ancient criminal minds

The carriage was "grunting" on the bluestone road, turning west and east in Yanjing City, and finally came to a small courtyard that looked very elegant.

Staff member Xi Chengfeng jumped out of the carriage, knocked lightly on the door of the small courtyard, and soon a girl who looked like a maid opened the door, and said softly: "Miss Haitang is sleeping right now, please don't disturb her. "

Xi Chengfeng handed her a piece of silver and said, "My son is not here to seek pleasure, so is there any bamboo leaf wine?"

The servant girl's expression changed instantly, she put away the silver and said quickly, "What kind of bamboo leaf wine is it?"

"One-third of a bamboo leaf and one drop of water, six-quarters of mountain fog and half of two wines."

The servant girl smiled again: "It's an expert, please invite yourself." Then, she opened the two doors and stepped aside.

Only then did Xi Chengfeng invite Zhao Jin from the carriage. In fact, Xi Chengfeng was also a little curious, wondering who the owner of this small courtyard was, and he was so cautious.

Zhao Jin did not go to explain, but took him directly through the small courtyard, but went to the side courtyard. There was already someone burning incense and making tea in the courtyard, but it turned out to be Luo Xian, the current leader of the Red Armored Guards.

Xi Chengfeng didn't hold back his surprise for a moment, Luo Xian looked straight at him, and Luo Xian chuckled: "It seems that this brother is someone in Mr. Zhao's confidant."

Xi Chengfeng hurriedly said seriously: "I'm Xi Chengfeng."

Luo Xian laughed: "Brother Xi, don't be nervous, since we are the same master, we will call him brothers in the future."

Xi Chengfeng couldn't hide his shock this time, and looked back and forth between Luo Xian and Zhao Jin in surprise.

Luo Xian's expression also changed, and he asked suspiciously: "Could it be that Master Zhao hasn't told you yet?"

Zhao Jin found a seat by herself and sat down, drinking a cup of tea before saying, "Never."

Luo Xian's expression suddenly became serious: "Master Zhao, how can this be a joke?"

Zhao Jin laughed lightly: "Master Jian has not made it clear yet, but Commander Luo has already recognized the master."

Luo Xian endured his anger and said: "Master Hou just has a knot in his heart that has not been resolved. He is the first son of Wei Wang, and I am afraid that he will be the crown prince in the future. Such a situation must be clearer than you and me. If it weren't for this , how can he accept King Wei's kindness?"

Xi Chengfeng was stunned by the news.Zhao Jin, however, still had a slow look: "That's not necessarily the case, Commander Luo, I'm kind enough to teach you a lesson. The most taboo thing for a courtier is to speculate on what you want."

These words were like pouring a basin of ice water directly on the top of Luo Xian's head in the twelfth lunar month of winter, which made him feel a little chilly in the vest for a while, but he soon came back to his senses and forced a smile: "Thank you, Mr. Zhao, for your guidance." .”

Zhao Jin hooked the corners of her lips: "You're welcome. But today we are not here to talk about these things. If you have any news, Lord Luo, please tell me quickly."

Xi Chengfeng finally recovered from his bewilderment and began to listen attentively to Luo Xian's words. This is also the most important reason why Zhao Jin brought him here today.

After all, Luo Xian is also a man with a strong heart. Even if he lost his composure earlier, he immediately adjusted himself, and said seriously: "There is news from the palace that His Majesty's health may be within a month or two."

Both Zhao Jin and Xi Chengfeng were shocked. Although they knew that Emperor Yongning's health had deteriorated for a long time, they never expected that it would be so poor.Zhao Jin was even more shocked when she thought of seeing that Emperor Yongning was still in control of the government as usual, and there was no sign of exhaustion.

To be sure, Zhao Jin asked again: "Is the news true?"

Luo Xian said: "The news came from King Wei's side. As for His Majesty, he still can't see the sign of serious illness. His Highness King Wei said that there is a secret medicine called 'Xieluo' in the palace, which can make people forget the pain of illness. It is abundant, but this medicine is a medicine that consumes vitality. It seems calm now, but the imperial physicians are locked in the Palace of Qinzheng, and the concubines in the harem are not allowed to move around at will. Isn't this loose on the outside and tight on the inside, is it a testament to King Wei Your Highness's speech?"

Zhao Jin fell into deep thought. Compared with other people's words, he was more willing to believe what he saw. Although His Majesty was still the same as usual in the past few days, he still found spots on the back of His Majesty's hands, and the spots under the crown. white hair.Your Majesty is in the middle of his prime, and he will appear old so soon, I am afraid that it is because of the medicine that consumes vitality.

Luo Xian said again: "What I mean is to explain this matter to Lord Hou, and ask him to return to Yanjing as soon as possible."

Zhao Jin shook her head, "Now that the war in northern Xinjiang is in full swing, I'm afraid that Lord Hou won't be able to come back."

"At the beginning, the reason why Lord Hou was going to the northern border was to gain military merits for the sake of future affairs, but the situation has changed now, and I think it will be different from time to time. For the current plan, it is better to invite Lord Hou to return to Yanjing first. .”

Zhao Jin did not speak, but cast his eyes on Xi Chengfeng: "What do you think?"

Xi Chengfeng said cautiously: "I don't think this matter is urgent. After all, there is not only Lord Hou in Northern Xinjiang, but also His Royal Highness the King of Chu."

Zhao Jin nodded: "King Chu has been operating in Northern Xinjiang for many years, no matter what His Majesty's plan is, he will never let him leave my nose at such a critical moment. When I think about it, I will definitely have a purpose to go to Northern Xinjiang, Lord Marquis Just pay attention to that."

Luo Xian hesitated and said: "Although His Majesty seems to have a lot of trust in the King of Chu in recent years, why did he recall the King of Chu to Yanjing? Could it be that he was worried that the King of Chu would threaten the new king and wanted to take this opportunity to get rid of him? "

Xi Chengfeng glanced at Zhao Jin, but saw him shaking his head inaudibly, and immediately understood, and swallowed the words that came to his mouth.

Zhao Jin didn't intend to explain Luo Xian's confusion, but said: "It's hard to say how this matter is now, let Commander Luo pass on the news, and let the Marquis decide for himself."

"That's the only way to go." Luo Xian frowned, but soon let go, and asked Zhao Jin, "Master Zhao has been in Dali Temple for a while now, have you found anything?" He asked It was something that Jian Yu told Zhao Jin to do before leaving. Jian Yu wanted to find out what happened when he was born. All the cases showed that Jian Yu was the son of King Wei, but Jian Yu didn't care about it on the surface, but he was always suspicious in his heart, so Zhao Jin asked Zhao Jin to investigate.

Zhao Jin showed a strange look on his face: "This is an extremely strange thing. There are no records of all the cases back then. I have searched all the files of Dali Temple, and there are no records of those three years. It was clean, as if it had been cleaned up on purpose."

Luo Xian couldn't help being disappointed, he knew that Jian Yu was very concerned about this matter, it was not only his knot, but also represented his identity.

After all, Luo Xian is also ambitious. He also knows that King Wei sent someone to contact Jian Yu. In his opinion, King Wei has the ability and status, and the hidden lines he laid are even more shocking. If Emperor Yongning After death, those princes are no match for him!That being the case, it is better to be with the future prince than to be with a Hou Ye who has the merits of being a dragon.

Luo Xian really hoped that Jian Yu would recognize King Wei, but based on what he knew about Jian Yu, he would never recognize King Wei without solid evidence, and King Wei had never raised anyone besides Jian Yu. Son, have you had any other sons these years?Now he can take the initiative to show his favor, but if Jian Yu refuses repeatedly, will he be angered in the end?These things made Luo Xian almost turn gray with worry.

Luo Xian said disappointedly: "The people who want to clean up these files should be Luo Hong and Lan Jingyi. Do you want to go underground and ask them?"

"That's not necessary." Zhao Jin said again, "Although the case files have been cleaned up, I still found one thing. There is no slave status of Gao Jinwen in the entire Dali Temple."

Luo Xian wondered: "Didn't Madam be given by Decheng..." He didn't dare to say the following words.

Zhao Jin shook her head: "All people who are used as official slaves will have slave status in Dali Temple. Even if the Marquis of Decheng wants to take them away, it is impossible to eliminate the slave status."

"That……"

"I'm afraid that Mrs. Gao was pregnant at that time, but was concealed from her, and her slavery was canceled at a great price. Apart from the child's biological father, I can't think of anyone else who would do this. "After all, in this era, a slave son cannot be called a master. A slave son is born a slave, no matter how noble his father is.If the king of Wei really ascended to the throne in the future and wanted to make Jianyu the crown prince, if it was revealed that Gao's slave status, no one in the world would recognize it.

Luo Xian immediately opened his eyes wide in surprise: "Doesn't that mean..."

Zhao Jin said very calmly: "I'm afraid that Marquis of Decheng is a loyal loyalist of the King of Wei. The Marquis of Decheng Mansion has been passed down for so many years, and what they rely on is not money from the mansion, but years of prudence. If the king takes such a big risk, don't you think about it, how much power does the king of Wei have in his hands?"

"Isn't that just right?" Luo Xian didn't understand.

Zhao Jin snorted coldly: "If King Wei really wants to recognize this son, why bother to wait until now, and still hide it like this. You know what kind of life the Marquis has been living these years. Could it be that you still treat King Wei? Do you have expectations for the father-son relationship?"

Luo Xian was stunned, he never thought of this level, just hearing what Zhao Jin said, he also felt cold sweat running down his back, is it because Hou Ye saw this that he has been keeping aloof from King Wei's side all the time? A relationship that isn't overly affectionate?

Zhao Jin sighed: "As long as you and I know about this matter, how to make a decision, I still have to let Hou Ye decide for himself. You must remember to send someone absolutely trustworthy to deliver the letter."

"Naturally." Luo Xian didn't dare to sneer at Zhao Jin's words anymore, and quickly responded.

Only then did Zhao Jin stand up: "In that case, I will go ahead."

Luo Xian cupped hands with him, and Zhao Jin left with Xi Chengfeng.

After leaving the small courtyard, Xi Chengfeng breathed a sigh of relief, but his admiration for the lord grew more and more in his heart. He didn't dare to say anything on the road, and walked around Yanjing City a few times before returning to the mansion.

Zhao Jin seemed a little tired, and said to him, "Go down first."

Xi Chengfeng retired respectfully.Zhao Jin naturally also saw the change in his attitude. He knew that Xi Chengfeng was indeed talented, but talented people were a bit lofty. Although Xi Chengfeng hid it well, he still saw it.When he brought Xi Chengfeng up at the beginning, he really meant to rely heavily on cultivation, otherwise he would not have brought him to see Luo Xian, but this is not just a kind of beating, and now it seems that the effect is indeed good.

Seeing that Zhao Jin was going to rest, the maidservant at the side knew that he didn't like being served close to him recently, but she still walked forward shyly after all, with a pair of affectionate eyes rolling slightly, and said softly, "Servant, I will undress you."

Zhao Jin didn't speak, and the servant took it as his acquiescing. Overjoyed, she unbuttoned his belt shyly and took off his coat, but when her fingers reached for Zhao Jin's shirt, Zhao Jin He grabbed his wrist.

The maid's eyes turned red from the pain from the force, and she begged softly: "My lord, you hurt this servant..."

Zhao Jin raised her eyelids slightly and sneered, "Just do it."

The maid shook her body, but under his gaze, she began to untie her clothes tremblingly. The girl's body like a peach was gently nestled against Zhao Jin's body, her hibiscus face was already full of shame, and she held Zhao Jin Jin put his hand on his chest, but the other hand reached towards Zhao Jin's lower body.

But before she touched her, Zhao Jin's face suddenly changed drastically, and he pushed her to the ground furiously: "Get out!"

The servant girl's face turned pale immediately. Seeing that Zhao Jin was getting impatient, she didn't dare to dawdle any longer. After all, Madam Die's fate was still fresh, so she hurriedly took a coat and stumbled out of the room.

After the maid left, the room suddenly became very quiet, only the sound of the hourglass.

Zhao Jin closed his eyes, took a few quick breaths, and finally his face turned better. He slowly opened his eyes, but instead of the usual slightly indifferent expression, there was a sense of hostility.He stood up, walked to the bedroom, twisted several mechanisms, and a cabinet slid open without a sound. He picked up an oil lamp on the table and walked towards the passage behind the cabinet.

As his figure gradually disappeared into the darkness, the cabinet slowly slid back into place, as if nothing had happened.

The footsteps of "ta, da" echoed in the narrow and long passage, but Zhao Jin's expression did not change a bit, as if he was already familiar with this passage.

At the end of the passage is a small secret room. The secret room is very simple. There is only a bed, a table and a chair. Two thick iron chains extend from the wall. The person who is chained is curled up on the bed. The man was motionless, as if he had lost his voice.

Zhao Jin put the oil lamp on the table, and then slowly approached the figure.

Unexpectedly, just as he approached, the figure suddenly jumped up, roaring and rushed towards him, but was caught by the iron chain when he was very close to Zhao Jin.

And it was precisely in this way that people could see his appearance clearly, but this was a faceless man.His face was peeled off by some unknown method, and he was cured afterwards with the best golden sore medicine, but his flesh and blood were so tangled that it was unbearable to look at him directly.And his tongue was also cut off, so he could only make the sound of "ahhhhhhh".

From his eyes full of hatred and fear, one could understand that it was the person in front of him who made him fall into such a situation.

The howling of the faceless man intertwined with the sound of the iron chain being pulled, but Zhao Jin was not moved at all. He even had time to enjoy the tragic situation of the faceless man.

The faceless man knew that he had nothing to do with Zhao Jin. He was in extreme pain and hated him to the bone. He spurted a mouthful of thick phlegm from his mouth. Although Zhao Jin turned his head in time, the phlegm still sprayed on his face.

Zhao Jin paused, but didn't immediately wipe it off with a handkerchief. Instead, she kicked the Faceless Man to the ground viciously with her eyes, and then stepped on his face, ignoring his screams. , lowered his voice and said: "I told you, don't provoke me, why do you always behave badly?"

The faceless man's hands were bound by chains, and he could only maintain the posture of bending backwards. He couldn't move Zhao Jin's feet away from his face at all. However, Zhao Jin maliciously crushed his face with his feet until he was faceless. Shi Shiran let go only after he was tortured until he was only half breathed.

Zhao Jin sat on the only chair in the room, which was just behind the desk and opposite to the bed.At this time, Zhao Jin took out the handkerchief and wiped off the phlegm on his face, as if he remembered something interesting, he suddenly smiled and said: "Speaking of which, this handkerchief seems to be embroidered by a woman, let me think about it." What's it called?" He propped his chin and seemed to be thinking, and then suddenly said, "I remember, the servants seem to call her... Madame Butterfly?"

The Faceless Man paused, then raised his head to look at Zhao Jin.

Although Zhao Jin smiled, the hostility in his eyes could not be concealed. As soon as he loosened his hand, the veil immediately fell to the ground, covered with dust.Zhao Jin's voice was cold and vicious like a poisonous snake: "She trespassed in the study at noon, I had someone beat her ten times, and dragged her from the study all the way back to the yard. Now I'm afraid that the news will spread to the whole mansion .”

The faceless man's emotions became agitated again, and the chain was shaken uncontrollably by him.

But Zhao Jin laughed: "It is said that she was the most favored in the past, but now that she has suffered such humiliation, I don't know if she still has the face to live on. Oh, by the way, and your wives and concubines, I don't know how to swallow their humiliation under her hands. I don't know how long, but now I have the opportunity and I don't know how to abuse her, it sounds really pitiful, just like you, isn't it, my good brother?"

It turned out that this Zhao Jin turned out to be Zhao Xueqian, and the one who was chained was the real Zhao Jin.

Zhao Jin wantonly humiliated Zhao Xueqian back then, but she never thought that one day the situation between the two of them would be reversed.

Zhao Xueqian touched his face, but showed a disgusted expression: "Although I have to wear this thing every day, as long as I think that this thing comes from you, big brother, I feel that it is just extra disgusting." Speaking of Here, he seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly showed a relieved expression, "Brother claims to be noble, and has always looked down on us bastards, but those people outside don't care who this skin is. Face, it doesn't make any difference whether the blood flowing in this body is the blood of the concubine or the blood of the concubine, so thinking about it, I don't hate this face anymore."

Zhao Jin wished to drink his blood and eat his flesh, but was restrained by the chains, so he could only keep screaming, with blood and tears streaming from his eyes, regardless of the wrist that had been rubbed and bleeding.

Zhao Xueqian couldn't help laughing out loud, but his eyes didn't show the joy of getting revenge, but the accumulated hatred.

Zhao Jin exhausted all her strength and fell heavily on the ground, her eyes were dazed, as if she couldn't figure out why she had come to this point.

Zhao Xueqian still thought it was not enough, and said: "I am now a celebrity by Your Majesty's side, and I have hooked up with the newly appointed Zhongyonghou, oops, I seem to have forgotten to tell you, Zhongyonghou Jianyu is the only master you have been loyal to." son."

Zhao Jin's bewildered eyes suddenly filled with spirit again, he stared at Zhao Xueqian firmly, his mouth opened and closed but he didn't know what he was saying.

Zhao Xueqian smiled and said: "You are buried deep enough. If you hadn't revealed your whereabouts when you were in the Baogao family back then, I'm afraid no one would have known about it. The Zhao family is not someone who has been implicated. You are the king of Wei. Faithful." At this point, he changed the subject, "You must be holding this intention and want your master to rescue you."

Zhao Jin seemed to have understood what Zhao Xueqian hadn't finished saying, and the expression of fear and despair appeared on his face, which was no longer humanoid. His body trembled violently, as if he wanted to approach Zhao Xueqian, but it was of no avail.

Zhao Xueqian smiled viciously and said: "Your master may not be ignorant of your situation, but he would rather keep me as a fake. In the final analysis, it is just because I am more useful than you. You are loyal to him, I am afraid there is no Thinking that people will treat you like trash."

Zhao Jin made a painful sound from his throat, as if begging Zhao Xueqian not to speak again.

Zhao Xueqian ignored it at all, and continued to say: "Speaking of which, Zhongyong Hou made this human skin mask for me. Just think about it, where does he have such a manpower? I'm afraid he borrowed it from King Wei. This skill is really superb, even I can't tell the difference."

The last gleam of light in Zhao Jin's eyes was extinguished, he stopped shouting, and fell limp on the ground as if he had lost his soul.

Zhao Xueqian wanted to say these things to make him suffer. Seeing him like this, he stopped talking, walked over, and kicked Zhao Jin, but he didn't hear the scream he wanted to hear. A ruthless look flashed across his face, but his voice became softer: "Brother, can't you take it anymore? I overestimated you. I thought you could endure the pain of cutting your face and tongue. Why do I only say a few words, but Biancheng looks like this?"

Zhao Jin's eyes were slightly closed, and he didn't move no matter what he said.

Zhao Xueqian sneered and said: "It seems that I really think highly of you. You are really still the sissy you were back then, and you haven't changed at all."

Zhao Xueqian scolded for a long time but didn't wait for Zhao Jin's response, so he didn't waste any more effort. He stretched out his hand to grab Zhao Jin's throat, and said slowly: "Brother, I won't let you die. If you die, I will Who should I tell about these achievements?" As he spoke, he thought of something again, and reached out to touch his shoulder blade with a gloomy face, where there was a blooming peony flower, which was an indelible imprint and also the one he had received. The humiliation, he had to always remember who gave it to him.

Zhao Xueqian let go of Zhao Jin, and took out a gorgeous hairpin from his cuff, which was very similar to the one that Zhao Jin branded on his back. Press up.

"Ah-ah-ah-"

After leaving the secret room, Zhao Xueqian's mood did not change because he returned to the sun. Ever since he was locked up by Zhao Jin and treated like that by him, his heart has been locked in that secret room forever , Only by torturing Zhao Jin can one get a moment of joy.

Zhao Xueqian asked the servant to pour water and washed for an hour before coming out.He didn't let the maidservant serve him, but put on the clothes by himself, and the bewitching peony bloomed on his shoulders, as beautiful as if he drank human blood.As layers of clothes covered his body, he gradually returned to the indifferent Zhao Jin in front of others.

Zhao Xueqian leaned on the recliner and closed his eyes to rest.A maid knocked on the door, and walked in carefully after getting permission, and came over to wipe Zhao Xueqian's hair tremblingly, for fear of hurting him.

A needle could be heard in the room, at this moment, a knock on the door startled the servant girl, she accidentally tore a strand of hair, she was so frightened that she quickly knelt down and begged for mercy.

Zhao Xueqian frowned, but ignored her, but said lightly: "Come in."

The person who came in was the steward of the Zhao residence. He knelt down at the head of Zhao Xueqian. Zhao Xueqian glanced at the maidservant: "Go and receive the punishment yourself." After the maidservant left after the robbery, he picked up the teacup to moisten his mouth, carelessly Ask, "What's the matter?"

The steward said cautiously: "Yes... the aunt who lived in Shui Miao Temple passed away..."

"Snapped!"

A teacup fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.