Both houses were now burned black, and the roofs collapsed. Due to the efforts to put out the fire, sewage flowed across the ground, and faint gray smoke was still rising from the burned wooden pillars.
There were many government servants nearby who were moving away debris to reveal the original kitchen floor.
Zhan Beihan saw the collapsed stove. There was nothing inside except unburned firewood.
But as Zhao Chengwei said, there were obvious signs of fighting near the stove, as well as scattered blood stains. They had been dried by the fire and washed away by water, so they were no longer obvious.
Zhan Beihan has extremely rich fighting experience, and he can tell at a glance that these traces of fighting lead outside.
To put it simply, the battle broke out in the kitchen. One party intended to retreat, and the other party was chasing after them. So they fought and retreated, leaving traces that naturally extended outward.
"That's the courtyard wall over there?"
Zhan Beihan followed the traces and looked outside. He could see a low courtyard wall, which also had traces of being blackened by flames.
"What's outside the courtyard wall?"
"It's an alley. Walk along the alley to the end, and there's a cross bridge. Under the cross bridge is the capital moat."
Zhao Chengwei said: "Master Cui has already gone along the alley to investigate."
"If Cui Li comes back, inform me immediately and go down." Zhan Bei said coldly.
"Yes." Zhao Chengwei first agreed, then hesitated and said: "Your Majesty, Ye Yi will command him..."
"I know what I know!" Zhan Beihan interrupted.
Zhao Chengwei couldn't say anything else, so he bowed his hands and hurriedly went to direct others.
Zhan Beihan stepped through the sewage flowing on the ground, walked to the courtyard wall, and looked carefully at the two shallow footprints marked on it.
From the moment he walked into the Li family yard, all the traces and clues flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern, and then followed a certain pattern and were quickly connected together to form cause and effect.
Zhan Beihan narrowed his eyes.
The incident originated in the palace. Aunt Li personally confessed that she hid the golden needle of "Shen Wan" behind the stove in her kitchen.
In order to verify her words, Zhan Beihan sent Ye Yi to get the golden needle in person.
With Ye Yi's caution and meticulousness, he would definitely investigate the living situation of Grandma Li in advance and make sure it was correct before going there without disturbing anyone.
If things go well, it will take no more than an hour for Ye Yi to return to Zhan Beihan with a golden needle.
However, something unexpected happened.
When Ye Yi arrived at Grandma Li's house, she bumped into another group of people.
Their goal is also the golden needle hidden by Grandma Li.
The number of people in this group would not be too large, no more than four at most, because the traces of the fight left in the kitchen were not complicated. According to Zhan Beihan's estimate, only two to three people were involved.
Grandma Li's two daughters-in-law died in the kitchen.
Zhan Beihan speculated that maybe when Ye Yi arrived, he happened to bump into the opponent and kill him, but he hadn't gotten the golden needle yet.
Because the stove was later knocked down, if the golden needle fell into the opponent's hands early, there would be no need to attack the stove again.
What happens after that is very simple.
The other party was good at using poison, so Yoruichi might not have been prepared, and was injured by the poison, leaving blood stains on the kitchen floor.
Later, Ye fought and retreated, and escaped through the courtyard wall.
The other party may or may not have pursued him, but the final result was that everyone in the Li family was silenced, Ye Yi's death was unknown, and the whereabouts of the golden needle was unknown.