Warm fragrance cloud around

The two followed all the way, only a few steps away from Mr. Zhao, but he didn't seem to notice it at all. His steps were sometimes brisk and sometimes rapid.

When she slowed down to catch up, she saw Cheng Jiangyun gasping for breath standing at a fork in the woods, Master Zhao had disappeared.

"What about people?"

Cheng Jiangyun pointed towards the depths of the woods, "It disappeared in the blink of an eye."

"What is Mr. Zhao doing in the mountains? Are there other people around?"

"No, but he looked nervous, as if he was hiding from someone," Cheng Jiangyun looked at the approaching dusk, "You wait here, I'll go in and check."

"Let's go in together." Lin Junnuan subconsciously said.

Cheng Jiangyun looked at her complexion carefully. Lin Junnuan wiped off his sweat just now, and a lot of the powder on his face was wiped off. At this time, his original face was almost revealed, with a healthy ruddy in the white skin, and a mouse-gray male robe. It was a bit pretty to be worn by her.

Accidentally caught his eye, Cheng Jiangyun looked away uncomfortably, coughed twice, "It's okay to go in, just keep close and don't get lost."

This barren mountain is not like the quiet and elegant back mountain of Minzhong Temple, because there are few people at ordinary times, no stone steps have been built, and there is only a narrow path that can accommodate one person. It seems that woodcutters and hunters often pass by here. became a path.

Cheng Jiangyun broke a branch as thick as an arm and gave it to Lin Junnuan, and walked ahead to open the way.

The sun gradually slanted to the west, and the light in the mountains and forests also dimmed. From time to time, there were insects and birds singing. Listen carefully, and there seems to be some kind of indistinct beast roaring in the distance. Lin Junnuan swallowed, and walked forward silently He took two steps and got closer to Cheng Jiangyun.

"Cheng Shaoqing, do you often search for criminals across mountains and mountains like this when you investigate cases?" The silence made people feel flustered, and she began to have nothing to say.

"Occasionally," Cheng Jiangyun tore away a clump of cattail grass blocking the way, with a smile on his face, "I also crawled over the roof, hid the beams of the house, and sometimes had to sleep on trees for several nights in order to monitor the prisoners."

"Shouldn't these be done by the subordinates? You are Shaoqing, just sit and wait for the result."

"I didn't belong to Shaoqing from the beginning." Cheng Jiangyun cooperated with her to slow down a little, remembering the past in a daze.

When he was sixteen or seventeen years old, he was resentful towards Marquis Jianyuan, and he wanted to make some achievements so that he could impress him. The emperor looked after him a lot for the sake of his grandfather, and was willing to give him a chance to perform. Of course, suffering is inevitable Yes, it is also because of the experience of those years that he is used to doing everything by himself, so there is no need to mention these now.

Lin Junnuan saw that his expression was wandering and thoughtful, and his brows and eyes were curved to show a gossip smile, "I read that it is often written in story books that a certain hero accidentally broke into Miss Qianjin's boudoir in order to track down the villain, and inadvertently took a look around. A burst of spring... Has Shaoqing ever had such an experience?"

Cheng Jiangyun staggered and almost fell into the thorn bushes. He turned around and knocked her on the head subconsciously, "What kind of messy scripts are there, please don't read them in the future."

Lin Junnuan covered her mouth and snickered, "There are also all kinds of scenes where heroes save the beauty, Shaoqing should have encountered it before?" She looked Cheng Jiangyun up and down, and joked: "Shaoqing's appearance and character , if there is a girl saved by you, I would definitely wish to promise you with your body."

"you too?"

Cheng Jiangyun asked in a low voice, but the woman beside him didn't hear his words. She seemed to have noticed something, suddenly put away her smile, took a deep breath, turned her eyes to the depths of the woods in front of her right, and her expression became serious .

"Shaoqing, there is a bloody smell." Lin Junnuan said in a deep voice.

Cheng Jiangyun pulled out the weeds and thorns blocking the road, Lin Junnuan identified the direction, and the two walked towards the place where the bloody smell came from.

There is a clear water pool in front, which is probably where the mountain springs gather, and the spring water is clear and calm.Master Zhao, whom they had been looking for for a long time, was standing by the pool, holding a bloody ax in his hand, and not far to his left, lay a middle-aged man on the ground, the back of his head was split by the ax There was a gash the length of an index finger, and a puddle of red, white and white matter oozed from the wound. Cheng Jiangyun squatted down in front of his nose and probed, and he had already lost his breath.

Mr. Zhao seemed to be in a daze all the time, even if they approached, he didn't respond much, until Cheng Jiangyun tried to take away the ax in his hand, he swayed, and his lifeless eyes slowly focused.

He raised his head slowly, and after seeing Cheng Jiangyun in front of him clearly, he suddenly smiled slightly, "It's Mingwei, why are you here?"

Following Cheng Jiangyun's gaze to see the corpse on the ground, Mr. Zhao was slightly stiff. He suddenly dropped his ax and sat down on the ground. I killed it."

***

Cheng Jiangyun ordered people to transport the body by the pool back to Dali Temple, and at the same time brought back Mr. Zhao who was in a mess.

Along the way, Mr. Zhao confessed to his murder, but when asked about the motive of the murder, he only said that "there was a conflict for a while, and he acted out of desperation, and there was no special reason." As for why he went to that barren mountain, He didn't even mention it.

After returning to Dali Temple, Mr. Zhao even took the initiative to enter the cell where the prisoners were held, leaned against the damp corner and closed his eyes to meditate, making it clear that he did not want to talk to anyone.

With such an attitude from his immediate boss, Cheng Shaoqing was not easy to handle. In desperation, he had to ask someone to send a letter to the Zhao Mansion, hoping that Mr. Zhao would say a few more words after seeing his family.

Mrs. Zhao received the letter, and not long after, she brought her youngest son to Dali Temple, but Mr. Zhao only said coldly, "I have no face to see my relatives with the body of a sin", and even my wife and son were not seen. .

Mrs. Zhao sat in front of Cheng Jiangyun, wiping her tears exhaustedly, "Cheng Shaoqing, what's going on here? How could my master kill people? Is there something wrong?"

"Master Zhao confessed the crime himself," Cheng Jiangyun sighed, "Madam has also seen the deceased, do you have any impressions, have you seen it before?"

"No, I've never seen it before!" Mrs. Zhao denied it, and then asked: "Where did our master go this day and night, did Shaoqing ask him?"

"Master Zhao doesn't want to say anything." Cheng Jiangyun shook his head, "Recently, Madam, have you noticed anything unusual about your lord?"

"He really seems to have something on his mind during this time, he has a bad appetite, and he doesn't talk much, but he doesn't say anything when I ask him." Madam lowered her head, her voice choked up. I played for a while, but during this time I saw Xiaoguai and hid, I don’t know why.”

Xiaoguai is the nickname of their youngest son, Master Zhao has always loved this old man very much.

Cheng Jiangyun saw Xiaoguai sitting in Mrs. Zhao's arms nodding her head and dozing off, so she comforted, "I'll persuade you again, Madam, don't worry, take the child back and rest first, it's getting late."

Mrs. Zhao wiped away her tears, "Where can I rest, it's fine, why is he... Sigh!"

She embraced her son affectionately, stood up and gave Cheng Jiangyun a little blessing, "It is absolutely impossible for our master to kill people, I hope Shaoqing will find out."

Cheng Jiangyun nodded, "I also believe Master Zhao is innocent."

After sending Mrs. Zhao away, Cheng Jiangyun slumped down at the desk with a tired face, rubbing his temples and sorting out the ins and outs of today's case. Lin Junnuan suddenly poked his head out from the side.

"You haven't gone back yet?" He was quite surprised.

Lin Junnuan raised his right hand and shook it, holding a food box in his hand, "I'm here to deliver food to Shaoqing."

She was already on her way home, when she suddenly found Cheng Jiangyun's purse from her bosom, and saw people coming in and out of the roadside restaurant, thinking that he might not have money to eat, so she packed some food and brought it over.

"The ginseng chicken soup just out of the pot, drink it while it's hot."

Lin Jun warmly took out the bowls and dishes from the food box as if offering treasures, and beckoned Cheng Jiangyun to eat quickly, while he watched with a smile on his side.

"Have you eaten?"

"I still have to go home and have a big meal, and you can eat it yourself."

Lin Junnuan waved his hand nonchalantly, and seeing that Cheng Jiangyun was satisfied with the meal, he took out the money bag and returned it to him, "It tastes good, right? This meal cost five taels of silver. Of course, it was your money."

"That's right," Cheng Jiangyun nodded, and pushed the purse towards her again, "Hold it first, maybe I'll trouble you next time."

Lin Junnuan asked after deliberation; "Aren't you going back to the Hou Mansion for dinner at night?"

"My father and I haven't eaten at the same table for several years. As for the Min family," Cheng Jiangyun chuckled, "and my brother and sister, I'm afraid they won't be able to eat after seeing me."

It's embarrassing for the father and son to make such a fuss, but Lin Junnuan is not good at pointing fingers at other people's housework, she sighed, and changed the subject very bluntly, "What do you think of today's case?"

Cheng Jiangyun put down his chopsticks, and said in a very affirmative tone, "Master Zhao is not the murderer."

"That's true," Lin Junnuan nodded, "Master Zhao has been out of our sight for half an hour at most, and the time spent walking in the forest has to be deducted, but when we arrived at the scene of the crime, the surface of the deceased's body had already turned cold , the blood has already solidified, according to the current temperature, at least died for more than an hour, it is impossible for him to kill."

"But the question now is, why did Mr. Zhao appear at the scene of the crime, and why did he say with certainty that he was the murderer? What exactly is he trying to hide?"

Lin Junnuan dragged a chair and sat down beside Cheng Jiangyun, and whispered: "Could it be that the murderer is someone close to Mr. Zhao, and he wants to take the blame for the murderer?"

"You just met Mrs. Zhao, how is it, did you find anything?"

Cheng Jiangyun pursed his lips and shook his head; "Mrs. Zhao also doesn't believe Mr. Zhao is the murderer, she seems to know nothing about the case."

"It seems that the key to the problem is Master Zhao," Lin Junnuan pinched his chin and asked again, "What did Master Zhao say to you in the woods just now?"

After the two of them found the body by the pool, Master Zhao called Cheng Jiangyun aside and whispered a few words before the people from Dali Temple arrived.

Cheng Jiangyun closed his eyes with a solemn expression, "Master Zhao said, if I really want to save him, I should not pursue the truth and let him simply confess his crime and be punished."

"The minister of Dali Temple hurting people's lives is equivalent to knowingly breaking the law, and the punishment is more severe than ordinary people. Is that okay?"

Cheng Jiangyun didn't know how to answer, and there was a flash of relief on Mr. Zhao's face when he walked into the prison, as if he was relieved.