Bastard's Counterattack [Rebirth]

"Where did you tear it off?" King Qing asked suspiciously.

In a piece of barbed grass, a piece of moon-white cloth hangs, which is very conspicuous.

King Qing gently peeled it off, and gently twisted it with his fingers: it was soft and smooth, with a good touch.

"Let me take a look?" Rong Youtang held his breath and moved closer, rubbed Prince Qing's hand, and introduced familiarly: "Your Highness, this is made of silk from the south of the Yangtze River. It is often worn by rich and noble families as close-fitting clothing, and is usually not worn outside. This Possibly an undergarment or tunic lining."

The fifth prince rushed forward full of expectation, inspected it for a while, and said angrily: "There is only a small piece? Anyone who has a face in the palace can wear it. It is really common and nothing can be seen."

"But what are the dignified people in the palace doing for the past two days by taking the path and crossing this mountain?" King Qing asked in a low voice. Wrestled, earned a few times."

"Oh?"

Rong Youtang followed closely behind, pushing aside the bushes to take a closer look, while the fifth prince and the guards also squatted on the ground, looking for clues.

After a while, the fifth prince suddenly held up something, and shouted in surprise: "Look, everyone, what is this?"

King Qing and the others immediately followed the sound and turned around:

In the bright afternoon sun, the Fifth Prince was seen holding a hairpin-thin, half-finger-long emerald green stem in his right hand, with goose-yellow flower buds on the top.

King Qing looked around, he didn't like wind and snow by nature, so he asked doubtfully, "Are those wild flowers or were they raised by the gardener at the foot of the mountain?"

"Obviously it didn't grow out of the wild grass! Look, it's broken. It's lying here alone. It's most likely an orchid." The Fifth Prince explained excitedly.

Rong Youtang watched intently for a while, nodded in agreement, and said distressedly: "What His Royal Highness said is reasonable. But there are thousands of varieties of orchids, ordinary ones bloom all over the mountains and fields, and expensive ones must be carefully served in the greenhouse. I don't know which one it belongs to. "

King Qing immediately made a decisive decision: "Fifth brother, put it away carefully, and just go down the mountain and ask some gardeners to identify it."

"Okay!" The fifth prince tossed and pondered for a while, carefully put a small flower branch into his sleeve, and sincerely hoped: "Oh, I really hope that it is a unique and precious variety, at least string together the clues, otherwise it will be like a headless fly." Yes, my father has set a deadline of three days to solve the case, what should I do?" The fifth prince was unavoidably anxious, he kept a folding fan all year round, opened it with a "shuala", and the fan fluttered.

King Qing continued on his way, without looking back, he comforted: "As long as we do our best, Father will understand."

——The rest of the princes did not go with them.In fact, Rong Youtang specially picked the opportunity and only quietly invited King Qing and the Fifth Prince, while King Rui was unable to follow because of his illness.

They were very excited to find a corner of fabric and a flower bud, and they were lucky not to return empty-handed.

In the evening, a group of people who had been running all day returned exhausted to the meeting tent. Although there were comfortable pavilions in the park, they did not want to run back and forth, so they simply stayed at the scene of the crime.

"According to the joint identification of several gardeners, this is the rare orchid variety 'Diancui Yingchun', which originated from the deep mountains and dense forests in the south. With the water and soil in the capital, it cannot survive in the wild. Only a few have been carefully cultivated in the orchid garden." King Rui said solemnly, he arranged all the physical evidence in his hands neatly, and said: "Moreover, the blood-stained coarse cloth that the murderer left on the scene was used to protect Diancui Yingchun. This is enough to prove that the murderer stole the coarse cloth from Lanyuan , but didn’t know that a flower bud was embedded in the cloth, and when the man was carrying the coarse cloth over the deer slope, he fell down for some reason, leaving a corner of the cloth and a flower bud.”

"excellent!"

The fifth prince, who was nestled in the recliner, clapped his hands with a fan, and said with high spirits: "Although the imperial guards failed to find traces of the murderer climbing over the wall near Lanyuan, we have roughly connected the clues. , the hard work was not in vain.”

Rong Youtang sat at the last table, his throat was thirsty, he drank cup after cup of water, and listened intently: "May God and our ancestors bless us to catch the murderer smoothly." King Rui closed his eyes devoutly, unable to let go of his grief, and said gratefully: " Fortunately, the third brother and the fifth younger brother have given their full support, otherwise, with my medicine jar, I can only be in a hurry."

King Qing gently comforted him: "The fourth brother is gone. Yilin is our relative. As an elder brother, how can we just sit back and let him be killed? The matter has come to this point, we can only do our best to arrest the murderer. You must take care of your health and go back to see it when you have time." Look at Concubine Hui, ask her to rest and wait, don't stay at the gate of the imperial garden under the sun."

"My concubine was overly sad, anxious and worried. I also advised her not to disturb the case, but she refused to listen after two or three times of persuasion. Finally, the emperor sent a word of mouth, and she went back." King Rui was helpless, his eyes were full of tears. Bloodshot, extremely poor complexion.

The fifth prince sympathized: "Fourth brother, don't worry, after I finish my urgent work, I will go to pay my respects to Concubine Hui and persuade her to cheer up."

"Xiao Jiu came to visit today, and I have asked him to visit Concubine Hui more often, to distract him as much as possible so as not to worry too much." King Qing tried to help him as much as possible.

"Thank you." King Rui nodded, his gratitude was beyond words.Unable to support his body, he lay down slowly, side by side with the fifth prince's reclining chair, and the two talked in a low voice.

Seeing that everyone didn't pay attention, King Qing silently pushed a few plates of pastries to Rong Youtang, feeling sorry for the other party who hadn't eaten a few meals in a row. The latter readily accepted it, and took advantage of the rare leisure time to fill his stomach while listening to the princes discussing the case.

"When will the painter be able to restore the palm prints?" The fifth prince asked for the umpteenth time.

"Father has issued an imperial edict, and they will definitely go all out." King Qing said without looking back.Facing the planning map of the imperial garden, he took up the posture of marching and fighting, and marked it with a pen from time to time.

"The eldest brother and the second elder brother assist the emperor, the sixth younger brother and the seventh younger brother are busy serving the concubine Chen who is unwell, what did Xiao Ba do?" the fifth prince asked wonderingly.

Rong Youtang turned his head involuntarily and pricked up his ears:

"An accident happened to Yilin, which frightened the two younger sisters. Concubine Zhuang is also in trouble, but my fifth brother is here to help solve the case. I feel very sorry, so I asked Xiaoba to visit Qixia Palace." King Rui explained apologetically.

"What is there to be sorry about?" The fifth prince waved his hand heartily and said, "Fourth brother is out of touch! Brothers of the family, what are you talking about these births? Visit, what else do I have to worry about?"

After a moment of silence, the Fifth Prince suddenly asked: "That's right! Fourth Brother, after the family dinner was over last night, Xiao Ba went to see you, do you know?"

King Qing, who had his back to everyone, paused when he was writing, and looked at Rong Youtang, who was also thoughtful.

"Oh?" King Rui, who was lying on the recliner, was exhausted physically and mentally, and had no time to distract himself, so he answered casually, "Last night I slept very early, and I didn't hear the eighth brother coming to visit, so I probably left after greeting."

King Qing's face remained unchanged, and he interjected nonchalantly: "I guess you were blocked by your people?"

"impossible."

Without hesitation, King Rui closed his eyes and muttered, "I'll go to sleep when I return to the palace after the banquet. What's the matter? It's probably because Xiao Ba himself doesn't want to disturb my rest."

"But last night I clearly saw Xiaoba and Fifth Brother sending the female relatives back to Qixia Palace together." King Qing said again.Holding the inkstone in his left hand and the pen in his right, he dipped in the ink absently, dipping and dipping again and again.Rong Youtang was pinching a piece of jujube paste shortbread until it was deformed and crumbled.

The fifth prince was inexplicably nervous, and carefully explained: "That's true. However, after sending my concubine and sisters back to the palace, I got so hot from drinking that I couldn't stand up, so I left the palace in a hurry and returned home. Xiao Ba didn't drink much, so he abducted The prince is visiting fourth brother."

"I see."

Prince?

Rong Youtang was not very clear, he got up, walked quietly to the side of King Qing, and carefully looked at the map of the imperial garden: before the age of ten, the princes were raised by their biological mother or concubines designated by the empress; when they were ten to fifteen years old, they had to move Enter the prince's residence located in the southwest corner of the palace, separated from the concubine's palace by the huge imperial garden; you can leave the palace and open the palace when you reach the age of 15.

"According to the investigation, the concubine Hui's party and the concubine Chen's party had a dispute after the banquet. Who witnessed it? Why hasn't Manager Li handed over the relevant roster so far?" King Qing asked with a frown. Dignified, staring at the prince's house and the imperial garden where King Rui lived, dipped in ink continuously, but didn't pick up a pen to mark it, the brush seemed to weigh a thousand catties.

The fifth prince thought for a while, and guessed: "The incident happened last night, less than a day ago, the emperor is secretly interrogating You Guanying, Director Li must be serving him personally, maybe leave it to the subordinates, third brother wait a minute, It is estimated that the roster will be delivered tomorrow morning."

"Hmm." King Qing pondered for a long while, but when he still wanted to ask, there was a voice outside: "His Royal Highness, please take the medicine." Ask for instructions.

Lying on his back with his eyes closed, King Rui didn't respond, he seemed to be falling asleep, but in reality he was physically and mentally exhausted and extremely tired.

King Qing had no choice but to temporarily put aside his doubts, nodded and said, "Come in. Fourth brother, it's time for you to take your medicine."

"Yes." King Rui agreed, and lay down quietly for a while before struggling to get up and drink the medicine.

At this moment, in Qixia Palace

The eighth prince is teaching his sister.

"Yiqi, you've reached Ji, you're a big girl, your reputation is very important, how can you just talk to a strange man casually? What if it spreads bad news, what will you do?"

The third princess stood, bowed her head anxiously, not daring to face her elder brother who was sitting upright, she was ashamed and ashamed, her face was flushed, hot, and she explained in a low voice: "I, I was careless for a while, so I didn't think much about it. Brother, in fact, I and Rong grown ups--"

"You and Master Rong?!" Zhao Zening interrupted with a blazing gaze.

"I, I..." Zhao Yiqi was even more embarrassed, at a loss, and admitted her mistake embarrassingly: "Brother, I know I was wrong, and I will definitely pay attention to it in the future. Don't be angry."

"Humph."

Zhao Zening's attitude eased a bit, and the remaining anger still remained, and he solemnly ordered: "The surname Rong is not a good thing, with a beautiful skin—tsk, I can't even mention it! Don't worry, sister! For the rest of my life, I am quietly looking for a suitable family, and I will definitely ask my father to point out a good family."

Zhao Yiqi bowed her head shyly, and said meekly and vaguely: "Everything is left to the arrangement of the elders."

"This is sensible."

Although Zhao Zening was relieved, he still did not forget to teach earnestly: "Yiqi, you remember: since ancient times, there is a saying that 'beautiful women are troublesome'. In this world, regardless of men or women, being too outstanding is not a good thing, do you know?"

But Master Rong's eyes are clear and upright, his conversation is elegant, modest and polite, and getting along with him is like a spring breeze... However, Zhao Yiqi dared not say these words, she nodded obediently: "I remember."

"Okay." Zhao Zening finally calmed down, pointed to the chair, and said, "Sit down."

"En." Zhao Yiqi dared to sit down.

It was already dark, and the maid respectfully came in to hold the lamp. Zhao Zening got up, stretched his waist, stretched his limbs, and ordered without any objection: "Before the imperial garden is lifted, you can stay in Qixia Palace for me. You are not allowed to run around. You can be bored." Say hello to Concubine Zhuang, or talk to Yishan, the sisters embroider handkerchiefs, don't be bored in the room all day, and be careful of mold."

"How could it be moldy? No way." Zhao Yiqi pursed her lips and smiled, realizing that her brother had calmed down, and finally dared to face the small talk.

After a while, Zhao Zening let out a long breath, and said lazily, "Okay! I should go to the Imperial Garden to help investigate the case. You should rest earlier." Then he walked out.

"Brothers have worked hard." Zhao Yiqi hurriedly sent them off, and reminded anxiously: "Brother, the murderer hasn't been caught yet, you must be careful, remember to follow the third brother and the others closely when investigating the case, and don't leave alone, big sister It was the one who was killed when I placed the order, and I was so scared that I couldn't sleep at night."

Zhao Zening stopped in front of the threshold, bit his lips, turned around, his nose was illuminated by the poking light in the corner, his eyebrows and eyes were hidden in the darkness, his eyes were bright, and his mood was very complicated. He said calmly, "Since I was a child, I don't know how much Miss Huang has bullied you." Once, now that she is dead, she has no chance to bully you." Isn't that good?

"Ah." Zhao Yiqi sighed heavily, and said regretfully, "Although big sister likes to bully people, it's just a trivial matter in life, and it's over. I didn't expect her to die so early and die so badly, it's heartbreaking uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable?" Zhao Zening tilted his head, raised his eyebrows, and curled the corners of his mouth strangely.

"Yeah." Zhao Yiqi, who was playing silk handkerchief with her head down, frowned, and said pitifully, "Because of the big sister, Concubine Hui seems to have aged ten years overnight, and the father is also very sad. I don't know when the family will recover. vitality."

hehe~

"Silly sister." Zhao Zening sighed, and taught gently: "The royal family is different from ordinary people's families. It's useless to just tolerate it—forget it! Just rest assured that the family's affairs are not up to the little princess to worry about. I have to go, lest The third brother and the others are looking for it, you can go back."

"Brother, go slowly." Zhao Yiqi didn't notice anything, she trusted her brother wholeheartedly, and never considered bad things.

However, the next moment, when Zhao Zening was walking, the hem of the robe naturally lifted up, and Zhao Yiqi, who was reluctant to part with her elder brother, carefully found something wrong: "Oh!"

Zhao Zening turned around and asked with a smile, "What's wrong?"

"Brother, your robe is torn."

Zhao Yiqi rushed forward, she forgot the difference between men and women for a while, bent down and picked up the corner of her brother's back robe, and said angrily: "Look, it's so torn! The people who follow you are so careless, they didn't even notice this, Let you walk around in rags."

——The outer robe is brown embroidered with silver leaf patterns, and the moon white silk is used as the lining, with a triangular piece broken, which is quite conspicuous.From the time Zhao Zening wore it last night until now, only his own sister, who was paying close attention to him, found out.

Where was it broken?When we started last night?Or when you walk around after you get it?

Suddenly, Zhao Zening's pupils dilated, his heart stopped beating, he held his breath, and countless suspicions popped up in his mind instantly!His whole body was tense, and he fixedly looked down at the top of his sister's head wearing a beaded flower hairpin, motionless.

"Brother?" Zhao Yiqi raised her head, her big watery eyes met her elder brother's, relying on her in admiration.

Zhao Zening gritted his teeth, and after a long while, he said with difficulty: "Oh, this one, I guess it was scratched by a stone or a branch in the imperial garden. It turns out that I was walking around in ragged clothes. It's really shameful. Sister, please don't shout out. , otherwise I must be very angry! Remember?"

"What am I shouting for?"

Zhao Yiqi smiled, knowing that her elder brother has always been strong and hated other people's strange eyes, so she nodded happily and made a serious promise: "Don't worry, I will never reveal it. You should change quickly, so that outsiders won't see the joke."

Zhao Zening's heart beat like a drum, his breathing was rapid, he stared into the eyes of his relatives, and solemnly warned: "Please keep it secret! Never tell a third person."

"Know it."

Half an hour later, Zhao Zening quickly burned the tattered clothes, put on an identical robe, and returned to the discussion tent in the Imperial Garden. When he looked up, he saw a corner of the moon-white cloth placed on the round table in the center.

so close!

God helped me too—fortunately, I went to Qixia Palace for a while, if Yiqi hadn't pointed out the mess, I really didn't find a small piece of lining missing from the corner of the robe.

He panicked for a moment.Rong Youtang was keenly aware that he sat in the corner of the tent and flipped through the files, observing the Eighth Prince's expression intently.

"Xiaoba, come and drink tea." The fifth prince greeted loudly.

"Okay." Zhao Zening calmed down and asked with concern, "Is there any new progress in solving the case?"

King Qing looked normal, holding a teacup, and said, "Walking around Lupo in the afternoon, I found some fresh footprints, a piece of fabric, and a bud of a precious orchid in a hidden forest path."

"It has been confirmed: the murderer stole the coarse cloth from Lanyuan, and accidentally took away an orchid bud. That person crossed the Quqiao Bridge in Taiqing Pond, climbed up the deer slope, and took a small path over the mountain to reach the lotus pond." King Rui was excited. Tell me in detail, and I look forward to solving the case as soon as possible, so that the deceased sister can be buried as soon as possible.

They know more and more...

Zhao Zening was unavoidably apprehensive, forced himself to be calm, and echoed, "Really? That's great. I really hope to solve the case quickly so as to comfort the Queen's Yin Ling. By the way, Fifth Brother, please rest assured that Concubine Zhuang is fine. She said that after being frightened, she became more worried and worried, so she prescribed calming soup and recovered after a few days of rest. She asked me to tell you to concentrate on investigating the case and not to worry."

"That's very good." The fifth prince said sincerely, "I have my eighth brother to greet and take care of me on my behalf. I am very grateful for my brother."

Zhao Zening said earnestly: "It should. Concubine Zhuang doesn't know how to take care of my younger sister, but I just did my best for the younger generation."

"The third younger sister is very sensible, but usually she takes care of the second younger sister most of the time." The fifth prince said modestly.

"Where is it, she is still a child at heart, just now she pulled me, some did not, and talked for a long time." Zhao Zening complained lovingly.

King Qing asked thoughtfully, "Really?"

"Yes." Zhao Zening lowered his eyes in embarrassment, not daring to look at each other.

"The painter sent a message that the palm prints and fingerprints can be repaired tomorrow morning." King Qing revealed.

"Really?" Zhao Zening forced a look of surprise.

"Yes." King Qing's voice was deep and deep, very oppressive.

"That's great!" Zhao Zening held his breath and praised.

Rong Youtang was preoccupied with two things, only listening, dipping the pen into the ink, and the ink splashed without knowing it.

King Qing didn't say anything else, he drank the warm tea in one gulp, but he could only taste the bitterness, without any regrets - he never forgot the scene where the eighth brother brutally tortured and killed the chicks in private.

How can it be?impossible?

How can I guess down?

Prince Qing had no expression on his face. He drank several cups of tea, put down the teacups, and greeted Rong Youtang: "Father should be free at the end of the You Dynasty. Lord Rong, let's go and report the progress of the case together."

"Yes." Rong Youtang woke up with a start, hurriedly put down his pen, and got up to follow.

"Fifth brother, Xiao Ba, you should be careful about the physical evidence, and it is strictly forbidden for idlers to enter." King Qing ordered solemnly.

"Okay!" The Fifth Prince nodded sharply.

a quarter of an hour later

Rong Youtang was more than a foot away from King Qing, one in front of the other, followed by a number of imperial guards who were walking across the imperial garden.

"Your Highness, what are you thinking?" Rong Youtang asked softly.

"Ah." King Qing sighed with a headache, and asked, "What do you think? Tell me first."

"This is royal family affairs. I'm an outsider. What do you say? You should tell me first. I really want to hear it." Rong Youtang urged.

King Qing scanned his surroundings and whispered, "This king has set up defenses at Ximo Pavilion, waiting for someone who wants to fall into the trap."

"Will that person destroy the evidence?"

"Probably. Once the palm prints and fingerprints are processed clearly, they will be key clues and will definitely come in handy." King Qing replied.

Rong Youtang opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and asked cautiously: "What if... catch an unbelievable person?"

With a straight face, Prince Qing said firmly, word by word, "There are only those who are wrongly caught, and there is no one who should not be caught!"

"But we are on a mission with His Majesty." Rong Youtang had no choice but to remind, thinking to himself: Who in the world can surpass the Emperor?

"In short, we must do our best. As for the result? It can only depend on what the father wants." King Qing walked slowly with his hands behind his back, his eyes rarely confused, and asked several times: "The short-cut halfway up Lupo, Yiqi said she Did you know it from Xiaobakou?"

"It's absolutely true. It's a big matter, how dare you talk nonsense?"

"I don't doubt you." King Qing apologized.

Rong Youtang shook his head and said softly, "I understand."

Not long after, they first rushed to the prince's dormitory, where they interrogated secretly for a long while; then they rushed to the eighth prince's dormitory, and found black flocs that had been burnt to ashes in the small kitchen stove.

King Qing sternly issued a sealing order. When he left, he didn't say a word for a long time. Rong Youtang was also in shock. The group turned to Qianming Palace and were quickly summoned by Emperor Chengtian. Rong Youtang waited outside the palace for orders.

"My son kowtowed to my father."

"Pingshen. Come and give me a seat." Emperor Chengtian asked eagerly: "What's the matter? Can the case be solved?"

King Qing reported solemnly: "Two more clues were found this afternoon, and the painter will be able to restore the fingerprints tomorrow morning. Even if the minister is stupid and cannot solve the case within three days, you can continue to investigate according to the iron evidence left by the murderer at the scene of the crime. "

"Okay, okay." Emperor Chengtian, dressed in dark purple and golden uniforms, said coldly: "You ask the painter to properly restore the evidence of the crime, you'd better try to prepare a few more copies, even if you go to heaven and earth, I will find the murderer! Boldly rebel Thieves, dare to murder the princess, but it is not enough to stabilize people's hearts."

"Yes. Father, I heard from Mr. Li that you refuse to take the medicinal diet for recuperation. How can this be done?" King Qing frowned disapprovingly.

"I know it well, you don't have to worry about it." Emperor Chengtian said comfortingly.

"Father—" King Qing hesitated to speak.

"What's the matter? Tell me what you have to say." Emperor Chengtian immediately leaned forward nervously, he knew very well that the other party was definitely not indecisive.

King Qing pondered for a long time, carefully choosing his words, and said slowly: "I want to report some conjectures about the murderer, so that you can be prepared, so as not to be startled hastily and get angry."

"Have you found the murderer? Who is it?" Emperor Chengtian's face suddenly changed.