Tang riddles

When Shen Sui got out of Yuan's mansion and got into the carriage, he knew that Zhang Ruohan had arrived before entering the carriage, and he was in the carriage right now.Shen Sui's unique fragrance on her body was so familiar that he could detect it sensitively from a long distance away.And Wuya dressed as an attendant also appeared, sitting beside Hutuo with a smile, looking at Shen Sui.

Shen Sui smiled at her, got into the carriage, opened the curtain and got into the carriage.He also secretly said in his heart: This little girl has no heart and lungs all day long, and she is not enlightened. She is spoiled by the lotus maid. It is really hard for Hutuo.She glanced at Hutuo just now, the Sogdian seemed very silent, but his eyes were very gentle when he looked at Wuya, Shen Sui couldn't help feeling a little bit sorry for this honest and stubborn man.

In the car, Zhang Ruohan was wearing Shen Sui's dark blue gown with intertwined branches and a collar, her hair was tied up and she was wearing a fringe. She didn't apply that black paint or powder, her beautiful face stood out against the men's clothing. A bit heroic, but more and more beautiful.Looking at it really made Shen Sui feel novel and beautiful, and he couldn't take his eyes away no matter what.

Zhang Ruohan's face became hot when she saw her, so she couldn't help but glared at her, and then Shen Sui restrained herself with a smile.

"Where's Huang'er?" She sat down, grabbed her hand and held it in her palm.

"Give it to Qin Nu and Qianhe, Qianhe is teaching her how to practice the sword." Zhang Ruohan said with a smile.Recently Huang'er has become obsessed with knives, Shen Sui personally made a small wooden knife for her, now the little guy is holding it in his hand every day and can't put it down, he can wave it twice when he has nothing to do, Shen Sui thought, why not take this opportunity to teach the little girl Let's practice the knife.She compared her own sword skills with Qianhe's, and felt that the Dongying knife drawing technique that Qianhe learned seemed to be more able to hone people in terms of basic training, so she asked Qianhe to teach Huang'er the basics first, and hone her skills The temper of the little guy.

"How is the case investigation going?" Zhang Ruohan asked her.

Hearing the case brought up by the maidservant, Shen Sui sighed, and said: "I think this matter is a little troublesome. The murderer may be using the five elements to kill people. I always feel that he was familiar with my mother back then, and even had a very close relationship. The people in charge are attacking." As he spoke, he told Zhang Ruohan in detail what he had just found out in Yuan's mansion.

After hearing this, Zhang Ruohan thought for a moment, then hesitated and said, "If someone who was related to Qin Lianiang was responsible for the crime, wouldn't the first suspect be Qin Gong? He is Qin Lianiang's father. .”

Shen Sui shook his head: "I don't think it's very likely. If grandpa really wanted revenge, why did he have to wait until today? I always feel that the murderer has other purposes. He wanted to dig out the old stories of the case of Princess Taiping's mansion , to cooperate with the current political situation, to achieve some ulterior purpose. Moreover, Grandpa is not in Chang'an at the moment. If it is really him, it is possible that he has assembled a small group of criminal gangs that cannot be underestimated to help him. Committing crimes and killing people? This is not my grandfather, he is an important minister of justice, he has been upright and respects the law all his life."

Zhang Ruohan looked at Shen Sui, but didn't speak.Shen Sui lowered his head under her gaze, and said:

"Of course, the possibility cannot be ruled out. Grandpa is still suspected."

"Chishi, I know there are some things that you can't accept emotionally. Of course, what you just said is reasonable. Qin Gong is indeed unlikely. I only hope that if the final result of this case is not as you expected, Don't forget the principles, and the duty of rectifying the law that important officials of the judiciary should uphold." Zhang Ruohan said earnestly, she always felt that this case was shrouded in a haze, and it would even swallow Shen Sui into it.In recent days, she began to sleep restlessly at night again, always having some vague nightmares, but she forgot them after waking up.This may mean some kind of ominous omen, and it also made her more concerned about the abnormal things in Chang'an City in recent days.

"Well, I understand." Shen Sui's child nodded seriously as if listening to his mother's instruction.

"Do you know who Qin Lianniang was close to back then?" Zhang Ruohan asked her.

Shen Sui thought about it carefully, but just shook his head: "I know too little about my mother, I only know that there are some people from my father around her, but those people should have died in the events of that year. Among them Including her husband Lu Yifeng, who was also my enlightenment teacher of swordsmanship. According to my vague impression, the relationship between Master Lu and my mother is relatively close, much like the relationship between siblings. Master Lu is very young I followed my father when I was young, and after my father married my mother, he followed me all the time."

"How much do you know about the events back then? Have you seen the corpses of Lu Yifeng and others?" Zhang Ruohan asked.

Shen Sui shook his head hesitantly: "No, at least I don't remember it, but Yingniang might remember it, but because I was afraid of exposing her scars, I never asked."

"Chishi, listen to me, right now, Qin Lianniang is returning home, why don't you go and meet her, maybe after meeting, many things will become clear." Zhang Ruohan tried to persuade her.

"I... To be honest, maidservant Lian, I'm not ready yet. What happened back then is really hard for me to tell. My father, my mother, and Princess Taiping, the relationship between the three of them , Actually, it has hurt me a lot, including Qin Nu. I am afraid that some things that my mother said will be more unacceptable than what Yixu said." Shen Sui looked painful, " Moreover, I don't know if she wants to see me, she hides from me like that...I'm very scared...Even now, even if I found her, I dare not let my subordinates reveal their identity, and have been lying to her."

Zhang Ruohan approached her involuntarily, hugged her tightly in his arms, and stroked her cheek tenderly.Shen Sui leaned sideways against her, showing a rare fragile side.

"If you don't want to, I can go for you." Zhang Ruohan said softly.

"No... I will go to see her, just a few days." Shen Sui said.

"Okay, I will accompany you when the time comes. I will also bring Huang'er." Zhang Ruohan smiled.

"okay."

"Is Yixu still locked up at the Chang'an headquarters?" Zhang Ruohan asked, changing the subject.

"Well, Cui Qian is looking at him. His mental state has not been very stable, half crazy, half insane, and sometimes he seems taciturn."

"It's time to go see him, and I don't know if she would like to see him. I went back to Chang'an, and I haven't been to the Chang'an headquarters. I was thinking that Huang'er is growing up and has her own studies. It's time for me to start helping you." Zhang Ruohan said.

"Lotus maid, do you want to..." Shen Sui raised his head from her arms and looked at her.

"I'm too busy at home, can you give me a meal?" Zhang Ruohan asked with a smile.

Shen Sui almost didn't kneel down, thinking that it was a crime for her to let such a good talent of her own wife hang out for so long.He hurriedly cupped his hands and said: "Third lady, Qianyumen will rely on you in the future."

"You're being polite, my concubine should do my best." Zhang Ruohan's "husband" sang Fu Sui and helped her up.

The two chatted enthusiastically in the car, but Li Xian, who was leading the way on horseback, seemed unusually silent.Shen Sui's idea of ​​five elements killing people also caused Li Xian to fall into deep thought. On the way to Hu's house in Anyifang, he kept thinking about this issue.Anyi Square is located in the southernmost part of Chang'an City, close to the South City Wall, and on the west side is Zhengnan Mingde Gate.Because of the extremely special geographical location, Shen Sui was very concerned about it.

The south of the city is not as rich and noble as the north of the city, and most of the people living here are commoners, handicraftsmen and businessmen.Some big businessmen can buy better locations, while small businessmen with small businesses can only live in a room and a half in the south of the city.However, Chang'an City is very expensive, and the people who can take root here for a long time are not simple people.If they were in another place, they might be a rich man, but from another point of view, Chang'an City has a lot of opportunities, if they were in another place, many people would not have their current achievements.One gain and one loss are interdependent and cannot be separated.

Hu Yimin, the No. 2 deceased of Shuixing, was probably the most miserable person among the officials of the Crane Mansion that they knew so far.After the Crane Mansion was abolished, he was directly reduced to a commoner because he failed to find a backer.Although he knows some poems and books, he has some pen and ink, but he is not a person who knows how to live. He is used to the lavish life in the past, and he can no longer live the hard life of saving food and clothing.On weekdays, he makes a living by selling calligraphy and paintings, and cannot make ends meet.

Those who can enter the Crane Mansion are more or less masculine. He has been selling paintings for a short time, but he was actually taken by a noble lady and became his lover.But later, the husband of that family sent someone to break his leg, which was not cured. From then on, he could only rent a hut in the south of the city and live a miserable life with a limp.

When Shen Sui arrived at Hu's house, it was already past noon, and they simply had two flax cakes for lunch on the way.Stepping into the dilapidated courtyard of the Hu family, Shen Sui was really surprised.It's not that she has never seen the life of poor people, but it is really rare to see such a miserable person as Hu Yimin.This house is really barren, there is no firewood in the yard, and the only big tank is missing a hole.The corpse is still soaked in the tank, and no one has taken it out.There are only two county government officials guarding here.There was an unpleasant musty smell in the room, and the furnishings in the room could be counted by fingers. The bedding on the bed was wet for some reason, and the musty smell came from the bedding.

"This man...how does he live in winter?" These were Li Xian's first words after entering Hu's house.Indeed, the summer is not bad, but the winter in Chang'an is cold and damp. There is not even a charcoal basin for heating in this house, and the window paper leaks everywhere. It feels cold even thinking about it.

"Hurry up and move the corpse out!" The magistrate of Chang'an County who accompanied him saw that the corpse was still in the water tank, and his two subordinates who were guarding outside the yard were stunned and indifferent, so he couldn't help shouting repeatedly.

"Wait a minute!" Shen Sui hurriedly stopped, finally came across a scene that was not destroyed, it was so rare, she immediately took out a white cloth to cover her mouth and nose, took out her gloves and put them on, and approached the corpse to start inspection.

The corpse was emaciated and haggard, with a haggard and pale face. Although it was slightly edematous, it did not affect the judgment.There were no marks of sharp instrument piercing or blunt instrument impact on the head, and no damage to the neck.Fine sand was inhaled from the mouth and nose, and fungiform foam appeared from the lips. The cause of death should be suffocation by drowning.The hands, feet and torso are highly stiff, and the plaques are deposited and fixed, and it is difficult to fade with finger pressure. It has been more than seven hours after death.

There are silt and algae near the water tank, as well as on the clothes of the deceased. The water in this water tank is drawn from the public well in the nearby square. There should be no such silt and algae. It is preliminarily inferred that it was after the drowning Move the corpse here.

According to the neighbor of the deceased, because the deceased’s legs and feet were inconvenient, and he could not carry it with his hands or shoulders, the neighbor’s son helped him to fill up the water in the deceased’s house every day. , eliminated to him.The only exchange is that the deceased has to make a picture or inscribe a letter for the neighbor every ten days, and the neighbor's family can take it out in exchange for some money.The deceased only dealt with a few calligraphy and painting dealers during his lifetime. Because his legs were lame, he could not walk very far. He usually traded calligraphy and painting dealers in the tea shop in Fangmen, charging meager living expenses, and most of the money was spent on On top of eating and buying pen, ink and paper.The deceased had no relatives, was alone, lived alone, had a withdrawn personality, and walked alone.

"With such a person, after he has fallen down, who else would want to kill him? It is basically certain that he was indeed killed many years later because he was involved in an incident while performing duties in the Konghe Mansion. " Li Xian said, "It seems that these cases can be investigated together."

The author has something to say: Leaving aside the facts of the case in this chapter, it can basically be summarized as follows: Huang'er started to practice martial arts, the lotus maid asked to go to work, and Chishi was under great pressure and was forced to see her mother.A whole family crisis.