When the prosperous dynasty was established, although the aristocratic families were not as powerful and public as in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, their influence in the imperial court and in the rivers and lakes could not be underestimated.
Zhong Ming Ding Shi, whose power is fierce, is known as the "Five Surnames and Seven Sects"! They are: Erli from Longxi, Ercui from Qinghe, Wang from Taiyuan, Lu from Fanyang, and Zheng from Xingyang. Many of them have descendants who will become prime ministers. This is Sheng.
The royal family of the dynasty also took great pride in being married to the "Seven Sects". The Cui family from Cui Wan was one of the "Two Cuisi of Qinghe".
Aristocratic families and high-ranking households are very strict in distinguishing between good and bad, as well as the etiquette between host and guest. Therefore, when Cui Wan stayed in Yang Chaoxi's guest room for about a stick of incense, a personal maid came to knock on the door and inquire about the evening.
How to arrange the meal? In fact, he was urging Cui Wan to leave as soon as possible. If the master of the family bumped into him when he returned, he would probably be punished.
Cui Wan had no choice but to stand up and bowed reluctantly: "Chong Lingzi, you can stay in the house with peace of mind, and no one like Wang Chuo will come to disturb you again. Later, a slave will come over to bring the evening meal. I will make an appointment tomorrow.
I have gathered the staff gentlemen and brought them over to see you."
Yang Zhaoxi also said goodbye: "Excuse me, Wan'er, and wait for the good news."
It was a wordless night.
At two o'clock the next day, Cui Wan took two elders to the guest room where Yang Chaoxi lived.
One is named Shangguan Heng, with a tall figure and slightly white temples. His elegant and calm temperament reveals his scheming and shrewdness. The other is named Du Xiaoke. He is dressed as a warrior, with a beard covering his cheeks, and a cold and cold look in his eyes.
After a few greetings, the conversation started straight to the point. Yang Chaoxi clasped his fists and said, "My nephew, Yang Chaoxi, a martial artist from Mangshan, came down the mountain this time to investigate the murder of Luo Rou, a disciple of Linji Temple."
Shangguan Heng stroked his goat's beard and said with a smile: "I heard Miss Six mention this a few days ago. It was me and I who went to investigate the case together. If Yang Shaoxia wants to know something, you might as well speak up."
Yang Chaoxi thought for a while and said: "Before Luo Rou was killed, she had been investigating a previous 'missing woman case'. It happened that that day she bumped into Hong Taizhu and Chen Shaoyin discussing the secrets of river dredging. She disappeared the next day. The body will be recovered.
By that time, it was already late at night the next day. This was a bit of a coincidence!
If the murderer was really worried that the woman's disappearance would be discovered by her, or just coveted her beauty, why didn't he take action in advance? In addition, many women had completely disappeared before, with no one alive or dead, but Luo Rou was tortured and then thrown away.
Shiluo Water. There is something strange about this, which makes people think deeply."
"Yang Shaoxia, what exactly do you want to say!" Du Xiaoke, who is also a warrior, said with some displeasure.
"My nephew suspects that the murder of Luo Rou was not as simple as the murderer's sudden sexual desire, but that there was something hidden. It is very likely that she heard some secrets and was silenced by the forces behind the scenes." Yang Zhaoxi said to herself
In the past few days, I have come up with my guess after repeated thinking.
"What Yang Shaoxia said reminded me of the situation a few days ago when I went to the public court with the Du brothers to put pressure on me. At first glance, this case was not complicated, but Henan Yin frowned and tried every means to evade it, saying that it had been handed over to the young man.
Yin Chen Wanglu supervised the operation, as if he was worried about big trouble.
When I went to find Chen Shaoyin again, he was extremely serious and responsible. Compared with the hasty way in which he solved the 'Missing Woman Case' before, he seemed like a different person. He seemed to have already figured out this case and was not at all anxious." Shangguan Heng continued.
Stroking the goat's beard, he told what he had seen and heard.
"The last thing Chen Wanglu said was that within three days, the evidence would be found. Sure enough, on the third day, Luo Rou's personal belongings were found near three Zoroastrian temples in the city." Du Xiaoke added.
"So, if we just talk about coincidences, there are indeed too many. Your suspicion is very reasonable. Luo Rou's incident is more like being manipulated by someone behind the scenes to focus everyone's attention on the murderer, evidence, torture, drowning, etc.
After that, you will follow the diagram to investigate the case, and everything will fall into place, which is very satisfying...and then you will ignore the real manipulators, their plots and secrets."
Shangguan Heng wrote lightly. It seems that people who have been in public affairs for a long time have long been accustomed to some overt and covert tricks.
"As for the silence you mentioned, although it is not excluded, it is a bit simple. If it is just silence, torture and dumping the body would be redundant. Since it was done, it must be done intentionally. The purpose is to make people angry."
"Why anger?" Yang Zhaoxi was a little confused. The thinking of the staff was really different.
"Because of anger, people from Linjiguan and Taoist sects may take action against some suspected forces regardless of the cost, and then go back and forth, causing casualties. Anger will lead to an undying feud." Shangguan Hengshun.
Following his own thoughts, he expressed some of his guesses.
Yang Chaoxi suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He recalled that a few days ago, together with Yuchi Yuan and Fang Qidou, he had made some conjectures about the forces behind "driving trouble to the east", which again coincided with what the two aides of the Cui Mansion said.
The depth of his plans and the viciousness of his tactics are rare. He is both curious and disgusted with the identity of the manipulator behind him.
"Those who are at odds with the Taoist sect are mainly Shimen, but Shimen has always abstained from sexual misconduct and killing. No matter what, this dirty water cannot be poured on Shimen's head..." Yang Chaoxi continued to raise doubts.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, he already understood: That's why the forces behind him tried every means to lead the clues to Zoroastrianism! Yuchiyuan and Fang Qidou had reminded him of this early in the morning. Thinking back to what Shangguan Heng said just now, Henan
The unusual reactions of Yin and Chen Shaoyin indicate that the forces behind them must be extremely powerful and must be feared by the officials of Luoyang Gongmen!
Thinking of this, the previous guess seemed to be confirmed, and the answer in Yang Chaoxi's mind was ready to come out:
This force is probably Luoyang Taiwei Palace!
"Yang Shaoxia, Buddhism also has factions. In the vassal states such as Tubo in the Western Regions, the Buddhism practiced is Tianzhu Esoteric Buddhism. It is quite different from that in China. Among them, there is the method of practicing 'Happy Buddha'. So if we generalize, we say that Buddhism abstains from sexual intercourse and sexual intercourse.
, that’s not necessarily the case.” Shangguan Heng continued, “Among the captured murderers, isn’t there a Buddhist monk?”
"In this case, if Taiwei Palace was behind everything, wouldn't it mean that Wang Jin, the envoy of Taiwei Palace, was both secretly communicating with Tubo and colluding with the demon clan?" Yang Chaoxi said without any scruples.
Shangguan Heng and Du Xiaoke looked at each other, as if they were a little sensitive to what Yang Chaoxi said.
Du Xiaoke said coldly: "Young Master Yang, don't talk nonsense! The palace envoy has a close relationship with the head of the Cui family. If he really did it, wouldn't it mean that my Cui family is also an accomplice!"
Shangguan Heng also said: "It seems that Yang Shaoxia has some prejudice against the palace envoys. The Taiwei Palace governs all the military camps in Henan, Huaixi, and Shannan East Road, but the palace envoys are not the only ones granted official positions. For example, what you said
Hong Taizhu, although his official position is not high, he can sit on equal terms with Chen Shaoyin, who is from the fourth rank. This is the special feature of Taiwei Palace.
Therefore, even if it is Taiwei Palace who is behind the scenes, it is definitely not the palace envoy. It is most likely that the officials below are deceiving the superiors and deceiving the subordinates, and act recklessly."
Yang Chaoxi disagreed with this point, but naturally he was not here to argue with others when he was a guest at Cui Mansion.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Chaoxi added: "My nephew understands. But the clues to this matter point to the dredging of the river from the very beginning. Therefore, my nephew has an unkind request. I would like to ask the two uncles to dredge it a little so that I can go deeper."
Exploring.”
Shangguan Heng glanced at Cui Wan, who was silent, and said with a faint smile: "Young Master Yang, please speak! As long as it does not violate the laws of the Sheng Dynasty, I will do my best if I only care about Miss Sixth's face."
"I would like to ask the two uncles to arrange an identity for me, so that I can easily enter and leave the river dredging site, and then wait for an opportunity to explore the secrets." Yang Zhaoxi stood up and cupped his hands to the two of them.
Shangguan Heng and Du Xiaoke looked at each other with a look of embarrassment on their faces: "My Cui family has never been friends with Liu Yan, the transshipment envoy of Henan Province, and I am not close to the officials in Henan Prefecture. I'm afraid this matter will not be handled well."
After a turn, he added, "However, if you want to find out some information, we can come forward and we can do it. Then I will ask Miss Six to send someone to tell you. How about it?"
Du Xiaoke also followed up and said: "Old Du is a martial artist. If there is a fight to be fought, you can call me. The friends of Miss Six are naturally my friends!"
Yang Chaoxi didn't have high hopes at all, but when she heard the two of them saying this, she knew that they had given her enough face. She bowed her hands and said, "My nephew, thank you in advance!"
After the two staff left, Cui Wan said with an embarrassed look on his face: "Chong Lingzi, I didn't know beforehand that they were so cunning. They didn't do anything. They just talked with red lips and white teeth, and you owe them."
Just a favor...I'm sorry!"
Yang Zhaoxi smiled and said: "It's human nature. They are willing to come because of your Sixth Miss's face. As for whether to help or not, it depends on their own calculations. It's not like they got nothing, they heard some news at random
, some of the anomalies I saw are of great use to me. Therefore, Mr. Yang will definitely repay Miss Six’s great kindness!"
Cui Wan's cheeks turned red, and he said with a bit of anger: "What the Sixth Miss! You are not my father's staff, why do you want to imitate their poor talk?" As he spoke, he drew out his fragrant fist, swung it at him, and then
Feeling inappropriate, he withdrew his hand and replied, "Then how are you going to investigate next?"
"We can only find other ways!" Yang Zhaoxi pretended to be relaxed and stretched his waist.
The two of them felt a little bored, so they left the guest room and walked around in a small garden chatting. From Senior Sister Luo Rou's past, to "Spirit Snake Transformed into a Dragon Spear", to Chunxi Sword Technique, Gongsun Sword Technique, and Nei
The way of elixir...
The joy in Cui Wan's heart rose little by little, and gradually turned into a drunken satisfaction. This minimalist garden, also in the joyful atmosphere, was like a fairy garden.
After a long time, a small and annoying voice sounded: "Sixth Miss, the master of the house has asked you to come over and have lunch together." Yang Zhaoxi looked sideways, but it was Cui Wan's personal maid Xiao Ping.
Cui Wan's eyes were full of excitement, and the joy on his face faded slightly: "Daddy called me! I will arrange for a slave to be delivered to you at lunch. I will come to see you in the afternoon."
After saying that, she walked along the winding path, her dress swaying, and she walked gracefully. When she reached a bend, she suddenly looked back and smiled as brightly as a flower path.
"Chong Lingzi! I want dad to recruit you as a staff member, so you can stay here forever!"
Yang Chaoxi smiled slightly and was about to answer, but Cui Wan turned around and ran away like a rabbit.
In the main hall of Cui Mansion, a finely carved red sandalwood wood table stands in the center. It is surrounded by a high chair and six crescent moon stools, all painted with gold and colored paint.
Cui Luo, the head of the Cui Mansion, is sitting on a high chair with an expressionless face. The maids, like butterflies in colorful flowers, walk around the table one after another, bringing dishes, vegetables, wine, tea, soup, etc. one after another. When the wine and food are ready,
, the maids stood quietly, sorted out some dishes and soup, and placed them in front of everyone in a respectful manner.
Cui Luo imperceptibly glanced at Cui Wan, who was sitting next to him. His cheeks were pink and his smile was still there. He looked overjoyed and said lightly: "Have a meal."
The wives, concubines, and children sitting around the table picked up the bowls and chopsticks and started chewing silently.
The wine poured into the jade cup, the five flavors of the dishes were gone, and with less than a stick of incense, Cui Luo had already put down the bowl and chopsticks: "You continue. Wan'er! Come to my study."
Everyone at the table stopped what they were doing and watched Cui Luo leave. Then they watched Cui Wan hurriedly get up and follow her with light steps. Then they lowered their heads again and continued to enjoy the sumptuous lunch.
The study room is spacious, and the bookshelves on both walls are filled with scriptures and volumes. The window in the north is opened, revealing the rockery of the pond and pavilion in the courtyard, with red and green colors, creating an elegant spring scene.
Cui Luo sat down on an armchair next to the square couch, picked up the tea cup just brought by the maid, took a sip, frowned slightly, and raised his head: "Wan'er, I heard that a man came to the house.
Young hero, my name is Yang Chaoxi, does this matter?"
Cui Wan's heart suddenly felt like her affair had been broken up. She twisted her hands together through the sleeves, her mind was turbulent and complicated, and she was speechless for a moment...