Chapter 216: Crusade against Zhao Duan
Governor's Hall.
Zhao Duan went straight from Lihua Hall to this imperial yamen hub. On the way, he vaguely sensed the tense atmosphere in the air.
When I arrived at the main gate of the hall, I happened to run into an acquaintance.
"Were you also called here by the Governor?" the two said in unison.
The tall, black-haired girl with a ponytail, a hidden weapon bag tied around her waist, and a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye frowned.
"Do you know what happened?"
Zhao Duan looked at Haitang and shook his head.
“I just entered the government office and came here. I only heard that the rebels committed the murder.”
Haitang's expression was serious: "That's all I know. Let's go and see the Governor."
The two of them walked into the Governor's Hall together and happened to see Ma Yan coming out.
This eunuch, known as the "King of Hell," had a stern face, messy and irritable eyebrows, and thick, intimidating hands. He glanced at his two subordinates, nodded, and said:
"You've come just in time. Let's go and take a look at the scene together."
So urgent?
Zhao Duan and Haitang looked at each other, and without any nonsense, they followed Ma Yan and walked out of the yamen together.
A group of imperial guards were already waiting outside.
The situation was urgent, so the three of them did not take a car but rode on horseback.
On the way, Zhao Duan couldn't help but ask about the details out of curiosity.
Ma Yan glanced at him and said only:
"The government received a report about a case that involved a rebel gang, so they informed us. Haitang is good at solving cases, and you have a lot of bad intentions, so you have experience dealing with rebel gangs."
No... Old Ma, that's not the point. Why do you describe me as a bad person... I can't be smart and brave, I have to be dark and cunning, right... Zhao Duan was too tired to complain.
…
The murder took place in a house on Niulan Street.
When the imperial yamen entourage arrived, the house had already been sealed off by officials from the government office.
An official in a green robe was waiting here and bowed in greeting.
"This humble official greets the Governor."
He looked at Zhao Duan again and said with a slightly complicated expression:
"Meet Zhao Jisi."
Haitang: “…”
So I was ignored?
Ma Yan was a man of decisive character. He waved his hand and ordered people to lead the way while asking about the situation.
The green-robed official said:
"This house was the home of a minor flag officer of the Imperial Guard. He died last night, and traces of rebellion were left at the scene, so we troubled the Governor to come personally. The scene hasn't been disturbed much, it's right here."
As they were talking, the group arrived at a study room, where officials from the government office were guarding the door.
Ma Yan led the two of them over the threshold, and Zhao Duan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
There seemed to be a not-so-fierce "resistance" in the room.
Probably means:
The tables, chairs, bookcases, etc. were all intact, but the weapons on the shelf at the back had been tampered with, leaving only a scabbard.
There are also a lot of tiny marks on the shelves and the wall behind them, many things are messy, and some porcelain bottles are broken.
On the ground, a middle-aged officer was lying on his back with a scarlet wound on his neck. His eyes were wide open with fear still in them.
A trail of coagulated blood was left on the wall and floor.
There was also a blood-stained sword thrown nearby.
"Haitang." Ma Yan stopped and said in a deep voice.
Haitang stepped out and squatted down skillfully to examine the wounds of the deceased.
He looked at it and said calmly:
"Judging from the body's vital signs, the time of death was probably before midnight last night. There was only one fatal wound to the neck, which suggests a single blow killed him. The deceased was a minor flag officer and had martial arts training... This suggests the enemy was far more powerful than him."
She stood up again, walked around the desk, and came to the bookshelf to think for a moment.
He picked up the sword on the ground, compared it carefully, and said:
"Judging from the traces, the deceased must have been bent over his desk last night, then stood up, turned around and drew his sword to meet the enemy. However, I don't know how the enemy used the sword to snatch it away, killing him with one blow. The aftermath of the sword energy swept through the bookshelf behind him, shattering the utensils... The bloodstains on the ground and the position of the body all match... Strange."
"What's strange about that?"
Zhao Duan asked curiously.
He didn't know how to solve the case, he just thought the female detective was very professional.
Haitang frowned and said:
"There are no signs of the doors or windows being broken, and the deceased was facing the enemy head-on. This means the enemy wasn't hiding inside the house, but entered through the main door. Given the deceased's level of cultivation, they shouldn't have been unaware..."
Ma Yan said in a deep voice:
"You mean, someone he knew committed the crime? If it was someone he knew, he wouldn't be on guard until he sensed danger, then he would hastily stand up and draw his sword."
Haitang said:
"Possibly. By the way, didn't the deceased's family hear the sounds of fighting? Why didn't they report it immediately?"
At the door.
The green-robed official from the government office explained:
"We've interrogated him, and the family of the deceased didn't hear any noise. He returned home very late last night, and his family thought he was in the study doing some official business, so they didn't disturb him.
When it was almost dawn, his wife woke up and realized that he hadn't returned. She went into the study to look for him and found the body.
Several people looked at each other and realized that the murderer might have used some "sorcerer" methods to hide the movement.
Ma Yan frowned and said:
"Tell me, where are the traces of the rebels left at the scene?"
The official in green robe reached out, took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, and handed it over:
"Here it is. The deceased's family came in and found this, and took it to the government office to report the case."
Zhao Duan stood aside and had no chance to perform the whole time, so he came over out of curiosity.
I found that there were many words written in blood on the paper.
Haitang suddenly said:
"The murderer wrote it with the victim's blood. No wonder when I investigated the scene I found a pen in the pool of blood. I thought it had been accidentally dropped."
Ma Yan raised his hand to take it, and did not avoid his two subordinates, who looked at it together.
Immediately, the expressions of the three people changed at the same time!
There were about dozens of words on the paper, and the content was very simple. They were the words left by the murderer.
Probably means:
Because the thief Zhao had wrongfully murdered a member of the Kuangfu Society, and because the false emperor had promulgated "evil policies," the scoundrels had colluded with one another. The Kuangfu Society, acting on behalf of Heaven, decided to assassinate the "imperial party" members who supported the false emperor's new policies...
They demanded that the false emperor stop his "evil policies" and eliminate the treacherous concubines and corrupt officials... otherwise they would keep killing until the stubborn imperial officials came to their senses.
Signature name:
The Thousand-Faced God.
…
The room fell into silence for a moment.
Zhao Duan was stunned and finally understood why the official in green robe looked at him strangely when he entered the room.
I almost cursed in my heart:
"The rebels can assassinate me if they want, and threaten me if they want by writing a blood letter. Why are you dragging me into this?"
In this blood letter, in addition to the "fake emperor" that the rebels always mentioned, Zhao Duan was particularly emphasized.
The meaning of the words seems to be that the killing was done in revenge for Zhao Duan's massacre of the rebels.
Even at the end of the request, it was specifically stated that he, the treacherous and corrupt mistress, must be eradicated.
Zhao Duan wanted to applaud and said to himself:
Hadn't he just killed Frost Sword, dug out two traitors including Tie Chiguan, cracked down on and arrested a group of members of the Capital's Kuangfu Society, and incidentally foiled the old villain Zhuang Xiaocheng's plan? He helped the empress wipe out some enemies, consolidated the "fake emperor's" regime, and drafted new policies to help the "fake emperor" strengthen the country's strength...?
"It's just a small matter. Is it necessary for that old Zhuang Xiaocheng to hold a grudge against me? He even specifically listed me alongside the Empress and wrote it in blood..."
Zhao Duan said he couldn't understand.
"The Thousand-Faced God... is he one of the thirty-six Celestial Beings of the Kuangfu Society?"
Haitang's focus was on the identity of the murderer in the signature. She frowned and said:
"When did this person enter the capital? Yes, if it is this person, it can explain it. This person is a master of both magic and martial arts, and is famous for his magic of changing appearances.
It's not just an ordinary disguise, but the ability to impersonate someone else almost perfectly...
If he disguised himself as a family member of the deceased and entered the study last night, and then revealed his murderous intentions, that would explain it."
Ma Yan said in a deep voice:
"Thousand-Faced Divine Lord... a cultivator at the Divine Chapter Realm. Apparently, he's the new branch leader sent by the Kuangfu Society after Han Shuangjian's death. He's cunning and skilled in disguise, no wonder we didn't detect him earlier."
Zhao Duan frowned and said:
"Have the people from the Kuangfu Society gone so crazy as to start assassinating people?
As far as I know, their previous methods of dealing with officials were to win them over and set traps, trying every possible way to get them to join them, and assassinations were very rare.
After all, the purpose of the Kuangfu Society is not to bring down the imperial court, nor do they want to instill fear and hostility in the officials... They still dream of overthrowing His Majesty and re-establishing a new emperor."
Ma Yan glanced at him with a complicated look in his eyes and said quietly:
"It seems that the new policies you have implemented have indeed made the rebels anxious."
In other words, it made the Eighth Prince anxious.
Zhao Duan's heart moved:
Therefore, it was because the Eight Kings, or the Kuangfu Society, realized that if the "New Deal" was successfully implemented, the empress's rule would become more stable.
This is why they were desperate and had no choice but to resort to assassination.
However, there seemed to be room for maneuver, at least the first one he killed was just a small flag officer.
More importantly, it serves as a warning to others.
"The Thousand-Faced God left these words with the intention of causing panic among the people in the court and the country, especially the officials of the 'imperial party'. He deserves death." Ma Yan sighed.
No... he is still inciting hatred among the officials towards me... Zhao Duan sighed.
The repeated mention of his name in the blood letter would undoubtedly make people associate the assassination with him.
A typical way to divert conflict...
Is this a blood letter?
No, this is simply an imperial edict to attack Zhao Duan.
The three of them felt heavy in their hearts, knowing that if the other party continued to kill, the situation that had just improved would be in turmoil again.
Thinking of this, he immediately prepared to leave, report to the empress, and make a response.
However, just after Zhao Duan walked out of the study.
In the yard, an angry roar came straight towards him.
"Zhao Duan, return my brother's life to me!"
…
Typos should be corrected first and then replaced
(End of this chapter)
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