While at Dali Temple, Zhugenan said that the dozen or so members of the Zheng family encountered bandits only after they left the boundaries of Chang'an City.
This sentence caught Han Cheng's attention.
He suspected that the person who killed the Zheng family was probably someone from the Green Forest.
Since the Tang Dynasty unified the world fifty years ago, wars have ended, people's lives have become better and better, and the heroes have washed their hands and retired.
For example, Han Cheng's father, Han Yi, once gathered in Xiaoshan Forest and built a stronghold. However, he later led his men to join Li Tang's army and became a low-level officer in Qianniu Guard. Later, Li Shimin gave Zhou Guogong warrior Xun as a bodyguard.
Han Yi relied on his superb martial arts to achieve the position of commander of the bodyguards of Duke Zhou's palace. When he grew old, he passed the position to his son.
There are many green forest thieves like Han Yi in Chang'an City. Compared with ordinary people, they cherish this stable life more and will never allow anyone to destroy it.
Therefore, there is an unwritten rule on the Green Forest Road: no one is allowed to cause trouble in the imperial capital of Chang'an, otherwise the consequences will be extremely miserable.
Therefore, in murder cases that often occur in Chang'an City, there is almost no trace of the man in the green forest. If the person they want to kill is in Chang'an, they will wait for him to leave Chang'an before taking action.
This was very consistent with the situation of the attack on the Zheng family. Han Cheng felt that investigating in this direction might be able to help his father-in-law.
Not long after, Han Cheng came to Yeyuqiu Gate. In front of him was a magnificent building with green tiles and red eaves. Since it was getting late, guests outside the building were already arriving in groups.
During the Tang Dynasty, the word "brothel" had nothing to do with vulgarity. The girls in the brothel made a living by singing and dancing, performing arts instead of selling themselves, so it could be called a spiritual paradise for literati.
Women in brothels are also divided into different grades. The lowest grade earns a living by selling jokes, while the middle grade women mostly have outstanding looks but lack talents and serve the powerful.
The highest-end women are all knowledgeable and talented, and are respectfully called "all-knowledge" by others.
This kind of woman is not only talented and beautiful, and has excellent literary talent, but also has an elegant temperament and is good at dancing.
Everyone in Chang'an City, whether they were rich and powerful or literati, were proud to attend the literary and wine gatherings held by them.
There are three most famous "duzhi" in Pingkangfang, namely Gu Luoer from Ye Yuqiu, Lan Xiaolou from Luoyinglou, and Yan Fenhui from Huanxiyuan.
Different from Luoying Tower and Huanxi Garden, Ye Yuqiu's guests include both wealthy young men wearing brocade clothes and jade belts, as well as poor scholars wearing commoners.
This is because Gu Luoer, who is known by Yeyu Qiutou, disdains high-ranking officials, but those poor scholars with outstanding literary talents are more courteous to her.
Han Cheng stepped into the brothel and saw that in the lobby, tables and tables were arranged extremely elegantly, and the sound of poetry, silk and bamboo, and singing could be heard constantly.
Han Cheng was very uncomfortable with this atmosphere. He frowned and said to a steward, "I'm looking for Lu Xiong," and then found a seat and sat down.
Soon, a burly man came over.
This person is Lu Xiong. He used to be the leader of the Green Forest Bandit, and he and Han Yi were sworn brothers. However, because he did not seek refuge with the imperial court, he had to hide his name in the future, and his life was not as good as Han Yi's.
Two years ago, Lu Xiong took his father's letter and came to the capital to join the Han family and his son. Han Yi couldn't bear the favor, so he found Lu Xiong a nursing home job in Ye Yuqiu.
Not only does this job provide more money but less work, but it also allows you to listen to music and watch beauties for free. Lu Xiong is very satisfied with this and has always been grateful to the Han family.
"I heard recently that Duke Zhou was captured by Di Renjie. I was about to go find you and ask, is Duke okay?" Lu Xiong just sat down opposite Han Cheng and asked.
Han Cheng glanced around and whispered: "Who did you hear about this?"
Lu Xiong smiled and said: "Brothers from the Wang family in Leshun Tower, but I know you don't want this kind of thing to spread, so I warned those two boys not to spread it!"
Han Cheng nodded. Leshun House was a teahouse. The Wang brothers were former gangsters and had private connections with the underworld. It was normal for them to be well-informed.
"What's wrong? Did something really happen?" Lu Xiong couldn't help but ask when he saw Han Cheng's solemn face.
"I will tell you about this later." Han Cheng said: "I came to you today because I want you to help me check if there are any strangers who have come to Chang'an City recently."
Lu Xiong frowned and said angrily: "Did someone break the rules and commit a crime in Chang'an City?"
"No, it was done in Shangzhou, so I suspect it was someone from the Taoist community."
Lu Xiong narrowed his eyes: "Listening to what you said, I remembered one thing. I heard from the fifth man of the Tang family in Shande Hall that there have been some new faces in the city recently, and they are all related to Gao Longna in the south of the city.
The old boy has some contacts."
Han Cheng's face turned cold. Although Gao Long, like his father, had been a gangster in the past, he had betrayed his brother to the court and was able to clear his record with the government.
This kind of behavior has always been shameful for Taoists, and many people threatened to kill him.
However, since he settled in Chang'an, he has kept a low profile and never committed any crimes, and there is nothing others can do against him.
"Brother Lu, please help me investigate Gao Long and see if he has sent anyone to Shangzhou to handle cases recently." Han Cheng said with a cupped hand.
Lu Xiong laughed: "Brother, why are you so polite? Come and have a drink!"
At this moment, a scholar suddenly walked in from outside the door.
Although the scholar was shabbily dressed, when he said to the deacon, "I am Lu Zhao, my neighbor, and I would like to see Gu Douzhi," everyone in the hall looked at him, including Lu Xiong.
The deacon went up to the second floor to make an announcement, and then led Lu Zhaolin up to the second floor and into the room on the far left.
"Is the scholar a relative of yours?" Han Cheng asked suspiciously when he saw Lu Xiong staring at the scholar.
Lu Xiong rolled his eyes and said: "Among the generations of my ancestors, I am the most literate. How could I have such a relative?"
"Then why are you looking at him like that?"
Lu Xiong drank a glass of wine and sighed: "Do you know Gu Douzhi?"
"One of the three most famous intellectuals in Pingkangfang, I have naturally heard of him."
Lu Xiong snorted: "Brother, although I have never seen Yan Fenfen or Lan Yujin, even if they are immortals descended from heaven, they cannot be as good as Gu Douzhi."
Han Cheng couldn't help but laugh. He didn't expect that a rough man like Lu Xiong, who had stayed in a brothel for a long time, would be obsessed with the women of the brothel like those literati.
Lu Xiong waved to the deacon in the distance and asked: "Old steward, I never heard that Gu Douzhi is holding a cultural reception today. Why are so many people entering her room?"
The deacon named Lao Guan was in his fifties, with a scorched yellow beard, a hunched head and shrugged shoulders, and a wretched appearance.
After Lu Xiong asked about it, he said with red eyes: "Those poor people came to Gu Douzhi to complain. Gu Douzhi is such a nice person, why bother with them." After he finished speaking, he couldn't help but pull his beard and looked like a man.
Looking angry.
Lu Xiong asked curiously: "What are you complaining about?"
"You don't know that tonight, Her Royal Highness Princess Taiping held a literary and wine party in her mansion and invited the ten most talented people in the city to attend the party. These poor people who came to Ye Yuqiu did not receive the invitation.
I hope we can all give them a few words of comfort!"
Lu Xiong was immediately furious and cursed these literati for being shameless together with the old steward. Han Cheng shook his head secretly, stood up and said: "Brother Lu, I have to go to protect the father-in-law, so I will leave first."
Lu Xiong stood up and sent him to the door. He returned to the lobby and did not patrol the backyard. He stood by a pillar and looked at Gu Duzhi's room silently.
He is highly skilled in martial arts and can solve problems very well, and he was recommended by the Han family. Everyone in the brothel, from the madam to the handyman, respects him very much, and no one cares about him even if he is lazy.
After a long time, Lu Xiong withdrew his gaze and looked around the lobby. After seeing no troublesome guests, he prepared to go back to the backyard to patrol.
At this moment, a piercing scream sounded in the brothel.
The sound came from the third room on the right side of the second floor. Lu Xiong reacted very quickly and ran towards the second floor.
When I arrived on the second floor, I saw a deaconess in her forties sitting slumped outside a door, looking into the room with horrified eyes.
Lu Xiong quickly approached her and asked urgently: "What's the matter?"
"Lu...Guyuan, Lady Liu...the corpse...and the monk!" the deaconess said incoherently.
Lu Xiong walked outside the door in a few steps, looked inside, and couldn't help being surprised.
There were two women in the house, both lying on the ground. Their bodies were covered in blood. If you looked closely, you could see a wound on their chests.
What's even stranger is that both of them have a bloody dagger in their hands!
Among the two women, one is Liu Rong, a dancer from Ye Yuqiu, and the other is a nun.