Madam, protect me!

Li Nuo paused slightly while massaging An Ning.

A murder in Chang'an was serious enough.

The deceased was an official appointed by the court, so the Ministry of Justice had to take it seriously.

Li Nuo learned from An Ning that the deceased was a guard of the Ministry of Personnel. He did not go to the yamen this morning. When his colleagues from the Ministry of Personnel went to his house to look for him at noon, they found that he and an old servant were killed at home.

The home of the guard of the Ministry of Personnel was turned upside down, and all the property was gone. On the surface, it seemed to be a case of burglary and murder.

Thanks to the efforts of the Anti-Theft Department, thieves are almost extinct in Chang'an today.

It is difficult to encounter even a petty thief, and burglary and murder have not happened for a long time.

Not to mention that the deceased was an official appointed by the court. The severity of this case is second only to the murder of dignitaries. The three provinces issued an edict, ordering the Ministry of Justice to investigate the case and bring the murderer to justice.

If it was just an ordinary guard, it would be fine, but the guard died last night, and his rank was promoted this morning, from the ninth rank to the seventh rank.

The murder of a seventh rank official is even more serious.

Li Nuo asked: "Have you found any clues?"

Li Anning shook his head and said: "On the surface, this is a case of burglary and murder, but I think it should not be so simple. How could it be so coincidental that he happened to rob the house of a court official and he happened to be promoted the next day..."

There are some doubts in this case. Li Nuo thought about it and said: "I will go with you to investigate tomorrow."

In fact, it would be best to investigate today, but as of now, the case should have happened more than a day ago, and the automatic lock of the criminal by the code is invalid. It will be the same if we investigate tomorrow.

As the secretary of the Honglu Temple, he did not go to the Honglu Temple during the office time, and ran around outside, which was considered as abandoning his post without permission.

When Li Nuo was in the Ministry of Rites, he caught an official who was absent without permission, and he had to fine him half a month's salary first.

But I think no one dared to say anything about him.

An Ning was naturally very positive about being able to investigate the case with Li Nuo, which was something she had fantasized about countless times before.

The next morning, the two arrived at the scene of the crime.

The residence of this official in the Ministry of Personnel was not in the prosperous area of ​​Chang'an. The annual salary of a ninth-rank official in Daxia was one hundred taels. Although it was definitely a high salary compared to ordinary people, it was still not enough to buy a house in the prosperous area of ​​Chang'an.

If it is not in a prosperous area, public security is naturally difficult to guarantee.

Li Nuo looked at the scene and did not find any useful clues.

His home was turned upside down, all his belongings were stolen, even the books on the bookshelf were not spared and were thrown everywhere.

The neighbors around him were not very familiar with him.

They only knew that a master and servant lived here, and the master was a minor official in the court, and he rarely communicated with his neighbors.

There was nothing to gain, so the two planned to go to the Ministry of Personnel to investigate again.

The main purpose was to inquire about his interpersonal relationships, to see if he had any enemies, or if he had ever had a grudge with anyone.

Many murders are disguised as burglary and murder.

"Enemy?"

In the case library of the Ministry of Personnel, Fang Zhanggu shook his head and said, "Lord Zhao is a loner and rarely interacts with others. He should not have any enemies. Alas, how could Lord Zhao encounter such a thing..."

Li Nuo asked several officials of the Ministry of Personnel. They were not very familiar with the deceased Zhao Zhanggu. They could only say that they were ordinary colleagues.

According to several officials of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhao He was arrogant and loner, so he didn't have many friends, but he never had conflicts with anyone.

Li Nuo also asked in detail about his promotion.

A ninth-rank Zhanggu was suddenly promoted to a seventh-rank Gongcao. This was not a normal promotion.

The officials of the Ministry of Personnel quickly explained the reason for him.

This Zhao Zhanggu and Jingzhao Yin were actually from the same hometown.

It is not surprising that fellow townsmen help each other in the court.

But his death and promotion happened at the same time, which is still intriguing.

When leaving the Ministry of Personnel, Li Nuo looked at An Ning and asked, "Where did he go a few days before his death? Did the Ministry of Justice find out?"

Li An Ning shook his head and said, "Zhao He is a loner and has no friends. No one knows his whereabouts after leaving the yamen, and the Ministry of Justice has no way to find out."

The Ministry of Justice has no way to find out, so it can only ask for help from the Mingjing Division.

Half an hour later, Li Nuo got the answer he wanted.

A ninth-rank Zhang Gu is not an important person, and the Mingjing Division will not send people to monitor his every move all the time.

Unless he is related to some big shot.

After learning about his relationship with Jingzhao Yin, the Mingjing Division found out through Jingzhao Yin that someone went to Jingzhao Fu Ya to meet Jingzhao Yin on the day Zhao He died.

The Ministry of Justice did not find out about this matter after a whole day of investigation yesterday.

I'm afraid no one would have thought that a small ninth-rank Zhang Gu would have any connection with a court giant like Jingzhao Yin.

The two came to Jingzhao Prefecture and met Jingzhao Yin very smoothly.

Jingzhao Yin's name was Lin Fuzhi, a middle-aged man who looked quite elegant.

Li Nuo was not unfamiliar with this name. Lin Fuzhi, like his father, was a Jinshi in the 14th year of Zhisheng. He was the second in that imperial examination.

They were also the two highest-ranking officials in the court in that year's imperial examination.

In the Yamen, Jing Zhaoyin saluted Li Anning and Li Nuo and asked, "I have seen the princess and the consort. I wonder what important matters the princess and the consort have come to Jingzhao Mansion?"

Li Anning said: "There is a Zhang Gu in the Ministry of Personnel named Zhao He. Does Mr. Lin know him?"

Jing Zhaoyin nodded and said, "I know him. He is my fellow countryman. It was my officer who arranged for him to join the Ministry of Personnel."

Li Nuo had seen Zhao He's imperial examination rankings. With his status as the last Jinshi, it was impossible for him to be admitted to the Ministry of Civil Affairs without anyone behind him.

Jing Zhaoyin was really good to his fellow countrymen.

Li Anning continued to ask: "The night before yesterday, Zhao Zhanggu was killed at home. Does Mr. Lin know?"

Jing Zhaoyin looked a little sad and said: "I heard that there are only two of us serving as officials in Shahe County. I wanted to promote him to my side and cultivate him well, but I didn't expect that something like this happened. , the imperial court must catch the murderer, pay life for life, and comfort his spirit in heaven..."

"This is natural." Li Anning looked at him and said, "However, a few hours before Zhao He died, he came to Jingzhao Mansion to find Mr. Lin. I wonder if this is the case?"

Jing Zhaoyin did not deny it, nodded and said: "Yes, Zhao He came to me many times, hoping that I would promote him out of consideration for his fellow villagers. I felt that his character was not good enough, so I kept him in the staff department. After practicing for a while, I now feel that the time is about right. I wanted to let him take the position of meritorious officer, but I didn’t expect..."

He sighed and said, "I didn't expect such a thing to happen."

After saying that, he looked at Li Anning and said, "After this case is over, can the Ministry of Punishment hand over Zhao He's body to me. I will send him back to Shahe County to return his fallen leaves to their roots. This is also a local tradition in Liangzhou." …”

Li Anning said: "Master Lin can apply to the Ministry of Punishment for this matter. I think the Ministry of Punishment will agree."

The two of them still didn't find any useful information from Jing Zhaoyin.

Jing Zhaoyin had no reason to kill him, and judging from his past actions and today's performance, he was unlikely to be the murderer.

What's more, it doesn't make sense to kill him the night before and then give him a promotion the next morning.

Li Anning thought for a while and asked: "Could it be that the officials of Jingzhao Mansion, because Zhao He took their position, just refused to do anything and simply killed people to silence them?"

This suspicion is not without reason.

Blocking people's way of making money is like killing your parents.

Blocking someone's official path is worse than blocking someone's financial path.

The location of Jingzhao Mansion's Gongcao is worth the risk for many people.

However, upon investigation, the scope of suspects is wider, but it is not impossible.

As long as you can provide him with a list, the next step will be easy.

Li Nuo plans to go to the Ministry of Punishments to try the screening method. If the life span increases, it means the right person has been sentenced. Although this method is troublesome, it is the most practical.

In the name of investigating the case, the two quickly obtained a list from Jing Zhaoyin.

These people are all strong contenders for the position of meritorious service.

When he walked out of Jingzhao Mansion, Butler Wu had just finished talking to someone. He walked up to Li Nuo and An Ning and said, "Master, princess, the Mirror Department checked the intelligence of that day. The official, Zhang Gu, met Jingzhao Yin. After that, he went to see Prince You at night, and after returning from Prince You's Mansion, he was killed..."

"King You?"

Li Nuo was slightly surprised. It was incredible that a small ninth-grade Zhang Gu could be related to Jing Zhaoyin. Even King You was involved...

What's going on with the cases these days?

Why does every item seem to be getting more and more incredible the more I check it?