Dragon Pattern Roll Set

Spring is warm in April.

On this day, three people, one big and two young, squatted in the grass by the Peacock Lake on the west side of the imperial palace garden.

The older one is wearing a yellow dragon robe, the two younger ones are one on the left and one on the right. The little girl on the left looks only three years old, and the little boy on the right is five or six years old. Both are round and chubby, with big eyes and white skin.

The three of them were hiding behind some potted plants, staring intently at the lake ahead.

Who are the three?The one in the yellow robe is of course Emperor Zhao Zhen, and the two children beside him are Xiangxiang from his family and the fourth son from Gongsun's family.

How could these three get together and hide behind the potted plants?I have to start with an incident that happened a few days ago.

Mid-April was Zhao Zhen's birthday. After all, it was the emperor's birthday, and it was always celebrated. Therefore, since last month, the palace has undergone some renovations.

Peacock Lake is actually a small lake in the Imperial Garden, because the peacocks raised by Zhao Zhen live by the lake, and they can often be seen darting around the lake with their long tails, so Zhao Zhen is on the stone tablet by the lake. Inscribed the words "Peacock Lake".

When the palace was being renovated, it seemed that a few dead trees were cut down, and a skua made a nest on one of them.

This skua usually eats fish and catches mice. It is very ferocious, with gray-black feathers all over its body, and it is quite big. It has a brown beak with a sharp hook. The maids who usually go in and out are often frightened by this bird.

Because the nest was demolished when the tree was cut down, the skua didn't know if it was dissatisfied, and came to grab the nest from the peacocks, and recently pecked several peacocks.

Zhao Zhen felt distressed and asked Nangong to find someone to catch the bird.

The reason why it is called a skua is because this bird is thieves and bad.

Nangong arranged some guards nearby, but they couldn't catch it. He wanted to stretch the net, but he was afraid of hurting the peacock.

In the end, Nangong thought about it, and went to Kaifeng Mansion to talk to Zhan Zhao, everyone knew that Zhan Zhao was good at lightness kung fu, this bird was flying around on the lake, most people couldn't catch it, so we had to ask Zhan Zhao to come out.

The Zhan guard easily agreed, and ran to the lake to stay.

But this bird is not only a thief but also looks at people, it doesn't come out when Zhan Zhao is around, when Zhan Zhao goes to have a meal, it immediately flies out and pecks two peacocks.

Guard Zhan squatted by the lake for two days, almost growing mushrooms, and failed to catch the bird. In the end, Zhan Zhao kicked and ran away. Anyway, cats are used to catch mice, not birds.

The skua saw that no one could do anything to catch it, so it became more and more arrogant. Every morning before dawn, it kept "quack quack" on the roof. Xiangxiang was woken up by it several times, and the queen mother listened to it Heart.

Zhao Zhen didn't do it anymore, thinking that I, a real dragon emperor, can still be stumped by your thief bird?

Thinking of "True Dragon Emperor", Zhao Zhen really came up with an idea. He asked Nangong to go to Kaifeng Mansion to borrow something... and set up a trap.

Besides Zhao Zhen, the fourth son is also very busy.

In the past few days, Xiao Liangzi ran back to Wolf King Castle to celebrate his mother's birthday, and he would not come back until a few days later, so the fourth son had no one to play with. Hearing that Zhao Zhen set up a trap to catch birds, he came to observe No, no... The three of them squatted behind the tree for almost half an hour, and their legs were numb from squatting.

A group of shadow guards in the distance asked Nangong Ji who was holding his arms and shaking his head helplessly, "What plan does the emperor prepare?"

Nangong spread his hands, he had never seen such an idle emperor.

At this time, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang also came, followed by a yawning Zhao Pu.

Gongsun went to study at Taixue, and Zhao Pu had nothing to do, so he came to the palace to pick up the fourth son to have dinner with him.

As soon as the three of them walked to Nangong and the others at the gate of the courtyard, they heard two birdsongs called "quacks". They looked up... and saw a big gray bird spinning around on the lake in the distance. When it called, Several peacocks by the lake were looking for a place to hide, obviously afraid of it.

Zhan Zhao squatted for two days and didn't see the bird, but today he saw it, and looked at it from a distance, "Xue! It's not small!"

Bai Yutang was also puzzled, and asked Nangong Ji, "What kind of trap was set..."

Before Bai Yutang finished speaking, suddenly, he heard a "crash", and the surface of the water suddenly exploded... A huge white figure jumped out of the lake.

Was it the one that rushed out with splashes of water? It jumped into the air and opened its mouth to say "ahhh" to the skua...

Then, with a "bang", Meme jumped down into the water, a huge splash was stirred up on the lake, and the skua and the "quack" were gone.

In an instant... the surroundings were completely silent...

Zhan Zhao and the others opened their mouths wide, and then there was another "crash" sound, and Meme jumped out of the water, spread his wings and flew in mid-air, circling in mid-air, and the water droplets from his body fell "crash clatter".

Hearing "Wow", Xiao Xiangxiang raised her face and began to cry.

Zhao Zhen hurriedly hugged his daughter.

The fourth son also turned around in circles, "Ahhhh! It's been eaten! The little bird is so pitiful!"

Nangong Ji Fu forehead.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were speechless - this scene was indeed a bit too cruel.

Xiao Xiangxiang cried and said, "Father is a bad person."

Zhao Zhen shook his head vigorously. He was thinking about hiding at the bottom of the lake to sneak attack and catch the bird, but he swallowed it in one gulp. The one just now was too terrifying, no wonder it scared Xiangxiang.

The peacocks on the side ran away in fright, thinking what the hell is this white thing!Do you want to eat peacocks?

After circling twice on the lake, Bai Yutang came to the lake and waved to him.

Memo landed next to him and was about to rub against him, but Bai Yutang pressed its head and pointed to the ground, "Spit it out."

Blink your eyes, open your mouth... click.

Look again, there is a wet silly bird on the ground, but it is still alive.

The skua was also frightened, and now it couldn't be arrogant anymore, lying on the ground and shivering like a quail.Nangong took a cage to put the bird in, and asked someone to take it out of the palace to find a forest to let it go. It is estimated that it would never dare to come to the palace to make trouble again in this life.

Xiangxiang stopped crying when she saw that the little bird was not eaten.

But now turn around and think about the scene where Meme jumped out of the water just now, don't be too domineering!

Zhao Pu folded his arms and nodded, "This is exciting enough!"

At this time, Meme shook his head and burped.

Zhan Zhao glanced at Memo's bulging belly, guessing that it ate a lot of fish at the bottom of the lake just now.

Bai Yutang also took a look at it, and saw a bump on its belly, and frowned slightly, "What did you eat?"

Zhan Zhao also felt that something was wrong, why did the puffed bag look a bit square?

Little Si stood on tiptoe, stretched out his hand to touch it, and knocked again, "It's hard, so did you swallow the brick?"

I guess I was panicking too, after a while of "gurgling" in my stomach, I saw that "hard" thing disappeared, and then I opened my mouth...

Everyone heard a "click", and a rectangular object fell out and fell on the grass by the river.

Nangong took a cloth and wiped it, picked it up and looked at it... He saw that it was a piece of dark green jade, shaped like a pillow, with exquisite workmanship, with fishtails on both sides, and some Buddha statues carved in it, it should be Garan deity Buddha who guards the temple.

Bai Yutang has researched on jade, took a look and said, "It's an antique."

"Good stuff." Zhao Zhen also nodded.

Zhan Zhao stared at the fourth son in his arms, and asked curiously, "What is this? A pillow?"

Bai Yutang nodded, "It should be Yushi's pillow."

"Use jade as a pillow?" Zhan Zhao was surprised.

Nangong shook, "But jade is so light..."

With the shaking of Nangong's hand, they heard the sound of "click click" coming from inside, and everyone was taken aback... Is there something inside? !

"Is it hollow?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Nangong fumbled around, but didn't know how to open it.

Bai Yutang took it and said, "It's usually filled with ice cubes."

"Ice?" Everyone was surprised.

"If you have a fever and need ice compresses, put ice in it and use it as a pillow." Bai Yutang said, "Ordinary people don't know how to use it, most of them are royal ones."

With that said, Fifth Master found a hidden button, pressed it lightly, and a gap appeared on the pillow.

"Oh..." Everyone nodded, Zhan Zhao asked Bai Yutang curiously, "How do you know?"

Bai Yutang said, "My sister-in-law has one. Although the style is different, the basic structure is similar. It seems that her father Yaowang cured a royal family back then, and the royal family gave it to him."

Everyone looked at Zhao Zhen again.

Zhao Zhen scratched his head, "I haven't seen it before, where did I get it?"

The fourth son said, "I didn't have any when I came here just now, did you swallow them while eating fish in Peacock Lake?"

Everyone subconsciously went to see Peacock Lake.

"Maybe it was left by the previous dynasty?" Nangong Ji said, "This lake has never been drained."

Zhao Zhen also nodded, "Maybe some concubine from the previous court accidentally dropped it into the lake." As he spoke, he asked curiously, "What's inside?"

When I opened the pillow, I saw a small cloth roll inside.

Zhan Zhao reached out and took out the cloth roll, opened it... and saw a piece of white silk with some lines drawn with charcoal on it, it looked like a map, and a circle was drawn at a certain place.

Everyone stared at the picture for a long time, Zhao Zhen clapped his hands, "Treasure map!"

Everyone looked up at the sky, the emperor was really idle!

"It seems to be a topographic map of the imperial palace!" Nangong Ji took it over and looked at it, and quickly distinguished, "It is the road map of the side hall on the west side of the imperial palace."

Nangong arranged the guards in the palace, who knew the terrain of the palace quite well, and pointed to the circle, "This should be the location of the southwestern side hall of the abandoned Shaohua Palace."

"Shaohua Palace?" Zhan Zhao thought for a while, "Is that the palace that was flooded a few years ago?"

Nangong nodded, "Shaohua Palace is very low-lying. There was a heavy rain that year and water accumulated. The wooden pillars were soaked and deformed into a dilapidated building. It has been abandoned for a while."

Zhao Zhen hugged Xiangxiang, "Maybe there is a treasure hidden inside, let's go! Follow me to find the treasure!"

After finishing speaking, Zhao Zhen headed towards Shaohua Palace in high spirits.

The fourth son also happily followed.

Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang spread his hands, expressing helplessness.

Zhao Pu yawned, "What kind of treasure is hidden, maybe some concubine buried some private money."

Zhan Zhao looked at the pillow and asked Bai Yutang, "Is this pillow very valuable?"

Bai Yutang looked at it and said, "The workmanship is indeed very good. It's worth 800 taels. The key depends on who has used it. If it was Yang Guifei's pillow, it will be worth a lot."

……

Everyone came to Shaohua Palace.

This Shaohua Palace was originally resplendent and resplendent, but it was a pity that it had been abandoned for too long, and now it is close to half of the ruins.Moreover, it is very far away from the main hall of the imperial palace, and usually there are not many people walking around here.

Nangong asked a few older court ladies to ask.

The court ladies said that there are many muddy roads and stone slabs in Shaohua Palace, which are damaged by soaking in water, and no one would go in on weekdays.

"Is it haunted?" Zhan Zhao asked extra thoughtfully.

The maids covered their mouths and laughed, shaking their heads and saying, "Of course not. The Shaohua Palace used to be a place where Gai came to enjoy flowers and listen to operas. There is no wrongdoing."

Zhan Zhao felt relieved.

Bai Yutang didn't want to go in when he heard that the ground was full of "rotten mud" just now, but Zhao Zhen was very interested and rushed in with his daughter in his arms.

Nangong also went in, and Zhao Pu went in with the fourth son.

And Zhan Zhao has recently developed a habit of tugging on Bai Yutang's sleeve or wrist wherever he goes, so Master Wu had no choice but to follow in.

Walked through the dusty palace and found nothing.

According to the map, the "circle" is in a courtyard in the west of Shaohua Palace.

Everyone walked through the long corridor and a round stone gate, and came to the side courtyard, and found the "circle" very smoothly!

What circle?A dry well!

Zhan Zhao and the others looked at the well and nodded, isn't it just a "circle"!

Nangong went over and looked down from the mouth of the well, and saw that it was indeed a dry well with many leaves underneath.

Zhao Zhen put Xiangxiang down, as if he was about to climb in, Nangong hurriedly stopped him, and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Father, is there any treasure in the well?" Xiao Xiangxiang grabbed Zhao Zhen's clothes and asked.

"Hmm..." Zhao Zhen stroked his chin in a very profound way, "According to my guess, it's probably close to ten."

Everyone raised their eyebrows and looked at him.

Zhao Zhen smiled slightly and said. "I'll tell you a legend I heard when I was a child!"

Everyone looked at Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen wandered by the well with his hands behind his back, "My father, the emperor, married a concubine named Ye back then, and he was very fond of her."

Zhao Pu looked at the sky and thought for a while, what is the surname Ye?Does his imperial brother have a "Concubine Ye"?Why hasn't he heard of it?

"At that time, the father was still the prince, and Concubine Ye was his concubine!" Zhao Zhen continued to stroll, "But this concubine Ye is actually a snitch!"

Everyone raised their eyebrows—Jue!

"The identity of her marriage is indeed from a famous family, but she is actually an impostor." Zhao Zhen shook his head, "There was a theft case in the palace back then, and it is said that countless gold and silver treasures were lost!"

Zhao Pu rubbed his chin, "I have indeed heard of a palace theft case that has remained unsolved, and a lot of treasures have been stolen."

Nangong nodded, "The entrance and exit of the imperial city is heavily guarded, it is difficult to freely enter and exit with so many treasures, so I have always suspected that people in the palace committed the crime, and the stolen property was also hidden in the palace."

Zhao Zhen nodded, "Concubine Ye died in childbirth. She had a deep relationship with her father. Before she died, she confessed her identity to her father. She originally planned to run away after collecting enough money, but in the end She was willing to part with her father, so she stayed in the palace until her death. She stayed with her father when he was a prince and was in a very difficult situation, but she passed away when his father took the throne. I don't mind her status, I miss her all my life."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other, which means...

Zhao Zhen pointed to the well, and said firmly, "Don't ask, Concubine Ye must have hidden in this well after she stole the property back then! Then she had a deep affection for my father and didn't want to leave. So I left this blueprint and waited for the descendants of the royal family to find these treasures!"

Xiao Xiangxiang clapped her hands, "Oh!"

The fourth son also raised his face, "The emperor is so smart!"

Zhao Zhen nodded with a smile, and said to Nangong, "Find someone to move the ladder, and I will go down and look for it myself!"

Nangong was speechless, looking at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao was also a little interested, and asked Bai Yutang, "Would you like to go and have a look?"

Bai Yutang didn't care, there was nothing to lose if he went to have a look.

Zhan Zhao jumped down the dry well, and Bai Yutang followed. When the two reached the bottom, they found that the well was still spacious, so they waved to the people above.

Zhao Zhen hugged Xiangxiang, Nangong jumped down with Zhao Zhen, Zhao Pu shook his head, and jumped down with the fourth son in his arms.

When they arrived at the well, they looked around. The well was about the size of a hut, the height of two people. Many vines grew around it, and the leaves piled up in a layer.

Nangong groped around the walls, pulled away a few vines, and saw a dark hole on the side of the bottom of the well, about half the height of a person, and there seemed to be something inside.

"It must be hidden inside!" Zhao Zhen pointed.

Nangong was helpless, there were quite a lot of vines below, so Nangong reached in to touch it, and then saw that Nangong didn't move.

Zhan Zhao asked him curiously, "What's wrong?"

Nangong said very calmly, "I touched it."

"Take it out!" Zhao Zhen was excited.

Nangong looked at Zhao Zhen, sighed, and withdrew his hand.

When everyone looked at it, they saw Nangong took out a white, round thing, and took a closer look - a skull.

Everyone stared at the skull in silence for a while, and the fourth son clapped his hands, "It has appeared!"

As they said that, everyone turned to look at Zhan Zhao with a "swipe!"

Zhan Zhao opened his mouth wide and pointed at himself, "Is this also my fault?!"

Zhao Zhen sighed, patted Zhan Zhao's shoulder and said earnestly, "Guard Zhan, the Nan'an Temple that the Queen Mother often goes to is still very spiritual, go and pay your respects when you have time!"

The exhibition is full of hope.

Zhao Zhen hugged his daughter and went out of the dry well with Nangong. Zhao Pu hugged his youngest son and looked at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang. ..."

The fourth son also nodded sympathetically.

Zhan Zhao gritted his teeth and looked at Bai Yutang - this corpse should be on Zhao Zhen's head!

Bai Yutang is helpless—all the corpses found in Kaifeng City are yours, okay...

Show off the air.

Zhao Zhen made a mess and ran away, but Zhan Zhao still had to investigate the case. He tore off the vine to see what was going on inside.

Gongsun was also called from Taixue, holding a small medicine box to the mouth of the well and said to Zhao Pu, "What did I say this morning!"

Zhao Pu and the fourth son looked at Zhan Zhao with contempt.

Zhan Zhao squatted at the entrance of the cave with his chin resting on his chin, looked at the corpse inside and sighed.

Bai Yutang stood with his arms folded and looked at the fishtail jade pillow, shaking his head, this cat just has a bit of a back...

In the half-person-high cave, there was a pair of skeletons, which were placed in a curved position, and it felt like the corpse was sitting in that cave at that time.There were still tattered clothes on the skeleton. It looked like a cloth shirt, and it was all torn, but it was still vaguely discernible. It was Wen Sheng's robe.

Gongsun jumped down from the well, Zhao Pu caught him and put him on the ground.

Walking over and squatting beside Zhan Zhao to look at the skeleton, Zhan Zhao handed the skull to Gongsun.

Gongsun took the skull and looked at it for a while, then looked at the condition of the bones, "Male, probably in his 20s."

"How long have you been dead?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"It's hard to say." Gongsun said, "This place has been flooded, and it's very humid, and there are many snakes, insects, rats and ants. The shortest period is three or four years, and the longest period is six or seven years."

"Not ten years?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Gongsun shook his head, "Yes! Not that long."

"Can you see the cause of death?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Gongsun groped for the bones, picked out a rib, saw an obvious gap on it, and pointed, "He was stabbed or stabbed with a sword, the wound was deep, and he probably died of blood loss. "

"How could he die in a remote dry well in the palace at such a young age?" Bai Yutang was puzzled, "And this picture in the fishtail pillow is where the corpse is recorded?"

"Looking at the clothes of ordinary people, it is indeed a bit strange to enter the palace and die in the palace." Gongsun searched the bones, but did not find anything that could prove the identity of the deceased.

After sending Zhao Zhen back to the imperial study, Nangongyou turned back, looked at the remaining clothes, shook his head, and said that no one in the palace would wear clothes of this quality, probably people outside the palace.

……

Not long after, the well was full of onlookers, Lord Bao Pang Taishi and the Eighth Prince just entered the palace, and when they heard that the dead body was found, they all came to watch.

Grand Master Pang folded his arms and shook his head by the well, "Oh! It's really as bad as in the legend!"

Master Bao sighed, "Blame me!"

The Eighth Prince also nodded, "Take that child to worship when you have time!"

Zhan Zhao raised his face, and saw a circle of people by the well, looking at him sympathetically, Zhan's guard rubbed his chest, feeling a little suffocated.

……

In the evening, the bones were brought back to the Wu Zuofang in Kaifeng Mansion.

After Gongsun's autopsy, he said—male, in his early twenties, died of a trauma that penetrated his chest cavity. He died about four or five years ago, and there are no other clues.

Looking at the skeleton of an unknown male corpse, and an exquisitely carved fishtail jade pillow, everyone was in trouble—where to start!

……

That night, Gongsun drew a portrait according to the appearance of the skeleton.

Zhan Zhao took a look at the portrait, he looked like a very ordinary scholar.

Zhao Pu shook his head, "Isn't this kind of thing everywhere, it's not recognizable."

Gongsun was also helpless, "There is no way to speculate on facial skin, moles, or fat and thin. It's a familiar person, maybe I can recognize it."

"But what if he's not from Kaifeng?" Bai Yutang asked.

Gongsun spread his hands, "Then it's really a needle in a haystack, why not start from the jade pillow."

The next day, pictures were posted inside and outside Kaifeng to seek clues.

But it took three days after the image was posted, and no one came to identify the body.As for the fishtail pillow, Zhan Zhao went all over the jade shops, but couldn't find anyone he had seen before. Everyone had a bad feeling that the case might be suspended.

……

At noon that day, I went back to Bai Yutang in the White Mansion and went back to Kaifeng to look for Zhan Zhao, but Zhan Zhao was not there, saying that he had gone to the palace with Master Bao, Gongsun went to the pharmacy, Zhao Pu, Ouyang and the others went to the barracks, Lin Ye Huo and Zou Liang went to the Northwest with Xiao Liangzi and haven't come back yet.

Bai Yutang searched around the yard, and found Sizi playing diabolo by himself, and Wu and Momo who were napping next to Sizi.

The fourth son pouted and looked at Bai Yutang. Bai Yutang knew that he was bored by himself, so he went over and asked, "Where are my master and the others? Are you not with you?"

The fourth son muttered, "Zunzun and Yin Yin went drinking, and no one accompanied me to Yaojia Village."

Bai Yutang was a little puzzled, "Why did you go to Yaojia Village?"

The fourth son said, "Yaojia Village is competing in diabolo these days. Elder sister Xiaocui's hometown is Yaojia Village. She said that these three days every year are very lively! The biggest diabolo is as big as a cow!"

Yaojia Village is located in the western suburbs of Kaifeng, not far from the city. It is true that there are some diabolo and kite competitions there every year, and many acrobatic troupes will come, which is very lively.

Bai Yutang saw that there was nothing left and right, so he went to the stable and led Bai Yunfan out, and pulled the fourth son with him, "Let's go, I'll accompany you!"

The fourth son cheered and followed Bai Yutang out.

Bai Yutang asked Chen Xing'er to send a message to Gongsun and Zhan Zhao, saying that he took the fourth son to play in Yaojia Village and would come back at night.

……

Yaojia Village was really lively, Bai Yutang took the fourth son after watching the diabolo competition, ordered a pair of diabolos, went to dinner with him, and then took him to the market to buy something, After watching the fireworks at night, the two of them rode horses and returned to Kaifeng slowly.

The fourth son was exhausted after playing all day, so he hugged the diabolo, sat on Bai Yunfan's horse, and dozed off against Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang rode his horse and walked into Kaifeng City unhurriedly. At the gate of the city, Bai Yutang saw a picture of a picture posted in a conspicuous place.

A corner of that portrait was probably blown off by the wind, shaking gently in the wind, on the portrait is that unremarkable scholar... plus today, it is already the fourth day, and no one has gone to Kaifeng Mansion to recognize him corpse.

Bai Yutang recalled that the day before yesterday, Bao Yan and Pang Yu had gone through all the missing person reports in the past five years, but they couldn't find anyone similar to the deceased.Wu Ye has been traveling the rivers and lakes for many years, and he has seen many dead people, but the scholar has been curled up in the dry well for many years, but no one came to him, which is embarrassing.

Gently pulling Bai Yunfan's reins, Bai Yutang wanted to take a shortcut and quickly return to Kaifeng Mansion, passing through a narrow alley, and in front of him was a very secluded street in Kaifeng.

Right at the intersection, Bai Yutang saw an old woman standing in front of a wall in the distance, looking up at the portrait on the wall.

The way the old lady looked at the portrait caught Bai Yutang's attention.

The night was cool and windy at this time. The old lady was wearing a gray-black coat and a burlap shawl, holding a wooden crutch in her hand.She is thin, slightly hunchbacked, with many wrinkles on her face, her gray hair is coiled, and a few strands of hair flutter gently in the night wind.The old woman remained motionless, with her face upturned, staring at the portrait with great concentration.

When Bai Yutang rode out on the horse, she saw her stretch out her hand, as if she wanted to tear off the portrait, but when she noticed the sound of the horse's hooves, she took her hand back calmly.

Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows slightly, this old woman should have some skills despite her age, but unfortunately her identity cannot be deduced.

The old lady turned around, walked forward with her head down, and when she passed Bai Yutang's horse, Bai Yutang grabbed the horse's reins, looked back at her, and asked, "Old man."

The old lady stopped and turned her head to look at Bai Yutang.

After looking around for a while, the old lady smiled slightly, "Young master, is your name Lao Sheng?"

At this time, the fourth son also woke up after dozing off, rubbing his eyes and looking at the old lady in front of him, and raised his face to look at Bai Yutang in some puzzlement.

Bai Yutang pointed to the portrait and asked, "Do you know the person in the painting?"

The old lady smiled slightly and shook her head.

Bai Yutang originally didn't like to meddle in other people's business, but this time he didn't want to help Zhan Zhao investigate the case, it's better to say that Fifth Master really wanted to find out the identity of the nameless skeleton, so he asked one more question, "Like you Someone you've met?"

The old lady stared at Bai Yutang and smiled faintly, "The old man really doesn't know him."

Bai Yutang didn't speak, but he was obviously suspicious.

The old lady seemed to see Bai Yutang's doubts, and said, "The old man just thinks, God is really unfair. An old bone like me is still alive and well, and the person in the portrait is so young, but died."

Bai Yutang couldn't tell if the old woman was telling the truth, or if she was just making excuses.

After the old lady finished speaking, she turned her head, leaned on a cane, and walked unhurriedly.

Bai Yutang still looked back at her. At this moment, on the empty street, only the sound of "click, click" could be heard when the old lady's crutch touched the ground, but the sound of the old lady's footsteps could not be heard.

Bai Yutang frowned - the kung fu is really good!What is it about?

"in vain."

The fourth son woke up Bai Yutang who was in deep thought.

Bai Yutang looked down at him.

The fourth son raised his face and said to Bai Yutang, "That grandma looks a bit like the person in the portrait."

Bai Yutang was slightly taken aback, "Does it look like it?"

The fourth son nodded, "Well! This person has special eye sockets and chin. That grandma has the same characteristics as him, so she may be a relative."

Bai Yutang hurriedly tugged on Bai Yunfan's horse's reins and chased after him.

But the old lady had already turned into an alley just now, and Bai Yutang looked for her again... she had already disappeared.

Bai Yutang felt that the matter was not simple, so he hurried back to Kaifeng Mansion to find Zhan Zhao.

……

And at this time, where is Zhan Zhao?

Zhanwei is not in Kaifeng Mansion.He did come back when he was lighting the lamp just now, and wanted to have a supper with Bai Yutang when he came back, but just now, Nangong Ji sent a guard to look for him, saying that something happened in the palace.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Pu rushed to the palace and were taken to the dry well where they found the skeleton.

"What smell?" Gongsun smelled a burning smell.

Nangong pointed to the bottom of the well.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Pu looked at each other, took the lantern from a guard, and jumped into the dry well.

The bottom of the dry well is different from what they came a few days ago.

In front of the cave where the corpses were stored, there were three piles of ashes, which looked like burnt paper money. There was an incense burner in the middle, with burnt incense in it, and two candles. A white ribbon was inserted into the hole. Surrounded by yellow paper money.

Zhan Zhao was surprised—has anyone come to worship?

Zhao Pu asked Nangong, "The guards didn't find out who it was?"

Nangong shook his head, "The Imperial Palace is heavily guarded, but no one has noticed anyone coming in or out. The guards patrolled here today and only found out when they smelled the incense sticks."

"what is that?"

Gongsun's sharp eyes saw that there seemed to be something in the pile of fallen leaves. Zhan Zhao squatted down and picked apart the fallen leaves, and saw a jade pendant inside.

Picking up the jade pendant, everyone looked at it through the light—they saw that it was a jade pendant the size of a copper coin, and the style of the jade pendant was exactly the same as the fish tail pillow that I found in Peacock Lake that day.

"Did it happen last time?" Zhao Pu asked.

Gongsun shook his head, "Impossible, last time I searched all the leaves, there must be no such jade pendant."

"Is that left by the worshipper?"

Zhan Zhao touched, "Why not hang it on a vine or put it in a hole, but bury it in fallen leaves?"

"Or..." Nangong looked at the pile of fallen leaves, "It looks like it was thrown down."

Gongsun nodded, "It's possible."

Zhan Zhao held the jade pendant and looked at it, couldn't help frowning, no one had worshiped before, and suddenly someone came... Is it because the portrait was recognized, that people who knew the deceased would come to sacrifice, risking the risk It can be seen that there is a lot of relationship in the palace, but since there is someone who knows the deceased, why didn't the other party go to Kaifeng Mansion to identify the body, but come to pay homage by himself?

……

At the same time, in the palace.

When Zhao Zhen walked to the garden, he saw Concubine Pang sitting at the table drinking tea with the Queen Mother, and Xiangxiang sitting on Concubine Pang's lap dangling her calf.

Zhao Zhen came in and sat down, Xiao Xiangxiang immediately crawled over, "Have you had dinner, father?"

Zhao Zhen shook his head, and Concubine Pang asked the maid beside her to bring Zhao Zhen dinner.

As soon as the maid walked out of the courtyard, everyone heard a scream.

Several guards rushed out, and Zhao Zhen also walked out... I saw a court lady hanging on a camphor tree beside the Peacock Lake at the other end of the imperial garden.

Xiangxiang wanted to run out to see, but Concubine Pang stopped her, and Zhao Zhen turned around and waved at her.

Concubine Pang went back to the house with Xiangxiang in her arms.

The queen mother came over, looked up at Zhao Zhen, and frowned.

Several guards put the maid down, but she was hopeless.

A hemp rope tied in a knot was hung on the tree, and there was an overturned chair on the ground... It looked like he had hanged himself.

Soon after hearing the news, Zhan Zhao rushed over.

Nangong Ji glanced at the maid and couldn't help frowning.

The maid was over 50 years old, and many people didn't know her. The eunuch in charge recognized her and said that she was a maid in charge of heavy work such as laundry, so she basically wouldn't come to the front.This court lady is called Granny Liang, she is very cheerful and talkative on weekdays, the person in charge can't understand why she came to the imperial garden to hang herself.

Gongsun squatted next to the corpse to examine it, and said, "She did commit suicide!"

Zhan Zhao frowned. He thought he was killed and hung up here, but he really committed suicide?To be honest, committing suicide in this kind of place is even more inconceivable than being killed.

In addition, there is nothing to investigate about suicide. There are many reasons for suicide, but at least there is no murderer to catch... But just a few days ago, an unknown skeleton was found, and the fish tail pillow was also found in Peacock Lake. Are the two related? ?

……