I am a consultant in Kaifeng

If the bamboo forest outside Kaifeng was not destroyed by a fire, it would indeed be a good place.

Although this place is in the suburbs, the transportation is very convenient. The bamboo forest is surrounded by green water, and there are green mountains in the distance.Now that the bamboo forest has been burned, Du Xiaoning can't feel what it's like to be in it, but walking on the path around the bamboo forest, you can hear the singing of the farmers.

I don't see the loneliness of autumn, but I feel full of life.

Zhan Zhao walked to the corner of the path, and said to Du Xiaoning, "The villagers said that Li Minggui threw firecrackers into the bamboo forest here."

Du Xiaoning nodded slightly, but said nothing.

Zhan Zhao: "The autumn is crisp, and there are dead leaves in the bamboo forest. The dead leaves are flammable, and throwing firecrackers into the bamboo forest deliberately can easily cause a fire. Xiao Ning, look."

Zhan Zhao reached out and patted Du Xiaoning's arm, and pointed to the southwest direction of the bamboo forest, "Yesterday evening, the villagers were working there. It's not difficult to set fire, and it's not impossible to do it without anyone noticing it. This place is far away from the place where the villagers are busy with their work, and there is nothing to hide, so why did Li Minggui choose this place to throw firecrackers?"

Du Xiaoning smiled slightly, "Probably because this place is more conspicuous."

Zhan Zhao's eyes fell on the peasants in the distance, and he said with a smile: "It seems that the third son has the same opinion on this matter as I do."

It wasn't Li Minggui who threw fire pockets into the bamboo forest.

Maybe it was just a person who was about the same size as Li Minggui, or maybe someone deliberately pretended to be Li Minggui and set the fire here.

Zhan Zhao asked Du Xiaoning: "The witnesses from yesterday were also busy working in the field over there, do you want to go and chat with them?"

Du Xiaoning looked up at Zhan Zhao, with a smile on his face, "Master Zhan asked me to accompany you, didn't you just want me to chat with them? Now that I'm here, naturally I want to satisfy Master Zhan's wish." .”

Mr. Zhan glanced at the third young master, and half jokingly said: "So the third young master treats me so well."

Du Xiaoning's phoenix eyes were filled with a smile, and after taking his words, he said jokingly: "Isn't it? Mr. Zhan is the only one who can make me so obedient."

Thousand obedience and obedience?

The only one?

Zhan Zhao was stunned for a moment, then looked sideways at Du Xiaoning.

The third son's facial features are really too good-looking, sometimes when he looks at Du Xiaoning like this, he will feel unreal in his heart.

It's okay to be good-looking, and her temperament is too good to be true. She seems to be wanton and free-spirited, but kindness and gentleness have been engraved in her bones.

——No wonder he broke his sleeve because of Du Xiaoning.

Zhan Zhao thought, such a person, as long as he is willing, he will immediately take him back to Chenzhou to see his old mother, regardless of whether he is a man or a woman?

Accidentally, Mr. Zhan thought a little too much.

Mr. Zhan, who thought too much, was in a trance, so the inappropriate words that had been hidden in his heart blurted out——

"Be obedient to me, no matter what I want you to do, are you willing to do it?"

Du Xiaoning was stunned, "What did you say?"

Zhan Zhao saw Du Xiaoning's stunned look, and couldn't swallow his tongue.

I scolded myself in my heart: bastard, what am I talking about? !Am I a demon? !

While scolding himself in his heart, he pretended to be nonchalant and said haha, "I didn't say anything, I mean, can you walk this way?"

Du Xiaoning looked at the path leading to the fields in the southwest. The path was very narrow and uneven.

It's not raining and muddy everywhere, what can't you walk?

But she wanted to tease Zhan Zhao: "If you can't go, will Mr. Zhan carry me?"

Zhan Zhao: ""

Carry him?

Zhan Zhao glanced at Du Xiaoning's body.

In the past, he made fun of Du Xiaoning for being too thin, and he panicked.But looking at it now, everything is different. If he really carried the third son on his back, Mr. Zhan was worried that his dream tonight might not be as simple as the third son being broken by Du Shangshu.

With a blank face, Mr. Zhan said to the third young master: "It's impossible to memorize it. How about I throw you over there?"

Du Xiaoning: ""

Forget it, let's go by ourselves.

There were three villagers who were with Li Minggui yesterday.

Du Xiaoning first looked for a villager named Li Daniu.

Li Daniu is about forty years old, with dark skin, and a simple and honest smile.

Li Daniu pointed his mouth at the land two feet away, "Here, that's the land that Minggui burned yesterday."

Farmers sometimes collect hay in the field and set it on fire in order to save trouble.On that piece of land, there were still ashes left by the burnt grass.

Li Daniu said: "Minggui was supposed to wait for me to go home with me yesterday. We had agreed to drink some water and wine together in the evening. Unexpectedly, the aunt fell, and Er Gouzi came to call him back. I should have I went to see my aunt with him, but my mother-in-law hadn't finished the work assigned to me, so I had to let him go back first."

Du Xiaoning sized up Li Daniu, "After Li Minggui left yesterday, did he come back?"

Speaking of Li Minggui's leaving and coming back, Li Daniu was also very confused, "Yes, I saw it from a distance, and I was still wondering. I was about to ask him why Shi Guang came back again, but who knew he saw him in the bamboo forest path?" Standing at the corner for a while, the bamboo forest caught fire after he left."

Du Xiaoning: "So, in fact, you didn't see Li Minggui set fire."

Li Daniu rubbed his head, "I didn't say it was caused by Minggui."

Du Xiaoning: "Then who saw him throw the torch into the bamboo forest?"

Li Daniu: "Li Si, he is the closest to Minggui. When Minggui was throwing the fire book, Li Si was thirsty and was about to drink water, so he saw it."

Li Sizheng, who was hoeing the ground next to him, was pricking up his ears. Hearing what Li Daniu said, he stopped hoeing the ground and nodded hurriedly, "Yes, I saw it. When Minggui threw the fire book, I called him. Who Knowing that he didn't seem to be able to hear me, no matter how I called him, he didn't turn back, just threw the fire bag away, and he ran away."

Du Xiaoning: "Are you sure it's Huozhangzi?"

Li Si said as a matter of course: "If it wasn't Huozhezi, why did his back feet catch fire as soon as his front feet walked?"

Du Xiaoning looked at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao smiled: "Actually, I'm also a little puzzled. Is it far from the bamboo forest? It's not too close. Even if you have amazing eyesight, it's hard to see something as small as a fire fold, right? "

Du Xiaoning: ""

For these things, Zhan Zhao obviously already knew it well.

He also asked her to see if the villagers were lying to tease her.

Du Xiaoning was not annoyed either, she just put her hands behind her back and looked at Zhan Zhao with a half-smile.

Zhan Zhao:? ? ?

Zhan Zhao frowned slightly, "Why do you look at me like that?"

Du Xiaoning smiled softly, "Post-official, self-serving, Mr. Zhan."

Zhan Zhao was stunned for a moment, and then realized that Du Xiaoning had seen through his intentions.

Mr. Zhan has probably laid down and resigned himself to his fate. At this moment, he didn't feel the slightest embarrassment. He just smiled, "Mr. Bao gave you ten days off. What's so interesting about the book in the study? Why don't you go out of the city?" let's go."

Du Xiaoning glanced at him and didn't want to talk to him anymore.

The third son, who is good at chatting, doesn't talk to each other and doesn't work anymore.

Mr. Zhan had no choice but to go into battle himself.

It is actually not difficult to ask a few villagers.

Du Xiaoning is good at dealing with people, and Zhan Zhao is actually not bad either.

He has been in the rivers and lakes for many years, but in fact, the most contacted people are these common people.

With just a few words, a few villagers told them exactly what they saw yesterday.

The villagers saw Li Minggui, but they didn't actually see Li Minggui.

Because none of them saw Li Minggui's face.

Zhan Zhao walked towards Du Xiaoning, and said in a deep voice:

"It's obvious that someone did it on purpose."

When the two left the city, the sun was rising.Now that the sun was already high, the third young master had seen through Mr. Zhan's intentions, so he simply quit and stood under the shade of a tree to watch the scenery.

Seeing Master Zhan came back after asking, he smiled and asked: "Someone did it deliberately, so what should we do?"

The third young master dressed in white stood under the shade of a tree, and the wind blew the hem of his plain white clothes.

In the background color of Qingdai, it looks like a prince like jade.

Zhan Zhao looked at the third son who seemed to have stepped out of the painting, he was happy in his heart, but his expression was helpless.

"What should I do? Please trouble the third son to accompany me to Lijia Village again, and ask Li Minggui if he has any grudges with others recently."

Du Xiaoning heard the words, smiled slightly, and said easy-goingly: "Okay."

Good things don't go out, but bad things spread thousands of miles.

The story of Li Minggui's arson has spread throughout Lijia Village.

When Du Xiaoning and Zhan Zhao went to Lijia Village, there was someone with trouble standing outside Li Minggui's house, pointing at the small yard surrounded by fences.

A young girl in cardamom age was feeding a fluffy chick inside. When she saw Zhan Zhao and Du Xiaoning standing outside the door, she was stunned for a moment, and then ran back into the house in a panic.

"Grandma, grandma!"

A girl's voice came from the room.

Du Xiaoning and Zhan Zhao looked at each other.

Those good-natured villagers saw Du Xiaoning and Zhan Zhao, and looked at them curiously.

Sometimes people just like to watch the excitement.

These people may not have malicious intentions, they just want to gossip.

Mr. Zhan has a strong aura and can be retracted freely. Seeing the villagers still watching, he looked around solemnly, and asked in that low and stressful voice: "Everyone, what's the matter?"

Everyone: ""

Master Zhan said again: "If there is nothing wrong, let's go."

The villagers who came to see the excitement dispersed.

Seeing this, Mr. Zhan looked at the third young master with his black eyes, "Here, surrender without fighting."

The third son raised his eyebrows.

I remembered that one night, Siyao was going to help her change clothes in Kaifeng Mansion, but Mr. Zhan refused to leave. She also surrendered without fighting.

The third young master raised her lips and smiled, she put her index finger and middle finger together, tapped her temples, winked at Zhan Zhao, and said in a rare and playful tone, "I used this trick on Lord Zhan before."

Zhan Zhao:? ? ?

Zhan Zhao frowned, "When? Impossible!"

Du Xiaoning ignored him and walked into the courtyard.

Zhan Zhao wanted to ask, but Li Minggui's mother had already been helped out by the girl.

The old man's forehead was wrapped with gauze, and when he saw Du Xiaoning and Zhan Zhao, his expression was startled and frightened.

Seeing this, Du Xiaoning softened her voice, and said Xu Sheng: "Don't panic, ma'am, we are from Kaifeng Mansion. We came here this time just to ask you something."

Aunt Li saw Du Xiaoning's handsome features, gentle smile, and soft-spoken voice, so she was no longer nervous.

She clasped Du Xiaoning's hand tightly, and said tearfully: "My lord, my Minggui has been an honest man since he was a child, and he will not do things that hurt the world. I broke my forehead yesterday, and I woke up early today. My neighbor So he came to tell me that Minggui got into a big disaster yesterday, that he set fire to Moxiangju. How could he do such a thing? It is impossible for him to do such a thing!"

The old man cried very sadly, Du Xiaoning patted the back of her hand with his empty hand.

"Mother, please don't cry. The Kaifeng Mansion does things based on evidence. Your son was just asked by the Kaifeng Mansion to go back to understand some things. After he understands clearly, he will be allowed to go home."

The old man stopped crying and looked at Du Xiaoning, "Really?"

"Really." Du Xiaoning smiled and took out a clean white handkerchief, "We have something to ask you, please wipe away your tears first."

The old man took Du Xiaoning's handkerchief and wiped away his tears.

Du Xiaoning had observed it when he entered the village just now. Lijia Village is connected with each other, and every household is close to each other. If a family has a quarrel, it doesn't take a cup of tea to spread throughout the village.

The only exception is the home of Widow Wang.

Probably because Widow Wang is an outsider, she seems a bit lonely.

Du Xiaoning asked the old man if Li Minggui had offended anyone recently?

The old man shook his head and said in a hoarse voice: "Minggui usually goes up to help the old man when he sees him. He is so kind-hearted, how could he set fire to it? What's more, that small bamboo forest is the property of a family in the city. We are born to be humble, How dare you provoke these people? To put it nicely, Minggui lives by keeping his duty, but to put it badly, he is timid and fearful. How could he make grudges with others?"

It was nearly dusk when Du Xiaoning and Zhan Zhao returned to the city.

No matter how you look at it, this case seems strange.

Those villagers just saw a man who looked like Li Minggui.

The person who set the fire was not Li Minggui, so who could it be?

Probably, he is the enemy of tea merchant Wang Mingquan.

The setting sun elongated the backs of the two of them, and the road was very quiet. There were a few children playing on the road, and they laughed heartily all the way.

Du Xiaoning said half jokingly and half complaining: "Master Zhan made me miss a few books, how do you want to compensate me?"

Before the arson case was settled, the arsonist who looked like Li Minggui suddenly appeared, then disappeared without a trace.

Ke Zhanzhao was in a good mood, he walked slowly towards the city in line with Du Xiaoning's pace.

Zhan Zhao: "How about paying you a day when I take a rest?"

Du Xiaoning smiled, "Compensate me for a day? How do you pay? Does Mr. Zhan know how to read the account books?"

Zhan Zhao: "Looking at the account books is not enough. Why don't I take Xiao Pingzi to accompany you to relieve your fatigue, and squeeze your shoulders and legs for you?"

The two said they had already entered the city gate.

Du Xiaoning couldn't help but take a look at Zhan Zhao. To be honest, she couldn't imagine the scene of the dignified Mr. Zhan serving others.

So she didn't answer.

The two walked along the stone road until they reached the gate of Baiwei Study.

Under the dim sunlight, the house number of Baiwei Study has a special charm, as if there is a fragrance of books.

The Baiwei study is closed today, but Du Xiaoning and Zhan Zhao found a tall and handsome man at the door of the study.

Du Xiaoning was really surprised when he saw Yang Silang.

"Shiro, what are you doing here?"

Yang Silang adjusted the clothes on his body, looked at Du Xiaoning and said carelessly: "A Ning, you have a new love, and you forget the old love. It's so unfeeling."

Du Xiaoning ignored him and silently opened the door of the study.

On the other hand, Zhan Zhao folded his arms around his chest and looked at Yang Silang calmly, "What new love and old love? You are always so dishonest, no wonder Miss Li didn't agree to your marriage proposal."

Yang Silang: ""

Yang Silang snorted, "Miss Li didn't agree this time, so I will come to propose marriage another day. The so-called sincerity is as good as gold and stone, as long as I have enough sincerity, there will always be times when she nods."

Zhan Zhao hears the words, does not comment or not.

Du Xiaoning opened the door of the study.

The two followed Du Xiaoning into the door.

Yang Silang was probably teased by Zhan Zhao just now, and he felt unwilling.

So he looked at Du Xiaoning, then at Zhan Zhao, and suddenly said, "Master Zhan, what about you?"

Zhan Zhao was confused by his question, "Huh?"

Yang Silang smiled maliciously, "I like Miss Li, I want to marry her. How about you? I see that you are full of spring, and you walk with the wind. Recently, the red luan star is moving, and there is someone you like. What is Master Zhan planning?" When is it time to ask for a kiss?"

When Zhan Zhao heard the words, he couldn't laugh or cry.

When he first met Yang Silang, he actually didn't like Yang Silang.

There is no other reason. There is an insurmountable gap between these sons and daughters who were born in wealthy families and those who came from the rivers and lakes.

But as the matter of Wenxianlou came to light, Zhan Zhao felt that Yang Silang was worthy of friendship.

He just kindly reminded Yang Silang that if he wants to win the heart of a beautiful woman, he must correct his conduct.

With a mouth full of nonsense all day long, which girl would dare to believe him?

Unexpectedly, this guy not only treated his kindness as a donkey's liver and lungs, but also came to ridicule him.

Just when Zhan Zhao was thinking about how to answer Yang Silang, Du Xiaoning had already turned around.

Du Xiaoning looked at Yang Silang, "If you have nothing to do, you can go to the Three Treasures Hall. If you have anything to do, please tell me quickly."

Yang Silang didn't speak any more nonsense this time. He smiled and said, "Didn't I bring you a painting by Penglaike yesterday? After you saw it, you said you couldn't tell if it was true or not. Today, I again I got a painting by Peng Laike."

After hearing this, Du Xiaoning felt very strange.

Penglai Ke disappeared for more than ten years, how come it popped up?

It doesn't matter if it comes out, but his paintings are sold to Yang Silang anyway.

Du Xiaoning glanced at Yang Silang, and said slowly, "Penglaike's paintings are so easy to get? Shiro, have you offended too many people, and now you are caught in the trap."

Yang Silang showed a confident smile, "What are you thinking? I am so easy to cheat? Looking at Bianjing, whoever dares to cheat me, Yang Silang, I will dig three feet to find that person."

As he said, he patted Du Xiaoning on the shoulder, "Come on, I'll show you the painting."

The portrait that Yang Silang showed Du Xiaoning yesterday was of a young girl running into a sea of ​​flames.

The portrait that Yang Silang showed Yang Silang today is a man standing outside a bamboo forest.Only the back of the man is shown in the portrait, but the face cannot be seen, so the expression on his face cannot be seen.He seemed to be attracted by the scenery of the bamboo forest, and couldn't help stopping to watch it.And not far from him, there are farmers standing or sitting watching him.

When Du Xiaoning saw the portrait, he was stunned.

Zhan Zhao didn't know anything about painting, and he wasn't interested in looking at paintings at first, but seeing Du Xiaoning's expression stunned, he couldn't help but poke his head over.

Seeing this, he also let out a "huh" in surprise.

Yang Silang: "What? Could Master Zhan also know how to paint?"

Zhan Zhao was very sincere, "It's hard to tell how brilliant it is for me to appreciate this painting." It's just that the people and bamboo forest in this painting reminded me of something. "

Yang Silang: "What is it?"

Zhan Zhao: "I told you, you might not understand."

Yang Silang: ""

At this time, Du Xiaoning's gaze had already moved away from the painting.

She raised her eyes, just in time to meet Zhan Zhao's gaze.

The four eyes met, and a gentle smile appeared on Zhan Zhao's handsome face, "This painting reminds me of the scene when the villagers said they saw Li Minggui."

Du Xiaoning smiled, "Me too."

Yang Silang:? ? ? ?

Yang Silang was stunned.

Du Xiaoning looked at Yang Silang's bewildered look, and couldn't help but chuckled, "Maybe, you were really tricked."

Yang Silang: "Impossible."

Du Xiaoning did not argue with him, but led him to the back garden.

The three of them sat down on wicker chairs under the ginkgo tree. Du Xiaoning told Yang Silang about the fire in the bamboo forest in Moxiangju yesterday.

In fact, it was not a big deal. Although the bamboo forest burned, no casualties were caused.

Wang Mingquan narrowly escaped death, feeling that he was an auspicious person, and he didn't seem to have the intention of catching anyone responsible for it.

The villagers present all said that they saw Li Minggui go back after leaving, but everyone just saw that the man was similar in figure and clothes to Li Minggui, and they didn't meet him at all.

Du Xiaoning has mind reading skills, she knows that the fire in the bamboo forest was not set by Li Minggui.

Zhan Zhao felt that it was impossible for Li Minggui to set fire, because Li Minggui had no motive.

Du Xiaoning had already placed the tea set on the table, and the small stove next to it was boiling water.

She folded her hands on the table, and Xu Sheng said: "This arson case is a bit strange, it seems to be aimed at Wang Mingquan, but since the arsonist knew that yesterday was the time for Wang Mingquan to go to Moxiangju, he must be very serious about Wang Mingquan. The itinerary is quite familiar. If he wants to burn Wang Mingquan to death, in order to ensure nothing goes wrong, he will definitely confirm whether Wang Mingquan is in Mo Xiangju before setting fire."

Zhan Zhao nodded, and took her words, "Wang Mingquan brought a dozen or so doormen and servants to Moxiangju, there must be little movement. There was no movement in the bamboo forest of Moxiangju yesterday, how could the arsonist not know?"

Yang Silang was silent, and said helplessly: "I know you two are obsessed with investigating the case, but Mo Xiangju is on fire, what does it have to do with me? There are so many interesting things, why do you want me to listen to you discuss the case?"

Du Xiaoning turned her head, looked at him with those clear eyes, and said with a smile: "Mo Xiangju is on fire, it really has nothing to do with you, but maybe it has something to do with the painting you brought?"

Yang Silang was immediately annoyed when he heard the words, "Nonsense."

Speaking of it, it's a bit nonsense.

So Du Xiaoning didn't say much, she put her chin in one hand, and said with a smile: "Master Zhan and I saw the portrait you brought, it feels like a certain scene before the fire in the bamboo forest in Moxiangju, maybe it's just a coincidence .”

As he said that, Du Xiaoning pointed to the picture scroll Yang Silang put beside him, and asked: "Penglaike's paintings are always hard to find, and good fakes are also hard to find. The two paintings you brought me to see, whether they are true or not , are all very valuable. How could it be such a coincidence that you got them all?"