Kaifeng House Small Dining Table

"There is no distinction between high and low food, as long as someone knows how to appreciate it." Zhao Hanyan said.

"But he doesn't know how to appreciate, and he's a sinner, and he doesn't deserve to appreciate your dim sum." Bai Yutang glanced at the spoiled dim sum, with a hint of anger in his tone, then he said to Zhao Hanyan, "That's all, no In this matter, how do you ask?"

"It's not him." Zhao Hanyan said.

Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows in surprise, "So sure?"

"So my snacks are not wasted in vain." Zhao Hanyan explained to Bai Yutang, "He doesn't even know what kind of person Tao Butler is. When it comes to his son Qu Changle, he has nothing but disgust and impatience. Others. I asked him two questions in this regard, but he didn't know my intentions. Instead, he got annoyed, lost his temper, and sent me away. He is a big-tempered bureaucrat who is in a high position, speaks one word, and keeps his eyes down. Now Because of being wronged and wronged, he is in extreme anger and has no idea why he is in the current situation."

Bai Yutang moved his eyes, and thought about it further: "Could it be that he did the opposite, deliberately pretending to be stupid?"

Zhao Hanyan: "If he deliberately pretends to be stupid, the purpose is to get rid of suspicion, then I will give him a chance when I go. With the wisdom of the behind-the-scenes, he should pretend to be stupid and prove his innocence. But he didn't."

"So you're so sure because you've thought about it." Bai Yutang nodded, admiringly agreeing with what Zhao Hanyan said.Now he also feels that Qu Shangshu's temperament is completely inconsistent with the way of the murderer behind the scenes.

If Qu Rongfa was really wronged, then there must be a very big conspiracy behind this incident.And the man who perfectly framed Qu Rongfa as the murderer behind the scenes is indeed more like a "big shot" who has trained such powerful murderers as Miss Zhang and Taoist Zi Yan.

"In the current case, all the people who could confront Qu Rongfa died within the exact time, except Qu Changle. After Mrs. Zhang confessed to Qu Rongfa, Lord Bao then successfully lobbied Qu Changle and brought him into the palace to ask for an order. As soon as the Holy Majesty allowed Qu Rongfa to be apprehended, the eldest girl Zhang would definitely confront Qu Rongfa. It happened that at this juncture, Miss Zhang was poisoned to death. Only evidence was left to identify Qu Rongfa, and she Butler Tao's death was obviously related to Butler Tao. Then he should confront Butler Tao with Qu Rongfa, and then he was poisoned to death. At first glance, the deaths of the two seemed to be caused by Qu Rongfa's silence. From another point of view, the death of these two people directly blocked Qu Rongfa's chance to prove his innocence. In the end, only Qu Changle was left, and what everyone listened to and saw was only Qu Changle's confession. Evidence out."

"However, Qu Changle's confession that Qu Rongfa formed a party for selfish interests and cheated in the imperial examinations is true. Several officials have been implicated in this. The matter is being handled by Yan Shu of the Ministry of Criminal Justice. Just after hearing the news, three officials have confessed and admitted that they had a relationship with Qu Rong. Fa colluded and participated in imperial examination fraud and self-serving sacrifices."

"How many honest officials are there in the world like Mr. Bao? Many officials have held high positions for a long time. When faced with temptation, they seldom have the original intention of being an official and truly become an honest official for the country and the people." Most of them have done some shady business. Qu Rongfa should be one of them. She is indeed not honest enough as an official, but it cannot be concluded that the Ziyanguan and Zhang's cases are all caused by him behind the scenes. .”

After Zhao Hanyan expressed his opinion, he asked Bai Yutang again.

"If you go and frame someone, how does that make it seem more real?"

Bai Yutang looked at Zhao Hanyan very seriously, and nodded for her to continue talking.

Zhao Hanyan: "On top of some real things, fake things are fabricated. The fake ones are made up to look like the real ones, and the real ones are still real. If the real and the fake are mixed together, it is easy to confuse and make people unable to distinguish clearly."

Bai Yutang agreed with Zhao Hanyan's statement, "Then shall we discuss it with Mr. Bao?"

"I have already told Mr. Bao what I think, and what he said is very reasonable. In the end, what is to be judged is evidence, not speculation. There are too many evidences to testify against Qu Rongfa. In the absence of evidence, These speculations of mine are, at best, unsubstantiated conjectures."

"Then let's look for evidence. Find the murderer who killed Steward Tao, and try to find the murderer Xu Chuniang who killed Miss Zhang as much as possible."

Bai Yutang comforted Zhao Hanyan not to be in a hurry, and the matter could be solved by traveling eastward.Qu Rongfa is the minister of the Ministry of Rites, and the imperial court must be very cautious in dealing with it.As long as he pleads not guilty, the case will go to trial for at least a while.

"Yes, there is also Mrs. Xu." Zhao Hanyan sighed.

Bai Yutang noticed that Zhao Hanyan's face was strange, "Could it be that you suspect that Mrs. Xu is not the murderer who killed Miss Zhang?"

"She is a woman who has worked in Kaifeng Mansion for seven or eight years. She also has a husband and children. What does she do to earn the money she has to take but not to spend?" Zhao Hanyan frowned, "Ms. Cooking and distributing meals have many opportunities to come into contact with prisoners who committed crimes and punished because of their greed or excitement. It has been seven or eight years, and she still can’t see these things clearly. How confused. And this is not greedy for money and committing trivial matters, but murder .”

"Ms. Xu is a native of Tokyo. She is a bit stingy. She is greedy for cheap, and she is good at calculating her life. The purpose of being so frugal is to save money for her son to marry a wife and build a house. She has no big intentions." Bai Yutang previously participated in the arrest of Xu. The cook, has specially investigated the situation of Xu cook.

"That's it."

Miss Zhang was imprisoned in Kaifeng Mansion. Those who could take the risk to kill her were either dead men or killers who were willing to die for money. The premise was that the killer had the confidence that he could escape with his own ability and spend the money famously.But Mrs. Xu is neither of the two, she is just an ordinary woman who lives at home, full of the air of a little woman, and her ordinary life pattern revolves around the trivial matters of living at home.

Bai Yutang: "It seems that Mrs. Xu is the key. Finding her will reveal the truth."

"It's probably impossible to find it. According to the temperament of the real murderer behind the scenes, he won't keep such a key person alive, such as Steward Tao."

Zhao Hanyan felt that it was unlikely that Mrs. Xu would survive.In the matter of Cook Madam Xu, what needs to be ascertained urgently is where the 100 taels of silver under Cook Madam Xu's bed came from. If Madam Xu did not collect money to kill someone, then someone else must have put the money.Cook Niang Xu's husband and son didn't seem to know about it, that is, someone else sneaked into her home and put the money under the bed.

"Could it be Butler Tao?" Bai Yutang recalled, "I remember that the waiter in Zuiyang Tower witnessed Butler Tao knock on the door of Mrs. Xu's house."

"This is also a strange place. If Steward Tao really instigated Mrs. Xu to kill people, she should avoid people's eyes and ears, but at noon, when people come and go, she knocks on the door in a grand manner." Zhao Hanyan said, "If someone You deliberately made excuses and sent Steward Tao to knock on the door, just to let people see. Then Steward Tao would not have put the money, and Steward Tao will most likely not understand why he died until the end of his life."

Bai Yutang pondered and said, "Butler Tao has been with Qu Rongfa for more than ten years. He is an old man around Qu Rongfa, so it should not be easy to be bribed. If he is just a scapegoat pushed out by someone, then this matter is very calculated." It's deep enough. Not only Kaifeng mansion has traitors, but Qu Rongfa's mansion also has them."

"It's the same as I thought." Zhao Hanyan raised his eyes and stared at Bai Yutang, and asked him if he grew up with Su Yuerong since he was a child, "I remember you once said that you knew Su Yuerong's father very well. "

Bai Yutang promised, "We have been friends for six or seven years. Her father is a heroic and courageous person. He has generously donated money to help many poor people. It's just that the hobby of 'picking flowers' is not very good, but we have already quit this kind of thing after being scolded by us. It’s over. As for Sister Su, I saw her for the first time four years ago. I only heard that he had a daughter before, and I often heard him mention how cute and interesting his daughter is, but I have never seen her. Because we usually meet in Outside, sister Su is a girl and naturally she wouldn't go out with his father. Later, when I was invited to her house, she barged in mischievously, and this was the first time we saw each other."

"Four years ago?" Zhao Hanyan asked.

Bai Yutang nodded.

Zhao Hanyan scratched his head, then stared at Bai Yutang with a pair of dark eyes. "The key to the whole case lies in Qu Changle. Without him, Qu Rongfa would never have been arrested so quickly and convicted of so many crimes. So I think he is the most suspect. Please help me these two days. spy on him."

Bai Yutang agreed to reassure Zhao Hanyan that he is very good at monitoring people.

"Where is Mrs. Xu? I can ask Jiang Ping to find someone to help."

"Catch the big ones and let go of the small ones, so we won't investigate for now."

Zhao Hanyan still felt that the possibility of the death of Mrs. Xu was extremely high, and people from Kaifeng Mansion were already checking her, so there was no need to add more manpower.There are mountains and plains everywhere outside Tokyo. If you want to kill someone and bury it outside Beijing, it is basically difficult to find it.

"it is good."

After Bai Yutang agreed, he accompanied Zhao Hanyan to leave through the back door of Kaifeng Mansion, found a pig raising house, and fed the pigs some snacks.

Bai Yutang looked at the chubby little pig in the pigsty with the corner of his mouth curled up, and sighed with a smile, "Good luck."

"I'll make some snacks for you later on." Zhao Hanyan said to Bai Yutang, rolling his eyes.

and also.

Bai Yutang heard the hidden meaning in Zhao Hanyan's words, but pretended not to hear them, chatted with Zhao Hanyan as usual, and then resigned to monitor Qu Changle.But in Bai Yutang's heart, he had actually written down this account long ago and will 'report' it later.

When Zhao Hanyan returned to the mansion, he saw a man leading two followers to the back door. After dismounting, the leader, a man in brocade clothes, stood at the back door and raised his hand for a long time without daring to knock on the door.

"Who are you looking for?" Zhao Hanyan walked behind them and asked aloud.

The leading man turned his head, and when he saw Zhao Hanyan, he was stunned for a moment, then laughed, and bowed his hands to her.

Zhao Hanyan recognized the middle-aged man in front of him as Lei Buzhi, the magistrate of Deping County, and asked him why he came here.

"There is a happy event at my classmate's friend's house. I came to join in the fun. I happened to be here. I thought I would stop by to see Mr. Zhao and everyone, but I always felt that the misunderstanding at the beginning was not very good. I was afraid that you would not care about me. , so he hesitated to knock on the door, I don't want to be caught by Master Zhao." Lei Buzhi explained embarrassingly.

"Others don't know, if you come to see me, have a cup of tea and say a few words, I welcome it."

Zhao Hanyan knocked on the back door, and immediately invited Lei Buzhi in, ordered him to sit down, and made tea for him.

Lei Buzhi quickly thanked Zhao Hanyan and asked Zhao Hanyan not to be so busy. He can just drink his saliva, or he can not drink it.

"How can there be such a way of hospitality? When Mr. Bao heard about it later, wouldn't I embarrass Kaifeng Mansion?" Zhao Hanyan told Lei Bu not to be polite, "I took your share because I wanted to drink myself."

Lei Buzhi didn't say anything, he waited respectfully for Zhao Hanyan's tea, and got up to express his thanks.

Zhao Hanyan couldn't help laughing.

Lei Buzhi was confused by Zhao Hanyan's smile, and carefully asked her why she was laughing.

"Look at you now, you are very humble, polite and courteous. I remember when you were in Deping County, you mistakenly detained Mr. Bao and others, but you were arrogant and refused to listen to persuasion." Zhao Hanyan was not polite to Lei Buzhi, and directly Tell him everyone's impression of him, "I'm just an official fan, eager to claim credit."

Lei Buzhi bowed his head in embarrassment, "Yes, yes, indeed."

"After you came here, you were still angry and blamed us for pulling you into the gang, making you offend Grand Master Pang, who you dared not offend the most."

Lei Buzhi agreed, "Actually, I'm still worried."

"At the beginning, Mr. Bao scolded you and made you go back to be an official. I don't think your attitude is very good. It seems that you are still aggrieved and feel that you are unlucky?" Zhao Hanyan said, and took a sip of tea.

Lei Buzhi was embarrassed by what Zhao Hanyan said, and apologized repeatedly.

"I don't want to hear your apology, but I wonder why you came back to see us after you left?" Zhao Hanyan asked.

"After Xiaguan returned to Deping County, I don't know who spread the news that I had meritorious service in escorting Mr. Bao. When the common people heard that it was Mr. Bao, they all came to greet and give them everything, saying that Xiaguan saved everyone. The Lord Qingtian is just like saving them. Some people’s families are so poor that they cannot eat a bite of meat for a year or so. , I didn’t buy it, and sent me all the eggs I’ve saved for more than a month.”

Lei Buzhi smiled naturally, and sighed to Zhao Hanyan: "Which official has never eaten eggs? How much are they worth? But at that time, the twenty or so eggs in the basket made me feel heavy, and I felt I am very happy, more excited than receiving a basket of silver. It turns out that this is what it looks like to be a good official and be loved and respected by the people."

Lei Buzhi told Zhao Hanyan that at that time, he realized that being an official should not be too utilitarian, and that he should learn from Master Bao to be a clean and honest official who is dedicated to serving the people.

Over the years, Bao Zheng has solved several major cases that shocked the whole country, pleaded for the people, and upheld justice, so his status in the hearts of the people is naturally very high.It is well known that Mr. Bao is stern and selfless and famous throughout the Song Dynasty.

The people really love Bao Zheng very much, the situation that Lei Buzhi just said is very likely to happen.Now, because of a little misunderstanding, it is really good to wake up a fool who was fishing in troubled waters in the officialdom and realize that he wants to be a good official.

"Master Bao will be happy if he finds out about this. But whether you have an epiphany or not depends on your political achievements." Zhao Hanyan said strictly.

"Extremely true." Lei Buzhi quickly agreed, and continued, "Actually, I'm not only here to see everyone, but I also want to inquire about something. It's Qian Shi, who wants to see the child who was abducted by him six years ago. Do you still have a chance to find them now?"

"Six years ago," Zhao Hanyan took another sip of tea, and after a short pause, he knew to Lei Bu, "When I heard about this incident in Deping County, I also felt it was a pity. It is even more difficult to investigate, after all, Qian Shi, the principal culprit in the case, is dead, and we can no longer get any clues from him."

"Sigh." Lei Buzhi sighed, "I also brought all the files from back then, thinking that the case of Kaifeng Mansion was solved, and I could more or less find out the details of Qian Shi, and this time I could find some clues Find them. It's a pity that these six children, the youngest is only seven or eight years old, and the oldest is no more than twelve, so they just disappeared."

After Zhao Hanyan listened, he asked for the dossier brought by Lei Buzhi, the content of which was similar to the dossier reported to the Ministry of Criminal Justice.The part of Qian Shi's testimony, because of the relationship with the Zhang family case, impressed Zhao Hanyan deeply.After Zhao Hanyan went through the dossier carefully, he asked Lei Buzhi if she could make a copy and keep it.

"The dossier of the Ministry of Punishment was borrowed last time, and it was returned soon." Zhao Hanyan explained.

"Of course, you can copy as many copies as you want, Master Zhao is free." Lei Buzhi agreed.

Zhao Hanyan handed the dossier to Xiuzhu and asked her to find a document and make a copy as soon as possible.

"After a lot of things have been spread between two mouths, the story told will be different from the facts, not to mention what happened a few years ago, everyone's memory will be diluted, and it will be easier to tell according to your own ideas when telling the story. " Zhao Hanyan couldn't help sighing.

Lei Buzhi was a little confused, and was about to ask Zhao Hanyan why he suddenly felt so emotional, when someone came and returned the file to him.Another person came to tell Zhao Hanyan that someone came to find Zhao Hanyan, and it was his 'cousin'.

Seeing this, Lei Buzhi politely got up and said goodbye, saying that he would not bother.

"When you're free in the future, you can always knock on the back door to find me." Zhao Hanyan couldn't keep her cousin of the Ninth Five-Year Lord waiting, so he didn't want to keep Lei Buzhi, and sent Chun to send Lei Buzhi away.

When Zhao Hanyan was about to go to the kitchen, Xiuzhu hurried over from the kitchen, explaining to Zhao Hanyan that this cousin is not that cousin.

"Just say what you mean." Zhao Hanyan told Xiuzhu not to be impatient.

"The youngest son of the Eight Sage Kings." Xiuzhu said.

Zhao Hanyan was stunned for a moment, "When did you come back?"

Xiuzhu shook her head.

Zhao Hanyan quickened his pace, rushed to the kitchen happily, saw his long-lost cousin Zhao Chu, and happily greeted him.

Zhao Chu wore a lavender dress, held a jade fan, and stood tall and straight in the courtyard, facing the direction of the kitchen. His handsome eyes kept looking at the various utensils in the kitchen with curiosity.After hearing Zhao Hanyan's voice, he turned back to look at her with a smile, and after looking at her for a while, his eyes stayed on Zhao Hanyan's sword eyebrows more.Then he smiled modestly, lamenting Zhao Hanyan's nonsense, but when talking about her, he did not forget to add the title "young brother" in front of her in a considerate manner.

"Who told you?" Zhao Hanyan asked Zhao Chu while asking him to sit down.

"Father and your brother-in-law have both said it." Zhao Chu deliberately emphasized the sound of the word 'big', implying that Zhao Hanyan was referring to the Holy One.

"When did you come back and enter the palace?" Zhao Hanyan asked again.

"I just came back yesterday and entered the palace this morning. I'll come to see you later. How am I?" Zhao Chu asked with a smile.

Zhao Hanyan nodded.

Zhao Chu then gave two packs of tea to Zhao Hanyan, "I grow the tea myself in the temple, recite scriptures, and pray for blessings. After you drink it, your wishes will come true."

"Then I must keep it well." Zhao Hanyan put the tea away politely, and asked Zhao Chu when he planned to leave.Before leaving the palace, Zhao Hanyan knew very few people, except for the Empress Dowager, the Baxian King and Zhao Chu.The first two lived with her, and the latter two were because of the good relationship between Ba Xian Wang Zeng and Zhao Hanyan's father, King Pingkang, so he gave her special care as an orphan.

Zhao Chu is just like what Zhao Hanyan introduced before. He was weak and sick and was raised in the temple since he was a child, so he has no temper. Traveling in the clouds, so the mood is broad, which is very different from ordinary customs.Zhao Chu originally intended to convert to Buddhism, but because of the obstruction of the eighth princess, he shelved it, and has maintained the state of going out to worship Buddha every three days and occasionally coming back for a short stay.

Zhao Hanyan and Zhao Chu met in the temple. Every year on the anniversary of their parents' death, Zhao Hanyan would go to the national temple where Zhao Chu lived, and worship the Buddha for the first month. The Eight Sage Kings himself took special care of her and asked Zhao Chu to take care of him.In addition, Zhao Hanyan liked Zhao Chu's temperament, and the two chatted more and more, becoming cousins ​​who were rarely close.

Zhao Hanyan felt that in this world, if there was anyone who could understand that she was a princess but a cook without explaining, Zhao Chu was the only one.

In fact, this is indeed the case. After Zhao Chu came here, he didn't ask Zhao Hanyan why she insisted on being a cook, but asked her what dishes she had learned to cook and what she was best at.

After listening to Zhao Hanyan's answers one by one, Zhao Chu said with a smile: "Next time I come back, I will stay a few more days, and I will try all the vegetables you mentioned."

"Then I'll learn a few more things in the future." Zhao Hanyan said hastily, urging Zhao Chu to stay a few more days when he comes back next time, so that he can go out with her to play.

"I didn't know you were here this time. I have already decided to go to Yunzhou with Master Guangzhi. Next time I come back, I must stay more." Zhao Chu paused, and said to Zhao Hanyan, "I shouldn't talk too much, but it's related You, I'm going to tell you. This time I entered the palace, I heard some great news. Duan Silian, Prince of Dali, you should know, I heard that he lives in Kaifeng Mansion? He has a chance to visit the Empress Dowager today, and invite his relatives to Pingkang County Lord, this time he still has Emperor Dali and his cronies."

"The queen mother will not agree." Zhao Hanyan said immediately.

"I will not agree to Pingkang Princess to go to a foreign country to be a little princess," Zhao Chu deliberately narrated in the third person, and was also thoughtful to avoid being eavesdropped and revealing Zhao Hanyan's identity, "but now Duan Silian has been appointed as the next prince. , that is to say, if Princess Pingkang marries him, she will be the Queen of Dali in the future. I think the Queen Mother might think about it."