Warm fragrance cloud around

Lin Junnuan didn't bring much food, just a few small dishes, plus a small bowl of plain noodles, and a small can of chicken soup. Cheng Jiangyun chewed slowly and ate very carefully, only occasionally pausing his chopsticks to make a few comments. view of the case.

Seeing that the chicken soup in the crock had almost bottomed out, Lin Junnuan picked up the dishes, "I don't know what's wrong with Mr. Zhao, how do you plan to handle this case?"

Cheng Jiangyun put down the spoon and helped her tidy up.

"Master Zhao has been silent, we must at least find out the origin of the deceased first."

The identity of the deceased was not difficult to ascertain.At the foot of the barren hill where the body was found, there was a small mountain village named Lijiacun. The next day, Cheng Jiangyun sent someone to inquire about the villagers in Lijiacun. He learned that a hunter, Li Dazhuang, had not returned overnight, and his men brought Li Dazhuang's wife to Dali Temple. Identifying the body, there is no doubt that the deceased is Li Dazhuang.

However, doubts appeared again. Whether it was Li Dazhuang's family members or other people in Lijia Village, everyone was sure that Li Dazhuang was an honest hunter. Going to the city to sell some mountain goods and prey, it is impossible to have any relationship with the majestic Dali Siqing.

Li Dazhuang is about forty years old, and his wife Cuihong is younger than him, also about 30 years old. She may have walked in a hurry when she came. .Hearing that the murderer had pleaded guilty, Cuihong felt sad and anxious, lying on the dead body, weeping and cursing bitterly.

Now that the family has no pillars, the elderly, children, and her own livelihood are all problems, Cuihong scolds the dead for leaving them alone, scolds the murderer for being unconscionable, and even scolds God, and even points out Confirm with Cheng Jiangyun whether the murderer will be shielded because he is a high-ranking official, so that her husband will die with regret.

The country woman's words were so rude, Mrs. Zhao was embarrassed and guilty standing beside her, but in the end she didn't say a word of pleading, she only said that she would definitely give enough compensation to make their family live comfortably, Cuihong cried and scolded The momentum has only slightly weakened.

Cheng Jiangyun asked Cuihong to leave the mortuary, and turned around to find Lin Junnuan standing at the door with his head down, looking thoughtful.

"what happened?"

Lin Junnuan raised his head, with a strange expression on his face, and asked, "Is the relationship between the deceased and his wife good?"

Cheng Jiangyun paused, "You mean..."

"Yes, the deceased's wife is very suspicious."

Lin Junnuan thought about it and said: "Her hair was smeared with sesame oil, and her bun was combed carefully. It stands to reason that a wife shouldn't be interested if her husband hasn't returned all night, and..."

She pursed her lips slightly, "Just now after Mrs. Zhao promised to compensate them, Cui Hong lay down on the corpse and smiled clearly."

At that time, Lin Junnuan just happened to look towards Cuihong, and captured that scene.It was a very weird smile, the eyes were clearly crying with sorrow, but the corners of the mouth were not slightly curved, which made people feel chilly.

Cheng Jiangyun looked serious, and immediately found the two subordinates who went to Lijia Village to investigate, and asked other people in the village what they thought of the deceased couple.

"People in the village say that Li Dazhuang loves his wife, and he is reluctant to let Cuihong suffer a little bit of grievance. Sometimes he does the laundry and cooking on his own initiative, so that Cuihong will not be troubled."

"When Cuihong was young, she heard that she was a flower in a neighboring village, and many people came to her to propose marriage. In the end, she chose Li Dazhuang, who was ten years older than her, because he thought that he would love others if he was honest, and his family had some wealth."

"They have two sons in total. The older one is seven or eight years old, and the younger one is three or four years old. Li Dazhuang is in pain like an eyeball."

"However," that subordinate frowned, "Two women said that Cuihong often gets confused with the men in the village, and she is not too discreet."

Lin Junnuan raised her eyebrows and asked: "Is there anyone who is unclear about the conflict?"

Could it be that this case was actually a murder of love, Cuihong stole a man and was discovered by Li Orhu, and the lover killed him under the dispute?

The subordinate shook his head, "We didn't have time to ask this."

"Let's go to Li's Village to investigate carefully," Cheng Jiangyun ordered in a deep voice, "Who is Li Dazhuang on good terms with and against whom, and who is Cui Hong on good terms with and against? You must find out everything."

The subordinates took orders to leave, and reported the detailed news early the next morning.

Cuihong does have an ambiguous object in the village, Li Dagen, a bachelor in the west of the village.Li Dagen is Li Dazhuang's peer, he is two or three years younger than Cuihong, and looks like a human being, but his family is poor and has no means of living. He likes to do some sneaky things on weekdays. She is too old to marry a wife, and she does not know when she hooked up with Cuihong.

There were also people who couldn't see it and secretly told Li Dazhuang about it, but Li Dazhuang was upright and obedient to his daughter-in-law, and didn't take it seriously at all.

Subsequent investigations went very smoothly.The ax that cut the back of Li Dazhuang's head was confirmed to belong to Li Dagen's family. During the period of Li Dazhuang's death, some people saw Li Dagen go up the mountain to cut firewood.

Li Dagen was originally a lazy bastard with little promise, and he confessed his murder tremblingly after being questioned by the people of Dali Temple.

When he went up the mountain to cut firewood that day, he happened to see Li Dazhuang walking back with a rabbit in one hand and a badger in the other by the pool.Of course Li Dazhuang refused to give it, Li Dagen yelled in embarrassment and indignation, "What's the matter, it means that you have some skills in hunting, your wife can tell you, I am much better than you in bed!"

Li Dazhuang was furious, and when he wanted to beat him, Li Dagen struck him first, split the back of his head with an axe, and died on the spot.Li Dagen was at a loss in panic after the murder, dropped the bloody axe, picked up the prey Li Dazhuang threw on the ground, and ran home in a hurry, tied the doors and windows and shrank in the house, shaking with fear.It wasn't until the government came the next day, saying that the murderer had surrendered himself, that he left the house in a daze.

Li Dagen's testimony matched the scene and the condition of Li Dazhuang's body. People from Dali Temple also found blood-stained clothes and a blood-stained rabbit from his home, making sure that Li Dagen was the murderer.

After finding out the truth, it is of course impossible for Cuihong to get compensation from Mrs. Zhao. The prey taken by Li Dagen was sent back to their home, followed by the news that Li Dagen was murdered and imprisoned. How does it feel when eating the last prey caught by her husband.

The real culprit had already been imprisoned, and Mr. Zhao was released from the cell. However, the rest of the people still knew nothing about why he went to the scene of the crime and why he simply pleaded guilty.

When he left the cell, Mr. Zhao looked at Cheng Jiangyun with a complicated expression, and heaved a long sigh.After only four or five days in prison, he looked as if he was ten years older than usual, and his otherwise robust body trembled slightly. Cheng Jiangyun even noticed clearly that his sparse temples had been dyed gray.

Cheng Jiangyun lowered his head, his voice was a little sad, "Sir, what is your reason for doing this..."

Mr. Zhao waved his hand to stop him from continuing, and kept wiping off the dirt stuck to his shoes, "It's so dirty, I'll be scolded by Ah Yue again." Ah Yue seemed to be Mrs. Zhao's nickname.

With a change of tone, he said again: "Today I will meet with the Holy Majesty to resign, and the Dali Temple will be handed over to you in the future."

Cheng Jiangyun was startled, and immediately raised his voice and said, "My lord, please think twice!"

"This old and weak body is really hard to bear the trust of the Holy Majesty. You young people are better." He patted Cheng Jiangyun's shoulder earnestly, "Ming Wei, do a few more important things while you are young. But it's too late."

Talking to himself like this, he left Dali Temple like no one else, and walked towards the imperial palace.

***

That afternoon, Cheng Jiangyun was also summoned by the emperor.

Still in the imperial study room, the emperor stood with his hands behind his back facing the window, looking up at the magnificent palace outside the window, not knowing what he was thinking, until Manager Wang reminded him for the third time that Cheng Shaoqing was here, he came back to his senses and raised his hand to let Cheng Jiangyun, who was kneeling on the ground, got up to excuse himself.

"I've heard about Zhao Aiqing, alas, it's also a pain for him."

The emperor shook his sleeves and sat back at the imperial table, "Zhao Aiqing insisted on resigning from office and going into seclusion. I can't persuade you much, so I have to obey him."

He straightened his expression, and looked at Cheng Jiangyun majesticly, "Mingwei, I will leave the burden of Dali Temple to you, is it okay?"

Cheng Jiangyun hurriedly leaned down to make a statement. "My minister is terrified! My minister's experience is still inexperienced, and his ability is insufficient. It is really difficult for me to take on such a big task!"

The emperor sternly said, "You mean, I don't know people well, and I don't know how to know people well?"

"Absolutely not! Your Majesty has a unique insight that no one can match!" Cheng Jiangyun lowered his head, "It's just that I have more heart than strength, and now the position of Shaoqing is the limit, and..."

He took a breath and raised his voice slightly: "There are still many doubts and inside information about the disappearance of Mr. Zhao. Before a thorough investigation is made, I don't think he can be allowed to resign."

"Lord Zhao has settled countless cases in his life, and he has made great contributions to the society. It is really chilling to leave like this. Please think again, Your Majesty!"

The emperor closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then slowly said: "The matter of Zhao Aiqing has been concluded, and Mingwei doesn't need to say more."

He lowered his voice and muttered to himself, "I also want to save his last face, so I made up my mind to let him go."

"What did His Majesty say?"

"It's nothing," the emperor flipped through the memorial in front of him, and said decisively: "It's settled like this. You come to take Zhao Aiqing's place, and you can't refuse. The court will make an order tomorrow morning."

Cheng Jiangyun had no choice but to bow down and receive the order.

The emperor squinted at him for a while, then suddenly said: "You are right, Ming Wei, you do have some shortcomings."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Cheng Jiangyun bowed his head in agreement.

The emperor chuckled, "You, there is still a lack of a good wife."

Cheng Jiangyun's expression froze, and he didn't know how to respond. He froze for a moment before hesitating: "The marriage is arranged by the parents, and I am not in a hurry right now."

"How can you not be in a hurry?" The emperor leaned on the back of his chair and waved his hand to Mr. Wang, who handed over a pamphlet from the side, "I looked at the unmarried women in the capital. Personal character is the top choice, let you see it?"

The current Holy Majesty has been in power for more than 20 years, the situation in the world is stable, and there are not many worries about the inside and outside. Now that he is free, he starts to worry about the marriages of several younger generations who are usually loved.

Director Wang sent the brochure to Cheng Jiangyun, but Cheng Jiangyun didn't even look at it, and pushed the brochure away as if it was hot, "Your Majesty, please take care, I am afraid!"

The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, "Ming Wei refuses like this, does it mean that he already has a woman he likes?"

Cheng Jiangyun was taken aback for a moment, and his face turned red slightly after returning to his senses, "I dare not deceive Your Majesty, it is true."

"Which family's girl? Tell me." The emperor also gossiped.

Cheng Jiangyun thought for a moment, then bowed his head and said, "Now that the horoscope has not been written yet, please forgive me for concealing it for the time being. When the time comes, I may ask His Majesty to give you a marriage."

The emperor smiled knowingly, "Okay, I promise you!"