I arrived in the capital with a small amount of money, spent some money, and soon found out everything about Liu Xiaobian.
Liu Xiaobian's errand in Nanyuan was to go on an errand every five days and stay in the garden for five days, and so on. The day when his body was found was not the day when he went to work. This man was a bachelor, except for his sister and brother-in-law to take care of him.
Apart from him, he has no other relatives and is often away from home for ten days, so the neighbors are not surprised.
Relying on his brother-in-law's influence, Liu Xiaozhen was very popular in Luocheng, and his friends from all over the world wanted to give him face. Because of this, he acted wildly, and both serious people and friends in the world had a very bad impression of him. Naturally, it didn't matter.
Friends, there are a few fair-weather friends. When they have money, they hang out with them, but when they have no money, they break up.
In addition to his sister, brother-in-law, and other relatives, there was only a prostitute with a half-closed door along the Luocheng River. Her nickname was Jiulixiang, and she was his old sweetheart. Xiao Qian pretended to be a beauty seeker and found Jiulixiang.
He lied that he was a friend of Liu Xiaobian and was entrusted by him during his lifetime to send his best friend two taels of silver.
Jiulixiang was doubtful, because Liu Xiaobian had no friends on weekdays and had a lot of debts outside. How could such a loving and righteous friend suddenly appear? But even if she had the money, she didn't bother to care about it.
After calling for food and drinks, chatting with her over wine, and drinking a few cups of yellow soup, Jiulixiang told her everything about Liu Xiaobian.
Most of these things were meaningless. But Xiao Qian learned a few important things from her mouth.
The first is that Liu Xiaozhen has been working as an errand in Nanyuan for half a year. In the first two months, he expressed his unwillingness to do it many times and even slipped out from time to time. Jiulixiang persuaded him several times. Unexpectedly, starting from September,
He suddenly became very energetic. Not only did he go on time every time he came on duty, but he never slipped or slipped anymore.
The reason for being so active is naturally because money can help the gods. Jiulixiang said that Liu Xiaobian’s job was not a serious official job, but just a helper. Naturally, he could not be said to be paid. As for the money and rice that were withheld from embezzlement every month, "
"Filial piety", you can't get a few coins, and the eunuchs who are housed in Nanyuan gather in groups and form cliques, so they are not easy to mess with. This is obviously not a big deal for Liu Xiaobian, who has always been idle, eating, drinking, whoring and gambling.
Attraction.
But starting from September, he suddenly became wealthy. Not only did he pay off various debts, but he also gave Jiulixiang a ring and earrings. He also gave her one tael of silver every month for food and drink.
"One tael of silver a month can only be obtained by a big clerk in a big shop in the inner city. The servant also felt strange where he got all this money. I also asked him, but he only said that he met a nobleman to support him, and his current job is profitable.
too much."
"Oh, where did he get the noble man to support him like this? Nanyuan is a cold yamen."
"Who says it's not the case? Several eunuchs in charge of Nanyuan often come to our place. They are just eunuchs, but they still show off and say that they are wearing imperial flying fish clothes - I don't care if you are a salted fish in flying fish clothes.
He said that he was not the eunuch in charge of Nanyuan. When I asked him again, he refused to say more and just said that he was a eunuch.
"
This is a very important clue. Since the person who guided Liu Xiaozhen was a eunuch, he must be related to the kidnapping of Leng Ningyun. He was probably the one who instigated Liu Xiaozhen to join forces with Wu Yanluo to rob.
"The eunuchs who work in Nanyuan are all 'black' eunuchs in the palace. They lost their power and were sent to this deserted garden. How can they be considered noble people."
"Being powerful is not powerful. He didn't say it, and the servants don't know, but money is really rich. Ever since I met this noble man, he always has several taels of silver on him, eating, drinking and having fun everywhere, and I don't know where he stuffed his dog holes!
"
Jiulixiang's words were quite resentful, and the implication was that there was probably a woman outside Liu Xiaobian.
This was not Xiaoqian's concern. What he cared about most was who Liu Xiaobian's nobleman was. He remembered that Master Qin had asked the eunuchs in the palace to arrange errands for him in Nanyuan, so he asked about this
Who is this person? Have you ever heard Liu Xiaozhen say it?
Jiulixiang said that she had never heard him mention it, but she only knew that he was a powerful eunuch in the palace.
"What's his last name?"
"I haven't heard him say it, but the third master has a good relationship with an eunuch named Cao in the palace. The two of them often interact with each other, so he probably joined his disciples."
At this point, Jiulixiang's jade mountain was about to collapse, and her eyes were so drunk that water was dripping from her eyes. She said in a sweet voice: "It's a beautiful day, why are you saying such boring things? Come on..."
Xiao Qian rested for one night at Jiuli Xiang, and the next day he put down a couple of silver and left quietly. He met Min Zhanlian and reported the information he had obtained.
"...I think it's better to make Nanyuan a key reconnaissance target - this garden is a big place and there are very few people. It can completely hide people."
Although Nanyuan is outside the city, it is very close to the capital. It is a royal garden with a high status, and no idlers are allowed to enter. However, it has been abandoned for a long time and its management is lax. As long as an acquaintance leads the way, you can come and go freely. Even if there is no acquaintance, the wall will collapse.
There are also many places. Its interior area is vast, densely covered with lakes and swamps, and has lush vegetation, maintaining its original state.
Both Min Zhanlian and Liansheng knew that this was a good place to hide tickets. But the problem was also the size. The area of temples and gardens in various places in the capital was quite large, and the area of Nanyuan was second to none.
One hundred and twenty miles away, I don't know how much bigger than the capital. Going there to look for someone without any clear clues is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
"It's not like you don't know that Nanyuan is huge. There are only a few of us. Even if we include He Liansheng's people, it would take at least a month to go through Nanyuan." Min Zhanlian frowned, "
Nanyuan is a line, you go and check it out. Let’s see what else Mr. Qin can do - especially the eunuch Cao who introduced the errands to Liu Xiaozhu. It’s best to get to know his background.
.”
Xiao Wu arrived in Tongzhou and began to investigate the origins of Liu Zhen. However, this person's background is quite mysterious. Although he has been traveling around Tongzhou and Tianjin in the capital all year round, no one knows which master he works for. This person's reputation is extremely arrogant.
Yan never mentions anything about his master's family. He spends money generously and acts decisively on weekdays. He maintains a good relationship with the officialdom and the world. Although he does not have "territory" and does not do "business", he is "on the scene"
Xiaowu and his two men were busy for two or three days and found nothing.
Seeing that the situation was difficult, Xiao Wu was afraid that continuing to inquire would arouse Liu Zheng's alert, so he asked his men to stop inquiring and only keep an eye on Liu Zheng's woman's residence and pay attention to her actions at all times.
After two or three days, Xiao Wu discovered something strange. Liu Zheng's activities in Tongzhou were actually not mysterious. He just went to four or five teahouses every day and met and chatted with different people. Although he couldn't hear what they said specifically, but
He saw that most of these people were local gangsters from Tongzhou, and sometimes there were also people from Tianjin.
Such frequent meetings confirmed Min Zhanlian's guess to a certain extent.
In this case, Shopkeeper Leng may not be in the capital, but he may be hiding in Tongzhou, Tianjin or even Zhangjiawan. Xiao Wu thought to himself. After all, it is not unfamiliar to these people to go east and west. This can explain why He Lian
Sheng spent a lot of manpower and material resources in the capital but got nothing.
But based on these alone, it is not possible to confirm that Liu Zheng is a member of the kidnapping gang, because there are similar needs for other black businesses.
If he were an ordinary person, he could use his snitch skills to sneak into the outer house to find out. This house is his home base for activities in Tongzhou, so there must be something important stored there. But this person was born as a factory guard and has been around the world for many years.
, your own entry and exit will inevitably leave traces and only arouse suspicion. Moreover, this is not the theft of gold and silver treasures or a specific item. It is inconvenient to enter the house at night to search for clues.
Just when the investigation in Tongzhou reached a deadlock, a rather sudden news came from Luocheng: Qin Erlang was dead.
This Qin Erlang is the brother of Qin Sanye, the land tiger in Luocheng. However, this brother is engaged in serious business. He travels between Zhangjiakou and Tongzhou every year, selling imported goods. He is not a wealthy businessman.
But it is also a wealthy family.
Doing export business requires dealing with the Mongols, local yamen, and guarding officers and soldiers. Since the imperial court and the Donglu came to war, the foreign business has actually become "illegal". Selling from a long distance is very risky on the road, so Qin Erlang is not an ordinary businessman.
Not only does he have a group of thugs, but he also has a lot of kung fu. He is also considered a figure in the area north of Beijing.
Such a well-known figure died inexplicably in the moat north of the capital city. When he was fished out, it was found that he had been strangled to death. The most terrifying thing was that Qin Erlang's tongue had been cut out alive.
The warning was very obvious in this way. The news immediately attracted Li Rufeng's attention. The person who killed Qin Erlang must be a member of the kidnapping group. The reason was simply that he came specifically to report the encounter he encountered on the road in Haidian, a suburb of Beijing.
I have been to Leng Ningyun. The kidnappers probably used this to intimidate all relevant insiders.
It's just that it was almost ten days ago that Qin Erlang came to report. The gangsters wanted to kill people as a warning, why did they wait until now to take action? Li Rufeng was quite confused. It was not a secret that Qin Erlang came to report the whereabouts of Shopkeeper Leng. Qin Erlang himself also
No intention to hide it.
Could it be that Qin Erlang had mastered some secret that led to his death?
The most strange thing is Mr. Qin. This squatter in Luocheng cried bitterly in the mourning hall and vowed to catch the murderer and avenge him. But after he came back, he did nothing. He didn't even go to the teahouse and stayed at home every day.
, it was said to the outside world that it was because he was "too sad and sick."
"Xiaoqian, now you have to work hard on Third Master Qin." Min Zhanlian said, "There must be something wrong with him!"