Qin Qingyao was trembling all over, and her pale face was filled with hatred.
Dugu Yu held her hand and promised, "I will definitely find out who the murderer is and give Baiji justice. I promise."
Qin Qingyao nodded, "I know."
Since the coroner could not find any clues from Baiji's body, Dugu Yu had her buried with great honor.
After Baiji was buried, Zhao Jinghan often felt dazed, and he would always think of how Baiji was so embarrassed in front of him that her face turned red and she didn't dare to raise her head, and she still said seriously, "I agree."
That silly girl probably didn't know that those were all lies told by their prince to fool the princess, and she was the only one who took them seriously.
But he knew that Baiji had misunderstood, but he never explained...
Zhao Jinghan couldn't accept that such a good person was gone in the blink of an eye. The resentment in his heart slowly condensed into a fire.
He took the initiative to take over the investigation of the murderer, even though his first priority should be to ensure Dugu Yu's safety. This was the first time he put extraneous matters before Dugu Yu.
Dugu Yu didn't ask any more questions and agreed directly.
The first thing Zhao Jinghan did was to ask Wu Gang to take him to the small temple where Baiji's body was found.
This place has been abandoned for a long time and no one would come here normally. At this moment, there is only dust and dead leaves everywhere, and a large pool of black blood.
Zhao Jinghan carefully surveyed every place. Could Baiji, such a smart person, think of swallowing the secret order and not leaving any information before dying?
But no matter how you look at it, there was really nothing at the scene except that large pool of blood.
"Wu Gang, what was the situation like when you found Baiji's body? Where was her hand?"
Wu Gang was straightforward. He fell on the bloodstain in the same posture as Baiji's death, and then placed his right hand where Baiji's right hand had last been.
After Wu Gang's movement, Zhao Jinghan could actually see the original traces of the corpse in the blood, but her right hand was completely covered with blood, so even if there was something written on it, it would be impossible to see it.
Zhao Jinghan sat on the ground, staring at the pool of blood without moving, which made Wu Gang's hair stand on end.
"Commander Zhao, what are you looking at?" Please at least say something. He was frightened by the old monk's trance-like look.
Zhao Jinghan did not answer him, but lay down in the same position as Wu Gang just now, then turned his head to look at the place where his right hand fell.
"Commander Zhao, what are you doing..."
Zhao Jinghan stared at Wu Gang for a long time without moving his eyes, then asked, "What does fireworks mean?"
Wu Gang, "What? What fireworks?"
"It's not fireworks, it's not the 'flame' of 'flame'..." Zhao Jinghan stopped talking suddenly before he finished the word 'flame'.
Then he stood up from the ground and said, "Look here, no one is allowed to come near!"
Zhao Jinghan left after he finished speaking, leaving Wu Gang alone and disheveled.
"Baiji, did you really write?"
Wu Gang followed Zhao Jinghan's example and sat on the ground, staring at the pool of blood until his eyes were dazzled but he couldn't make out anything, just some messy bloodstains!
"I'm sorry, Baiji. I came here in a hurry this time and didn't bring you anything good. Next time I come, I will definitely burn more paper money for you."
"If you see your parents down there, tell them not to worry. We are taking care of your sister and will never let her suffer again."
Wu Gang remembered that Baizhi said the Baiji bracelet was lost. It was such an important thing, she must be very anxious. He searched the small temple inside and out for several times but found nothing.
Finally, he returned to the bloodstain. He really didn't know what to do. He also followed Zhao Jinghan's example and lay down on the bloodstain again.
Then he turned his head to look at the place where his right hand fell, and he was shocked. Baiji really wrote something, but it was covered by his own blood after writing.
But even so, the words that were written first dried first. Even though they were later covered by blood, the color of those words was slightly darker than other places, and the bloodstains were slightly thicker.
But at that time Baiji was blind and her hands were probably shaking with pain, so if you didn't look carefully or at the wrong angle, it was really hard to tell that those messy marks were actually her handwriting.
"Fireworks? Baiji, why are you writing about fireworks?"
After Zhao Jinghan rushed all the way back to the palace, he still hadn't calmed down when he saw Dugu Yu. "Your Majesty, I think I know why Baiji was blinded."
"Why?"
"Because she saw the people from the Yanling Army."
"impossible!"
"But Your Majesty, besides the Yanling Army, who else knows about the secret order? Not even the princess knows, right?"
Qin Qingyao knew Dugu Yu's private seal, his prince's seal and general's seal, but she didn't know the secret order that Dugu Yu carried with him wherever he went.
Dugu Yu didn't want to believe that there were people with two hearts in his Yanling Army, but he couldn't refute Zhao Jinghan's words, "Why do you think so?"
"I didn't mean to think so. Baiji said it before she died. She wrote the word 'fireworks' on the ground, but it was covered by blood and difficult to read. I think those two words are clearly the unfinished words 'flame'!"
Both Zhao Jinghan and Dugu Yu found it difficult to accept such a thing.
Because the Yanling Army was Dugu Yu's private army, not those troops assigned by the court that could be handed over at any time.
Every person there is carefully selected by them, and they would rather have nothing than someone who is not qualified.
But in such a team, someone betrayed them?
Beside him and Qin Qingyao, those who are responsible for their safety are all personal guards selected from the Yanling Army!
If that's the case, who else can he trust...
Dugu Yu suddenly remembered that last year, Qin Qingyao sent people to the Northwest Camp to get clothes, and the account book he kept in the Ministry of War was lost.
They still thought that there was a spy in the Northwest Camp who passed the news to the Ministry of War.
But at that time he also thought that from the time Wu Gang and his companions went to get the clothes, to the time they were met by the spy, became suspicious, and sent back the news, to the time they decided to take action, they did not arrange everything, and there was simply no time!
They all ignored the fact that Qin Qingyao not only took clothes from the Northwest Camp, but also from the Yanling Army.
If the news came from the Yanling Army, then the Ministry of War would have more than enough time to arrange everything...
At that time, he had suspected the Northwest Camp, and even suspected that there was something wrong with the four guards around Qin Qingyao, but he never suspected that there was anything wrong with his Yanling Army.
Moreover, the fact that he had access to the secret orders and understood their purpose meant that he must have a position in the Yanling Army, and was not just an ordinary soldier!
Such people, after getting the secret order, can do whatever they want without anyone noticing before they find out!
If Baiji had not swallowed the talisman, and if the person behind the scenes had really gotten hold of it, then when he discovered that the thing was lost, no one knew what irreversible disaster would have happened.
"Go and have Jin Feiang find out who left the barracks five days ago. Find out the reason, destination, time of departure, and whether they were accompanied by anyone."
"yes!"
Like Zhao Jinghan, Jin Feiang is Dugu Yu's right-hand man, but Zhao Jinghan commands the royal guards and is mainly responsible for Dugu Yu's safety.
Jin Feiang commanded the entire Yanling Army and only took orders from Dugu Yu.
The next day, when Dugu Yu returned from court, Jin Feiang was already waiting for him in the mansion.
Dugu Yu didn't even have time to eat breakfast before meeting him, and then took three large sheets of densely packed records from him.
"On April 25th, so many people left the camp?"
"Yes, that day, there happened to be two teams of two hundred people in the camp conducting drills at Junfeng Mountain, ten miles outside the city. Another twenty people were on leave and went home. This was arranged before the New Year as per the customary schedule."
"There were also various mission assignments, as well as three people who requested leave for personal matters. Detailed records were kept of their reasons, destinations, and return times."
The Junfeng Mountain where they conducted the drill was to the north of Yulin City, and the small temple where Baiji was killed was just to the south.
Not to mention the round trip, it would take more than an hour even at full speed. They ambushed Baiji and chased him for several miles, and then Baiji was killed the next day.
This took almost a whole day. During the military exercise, everyone had his own tasks and roles. No one was redundant, and no one could leave for so long without being discovered!
The mission locations of those who were out on missions were far away from the small temple. Most importantly, they were all in groups of several people, so the chances of them leaving the group and committing a crime were not high.
Therefore, if the word "fireworks" left by Baiji before his death really means that the murderer is a member of Yanling's army, then the twenty people who returned home on vacation and the three people who asked for leave are the most suspicious.
"Find out where these twenty-three people were recruited from before, and send them back immediately. If they are people we recruited ourselves, send them home."
Dugu Yu knew that most of these people must be innocent, and it was even possible that none of them were murderers and were all innocent.
But he really couldn't accept that there were people with two hearts in the Yanling Army. Letting them return home with their lives was already his greatest mercy.
Jin Feiang was frightened by Dugu Yu's order and thought he had misheard. "Your Highness, I'm so bold, but these people are innocent. They were selected from thousands of people and passed through layers of selection and assessment before joining the Yanling Army. Every one of them is loyal and respectful to Your Highness!"
“If we dismiss these brothers for no reason, it won’t just be these twenty or so people who will be left feeling cold!”
Dugu Yu certainly understood Jin Feiang's meaning, but was he going to let such a person with ulterior motives continue to stay among them just because he was afraid of discouraging his brothers?
This time it was his secret order, it was Baiji, what would it be next time? Who would they want to kill next time?
Keeping such people in the army is the greatest irresponsibility to our brothers!
Chapter 226: I want the four of them
When they really cause trouble in the army, it won’t just be heartbreaking. At that time, it might be their corpses that will be left cold!
"Until the truth is revealed, I cannot explain it to you. Within today, all these people must leave the camp. This is a military order!"
Jin Feiang was still confused, but he had to obey orders. Just as he was about to leave, Qin Qingyao came over with Bai Zhi and Qi Mo.
"What's going on? What happened? Why aren't you even eating?"
Qin Qingyao saw Jin Feiang wearing the Yanling military uniform and asked, "Who are you?"
"I am Jin Feiang, commander of the Yanling Army, here to see the princess!"
"Jin Feiang?"
I have a slight impression of the name Qin Qingyao. It seems that she is a very important person to Dugu Yu, but she rarely appears in the original novel.
The only time his full face was shown seemed to be when Dugu Yu took 200 personal guards to act as a shield for Ling Jingxuan and handed the Yanling Army to Jin Feiang.
This shows Dugu Yu's trust in him and his status in the Yanling Army.
Qin Qingyao walked up to Dugu Yu and asked, "What's going on? Is there something going on in the army? Are you going out?"
No one told Qin Qingyao that Baiji's death might be related to the Yanling Army. Before the real culprit was found, it would only increase her panic.
Dugu Yu was really afraid that after she knew about it, she would feel insecure living in the palace.
Dugu Yu gave Jin Feiang a look to let him leave, then smiled at Qin Qingyao, stood up, and took her hand. "No, I just wanted to tell her about some military matters."
Qin Qingyao looked at the densely written paper in Dugu Yu's other hand. "What is that? Can I read it?"
Dugu Yu handed it to her directly, "If you can understand it."
Qin Qingyao rolled her eyes and looked down on others.
She quickly flipped through the list and stopped at two names. Her expression froze for a second before returning to normal. She casually pointed at the long list of names and asked,
"What do these people do?"
Dugu Yu glanced at the list of 200 people she was pointing to. "The Yanling Army is organized into squadrons of 100 men each. Military exercises of varying sizes are frequently held within the barracks. This allows the soldiers to familiarize themselves with different combat methods and test their martial arts, strategies, and teamwork."
As for military exercises, Qin Qingyao certainly understood them.
She pointed to the two names at the top of each squadron and asked, "Who are they?"
"It's the captains of the two squadrons involved in this exercise. What's the matter?"
"Nothing, I'm just curious. Oh, and I noticed Commander Jin wasn't in a good mood just now. Did something go wrong during the drill?"
When Dugu Yu saw Qin Qingyao's determination to get to the bottom of things, he knew that she was probably suspicious. His wife was so smart, how could he possibly hide anything from her?
"Baiji's death is very likely related to someone in Yanling's army."
Qin Qingyao did not react as violently as Dugu Yu had expected. She just said "Oh" in a daze, as if she had not yet reacted.
Bai Zhi and Qi Mo, on the other hand, were shocked and incredulous.
She glanced at the record in her hand again. It clearly showed the personnel who left the camp on April 25th. "So these people are your suspects?"
"The location where they were practicing was far away from where Baiji was killed, so it couldn't be them..."
Since Dugu Yu had already told Qin Qingyao that the matter might be related to the Yanling Army, he did not hide anything anymore and told her all his speculations and the orders he had just given to Jin Feiang.
After hearing this, Qin Qingyao looked at Dugu Yu seriously and said, "Can I ask for mercy for them?"
After Qin Qingyao finished speaking, Zhao Jinghan and Qi Mo looked at her with gratitude and complicated feelings. They knew very well how difficult it was to join the Yanling Army. It was really hurtful to be dismissed because of suspicion.
But they also understood Dugu Yu's decision. The person behind the scenes actually wanted to steal the secret order, which showed that he must have big plans. If they were merciful and didn't let those people go, what if they did something else in the military camp? That would be a loss of the big picture for the small!
Qin Qingyao looked at Dugu Yu's puzzled eyes and said, "I just think that these people who are on vacation or asking for leave are unlikely to do anything bad, because they are too easy to check, right?"
Qin Qingyao looked at Zhao Jinghan and Qi Mo and asked, "To put it another way, if you wanted to go out and do something unspeakable, would you openly ask for leave, or go during your own vacation?"
Dugu Yu also knew that what Qin Qingyao said made sense, but he was still a little hesitant, "But..."
Qin Qingyao said, "But those who went to the drills are even less likely, and the others have never left the barracks, right?"
Dugu Yu nodded, and Qin Qingyao smiled. "Then there's no one! The murderer isn't among these people. If you drive away your loyal subordinates, wouldn't that be just what others want?"
Qin Qingyao was really too calm, so calm that Dugu Yu always felt that something was not right, but he couldn't tell what it was.
But she was not frightened by this possible situation as he had imagined. She even no longer believed in Yan Lingjun and his personal guards. Instead, she said calmly that the murderer was not among these people.
"Do you really think so?"
Qin Qingyao nodded, "Of course it's true. I think they are innocent, so let's give them another chance."
Dugu Yu nodded and asked Zhao Jinghan to chase Jin Feiang.
This was the first time that the general changed his orders so often, so Jin Feiang came back with Zhao Jinghan just to personally confirm the general's orders.
When Qin Qingyao saw Jin Feiang, she pointed at the list and said to him, "Commander Jin, are these two people so powerful that they can be captains?"
"Princess, everyone in the Yanling Army is an elite, and those who can become captains are even more outstanding."
Qin Qingyao nodded and asked Dugu Yu, "Can I have both of them? Can I have them come to me?"
Qi Mo looked at the princess in confusion. What did this mean? Was he going to add more people, or was he not satisfied with the four of them?
Dugu Yu glanced at the two names and was stunned for a moment. "If you still need guards, just choose an expert from among your personal guards. These two are not suitable."
"Why is it inappropriate?"
Qin Qingyao's question left Dugu Yu speechless. How could it be inappropriate? Because these two people were the ones he had assigned to Lin Xiafeng!
At that time, he sent four people, who were the best among his personal guards. Later, he recalled them because he didn't want Qin Qingyao to know about this, so he threw the four people back to the Yanling Army camp.
With the strength of these four people, being soldiers was a waste of their talents, so not long after, Jin Feiang promoted them to captains.
It was just a coincidence that the two teams participating in this exercise were led by two of them.
Dugu Yu said, "They were also the Imperial Guards. They were sent back to the barracks because they made mistakes. You should replace them with someone else."
"Since you didn't convict them and only sent them back to the barracks for a minor punishment, that means their crimes weren't serious, right? We're all human, and we can correct our mistakes if we recognize them."
Seeing that Qin Qingyao had made up her mind, Qi Mo couldn't help but ask, "Princess, you want two of them to come, but what about the four of us?"
"Oh, you've been with me for such a long time. I don't have much to do here. I'm so idle all day. I'm afraid your hands and feet are not as flexible as before. So, why don't you four take over from them and go back to the barracks to train."
"Princess... Your subordinates are very capable. Besides, didn't you just say you needed two people?"
"Ah," Qin Qingyao stretched out her fingers and counted, "Wan Cheng, An Yu, Mu Ke, Zheng Mingxuan, aren't those four?"
Dugu Yu's heart skipped a beat. Aren't these the four guards he sent to Lin Xiafeng? Why did she even know this?
Dugu Yu inexplicably felt guilty, "Qingqing, stop making trouble. We can talk about changing guards later. Let's go eat first."
Qi Mo nodded vigorously, almost shouting "Your Highness is wise" three times.
But Qin Qingyao didn't buy it, "I'm not kidding, I want all four of them."
"You," Qin Qingyao pointed at Qi Mo, "go and inform the three of them immediately, pack up and return to the barracks!"
As Qi Mo stared in amazement, she looked at Jin Feiang again, "The prince's personal guards are the most outstanding in the Yanling Army. The ones the prince assigned to me are definitely the best of the best. They are the best!"
"Even though they've been slacking off these past few months, and their hands and feet might be a little rusty..."
Qi Mo: I swear to God, I absolutely don’t have that!
Qin Qingyao said, "But a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, right? Commander Jin, can you please give me some face? I'm leaving, so let your four captains take over first."
"If they don't do their job well or are incompetent, you can always pull them down and throw them out of the barracks. Then you don't have to give face to this princess anymore!"
Jin Feiang was confused by Qin Qingyao's request. It was a difficult task to select a team leader from the ten people in the Yanling Army. Is it so easy to change the squadron leader?
What made him even more confused was that their prince actually agreed without even a second thought? He even ordered anxiously, "Jin Feiang, do as the princess says!"
After that, he asked Qin Qingyao, "If there is nothing else, let's go eat?"
Your Majesty, when did you become so obsessed with eating?
Assigning four people to the princess is fine, but are you really not going to reconsider replacing the captain? This isn't just playing house!
Qin Qingyao followed Dugu Yu to dinner contentedly, but Qi Mo felt disheartened.
Jin Feiang returned to the military camp with a dizzy head and asked the four people to pack their bags and come to the palace.
Before they come to take over, Wu Gang, Wu Yu, Wu Cheng, Qi Mo and the other four still have to stand their last shift beside Qin Qingyao.
When Qi Mo returned and told them the news, they all thought he was joking.
Looking at his face that looked like he was about to cry, it didn't look fake. "Why did the princess suddenly want to replace us?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com