Chapter 185 Murder (asking for double monthly tickets)
Wu Jue said: "Unfortunately, it was that Changsun Qi Niangzi."
The "unfortunately" he said naturally referred to the other party's identity as the future Crown Princess. At this time when the selection of the Crown Princess was about to be decided, the person suddenly disappeared. It was really "unfortunately".
Chang Suining frowned slightly.
It turned out to be the seventh daughter of the Changsun family, Changsun Xuan.
She couldn't help but ask: "Have you found any clues?"
"I only know that he disappeared with his personal maid in the back mountain, and we have not found the master and servant yet..." Wu Jue shook his head: "I don't know anything more."
Although the monks in the temple participated in the search, they were only responsible for leading the way in the back mountain. The specific matters were all handled by the people of the Changsun family and the imperial guards sent by the Emperor of the Holy Ce. The monks did not dare to inquire too much rashly.
Chang Suining thought of many possibilities in a flash, and finally said, "I hope the person can come back safely."
She had a kind of admiration for the girl whom she had once met privately and who dared to admit openly that she wanted to be a model for the country.
No matter what possibility the other party encountered, girls of this age are always the weaker party...If she can come back safely, it may be a blessing.
The three days of prayers were over. It was impossible for the Emperor of Shengce and his ministers to stay in Dayun Temple for too long because of the disappearance of a girl. They had been away from the palace for more than ten days and there were too many government affairs that needed to be handled urgently when they returned to Beijing.
In the afternoon of that day, Emperor Shengce, along with his ministers and a group of women from his household, set out from Dayun Temple and returned to the city, leaving behind a hundred imperial guards at Dayun Temple to continue the search.
If the ladies traveling with him had paid attention, they would have known that the wife of the Left Prime Minister Changsun Yuan, Mrs. Kuang, did not accompany the emperor back to the city.
This time, Kuang rarely disobeyed her husband's arrangements and insisted on staying in Dayun Temple to wait for news from her daughter.
Chang Sun Yuan knew very well that his wife loved her youngest daughter the most, so he did not force his wife to return to Beijing, but left some people to accompany her.
After returning to Beijing, the Changsun family was secretly searching for Changsun Xuan's whereabouts throughout the city.
Although it is very unlikely that Chang Sunxuan would return to the city alone with her maid, the sooner the better when it comes to finding someone. No matter which possibility it is, it must be considered as early as possible, and every possible place must be searched as soon as possible.
Truth cannot be hidden. As the Changsun family’s search for her became more and more extensive, the news of Changsun Qi’s daughter, Changsun Xuan’s disappearance spread like wildfire.
At this point, Chang Sunxuan had been missing in the mountains behind Dayun Temple for more than four days.
The Changsun family had no intention of hiding it any longer. If they had initially held out a lucky thought, thinking that the person had accidentally lost his way or gone somewhere else, and had chosen to suppress the news in order to avoid unnecessary criticism after the person returned, then the passing of four full days was enough for all the lucky thoughts to disappear completely.
A lady of aristocratic family who had never left home alone, had not returned for four days. This must have been due to an unexpected situation beyond her control.
No matter what the accident was, Chang Sun Yuan now has only one thought, which is to find his daughter back, whether she is dead or alive.
Although he seems to be rigid and cold-hearted, and always puts the interests of his family first, his affection for his youngest daughter is no less than that for his wife.
His Xuan'er has been well-behaved, sensible and has her own ideas since she was young. In addition to a father's love for his daughter, he treats this little daughter with more care and hope than other children.
Compared to the outside criticism, Chang Sunyuan cared more about his daughter's whereabouts.
After the news of Chang Sunxuan's disappearance spread, many speculations were heard from all over.
There were even rumors that the Seventh Lady of the Changsun family was dissatisfied with her family's arrangements and did not want to enter the palace to become a crown princess, so she took the opportunity of praying at Dayun Temple to elope with someone.
After this common rumor spread, Kuang, who was already overly worried about her daughter's whereabouts, became so angry that she fell ill.
But by the sixth day, the rumor was proven false.
Zhangsun Qinniang, who had been missing for many days, was found.
To be precise, it was the body of Zhangsun Qinniang that was found.
The person was finally found in the back mountain of Dayun Temple. At first, they just searched all over the mountain. It was only after they considered the possibility of something bad that they started to pay attention to the underground.
The body was buried under a hidden bush outside the maple forest on the back mountain.
In autumn, the weeds were already withered and yellow, and the place where the bodies were buried was covered with withered and yellow weeds as a cover, so when people first got close, they didn't notice anything unusual here.
The murderer probably didn't want to leave too many traces, so Chang Sunxuan and her maid were buried in the same place.
It was already cold in late autumn, and the bodies were buried under a pile of cold earth. When they were dug out, the faces of the master and servant were still intact and clear, without much sign of decay.
Kuang, who had been waiting in Dayun Temple despite being ill, came to see him upon hearing the news and fainted on the spot.
Soon, Changsun Yuan also arrived accompanied by his son.
The well-behaved and clever appearance of the youngest daughter is still vivid in my mind. No one had expected that a trip to worship ancestors on the Double Ninth Festival would end in death.
The girl's cold cheeks were covered with dirt and a few chrysanthemum petals, and her eyes were wide open and bulging, as if she wanted to remember the appearance of her enemy clearly, and she seemed to have endless fear and unwillingness.
Chang Sun Yuan raised his hands tremblingly and slowly covered his daughter's remains with white silk.
Zhang Sunyan, who was standing by, raised his hand to support his father: "Father..."
Chang Sun Yuan stared at the girl's body covered by white silk and said slowly, "Father is fine."
Now is not the time to grieve.
What we need to do now is... to find out the truth of this matter! ...
The Emperor of Shengce learned about this and, after obtaining the consent of the Changsun family, handed over the case and the bodies of Changsun Xuan and his servant to the Dali Temple.
The coroner's examination revealed that Chang Sunxuan was strangled to death.
Chang Sunxuan's maid was killed by being hit repeatedly on the back of the head with a stone.
Other scars show that both the master and the servant struggled and resisted in vain before their death.
The person was found in the back mountain of Dayun Temple. Therefore, the interval between the last time he appeared in front of people in the back mountain and the time when he was discovered missing was the time when Chang Sunxuan was killed.
During this period of time, many people came and went in the back mountain. On that day alone, there were nearly a hundred women, children, and maids who went to pick chrysanthemums, in addition to the monks in the temple.
With such a large scope and all those involved being children of officials and dignitaries, it is not easy to check them one by one and it will inevitably be time-consuming and laborious.
But the case progressed much faster - because an item that did not belong to the deceased was found at the burial site of Chang Sunxuan that day.
The Dali Temple first launched an investigation into the ownership of the item.
…
When the news of Zhangsun Qi Niangzi's murder spread, it caused a huge uproar in the capital.
The timid ladies among the noble ladies who were traveling together that day were so frightened that they could not sleep when they thought that while they were chatting and laughing while picking chrysanthemums, such a bloody thing was happening not far away.
When Chang Suining heard the news, he was practicing boxing with Adian in the martial arts field.
Something happened to Zhangsun Qi Niangzi again.
Chang Suining subconsciously looked up at the sky. At this moment, the sun was about to set, and such a young, beautiful and vibrant life seemed to disappear from this world like the twilight.
The girl with a determined goal had originally made an agreement with her that they might become friends when the situation allowed in the future.
They hadn't had time to become friends yet.
Before the other party had the chance to try out whether the path of being the mother of the country was a smooth one, everything came to an abrupt end.
Chang Sui'an felt a little depressed when he heard about this. Although he was not familiar with Zhangsun Qi Niang, he felt uncomfortable when he thought that she was just a little girl of the same age as his sister.
"Brother was also in the back mountain that day. The Dali Temple should soon summon you for questioning." Chang Suining reminded him, "Just answer everything truthfully when the time comes."
Chang Sui An agreed.
But in the next two days, Chang Mansion did not wait for the arrival of the Dali Temple. Chang Suining sent people to inquire and found out that the Dali Temple only summoned a few people to question them.
It’s not a large-scale investigation…
Could it be that they have secretly locked onto the suspicious person? Chang Suining pondered.
She had been asking people to keep an eye on the progress of Chang Sunxuan's case, but she also did not stop arranging her own affairs.
Just during these few days, she agreed on something with Chang Sui'an.
Recently in Xuan Ce's camp, the matter of leading troops to the northern border to build border defenses has been put on the agenda.
The news was still spread to the outside world that the troops were led by Cui Jing and would set out in two days.
Although Cui Jing had secretly left the capital, the matter had already been arranged and handed over to his trusted deputy general for supervision. He only needed to proceed according to the original plan - select 80,000 soldiers from Xuan Ce's army and rush to the northern border. After Cui Jing dealt with the rebellion of Bingzhou Changshi, he would go to the northern border to meet up with his subordinates.
In Xuan Ce’s camp, many new recruits are on the list for this trip north.
Because of Chang Kuo, Chang Sui'an's identity is also somewhat special. Cui Jing had told him before leaving that he could make his own choices on this trip.
Chang Sui'an originally planned to stay in Beijing to take care of his family and sister, but under the persuasion of Chang Suining, the young man was finally moved and chose to join the group heading north.
The reason why Chang Suining insisted on persuading Chang Sui'an to go was based on two considerations.
Firstly, since my brother has chosen to take the path of joining the army and making achievements, he should seize the opportunity. Although the northern border is hard, it is a good place to train people.
Moreover, the original intention of this trip north was not to conquer, but to deter the Northern Di who were ready to make a move. Most of the trip was to station troops and build defenses. Compared with the wars that had already started, it was not very dangerous. It was just right for the new recruits to adapt to military life and gain experience.
If Cui Jing goes there later, it will be a rare opportunity for my brother to gain experience under the command of such a good general with rich battlefield experience.
Xuan Ce's army might be gone for several years. If you miss it, you will have to stay in the capital for a long time. If a young man wants to hone himself to become a general, every day is precious.
She didn't want Chang Sui'an to miss such a good opportunity because of his concern for her.
Her second consideration is related to the current situation.
Today, the emperor has to worry about external threats, deal with internal troubles, and compete for power with the aristocratic ministers. In addition, Zhang Sunxuan suddenly got into trouble, and the whereabouts of the Crown Princess has become unknown again. As the war in Yangzhou expands, new conflicts will inevitably arise in the court. Once they break out, there will definitely be a major shock.
The emperor's feet sound safe, but they are also the center of the vortex of conflict.
The battle in Yangzhou was also closely related to the situation in the capital, and Lao Chang was the deputy commander in the Yangzhou anti-rebellion war, so he was destined to be involved.
Therefore, Chang Suining believed that letting Chang Sui'an leave the capital as soon as possible might avoid many possible troubles in the future.
Fortunately, her brother was very receptive to advice.
The next morning, Chang Sui'an took his bag and sword boy and was about to leave home and go to Xuan Ce Mansion to prepare to leave Beijing with the army the next day.
Outside the General of Cavalry's residence, many people gathered to see him off.
In addition to Chang Suining and the Chang family servants, there were also the Qiao brothers and sisters, Cui Lang and other young men who were on good terms with Chang Sui'an, and the eunuchs sent by Yu Zeng to see him off.
"Ningning, you must take good care of yourself when I'm not at home." Chang Sui'an reminded her again and again.
After Chang Suining nodded, he looked at Qiao Yubai again, and said in a much stronger tone: "Qiao Yubai, after I leave, my sister will be yours... I mean, I'll leave it to you!"
"Don't worry." Qiao Yubai said seriously, "I will definitely take good care of Ningning. When you come back, Ningning will only have me as her brother in her eyes."
Chang Sui'an's eyes widened immediately: "Are you despicable?"
"I'm just kidding." Qiao Yubai smiled and said, "Ningning and Mianmian are waiting for you to return home after your achievements. When you become a general, I will call you brother."
Chang Sui'an raised his hand and patted his shoulder: "You said that, so just wait and see how you start calling me brother!"
Chang Suining and Qiao Yumian couldn't help laughing.
The group of people chattered for a while until the sword boy reminded them that it was time to go. Then Chang Sui'an calmed down, saluted everyone with a solemn look, and jumped onto his horse.
The young man sat high on the horse, looking heroic and majestic.
However, Qiao Yubai said firmly: "I guess Sui'an will cry again."
Chang Suining nodded: "Well... at most it won't last more than three."
Three, two...
Just as they counted to two in their hearts, they saw the young man on horseback turned his back and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand.
Then he raised his voice tactically to hide his emotions, turned his back to the crowd and said, "You all go in, I'm leaving!"
Having said this, fearing that he would be embarrassed if he stayed any longer, he quickly shouted "Go", rode his horse and left with the sword boy.
Chang Suining and others watched the young man's back disappear at the end of the street.
Manager Bai also sighed with some reluctance. This was the first time that her husband left home, and he was going north with the army... But children always have to grow up, and young people always have to experience.
Manager Bai calmed himself down and invited the young men who came to see him off to his house for tea.
"Brother Yubai, Sister Mianmian, please follow me."
After entering the mansion, Chang Suining called the Qiao brothers and sisters to the inner hall alone.
Cui Lang considered himself one of the family compared to those disciples. The front hall, which was used to entertain outsiders, was not suitable for him. He was more suitable to follow Qiao Xiao... ahem, to follow the master.
Anyway, Brother Qiao is here too, and he is not the only man, so there is no need to avoid suspicion.
Chang Suining was too lazy to chase him away, so he let him follow him.
On the way, Qiao Yumian asked in a low voice, as if she had some feeling: "Ningning, is there anything wrong?"
Knowing that she had difficulty moving, Ningning would not have asked her and her brother to go somewhere else to talk alone unless it was something important.
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(I felt very reluctant to write the storyline of Changsun Xiaoqi Niangzi. Although she didn’t appear much, I liked her and pitied her. Although she was a small character with few scenes, she was given a soul seriously. Maybe the soul was given a little too much, which made me feel very reluctant (I’m really not a good author at writing knives, even if it’s a small knife for a small character. Strictly speaking, I’m not a qualified author. Alas. In fact, this paragraph refers to a period of history. In real history, the lady was ruined and lost her innocence, but I personally don’t like to write this kind of plot where the female supporting role is ruined by a man, so it was changed to murder here.) In addition, I recommend this book to everyone, Miss Apple’s "Live Debt Collection, One Follower Scared the Whole Network to Cry!"
Jiang Ningning, a great Taoist priest, traveled through time and space and became the owner of an incense shop!
A look at the original owner's account book shows that it's all debts? Don't worry! Live broadcast to collect debts!
Attached below is the direct train——
(End of this chapter)
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