The fire was raging and the air was filled with the smell of kerosene. The group of men in black were obviously well prepared and had made plans to burn the ship long ago.
Most of the entire boat was already in flames, and it was too late to put out the rescue at this time. The official boat threw out ropes and rescued everyone on the boat to the official boat. The man in black who was knocked unconscious by Qin Xiao was also brought to the official boat.
Not long after, the boat gradually sank in the fire.
The three rescued men and the woman were all in shock. They sat on the deck for a long time and could not recover.
Chen Xi stood not far away without saying a word. Gu Baiyi had his hands behind his back, deep in thought. However, Chen Zhitai, the third boss, saw the beautiful woman trembling and kindly ran to find a blanket to put on his wife.
A middle-aged man finally came to his senses. Just then he saw Qin Xiao take action. He stood up, cupped his hands to Qin Xiao and said, "Thank you for your help. If it hadn't been for your help, there would have been no bones left tonight."
"Who are you?" Qin Xiao asked, "Where did those people in black come from?"
"Young man Yang Cai is the escort master." The middle-aged man said: "This time I was on a escort trip to Kyoto. Before tonight, the journey was very smooth. I never expected that I would encounter water bandits here tonight."
"Escort?"
The middle-aged man nodded and said: "That's right, we are from Suzhou Yiwei Escort Bureau." He glanced at the woman and asked with concern: "Is everything okay, madam?"
The beautiful woman finally came back to her senses and looked up. It seemed that she had just realized that there were people on the deck. She lowered her head and whispered softly: "It's okay."
Qin Xiao couldn't help but glance at Chen Xi, but Chen Xi was calm and calm.
Suzhou?
The destination of this trip was to Suzhou, but I didn't expect that these people were also from Suzhou.
"Do you think those people are water bandits?" Qin Xiao stared at Yang Cai and asked.
The bodyguard Yang Cai was startled and asked doubtfully: "These people suddenly got on the boat in the middle of the night, and without saying a word, they started hurting people. Aren't they water bandits? However, villains walk this waterway ten or eight times a year.
I haven’t heard of any water bandits roaming around here. I really can’t tell where they came from.”
"You are escorts, where is the cargo?" Feixin, who was standing next to Qin Xiao, suddenly asked: "What escorts are you traveling with?"
Yang Cai hesitated for a moment and looked at the beautiful woman.
The goods escorted by the bodyguards are naturally secret, but this is only for ordinary people. If there is an official investigation, they cannot hide it. Qin Xiao and a group of people took the official ship, they were clearly members of the imperial court, and Yang Cai did not dare to hide it.
, and finally said: "What we are escorting this time is not the goods, but... this lady!"
Everyone's eyes immediately fell on the beautiful woman.
Although this woman's hair was disheveled and she looked very embarrassed, she still couldn't hide her beauty.
"Are you escorting her to Kyoto this time?" An important reason why Feixin was able to follow Qin Xiao to the south of the Yangtze River this time is his ability to handle cases. Although there have been no cases in Dali Temple for many years, most of the officials' corpses are on a plain diet, and there are only a few.
He is a real master in handling cases, but in comparison, Feixin is the best among them, and he can be regarded as the most outstanding general in the field.
The robbery on the canal was naturally unusual. Feixin also wanted to show off in front of Qin Shaoqing, hoping to win Qin Shaoqing's favor.
Your greater appreciation.
Yang Cai nodded and said: "That's right, there are eight of us out this time, specifically to escort the wife into Beijing." He couldn't help but look in the direction of the sinking ship. Of the eight escorts, only three were left.
The other five people had all been killed by men in black and buried at the bottom of the river.
"It's rare for eight bodyguards to escort a woman." Feixin sneered: "Who hired your bodyguards?"
"It's... she's also madam." Yang Cai naturally didn't dare to hide it from the government: "Madam paid a lot of money and hired us to escort her to Beijing. We... we naturally have to fulfill our responsibilities."
"If the water bandits rob the ship, they are seeking money." Qin Xiao said calmly: "But there is no valuable cargo on your ship. The group of men in black who boarded the ship in the middle of the night definitely did not come for the property on your ship." Glank.
He glanced at the beautiful woman and said: "The target of their action tonight was not randomly chosen, but was well prepared. Before boarding the ship, they prepared kerosene and clearly planned to burn the ship, so we
I really want to know why they burned the boat?"
"You really don't know." Yang Cai said with a bitter face: "We, the Yiwei Escort Agency, are frequent visitors to this canal. We bring gifts to visit the major docks along the way every year. We have not had any enemies for many years. Tonight
That group of people suddenly appeared and killed us by surprise. The villain... The villain can't figure out why they did this now. The adults are right, if we were a cargo ship, the water bandits wanted money and robbed the ship in the middle of the night.
It makes sense, but we are just an ordinary passenger ship, and anyone who looks at it will know that we don’t have much property...!"
Feixin said from the side: "If it is the enemies of your Yiwei Escort who are seeking revenge, they are outnumbered and they can just kill you. Why would they bring kerosene to burn the boat? Isn't it unnecessary?"
Yang Cai nodded and said, "I can't understand even this little guy."
Qin Xiao walked up to the woman. The woman may have been too frightened and had no strength for a moment. She sat on the deck with her legs slanted. This posture outlined her plump and round figure. Chen Zhitai was deliberately watching next to her.
I don't look at it, but I still can't help but glance sideways occasionally.
"Why are those people chasing you?" Qin Xiao looked at the woman's face, but the woman did not dare to raise her head and meet Qin Xiao's eyes. Upon hearing Qin Xiao's words, her delicate body trembled, and she raised her head to look at Qin Xiao,
There was even more fear in his eyes, and his voice was trembling: "They...are they going to hunt me down?"
Qin Xiao smiled lightly and said: "Why do you ask questions knowingly? This group of escorts has been running escorts on this canal all year round and has always maintained good relations with people. The escort agencies do not easily make enemies with others. Why do those group of men in black run away in the middle of the night?
Come to attack some bodyguards? There is no other cargo on the ship. The real target of that group of people can only be you." Looking at the beautiful woman's fearful eyes: "You are a weak woman, if you want to enter Beijing, you should go to Beijing with
How can you hire a bodyguard from a bodyguard agency to escort you to Beijing with your family? And eight of them are hired at one time, which is a lot of people. They are all men. You are not afraid of a weak woman following eight men to Beijing. What will happen on the way?
Accident?"
Yang Cai couldn't help but said: "Sir, our Yiwei Escort Agency attaches great importance to promises and does honest business. It will never go so far as to...!"
"I didn't say you had evil intentions." Qin Xiao didn't look back, but said calmly: "It doesn't matter whether you have any intentions or not. What's important is how could this lady have the guts to let eight men escort her into Beijing? If she wasn't forced to,
I believe a woman would never choose this way."
Yang Cai wanted to explain something else, but Chen Zhitai scolded: "My lord, what are you talking about? What are you talking about?"
If you say nonsense, I will throw you into the river."
Chen Zhitai was tall and thick, with a burly figure. His eyes were glaring, but they were also menacing. People who don't know the details would really be afraid. Seeing Chen Zhitai staring at him, the escort choked back the words he spoke and did not dare to
Say it again.
"Hiring eight bodyguards to escort you only proves that you know in your heart that it may not be safe on the way to Beijing." Qin Xiao stared at the woman, his voice was calm: "Why do you feel unsafe? Of course it is because you know that someone will
is chasing you, so you should know who is chasing you and why."
The beautiful woman lowered her head, her body trembled slightly, and she said nothing.
"Are you from Suzhou?" Qin Xiao asked.
The beautiful woman hummed softly, and Qin Xiao asked again: "Live in Suzhou City?"
The beautiful woman nodded slightly, and Qin Xiao continued to ask: "Are you married?"
Of course the woman in her thirties is already married. The beautiful woman nodded, and Qin Xiao looked solemn: "Since you are married, living in Suzhou City, and going to Kyoto, it is a long journey. Of course your husband will not know about it. Since he
If you know, why would he let you go to Beijing alone? Why doesn't he accompany you?"
"I...I don't know, I...don't know anything." The beautiful woman folded her arms around her chest. She seemed to be cold and her body was shaking.
"Several lives were lost, and a ship was burned down." Feixin said coldly from the side: "This is a major case. Our Lord is going to Jiangnan just to inspect local cases. Since we have encountered a murder case, it is natural to
Investigate clearly. What is your name?"
The beautiful woman hesitated for a moment and then said softly: "A commoner's woman... a commoner's wife Yu Xuanwu."
Qin Xiao turned to look at Yang Cai. After all, Yang Cai was an escort, so he naturally had good eyesight. When Qin Xiao looked at him, he understood what Qin Xiao meant. He nodded and said, "Sir, my lady's maiden name is indeed Yu.
Xuan Wu, I can testify."
The so-called maiden name was her name before she got married. Feixin immediately grasped the key point, stared at Yang Cai and asked: "How do you know her maiden name? Did you know her before she got married?"
After a woman gets married, she usually takes her husband's surname and almost no longer mentions the name of her former boudoir, and is even less likely to mention her maiden name to outsiders easily. Yang Cai can determine the maiden name of a beautiful woman, or it is the maiden name of a beautiful woman.
Before a person gets married, he knows everything about his background, or the two of them have known each other for a long time.
Only then did Yang Cai realize that he had let something slip. He didn't panic, but only looked embarrassed.
"My lord is handling the case. If you conceal anything, you will bear the consequences yourself." Feixin said coldly.
Of course, Yang Cai could see at this time that among this group of people, this young official seemed to have the highest status. Seeing Qin Xiao still staring at him, he glanced at the woman, and finally said helplessly: "Reply to me, sir...
...The villain has indeed known Mrs. Wang for a long time. Before she married Mr. Wang, she was...!" But he hesitated and did not continue.
"The civilian woman used to be a singer in the orchestra." Yu Xuanwu finally said: "Master Yang and her husband had a good relationship. They used to go to the orchestra to listen to music together. The civilian woman knew Master Yang at that time, so
He knows the name of the civilian woman. It is precisely because he was familiar with Escort Yang in the past and knows that he is reliable, so he asked him to escort her into Beijing this time."