Chapter 28 "Beautifully done."
After leaving the camp gate, he realized that it was already afternoon. The winter sun shone brightly on the brown and yellow training ground and the snow-covered brick walls and black tiles. Gu Wan felt hungry and his stomach was sticking to his back.
Mental stress and mental exhaustion make you hungry faster than physical labor.
The envoy had already left the camp, and the rest of the troops outside the Lingzhou camp followed closely behind. Many of the commanders were looking at "Qin Wenxuan" and the servant. Many of them had watched Qin Wenxuan grow up and knew she couldn't possibly be capable of such things, but they kept silent. A bearded man in black armor approached and whispered, "Go home quickly! I'll see you out."
He took Qin Wenxuan and Gu Guan and walked quickly towards the gate. Some of the imperial guards following the special envoy's procession had not yet passed through the gate, so the two of them deliberately stepped aside and waited for a while. Li Yi was at the back and he rode his horse slowly towards the gate.
He inadvertently turned to Gu Guan's side, and when he was about five steps away from Gu Guan and the other man, he reined in his horse slightly and glanced at Gu Guan.
Gu Wan: “…”
Li Yi stared straight ahead, "What I said will always count."
The voice was neither loud nor soft, and was just heard by Gu Wan and the others. Li Yi shouted "Go" and rode out of the gate.
Gu Guan was a little slimmer than Qin Wenxuan and was wearing thicker clothes. Her forehead was getting more and more soaked with sweat. Seeing that all the imperial guards had left, she hurriedly pulled Qin Wenxuan out.
Qin Wenxuan glanced at Li Yi: "Sister...Miss, who is that?"
She wanted to say "sister", but when Gu Wan pinched her, she immediately changed her words and looked around hurriedly. Fortunately, there was no one around.
Gu Guan glanced at Li Yi and his group, but didn't see Yu Manzhen. However, she thought that Li Yi would not do something that would give people a chance to criticize him, such as entering the camp to testify and bringing his wife with him, so she didn't care. Gu Guan pulled Qin Wenxuan and walked briskly: "He is a person who is neither good nor bad. Let's go, let's go back!"
Qin Wenxuan did not ask any more questions. Her whole attention was now on her father and brother. She had no appetite, let alone paying attention to other people.
The two hurried back to the old house. Mrs. Qin Wen had already woken up. She struggled to sit up and asked hurriedly. Wen was pale and dizzy. She asked weakly while holding back vomiting. Qin Wenxuan couldn't help but tear up. She hurriedly told her mother about today's preliminary trial and subsequent guesses.
Mrs. Wen couldn't lie down at all, and the four of them, three adults and one child, were waiting anxiously.
Gu Guan was originally quite calm, after all, she was different from Xie Ci, but this kind of life-and-death anxiety was too contagious, and Xie Ci probably had only this one smoothest path to take. As time went by, she became anxious, and in the evening she almost cut her hand while making a hasty meal.
Just as Gu Guan quickly withdrew his hand, Qin Wenxuan, who was washing vegetables, hurriedly asked: "Sister Gu, are you okay..."!
The two heard the sound of the front yard gate opening with a "clang"!
Then came the sound of hurried running.
Gu Guan and Qin Wenxuan immediately looked at each other, threw away their knives and vegetables, and ran out!
One in front and one behind, two waves of footsteps, big and small, merged at the fastest speed!
The captain of the Qin family's guards came with several of his brothers. They could no longer wear armor, so they took it off. They were all dressed in dusty cotton clothes. They had been running around outside for more than half a month and couldn't sleep well. The dark circles under their eyes could not hide their haggardness, but today, they looked more radiant than ever before. "Miss, Miss! Where is the Madam?"
The captain of the guards, leaving behind all the men and women, rushed straight into the second courtyard and headed straight for the main house. He ran into Gu Guan and Qin Wenxuan in the corridor. Their faces were filled with joy. The captain excitedly said, "That young man is really amazing! We've found the person who framed the general!"
Gu Guan, Qin Wenxuan, and Mrs. Qin and Wen, who were struggling to stand up and walk towards this side, heard this and were immediately overjoyed.
The captain of the guard felt ashamed and guilty: "We were going in the wrong direction. Fortunately, that young master arrived in time, otherwise, I'm afraid it would be very bad."
…
Now let’s talk about the thanks.
After he left the old house, he quickly threw the charcoal cart aside and, led by the servant, soon reunited with the people from the Qin family.
After Qin Xian's father, son, uncle and nephew were detained, the personal guards on the military register were also detained pending trial. At the same time, the main manager of the general's mansion, the family guards and the remaining loyal servants were anxiously running around outside.
There were also the generals under Qin Xian's command. They could not be absent from work, but they sent out their trusted confidants and sons, etc., both inside and outside, and they were all working hard on this matter.
The captain's eyes were red from staying up all night, and he couldn't hide his anxiety. "Those people cleaned up the mess so thoroughly. We only found out that those Northern Rong people were from the Kunhun and Mang'erxin tribes."
He hurriedly introduced the people present to Xie Ci. Some were from the Qin family's guards and servants, while others were sent out by the generals. When he introduced the last seven or eight people, the guard captain paused and said, "This is Su Wei, the eldest son of General Su of Xuanzhou."
There were originally dozens of people in that group of seven or eight, but the rest were sent out separately. The leader was a young man who was not wearing armor but had a straight posture and was obviously from a military background. He had just returned and lowered his head a little uncomfortably when he was introduced.
Xie Ci glanced up quickly, but he quickly retracted his gaze. "Go on, is there anything else?"
Another young man in full military armor said, "My father has been tracking down leads on the Feiyu Battalion within the army, but the deputy commander, Ren Mindu, has already committed suicide by poisoning! My father immediately went looking for the person who had imprisoned the five of them together. He found the captain, but he's missing. My father is sending people to his house to investigate his recent interactions and any other unusual circumstances."
"General Liang has been investigating who is the traitor who colluded with the Northern Rong to frame the general!"
"There are several suspects. General Liang is stepping up his investigation and has ordered us to get to the bottom of these matters today."
It seemed that the generals in the Lingzhou camp had immediately realized that there was a traitor among them. This series of internal and external coordination and various arrangements must have involved someone with high status and influence in the Lingzhou camp.
The captain in plain clothes was holding a piece of paper covered with densely written tiny characters. They were reading the paper and assigning tasks, speaking quickly and urgently, and it was obvious that they were also very anxious.
"You're too slow! We won't make it in time."
Xie Ci glanced at the densely written paper, all of which were related to the suspects, but judging from the things that needed to be investigated, it was obvious that they had not found anything definite yet.
It is even possible that this was planned in advance by the other party. Things like enticing family members to gamble and win big money are all smokescreens used to blur vision and hide themselves.
Guard Captain: "...What should we do then?!"
Everyone gritted their teeth and held their breath, but they knew in their hearts that the special envoy had arrived, but they still hadn't found a clue that could be called a breakthrough, and they might be powerless to save the situation!
This emotion was suppressed in everyone's heart, and no one dared to think or speak about it. After Xie Ci said this, the captain's voice changed.
Everyone looked at each other and couldn't help themselves for a moment.
“Follow me!”
Xie Ci turned around without saying a word.
The captain of the guard and others were stunned and immediately went out in groups to look.
In the twilight, the last bit of sunset light has disappeared. It gets dark very early in winter, and curfew is about an hour away.
The guard captain and several lieutenants followed closely behind. Xie Ci asked them, "Do you have a way to send a few people into the general's mansion? Quickly!"
The Lingzhou Governor's Mansion, also known as the Lingshuo Protectorate and the Lingzhou General's Mansion, was emptied after Qin Xian and his son became suspects and were detained. It was then surrounded and sealed off by Lin Guojiu and the Lingzhou camp.
The captain of the guard and the young lieutenant were a little surprised: "What are you doing in the general's mansion?"
As the sun went down, the cold wind suddenly grew several times colder. A biting north wind, carrying snow foam, blew across our faces. Xie Ci's Adam's apple moved, and he said, "Looking for the forged account books."
As soon as he uttered a sound, it was blown away by the whistling cold wind, making his slightly hoarse voice seem even deeper and more mournful.
Just seven short words, yet so thrilling.
Under the makeup powder that Xie Ci used to embellish the back of his hands, one can still see quite clear whip marks. These were left when he was tortured by prisoners. In just half a month, he was mentally and physically devastated, and suffered from life and death.
Xie Ci knew all the details of the other party's frame-up, one by one. He learned them through day after day of torture.
First, the account books. The initial trial proved irrefutable, and the discovery of accounts incriminating the enemy in the General's Mansion's secret compartment, and the subsequent excavation of a large amount of stolen silver from the other courtyard, solidified the case. A second trial confirmed the case, and the case was presented to the Emperor, who pronounced the verdict.
The current Qin Xian case is surprisingly similar. It’s not that the other party doesn’t have new tricks, but that this trick is the most swift and direct.
We have to be quick, because the special envoy has arrived in Lingzhou, accompanied by a thousand imperial guards. According to the procedure, the special envoy will send the imperial guards to take over the siege of the general's mansion, and then open it for a search.
Xie Ci and his party rushed to the general's mansion as quickly as possible. Since the general's mansion was currently under siege by Uncle Lin and the soldiers from the Lingzhou camp, the captain went there for a while and came back soon, leading them quietly in through the side door.
The huge general's mansion is now silent. The houses, eaves and trees are all shrouded in the night. The faint moonlight shines silently on the treetops. The only sounds are the rustling of the trees in the wind and the occasional creaking of doors and windows that are not closed tightly.
Five people came in, and they split up and then joined forces to search Qin Xian's study, small meeting room, small parade ground lounge, and even the main courtyard of the back house and the bedrooms of several members of the Qin family. They found a secret compartment, which turned out to be the place where Qin Xian placed military secret orders and other public property.
"what to do?!"
The young captain's name was Wei Zhen. He was extremely anxious and regretted that he had never learned how to operate mechanical mechanisms.
Xie Ci listened attentively. From far away outside, he heard the sound of military boots hitting the ground, heading towards the general's mansion. Soon, there was a commotion. It was the imperial guards who arrived and were handing over to the soldiers who had been surrounding the area.
Xie Ci said without hesitation: "Set fire!"
He quickly took out a tinderbox and a pot of tung oil he had just filled, chose the most likely location, Qin Xianwai's study, poured the tung oil on the lamp, and lit it with a tinderbox.
"Wait for a cup of tea. If no one comes, we can go to the inner study and the main courtyard."
——Since the account books were able to be put in, the other party must have someone among the soldiers surrounding the mansion. After the other party put the account books in, they will definitely keep an eye on this place.
Unexpectedly, just as he was about to leave after the handover, a fire suddenly broke out. The man was so worried that he rushed over in a hurry.
Xie Ci said, "Let's stay with one person, and the others go further away."
The other four understood immediately.
They immediately dispersed and hid in the path leading to the study.
Sure enough, less than a cup of tea later, footsteps were heard, and a dark figure wearing Lingzhou centurion armor rushed towards this side through the Moon Gate. When he was a long distance away from the study, he suddenly stopped, hesitated, and finally turned around and ran.
A figure shot out from behind the rockery like lightning, kicked him over with one kick, and pinned him down hard!
Wei Zhen suppressed his hissing voice: "You bastard, I finally caught you?!"
Xie Ci drew out the goose-feather knife with his backhand, and with a flash of snow-white color, it pressed against the man's neck. The slender sharp blade moved, cutting through the skin and causing a trace of blood to ooze out. The coldness of the blade and the fierce murderous intent made the man tremble like a sieve.
A young man with a voice as cold as ice, his face dark and unclear, only his sharp edge, as sharp as a knife, looked down at him coldly, "Where are the account books and the stolen money hidden?!"
The man was horrified: "Don't, don't kill me! In the outer study, and in the Qin family's courtyard."
Xie Ci carried this person, and the group quickly got the account books and left the general's mansion before the imperial guards took over.
Then he went straight to the villa where he was tortured.
They galloped into the night and arrived at a villa in the north of Lingzhou, near Fengshan Pass. Wei Zhen and the captain grabbed the man by the collar and shouted, "Quick! Tell me, where are you hiding?!"
The man was dragged around through many twists and turns until he arrived at a yard at the end of the hunting ground. He pointed and Wei Zhen kicked the door open.
"Here! We dug more than ten feet, and only just finished and filled it back to its original shape the day before yesterday!"
One zhang is more than three meters. Digging three or four meters down is definitely a huge project that is not easy.
Wei Zhen pushed aside the snow and stomped on the ground. It had snowed heavily the night before yesterday, so the ground would be hard if it froze again.
Everyone couldn't help but look at each other. There was no problem digging, but if they dug to the end and found that they were coaxed by this person, "Dig, quickly! Hurry up and shovel firewood and shovel!"
"No!"
At this time, Xie Ci, who had been holding the man, raised his hand. He moved closer, sniffed, and his eyes suddenly became sharp: "You are lying!!"
There are many wild plum trees in this courtyard, blooming in clusters defying the frost and snow. There is even a very large tree in the corner of the courtyard, with plum blossoms blooming on the branches and falling on the ground, and the faint plum fragrance is refreshing.
But there is no trace of plum fragrance on this person!
Xie Ci had an unusually sensitive sense of smell. He sniffed carefully and found that there was indeed a faint smell of firewood on the man, proving that what he said about digging it up the night before was true, but there was no scent of plum blossoms mixed in, not even a little bit.
Instead, he smelled a little bit. Xie Ci opened his eyes and said, "The smell of clay."
Everyone was in a state of shock and anger. This person's goal was obvious: to delay the preliminary hearing tomorrow. Doesn't that mean he'd definitely achieve his goal in just one trial?! Wei Zhen was furious when Xie Ci suddenly said this. "Ah! The smell of clay?... I remember now! Wenxuan's family has a sealed-off courtyard, and it's filled with clay!"
——Clay is used to make pottery, and poor quality clay can only make low-quality pottery.
When Qin Xian's family first came to Lingzhou in the early years, the Qin family always kept a low profile in real estate investment and did not use the Qin Xian name. So Mrs. Wen was cheated and bought a deserted farm with a lot of clay. It was difficult to farm and would lose money, and trees could not be planted well. Naturally, the scenery was not very scenic. However, the farm was not big, and finally Qin Xian decided to seal it and did not buy another one.
This villa is not even included in the daily life of the Qin family. Only Wei Zhen and Qin Wenxuan are familiar with it, and they occasionally hear her pointing at it and talking about it when they pass by.
Xie Ci's expression changed drastically when he heard the words that the man was holding.
Of course!
The group hurried and finally arrived at the abandoned village. As soon as they arrived, they found two scouts who were there just in case and captured them.
Now it's almost certain.
The group searched for some traces and soon found the approximate location. After a fierce digging, they finally unearthed thirty-six large camphor wood boxes.
When it was opened, it was filled with gold, silver and jewelry, most of which were of Beirong style, and there were more than a dozen boxes of gold.
When Wei Zhen and the captain saw this, several of them couldn't help but sit down in despair. If these things were successfully framed, the shocking effect would be so great that it would almost be a foregone conclusion!
"We will give them a taste of their own medicine."
When Xie Ci saw these things, he briefly thought about capturing the person behind the scenes and interrogating the mastermind, but he quickly put it aside. He thought that he might not be able to get the truth from him through torture, and the most important thing now was to rescue Qin Xian.
"I'm telling you, the initial trial won't result in a single verdict. You're on the military rolls. Have you arranged for your family?"
Xie Ci said coldly.
Wei Zhen drew his long knife and put it against his opponent with gritted teeth: "Unless you send your family to the ends of the earth, I will find them sooner or later!!"
The captain of the guard rode out quickly to call for someone to come and have a carriage. The others hurriedly tied the rope around the big box and pulled it out. The two sentries held on tightly and refused to let go. However, the centurion finally broke down after "returning the favor in his own way".
"I said, I said, it was General Zhang Linhan. This time he gave us five thousand taels of silver each, and I got ten thousand. He said that he could guarantee me a life without worries!"
…
Xie Ci Wei Zhen loosened the knife.
The centurions shed tears.
The others who were using ropes to pull the big box out stopped as soon as he said that.
It is not a good idea to frame someone else. If you are in a hurry, you may be easily framed if you are not careful.
They have their own fair and honest methods.
Dou Wu and Wei Zhen's father, General Wei Qin, immediately left the camp upon hearing the news, and the two of them handled the entire matter.
After their initial investigation this morning, they understood the situation better. After confirming that the incident was true and interrogating the centurion, the two immediately sealed off everything and rode back to the city as fast as they could to report directly to the special envoy's headquarters.
When the captain of the guard rushed back, Dou Wu had already met Feng Kun. The imperial guards immediately set out, splitting into two groups. One group rushed to the outskirts of the city, while the other group rushed straight to Zhang Linhan at lightning speed!
It's time to finish everything.
Qin Wenxuan burst into tears. Xie Ci lifted his hat slightly and handed the signature and first-hand evidence in his hand to her.
Xie Ci couldn't fully trust Dou Wu and others, whom he hadn't met before, as well as Feng Kun, so he left this matter to Qin Wenxuan.
Qin Wenxuan and her brother came forward together and took everyone to the special envoy's headquarters to make a big deal out of the matter.
Qin Wenxuan cried with joy. She wiped away her tears and nodded vigorously. Madam Qin also insisted on standing up and was carried on a chair to go with her. They hurried out together under the protection of the captain of the guard and his men.
The Qin family is very powerful and is now the center of public opinion. As soon as they went out, people quickly gathered around them. Qin Wenxuan straightened her back, unfolded the evidence, and spoke out loudly.
Soon more and more people gathered and followed the envoy's headquarters located on the main street in front of the palace.
Because the captain of the guards and his men were all wearing different disguises, Xie Ci and Gu Guan were not very noticeable. They were at the end of the group. Gu Guan quietly gave Xie Ci a thumbs up and whispered, "That was beautifully done."
When Captain Wei and Wei Zhen, who had just arrived, read the thank-you speech, they were obviously excited and looked at with admiration.
The wind blew Xie Ci's hat, lifting a strand of hair. It had been a windy and frosty night, but after returning to Gu Wan, she felt gradually warming up.
He had lost the harsh look of last night. The sunlight from the stars shone through his hat and fell on his forehead. His pupils, as beautiful as roses, were somewhat clearer. He said, "You too!"
The two smiled at each other.
More and more people gathered together, sticking to the tail of the team and becoming one. It was the time for Gu Wan and Xie Ci to escape. The two of them quietly slowed down their pace, blended into the crowd in two or three steps, and slipped into an alley.
In the alley with blue bricks and dim sunlight, Xun Xiao stood behind the alley wall wearing a snow hat. The cotton cloth to block the snow covered half of his burned face, revealing a small part of his slightly brown jaw.
Gu Wan was not afraid of him. She held her sword and patted his shoulder with one hand, "How is it?"
Look, how are we doing?
Gu Guan followed Xun Xiao's gaze and saw a shadowy figure. She vaguely saw... Qin Wenxuan's back?
Xun Xiao quickly averted his gaze. He stepped back to avoid Gu Wan's hand, his expression cold: "That's all."
He snorted coldly.
Xie Ci stood behind Gu Wan. The two of them looked at each other, snorted, and looked away.
Gu Wan: “…”
She looked left and right, hey, is there any possibility of these two people getting together?
The author has something to say:
Xie Zai, this is all experience gained through blood and tears!
Trust Ah Xiu, my dears! The bottom has passed, and we're making steady progress. Soon, we'll see a quantum leap! (Shocking!)
Haha, facepalming, today's a fat chapter! Giving you guys a heart~ Yeah! See you tomorrow, babies~ (*^▽^*)
Finally, I also want to thank the baby who voted for Wenwen!
Collision at the intersection and threw a mine
Celeste threw 1 mine
Celeste threw 1 mine
sasa threw a mine
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And all the big babies who irrigate the white liquid, haha pen refills!!
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