Chapter 114: The Comfortable Li Anning
Inside the courtyard, Li Nuo walked behind the target and collected the arrows that had hit the wall.
Although he has learned Nightingale's superb archery skills, he still needs to practice on his own in the future.
After all, apart from sleeping, this is one of the few opportunities to be close to my wife.
Through observation over the past few days, Li Nuo roughly understood one thing.
In terms of pure archery skills, my lady is probably not as good as Nightingale.
The reason why she shot so accurately was because she was a warrior at the level of controlling objects. Her true energy was so vast that it could even extend to the target, forcing the deflected arrow back to the center of the bull's eye.
This is why the lady could only teach him the basic movements, but Nightingale was able to adjust the position of his arms so that he could shoot an arrow through the bull's eye by himself.
Speaking of this, Li Nuo had to complain again.
The women in Yuyin Pavilion are more abnormal than each other. Why would such delicate girls learn military tactics or archery? When you think about it carefully, Fenghuang is actually the most normal one among the three of them.
Li Nuo looked at the last page of the code.
There was a picture of a phoenix.
As Li Nuo expected, she did have special skills recognized by the code.
Li Nuo returned to the room, picked up the pen and sketched on the paper for a while, and soon a few ink lotus flowers appeared on the paper.
He casually drew a few more strokes, and a few orchids, a branch of plum blossoms, and a few peonies appeared under his brush.
These flowers have both form and spirit, capturing the elegance of orchids and the beauty of peonies.
Han Zhuo is good at drawing people, while Fenghuang seems to be better at drawing flowers.
Of course, Fenghuang’s ability in figure painting was not bad either. Li Nuo picked up the pen again, and soon, the image of a woman appeared on the paper.
The woman in the painting has an extremely beautiful face and an enchanting figure. She is beautiful but not vulgar, charming but not coquettish, and there is a kind of nobility in her bones, just like a combination of orchid and peony.
Using orchids and peonies to describe the phoenix is the most appropriate.
Being able to draw the appearance of a phoenix so similarly is not an amazing feat, but being able to draw out her special temperament is not an easy task.
From this painting, we can see that Fenghuang is not only better than Han Zhuo in drawing objects, but is also equally good at drawing people. No wonder she can confidently say that she is better than Han Zhuo.
Song Jiaren walked behind Li Nuo, looked at the woman in the painting, and said, "The painting is very good, it suits the temperament of that girl very well."
This painting is indeed very well done, better than her other two paintings.
Crash!
Li Nuo crumpled the painting in his hand, turned around and looked at her, and said: "My painting skills have improved recently. I'll draw one first to get a feel for it, and then I'll draw two more for you and Mu'er..."
…
Song Mansion.
Li Nuo lay on a chair in the yard, gently rubbing his sore wrist.
In fact, he didn't intend to draw the phoenix. While acquiring other people's abilities, he also brought some of their habits. It can only be said that the phoenix may like to draw himself at ordinary times.
Based on Li Nuo's understanding of her, she is a little narcissistic, so it is not surprising that she would do this.
Fenghuang's painting skills are indeed better than Han Zhuo's. This is the conclusion Li Nuo came to after painting three paintings for his wife and Murer Ning'er.
The consequence was that his wrist was almost broken from painting.
While lying in the yard, basking in the sun and resting with my eyes closed, I suddenly felt a darkness in front of my eyes.
Li Nuo opened his eyes and saw two undulating mountains.
Li Anning looked down at him and said, "Don't sleep. A murder happened in Chang'an yesterday. Come with me to investigate..."
Although Li Nuo has not yet joined the Ministry of Justice, he is also considered half a member of the Ministry of Justice.
Li An Ning took good care of him. She came to the Song Mansion to find him every few days, either to ask him to review files or to take him to investigate cases. Li Nuo's life span increased instead of decreased these days, which was almost all due to her.
When he heard that a murder had occurred, Li Nuo immediately became alert.
Li Nuo and Li An Ning left the Li Mansion and took a carriage to the crime scene.
In the carriage, Li Anning saw him rubbing his wrist and asked, "What's wrong with your hand?"
Li Nuo said: "I practiced archery."
Li Anning didn't ask any further questions and said, "Let me tell you about the case first..."
This case is a burglary and murder case.
The two deceased were a couple from a wealthy family in Chang'an.
The couple opened a restaurant in Chang'an. Because it was located in a prosperous area, the restaurant business was quite good. Over the years, the couple saved a lot of wealth and bought a mansion in Chang'an.
This morning, the servants of the family found that the master and mistress had not gotten up. After entering the room to check, they saw that they were dead in the room.
At the same time, all the precious belongings in the room disappeared.
Li Nuo went with her, mainly to investigate whether the murderer was someone close to the deceased.
Li Anning would usually intervene directly in murder cases that occurred in Chang'an. When the two of them arrived at the house, the people from the Ministry of Justice had already cordoned off the scene.
Li Anning walked into the room, checked the bodies of the two people, and observed the crime scene. After a while, he walked out and said, "One of the two deceased was pierced through the neck by a sharp weapon and died of excessive blood loss. The other was hit on the back of the head by a blunt object and should have died on the spot. Judging from the traces at the scene, they had a brief fight with the murderer before they died. There was only one murderer, who might have some superficial martial arts skills, but his cultivation would not be too high. He might also be just an ordinary person..."
When it comes to investigating the crime scene, Li Anning is much more professional than Li Nuo.
The owner of the murdered family was surnamed Huang, and all the servants in the Huang family were gathered here.
Li Anning looked at the housekeeper of the Huang Mansion and asked, "There are traces of a struggle in the room, and there are also broken vases. Didn't you hear any unusual noises last night?"
The housekeeper sighed and said, "The master and his wife live in the upper house of the inner house, which is far away from the lower house of the outer house where the servants live. Even if there is any movement, we can't hear it..."
Li Anning looked at Li Nuo, and Li Nuo shook his head slightly.
The two of them have developed a tacit understanding while investigating cases together. Li Nuo shook his head to mean that he did not find any suspicious people among the people present.
Generally speaking, in this type of murder, we first need to verify whether the perpetrator is someone familiar to us.
The deceased was murdered last night. Only a few hours have passed since the crime. If it was done by the servants of the Huang Mansion, the legal code would give Li Nuo a clue.
There was no movement in the code, indicating that the murderer was not at the scene.
Li Nuo asked the housekeeper, "Are all the servants of the Huang family here?"
The housekeeper said, "All thirteen servants in the mansion are here."
After eliminating the suspicion of the servants in the Huang Mansion, the most likely possibility is that the thief broke into the house and was discovered by the owner, so he decided to kill him at all costs.
This greatly reduces the possibility of solving the case.
If the crime is committed by an acquaintance and is premeditated, the identity of the murderer can often be determined quickly by following the clues.
But if it is a random theft, coupled with a spur-of-the-moment murder, and the murderer flees after the murder and theft, the hope of catching him is very slim.
The detectives from the Ministry of Justice carried out two bodies covered with white cloth.
"master!"
"lady!"
"You died so tragically..."
The servants in the Huang residence knelt on the ground and cried.
Li An Ning walked up to the Huang family’s housekeeper and asked, “Think carefully, do your master and mistress have any enemies or business rivals…”
While Li Anning was questioning, Li Nuo walked into the room where the crime occurred.
There were a lot of bloodstains on the floor of the room, and the whole room was in a mess.
The tables and chairs were overturned, the wardrobe was wide open, and clothes were scattered on the ground.
According to the Huang family's servants, all the property in the house was stored in the master and mistress's room. They never allowed the servants in the mansion to enter this room, and even the cleaning was done by themselves.
The people from the Ministry of Justice did not find any valuables in the room, so they must have been taken away by the murderer.
Judging from the scene, this was undoubtedly a typical case of theft and murder.
Unless Li Nuo happens to pass by the criminal while strolling on the street within the next few hours, catching him would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Li Nuo checked the door.
Although the door latch is old, there is an obvious new mark in the middle.
These are the marks left by the thief who used a knife to open the bolt and enter the room.
This confirmed Li Anning's previous judgment that the thief was not a high-level martial artist. Even if he practiced martial arts, he was at most at the second level, or even just the first level.
When one’s cultivation reaches the Qi realm, one can draw the Qi out of the body and easily open the door bolt.
When one reaches the realm of controlling objects, one can even open doors through the air.
Even if he is at the Inner Breath Realm, he can be considered a minor master. Killing two ordinary people would not make a mess of the scene, so the murderer either only knows some rudimentary martial arts or is just an ordinary person.
Li Nuo closed the door and found that the two doors fit together tightly, with only a very small gap in between.
An ordinary knife can't even get through the crack in the door.
The thief used a special knife that was as thin as a cicada's wing and was specially designed to pass through this kind of door gap.
This is a door-bolt thief. The so-called "door-bolt thief" means someone who uses tools to open the door bolt and break into the house to steal.
The smaller the door gap, the more difficult it is to remove the blockage.
The gap in the door is only a few hairs wide. The thief's skills are extremely superb.
Not only that, the door was bolted from the inside, meaning the owner was inside.
The fact that the thief dared to steal when the owner was in the room showed that he was not only highly skilled but also extremely courageous.
Li Anning walked into the room and asked Li Nuo, "Did you find anything?"
"It was a skilled thief who broke the door from outside and wanted to steal while the Huang couple were sleeping, but he accidentally woke them up and killed them to silence them..."
Li Nuo told her the clues he had seen, and then asked, "Did you find out anything?"
Li Anning said, "The housekeeper of the Huang Mansion said that the master and his wife don't have any enemies, but they do have a few business competitors. I have asked them to go to the Ministry of Justice to cooperate with the investigation. You can go with me to the Ministry of Justice later..."
Li Nuo nodded and said, "There's nothing to see here, let's go to the Ministry of Justice."
If they are really business competitors and hire someone to kill someone and disguise it as a burglary, even if they did not do it themselves, they cannot escape the perception of the law.
He was about to leave, but his eyes glanced casually and his steps suddenly stopped.
Li Anning took two steps and saw that Li Nuo did not follow him. He turned back to look at him. Seeing that his expression was different, he immediately asked, "What's wrong? What did you find?"
Li Nuo looked at a wall on the right side of the room. On that wall, there was a painting hanging.
A landscape painting.
Li Anning followed and asked, "Is there something wrong with this painting?"
Li Nuo said: "This painting is very good, very good."
Li Anning rolled his eyes at him. This was a crime scene, and he was actually admiring a painting?
It’s not his fault that Her Royal Highness the Princess doesn’t understand painting.
But Li Nuo understood.
In fact, it is not him who understands, but Phoenix.
Li Nuo at this moment is not the usual Li Nuo, but a combination of Li Nuo + Nightingale + Phoenix.
Of course, he and Nightingale can be ignored, the main thing is Phoenix.
Fenghuang's painting skills are higher than Han Zhuo's and are recognized by the code.
But when he looked at the painting from Phoenix's perspective, he still felt that it was out of reach.
This painting is perfect in terms of composition, color, and brushstrokes, and there is no problem at all. It is undoubtedly the pinnacle work of a master of painting.
He looked at the signature on the painting, a look of realization coming across his face.
At this time, Li Anning grabbed his wrist and said, "Don't look at the painting yet. Investigating the case is more important. Let's go..."
Li Nuo did not leave, but pointed at the signature on the painting and said, "Look here."
Li Anning looked over and asked, "Gu Youzhi, what's wrong?"
Li Nuo looked at Li An Ning and asked in surprise: "You haven't heard of Gu Youzhi?"
Li Anning scratched his head, looking suspicious, and muttered, "It sounds familiar. Is it an official in the court?"
Li Nuo finally discovered another thing in common between Li An Ning and his wife.
Uneducated.
Anyone who knows a little about painting will have heard of Gu Youzhi's name.
For ladies like them, noble ladies from royal families, it is impossible not to learn the arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting.
But Li Nuo changed his mind and thought that there didn't seem to be any lady from a wealthy family or a noble lady from the royal family who practiced law, so they couldn't be held to the same standards as ordinary women.
If her breasts were smaller, she would definitely be able to become good friends with my wife.
After thinking it through, Li Nuo took the initiative to explain: "Gu Youzhi was a great painter five hundred years ago. There are not many of his authentic works left in the world, and each one is of extremely high value. If this "Dwelling in the Mountain" is an authentic work of Gu Youzhi, it is a priceless treasure. It is enough to buy this street..."
An authentic painting by an ancient master in later generations can easily cost hundreds of millions.
Those people are not worthy of being called painting saints.
Gu Youzhi is recognized as the Saint of Painting, and this is undisputed in all countries on the mainland.
In the past, there was even a tyrant ruler of a small country who loved painting and wanted to exchange a city for an authentic painting by Gu Youzhi.
Later, because of this incident, he was united by many domestic forces and overthrew the regime in the name of "punishing the tyrant", and it even became an allusion.
This shows the value of Gu Youzhi's authentic works.
Li Anning was surprised and said, "How could the Huang family have such a valuable thing? It must be a fake, right?"
Li Nuo himself really couldn't tell whether this painting was a fake or not.
But he is now one with the Phoenix.
Li Nuo said confidently: "It is authentic."
Although this painting has nothing to do with the case, it is not normal for Gu Youzhi's original work to appear in the home of a small businessman.
It's like a beggar begging with a golden bowl in his hand.
This description is not even accurate enough, it should be described as a beggar sitting on a mountain of gold begging.
This thing is not something a businessman can own, let alone in a small businessman's home. Even if Li Nuo saw this painting in Prince Chun's mansion, he would be a little surprised.
Li Nuo asked the Huang family's housekeeper, but the housekeeper couldn't tell him the origin of the painting. He only remembered that the painting was hanging here when he first arrived at the Huang family.
Li Anning glanced at Li Nuo and asked, "You wouldn't mistake a fake for the real thing, would you?"
Li Nuo said slowly: "Even if it is a fake, a fake that can be imitated to this extent is worth immeasurable. At least, it is more than enough to buy this house..."
Li Anning was a little surprised. Although this house was not in the core area of Chang'an, its value would not be less than three thousand taels of silver.
If what Li Nuo said was true, then the thieves last night were really stupid.
Even if they were a wealthy family, it was impossible for them to keep property worth three thousand taels of silver at home. It would be better to steal the painting than to kill two people and rob some of their property.
It seems that even if you are a thief, you have to be a well-informed thief.
But how did Li Nuo know these things?
Before leaving the Huang family, Li Nuo asked people from the Ministry of Justice to seal off the Huang family first to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation.
The Huang couple had no children, so how to distribute the Huang family’s property after their death was also a problem.
When leaving the Huang family and getting on the carriage, Li Anning took the initiative to sit next to Li Nuo, touched his shoulder, and asked, "Hey, are we friends?"
Li Nuo said: "Of course."
More than a friend, to be honest, Her Royal Highness the Princess should be his best friend.
Li Anning looked at him and asked, "Since we are friends, I want to ask you a question. Please tell me honestly."
Li Nuo said: "Just ask."
Li Anning thought for a moment and asked, "You have never been stupid before, right? The previous news that you were a fool was just a rumor deliberately spread by your father..."
How could a fool who had only recovered for two months play the piano so well and also understand painting so well...
Li Anning has suspected this matter for a long time.
He didn't look like anyone who had ever been stupid, on the contrary, he was smarter than anyone else.
Of course, Li Nuo could not explain the truth of this issue.
He did not look at Li Anning, but looked forward and nodded slightly.
After getting the answer from Li Nuo, Li Anning patted Li Nuo's thigh proudly and said excitedly: "I knew you were pretending!"
Li Nuo silently moved her hand away from his leg. Li An Ning remembered something and asked, "You play the piano and practice archery, are you going to take the imperial examination?"
Li Nuo nodded again.
Li Anning asked: "If you pass the imperial examination, which government office do you plan to go to?"
Li Nuo had already thought about this question, and said without thinking: "Ministry of Justice."
Others might think that it would be most appropriate for him to go to the Dali Temple.
But even if he didn't go to the Dali Temple, he could mobilize the resources of the Dali Temple.
The best choice is to be in the Ministry of Justice and be able to command the Dali Temple.
Li Anning patted his shoulder with satisfaction and said, "Do your best in the exam, and then come to the Ministry of Justice openly and see what they have to say!"
She was too bored being alone in the Ministry of Justice. The officials around her were all so rigid.
Still, it's fun to be with him.
After the two men returned to the Ministry of Justice, they sat in the yamen for a while, and several restaurant owners in Chang'an were brought to the Ministry of Justice.
"My lord, it's unfair!"
"Even if I had ten times the courage, I would not dare to kill Manager Huang!"
"Please look carefully!"
…
These people were nothing more than businessmen with a little money. As soon as they entered the courtyard of the Ministry of Justice, their legs went weak and they knelt down, shouting that they were innocent.
Li Nuo walked in front of them, and as expected, the code did not react at all.
The case is actually very clear. We asked them to come here just to verify it out of caution.
In the business world, it is normal to use dishonorable means, but generally no one would have the courage to kill someone.
Li Nuo shook his head slightly at Li An Ning, then walked back into the yamen.
After a while, Li Anning also came in, sat opposite Li Nuo, and said, "It seems that this case is difficult to solve..."
In nine out of ten cases like this, the murderer cannot be caught.
A murder case means at least ten days of life, so Li Nuo is unwilling to give up easily.
He thought for a moment, looked at Li An Ning, and said, "Most petty thieves only dare to steal bags. Very few dare to break into houses. Even if they do, they will wait until the owner is away and no one is at home. If someone dares to break into a house and kill people when the owner is still at home, he is definitely not a petty thief. There won't be many such big thieves in Chang'an..."
Li Nuo was once considered a half-thief, and he understood the rules of this industry.
When burglarizing a house, the key is to do it quietly.
It is a pride to not be discovered and a shame to be caught on the spot.
To put it bluntly, this line of work relies on skills. Those with superb skills can steal from not only ordinary people, but even martial arts masters without the other party noticing.
If you get caught stealing, there's no need to talk about anything else. It's just that your skills are not good enough and you need to practice more after you are released.
Top-notch thieves can steal property and leave without the owner noticing while they are at home.
Being caught stealing is the greatest shame among thieves. If one kills someone after being caught, it is the greatest shame among all thieves. The thief will be expelled from the family of thieves and despised by everyone like a rat crossing the street.
Li Anning stroked his smooth chin and nodded, "What you said makes sense. If we arrest all those people, we might be able to find the murderer. But a thief won't have the word thief written on his face. If the government knew there was such a notorious thief, they would have come to our door long ago..."
Li Nuo naturally knew this.
If a thief who breaks into a house and kills people is caught, he will definitely be publicly beheaded.
If they haven't been caught, it means that no clues have been found.
But as far as he knew, the thieves were also organized. Without entering their organization, he would be in the dark about anything he investigated. But if he could successfully infiltrate their organization, he would be able to find a lot of useful information.
That’s what circles are for.
These fragmentary pieces of information were all obtained by Li Nuo from the goateed thief last time.
The question is, how can we get into their ranks?
After all, the Daomen was not a legitimate organization. If they were discovered by the imperial court, they would undoubtedly be wiped out.
Therefore, they are extremely cautious, and internal contacts are generally single-line. If people outside the circle want to join the circle, they must have an introducer, otherwise they will not find a way at all.
Li Anning looked at Li Nuo who was thinking seriously, leaned back comfortably in the chair, put his legs on the table, picked up an orange on the table, and started peeling it.
No matter what case she encountered in the past, she was the one who tried every possible means to solve it.
Everything has been different since Li Nuo came into being.
She could finally take a break down there.
It feels so good to not have to use my brain.
She just likes the feeling of lying still.
After eating a few orange slices comfortably, she saw that Li Nuo was still thinking seriously. She felt a little embarrassed and handed a peeled orange slice to Li Nuo's mouth, saying: "Think slowly, eat an orange first, this orange is very sweet..."
A chief official from the Ministry of Justice walked in from outside. After seeing this scene, he was stunned for a moment, then squinted his eyes and said, "I suddenly have an eye disease, and I can't see clearly beyond three feet. I would like to ask Your Highness for three days of leave to recuperate..."
(End of this chapter)
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