I am imprisoned in Kaifeng Mansion

These people's hands were quite strong, and even the sleeves of the scholar's inner coat were torn away, and a piece of meat was exposed on the scholar's left arm.Everyone saw that there was a tattoo on the scholar's arm, which was a butterfly with wings spread.

The scholar hurriedly covered his arms in embarrassment and wanted to run.The two groups of Wan Shilang and Lord Qinhou's family hurriedly stopped the scholar and apologized to him first, and they both said that they could take him to find a place to change into new clothes immediately.

"Why don't you choose a family, or we will leave like this, we are not reconciled, and we have to think about it." The servant of Lord Qin's family said.

Wan Shilang's servants also agreed, and let the scholars choose one family, but it is difficult to choose them from any family.After all, among the Jinshi of the imperial examination high school every year, there are not many young and good-looking ones, and every one who goes away is one less.

"I... don't want to choose." The scholar clutched his torn sleeve in embarrassment, tried to go left but was blocked back, and then right was also blocked back.He was so anxious that he almost cried, his face flushed.

But the more shy and introverted the scholar is, the more the two families like him, which shows that he is honest and honest.This person can study and be honest, isn't he the best choice for a son-in-law!

Cui Tao suddenly ran up to the scholar, "Brother Yuan, why are you still here? My sister-in-law is waiting for the good news from your high school, and the soles of her feet are smoking, walking back and forth on the floor!"

Scholar Yuan Feng was stunned for a moment when he heard Cui Tao's words, and then he suddenly understood after Cui Tao's eyes signaled him, he quickly nodded and walked towards Cui Tao.

At this time, Wan Shilang, Zhou Steward and Zheng Steward of Lord Qin Hou's family heard the words and blamed Yuan Feng for not being clear.

"I told you earlier that you were already married, and it made us waste our time."

"Have you told the time? Hurry up and pay for the clothes!" Cui Tao asked Zhou and Zheng for money.

"You haven't said anything about delaying us, but you still ask us for money?"

Butler Zhou and Steward Zheng were naturally unwilling to give up money from their own pockets.

"If it's so unreasonable, everyone has to go to Kaifeng Mansion to talk about it. Hey, isn't that the official Han Tui of Kaifeng Mansion? What a coincidence, he can be invited to judge us all. Who is unreasonable?" Cui Tao pretended to meet by chance, and motioned the two housekeepers to look at Han Qi.

The moment Steward Zhou and Steward Zheng looked at Han Qi's handsome face, they both trembled in fear.The Korean pusher and the others knew that when the imperial examinations were released last time, they were all prepared to catch him, but the position was too high to catch him, and he was the second place hand-picked by the government.Li Shangshu has been coveting for a long time but still hasn't got it, let alone them.

This is to catch a son-in-law under the list, but it will not be caught in Kaifeng Mansion. Not to mention causing bad luck, he will definitely be complained by his master when he returns home.The two housekeepers had to obediently give the money, and the family gave [-] Wen to the scholar.In fact, look at the scholar's clothes, they are worth a few tens of pennies at most, but the little lady who asked for the money insisted that there is still some 'scaring fee', an unprecedented demand for compensation, but she has to pay it.

What can I do, the Korean pusher is just across the street, how dare I not give it?

Cui Tao handed Yuan Feng the money he wanted, and told him to find a place to change clothes quickly.

"Yuan has one thing that I don't understand. How does the lady know Yuan's surname?" Yuan Feng asked curiously.

Cui Tao pointed to the last name on the left side of the No. [-] ranking list, "I just looked at you and seemed to be looking at that name. It doesn't matter if you call it wrong, it mainly depends on whether you are willing to respond."

Yuan Feng hurriedly saluted and thanked him, expressing his willingness to agree, and then bowed to Han Qi, "Students have admired Han Tuiguan for a long time!"

"We will be colleagues in the future, congratulations." Han Qi said quietly.

Yuan Feng saluted once more to thank him, and then he took his leave in embarrassment while covering the wound on his left shoulder.

Cui Tao smiled and greeted everyone to leave.

"Mind your own business." Han Qi whispered to Cui Tao when she walked over.

"How can this be regarded as meddling in other people's business? This is acting bravely. If you were arrested like that by Han Tuiguan, wouldn't you also hope that someone would come to rescue you?" Cui Tao asked back.

Han Qi lowered his eyes and chuckled lightly, without replying, but walked slowly forward.

"Did official Han be arrested when Dingmao's imperial examinations were released?" Cui Tao began to gossip and asked Han Qi, "Official Han is unparalleled in appearance and talent, and he was hand-picked by the officials. No. [-], still so young! It must have been in demand at the time, judging from Yuan Feng's situation today, there might not even be a piece of clothes left at that time."

At first Han Qi heard Cui Tao praise his appearance, but didn't react much, but when she heard her last sentence, he couldn't help frowning and looking at her, and asked Cui Tao if he still wanted to eat venison.

"I want to eat, I want to eat." Cui Tao immediately agreed with an apologetic smile, and pinched her mouth with her hands, indicating that she would not say more.

For venison, she can be very good-natured!

Cui Tao then happily ran to Wang Siniang to talk.

Seeing her lively and cheerful appearance, Han Qi couldn't help but smile again.

When she arrived at Han Qi's house, Cui Tao realized that Han Qi's place was not the kind of grand courtyard she had imagined.The house generally belongs to the pattern of three in the front and three in the back, but there is a cross courtyard on the west side, and the other side door is opened on the other side, and there are servant rooms, utility rooms and kitchens.

The main hall is calm and solemn. The furniture is sandalwood, but everything is exquisite. The overall layout is solemn yet elegant. Passing through the main hall is the back hall, which is a little less solemn than the main hall. There are landscape paintings and some orchid decorations. A little more comfortable and elegant.

Walking through the corridor to the backyard, you can see several green plants. In the center of the yard are two large tanks with wide mouths and lotuses.The lotus blooms just right, some are pink and some are white, and there are red or yellow or red and white koi floating up from time to time in the tank, matching the green lotus leaves, which is very beautiful.

Including Zhang Chang, there are twelve domestic servants in the house, three cooks and three maids in the kitchen, and the rest are young male servants who are responsible for raising horses, driving carts, and cleaning.

Cui Tao saw a large sandalwood table in front of the stone steps in the backyard, with bowls, chopsticks and snacks prepared on it, which was just right for the number of them, but there was no preserved deer on the table.

Cui Tao was puzzled and was about to ask Han Qi when the meal would open when Cook Fang came.

Chef Fang smiled and prepared the pear juice she had just made for everyone.Cui Tao ate the crispy yellow dumplings made by Mrs. Fang last time, and she was very impressed. Later, she also got old dough from Mrs. Fang, and made an improved version of the crispy yellow dumplings by herself.However, Zhang Chang was the one who sent the message and delivered the things, and Cui Tao had never met Cook Fang.

Seeing her today, she couldn't help but feel kind. Cui Tao quickly introduced herself and praised Cook Fang for her skill.

Chef Fang had also heard Zhang Chang talk about Cui Tao a long time ago, so she couldn't help but take a closer look at Cui Tao.The clothes are quite plain, but there is a bright and beautiful face with a sweet smile.Chef Fang had heard that she knew everything in Yamen and was good at cooking, but now that she was beautiful and could talk, she couldn't help liking her even more.

"Then Mrs. Cui, let me go. Mr. Lang said, how to cook this venison is up to Mrs. Cui." Cook Fang quickly invited politely.

Cui Tao was stunned for a moment, and looked at Han Qi strangely. Didn't she say it was good to eat "fried" deer preserved meat? Why did she have to decide how to cook it?

"We're going to help too." Wang Siniang said together, pulling Ping'er.

Wang Zhao, Li Yuan and the others thanked Cui Tao politely. If today's meal had Cui Tao's cooking skills, they would definitely be able to enjoy it and return home.

Cui Tao was still looking at Han Qi puzzled.

"Go and have a look in the kitchen." Han Qi said to Cui Tao.

Cui Tao followed Chef Fang to the kitchen, and found that there were two killed deer in the kitchen, so she suddenly understood what was going on.

"I've already reserved the fried preserved deer. The rest of the place depends on what Madam Cui will do?" Cook Fang asked Cui Tao's idea.

Cui Tao looked at so many venison, and it was all parts of the meat, her eyes were happily bent into a crescent shape, and the corners of her mouth were turned up and she kept smiling.

"My God, Han Tuiguan is so honest. I thought it was just two pieces of fried deer breast, but I didn't expect to prepare two! This is a lot of money, right?" Wang Siniang was also very pleasantly surprised after seeing it.

"It's not a matter of money, even if you have money at this time, you may not be able to buy it." Ping'er said to Wang Siniang.

"Deer meat is delicious. It can nourish deficiency, strengthen energy, strengthen five internal organs, and nourish blood." Cui Tao immediately rolled up her sleeves, washed her hands and prepared to cook, "Today we have a good meal!"

Start by making the venison stew.

Cui Tao asked Wang Siniang to dismantle the venison, cut a large piece of venison into long strips, and then fried it into dark yellow to remove the fishy smell. Because the venison is relatively thin, it is easy to burn off during the simmering process, so it is necessary to add extra Stew some fat meat together, it is necessary to put some stew seasonings such as aniseed, soy sauce, wine, etc., and simmer slowly over a warm fire to get the most flavor.

Then take the venison meat, cut it into thin slices, marinate it with salt, and use it for stir-fry later.

There is also a steaming, wrapping the venison with bean curd skin, frying it in water, putting vinegar, wine, ginger, garlic and Chef Fang's homemade clear sauce on it, and then steaming in the wok.Steamed and sliced, served with a special sauce for dipping.

The next step is to simmer the deer tail and burn the deer tendons.

There are old and tender deer tendons, and the old ones need to be cooked two days in advance before they are easy to rot. These are unbearable today. You can only pick fresh and tender deer tendons and dice them, and serve them with diced pheasant meat, diced pork belly, diced bamboo shoots, and diced radish. , and then supplemented with wine, soy sauce and other condiments to burn together.

Make another venison soup, because I have already made venison with various flavors, but this one does not need to be complicated, and it is best to be light.After blanching the deer hooves with wine to remove the fishy smell, simply add dried orange peels into the casserole and cook the soup slowly, trying to bring out the original aroma of the ingredients.

The last thing left is today's most important main course: fried deer preserved.

Chef Fang thought that she had marinated the required meat in advance, and after all the dishes were ready, she put charcoal fire in the copper basin, added a pot and iron grate on it, placed them on the high table, and put them on the table. Next to the Eight Immortals table, it is fried and roasted to eat.

Cui Tao carried wild fennel with him, which is also known as cumin in modern times.In this era, wild fennel was still used as a medicinal material, and the things she got were specially ordered from the pharmacy before.

When frying the preserved deer later, be sure to sprinkle it with seasoning.Fried and roasted meat, without cumin, is simply soulless.I heard from Mrs. Fang that this deer was killed not long ago and it is extremely fresh, so it must be served with this delicious cumin.

Everyone in the kitchen finished their work, and it was almost dusk. In addition to the lychee paste and pear juice, there was also wine, the bamboo leaf green that men like to drink, and the green plum wine that women like to drink. All kinds of good venison, soup, and a few light stir-fried dishes, as well as rock sugar pears and crispy yellow unique desserts.

After everyone tasted the fried deer preserved sprinkled with cumin, they unanimously praised the deliciousness, and praised Cui Tao again.

Then, everyone chatted while eating fried deer preserves, and enjoyed themselves until it was dark, and the red light was hung in the courtyard, and everyone dispersed.

Wang Zhao, Li Yuan, and Li Cai brothers all drank a lot, walked wobbly, and couldn't even tell the difference between east, west, and north. Han Qi had to send a servant to take them home.Wang Siniang also drank a lot, her face was flushed, Ping'er helped her up in disgust, and advised her to be more sober.Of course Wang Siniang would not wake up, she leaned against Ping'er and swayed, and Ping'er had to help her from time to time so as not to fall to the ground.

Ping'er couldn't help talking about Wang Siniang and patted her on the face.But Wang Siniang thought Ping'er was too noisy, she happened to be taller than Ping'er, and she didn't know what she took Ping'er for, so she opened her mouth and bit Pinger's head.Ping'er was so angry that she pushed Wang Siniang away, and Wang Siniang staggered and fell to the ground, kicking her legs like a child.

Han Qi and Cui Tao couldn't help laughing when they saw this scene.

Han Qi asked the coachman to come to the carriage and let them go back in the carriage.

Unexpectedly, after Wang Siniang got into the carriage, she vomited a mouthful and vomited on Ping'er.Ping'er was so angry that she screamed and complained endlessly.Chef Fang and others helped to clean up briefly, and when Ping'er returned to the carriage, Wang Siniang was already lying across the carriage, leaving no room for anyone to step down.Ping'er barely squeezed in, and then she tried her best to move Wang Siniang, trying to make room for this big man for Cui Tao, but Wang Siniang, who passed out drunk, was as stable as Mount Tai, and Ping'er couldn't move her no matter how hard she tried.

"You guys go back by car first, I just ate a lot, so let's take a walk to get rid of the food." After Cui Tao said, he asked the coachman to drive.

Ping'er hurriedly said to Cui Tao: "Then I'll wait for you at the government office."

Cui Tao nodded.

When the carriage drove away, Cui Tao said goodbye to Han Qi.

"Officer Han did what he said. This meal of venison is really prepared, and our stomachs are satisfied. Thank you!" After Cui Tao thanked him, he took the lantern handed over by Mrs. Fang and planned to walk back by himself. .

The servants in the mansion gave off others, and those who drove the carriages drove the carriages, and they were all gone.

But Chef Fang was worried that Cui Tao would go back alone, "It's dark, the road is not too close, and Mrs. Cui also drank a lot of wine, I should take Mrs. Cui back."

"No, no, I can do it by myself." Cui Tao asked Cook Fang to go to rest early. She is getting old and busy with everyone's meals all afternoon, and she is already tired. "I saw you rubbing your waist just now."

"You go to rest, I'll deliver it." Han Qi said to the cook.

Cook Fang was stunned for a moment, then realized something, rolled her eyes, agreed again and again with a smile, and went back.

"Let's go." Han Qi reached out to Cui Tao.

Cui Tao's cheeks were flushed, she was slightly drunk from drinking, she was taken aback when she saw this, and then she blinked her eyes and stared blankly at Han Qi.

how?There were only the two of them left, and he was so bold that he wanted to hold hands with her?This is also too straightforward and skips several steps.She has not agreed to date him yet, besides, she has never seen Han Qi show any liking for her before.

Could it be that Han Qi hid it too well and she was too slow?

Cui Tao frowned seriously, thinking about how she would reject Han Qi's "directness" in a jumpy way.

"What are you thinking about?" Han Qi looked down at Cui Tao, his voice was extremely low and magnetic.Under the radiance of the red lanterns hanging high at the gate of the mansion, his face is even more clear and elegant.

Cui Tao replied smoothly: "Let me think about it."

"There was a low laugh.

Cui Tao raised her head to look at Han Qi puzzled, perhaps because she was a little drunk, she felt that Han Qi's face was more handsome than before, as if it had added a soft light.

Han Qi reached out and snatched the lantern from Cui Tao's hand.

"Bring a lantern for you, what are you thinking about?" Han Qi said and walked forward.

Cui Tao was stunned, and then followed Han Qi awkwardly.

After a long while, under the darkness of night, in the alley, there were only two people walking, one man and one woman, one in front and one behind.

"Officer Han sent me back to Kaifeng Mansion just to carry a lantern for me?" Cui Tao walked quickly, and finally walked side by side with Han Qi.She tilted her head to look at him, and raised the corner of her mouth to ask specifically.

"Di Zang Pavilion." Han Qi said.

It means that she is worried that she will be attacked by criminals when she walks alone at night.

Cui Tao lowered her eyes and let out an 'oh' in disappointment.

Han Qi also clearly heard the emotion in Cui Tao's words, and stared sideways at her.Under the white and round forehead, a pair of eyes are half-opened, looking at the ground a little dejectedly, the eyelashes are thick and long, casting a shadow under the eyes, the nose is raised, and the pink lips are pursed unwillingly.

"What else?"

After Han Qi was silent for a while, seeing that Cui Tao still had that expression of being at odds with him, he finally asked her.

"It doesn't matter." Cui Tao replied immediately, but her mouth was pouted even higher.

It is obvious that they say no, but in fact they mean the exact opposite.

"Are you women so duplicity?" Han Qi asked.

"Our woman?" Cui Tao immediately looked at Han Qi, "Which woman is there?"

Han Qi raised the corners of his mouth, but smiled silently.

"Oh, it should be Han Tuiguan's favorite person. I remember who mentioned it to me. The daughter of Li Shangshu's family is very fond of Han Tuiguan." Cui Tao suddenly realized.

"Really, I haven't heard of it." Han Qi's voice became colder.

"If it's not her, then who else?" Cui Tao immediately asked.

After the footsteps of the two resounded in the alley for a while, Cui Tao had already forgotten what she said before, and began to look up at the stars in the sky.

"My mother." Han Qi said.

Cui Tao froze for a moment, remembering that when she was cooking with Mrs. Fang, she heard Mrs. Fang talk about Han Qi's past.

Han Qi's mother, the Hu family, was not of noble status and was born as a maidservant.Han Qi's father Han Guohua gave birth to Han Qi with the Hu family when he was in office in Quanzhou.At that time, Han Hanhua was already over half a hundred years old, and he had five sons before him. Han Qi was the youngest, so he could be regarded as the eldest son of Han Hanhua.He was the most favored at first, but Han Guohua passed away three years later, and Han Qi was only three years old at that time, so he didn't remember much about his father at all.

After that, he lived with his mother and brothers.From the time Han Qi can remember when he was a child, he has always lived with his mother and grew up under the care of his elder brothers in turn.

Han Qi's concubine, who was born to a maidservant, was born in a family of officials and officials, and his status is not considered noble.If the brothers of the Han family raised and abandoned him, no one would gossip about him.But what is rare is that Han Qi has been sensible since he was a child, smart and calm, with an innocent song, and he is very popular with his brothers.In addition, as he grew older, his ingenuity and temperament were even more different from ordinary people. The brothers all knew that he would become a great talent in the future, and they all took good care of him.Of course, this is due to the fact that Han Qi's mother, Hu Shi, also knows how to be a human being.

In fact, if you think about it carefully, how can a child be so willing to be sensible at a young age?Who doesn't want to be willful, who doesn't want to play a little longer?The so-called sensible, I do not know is forced out of the cruel reality.

So in Han Qi's heart, his mother should be the softest part of his heart.

Cui Tao felt that it was an honor for Han Qi to classify her and his mother together as 'your woman'.This shows that she is not considered a stranger to Han Qi.

Han Qi turned to look at Cui Tao again, only to see that she suddenly stopped pouting, but smiled lightly with the corners of her mouth pursed.

Not only duplicity, but also fickle.

But no matter what kind it is, they are all like pearls, glowing and lovely.

Cui Tao suddenly remembered the last time he saw Bao Zheng, and asked Han Qi what he had said to Bao Zheng before, "Why did Governor Bao say that he would try his best to fight for me? What did you fight for?"

"I'll exonerate you." Han Qi said.

Cui Tao was even happier, and looked at Han Qi with bright eyes, "Then can I really be exonerated?"

"We'll know when we get the approval," Han Qi said.

"How soon will there be news?" Cui Tao asked.

"Ten days and a half months at the fastest, and more than half a year at the slowest." Han Qi replied.

Cui Tao's bright eyes suddenly became less bright, "Why did it take so long, the last time the approval was quick."

"The notes are divided into important and secondary. Now that it's not important, we have to hand it in layer by layer. It may be slower." Han Qi said.

"Okay, I'll wait."

After Cui Tao agreed, after a while, she was still a little bit unwilling, so she asked Han Qi again.

"Isn't Han Tuiguan very familiar with the official family? Can you discuss it with him in private?"

"No." Han Qi answered simply.

"Oh." Cui Tao lowered her head listlessly, and walked forward silently.

Seeing Cui Tao's back walking slowly as if being swallowed by the night, Han Qi finally added: "You are my lord, it's impossible."

What Han Qi meant was that no matter who he was, or whoever he belonged to, he would follow the rules.The government has a lot of things going on every day, and they specifically ask him to deal with it as a special case, which is easy to fall into the ground. If the queen mother and the censor are alarmed, it will make a small matter bigger and make a simple matter more troublesome.

Cui Tao didn't seem to understand these principles, Xu just drank alcohol, so her mind was not as sharp as before, and now she still walked forward with her head lowered sullenly.

Han Qi watched Cui Tao recite the film for a moment, then strode forward, carrying a lantern to illuminate her way forward.

He didn't look at Cui Tao's face, and kept walking silently, looking ahead.

The street was quiet again, only the footsteps of the two could be heard.

"puff!"

Cui Tao finally couldn't hold back and laughed out loud.

Then she immediately covered her mouth, took a sneak peek at Han Qi, and was caught by Han Qi's gaze.

Cui Tao immediately lowered her head and continued walking forward pretending to be serious.

When Han Qi found out that Cui Tao had been holding back his laughter, he immediately understood why Cui Tao was smiling.It was nothing more than the sentence of assuming she was his adult that made her happy.

I don't understand her. When she called him my lord seriously before, she didn't see her laughing at herself.Now it was just him making a hypothetical statement, which made her laugh very happily.

"Why don't I just recognize you as my daughter?" Han Qi said to Cui Tao.

"Then give money to spend, do you give delicious food?" Cui Tao immediately asked, "Don't give me no credit!"

Han Qi laughed, but he didn't expect Cui Tao to really consider admitting.But after laughing, Han Qi also understood something in his heart. He couldn't be in a hurry, and his eyes returned to their usual indifference.

In front of the Kaifeng mansion, Cui Tao thanked Han Qi for sending her back, and also thanked him for asking Master Bao for forgiveness for her again.

"You deserve it." Han Qi said lightly, then turned around and left.

"Han Liulang!"

Han Qi was taken aback, except when he was acting in front of outsiders, he never heard Cui Tao call him that in private.Han Qi clenched the lantern pole in his hand, and slowly turned his head to look at Cui Tao.

She was wearing a light blue dress, and her smile was sweeter than honey. When she waved to him, she looked like a butterfly flapping its wings on a flower petal.

"Be careful on the road." Cui Tao told Han Qi in a crisp and sweet voice.

After Han Qi glanced slowly over Cui Tao's beautiful and playful cheeks, he gave a faint "hmm", turned around and continued walking.

Hearing the sound of the door opening and closing behind him, Han Qi only looked back after a while.

Then he was startled, and saw Cui Tao's head was sandwiched between the two doors, looking at him.After meeting his eyes, she suddenly smiled embarrassedly, quickly waved to him again, quickly retracted her head, and closed the door.

Han Qi looked at the closed back door indifferently, lowered his eyes, and then smiled lightly before turning and leaving completely.

After Cui Tao walked briskly back to the deserted courtyard, she saw Ping'er sitting in the gazebo washing clothes, which was the one that Wang Siniang vomited.

"Are you back?" Ping'er hurriedly wiped her hands with a cloth, "I made sober soup for Mrs. Cui, and I'll bring it here."

Cui Tao agreed, so she sat in the gazebo and waited, while recalling the process of getting along with Han Qi just now.

She acted so cute, Han Tuiguan should have been teased more or less, right?

"You came back alone? Did Guan Tui see you off?" Ping'er brought the hangover soup to Cui Tao and asked with concern.

"delivered."

Cui Tao took a sip of the hangover soup and couldn't help frowning. She really wanted to ask Pinger if she poured the laundry water into it.But seeing that her chin was stained with black ash, and the back of her hand was scratched by firewood, Cui Tao didn't say anything, and just took a sip of the hangover soup in the bowl. Drinking medicine has never been so difficult.

"Officer Han personally sent you back?" Ping'er sighed in surprise, and then laughed, "Maybe Wang Siniang really agreed, Mrs. Cui and Official Han—"

"Forget it, the status doesn't match." Cui Tao said.

"That's not good. Once Mrs. Cui is exonerated, then Mrs. Cui's family background will be fine."

"I don't want to rely on my family background, that family hangs in the balance." Cui Tao poured another bowl of tea to drink, and then said to Ping'er, "Actually, honey can relieve the hangover, so there is no need to deliberately make sober soup."

When Pinger was in a daze, Cui Tao had already yawned and waved to her, and went to take a bath and sleep.

……

Early in the morning, before the birds had time to chirp, Cui Tao heard Wang Siniang's scream outside the window.

Cui Tao got up angrily, rushed to the ground and opened the window: "What are you doing?"

Wang Siniang spat out what was in her mouth, rinsed her mouth with water, and hurried over to Cui Tao to explain that she was frightened by drinking Pinger's hangover soup.

"When I woke up this morning, she gave me hangover soup. I thought she was so kind. After I drank it, I realized that she might have mixed horse urine into it to harm me!"

"I didn't!" Ping'er stomped her feet, her eyes turned red with anger.

"If you don't drink it, don't drink it. If you don't want to talk about it, you'll have to wash it away with honey." Cui Tao turned to Ping'er and said, "It's really not good, so don't do it in the future."

Ping'er looked back at Cui Tao aggrievedly, ran to the kitchen unconvinced, and vomited after seeing her rushing out after a while.

Wang Siniang patted her thigh and laughed, she had enough, she ran to ask Cui Tao what she was cooking for in the morning, so she could go to wash the vegetables.

"Go out to eat, I won't do it this morning."

Accompanied by the rising sun in the east, the three of them found a roadside stall that smelled the most delicious for breakfast.

This breakfast stall sells wontons, steamed buns and sesame cakes. There are shredded chicken wontons, lamb wontons and mustard greens.

Cui Tao wanted to eat all three, so she asked the shopkeeper to bring a bowl for each, and mix them up for three servings, which happened to be a bowl for each of the three of them.The biscuits and steamed buns are also complete, and they taste best when they are hot.

When the three of them were halfway through eating, they saw the owner of the breakfast stall greeting the old customers who came over.

"Wang Dalang is still in the old habit today, a bowl of shredded chicken wonton and a mutton bun?"

"Don't eat, don't eat, I definitely can't eat anymore today." The middle-aged man named Wang Dalang waved his hands with a look of displeasure.

"What's the matter? What happened?" The boss asked with concern.

"I found a dead man's arm on the other side of the street! I happened to pass by and took a look. It was terrible, but I was so scared to death! I feel uncomfortable all over the body when I think about it now, and I even want to vomit. Do you think I can still eat?" ?” Wang Dalang asked back.

Cui Tao hurriedly came over with the wonton bowl and asked him when it happened and where was the dead man's arm.

"Just now, go east on this street, and when you reach the end, there is an alley on the left, and someone has already gone to Kaifeng Mansion to report to the officials." Wang Dalang sighed unluckily. Wanting to see a dead arm, he probably couldn't eat for a day.

Cui Tao immediately cleaned up the wontons in the bowl with chopsticks, and ran to the east of the street.Seeing this, Wang Siniang picked up two buns and followed.Ping'er let out a 'huh', after all, she chewed the contents of her mouth clean, wiped her mouth, and then ran over.

The owner of the breakfast stall and Wang Dalang couldn't help admiring the courage of the three girls when they saw the three girls running to join in the fun and went to see the dead man's arm.

The boss went to clean up the dishes, Wang Dalang hesitated, and asked the boss to prepare for him as usual.

"Didn't you say you can't eat anymore?"

"Oh, I'm a big man, how can I be compared to those three little ladies? Eat!"

……

When Cui Tao arrived at Dalei Lane, the entrance of the alley was already crowded with people, but not many people really dared to look into the alley, they were just joining in the fun and talking nonsense.

"Kaifeng Mansion handles the case, give way!" Wang Siniang yelled and squeezed inside, using her strong body to clear the way for Cui Tao.

After Cui Tao passed through the crowd, he walked about three feet away, and saw a severed arm on the left side of the alley near the base of the wall, which looked extremely pale beside the rammed earth wall.It can be identified as a person's left arm, with the inside of the arm and the palm facing upwards.And in the middle of the road not far from the arm, there is a brown sack, which is empty.

Cui Tao squatted down and checked the incision on the arm first. The wound was cut off from the acromion. The subscapularis tendon and supraspinatus tendon can be seen. It was cut off by a sharp weapon.

"This is from Kaifeng Mansion? I don't think it looks like it."

"That's right, there are no women in Kaifeng mansion to handle cases."

"Could it be a liar?"

"It must be the murderer!"

……

The onlookers talked a lot, but they didn't quite believe that Cui Tao and the others were from Kaifeng Mansion.

In the end, a bold person shouted at Cui Tao: "Hey, who are you guys?"

Cui Tao needed her gloves, so she told Wang Siniang to go back to Kaifeng Mansion for a run.

"Get out of the way!" Wang Siniang pinched her waist and yelled at them.

"You are lying, you are talking nonsense! We have never seen any women in Kaifeng Mansion who can handle the case! They may have something to do with the dead man's arm. Let's quickly block them, and the officials of Kaifeng Mansion will come soon." The man who took the lead in speaking just now started to block the way.

Cui Tao touched the waist badge on her body, but forgot to bring it.

She pointed to the arm under the wall, "Whoever you dare to block her way, I will use it to serve your face."

Everyone was so frightened that they immediately moved out of the way, and Wang Siniang ran out.

After a while, Wang Zhao rushed over with the yamen servants and immediately protected the scene.He was surprised to see Cui Tao was there.Before he could ask in detail, he heard a man next to him sue Cui Tao.

"This lady is indeed from our Kaifeng mansion. Please line up over there for questioning." Wang Zhao then arranged for Li Yuan to ask these witnesses for their statements.

"How's the situation?" Wang Zhao glanced at an arm on the ground, and then looked around, "Just this one?"

"That's all I saw. Inspector Wang will send someone to search the nearby streets and alleys. There may be more," Cui Tao said.

Wang Zhao promised to send someone to do it.

Afterwards, Han Qi also rushed over with others, followed by Wang Siniang, who handed the autopsy tools to Cui Tao.

After Cui Tao put on the gloves, she gently picked up the arm, and then turned it around. Everyone could clearly see a butterfly tattoo on the upper arm.

Cui Tao, Han Qi, Wang Zhao and others all remembered this tattoo, which was exactly the same as the tattoo on the arm of the scholar named Yuan Feng yesterday.

Han Qi ordered people to immediately check all the circumstances of the candidate Yuan Feng, and went to his residence to check whether Yuan Feng was at home.

On the outside of the arm, there were mild morbidity spots, which faded with finger pressure, and rigor mortis had not yet formed.

Cui Tao said to Han Qi: "Preliminary judgment, the time of death should be an hour ago."

"An hour ago, that is, before dawn." Wang Zhao rubbed his chin, "while everyone was sleeping soundly, the murderer was killing and dismembering the body, and the person killed was probably a second-class Jinshi."

After Li Yuan asked the eyewitnesses for their testimony, he told Han Qi back and forth: "The first person who saw the arm was a resident of Dalei Lane, named Gao Fafa. He went out this morning, and after walking a few steps, he saw the arm near the wall. There was a bag with a bulging inside. I thought someone had accidentally dropped something good, so I picked it up and was surprised to find that it was a dead person's arm. Because I was so shocked, when I threw the bag, I shook the arm Come out. The rest of the witnesses are those who heard Gao Fa's screams and gathered around to see the situation, and they don't quite understand what's going on."

Cui Tao picked up the burlap bag and checked it. The bag was half a person tall, ocher in color, and because the color was relatively dark, a small amount of blood stains could be found on it after careful inspection. "Dismembering the corpse is quite time-consuming, and counting the time of throwing the corpse, the murderer probably dismembered the corpse immediately after the death of the deceased. However, if the arm was directly put into the bag after the dissection, the amount of blood would not be so high So it is very likely that after the murderer cut off the arm of the corpse, he washed it, even wiped it, and then put it in the bag."

Wang Zhao immediately shivered: "Cleaning, and wiping... What did he think of the dead? Since he has taken care of people so well, why did he kill him?"

"That's hard to say. There are many reasons, and it's hard to determine at the moment." Cui Tao put his arm back into the cloth bag. Since there is nothing to check on the scene, he can go back to Kaifeng Mansion first.

The people who had watched and questioned Cui Tao just now realized that Cui Tao was actually a member of the yamen after seeing the battle now, and he dared to be in charge of the autopsy, taking the arms of dead people like ordinary people take buns.So young and beautiful, unexpectedly fearless, so amazing!

So the man who just took the lead in questioning and blocking the road, now took the lead in watching Cui Tao leave with amazed and admiring eyes.

Not long after Cui Tao put the severed arm back in the morgue, government servants came to announce that other parts of the body had been found.Some of them were reported by the common people, and some were searched by the yamen servants themselves. They were the torso, right arm, left leg, and right leg.

These parts can already be completely spliced ​​into a human body, but the head is missing.