Tao Zang Xuan Zhi

Early spring morning, before the clouds opened, the sun was hidden in the clouds.

The streets and alleys of Lin'an City are gradually waking up. The residents in the city open their windows and doors to make a living. The small vendors carrying burdens walking through the streets are entering the city one after another. The shops on the streets are opening their doors for cleaning, and the breakfast stalls are overcrowded early in the morning.

The sky is gray, and the gray clouds are like walls covered with cobwebs and dust, which makes people feel depressed. No one looked up, everyone was busy doing what they were doing. It rains a lot in the south of the Yangtze River, and people have long been accustomed to such hazy weather where the rain never falls.

Suddenly, a dark wind blew up from the plains, carrying dust all night long and confusing the eyes of passers-by.

Seven or eight women dressed in white coarse linen clothes walked quietly but eerily on the East Street. One person was holding a soul-inducing flag in front of him, and two young girls were following behind, throwing paper money on both sides. Four people were carrying a door panel. The door panel was covered with a huge white cloth, but a human figure could be vaguely seen.

Several women looked sad but no one cried, they just walked forward silently.

Some people scolded it as"really unlucky", while others discussed what was going on. People stepped out of the way to let this strange team pass, but they couldn't restrain their curiosity and put down what they were doing to follow. Behind the line. Then someone else wondered what these people were looking at and followed them. More and more people followed, and the team got bigger and bigger, but no one dared to make a loud noise.

As a result, such a strange scene appeared on Lin'an East Street. A group of people gathered together and walked talking to each other, but they didn't know where they were going.

These women did not go very far. They crossed East Street and stopped in front of the gate of Jingzhao Mansion on Gulou Street.

The four women carrying the door panel placed it on the ground, and then knelt on both sides. The two girls who scattered the paper money also knelt down.

One of the most mature-looking women got up and walked to the Dengwen drum. She picked up the drumstick and started beating it, one after another, slowly and unhurriedly, but with firmness and determination, which was deafening.

Only then did the crowd of people following behind realize that these women were here to complain. They became increasingly reluctant to leave and gathered around the Yamen from a distance to watch, whispering and talking among themselves.

Not long after, two teams of government officials opened the door and rushed out, taking the body and several women on the door panel to the hall.

Zhao Qian, the governor of Jingzhao Prefecture, did not expect that someone would sue the officials so early in the morning, and they would still beat drums to complain about grievances, and there would be such a big battle. You must know that this Dengwen drum cannot be beaten casually, unless there is a serious grievance, and this is the Jingzhao Mansion under the emperor's feet. After asking around again, it was said that the person playing the drum in front of the hall was a woman, and the people kneeling in front of the house were all women, which was even more rare.

Zhao Qian called the women to the hall and asked:"Who is here, and why are you playing the drum?"

The woman playing the drum bowed and replied:"The untouchable Liu Xiaojing is a prostitute in the Jiaofang Division. She wants to sue Shen Chenggong for murdering me. Niece Ren Minjun!"

The woman's voice could not help but raise her voice, and she kowtowed again,"Please master, please help us redress our grievances!"

Zhao Qian had heard about the name of Ren Minjun. He heard that he was a pipa player with both talents, and he was quite famous. Many literati and nobles sought after him. Zhao Qian had the honor to meet this young lady several times at cocktail parties. She was indeed a wonderful person. He never expected that the lady was so unlucky and died at such a young age. It's just that although the Jiafang Silegi has a lowly status, it is still considered a public official. If this young lady dies of illness, it will be nothing more. If she is killed by others, this matter will be a big deal.

"Please tell me in detail."

Liu Xiaojing straightened her upper body and spoke loudly:"Four days ago, Minjun was invited to perform at a night banquet at Kuiyuan House and never returned. Our sisters asked someone to search for her, and Minjun’s body was recovered from the swamp in the western suburbs last night. Since I couldn't make it back after the curfew, I had no choice but to report to the official early in the morning." Liu Xiaojing burst into tears as she spoke.

Zhao Qian asked doubtfully:"How do you know that Ren Minjun was killed?"

Liu Xiaojing wiped her tears and replied:"Sir, look at this corpse. It's such a tragic situation... How can I let my poor niece sleep peacefully?"

Zhao Qian hooked his hands.

The man stepped forward and uncovered the white cloth on the head of the corpse. He took a breath of cold air after just one glance. He quickly covered the white cloth back and bowed to the hall. The man had followed Zhao Qian several times. Years ago, he had seen many cases. When Zhao Qian saw that his face was solemn and almost rude, he knew that the situation was unusual and what the woman in the hall said was true.

"Then how do you know it was Shen Chenggong who killed him? According to what you said, you have no way of knowing when, where and how Ren Minjun was murdered."

Liu Xiaojing replied:"Sir, we have witnesses who can identify Shen Chenggong as the one who killed Min Jun in Kuiyuan Tower, and the Immortal Master of the Shangqing Sect who helped us investigate the matter can also testify."

Hearing the name of Shangqingzong, Zhao Qian couldn't help but straighten his expression, no longer drowsy, and immediately asked:"Where is the witness? Where is the Immortal Master Shangzong?

Someone in the hall replied loudly:"Here it is."

Zhao Qian stood up and shouted:"Please come quickly.""

Before the officials left the hall, six young men escorted a tattooed man into the hall. Some of the people watching outside the hall had seen the tattooed man, and there was a burst of noise. The six teenagers came to the hall and clasped their fists and worshiped:"Shangqing Sect Disciples Mu Xiaochuan, Zhong Wanling, Yan Zizheng, Shen Yifan, and Liang You have met the adults."

Zhao Qian praised repeatedly:"It's true that a hero comes from a young age. This rogue usually acts domineering in the market and calls himself the 'Governor-General'. This officer has heard about it and has wanted to capture him for a long time, but has never had the chance and has repeatedly told him to run away. Today, a few little immortal masters really eliminated harm for the people."

There was also a sound of applause outside the hall.

Zhong Wanling and the six people clasped their fists in front of each other.

Zhao Qian calmed down, looked at the tattooed man, and said sternly:"Is this Lu Dakui?

The tattooed man knelt on the ground, kowtowed and replied,"It's the little one." Zhao

Qian raised his eyebrows and shouted:"Lu Dakui, you usually bully men and women in the fish and meat village. Could it be that you killed someone and falsely accused others?""

"No, no, no. Lu Dakui kowtowed repeatedly,"Your Excellency is aware of this and is not a minor." In front of several immortal masters, how dare you lie? Xiao Xiao was just ordered to throw the girl's body outside the city and bury it. Xiao Xiao really wasn't the one who killed her. Sir, you are aware of this!"

Zhao Qian nodded and asked again:"Accepted? Whose order? Could it be that your master ordered you to kill people and dump their bodies?"

Lu Dakui's expression changed, he stared and shook his head quickly.

Zhao Qian also came to his senses. This Lu Dakui usually relies on the prestige of the Prince of Qi in the Palace of Qi. When he says what his master did, isn't it just that the young prince did it? ? He coughed lightly and changed his words and asked,"How did you know that Shen Chenggong committed the crime? Who is Shen Chenggong? Why not hurry up and recruit them!"

Lu Dakui looked around and still had hesitation in his heart. Zhong Wanling put his hands behind his sleeves and glanced at him coldly. Lu Dakui shuddered and replied:"I don't dare to hide it, I can tell you everything. That day, the young prince held a banquet at Kuiyuan Tower, and he was on duty. The young master of the Shen family, Shen Chenggong, took the girl upstairs. Not long after I went up, there was a scream from upstairs. I accompanied the young prince upstairs to check, and he was already like this. Later, the young prince was afraid of making things worse, so he asked the young prince to take the body outside the city and bury it. This matter has nothing to do with the young prince."

Zhao Qian was thinking about Lu Dakui's testimony. A man on the side stepped forward to bow. Zhao Qian raised his hand:"You can ask. Wu

Zuo asked Lu Dakui:"You said people are like this. What's going on?""

Lu Dakui glanced at the body covered with white cloth in embarrassment, feeling sad, and stammered:"Just...just like that. No, sir, it’s not me. I, I really didn’t kill anyone, and I can’t do this to people! This... the shopkeeper of Kuiyuanlou is also there. He also saw it at that time. He can testify for me!"

Zhao Qian thought for a while, waved his hand to the head of the government office, and said,"Go and bring the shopkeeper of Kuiyuanlou. Send someone to bring the steward of the band and the envoy from Huangfang. This band does not report the loss of a person. This is a crime of dereliction of duty."

The squad leader took the order and took several yamen servants to lead the horses behind.

Taking advantage of this time, Zhao Qian walked down to the hall and walked to the old man. He was still a little curious about this corpse that could scare the old man and the bullies in the market. That Ren Minjun was a beauty during his lifetime, and such a cold weather should not be so scary three or four days after his death.

He Zuo could see what Zhao Qian was thinking, and shook his head and winked. The more Wu Zuo stopped him, the more curious Zhao Qian became. , finally stepped forward and lifted up the white cloth.

The moment the white cloth was lifted up, Zhao Qian finally saw what the former beauty looked like now. He let out a horrified scream of"Ah" and took two steps back, almost falling. On the ground. Wu Zuo quickly helped his master. The surrounding government officials also gasped when they saw the miserable and horrific condition of the body. Zhong Wanling and others looked sideways and couldn't bear to look directly at it. The sisters of the Ren family covered their faces and cried, and the hall was filled with sadness.

It took Zhao Qian a while to regain his composure, and while being supported by his wife, he pointed at Lu Dakui and shouted angrily:"You are so bold and unruly, how dare you deceive me! This is such a tragic thing that a human being can do!"

Lu Dakui kowtowed repeatedly."Sir! Everything the villain says is true! How dare I lie in front of the Immortal Master! When we opened the door and went in, this girl was already like this! It really scared me half to death! The young prince wanted to suppress the matter because the girl's death was too tragic and weird, and he was afraid that things would get serious."

At this moment, the porter came to report:"Sir, the steward of Lefang and the envoy Huangfang of the Jiaofang Division have arrived and are outside the door."

Zhao Qian was stunned, and Zhong Wanling's face changed slightly.

Zhao Qian walked quickly back to the hall and said:"Let them come up."

Zhong Wanling took a step back slightly and whispered beside Yan Zizhen and Shen Yifan:"I'll leave it to my two junior brothers over there."

Yan Zizheng and Chen Yifan nodded, took a step forward, cupped their hands and said,"My lord, forgive me, my junior brother and I still have missions to do. There are senior brothers and sisters here to take charge, so we will leave first."

Zhao Qian was in a confused state of mind. He waved his hands and said,"Please help yourself, little immortal masters."

Yan Zi, Chen Yifan, Huang Haike and Liang You retreated, and the porter brought the steward of Lefang and the envoy of Huangfang to the hall.

The envoy of Huangfang bowed and said with a smile:"I have seen Mr. Zhao before."

"Ambassador Huangfang, do you know why I came to you?

Huangfang envoy pretended to be confused and said,"I don't know.""

"Are these women the prostitutes of Lefang under the leadership of the Jiaofang Division?"Zhao Qian pointed to several women in the hall.

Huangfang envoy glanced at the Ren family sisters, his eyes were full of cold light, which scared the Ren family sisters into silence.

Huangfang envoy winked at Liang's mother.

Liang's mother leaned forward and replied. :"Returning to your lord, it is exactly"

"Do you know why they are here?

Huang Fangshi still answered easily:"I don't know." Why are they here?"As he said this, he looked at Mother Liang meaningfully.