Broken Iron Clothes

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Hearing the last sentence, Yuan Mucheng's brows twitched imperceptibly, but the grudge in his heart has been entrenched for several years, like wild weeds, constantly pulling.

He also understood that Liu Zhaoyu was not responsible for Liu Zhaoye's falling into the river, but he couldn't help asking himself when he dreamed back at midnight, did Liu Zhaoyu really know nothing?

"Father, King Weixu and King Jingping were life-and-death acquaintances back then, breaking the precedent that people with different surnames were not crowned kings, but this move also brought a lot of prejudice to the Yuan and Lu families, until King Weixu and the Qinghui army died in battle During the Battle of Wei Ning, King Jingping, Tongxuan and the army became the target of public criticism. You have gained military exploits, but you are always careful. Even though I have never had the slightest suspicion of Prince Jingping's mansion, I can't save you from murder. The emperor's preference It's also a fatal disaster, why don't I know..."

Liu Zhaoyu's voice weakened, and Yuan Mucheng didn't look back. The two turned their backs to each other, and the silence became longer and longer.

"I'm not a good emperor, and I don't want to be a good emperor." Liu Zhaoyu wiped his face, turned to look at Yuan Mucheng's profile, and continued, "At first, I thought I wasn't afraid of death, but when those knives really stabbed me, I didn't want to die anymore. I'm afraid. It turns out that when people are dying, they really have the idea of ​​survival. But when I saw you standing in front of me when I was dying, I couldn't care less about being afraid. It's just, Xiao'an, you and When did I become so rusty?"

when?Yuan Mucheng didn't want to investigate further.The palace is deep and separates people's hearts, but today's commotion is like a startling dream, forcing the two sleeping people to look at each other.

In the long silence, there seemed to be a small spring breeze passing by, and the friendship buried by the wind and sand raised dust.However, the wind is not the wind of the day, and the times are different from people.

"I, Yuan Xiao'an, remember that I have a brother, and I still remember it today."

This sound was calm and indifferent, but it echoed in Liu Zhaoyu's ears like a deafening sound.

Standing beside Yuan Mucheng, Liu Zhaoyu stood in front of his eyes with a body that was half a head taller than his own, overturning the sunny sky in his old dreams, and his figures overlapped, making him lost in time.

"I'm two years older than you, so you should call me elder brother." Ten-year-old Liu Zhaoyu said in spite of Yuan Mucheng's stature.

Yuan Mucheng didn't refute, and called out calmly: "Brother."

Yuan Mujie, who was at the side, heard this, and hurriedly gave Yuan Mucheng a hand, saying, "Mucheng, don't be presumptuous."

"You can't call me brother," Yuan Mucheng was puzzled, but turned his head but said openly, "Then Jinqueer!"

"Mucheng, the fifth prince has a noble status, so why are you messing around?" Yuan Mujie frowned, turned around and bowed to Liu Zhaoyu, and said, "Fifth prince, please forgive me for being ignorant."

Liu Zhaoyu was happy, and he passed Yuan Mujie's figure and said to Yuan Mucheng with a slumped face: "I think Jinqueer is very good, Jinqueer is beautiful!"

The playful figures of children stay in the old days, with the unshaded scorching sun, so clear.

When I was young, my words became a prophecy, but now the gourd is raised under the jade tiles without seeing the sun, and the person who cast a curse on him is standing beside him, both of them are involuntarily, they fell together in bondage, and then no turning back.

-

The blood all over his body was really eye-catching, Yuan Mucheng went back to the mansion first, took a quick wash and bath, then changed into his robes and went to the prison department.

Although the sweltering heat of summer is gone, the Prison Division is airtight, and the musty smell is everywhere, and there is no smell of the sun.Prison history presented a dossier that Wu Zuo had just filled out, Yuan Mucheng flipped through it and asked, "What's the situation now?"

Although Yuan Mucheng was sitting, when he was serious, he felt oppressed. Prison Shi couldn't help lowering his gaze, and said, "Cui Shangshu interrogated Cen Yu all night, but there is still no result."

"You can't find anything if you ask Yuemo. I'm afraid he doesn't know how he got into such a disaster." Yuan Mucheng replied, his eyes fell on the sentence at the end, "There are brand marks on the right arm of the corpse".

He stopped the movement of his hands and asked, "What does the mark on this book look like?"

Before Prison Shi Shi could reply, Lu Tianrui walked over with his saber in hand, and said, "They all look like ordinary soldering irons. According to Wu Zuo, they seem to have been branded not long ago."

Yuan Mucheng followed the prestige and saw Lu Tianrui's vigorous face, stood up and said with a smile, "Where did the general come from, he seems to be sleeping well."

After staying up all night, Lu Tianrui's mouth was a little dry, and after taking a sip of water, he said, "Don't make fun of me at this time, you boy. I just saw the corpse and I have no appetite."

Yuan Mucheng said sternly: "The branding is on every corpse?"

"They're all there, on the musicians on the corridor and the assassins in the hall." Lu Tianrui said.

Yuan Mucheng covered the dossier and pondered for a moment, then asked the jailer: "Where is the assassin who was captured yesterday?"

The Prison Secretary replied: "He is detained in the Criminal and Prison Division, and the person who is interrogating the Chief Division is currently interrogating him."

Yuan Mucheng put down the file and said, "Lead the way."

The man was handcuffed and imprisoned, and his bodyguard uniform was still on. It can be seen that the torture has not stopped since he was led into this prison last night.The man's lips were pale, and the blood on his face was dripping with cold sweat, but he still hung his head without saying a word. The chief judge at the side seemed a little impatient.

Lu Tianrui and Yuan Mucheng watched through the cell door without entering.

Yuan Mucheng asked: "Since waking up, haven't you tried to die?"

"No," Lu Tianrui said, "it's strange to think about it."

It's really strange, nine out of ten of the assassins sent out are dead men, but this person was the slowest to attack yesterday, and he didn't seek death after being arrested. What is he waiting for?

The more Yuan Mucheng thought about it, the more uneasy he became, and he asked, "Have you checked the household registrations of those assassins?"

Lu Tianrui nodded, and said in a deep voice: "I've checked, the one inside is called Lai Chang, and the rest of the people have names and surnames, and I can't find any clues in the register."

That's not right.Sufficient financial resources are needed to raise dead soldiers, but if it is found that it is a capital crime to raise dead soldiers privately, dead soldiers usually do not have proper identities, but since the identities of these assassins can be found in the book, they should be able to find something strange , unless the group of dead men gathered together on their own, or there was something wrong with the register.

Just as Yuan Mucheng was thinking, a basin of cold water poured towards Lai Chang, causing his head to lose strength, and he suddenly fell to the side. The head of the trial office still felt that it was not enough, so he ordered someone to fetch another basin.

The prison door was opened and closed, Yuan Mucheng saw that pair of ruthless eyes lifted from the water-soaked hair, looking directly at him through the prison door, the two of them just looked at each other, the prison was gloomy and cold again a bit.

-

Jiang Shiqing went to Yue Tea House today, picked some snacks for Xu Guo, and then asked the waiter, "How is shopkeeper Meng's business recently?"

Xiao Er understood: "The business of the shopkeeper still depends on the care of the masters, and I will serve you here." He nodded and went downstairs.

Not long after, Meng Xia went to the cubicle with tea, and when Xu Guo saw someone coming in, she grabbed the pastries and went outside to guard.As soon as the door was closed, Meng Xia called out respectfully: "Vice owner."

Jiang Shiqing twirled the rosary, motioned him to sit down and said, "Is Lai Chang still reliable?"

Meng Xia replied: "Brother brought his younger brother's last writing back from Yingzhou, and it was handed over to him the day before yesterday. I have said everything that needs to be said, and it must be only a matter of time before I turn against him."

Jiang Shiqing lightly twisted the rosary in his finger, and said: "It's just that Dali's method of restraining the dead is too unrighteous. He detains relatives and friends under the pretext of taking care of them, and puts them all in Yingzhou, which he took from Dali eight years ago. The meat shield is valuable, but it's not strong enough."

Meng Xia clenched his fists unconsciously: "Most of these dead men didn't know who they were working for before they died. The old man has always despised benevolence and justice, and he said he would take good care of him, but in fact he took people under custody and left them to fend for themselves. Mie, Yingzhou, Yingzhou, but how many bloods have been poured into them..."

Jiang Shiqing's face was neither happy nor angry, but he was exerting force in his hands, and the tightly clenched holding beads pressed a mark in his palm, which turned red after returning blood.

After a while, he suddenly laughed: "Yingzhou..."

Jiang Shiqing smiled wickedly, and turned cold again in an instant, leaving behind a ghastly coldness. He said in a deep voice, "Isn't it all blood?"

-

When leaving the Yue Tea House, it was already dark and the curfew was about to enter. There were scattered pedestrians on the street. Jiang Shiqing tightened his outer shirt and turned into the alley, but almost bumped into Yuan Mucheng who was guarding the corner with his arms folded.

Jiang Shiqing turned a blind eye and wanted to leave after passing him, but was stopped by Yuan Mucheng raising his arm.

"I haven't seen you for a day, and Brother Jiang turned his face away."

Yuan Mucheng glanced sideways at He Xiao, and He Xiao turned around, took the purse from Xu Guo's body, and walked into the alley.

Xu Guo became anxious, and chased after him after cursing: "The dignified lieutenant insists on being a poor man to death, and dares to snatch the young master's purse! Master, I'll go and get it back!"

Jiang Shiqing raised his eyes and said with a smile, "The way the general treats friends is really different."

Just finished speaking, Yuan Mucheng slashed down with a hand, Jiang Shiqing dodged sideways, but Yuan Mucheng's hand that just landed on his waist came out in the shape of a claw.Jiang Shiqing took advantage of the situation to put his hand on Yuan Mucheng's arm, jumped up with all his strength, turned over and landed behind him.

Just then he stopped, another palm was in front of him, Jiang Shiqing raised his arm to block, Yuan Mucheng took the opportunity to go around behind him, touched his left hand along his waist, and then grabbed his right arm and pressed it to his waist.Jiang Shiqing was firmly locked in his arms, but he hooked his feet backwards, and threw the person forward with a slumped shoulder, but the force was too heavy and the grip was too tight, and when he fell, he was brought to the ground together. After rolling a few times, he was crushed by Yuan Mucheng and his hands were also locked.

In an instant, Jiang Shiqing raised his foot again, and Yuan Mucheng evaded, and he turned to the side and stood up neatly.Yuan Mucheng squatted halfway on the ground, his thoughts still lingering.

"Has the general had a good time?" Jiang Shiqing said, flicking his sleeves.

"If you didn't have something to ask, it would be more fun." Yuan Mucheng smiled, then stood up and said, "Why did you tell me about the assassination?"

Jiang Shiqing also smiled: "Repay the favor."

Yuan Mucheng walked towards him: "Praise yourself so high, aren't you afraid of falling to your death?"

Jiang Shiqing didn't retreat, he just stood there and looked at him, and said: "With the power of the general, if there are people in the court, I can be an official, right?"

"Really," Yuan Mucheng approached, slightly bent down and raised his finger to touch the scar on Jiang Shiqing's right neck, and said, "Who are they from?"

Jiang Shiqing felt itchy, put his finger on Yuan Mucheng's hand, slowly pushed it away from his neck, and said, "Didn't Minister Cen say anything?"

Yuan Mucheng glanced at Jiang Shiqing's expression in a blink of an eye, then straightened up and said, "It's not feasible for me to play dumb. If it was really just a simple intrigue by the court, Cen Yu would be so stupid to put his own people in it. What is the benefit of assassinating the emperor?"

Jiang Shiqing stared straight ahead, without moving his expression: "It's no good for him to assassinate the emperor. The prince who is eyeing him may not think so, but what the general said, the interrogator must have thought of it, and he will find out which courtier wants to frame Cen in the future." ..."

"You can see the framing of the flaws when you open your eyes, what is the plot, but it is true that someone is reaping the benefits of the fisherman."

Yuan Mucheng looked at Jiang Shiqing meaningfully, waiting for his response.

Jiang Shiqing looked back: "The general suspects me?"

"Not entirely," Yuan Mucheng said, moving his eyes down his waist, "but there is a lot of bad water hidden in your belly."

Jiang Shiqing smiled slightly: "It's hidden, but they are all poisonous snakes and scorpions."

"Really, in a few days I will see for myself who the owner of the Yemen Villa poisoned to death," Yuan Mucheng tilted his head and whispered in Jiang Shiqing's ear, "Didn't you want me to call you that for a long time, the owner of the village?" .”

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Canary can be understood as canary or gorse

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Yuan Mujie: The eldest son of King Jingping, the elder brother of Yuan Mucheng, and the twins of Yuan Muqing, but younger than Yuan Muqing.

Lai Chang: The assassin who was arrested at the birthday banquet.

Meng Xia: The shopkeeper of Yue Tea House, a hidden stake planted by Yemen Zhuang in the city.