairs.

The shopkeeper followed behind: “My lord, you finally fell in love with this piece of brocade, do you want it or not—”

Teng Yuyi didn’t care about the counter-offer: “Well, I’ll come and pick it up later.”

Going out to look around, Qi Zhi and the coachman had already disappeared. Teng Yuyi and Juesheng simply jumped into the calf cart of Qingyun Temple, and drove in the direction where Zhuang Mu left.