Second minister and thief

Xu Shitian opened his eyes, and on the fourth day of their wedding, the "Taodu Tuguan Case", which horrified the world, finally ushered in a turning point.

Chu Linqiu's informants in the capital area followed the clues and finally uncovered the wandering demon monk who distributed strange-smelling sachets among the dignitaries.

That night, he was gagged and covered with a black cloth, and secretly escorted into Chu Linqiu's unknown manor in the suburbs of Beijing.

Xiao Cen also accompanied the "Madame" out of the city in disguise, intending to meet this key person.

It wasn't until now that he realized that Chu Linqiu planned to settle the case without anyone's arrangement.This is a bit too much to ignore the imperial power and officials, let alone him...

Worried about what might happen, Xiao Cen asked, "The important officials of the imperial court set up a private torture hall, what will happen?"

"It's equivalent to conspiracy."

"What?! You...you are too...Chu Jiushang, do you have a problem with your brain?" As soon as the words fell, Xiao Cen really put Weiliang's hand on Chu Linqiu's forehead caused Chu Linqiu to suddenly open his eyes.

"Master Hou, why are you scolding me?"

"..." I don't know if it was his illusion, but Chu Linqiu actually concealed a bit of grievance in his ordinary words.

Xiao Cen accidentally said a word, "You...call me Xiao Cen again."

"Master Hou?"

"Xiao Cen."

"Master Hou, this is against the rules." Chu Linqiu said helplessly.

"What are the rules? Since you and I are husband and wife, what's wrong with calling each other by first name?"

"Not right. You have a hereditary title, unlike Chu..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Xiao Cen blocked his mouth with his hands, "I, Xiao Cen, am not from their Tian family, so what if I called out? Is it okay to play in private? No one will catch up with me." Let me punish you for the crime of disrespect. Besides, Master Chu, you dare to overstep and deceive the king..." Xiao Cen immediately put on a smile of unknown intention, and a little joke flashed in his eyes, "Why bother pretending to me now? Let me ask you, are you afraid or unwilling?"

"Nature is willing."

"Call it." Xiao Cen stepped back from him a little so that he could see the expression on his face more clearly. Seeing that the man's face was indeed calm, and he didn't show any perfunctory, he couldn't help but feel relieved, secretly thinking that Jiu Shang really did. Interested in me too.

"..." At this time, the small oil lamp in the carriage was still emitting a faint yellow light, which naturally made Chu Linqiu discover the hidden expectation in his eyes.

"Nine merchants?"

Chu Linqiu sighed in his heart, and called out in a deep voice, "Xiao Cen."

Just at this moment, the coachman's hoarse and unpleasant voice came from outside the curtain, "Master, we're here."

Xiao Cen helped Chu Linqiu through a bottomless tunnel and entered a torture room, planning to meet the Taoist priest.As soon as he raised his head, Xiao Cen's breathing became stagnant.He never thought that he would see many instruments of torture that are only found in the military.They were hung on the surrounding white walls one by one according to the order they were arranged, shining a cold light, and under the light of the lantern, they looked like ghosts and ghosts, and they were rushing towards the open space in the middle with their teeth and claws.

In the southeast corner of the torture chamber was a man tied up, wearing an ancient cassock of red and yellow, with cloth shoes on his feet, and a nine-point ring scar on his head, which looked very terrifying.His head was bowed deeply, and his eyes were closed tightly so that Xiao Cen couldn't see his face clearly, but he felt that this person's breath was very familiar.

"Hold his head up."

"Do you know him?" At this moment, Chu Linqiu had already walked in front of him, groping his face inch by inch, and in a short while, he actually peeled off a thin layer of skin from his ear.

"This..." Xiao Cen gasped twice, and slowly opened his eyes wide. He unconsciously grabbed Chu Linqiu's arm, and he didn't react until the man groaned, "This, this no......"

"who is it?"

"..." Xiao Cen stared at the Erythrina and Flying Eagle printed on the left side of the face of the "monk", feeling extremely complicated in his mind, and instantly brought himself back to the golden drum a few years ago. In the great battle where corpses littered the field.

"Report! The sand and dust are coming fiercely, and our army's middle road has lost contact with the west and south roads!"

"Report! General! The South Road was attacked, and none of the five hundred soldiers survived!"

"Report! The little general is not good! The big general..."

"This is...my grandfather's...the last counselor...together with the Southern Army...died in that year..." After all After saying this, Xiao Cen felt his legs go limp, and he almost fell to his knees.He hurriedly supported Chu Linqiu to stand firm, his expression was in a daze, and he was still greatly shocked.

"Don't you see the head of Qinghai, the ancient bones..."

The corpses of the soldiers who died that year were all inspected by himself, and their names, official positions, ancestral homes, and even the number of members of their families were all recorded early.Why did he come back from the dead today?

Even though he was well prepared, when Xiao Cen saw such a strange scene with his own eyes, he still felt a chill rushing from the soles of his feet to the sky.

Ding Nanhou's revelation is equivalent to laying out the bloody facts in front of his eyes.He couldn't believe it and couldn't accept it. The Mobei army brought out by his grandfather would eventually turn into demons who hurt innocent people for their own selfish desires, and became traitors that the world despises.

Now Xiao Cen suddenly understood why Chu Linqiu acted in secret. It turned out that he was doing it to protect his grandfather's wise life, and also to protect the image of the Mobei Army as a "god of salvation" in the hearts of the people.Because once the matter is exposed, all the reputation that Xiao has painstakingly managed will be destroyed overnight.This will make the grandfather restless even if he sleeps in Jiuquan forever.

"Why did he do this? You hid this person, how will things end? If he is really the culprit, where are you going to find another scapegoat?"

"I need you to help me with all this."

"I?"

"Ahem... yes, if you have a way to get him to tell the truth, of course it would be the best. But if he doesn't tell... we have to find another way."

"I see. I'll tell you how..."

"After half a cup of tea, they and I will wait for you outside. There will only be you and him in this torture room. Remember, you only have one stick of incense time."

"..."

"Master Hou, I'll leave it to you. Remember, don't mention me, Xuanwuwei and the Judgment Court with him."

"You want...to make him think that it was I, Xiao Cen, who discovered this before you Xuanwuwei, so as to lower his vigilance?!"

"Yes, when you came in, didn't you think this torture room looked familiar?" A rare smile appeared on Chu Linqiu's face, and Xiao Cen was stunned for a moment.

"This is... my Xiao family's torture chamber..."

"Yes." When Chu Linqiu was talking to Xiao Cen, he never took his eyes off the monster monk's face. Seeing him rolling his eyes at this moment, as if he was about to wake up, he said, "I'll go outside first, Lord Marquis, success or failure In one fell swoop."