Dragon Pattern Roll Set

The flower stand was burned, and everyone felt their chests were congested.

Ge Qing led the servants and maids in the mansion to tidy up the yard silently, and Zhao Pu asked Ouyang to take someone to look around, but the person who set the fire was very cunning and had apparently run away.

Long Qiaoguang jumped down from the roof and whispered a few words to Zhao Pu.

Zhao Pu frowned slightly, thought for a while, and then nodded.

Long Qiaoguang went out.

Afterwards, Zhao Pu told Zhan Zhao, "The enemy is in the dark and we are in the light. It is impossible not to take the initiative to attack."

Zhan Zhao also nodded, "Do you have any good suggestions?"

"The proposal was just a chatterbox, I think it's feasible." Zhao Pu said.

Zhan Zhao nodded, "It's fine if you think it's feasible."

Zhao Pu raised his eyebrows slightly, Zhan Zhao's expression is rare, will he talk less when he gets angry...

Seeing that everyone was busy, Bai Yutang tugged Zhan Zhao lightly, and said, "I was thinking of something before I came, but I was interrupted by those sneak attacks."

Zhan Zhao looked at him, "What is it?"

Bai Yutang pointed to the back hill of the Jin family's old house not far away, "That Jintuo, the amount of gold should be wrong!"

Zhan Zhao was puzzled.

Bai Yutang said, "There is no frame between the two snake heads of that gold statue, so the two snake heads next to it cannot be made of pure gold!"

Zhan Zhao was slightly puzzled, "Isn't it pure gold?"

"Gold is soft and very heavy." Bai Yutang said, "According to the ratio of the snake's head to its body, it is not impossible to create one that is exactly the same, but if they are all made of pure gold, there must be a gap between the three snake heads." Things are intertwined, otherwise it will split to the two sides, or it will not be able to hang the two pure gold snake heads on both sides! But this gold statue stands there intact, which means that there must be something wrong with the two snake heads on both sides! I think Take it apart and have a look, then weigh it!"

Zhan Zhao frowned and thought for a while, "Do you think there is a problem with the amount of gold?"

Bai Yutang nodded, "Yes."

Zhan Zhao recruited craftsmen and hundreds of government servants from Kaifeng Mansion to pull down the three-headed golden tuo overnight and disassemble it.

Sure enough, after taking it apart, everyone found that the left and right heads of the three-headed Jintuo were hollow, and the gold became more and more impure from the outside to the inside, and it was filled with many other things, but it was very delicate when making it. Be careful, if Bai Yutang didn't see something wrong, ordinary people would not be able to find it.

After weighing the Jintuo as a whole, the total weight is 20 taels.And the weight of the fake golden Buddha found from the ground of the Jin family is basically at this weight.However, after taking out all the impurities in the golden tuo and weighing the remaining pure gold, the total is only about 7 taels, less than half.

Zhan Zhao frowned slightly, "More than one hundred thousand taels are missing."

Bai Yutang nodded.

"Strange." Zhan Zhao paced around the courtyard with his arms folded, as if he was thinking about something.

After a long time, Zhan Zhao suddenly said to Ouyang Shaozheng, "Can you help me demolish a house?"

Ouyang was taken aback for a moment, "Demolish the house? You have to find Tianzun for this."

Zhan Zhao waved his hand, "Take Zhe Ying and Die Zijun to Xie Yiting's house and dig three feet to see if there is any gold!"

Ouyang nodded, indicating to put it on him, and left with Zhe Ying.

Zhan Zhao lightly tugged Bai Yutang, and asked him, "Yutang, did you recite those burnt imperial catalogs before?"

Bai Yutang nodded.

"What are the names of the students who were expelled with Xie Yiting for stealing test papers?"

Bai Yutang told Zhan Zhao all the names.

Zhan Zhao frowned slightly, "Never heard of it... Are you still in Kaifeng Mansion?"

Bai Yutang said, "Bao Yan had asked someone to investigate before, but there were no clues. After all, he didn't have a good reputation. He probably changed his name."

"Master Lin should know, right?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Bai Yutang nodded, "I guess I know."

"Go back to Kaifeng mansion and ask." Zhan Zhao said, and returned to Kaifeng with Bai Yutang.

For Master Lin's safety, Master Lin and Lin Xiao lived in the Kaifeng Mansion these days, and Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang knocked on the door overnight.

In fact, there was no need to knock, Lin Xiao was also awake, the old man was sitting alone in the yard drinking wine, Lin Xiao was already fast asleep in the room.

Seeing Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang approaching, Master Lin hurriedly asked, "Is the flower table really burned?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang nodded helplessly.

Master Lin let out a long sigh, "Back then, the entire city was burned down by a sea of ​​flames, and it remained. I never thought that it would be in such a catastrophe now that the world is in peace and prosperity."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang sat down at the table.

Master Lin was a little worried, "Is Ge Yuan okay?"

Zhan Zhao shook his head helplessly, and signaled—it's nothing, it's just sad, Grandma Ge doesn't know if she's going to cry or not.

Lin Xiao felt annoyed, "It must be the enemy from back then! Otherwise, I wouldn't have picked the most painful place to strike. It's really abominable. I dare not ask the young master how he is feeling right now."

"Master, is there anyone you think is suspicious?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Mrs. Lin shook his head, "I don't sleep, I just sit here and think about it now, and I don't think anyone hates the young master so much... Everyone likes him very much."

Zhan Zhao nodded, his Uncle Misfortune was indeed quite likable, so after thinking about it, he asked for clues about a few classmates who were expelled together with Xie Yiting back then.

Master Lin thought for a while, went into the room, took out a pen and paper, wrote a few names for Zhan Zhao, and said, "This is my real name. Besides Xie Yiting, there are four other people whose names have been changed. Where are the whereabouts of three of them, old man?" I don’t know, but there is one.” As he spoke, Master Lin drew a name with a brush, “His current name is Liu Zheng.”

"Liu Zheng..." Zhan Zhao was stunned, "It sounds familiar..."

"Prison officer." Master Lin said slowly, "Head of the prison, Liu Zheng."

"Ah!" Zhan Zhao remembered, "Liu Zheng is also a royal relative, right?"

Mrs. Lin nodded, "He is the uncle of Concubine Mei Gui who died of illness, and the son of General Liu. The Liu family is also a well-known and well-known family. It was very easy to cultivate a man who could go to the imperial school. I didn't expect to be expelled for stealing the test paper... Back then General Liu also came to talk to me, and wanted to accommodate Liu Zheng to stay in Taixue, but I flatly refused, which made the trouble very unpleasant."

Zhan Zhao frowned, and Bai Yutang also thought that Qiu Jian, who died in the prison of Kaifeng Mansion before escaping from prison, was originally going to be sent to the prison, but Zhan Zhao snatched him halfway.

"Basically no one knows about Liu Zheng's past." Mr. Lin said, "As for where the rest of the people went after changing their names and surnames, I really don't know. To be honest, I sent someone to inquire, but Those three people seem to have disappeared, did not return to their hometowns, and lost contact with their original friends, which is very strange."

Zhan Zhao nodded.

Leaving Master Lin behind, Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao, "Head of the Heavenly Prison? Doesn't he belong to Dali Temple or the Ministry of Punishment?"

Zhan Zhao shook his head, and said, "The prisons in the previous dynasty were divided into sky prisons and dungeons. The sky prisons were dedicated to the imperial relatives, and the dungeons were for ordinary people. Therefore, the wardens and cell leaders of the sky prisons are all officials appointed by the royal family. , are basically royal relatives. This official position system has continued to this day and has not been reformed. It’s just that the sky prison and dungeon in my dynasty are also called upper prison and lower prison. They are not divided according to the status of the prisoner, but according to the location of the cell. Underground The ones on the ground are called dungeons, and the ones on the ground are called sky prisons. Generally speaking, the guards and guards in the dungeons are not so strict, and the prisoners are not so vicious. The sky prisons are heavily guarded, and the prisoners inside are from all over the country. The felons who are escorted to Beijing are also good at martial arts, and they wear shackles almost all the year round."

Bai Yutang thought for a while, and asked, "Is the exact location of the Sky Prison in the area around the North City Gate?"

"En!" Zhan Zhao nodded, "The sky prison is divided into three perimeters, the outer perimeter and the inner perimeter. There are heavy troops stationed there. It is not far from the Imperial City Army's barracks. It is surrounded by walls. It looks like an independent fortress. I used to I've been in there a few times, but I've heard of Liu Zheng's name, but I haven't dealt with him before."

"Is the prison boss a big official?" Bai Yutang was curious, "Different from ordinary prison bosses?"

While talking, the two had already arrived in the front yard, and Zhao Pu also came back at this time. Hearing the conversation between the two, he asked, "Cellmaster?"

Zhan Zhao told Zhao Pu that Liu Zheng was one of the students who were expelled together with Xie Yiting.

"Liu Zheng..." Zhao Pu stroked his chin.

"The head of the prison is very different from ordinary jailers." Ouyang also walked in, "There are at least 3000 soldiers and horses stationed in the sky prison, and there are more than 1000 wardens and various handymen. Thousands of prisoners listen to the leader of the prison. Liu Zheng is known as the number one prison leader in the Song Dynasty. He has taken over the affairs of the prison for about 15 years, and no prisoner has ever escaped. This person is quite extraordinary... Dare to feel young Have you ever missed such a stupid thing? Can't see it..."

"Are you familiar with him?" Zhan Zhao asked Ouyang, thinking that the Imperial City Army was responsible for escorting prisoners all year round, so Ouyang should have more opportunities to deal with him.

Ouyang smiled and shook his head, "There is no one who is familiar with Liu Zheng in this world."

Bai Yutang was puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"Liu Zheng is a man who lives in seclusion and doesn't go out as if he doesn't see anyone. Things are done by a few wardens under his command. When he shows up, it's basically when something happened." Ouyang laughed dryly, "According to what I have Judging from the experience of dealing with him several times, this person is very suitable to be a warden! He is meticulous and sinister, and he usually likes to stand where there is a shadow that can cover half of his face. good."

"No matter how you look at it, this doesn't look like someone who has studied in Taixue." Zhan Zhao felt a little surprised.

"Well... I really didn't think he was a scholar." Ouyang said, touching his chin, "But I have been to his study room, there are many calligraphy and paintings hanging in the study room, I thought he likes to collect, but once When I went there, he was writing, and his calligraphy is pretty good, but now that I think about it, it makes sense."

Everyone looked at each other and said that he was not suspected. Indeed, it seemed that he had nothing to do with the case, but it was a bit strange to say that he was suspicious...

When it was almost dawn, Zhe Ying ran back covered in mud, and said to Zhan Zhao when he entered the door, "Master Zhan, I found some amazing things!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other, and asked in unison, "Gold?"

Zhe Ying nodded, "A lot!"

……

When everyone came to Xie Yiting's house, they saw that Zhe Ying had really led someone to dig the house upside down, and a cellar was dug out in the ground, and Zhe Ying and the others lifted three large boxes from inside, opened it and took a look. , all three boxes were filled with gold.Bai Yutang took a visual inspection and said, "3 taels of gold."

Everyone looked at Xie Yiting's housekeeper and his wives and concubines.

Unexpectedly, none of Xie's relatives knew where the money came from, they kept shaking their heads and said they didn't know what was going on, let alone that the master had hidden so much gold at home.

Zhan Zhao took out a gold bar, looked at it, and handed it to Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang took it over and took a look, and saw a mark on the gold bar—it was the mark of the Jin Family Gold Shop, the triangular mark.

"Is this gold from Jin Shan's family?" Bai Yutang frowned, "Why did it come from Xie Yiting's house..."

"Xie Yiting was expelled from Taixue back then, and he has his own business in a blink of an eye. Maybe this is the capital." Zhan Zhao said, "It was just a speculation at first, but now that it has come true, it seems that it is necessary to talk to Liu Zheng Talked."

"Do you suspect that the few people who participated in the first test papers were related to the murder of the Jin family and the missing gold?" Zhao Pu asked.

Zhan Zhao said, "Don't you think it's strange? It's not easy to get in if you study too much! If you enter the Imperial Academy, you will be the last in the exam every year, and you will have a bright future when you come out in the future. Why take the risk of stealing the exam questions and doing such a stupid thing?"

Everyone frowned—that's right.

"Kung Fu can't be practiced in a day or two." Zhan Zhao said, "Liu Zheng's Kung Fu must have been practiced since he was a child. If he has this kind of kung fu, how can he steal the test papers and be discovered by a few masters? There must be a problem here. !"

Bai Yutang also nodded, "I also want to go to the prison... Speaking of which, there is a friend of mine inside."

"Wow..." Everyone was taken aback by Bai Yutang, "Is your friend doing business in the sky prison or is he in prison?"

Bai Yutang laughed, "Squat in the classroom."

Zhan Zhao opened his mouth wide, "What's the situation?"

Bai Yutang waved his hand lightly, "I met a few years ago. Although I killed someone, I'm not a bad person."

"Why did he kill people?" Zhan Zhao wondered.

"Revenge." Bai Yutang said, "He used to be a dart runner, and he depended on a girl for his life. When he got home, he found that the girl had been snatched away by an official. He ran to save her, but unexpectedly, the girl had committed suicide, so he killed the official in a fit of rage. .Who would have killed a servant girl by mistake during the process, so he ran away from home and squatted in the prison room."

Zhan Zhao stroked his chin, "Oh...that's it."

"Originally, he was supposed to be sentenced to decapitation, but that year happened to be amnesty, and the sentence was changed to a prison sentence. I thought he would spend his entire life in jail." Bai Yutang said, "But it seemed that the official was found corrupt and broke the law, so the sentence was reduced. , may be released soon.”

"Oh..." Zhan Zhao nodded, and then he was puzzled, "How do you know?"

"I heard it from a friend a while ago." Bai Yutang said casually, "You know Ximen Yao, too."

Zhan Zhao knew that most of the kilns in Kaifeng Mansion were opened by him, and that legendary friend of women, Ximen Yao, was indeed one of Bai Yutang's few unreliable friends.

Zhan Zhao tilted his head to ponder, an idea came up, and he poked Bai Yutang, "You ask Ximen Yao to visit the prison, and help to find out if there is anyone in the prison with a particularly good literary talent?"

Bai Yutang was slightly taken aback, looking at Zhan Zhao, "Good literary talent? Do you suspect that the three missing scholars are in the prison?"

"Maybe! By the way, ask him to ask your friend Liu Zheng who he is. Your friend has been squatting in it for so long, no matter whether he heard people mention it or observed it by himself, he should know Liu Zheng's personality better than Ouyang." Zhan Zhao said, "Let's not go now, lest we startle the snake."

Bai Yutang nodded, "It's a way. Qiu Jian seemed to intend to sneak into the prison before. If it's just for Liu Zheng, there's no need to go to the prison. There should be other clues in the prison."

……

Bai Yutang made an appointment with Ximen Yao to tell the inside story, Ximen Yao naturally agreed, and he did not miss the prison visits, so he went to the sky jail by familiar ways, and went to ask old friends for news.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were waiting for Ximen Medicine in a restaurant near the North City Gate, drinking tea, when they heard tea drinkers chatting about something.

The two didn't listen very carefully at first, but a few words came into their ears very unconsciously - General You, General Youlian...

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang felt confused, so they listened carefully.

What people were discussing was—do you know why the right general Long Qiaoguang is so good at archery?It turns out that he is the only descendant of General Youlian, and he also knows the peerless true inheritance of General Youlian back then, Meteor Arrow.

Zhan Zhao touched his chin and looked at Bai Yutang—what's the matter?

Bai Yutang thought for a while, then smiled slightly, "Let's fight back with a chatter."

After listening for a while, the rumors are that General You Lian is living a good life, accompanied by a confidante, a filial apprentice, and a long life.

"Blow it like this to stimulate the other party?" Zhan Zhao asked Bai Yutang.

Holding the teacup, Bai Yutang said, "No matter who the other party is, he has done so many things just to make Uncle Xiaohuo out of order. Now the whole world knows that General You Lian is not only in order, but also in order. Of course he can't bear it."

"Then will he turn all his anger on Long Qiaoguang?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Bai Yutang smiled, "Isn't that what that talker wants?"

Under Zhan Zhao's order, "Is there any danger?"

Bai Yutang said, "It's okay to be in danger, should I go through fire and water for an idol?"

Zhan Zhao was a little bit dumbfounded, but with the help of his grandfather and Tianzun watching, nothing would happen, and even though this trick was crooked and bad, it might really work against weird people!