Chapter 209: Murder (Two chapters in one)

Third Master Deng is the younger brother of Second Assistant Deng Qian, who is the backer of Cui Rong, the beastly father of Shen Wangxing.

Deng Qian is an official in the Ministry of Rites, and the Fourth Prince is currently observing government affairs in the Ministry of Rites.

Zhao Shiqing asked, "Who is Cousin Fan close to today?"

Zhao Tingxuan thought for a moment, "He greets everyone with a smile and is polite and courteous. He's not close to anyone, really. By the way, when I went to the restroom, I saw Cousin Fan and someone talking under a banana tree."

"Who is it?" Zhao Shiqing asked.

Zhao Tingxuan looked puzzled. "That man seemed to claim his surname was Qian. He came with Third Master Deng. Third Master Deng brought seven or eight other people, all of whom looked very ordinary. Prince Dingxi mocked him, saying that he should just come if he wanted to, and even brought all his cats and dogs from home. Third Master Deng was indignant and even had a few words with Prince Dingxi."

Zhao Shiqing gave a few more instructions, repeatedly telling Zhao Tingxuan that he should stay at home if possible during the ten days before leaving Beijing, and if anyone from the Fan family came to visit again, he should find an excuse to send them away.

Zhao Tingxuan was also feeling a little scared. Only after being a hostage did he understand what it meant to live with one's tail between legs.

The princes are now fighting each other like black-eyed chickens. If it is reported that Prince Liang's Mansion supports a certain prince, it will not be a good thing.

After parting with Zhao Tingxuan, Zhao Shiqing and the other two were walking on the street. When they passed by Zhuangyuanlou, Zhao Shiqing said, "I want to eat the squirrel fish in Zhuangyuanlou, but unfortunately I'm full now. Let's call grandpa and go to Zhuangyuanlou another day."

At this time, seeing many people running in one direction, Loach quickly grabbed one and asked what was going on. The person said: "Look at the stilts!"

The three of them looked at each other and saw the word "want to see" in each other's eyes.

This time the location is not Kuixing Tower, nor Baoen Temple, but at a crossroads not far from here.

When the three men arrived, the people from the Five Cities Division had already blocked the roads in all four directions. Gongs and drums sounded, and the stilt team came over.

They were the same gods we saw that day, but everyone was still watching with great interest.

Zhao Shiqing also likes to watch. This time the feeling is different from the last time. She discovered a lot of things that she didn’t discover last time.

For example, the stilts used to have bells tied to them, and the stilts in Liangdi were just bare sticks, but the stilts here are painted with colorful patterns. Upon closer inspection, it turns out that these patterns have meaning, such as which god is painted on the stilts?

All of a sudden, Zhao Shiqing became alert. He first looked at the stilt legs, then at the person on them. Hey, Zhang Daoling was clearly an old man with a beard, but the person painted on the stilt legs was a handsome man. This didn't match.

Apart from Zhang Daoling who was painted as a handsome man, Lan Caihe's painting was even more exaggerated. It was more than just a handsome man, it was clearly a beautiful woman.

But when Zhao Shiqing looked up at the person on the stilts, he was stunned.

The Lan Caihe she saw that day, although holding a flower basket and dressed as a boy, was obviously a young man in his twenties. But today, although he was dressed in the same way, Lan Caihe had become a woman.

After all, he has learned disguise, so Zhao Shiqing, who is only half-baked, can still tell the difference between men and women.

Walking on stilts is very hard. Maybe someone was too tired and asked to take over, but Zhao Shiqing didn't care.

From the conversations of the people around him, Zhao Shiqing realized that this was the first time they came to Cross Street. The people here did not expect that the stilt team would come here. After all, there was no venue like Baoen Temple here.

But everyone was very happy, and even when the stilt team was about to leave, they were still asking loudly whether they would come tomorrow.

Zhao Shiqing and the other two squeezed out of the crowd and headed towards Tianjing Hutong.

After walking two blocks, Loach said with a sharp eye, "Look, that's the stilt team's carriage. It turns out they have to take off the stilt legs before getting on the carriage."

Zhao Shiqing and Ling Bo both laughed. If he didn't remove his legs, would he have to stand on stilts to get on the carriage?

Suddenly, Zhao Shiqing was startled again. She saw Lan Caihe, but this Lan Caihe was not the girl she had just seen, but the young man she met in Baoen Temple the day before yesterday.

Two Lan Caihe came together?

Zhao Shiqing's heart moved slightly, and he felt that there seemed to be something behind this.

But this had nothing to do with her. The three of them bought a big bag of snacks on the way and returned to Tianjing Hutong chatting and laughing.

In the evening, Aunt Ji came with the gangtou. Zhao Shiqing saw her and asked with a smile: "Aunt Ji, your precious son finally stayed at home for a few days. Why did you come here again instead of making him a delicious meal? Did you miss me?"

Aunt Ji smiled and said, "My dear girl, I miss you so much. I miss you so much when I can't see you for a day."

Zhao Shiqing pointed to the kitchen and said, "Chef Wang is cooking. There's no place for you, Auntie."

Aunt Ji didn't care. She didn't come here to work. She just didn't want to see her stinky son.

During the first three days after her son came home for the Lunar New Year, he was her darling. On the fourth day, he was her biological son after all. On the fifth day, forget it, he was still a human being. On the sixth day, this kid was not a human being, but a fool. Now it is the tenth day, and she is already cursing why the school hasn't opened yet. She is almost annoyed to death.

In conclusion, her son was not as sensible as Gangtou, he just came back to make her angry.

The buns that Chef Wang steams are either xiaolongbao or Beijing buns, and he learned how to make them from Aunt Ji.

When the buns came out of the oven, Zhao Shiqing took one for himself and gave one each to Aunt Ji and Gangtou. The two of them and the dog sat on a small stool in the kitchen, chatting and eating buns.

Aunt Ji said, "Miss, you've heard about it, someone is murdered."

Zhao Shiqing was startled and bit her tongue. She endured the pain and asked, "Where did the murder happen?"

Aunt Ji pretended to be mysterious: "I heard that an official died in the Zhuangyuan Building. My brat told me about it today when he came back from outside. He also said that a lot of soldiers went there and surrounded the Zhuangyuan Building. Oh, the Zhuangyuan Building had such good business. Who would dare to go there anymore?"

"Zhuangyuanlou?" Zhao Shiqing was stunned. She passed by Zhuangyuanlou in the afternoon and wanted to eat the squirrel fish there.

"When did it happen?" Zhao Shiqing asked.

"In the afternoon, it's something that happened in the afternoon." Aunt Ji said.

Afternoon? Zhao Shiqing was stunned for a moment. When they passed by the Zhuangyuan Building, there must have been no incident there, otherwise everyone would have gone there to watch the fun, and there wouldn't have been so many people watching the stilt walking.

Aunt Ji shared some gossip, scolded her son a few times, and finally went home satisfied.

The more Zhao Shiqing thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed, so she asked Xiaoguai to go out and take a look.

In the middle of the night, the sound of wings hitting the window frame was heard outside the window. Lingbo opened the window, and Xiaoguai flew in with a cold look on his face.

Zhao Shiqing took a few pieces of dried chicken, and Xiaoguai ate them in no time, then told Zhao Shiqing all the information he had found out.

【The dead person is a man with a beard.】

The man was sitting alone in the room. Someone brought in tea and stabbed the bearded man to death with a knife. Then the man walked out again carrying the tea tray.

Of course, Xiaoguai didn't see these things with his own eyes, but heard about them. Who did he ask? Birds, of course. Even though it's winter, there are still birds that don't fear the cold.

Unfortunately, the birds could not understand human language and did not know the name of the deceased.

Zhao Shiqing only knew that the killer disguised himself as a waiter at Zhuangyuanlou and went to a private room to kill someone with one fatal blow.

Aunt Ji’s son saw many soldiers and officers surrounding Zhuangyuan Building and guessed that the dead person was a high-ranking official. So who was this high-ranking official?

The answer to this question was soon found. The next morning, when everyone went out for breakfast, they learned the name of the official.

Second Assistant Deng Qian!

Zhao Shiqing was stunned. She subconsciously looked at Chen Wangxing and saw that Chen Wangxing's eyes were wide open in surprise.

Back then, Shen Wangxing's aunt was the beauty of the retired emperor, and now she lives in Zizhu Temple. Before entering the palace, Concubine Cui had a lover, Dong Qinglin from the Hanlin Academy.

Dong Qinglin's first wife was Deng Qian's sister. Deng died early and left no children. Dong Qinglin later remarried. On the surface, Deng Qian had no contact with the Dong family, but in fact it was not the case. Shen Wangxing's father, Cui Rong, was introduced to Deng Qian by Dong Qinglin.

Moreover, the former Crown Princess, now Princess of Jing, is a daughter of the Dong family, and Deng Qian was also a member of the Crown Prince's faction, but he was very careful in his actions and many things were done in secret. Therefore, now that the Crown Prince has become Prince of Jing, the officials under the Eastern Palace have all been implicated to varying degrees, but Deng Qian remains as steady as a rock.

But Zhao Shiqing never expected that before the end of the first month of the year, Deng Qian was assassinated.

Deng Qian is a cunning and sly man, which can be seen from Cui Rong. Cui Rong did a lot for Deng Qian, but after Cui Rong got into trouble, Deng Qian quickly drew a line with him, and did it cleanly and neatly. In the Cui Rong case, Deng Qian got away with it unscathed.

Noticing that Zhao Shiqing's gaze lingered on him for too long, Chen Wangxing quickly stated, "It wasn't me!"

Zhao Shiqing......

Chen Wangxing thought for a moment and continued, "Now there are only the elderly, weak, women and children left in the Cui family. They have no one to rely on and no money to pay. Even if they want revenge, they will take it out on me. Even if they have the courage, they dare not come to this person."

Yes, the Cui family didn't even have the courage to hate Deng Qian. They only vented their resentment on Cui Rong's wife and children. Chen Wangxing was Cui Rong's only legitimate son. If the Cui family really wanted to take revenge, they would only dare to find him, not Deng Qian.

Zhao Shiqing suddenly remembered Lan Caihe whom he saw that day.

Cross Street is very close to Zhuangyuan Building.

And a crossroads is obviously not a good place to walk on stilts.

She thought of what Zhao Tingxuan said, that Cousin Fan was talking in the dark with a man named Qian, who went with Deng Qian's younger brother.

Zhao Shiqing could no longer sit still. After breakfast, she went to look for Xiao Zhen, but Xiao Zhen was nowhere to be found at either Su Ji or Ruyi Fang.

Fortunately, Sister Ping was in the shop. Zhao Shiqing asked about Deng Qian's case, and Sister Ping said, "I know about it, but the case was just a formality in the Ministry of Justice and was handed over to the Jinyiwei."

The case that the Jinyiwei was allowed to investigate must have been ordered by Emperor Yongjia himself.

Come to think of it, Deng Qian was only the second-in-command, and he died in such an unclear manner. Even the emperor would probably be scared.

At the same time, the court was also in a bleak state.

Since the crown prince was deposed, the civil officials in the court have been reorganized into the Third Prince faction headed by Feng Ke and the Qingliu faction headed by Deng Qian.

Now that Deng Qian died suddenly, the first person his disciples thought of was Feng Ke.

The court was tense, and the Jinyiwei had not yet caught the murderer, but the words of those upright officials pointed to Feng Ke.

Some people bowed their heads to the ground, some covered their faces and cried, and some fainted from excessive grief. In short, the court meeting did not end until noon. Emperor Yongjia had a gloomy face when he left the court. As an emperor, the last thing he wanted to see was someone who could cover the sky with one hand. Deng Qian was the one who could fight Feng Ke head-on, but now that Deng Qian was dead, no one among the civil servants could compete with Feng Ke.

When Emperor Yongjia returned to the harem, he was thinking of sitting with Concubine Qiao. Concubine Qiao was a sweet talker, and whenever he was upset, he would think of her.

But before they reached Concubine Qiao's palace, a eunuch came trotting over and said, "Your Majesty, the Concubine Dowager is unwell. I have sent this servant to fetch Your Majesty."

Emperor Yongjia was even more annoyed. If he felt unwell, wouldn't he call the imperial physician? Why would he ask him to come over?

He is not the imperial physician?

But he still went to the Cining Palace because he knew that if he didn't go, Concubine Li would send someone over again.

This is how Concubine Li treated the retired emperor in the past, and she destroyed the little affection that the retired emperor had for her. Otherwise, how could her son become the emperor while she was still a concubine?

When the retired emperor was still in the palace, he would frown when he heard the word "Li Fei".

Emperor Yongjia is the same now. Whenever he hears the name of Concubine Li, he gets annoyed, very annoyed!

When they arrived at the Cining Palace, they saw Concubine Li half-leaning on a chaise longue covered with thick brocade cushions, looking so weak that she could not take care of herself.

"Mother, you are not feeling well. Why don't you call the imperial physician? Are the imperial doctors neglecting you? Your son will punish them right away."

Before she finished speaking, Concubine Li began to cry: "Emperor, I had a dream. I dreamed that Zhu Yu was kneeling in front of me and crying..."

Zhu Yu, Zhu Yu again!

Emperor Yongjia is so annoyed!

When Zhu Yu was alive, whenever Zhu Yu got into trouble, Concubine Li would use both soft and hard tactics to force him to clean up Zhu Yu's mess. Now that Zhu Yu is dead, Concubine Li is still dreaming. Dream! Why don't you die with him?

"He's a sinner, yet he dared to disturb your peaceful sleep. I'll have his grave dug up and his bones pulverized into ashes!"

Concubine Li was stunned. Why didn't the emperor play by the rules?

"Zhu Yu grew up under my care, and I just feel sorry for him."

"Mother, Zhu Yu is not your biological grandson after all, and you still have many grandchildren. I want them to come to the palace to spend time with you. Is that okay with you?"

Concubine Li wanted to say something more, but Emperor Yongjia had already stood up and was about to leave. Concubine Li had no choice but to say, "My old sister is now all alone in the farm. She is so pitiful. I want to take her to live in the palace for a few days."

Emperor Yongjia had long lost his patience. He was still thinking about Deng Qian. Besides, although Madam Wei was annoying, she was just an old lady who had suffered a stroke. Could she still stir up trouble?

"That's fine, Mother, just make your own decision."

After Emperor Yongjia left, a maid walked up to Concubine Li and said softly, "Your Highness, don't you think this is easy? The Emperor will listen to you."

Concubine Li looked at her and said, "I didn't expect that even you would betray me."

The nanny hurriedly said, "My Lady Dowager, I am a servant of the Wei family. In my heart, my Lady Dowager comes first, and then Old Madam Wei."

Concubine Li turned her face away. This was the maid she brought from her mother's home when she entered the palace. She had been with her all her life. She didn't expect that she would now threaten her on behalf of that old bitch. She had misjudged her after all.