Kaifeng House Small Dining Table

"Just now I said that I wanted to elope with him, but he didn't agree." Zhao Hanyan said with his chin in his hand, with joy at the corner of his mouth, as if he was very satisfied.

Xiuzhu's jaw almost dropped in shock. Could it be that her princess has no brains because she has a man?

"This is absolutely impossible, young master can no longer have such thoughts!"

Zhao Hanyan smiled and took Xiuzhu's hand, asking her to listen to her explanation.

"I want to tell you that this 'elopement' is more than a hint. If he only wanted to have fun for a while, he would have chosen an easier one. But he chose patience, restraint, and mentioned the future, which shows that he really The decision was made after careful consideration.

Bai Yutang has never liked to have anything to do with the government, so he stayed in Kaifeng because of the food I cooked.Now knowing my identity and knowing how much trouble we will have when we get together, he didn't hesitate.I think his attitude towards me has been very sincere. "

In fact, there is another one, which Zhao Hanyan just realized recently.Bai Yutang ate her cooking a few times before, and she asked her several times whether it was delicious, but she didn't respond.Combined with the way Bai Yutang looked at him at that time, Zhao Hanyan felt that Bai Yutang was probably thinking about her at that time, so it was "tasteless".

But this cannot be confirmed yet, maybe he will have to wait until he knows his secret in the future before he can ask.But Zhao Hanyan felt that his guess was close to ten, because Bai Yutang himself said that his liking for him did not come suddenly.

"With the change of heart you mentioned, no one will stay the same for a lifetime. As the days get longer, people will change more or less, and their mood will naturally change accordingly. He will be like this, and so will I.

If you give up your present courage just because you are worried about future changes, you may gain nothing and lose nothing.But that's a coward's choice, and I won't. "

Xiuzhu was stunned, and looked at her princess, "My lord, you are so clear-headed, I thought..."

"You think I'll become stupid when I'm with him?" Zhao Hanyan raised his eyebrows.

Xiuzhu quickly waved her hands, "No, I know now, I was worrying too much."

"I've become stupid, but I still have brains." Zhao Hanyan laughed, "I'm very stubborn, and once I decide on something, I tend to go crazy, such as cooking, such as... Bai Shaoxia hahaha"

When Zhao Hanyan mentioned Bai Yutang, he couldn't help but blush again.

"Master, you really know yourself well, that's how it is." Xiuzhu nodded in agreement repeatedly, and then sighed slowly, "It's already on a par with cooking, which shows how important Bai Shaoxia is. It's fine if you don't talk about it, but just mentioning it, think about the two of you." It seemed to be true in the past... well, it was better to stop it at that time."

"Stinky girl, what are you talking about!"

Zhao Hanyan picked up the tea cover on the table, threatening to hit her.

Xiuzhu hurriedly covered her head and hid, laughing and shouting again and again.

"Young master, you have fallen into the honey pot now."

"Ah."

"My lord, think about your cousin Feibai."

Xiuzhu was hit on the head.

Xiuzhu rubbed her head, took a cold breath, and complained that Zhao Hanyan was eccentric.

"Xiuzhu has been with the young master for so many years, it's not worth knowing him for a few months, alas." Xiuzhu said sadly.

Zhao Hanyan knew that Xiuzhu was joking, so she made fun of her sadly, "It's really not as good as it is, alas."

"My lord!" Xiuzhu pouted, "It's good to be comforted, although it's really not as good as it is."

Zhao Hanyan smiled and knocked Xiuzhu on the head again.

The master and servant looked at each other and smiled, Xiuzhu counted Bai Yutang's many advantages, emphasized his appearance a few times, and imagined how good-looking Bai Yutang would be if he married her princess and had children.

"When the time comes, you must give the child to me to coax." Xiuzhu said excitedly.

"Don't think about it, I haven't taken the first step yet, I'm thinking about how to pass the empress dowager."

Zhao Hanyan didn't even dare to think about the queen mother, but when he thought about her old man, he couldn't help feeling worried.The empress dowager is good at everything, and she loves her very much, but she is very stubborn in some points of view.It is still very heavy to the extent that nine cows cannot be pulled back.For example, in the case of her cooking, most of the ordinary old people would be very happy to see the children making some snacks and respect, and praised the younger generations for their hard work.But the Empress Dowager is not like this, she is not allowed to touch Yang Chunshui with her fingers, even if it is out of respect for her.

The queen mother likes girls to dress up exquisitely and elegantly, and has even more demands on her, wishing to make her more noble than the serious royal princess.Such a request to her is similar to not allowing Zhao Zhen to eat meat.Anyway, Zhao Hanyan spent three years of hard work, but he still didn't persuade her old man.Zhao Zhen spent more than ten years, but he did not persuade the old man.

"That's difficult." Xiuzhu said to Zhao Hanyan confidently, "But I believe that you must have a solution. You have many ideas."

"There is a way, but there is no way not to hurt her." Zhao Hanyan frowned, "I still don't want to hurt her old man's heart, and it's best to solve it peacefully."

Xiuzhu nodded approvingly, and now she confirmed with [-]% that her princess's mind is still there, and she is very smart.

The house fell silent, and the sound of footsteps running outside the door was very clear.

Xiuzhu glanced at Zhao Hanyan, sensed something was wrong, went to open the door, and saw Zhang Ling running over in a hurry.

Seeing the door open, Zhang Ling shouted before he could see who it was, "Brother Zhao, something serious happened!"

"What's the big deal?" Xiuzhu found out that Zhang Ling had been yelling about something big every time he came.

Zhang Ling stood still in the courtyard out of breath, and said anxiously, "He's dead."

Zhao Hanyan came out from behind Xiuzhu, and his face immediately became serious when he heard this, telling Zhang Ling to say who died.

"Miss Zhang."

Zhao Hanyan opened his eyes wide, and immediately walked quickly towards the cell.Bai Yutang also heard the news, and was coming out of his courtyard, and happened to join Zhao Hanyan.

Zhang Ling asked to explain what happened while walking: "I was poisoned while I was eating. After falling to the ground and convulsing, the jailer went to find Mr. Gongsun, but when Mr. Gongsun arrived, he was already dead. Miss Su was there too. Silly."

Zhao Hanyan turned to look at Zhang Ling.

Zhang Ling hesitated for a while, then lowered his voice and said, "It's the meal from Miss Su."

After arriving in the prison, Zhao Hanyan and Bai Yutang looked at the corpse first, salivating, lips were bruised, lying curled up on the ground, obviously poisoned to death.Zhao Hanyan also saw unfinished meals on the ground.Su Yuerong was shrinking her neck, standing outside the prison door tremblingly, and two yamen servants looked at her.She was in tears and looked like she was very frightened.

Gongsun Ce has tested the food for poison and told Zhao Hanyan that one of the dishes with cabbage and fried meat was poisonous.

"This...it's impossible." Su Yuerong shook her body and cried even more fiercely, asking Gongsun Ce to check again.

Gongsun Ce said with certainty: "Miss Su, I've double-checked that this dish is fried meat. Is this the only dish for you, specially for Miss Zhang?"

"Yes, after Miss Zhang made a confession, the food got a little better. The cell boss ordered me to do so." Su Yuerong explained while sniffling.

Gongsun Ce summoned the head of the prison to question him carefully.

Cell boss: "Sir, I told the kitchen to take good care of the witnesses. I never expected such a thing to happen."

It's not a violation to improve food for important witnesses.Gongsun Ce asked Su Yuerong about the process of delivering the food, and she was the only one who handled it, and no cell boss or other jailers handled it during the period.

"Then why is this dish poisonous?" Zhao Hanyan stared at Su Yuerong and asked her who else had touched this dish.

"It's just me," Su Yuerong burst into tears aggrieved, "but I didn't poison her. I have no hatred or grudge with her, and I don't even know her. Why should I poison her!"

Gongsun Ce: "Miss Su is the most suspect. Before the matter is investigated, she will be detained according to the law."

Su Yuerong hurried to arrest Bai Yutang, begging him for help, repeatedly yelling that she was wronged.

Bai Yutang said to Gongsun Ce: "This is a strange matter. If she poisoned her, how could she be so stupid as to deliver the poison to the victim herself?"

Gongsun Ce twirled his beard and thought for a moment, then sighed: "It is true, but right now there is no more evidence to prove that others are suspected."

Su Yuerong was so angry that she cried even harder, "If I knew that helping would cause such a big trouble, I wouldn't help if I was killed!"

Zhao Hanyan asked Su Yuerong to think again, whether anyone else might have touched that dish, or whether she had left during the cooking interval to give others a chance.

"At that time, I was the only one working in the kitchen." Su Yuerong suddenly remembered something, froze for a while, and said to Zhao Hanyan and Gongsun Ce, "By the way, Mrs. Xu came back and chatted with me, thank you for helping her Busy, please ask me to help her for another day. She said that she recovered from her illness and wanted to go outside the city to offer incense to pray for safety before returning to work, and then left in a hurry. She also asked me to make these dishes For whom to eat, I will tell you one by one.”

The more Su Yuerong thought about it, the more wrong it became, she looked at Zhao Hanyan and the others with tears in her eyes, "Is it possible that she poisoned you?"

"Think about it again, is there a chance for her to touch this dish behind your back?" Zhao Hanyan asked.

Su Yuerong carefully recalled: "After finishing this dish, I only turned around to get the food box, but I turned around and came back soon. When I turned around, Mrs. Xu still stood in place and didn't feel She moved. Could it be that she took the medicine while I turned my head?"

Gongsun Ce narrowed his eyes, "If it is true that she took this opportunity to poison, it should be the poison, which is hard to detect when it is sprinkled on the dishes. But Mrs. Xu has been working in Kaifeng Mansion for seven years, and she can do this. It is really surprising. However, I have heard her mentioned before that Mrs. Xu is a person who is greedy for profit and loves to take advantage of small things. If someone really lures you with high interest, it is not out of the question."

Zhang Long, Zhao Hu and others were immediately ordered to go to Xu's house to fetch someone, but they didn't see anyone, but they found a bag of silver at his house and put it under the bed.Cook's wife Xu's husband and son were surprised when they saw the silver. They didn't know that Cook's wife had hidden a full 100 taels of silver at home.

"My mother suddenly came back at noon to pick up some clothes, said she had something to go out of town, and left in a hurry. She didn't know what it was, but told me to be good at home." Xu's 12-year-old son confessed.

Mrs. Xu's husband didn't know about it because he was working outside, so he didn't know anything about it.I didn't notice anything unusual about my wife recently.

"The subordinates have asked all of Mrs. Xu's relatives and friends, but they don't know her whereabouts." Zhao Hu and others reported back.

"If you don't come back at this time, it's probably out of the city." Gongsun Ce sighed.

"Anyone who kills someone with poison will not wait to be caught." Zhao Hu affirmed, "Ms. Xu must have committed a guilty conscience after killing someone, and ran away immediately. She even ignored her husband and son for money. This woman has a heart. So vicious."

"Since you are greedy for money and profit, why did you leave 100 taels of silver under the bed?" Zhao Hanyan asked suspiciously.

"Eighty percent of them felt that they would be sorry for their husband and son if they ran away with their own money, so they secretly left some money as compensation. We investigated a case before. When the man who committed the crime sneaked away with money, he secretly kept some money. Give the money to his wife and children." Zhao Hu explained.

Zhao Hanyan nodded, "That makes sense."

Gongsun Ce asked Zhang Long, Zhao Hu and others to do their best to search, and it would be best to bring Xu Cook to justice.

"Important witnesses died, how should Mr. Bao explain?" Zhao Hu was very worried and furious, "Master Naqu must have heard the news and bribed Mrs. Xu to silence her! It's so angry, and the case is about to be closed. It's making waves again."

"Fortunately, Miss Zhang has already testified. Even if her mouth is silenced, she cannot confront Qu Shangshu in court, but her confession can also prove Qu Shangshu's crimes. As long as there is nothing wrong with Qu Changle, plus Miss Zhang evidence, it will not affect the Holy Judgment."

After Gongsun Ce finished his speculation, he was even more worried about what would happen to Qu Changle, otherwise the investigation of the whole case would be in trouble again.

"Sir, don't worry too much, we'll just wait for the news." Zhao Hanyan persuaded.

Not long after, Zhao Hu sent someone to spread the news. They found an eyewitness who had personally seen Steward Tao from Qu Shangshu's house knocking on the door of Xu's mother's house the day before.

Gongsun Ce and Zhao Hanyan then met the witness.It was the waiter in Zuiyang Tower who delivered meals to people. At noon, he delivered meals to Feng's family in Qingyun Lane. He walked in front of Mrs. Xu's house, and happened to meet Butler Tao knocking on the door.

In the past, Butler Tao would occasionally patronize Zuiyang Tower, so the waiter in the shop recognized him at a glance. "At that time, I wondered for a while how Steward Tao and Mrs. Xu knew each other."

Zhao Hu: "Now there are all the witnesses and material evidence, which can confirm the crime of Cook Xu."

Gongsun Ce twitched his beard and nodded, heaved a sigh of relief, "When Master Bao returns, we finally have two things to say. Miss Zhang's death was my negligence. I should think about taking good care of it, especially the things at the entrance. It should be strictly controlled.”

"Sir, don't blame yourself. It's hard to guard against family thieves. If someone inside the Kaifeng mansion commits crimes, how can we prevent it." Ma Han comforted Gongsun Ce, and then looked at Zhao Hanyan.

In the past, the little cook was kind and considerate, and he would definitely comfort Mr. Gongsun like him at this time.But this time I didn't see her like this, standing there alone with her head bowed, thinking about something in a daze.

Bai Yutang and Gongsun Ce said that he was going to visit Qu Shangshu's mansion tonight.Today there are two major events: the death of an important witness, Miss Zhang, and Qu Changle's exposure of her biological father, Qu Rongfa.Therefore, Qu Shangshu's mansion must be full of disturbances today, and Bai Yutang felt that it was a good time to go to the bottom of the investigation.

Gongsun Ce thanked Bai Yutang for his dedication, "Qu Rongfa has always been evil and careless about human life. He dared to be so cruel and rampant in the capital of the Song Dynasty at the foot of the emperor. I am most afraid of the three caves of the cunning rabbit. It is better to go to his mansion to find out the depth first, so that we will be prepared. .”

until it gets dark.

Bao Zheng came back and told everyone a very happy news.The Holy Majesty has issued a decree allowing him to arrest Qu Rongfa and take charge of the detailed review of the case. As long as the evidence is convincing, the Kaifeng government has the right to act appropriately and dispose of Qu Rongfa at will.

Zhao Hu and others applauded when they heard this.

After accompanying Bao Zheng out of the palace, Zhan Zhao immediately took people to the Shangshu Mansion to arrest Qu Rongfa.

"Qu Changle's character is upright, and he kills relatives righteously, which Bao admires very much."

Bao Zheng immediately stated that Qu Changle's report on this case was very critical. If he hadn't explained his father's actions without favoritism, Kaifeng Mansion might still be in a state of disagreement with Qu Rongfa.

Gongsun Ce responded again and again, and then apologized to Bao Zheng, telling him that Miss Zhang was poisoned and died.Bao Zheng was very surprised. After detailed inquiry, he hated Qu Rongfa's actions even more.

"Fortunately, my lord is still able to convince Qu Changle, otherwise I'm afraid we will have to repeat the previous situation just based on Miss Zhang's testimony before she was alive." Gongsun Ce sighed helplessly.

Bao Zheng agreed, but it also saved Gongsun Ce from blaming himself too much. This matter was not his fault alone, and the murderer was most at fault.

After a stick of incense, Zhan Zhao returned, and immediately reported to Bao Zheng that he had successfully put Qu Rongfa in prison and ordered people to guard him closely, and Mr. Bao could interrogate him at any time.

Bao Zheng asked Gongsun Ce when he thought the best time to interrogate was.

"After tonight." Gongsun Ce speculated, "Qu Rongfa must have been conflicted when he was arrested just now. He is angry and doesn't know how to reflect. If he is left alone for a night, he will not be able to sleep in prison. It is inevitable that he will think about the past and wait for the tension By the next morning, both the head and the body are exhausted, and it will be easier to show flaws."

Bao Zheng nodded, feeling that Gongsun Ce's method was very reasonable.So he asked how Miss Zhang's parents were doing, and asked Gongsun Ce to arrange for them to collect Miss Zhang's body, and take care of them to leave.

Gongsun Ce agreed one by one and followed Bao Zheng's instructions.

After everything was settled properly, Gongsun Ce asked Bao Zheng about dinner tonight.

Bao Zheng learned that Zhao Hanyan had already prepared a hot pot for them, as well as a variety of ingredients, so he simply let everyone eat it. Anyway, the case has a result. After all, there is no result. Everyone has to eat.Little brother Zhao took the trouble to prepare, everyone should enjoy themselves and relax.

"But such a big case happened in the mansion..." Gongsun Ce felt that he was out of the mood.

"Mr. has quickly found out the cause of Miss Zhang's death. We have presented the clues and evidence. The Holy One is wise and wise, and has his own conclusion in his heart."

Bao Zheng made Gongsun Ce no longer have to worry about this matter. As for Miss Zhang's death, it will happen sooner or later.There are dozens of people on her body, which is a capital crime, but now being killed by her master is considered retribution.I just hope that this girl can be a good person in her next life and stop doing evil things like this again.

The night was getting dark, and a large table was moved into the Sansi Hall, on which was placed a large copper hot pot, which was filled with lamb and scorpion clear soup that had been boiled early, and red charcoal, and the bottom of the pot soon boiled. Bubble and start to steam hotly.Put the fresh and tender mutton slices into the pot, turn them over, and the thin slices of meat will be cooked for a while, and eaten with a variety of sauces.The entrance is very chewy, and if you eat some boiled vegetables, it is unparalleled delicious at this moment.

There are also balls and shrimp balls, which are all homemade with the freshest fish and shrimp. After being cooked, the fresh shells are abnormal.Perhaps it is because the ingredients need to be mashed, the meatballs made are very tender and elastic.

The way of eating hot pot is not only in the food, but also in the joy of eating and chatting with everyone around the table.

The weather in autumn is cool, and you are prone to fatigue. In addition, the recent case is indeed difficult, which brings a lot of fatigue to everyone.Lively around the table, eating hot shabu-shabu, drinking fruity wine, and chatting about interesting things that happened around me, forgetting about any official business and cases for the time being.For everyone, this is really a pleasure to relieve hunger, relieve fatigue and relax the body and mind.

Everyone wanted to respect Mr. Bao and Zhao Hanyan, but later they changed to respect each other, and there was a commotion.

Bao Zheng ate some meat and went to rest after drinking three cups of wine, and told everyone to have fun.

After Zhao Hanyan ate some, he made excuses and retreated.

Zhao Hanyan's condition naturally cannot escape Bai Yutang's eyes, Bai Yutang hastily followed to inquire about Zhao Hanyan's condition.

"I always feel that something is wrong, but I can't say it, so I can't explain it clearly." Zhao Hanyan said.

"I won't talk if I don't know clearly. I'll sit with you for a while, and I should leave later." Bai Yutang poured a cup of tea for himself and Zhao Hanyan, and then sat quietly with Zhao Hanyan.

Zhao Hanyan took a sip of tea and thought about it, "Actually, I don't need to think too much. When Mr. Bao interrogates Qu Rongfa tomorrow, the confusion will naturally be cleared up. But you, now that he has been caught, you still go to spy on him at night." What is Shang Shufu doing?"

"Just take a look and see how the people in the Shangshu Mansion reacted after they learned that the Shangshu was arrested, and see if there are any clues left behind." Bai Yutang said, "Probably like you, I always feel that this matter It seems that something is wrong, but I can’t say it well, so I want to investigate more to confirm or deny my own ideas.”

"Then we are destined and want to go together." Zhao Hanyan sighed.

"It's always been destined." Bai Yutang grabbed Zhao Hanyan's hand, "Then you have a rest, I'm going."

Zhao Hanyan nodded and frowned after watching Bai Yutang leave.She took a blank piece of paper, and now wrote down the relationship between the people involved in the Qu Shangshu case one by one.

The missing cook Xu, Su Yuerong, Qu Changle, Shopkeeper Xue, and the blind Taoist priest were all written down on paper by Zhao Hanyan.

In the middle of the night, Bai Yutang came back and handed Zhao Hanyan a piece of silver in his hand.Because of this ingot of silver, Zhao Hanyan didn't have enough paper to sort out personnel relations before, so he had to get another bigger one.