Tang riddles

On June [-]th, New Eve, outside the south gate of Qinghe County, a group of people and horses were waiting at the gate.The time for closing the city has passed, except for the south gate, the other three gates have been closed.Only the south gate is still open, as if it is waiting for someone to come.

On the official road outside the south gate, a group of chariots and horses hurried forward with billowing yellow dust. The group of people waiting at the city gate saw the chariots and horses in the distance, and immediately urged their horses to meet them.

They met on the road, and the horse team that came to greet them was headed by a heroic woman. She just raised her hand and waved to the first horse-drawn carriage as a greeting, and then the two teams entered the city together as a team.

"Bang", the south gate of Qinghe County finally closed in the twilight.

The team of chariots and horses galloped on the empty streets of the county town, except for the rumble of cars and the rustling of horses in the team, there was no sound.The gate of Qinghe Cui's mansion also opened after hearing the noise of the chariots and horses. Not long after, a whole team of chariots and horses all entered Qinghe Cui's mansion.

As soon as the carriage stopped, Shen Sui got out of the carriage. She jumped out of the carriage and helped Zhang Ruohan who was following her out of the carriage.At that time, Li Jinyue had already handed over her horse to the groom, and stepped forward by herself, meeting Shen Sui briefly.

"Bo Zhao and Maid Lian have worked hard all the way."

"Princess, you've worked hard too." Shen Sui replied, Zhang Ruohan didn't speak, but just blessed her body.

"Daozhang Li!" Shen Sui greeted not far away, Li Jilan who had just got off the car saw Shen Sui calling her, so she also came up, greeted Li Jinyue, then stood aside, very silent.

Li Jinyue glanced at Li Jilan, then turned to Shen Sui and said:

"Come with me, I will take you to meet Cui Zhen right now. Right now, there is a lot of noise in his mansion, and all the servants have become the targets of investigation. Many suspicious people have been sent away. There are not enough manpower. , and no one is leading the way, so don't take offense." While speaking, Li Jinyue led Shen Sui, Zhang Ruohan and Li Jilan to the depths of the mansion.

"It's just right, tell us what's going on, it's not clear in the letter." Shen Sui asked.

"Lotus Maid, it's your master, a message from a great master." Li Jinyue turned to look at Zhang Ruohan. Nodding, simply say:

"I know, princess, you continue to talk."

"Seven days ago, a master suddenly visited Cui's mansion, and I was there on the same day. She brought a news that after seven days, that is, today, an assassin will sneak into Cui's mansion and assassinate Cui Zhen. The method of assassination is unknown. , It may be poisoned, or it may be stabbed with a sharp knife or strangled. According to her, the murderer is limited to seven days, starting from the eldest son of the Li family in Fanyang, and every seven days, a Hebei Dao family will be executed. An important member. The murderer has already issued a threat warning to Fan Yang Li, ordering them to provide a certain amount of food, armor, and weapons immediately, otherwise they will continue to kill. According to the latest tip I received, Fan Yang Li has followed the request Raise food, armor and weapons, and prepare to send them to the place designated by the murderer."

"How accurate is the news?" Shen Sui asked.

"The information provided by a master is about [-]% accurate, and my informant is more than [-]% accurate." Li Jinyue replied.

"Where did the information about Master Yi come from?" Shen Sui asked again.

"Inside information from the organization that the perpetrator belongs to. This organization is the cult church organization we have been dealing with." Li Jinyue replied.

"Oh? Why can a master receive the news from the other party?" Shen Sui was very surprised.

"She said that she has an old friend from many years ago, who is now in this organization. It's just that she hasn't contacted for many years, but just a few days ago, this old friend suddenly asked someone to send her a secret letter. The letter is simply After explaining the situation, I want her to immediately notify Qinghe Cui Shi, and ask Cui Shi to take precautions."

"Didn't she reveal the identity of this old friend?" Before Shen Sui could speak, Zhang Ruohan asked.

"No, she kept silent about the identity of this old person, as if she wanted to protect this person's identity. However, Master Yi obviously knew about this organization a long time ago." Li Jinyue said.

Shen Sui pondered for a moment, then said:

"So, according to the news brought by a master, the organization behind the scenes wants to use the murder incident to extort money and military pay?"

"I guess so." Li Jinyue said.

"It doesn't make sense. If you just want to blackmail, why kill people? Kidnapping and blackmailing is better and more effective than killing and blackmailing. It's strange to kill people right away. Moreover, asking for money and military salaries from aristocratic families in Hebei Road Such a stupid thing does not seem to be the style of this organization. You must know that the transportation and delivery of the food, armor and weapons they asked for is a very big problem in itself, and it is easy to expose the position. For this fundamental There is no trick to solve the problem. Extorting these military salaries, if it is still for the remnants of Goguryeo to attack Silla and restore the country, then this matter is superfluous, and it is extremely redundant, and it will expose the hiding place of the organization itself. "

"What do you mean?" Li Jinyue asked.

"Blackmail is not the purpose, it's just to confuse the public. The other party's original purpose was to kill, and it was a murder with a very clear goal. And the other party's target is indeed more than one, and they should continue to commit crimes." Shen Sui said.

Li Jinyue frowned, stopped in her tracks, grabbed Shen Sui, and asked in a very low voice next to her ear:

"A master, is there a question?"

"If you have any questions, you can only know if you ask them. As for Li Jilan, this person may know something we don't know, so we must ask them together." Shen Sui said.

Li Jinyue clenched her back teeth and nodded silently.

Zhang Ruohan followed behind them with a more serious expression.But Li Jilan's footsteps became heavier and heavier, as if his legs were filled with lead, and he followed behind them with a pale face.But she never left, even though her face was full of expressions of wanting to escape.

Finally, the study of the eldest room of Cui's mansion arrived, and Shen Sui glanced at the two seal characters "Leshan" carved on the bricks on the stone arch, and followed Li Jinyue into the study courtyard.Li Jinyue brought them into the living room of the West Wing. Apart from the feast, everyone bypassed the screen and saw Cui Zhen surrounded by four masters in military uniforms and armed with sabers and swords. Cui Zhen looked very uncomfortable at the moment Well, there is no blood, the fundus of the eyes is bruised and full of bloodshot eyes, and when he sees someone coming in, he shrinks back like a frightened bird.But after seeing the new guest, he sat upright again, took a deep breath, and barely maintained the demeanor of the patriarch of his family.

And at the lower part of Cui Zhen, a master was leading her disciple Liao Hong, sitting silently by the side, both of them closed their eyes and moved the holding beads, without saying a word.

Li Jinyue brought Shen Sui and others here, Cui Zhen and Yi first greeted Li Jinyue, and then Li Jinyue introduced Shen Sui, Zhang Ruohan and others.As soon as Zhang Ruohan came in, she saw Yihe Hong, but she didn't speak out to call for him immediately, and Yiyi also opened her eyes immediately after she came in, and saw this long-lost Lay disciple.She nodded slightly as a greeting.The eyes of the two met, and Zhang Ruohan seemed to see the clear look in Master's eyes, and she frowned.

"It turns out that it is Mr. Shen Bozhao, the director of Dali Temple, who has long admired his name. I trouble you to go there in person. Cui is really sorry." Cui Zhen said.

"It's okay, the matter is urgent. I was ordered to destroy the bandit party, and the bandit party has already extended its demonic hand to the aristocratic families in Hebei Province. I have to take care of this matter." Shen Sui said.

"Everyone, please sit down." Cui Zhen asked.

Shen Sui, Li Jinyue and others were seated, and they heard Cui Zhenfa ask:

"I don't know, according to Mr. Shen's opinion, how should we deal with the assassination of the bandits?"

"Mr. Wei Chen, don't worry, I have a few questions, I want to ask this master first." Shen Sui said.

Cui Zhen showed a strange look on his face, and turned his attention to a master again.

"Shen Benefactor, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask, the poor nun knows everything." A reply replied.

"Okay, then, I'll get straight to the point. According to my inference, murder is the ultimate purpose of the murderer, and blackmail is just a means of concealing people's ears. Just now, the princess told me that there is a master, there is someone you know in the gang of thieves, This person entrusted someone to send you a letter, asking you to come and warn Qinghe Cui to pay attention to the assassination. Is this serious?"

"Really." Yi replied briefly, then took out the letter from the sleeve, and the attendant passed it to Shen Sui.

Shen Sui unfolded the letter and glanced at it roughly. The handwriting was scribbled, but the person who wrote it had pretty good calligraphy skills. The content of the letter was concise and to the point, and it was exactly what he said. It was a warning to her to organize murder and blackmail behind the scenes, and asked her to go immediately. Inform Qinghe Cui.The end of the letter has not been signed.

"May I ask, how did this letter get to you?"

"A few days ago, the poor nun and his apprentice temporarily lived in a nunnery hundreds of miles away from here. This letter was slipped in from under my door."

"Then, how did you know that this letter was written by an old friend of yours?"

"First, I am very familiar with the handwriting of this letter. She and I have learned it together since childhood. Second, in this envelope, besides the letter, there is this." From the pouch hanging around his waist, he took out a peach pit. On the peach pit, there was a scene of a bustling market in miniature. Vivid.

"Nuclear sculpture?" Shen Sui wondered.

"This is something I gave her, something I made with my own hands, how could I not remember it?" Master Yi whispered.

"Who is she?" Shen Sui asked.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Shen, but this is the only thing I can't tell you." A master said.

Shen Sui took a deep breath, then sighed slowly, and said, "Master Yi, right now is not the time to care about your personal affairs. I understand that you want to protect your old friend, but you must provide us with clues, otherwise you will be killed." There will be several lives that cannot be saved. You are a monk, do you want to see so many lives lost?"

"Amitabha." A master put his hands together and sang the Buddha's name.

"Master Yi, the information your old friend told you is wrong." Shen Sui held up the letter paper, shook it, and said, "This may be a trap. This person wants you to warn the Qinghe Cui family. For other purposes, not to really protect Qinghe Cui's safety. You must not be used by this person!"

A great master was unmoved, still silently clasped his hands together, and silently recited Buddhist scriptures.Looking at her master, Zhang Ruohan couldn't help but clenched her lower lip with such an attitude.

"This..." Cui Zhen was a little puzzled, and looked at Shen Sui suspiciously.Shen Sui shook his head, raised his hand to signal him to be calm, then suddenly raised his voice and said:

"Li Jilan, I also have a few words to ask you, what is the relationship between you and Fan Yang's Li family?"

Suddenly being named, Li Jilan was startled, her originally pale complexion gradually turned red.She gritted her teeth, finally made up her mind, left the table suddenly, came to the center of the living room, leaned towards Shen Sui and Zhang Ruohan, and bowed down.Shen Sui's eyes narrowed slightly, but Zhang Ruohan hurriedly said:

"Miss Ji Lan, why are you doing this?"

"Ji Lan concealed Mr. Shen and Mrs. Shen. It was Ji Lan who had done it, so she apologized. The eldest son of Fan Yang Li's family who died recently is my biological father, and I am the child born between him and a maid. At that time, I was quietly taken away from Fanyang by my mother, and went all the way to Chang'an. She sold me to a family surnamed Li as an adopted daughter, and disappeared since then. I already remember things at that time, so I remember these things very clearly .” She said slowly.

"Then, do you know why your mother took you away from Fanyang Li's?" Shen Sui asked.

"I got in touch with my biological father later, and he told me that my mother was not a member of the Li family. She stayed in the Li family for eight years, and it seemed to be for some other purpose. I vaguely I remember that when I was very young, she would secretly gather some servants and handmaids at home, and preach some strange speeches to them. They each held a cross, and they seemed to be Nestorians."

"And then, what happened? To make your mother take you away?"

"That year, a wave of suppression of heresy and cults broke out in Hebei Province. Hebei Province was one of the important areas where Nestorian preached. I vaguely remember that when I was young, there were several Daqin temples in Fanyang. My mother took me away In that year, the Nestorians were almost wiped out, and since then, no Nestorians have been seen in the boundary of Hebei Road."

Shen Sui nodded, and Cui Zhen, who was at the side, seemed to have remembered something when he heard the words, and his face showed a sudden expression.And Yi was still as calm as water, silently moving the holding bead.

"Then, what you said about going to Hebei Road to look for your old sister, Mrs. Yan, is it true or not?" Shen Sui asked again.

"It's absolutely true." Li Jilan said, "I was indeed looking for her, to save her. But I... still have some selfish intentions, and I still want to find my mother. Back then, the reason why I followed Mrs. Yan to that place The cult is because of my mother, I want to follow the clues and find my mother."

Shen Sui exhaled, and slowly smiled:

"Presumably, this is the reason why the cult organization killed Fan Yangli's eldest son. Right now, Fan Yangli's old patriarch is seriously ill in bed, and everything in the house is taken care of by the eldest son. Once the old patriarch passes away, The eldest son will definitely inherit the position of Patriarch immediately, and his position in Fan Yang Li's family is very important. When the murderer kills him, the meaning of revenge is obvious, because Fan Yang Li's family was the first to initiate the incident of clearing up heresy and cults. The Cui family of Qinghe was the first to respond, and since then, many aristocratic families in Hebei Province have taken action. And your two families have contributed the most, and the blow to heresy and cults has been the greatest. Am I right, Mr. Weichen?"

"That's true..." Cui Zhen gritted his teeth, "It's just that I didn't expect these desperadoes to still seek revenge after so many years. It's really hateful."

"Master Yi, do you have anything else to say?" Shen Sui asked again.

However, this extraordinary and mysterious nun remained silent.

"It doesn't matter if you don't tell me, someone will tell us the answer tonight." Shen Sui slowly closed his eyes.

The author has something to say: Hurry up slowly or rush out, it's so dangerous.