Chapter 035 Jin丨Exclusively published by Jiang Wenxue (3000 nutrient solution plus more)
System: [I thought you had a nuclear bomb in your mouth.]
Xue Chen: [If you really have a nuclear bomb, I will blow you up first.]
Lu Xiaofeng tried to figure out what he was thinking. Could it be that he couldn't see and was afraid that spitting out the nuclear bomb would hit passers-by and flowers?
Lu Xiaofeng didn't understand.
Helping Pei Rui to throw away the fruit core, Lu Xiaofeng asked: "So do you know that person?"
Pei Rui: "What happened to him?"
Lu Xiaofeng: "At that time, I had just experienced the flute murder, and thought it was an ordinary case. The flute player was the real murderer behind the scenes. I tracked it all the way and came to Jiangnan. When I was camping in the wild, I met a young and handsome man with two servants warming themselves by the fire in the woods. The man called himself Gong Wuming, and his legs were disabled and he could not walk well."
He paused and stared at Pei Rui for a while.
Pei Rui raised his hand and waved it in front of Lu Xiaofeng.
Lu Xiaofeng came to his senses: "..."
This was the first time he was treated like this by a blind man.
But Xiao Pei is too sharp. Lu Xiaofeng suspects that his intuition is even stronger than that of Hua Man Lou. She doesn’t know how he could find his knife when they first met.
Pei Rui: “What happened later?”
Lu Xiaofeng: “We separated after dawn. I suspected that Gong Wuming was related to the sound of the flute, until I caught the person playing the flute, and then I denied this guess. At that time, I thought I had found out the real murderer, so I relaxed and went to see my friend, but I learned that a childhood friend of my friend had passed away not long ago.
“That person’s name is Xie Heng. He was accidentally injured a few years ago and has been unable to walk since then. He has been recuperating at home and refuses to see guests. Unexpectedly, he suddenly came back from outside a few days ago.
"It turns out that Xie Heng did not stay at home after being injured, but wandered outside with his sick body. Not long after he returned home, he had a conflict with his family. Before he could seek justice, a sudden fire burned everything clean."
Pei Rui nodded: "You have seen a ghost."
Lu Xiaofeng held his head. Even though he had known what kind of person Pei Rui was, he still felt a headache after hearing his words.
Why does Xiao Pei look so smart?
It is easy for people to have unreasonable expectations of him!
Lu Xiaofeng patiently explained: "...There are no ghosts in this world. You have killed so many people, but have you ever seen a wronged ghost come to claim your life?"
Pei Rui was silent for a while, and said in confusion: "No?"
Lu Xiaofeng: "Have you really encountered it?"
Pei Rui: "Many of those who came to kill me came for revenge."
Lu Xiaofeng: "Those are not ghosts! They are the relatives and friends of those who died in your hands!"
Pei Rui suddenly realized: "So that's it."
Pei Rui really feels oppressive when he doesn't speak. Once he opens his mouth, the more he speaks, the more he reveals. If someone with ulterior motives knew that this child was so simple and clumsy, I don't know how much evil he would coax him to do.
I don't know how much Fang Yingkan understands him... Lu Xiaofeng began to worry about Pei Rui and made up her mind to take good care of him so that he would not be used by others.
Pei Rui: "If not a ghost, then what is it?"
Lu Xiaofeng: "He may not be dead at all. He set the fire to cause chaos, take the opportunity to kill the people who hurt him, avenge himself, and take this opportunity to fake his death and escape... After all, no one knows what Xie Heng has experienced during those years when he was wandering outside."
System: [He is so smart. He only met you once, and after hearing some gossip from Hua Man Lou, he was able to piece together your movements.]
Xue Chen: [As expected. But I didn't expect that there would be a murderous flute to confuse the audience. I originally wanted to guide Lu Xiaofeng to investigate the nameless island, but who knew that he filled me in as the mastermind behind this case!]
System: [Man proposes, God disposes. 】
Xue Chen: [Before taking action in the future, you must use Xie Heng to tell fortunes. It doesn't matter if the result is not accurate, it is good to brush up your proficiency. 】
Pei Rui: "Have you seen Xie Heng's ghost?"
Lu Xiaofeng: "...No ghost!"
Pei Rui: "But when you went there, Xie Heng was already dead, you didn't see him."
Lu Xiaofeng was very relieved. This child has a simple mind. Sometimes people can't figure out what he is thinking, but he is not so ignorant of basic logic. His reaction is a little slow, but he will understand it after more teaching.
Lu Xiaofeng: "I have indeed never met Xie Heng, but my friend's brother has a good relationship with Xie Heng. According to him, the man who followed Xie Heng and took care of him was a man with a horse face and a big nose. You would never forget him after just one look. This man was called Hu Sheng, and he was brought back from outside by Xie Heng. And the servant next to Gong Wuming had a horse face and a hooked nose."
Pei Rui nodded, not quite understanding.
Lu Xiaofeng: "There are only a few people in this world who have difficulty walking. It's such a coincidence that they follow the servant of Horse Face in everything. It can be basically concluded that Gong Wuming is Xie Heng."
Pei Rui: "Do you want to catch him?"
Lu Xiaofeng: "He may not be related to this matter, but I think he is quite mysterious and the timing of his appearance is also very coincidental. Maybe he is related to this matter, but there is no evidence. If I can see him again, I may find many clues. That's why I want to ask you if you have seen him."
Pei Rui shook his head.
The carriage drove north all the way and came to Pingyang Prefecture, the border of the war between Xing and Jin.
Pingyang Prefecture is located on Hedong South Road, and to the north is Hebei West Road. It is now the territory of the Jin Kingdom.
Young Marquis Fang rode his horse, and the number of his guards was not particularly large, but each of them was very imposing, and from a distance they looked majestic. The
prefect, the governor, the chief governor, the governor, the chief supervisor and other officials of Pingyang Prefecture came out of the city to greet him.
Fang Yingkan rode on the horse, bowed from a distance, came to the city gate, dismounted, and handed the reins to the attendant beside him.
The local official saluted: "Young Marquis."
Fang Yingkan asked: "Has the Prince of Taiping arrived?" The
prefect said: "This morning I received a message from the Prince that the army passed through Luzhou yesterday and is on its way to Pingyang. They will rest on the way and will probably arrive in the afternoon."
Fang Yingkan smiled and said: "I'd like you to come out with me again to welcome the Prince of Taiping."
The prefect said hurriedly: "No, no, this is my duty. Young Marquis, you are too polite."
The officials knew Fang Yingkan was coming, and prepared accommodation in advance to welcome the Marquis of Shentong to move in.
As subordinates of the young marquis, Pei Rui and Lu Xiaofeng were also treated with courtesy, and even had separate rooms to live in, instead of having to squeeze into one room with seven or eight people like ordinary servants.
Lu Xiaofeng originally lived some distance away from Pei Rui, but because he was worried about him, he exchanged rooms with someone else and lived next door to Pei Rui.
On the way here, Lu Xiaofeng didn't dare to eat the things given by Fang Yingkan, and all the food he ate was bought outside or made by himself. Now that he has arrived at the provincial government office, he is still worried.
At mealtime, the yamen runners brought food over, but Lu Xiaofeng directly refused and called Pei Rui to go out for a meal.
Pei Rui came out of the room wearing a simple black suit and holding a knife. His domineering and sharp look startled the yamen runners.
He walked out slowly, his eyes, which were slightly lighter than those of ordinary people , did not blink, and he was full of oppression.
When he came to the yamen runners, they were stunned, not daring to look at him directly, and retracted their eyes from him, waiting anxiously for Pei Rui's instructions.
Pei Rui took a steamed bun from the food box, came to Lu Xiaofeng, and said coldly: "Let's go."
Lu Xiaofeng smiled, he hooked his arm affectionately on the boy's shoulder, and said under the admiring gaze of the crowd: "I'll treat you today! I've been to Shanxi many times, and I know best what's delicious here!"
Pei Rui: "You said the same thing when we went to Woo Yun Tower last time."
Lu Xiaofeng: "Last time it was in Huzhou, but this time it's in Pingyang. Last time we had no one to rely on and had to avoid pursuit all the way, but this time we have Lord Fang Xiaohou as our backer. How can it be compared with last time?"
He held Pei Rui's arm and led the way for him: "Have you ever been to Shanxi?"
Pei Rui shook his head.
Lu Xiaofeng introduced him enthusiastically: "The old Fenjiu from Shanxi is the best. It tastes mellow and strong, and has a completely different flavor from the wine in the south. There is also a three-way carp dish, which you have never eaten anywhere else."
Pei Rui: "I have eaten fish, it is not delicious."
When Lu Xiaofeng heard him say this, he suspected that he ate it raw.
Pei Rui paused: "There are a lot of thorns."
This child is blind, alone, and often hunted by people. When he eats, he looks slow and polite.
In fact, he seems to have never eaten anything good. He can eat anything no matter how bad it tastes. As long as it is given to him, he will not refuse it.
His background must be very good, but no one knows what happened to him to fall to this point.
Lu Xiaofeng smiled and said, "Whether it tastes good or not, you will know after you taste it yourself."
Pei Rui followed him to the restaurant.
Probably because the owner of the restaurant this time was not Lu Xiaofeng's friend, the meal was very peaceful.
Lu Xiaofeng took good care of Pei Rui, picked out the fish bones for him, put the fish meat in a bowl, and poured some sauce on it. Pei Rui only had to eat it.
This carp was very plump and was made into three dishes, each with a different flavor.
The names of these dishes were also very strange, they were called Fried Qimen, Braised Saddle Bridge and Soft Dou Daifen.
Xue Chen: [I haven't eaten any of them! What's the point of being the Prince of Taiping? I've never even heard of it! ]
System: [Maybe because you are not in Shanxi? 】
Xue Chen: [No, I have to keep an eye on my dad.]
System: [What are you keeping an eye on him for?]
Xue Chen: [If he eats well outside, but doesn't plan to find a chef to learn how to cook and come back to cook for me, or at least pack up some leftovers, I'm easy to feed. But if he doesn't even think about me, then he doesn't have me in his heart! 】
System: [……]
After eating, Lu Xiaofeng bought some food that was easy to store and packed it up to bring back. He gave some to Pei Rui: "Eat this when you are hungry. Try not to touch the things in the yamen and don't drink the water there. Your water bag is full, put it away well."
Pei Rui was puzzled: "Why do you do this?"
Lu Xiaofeng: "I'm worried that the young marquis will do something secretly, and this place is too close to the territory of the Jin people. Maybe some Jin spies will sneak in and poison it. It won't go wrong to be careful."
Pei Rui: "But I can tell the difference."
Lu Xiaofeng: "Can you tell whether the food is poisonous or not?"
Pei Rui nodded slightly.
Lu Xiaofeng remembered that when he was in Woyun Tower, he also stopped himself from eating in this way.
At that time, Lu Xiaofeng thought that Pei Rui had sharp hearing and had long noticed that Jiang Yunxin was Lao Cui pretending to be him, or that it was the faint whispers outside. She didn't expect that he could directly distinguish whether the food was poisonous!
However, this poison had a bad smell, a sweet and sickening aroma. Fang Ying saw that the bottle of poison was broken on the ground, and the liquid flowing out was a very light pink color. The smell was very light, but not pleasant.
This light smell is difficult to distinguish after a little dilution with water. Even if it is directly put into clean water, it may be poisoned if you are not careful for a moment, not to mention the food with a stronger smell.
Lu Xiaofeng couldn't help but admire Pei Rui's keen sense of smell.
Soon he remembered again: "Since you know what to eat, why don't you tell me directly? Save me the trouble of going out to buy food?"
Pei Rui: "You didn't ask."
Lu Xiaofeng: "I went to buy food several times, and when I came back, I found that the carriage had already set off, so I could only try my best to catch up. Can you bear to see me running around? If you eat the things of the young marquis directly, you can save a lot of effort."
Pei Rui: "Yours is delicious."
Lu Xiaofeng: "..."
The truth turned out to be this.
-The
King of Taiping led his troops here, but he only brought 5,000 troops, and the rest of the troops needed to be transferred from other places.
He is in charge of the troops of the world, and no matter where the troops are, they will listen to his orders.
In the past, when the emperor was fighting, the old comrades of the King of Taiping were deliberately dispersed by the emperor, but they all had merits and military achievements, and within a few years they were promoted to powerful figures in the local official army. The power of the King of Taiping became even greater.
He didn't even need to lead his army everywhere. Wherever he went, he would raise his arms and people would respond.
No one dared to look down on the King of Taiping. He was the well-deserved first person under the emperor.
After receiving the news that Prince Taiping was about to arrive, the officials of the prefecture seemed to be busy with countless things.
Fang Yingkan, who was always calm and unrestrained, went back and forth several times, opened and closed the door, and no one knew what he was busy with.
Pei Rui found a place to sit down, holding a knife in the sun, closing his eyes and listening to the sounds around him.
After a while, people came out of the house one after another, and it seemed that the whole team had gathered.
Fang Yingkan saw Pei Rui from a distance and walked towards him. The jade pendants on his body collided and made a crisp sound. The young marquis said dissatisfiedly: "Why are you still here?"
Pei Rui opened his eyes, but his eyes were not on him: "What's the matter?"
Fang Yingkan frowned: "Forget it, you just stay here."
After that, Fang Yingkan turned and left.
Not long after he left, Lu Xiaofeng came over quickly, "Pei Rui, guess what I just found out?"
Pei Rui shook his head.
Lu Xiaofeng's excited expression paused. Pei Rui was really not someone who could share news, because he didn't understand how crucial that news was, nor did he understand the sense of accomplishment after solving the case.
But here, Lu Xiaofeng couldn't trust anyone except Pei Rui.
He pulled Pei Rui up. He was worried about letting the blind boy stay here alone: "I plan to go and see the style of King Taiping, you come with me."
Pei Rui hesitated a little, and was pulled away by Lu Xiaofeng.
Pei Rui: "What's so good about King Taiping?"
Isn't his father just an ordinary middle-aged handsome man?
Compared to people of the same age, his father has fewer wrinkles on his face. He works out regularly and has a good figure, broad shoulders, a slim waist, and a good appearance. But he is just an ordinary person. In fact, because he has been fighting outside for many years, his skin is tanned and dark. If you look closely, it feels a bit rough.
Welcoming the King of Taiping is something that the officials should do. Bringing the people under them can make them look more dignified, but there is no need for all of them to go, right?
Lu Xiaofeng said meaningfully: "Not everyone is qualified to see such a distinguished person as the King of Taiping..."
Pei Rui understood, hugged his knife, and obediently followed Lu Xiaofeng to Fang Yingkan's team. Together with the martial arts masters who served him, they marched out of the city in a mighty manner. After standing at the city gate for nearly an hour, the King of Taiping's army finally arrived.
Lu Xiaofeng praised: "It is indeed magnificent. With a general like the King of Taiping, it should not be difficult to repel the Jin army?"
Pei Rui felt strange: "Didn't the Jin people attack him?"
Lu Xiaofeng: "The soldiers are in good order, the formation is neat, the generals have no blood on their bodies, and the cloaks are intact. It doesn't look like they have been attacked. Maybe they were attacked on the way and have recovered now?"
System: [Why do you suddenly ask this? I am a little worried.]
Xue Chen: [Just want to confirm... Since the way here was smooth, it is very likely that something went wrong in Pingyang Prefecture. Now the two armies are facing each other, but the battle has not started yet. Our side has just experienced a big change. If the lieutenant general dies unexpectedly...】
System: [Will you save him?]
Xue Chen: [What nonsense are you talking about? That's my father.]
The army walked towards this side slowly, with dust flying behind them. The leading officer took the initiative to walk forward. Fang Yingkan also asked someone to bring a horse, jumped on the horse, and ran quickly to the front of King Taiping, smiling and saluted him: "My nephew Fang Yingkan, nice to meet Uncle Xue."
King Taiping smiled slightly, and his cold and murderous aura eased. He raised his hand: "When you go out, there is no need to be polite, but I I didn't know you would be here."
Fang Yingkan drove his horse to go with King Taiping: "I was originally visiting Taihu Lake, and was going to wait for the Mid-Autumn Festival to come and taste the mooncakes in Wooyun Tower. I didn't expect someone to commit a murder in Wooyun Tower, and the murderer framed me, saying that I instructed him. My nephew is really wronged. If I wanted to kill a few people, there would be no need to use such despicable means."
King Taiping nodded.
Fang Yingkan: "Thanks to the fact that Lu Xiaofeng, who is famous in the world, was also there. It took only a moment to find out the truth, send the murderer to the government office, and clear my name.
"After the local magistrate interrogated, he found out that the man used a kind of poison to commit the crime. The poisoned person will obey the orders of the poisoner and will not disobey him no matter what he is asked to do. This poison seems to have come from the Kingdom of Jin, so I came here to see if I can catch the murderer."
Prince Taiping: "You actually encountered such a thing as well?"
Fang Yingkan said in astonishment: "Could it be that uncle, you..."
Prince Taiping: "It wasn't me, it was my son. He was previously doing disaster relief in Longxing Prefecture, and was assassinated by a flute player on his way back."
Fang Yingkan's concern was not fake: "Is the prince okay?"
Prince Taiping: "Fortunately he escaped."
The horses slowly came to the city gate. The prefect led the officials to salute, and the subordinates behind them also bowed. Only Pei Rui stood there, cold and proud like a pine and cypress in winter.
Lu Xiaofeng tugged at him.
Pei Rui tilted his head: "What are you doing? "
Now the officials in front also turned back inconspicuously and looked at him with warning eyes.
Fang Yingkan's expression was a little cold. Seeing that King Taiping was riding on a horse, looking down at the young man with a somewhat curious look, he smiled softly and said, "Uncle, this is Lu Xiaofeng's friend. He came with me to investigate the poison that can control people's actions. He is not rude, but he can't see. This man has first-class swordsmanship and extraordinary martial arts. Now he is also my friend."
King Taiping nodded: "You young people should make more friends."
Fang Yingkan's expression revealed some youthful spirit: "I have heard that the prince and the eldest son are about the same age as me. I am very close to them in my heart, but every time I meet them, I am in a hurry, and I haven't had a chance to get along well." King Taiping
smiled: "I have also heard that Marquis Shentong has a wide range of friends. I think you, a young man, are indeed a little lonely. Lian'er is busy outside, and even I rarely see him, but Chen'er has been in the mansion. If you are bored, you can go to play with him. "
Others don't know what the two are talking about. Seeing that King Taiping and Fang Yingkan are talking and laughing, they are having a great time.
If it were them, facing the imposing King Taiping, they would definitely be at a loss and unable to speak clearly. They couldn't help but look up to the Marquis of Shentong.
Pei Rui's internal strength is deep and his hearing is perfect. He heard the conversation between the two clearly.
The system shared his senses with him and heard it all: [Is Fang Yingkan trying to curry favor with you?]
Xue Chen: [Not necessarily. I haven't entered the government yet, so currying favor with me is useless. If he really comes to please me, he should be targeting my father and my brother. But at this time, he may not just be trying to curry favor with me.]
System: [Hmm? Anything else?]
Xue Chen: [Keep watching.]
When entering the city, ordinary soldiers go in first, followed by the commander-in-chief on horseback.
Fang Yingkan's horse slowed down a few steps to make way for the most distinguished King Taiping.
King Taiping took it calmly, holding the reins, and walked into the city gate.
The city wall was about three or four meters thick, and the light from the doorway was a little dim. When you walked out from inside, your vision suddenly became bright.
At this moment, suddenly a sharp arrow shot from a high altitude.
Pei Rui threw away the scabbard and rushed out first.
Someone shouted: "There is an assassin! Protect the prince!"
Most of the soldiers looked at Pei Rui vigilantly and retreated to the front of King Taiping to prevent being attacked by the black-clothed boy.
Xue Chen: [I am really speechless. 】
System: [Your target is too big, much clearer than the arrows shot by the enemy. 】
Pei Rui quickly climbed up the city wall, and the soldiers below picked up their bows and arrows and hurriedly aimed at him.
The second and third arrows were also shot at King Taiping, followed by a rain of arrows from the front.
Soldiers holding shields lined up to block, but some still failed to react in time and were injured by arrows.
Pei Rui came to the city wall, ran towards the assassin, raised his long sword, and looked at the soldiers shooting arrows.
Those soldiers were so focused on drawing bows and shooting arrows that they didn't know how to hide. Pei Rui killed two of them and found something wrong. He slightly retracted his fighting spirit, put away his long sword, and slashed at the assassins with his hand knife, and soon subdued them all.
He jumped down from the city wall, stood in front of King Taiping, and said coldly: "The danger is gone."
King Taiping saw his actions clearly and admired him very much. He saw that the boy had a young appearance, but was extremely calm, and had the demeanor of his own son. The more he looked at him, the more satisfied he felt: "Good!"
He got off his horse and walked up to Pei Rui, "What's your name? Are you willing to fight with me?"