Thousands of years

, even the yamen servants in the mansion were all wearing new clothes with unconcealable joy on their faces.Lin Ruoqing went to the Kaifeng mansion to pay New Year greetings to Mr. Bao and Mr. Gongsun, but Zhan Zhao was not in the mansion, so she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

Out of Kaifeng Mansion, along the way, there are not many people on the street, and occasionally people in twos and threes pass by, all in a hurry, thinking they are rushing to pay New Year's greetings.Lin Ruoqing was thinking about how to thank Zhan Zhao as she walked, this man has helped her countless times, without him, let alone go home, I am afraid that she would die now.But how to repay him?

Just as she was thinking about it, suddenly someone shouted not far away: "Master Zhan." Lin Ruoqing stopped suddenly, it couldn't be such a coincidence, could it?As soon as I thought of him, he appeared.

She turned around and looked, at the corner of an alley, Zhan Zhao, dressed in a red official robe, was bowing his head and talking to an old man, with a calm smile on his face, as if he sensed that someone was looking at him, and turned his head Looking over, seeing that it was Lin Ruoqing, she smiled at her and called out: "Miss Lin." Lin Ruoqing felt that the smile was as warm as spring, and she smiled back at him: "Master Zhan, Happy Chinese New Year."

"Happy Chinese New Year. Where are you going, girl?" Lin Ruoqing suddenly thought that if she couldn't see this man again in the future, she would definitely miss him with her gentle voice.

"Girl, girl?" Zhan Zhao came up to her and called her softly. "Oh, I went to Kaifeng Mansion just now, Master Zhan is not there." Lin Ruoqing came back to her senses and said embarrassedly. "Zhan has just gone to the Eighth Prince's Mansion. When is the girl going to Lingxiao Mountain Villa?" Although there is a faint reluctance in his heart, Zhan Zhao still hopes to help her return to her relatives as soon as possible.

"It doesn't matter to me, Mr. Zhan, you are so busy, you can go whenever you have time." Lin Ruoqing said with downcast eyes. "These few days of Chinese New Year happen to have time, why not go with the girl tomorrow?" Zhan Zhao said.

Lin Ruoqing seemed a little surprised, she looked up at Zhan Zhao with doubts in her eyes. "If Zhan can help the girl to see her relatives as soon as possible, forget about the girl's worries." Zhan Zhao said quietly.

Lin Ruoqing was moved, and said what was in her heart: "Master Zhan helped Ruoqing so much, how should Ruoqing thank you?"

The corners of Zhan Zhao's lips twitched slightly: "Miss, do you really want to thank Zhan?"

"Yes." Lin Ruoqing said seriously.

"Then girl, please promise Zhan Zhao to live a good life in your era." Zhan Zhao's voice was still calm, but Lin Ruoqing was inexplicably shocked. She looked at Zhan Zhao, and a strong reluctance welled up in her heart for a long time , she nodded slowly.

"Lord Zhan, Ruoqing has something else to ask." Lin Ruoqing opened her mouth softly. "But it has something to do with old man Lin? Don't worry, girl, Zhan will definitely take care of him." Zhan Zhao said.Lin Ruoqing's heart warmed, she suppressed the tears that were about to well up in her eyes, and only said two words: "Thank you."

However, things are impermanent, and no one thought that this trip to Lingxiao Mountain Villa would not end well.

Heartbreaker Case 1, □□

As soon as Zhan Zhao returned to Kaifeng Mansion, he was told that Mr. Bao was in a hurry to find him. Zhan Zhao hurried to the study, and saw Mr. Bao and Mr. Gongsun both looked solemn, and there was a stack of official documents on the desk.

Zhan Zhao's expression froze, and he asked, "Is there something urgent for your lord to summon your subordinates?"

"Zhanwei," Bao Zheng said in a deep voice, "In the past few days, Ying Tianfu suddenly killed a newborn baby and took his heart. Liu Xingzhong, the magistrate of Yingtian, failed to solve the case and reported it to the current Holy One. , hand over the case to the Kaifeng government for investigation."

After hearing this, Zhan Zhao understood.Then he clasped his fists and said: "My lord, this subordinate will set off for Yingtian Mansion immediately, and bring the murderer to justice as soon as possible."

Bao Zheng's long and narrow eyes flashed a trace of unbearable: "Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and our government has asked the Holy One to order the guards to leave tomorrow."

"No need, my lord. If you delay for a day, another innocent person may die tragically. This subordinate will go back and pack up and leave immediately." Zhan Zhao turned around and pulled up his robe and left the study.

"Hey, I didn't expect such a big case to happen at this time. It seems that the labor exhibition has to be guarded again." Gongsun Ce who was beside him looked at the back of Zhan Zhao leaving in a hurry, and said with a long sigh. "He hasn't lived a stable year for so many years, it's hard for him." Bao Zheng also said with regret.

When Zhan Zhao went back to his room to pack his bags, he suddenly remembered that he had just promised Lin Ruoqing that he would accompany her to Lingxiao Mountain Villa tomorrow, but now it seemed that he was about to renege on his promise.After thinking about it, Yanmo hurriedly wrote a letter, handed it to Xiaojuan, and troubled her to forward it to Lin Ruoqing.Then he simply wrapped his clothes in a parcel. Since he often went out to handle cases, Zhan Zhao had already gotten used to what to bring with him, so he just tied up the parcel.Gongsun Ce entered the door: "Why is Zhan Escort in such a hurry today?"

Is there any difference between today and tomorrow?Anyway, the year has passed. Zhan Zhao smiled and put the blue cloth bag on his right shoulder, and picked up the giant que with his left hand. "This is an official letter from Kaifeng Mansion, you take it."This is the best medicine for golden sores, you should keep it for a rainy day.In addition, it is said that the murderer is very skilled in martial arts, so you should be more careful. Like every time Zhan Zhao went out, Gongsun Ce started his nagging again. Zhan Zhao listened quietly and nodded from time to time, enjoying the care like a family member with peace of mind. Until Zhan Zhao went out, Gongsun Ce looked forward to Looking at the empty room, I don't know why I feel that my heart is also empty.

At noon, Xiaojuan brought Zhan Zhao's letter. Although Lin Ruoqing felt a little disappointed after reading it, it was reasonable to think that Zhan Zhao was busy, and it was impossible to just focus on her affairs.She chatted with Xiaojuan for a while, and then Xiaojuan left on the grounds that she had to go back home to cook dinner.Lin Ruoqing thought that there was no other way but to wait.Little did she know that her wheel of fortune had started to turn in another direction unknowingly.

Zhan Zhao rushed to Yingtian Mansion early in the morning on the third day, and Zhan Zhao led the horse to the gate of the city.The gates of Yingtian Mansion were very tightly guarded, Zhan Zhao showed his waist badge, and the gatekeepers let them go immediately, and even the government's eyeliner rushed to the prefect's office to report early.

Zhan Zhao walked all the way and found that there were very few pedestrians on the street. Although couplets were pasted on the doors of every house, and there were traces of firecrackers on the ground, every house was closed and closed. Now it is the fourth day of the Lunar New Year and the streets are so cold Depression seems unusual.

Arriving at the Yamen of Yingtian Mansion, Liu Xingzhong, the magistrate, led his people to wait at the gate of the mansion. Seeing Zhan Zhao approaching from afar, he hurried forward to greet him: "Liu Xingzhong, the magistrate of Yingtian Mansion, has seen Mr. Zhan." Liu Xingzhong bowed to the ground, very respectful.

The official system in the Song Dynasty was chaotic. In fact, the magistrate was also a fourth-rank official, only one rank lower than Zhan Zhao, who was a regular fourth-rank official. They who helped them solve the case were naturally courteous.

Zhan Zhao clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Lord Liu, you are welcome." Years of official career has trained Liu Xingzhong's ability to observe words and expressions. Whispering: I wonder if this bookish-looking person is really good at handling cases as rumored?Thinking about it in his heart, he didn't dare to neglect at all: "Master Zhan, please come in quickly." After saying that, he led Zhan Zhao into the government office.

The south of the Yangtze River is rich and prosperous, and this Yingtian Mansion is close to the canal, so the carved railings and painted buildings in this mansion are very exquisite.This Liu Xingzhong said as he walked: "Master Zhan, it's getting dark now, why don't we talk about it after lunch?"

"No need, Zhan wants to read the file first." Zhan Zhao replied calmly.

Liu Xingzhong was obviously stunned for a moment, and then he returned to his smiling face, and promised to bring Zhan Zhao into the study. He thought to himself that Zhan Zhao's behavior style seemed to be different from other Beijing officials. .

After taking his seat, Liu Xingzhong ordered his servants to make tea, and asked the master to take the case file again and again.Mr. Liu who Zhan Zhao was waiting for also sat down and took out the official letter, and handed it to him: "Master Liu, this is the official letter from Kaifeng Mansion, please have a look."

"Master Zhan was just joking, and I'm sure you'll trust Mr. Zhan." Liu Zhifu stretched out his hand to take it, but he didn't look at it.

Zhan Zhao picked up the teacup and took a sip of the tea, then put down the cup and looked at him: "Lord Liu, it's better to take a look, the way to be an official is to be cautious." Hearing this, Liu Xingzhong nodded hurriedly Open it, only saw the big red seal of Kaifeng Mansion, and hurriedly closed it.

At this time, the master of Ying Tianfu came in from the door with a stack of case files and put them on the table, and stood aside with his hands behind his back: "Master Zhan, this is the file of the infanticide case, sir, please have a look."

Zhan Zhao picked up the dossier and read it carefully page by page. Liu Xingzhong babbled at the side, "The murderer is really cruel. Poor that newborn baby, it doesn't count if he was taken away, and his heart was dug out and then the body was taken away." Throw it at the door of the house. The servants sent by the lower officials are not the match for the murderer. Hey, in desperation, only Mr. Labor Exhibition will take the lead."

"Have you ever fought against a murderer?" Zhan Zhao suddenly raised his eyes when he heard this, and glanced sharply at Liu Xingzhong.

Liu Xingzhong's heart trembled suddenly, and he opened his mouth tremblingly: "Yes. The lower official once sent someone to guard the home of the woman who was about to give birth, and had a face-to-face meeting with the murderer, but none of my subordinates lost four of them. I'm really ashamed to stop the murderer." Zhan Zhao nodded, thinking that Liu Xingzhong didn't work hard, it seems that the murderer is really difficult to deal with.After reading the case files, Zhan Zhao's brows became more and more frowned. There must be something complicated behind this case. What was their purpose in taking the baby's heart?He slowly closed the case file, pondered for a while, and asked Liu Xiangzhong, "Master Liu, where are the corpses of those babies now?"

"Still in the morgue."

"Master Liu, please lead the way." Although Zhan Zhao's voice was calm, there was no doubt about it.

Liu