When Lin Hao and Qi Shuo approached Cheng Maoming, the commander of the Jinlin Guards, the Minister of Punishment hurried into the palace with the portrait obtained from his subordinates to ask for credit from Emperor Tai'an, oh, no, to report the progress of the investigation.

"Already know the appearance of the murderer?" Emperor Tai'an felt happy after hearing this.

Shen Shangshu held the scroll with both hands: "Please take a look at it, Your Majesty."

Liu Chuan took the scroll, returned to Emperor Tai'an and unfolded it slowly.

Emperor Tai'an stared at the characters in the painting closely, and his voice was cold: "How did you get this portrait?"

"Reporting to the Emperor, it was a supervisor who found out that the waiter in the teahouse had seen the suspect. Prince Jing listened to the waiter's description and drew this image." Of course, Shen Shangshu wanted to take all the credit, but he also knew that he could bite off more than he could chew. .

That was Prince Jing, not just a cat or a dog. Besides, as the chief official in charge of the case, he was grateful to Prince Jing for such a big help.

"Did Prince Jing paint it?" Emperor Tai'an was a little surprised when he heard this, and couldn't help but look at the portrait more carefully.

The man in the painting has long and thin cheeks, and his sharp eyes seem to be solidified, confronting the viewer through the painting paper.

What real eyes and superb painting skills!

In Emperor Tai'an's impression, this nephew was quiet, restrained, and steady. Compared with those clan members who were either flamboyant or arrogant, he was so low-key that he had no sense of existence. He didn't expect his painting skills to be so outstanding.

The literary style of the Great Zhou Dynasty was popular, and there were many people who were good at painting, but it was rare among the clan members. To practice good painting, you need to be able to endure boredom, which was not easy for the clan children who were used to glitz.

Emperor Tai'an became interested in meeting his nephew.

Qi Shuo and Lin Hao asked for the address from Du Qing. They did not rush to find out, but went back to their respective homes.

The sky quietly darkened, the wind stopped, and the red lanterns in front of the two mansions remained motionless, like a huge steamer holding the capital, dark and sultry.

Lin Hao said goodbye to Qi Shuo, washed away the sweat after returning, and slept until dawn.

Chen Mu's portrait was quickly posted all over the capital, and people gathered around pointing at the portrait and talking about it. Cheng Maoming walked on the street and pretended to have seen it accidentally. After expressing his shock, he hurried to the imperial city.

The one who arrived before Cheng Maoming was Qi Shuo.

"I've met the emperor's uncle."

Emperor Tai'an looked at his nephew who was bowing respectfully, and said in a gentle tone: "Are you wondering why I asked you to enter the palace?"

Qi Shuo hesitated for a moment and asked calmly: "Is it about the portrait of my nephew yesterday?"

Emperor Tai'an was startled for a moment, then smiled for a rare moment: "Not bad."

Xu was fed up with the deposed prince's various evil deeds. Looking at his nephew with clean eyes and magnanimous expression, Emperor Tai'an became more and more pleased with him.

"I didn't expect Shuoer to be so good at painting."

"My nephew spends a lot of time at home, just killing time."

Emperor Tai'an nodded: "Thanks to you for the matter in Yi'an."

Qi Shuo said hurriedly: "Uncle Huang has offended his nephew by saying this. If anyone else would do his best, Yi'an would still be innocent."

This was what Emperor Tai'an wanted: "Yes, those gangsters who intend to frame Yi'an are too abominable!"

The uncle and nephew chatted for a few more words until a chamberlain reported that Cheng Maoming wanted to see him.

"Shuo'er, please go back first."

"Nephew, please excuse me."

What Cheng Maoming saw when he came in with his chamberlain was this tender scene. His heart was shocked and he glanced at Qi Shuo suspiciously when he passed by him.

Did Prince Jing say it first?

Gu Yan

Qi Shuo nodded slightly as a greeting and walked out with a calm expression.

Cheng Maoming was determined.

It seems not.

Just say that Prince Jing is not this kind of person.

He stepped forward and saluted and said, "I have seen the emperor."

"Is there anything unusual in the guest house?" Emperor Tai'an's first reaction when he saw Cheng Maoming was this.

The Yuliu envoy came to make a fuss early this morning. Although he told the other party that the existence of a third person had been found, Emperor Tai'an knew that Yuliu's side would not believe it easily.

In other words, even if the evidence is conclusive, the Yuliu envoys will not give up on sending the news of Princess Lingque's death back to Yuliu, and let King Yuliu decide.

Dazhou and Yuliu once had a peace agreement, but as Yuliu grew and grew, this agreement had long since become a fragile window paper, and only a trivial reason was needed to break it.

Emperor Tai'an didn't want to gamble on King Yuliu's thoughts for the time being.

The army has not yet been trained, and the prince has not yet been decided. If Yu Liu and Northern Qi join forces at this time, it will be very detrimental to the Zhou Dynasty.

When Emperor Tai'an thought of establishing a crown prince, he naturally thought of King Wei.

Recently, there have been more and more requests to establish a reserve.

Emperor Tai'an was not dissatisfied with King Wei. Since he was disappointed with the prince, King Wei naturally came into his sight. The fourth son was much better than the eldest son, but the frustrated mood could not be relieved for a while.

Emperor Tai'an was a rational man and knew that he could not delay the establishment of the throne without any other choice, so he had no choice but to keep sorting out his mood.

"There is nothing happening at the guest house. Wei Chen saw the murderer's portrait posted on the street and had something important to report."

When Emperor Tai'an heard this, his expression immediately became serious: "Say."

Cheng Maoming lowered his head slightly and said in his heart: "The person in the portrait... is the one who slipped through the net among the people who wanted to bomb Jinxiu Street!"

"What?" Emperor Tai'an's face became extremely ugly, and the anger he tried to control made his voice as cold as a knife, which hurt people's ears, "I know those people won't give up!"

He glanced at Cheng Maoming and swallowed the scolding: "You, together with the Ministry of Punishment, the Wucheng Army and Horses Division and other yamen, have to dig out this fish that slipped through the net for me even if it digs three feet!"

"Wei Chen accepts the decree." Cheng Maoming walked out of the palace, and his hanging heart fell.

It was better than expected, and I didn't even get scolded.

Because of this, he felt a little more grateful to Qi Shuo.

People in the capital soon discovered that the streets were full of official officers. The doors of every house were being knocked open, and pedestrians walking on the street might also be suddenly stopped and compared with the portraits held by the official officers.

In addition to official officials, more ordinary people also joined in the vigorous campaign to find the key criminals. It was not because they had too much sense of justice, but because the reward was too much.

For a time, the entire capital was enveloped in an atmosphere of tension and excitement, and "suspects" were continuously sent to the government by enthusiastic people.

The common people are relatively simple, so Jinlinwei will definitely not dare to send it, and the other yamen are not familiar with it, so let's send it to Shuntian Mansion.

After the "suspect" was sent away again, the official in Shuntian Prefecture who was responsible for the comparison collapsed: "The fat man just sent is at least twice as wide as the person in the portrait. How did they have the nerve to send it!"

Under this situation, Chen Mu seemed to disappear out of thin air.

On this day, several officials knocked on the door of a house according to the assigned area. After opening the door, they took a look at the young man inside and walked to the next house without even saying a word.

They were all disgusted by the people in the portraits, and they knew they were different without comparing them.

The young man casually glanced outside the door and closed the door calmly.
Chapter completed!