When they arrived at Wang Xin's medical tent, they asked to see Prince Ding and asked Cangli, who was guarding the door, to pass the message on their behalf.

Feng Ling and Wang Xin had been waiting for them for a long time.

When they explained their intention, Feng Ling's expression did not change at all. He just sneered, looked at Xue Zhizhou mockingly and said, "I have lived in the border town for a long time now, and even cats and dogs can come and step on me!"

Xue Zhizhou didn't dare to look him in the eye and avoided his sight.

Feng Ling threw away the chess piece in his hand, sneered with an ambiguous tone, turned to Wang Xin and said, "Let's go!"

He took the lead and walked slowly out, and Wang Xin immediately followed and walked side by side with him.

After walking a few steps, Feng Ling turned around and said, "By the way, aren't we looking for Fan Sui? Where is he?"

Several people looked at each other quickly, and it was Zhao Changshi who stepped forward quickly, stretched out his right hand, bowed sideways and said: "This humble official knows the way, Your Majesty, please follow this humble official."

There was no conversation along the way, and they soon arrived at the gate of Fan Sui's villa.

The strange thing was that Zhao Changshi knocked on the door for a long time, and later changed to knocking, but still no one came to open the door.

Several people realized that something was wrong.

Zhao Du Yushi ordered a guard to jump over the wall and pull out the bolt on the door.

There was a thin layer of soil in the yard.

Although there is strong wind and sand in the northwest, families like theirs have special people to clean the house every day, so this would not happen under normal circumstances.

They looked at each other and continued walking inside.

The courtyard was silent.

When approaching a small courtyard, the door of the courtyard was wide open. A woman in blue was lying on the threshold. Judging from her clothes, she should be the housekeeper of this courtyard.

There was dried blood next to it.

The guards of Zhao Du Yushi went forward and turned her over, only to see that she had been stabbed in the chest and her body was stiff.

It looks like he has been dead for a long time.

Several people crossed the threshold and continued to walk inside. In the corridor leading to the main house, there was also a dead body lying on its back. It was a servant in blue clothes with his neck cut.

Several people quickened their pace and entered the house.

Although it was expected, everyone remained silent when they saw the man on the bed, still wearing the seventh-rank official uniform, with bulging eyes, blood flowing from all seven orifices, and a miserable death.

The man on the bed was confirmed to be Fan Sui.

Because of the investigation, Zhao Du Yushi specially borrowed an experienced coroner from the Ministry of Justice before coming.

The coroner went forward and conducted a careful examination, and came to a conclusion.

The time of death of several people was almost the same.

Fan Sui had been dead for at least four days.

Judging from the body, he died from a head injury and internal bleeding, which led to excessive pressure inside and caused bleeding from all seven orifices.

It was only November now, the weather was cold, and the body had not yet completely rotted and started to stink.

Otherwise, it would have attracted the attention of the surrounding neighbors long ago.

Even so, the faint smell in the surrounding air could no longer be concealed.

The three people investigating the case looked at each other, and Censor Zhao frowned.

He knew that this mission was not going to be easy as it involved the prince and if he was not careful he would lose his head.

When the emperor asked, he came without hesitation.

Now, one of the impeached people has died.

He is also one of the parties involved in the case.

The investigation of the case became more difficult.

According to Magistrate Xue, the servant who died in the corridor was one of the two servants who often followed Fan Sui.

Everyone knows that the magistrate of Cuizhu County, Fan Sui, was always accompanied by two servants. The one who died was named Fan Ping, and the other one, Fan An, is now missing.

Xue Zhizhou sighed, "Everyone knows that Magistrate Fan was injured that day and was recuperating in the other courtyard. Who knew that he died because of his serious injuries?"

Zhao Du Yushi asked: "Who sent Magistrate Fan to this courtyard, and which doctor did he invite to see him?"

Xue Zhizhou was startled and said, "Your Excellency, when Lord Fan was injured, he was still conscious. I sent Master Hu to take him to the other courtyard. Later, the mine was busy with disaster relief, so I didn't bother to ask about it anymore."

Master Hu suppressed his panic and answered with concentration, "After I was ordered to send Master Fan back here, Master Fan's injury should be treated by Master Fan's family. The little Si named Fan An said he would go out to get a doctor and left with me. Since then, I have been busy with Master Xue, so I have no idea about the situation here."

Zhao Du Yushi glanced at him, asked someone to keep an eye on the scene, and sent people to look for Fan An.

Of the two servants, one is dead and the other is missing. At the critical moment, the testimony of people around him can be fatal.

After a discussion, they decided to go to the secret room where the iron ore was hidden first.

Everyone turned their eyes to Xue Zhizhou.

Magistrate Xue motioned for Master Hu to come forward.

Master Hu was a down-and-out scholar he rescued on his way to take office in his early years. It was freezing cold at that time, and Master Hu fell down on the side of the road as his carriage passed by.

At that time, he was dressed like a scholar. He also came from poverty and was saved from hardship only because he had a good father-in-law.

At that time, he was still kind-hearted and felt sympathetic, so he saved him.

Unexpectedly, the two of them got along so well.

Since then, Master Hu has been following him all the way to the present.

Everyone knows that the relationship between the two is extraordinary.

It can be said that Xue Zhizhou trusted Master Hu more than his deceased wife who had supported him all the way.

Many things were done after he discussed with Master Hu.

As his confidant, Master Hu certainly knew the secret of the secret passage.

Master Hu stepped forward and searched the drawer of a desk for a long time, but the portrait on the wall remained untouched.

His head, which was already in unbearable pain, felt even more painful and cold sweat trickled down his cheeks.

Xue Zhizhou saw that he had been fiddling with the picture of the sage Laozi hanging on the wall for a long time, but it didn't move at all.

His heart skipped a beat and he asked someone to push him forward. He reached into the drawer and pressed the buttons for a long time, but there was no movement.

He turned around, smiled awkwardly at Zhao Du Yushi, and suggested: "Sir, this mechanism may be broken. After all, this is Magistrate Fan's villa, and we are not familiar with it. Why don't we go in from the other end of the iron ore mine? We can always find the exit here."

Zhao Du Yushi looked at the other two and nodded, "Okay."

The distance was not far, and everyone soon arrived at the secret entrance of the iron mine.

Xue Zhizhou's wheelchair was carried in by several guards.

Master Hu stepped forward and activated the mechanism. The stone slowly moved away, revealing a dark passage.

Xue Zhizhou secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, he relaxed too soon.

Several people walked forward along the secret passage and indeed saw a mountain of iron ore piled up in the secret room.

But it was not found in the secret room under the medical tent of Wang Xin and Doctor Ma, but in another secret room about a mile away.

Both Xue Zhizhou and Hu Shiye had thin beads of cold sweat on their heads and bodies.

Not only that, the entire secret passage is interconnected, with many twists and turns, and it leads to not just one, but nine secret rooms.

It is comparable to the "Tunnel Warfare" on TV.

Some of the secret rooms still contained iron ore, while others had been taken away, leaving traces of iron ore residue and wheel tracks.

Everyone followed the trail and came to the end of the secret passage.

Master Hu fell headfirst to the ground.

Xue Zhizhou's eyes widened, and a huge wave of emotion surged in his heart.

He also wanted to faint, but his head and legs hurt so much that he couldn't faint despite the extreme pain.

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