Give you a spring

At four o'clock in the morning, according to the address given by Xie Lianzheng, Ping Wei and He Zhou came to Zhou Mu's house.

"Did Your Highness decide to help the Fifth Prince this time?" In Xie Lianzheng's mansion, an aide came to him and asked in a low voice.

"Well, His Majesty must know something about what Xie Shi has done in the past two years. This time Pingwei's action may have been his acquiescence. Lian Zheng is still at the table, reading those documents, "Bring a few people to Qinghe tonight On the street, squatting around to see if someone really leaked the test questions secretly. "

"Yes."

"In addition, these people you just sorted out, also go to find out what the details are, whether they have close contact with Xie Shi."

"it is good."

On Xishui Street, Ping Wei knocked on the door of Zhou Mu's house.

He has a deep impression on this street, not only because You Wan and He Zhou did some shameful things here, but also Shi Qianlin's house is also on this street, and the two of them saw that place when they came, It has been sealed by the yamen, but you can still see the dilapidated scene inside from the outside.

"Zhou Mu is actually on the same street as Shi Qianlin's house, and it takes only half a quarter of an hour to walk there." Ping Wei looked at He Zhou, "I just read what Xie Lianzheng wrote on that piece of paper. He stayed in the Ministry of Industry for a while before being transferred to the Ministry of Rites. This person probably knew Shi Zongxi before."

"Well," He Zhou stood in front of the door with him, seeing no one answered after knocking for a long time, so he stretched out his leg and kicked, breaking in.

The two searched the house, but they didn't see Zhou Mu.

"Did you hear the news and run away?" After Shi Qianlin was arrested, Xie Shi would definitely notice something. Zhou Mu may have something to do with cheating in the literary examination again, and it may not be certain that he chose to go out to avoid the limelight.

Ping Wei looked at He Zhou, who was sinking like water, "Shall I look around?"

"Let's ask the neighbors in the neighborhood first." Ping Wei pulled him back, and the two went to a nearby room, knocked on the door, and soon a woman came out.

"Hello, I want to ask if Mr. Zhou is at home. I knocked on the door for a long time but no one answered. Did you go out?" Ping Wei smiled at her and asked softly.

Seeing that his attitude was so good, the other party said, "The old man should go to listen to the little song at this time."

"Listen to a ditty?"

"You don't know?" The woman glanced at him, "Did you just come here? There is a very famous workshop on our street called Yulanfang. It opens on time at Xushi. Three or five girls sing there. It’s very tall. Sometimes when I pass by there, I see that old man intoxicated inside, are you looking for him? You might as well go there and have a look, maybe you can find someone.”

"Okay," Ping replied with a smile, and walked over there with He Zhou.

The woman didn't say exactly where Yulan Workshop was, but people on the street all walked in the same direction, and occasionally passed by two or three people and heard them chatting, as if they were going to that workshop.

There were a lot of people around Yulanfang, and Ping Wei knew that he had to reserve a seat in advance, and everyone took out a lot of money from their trouser pockets. It was difficult to get in even if they spent money with this posture.There were too many people around, and everyone crowded each other, so Pingwei stood opposite the workshop——He Zhou was not by his side, and walked away to go elsewhere.

After returning, Ping Wei didn't say anything, only saw He Zhou nodded slightly, pointed to the back of the workshop, and immediately followed.

They were going to sneak in through the back door.

The workshop was full of people, very noisy, and there were some beautiful girls everywhere, wearing little clothes, looking at each customer with a smile.

He Zhou subconsciously held Pingwei's hand, and said softly, "I just knew...this is a brothel?" Didn't it say it was just a place to listen to music?

Ping Wei was also a little surprised, the two of them slipped in through the back door and went straight up to the second floor, looking at the extremely noisy bottom, they didn't know where to go for a moment.A sharp-eyed girl saw these two gentlemen with extraordinary temperament, and saw Pingwei's extremely outstanding appearance, walked to him and asked softly, "What do you call the two young masters? Do you have a girl in your heart?"

He Zhou frowned, raised his hand to push him away, Ping Wei quickly grabbed him, hinted that the other party should not mess around, then looked at the woman, and said softly, "It's the first time we came here, we are Zhou Mu's friends, the girl knows Where can I find him?"

"It's Mr. Zhou's friend..." The woman nodded, walked to the railing and looked down. He Zhou's eyes were deep, and he stared at the woman's back. Fortunately, she didn't do anything to Pingwei, otherwise he would be very It is possible to "miss" and push the person down.

"I saw him, are you sure you know him? Mr. Zhou has been here many times and he has never seen him bring friends." The woman seemed to see something, and turned to look at Pingwei.

"We just came to the capital a few days ago, and we have been living in other places before." Ping Wei said with a bit of embarrassment on his face, "He said this place is very interesting, let us have a look."

The woman immediately understood, and said with a charming smile, "Then I'll take you there to find him."

"Wait," Ping Wei called to stop her, "Can you open a wing room for us? Some things are better done quietly."

"Okay," he said with one meaning, but the woman understood another meaning.

The three of them went down the first floor and found Zhou Mu in the innermost place.

Half a hundred hair, dark yellow skin, fat body, hugging a girl and laughing happily.

Ping frowned slightly.

"Mr. Zhou, these two are here to see you."

Zhou Mu raised his head when he heard the sound, saw two unfamiliar faces, and was about to say that he didn't know each other, when He Zhou had already walked up behind him, reached out and grabbed his collar from behind, and then took out the short knife in his arms and pointed it behind him, "Follow us Go upstairs and keep quiet."

Zhou Mu was stunned for a moment, and panicked when he noticed a knife behind his back. He subconsciously let go of the girl in his arms. The girl was half leaning on him, but almost fell to the ground after losing the support.Pingwei walked up to her, smiled slightly, "Sorry, we have something to talk to Mr. Zhou, can you come to him later?" He took out a bag of money from his bosom, "Please trouble girl. "

The sudden situation made the woman a little angry, but seeing such a good-looking person as Ping Wei smiling gently at her, she couldn't help blushing, stood up and took the money, without saying a word.

Ping Wei turned his head to look at the woman who was leading the way, "How do I get to the wing room?"

"This way." The woman froze and said hastily.

There are three floors in Yulanfang. The first floor is a place for listening to music, and the second and third floors are for guests to have fun and make love with women.

Walking all the way, you can hear the ups and downs of sex and delicate voices.

Now it was only in the evening, just after dark, the brothel workshop was already so lively, Ping Wei walked into the wing without changing his face, and Zhou Mu next to him was also pushed in forcefully by He Zhou.

"You are..." The woman who was traveling with her felt that something was wrong and asked in surprise.

"Mind your own business," He Zhou was the closest to her. He now has a lot of opinions on this kind of woman. After hearing what he said, he gave her a vicious look, pushed her out, and threatened, "Don't tell anyone else. I know..." He flashed the dagger at his waist.

The woman covered her mouth and ran away quickly.

"Who are you?" Zhou Mu looked at them vigilantly from a foot away from him. He was suddenly distracted and brought into the closed room with a knife on his back. He was visibly restless.

"Zhou Mu, right?" Ping Wei walked to a table in the room, patted the chair, "Come and sit."

Zhou Mu didn't move, He Zhou turned his head to look at him expressionlessly, the two of them met for only a few seconds, Zhou Mu immediately went over as if being pricked by a needle, and sat down opposite Ping Wei.

"I came to you this time because I want to talk about the palace examination two years ago. Mr. has been the tester for two years, right?"

"Correct."

"Did you disclose the topic to others before the palace examination?" Ping Wei asked straightforwardly.

Zhou Mu was startled, and moved his hand on his lap, "No, I don't know what you're talking about."

"I don't want to talk nonsense with you, let's put it this way, I am the fifth prince Xie Xu, and I came to you this time because His Majesty asked me to investigate the cheating in the imperial examination two years ago," Ping Wei looked into the eyes of the old man opposite, slowly Said, "If you confess honestly, you can still receive a lighter sentence."

"..." Zhou Mu was half-believing, he hadn't heard anything before, and the First Prince didn't send anyone over, but His Majesty suddenly asked the Second Prince to be in charge of the palace examination this year. A few days ago, Shi Zongxi's son was arrested It was caught, there was indeed a possibility of an accident, but he was not found out so quickly.

Steady first, Zhou Mu took a breath, and said again, "I don't know what you are talking about."

Ping raised his eyebrows slightly, looked at He Zhou, "Go and search his house?"

"Okay, but after a while, there will be too many people here, I don't worry about you being here alone," He Zhou didn't look at him, stood between the two of them and stared sideways at Zhou Mu, and drew out the dagger in his arms.

"What do you want to do?" Although Zhou Mu didn't know the two of them well, he was terrified of He Zhou. It seemed that he was being "hijacked" in front of him and had a shadow. Let me tell you I'm..."

"A third-rank official from the Ministry of Rites? Or a former colleague of Shi Zongxi from the Ministry of Industry?" Ping Wei took it and said with a smile, "To be honest with Mr. He, I have already confirmed the cheating in the imperial examination, and I also know that there will be the same situation this year. , I will formally tell His Majesty two days later that Mr. will be convicted by then. It seems that there is nothing wrong with extorting a confession from you now."

"Sir, it's best to tell everything. My friend is not in a good mood right now. I don't care if he gets cut later."

Zhou Mu shivered, stared at Ping Wei and reprimanded, "Your majestic prince, you actually do such a thing in private!"

"The dignitary examiner is still going to the brothel in private, "Ping Wei is not hurting or itching," I will give you another chance, why don't you say it?"

Not to mention, Zhou Mu is very stubborn. These two people said that they have confirmed that someone cheated in the palace examination, but they haven't produced any evidence yet, and their attitude is extremely arrogant. No matter how you say it, he is also a bachelor. treat.

The old man was very angry.

Ping Wei wasn't surprised at all, he didn't even express it, He Zhou next to him had already kicked Zhou Mu's chair over, and the old man fell to the ground, just as he was about to call for help, the vicious man on the opposite side knelt down and pinched his mouth.

"You are very disobedient."

He Zhou turned the knife in his hand and cut Zhou Mu's left arm.

The force was well controlled, and although it didn't hurt the old man, it cut through layers of fabric.

Zhou Mu's face showed panic, and he made a sound of "uuuuuuuuuuu".

Ping Wei couldn't hear what he was saying, but he didn't want to know, he turned and walked out of the room after watching for a while, looking around.

Then with a flick of the fingertip, a peanut that was previously on the table was hit on the woman's shoulder.

The opponent looked up.

It was the woman who had just brought them into the room.

Ping Wei hooked his hand towards her and came up.

The other party was startled, and was a little afraid of him and He Zhou. After hesitating for a while, he slowly walked up to the second floor.

Ping Wei was already waiting at the stairs, and whispered in her ear, "Do me a favor, go to the Yamen and call Lord Fu Yin Qi over."

"What... what?" The woman's eyes widened, asking her to call Mr. Fu Yin to a place like them?

"Just say that Xie Xu is waiting for him inside. You don't need to enter through the main entrance. You must know where else you can come in, right?"

"You...you are?" The woman didn't know who Xie Xu was, but she was still surprised by his words. The other party seemed to be very familiar with Mr. Fu Yin.

"I won't do anything to you, I just want to ask you for a favor," Ping Wei said softly, Zhou Mu's lack of cooperation earlier made him a little impatient.

The woman bowed her head in thought for a moment, "I see..."

After watching the other party go downstairs, Ping Wei stood by the railing for a while, making sure that the woman walked out of Yulan Fang alone, and pushed open the door of the wing room behind her.

——Mr. Zhou's shirt has been completely shredded into strips, exposing a large piece of white flesh. He Zhou is casually pointing a knife at his lower body, as if wondering where to start.

Mr. Zhou almost fainted from fright.

Ping smiled and walked up to He Zhou, "Are you still unwilling to tell?"

"I won't." He Zhou would get bored after playing, this person kept yelling "Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"He looked up at Pingwei, "Are you taking medicine?"

"Yes," Ping Wei nodded.

What kind of medicine? Mr. Zhou's eyes widened, and all kinds of dangerous poisons immediately appeared in his mind. These two people wouldn't be really daring to kill him, would they?He originally thought that no matter how presumptuous a prince is, he would not openly kill the court official, but the man beside him was so cold, looking at him like looking at a piece of fat that had been dead for a long time on a chopping board, he suddenly collapsed.

"...I said...I said!" Zhou Mu shouted.

However, with a large piece of cloth stuffed in his mouth, he could only hear voices, but could not make out the words.

"What did he want to say?" Ping Wei signaled He Zhou to take the cloth from his mouth.

With nothing in his mouth, Zhou Mu gasped for breath first, moved his hands tied behind his back, wanting to touch his cheeks, then noticed Ping Wei's gaze, and said, "I'll explain everything."

Ping smiled, raised his hand to stop him, "Wait."

What's the matter? Zhou Mu looked at him irritably. Didn't he all recruit? !

"Who told you to look at him with such eyes?" He Zhou frowned, and swiped the knife in his hand, leaving a shallow knife mark on Mr. Zhou's thigh.

"You..." The wound didn't hurt much, but Zhou Mu had formed the idea that he would be killed by this man sooner or later under the extreme panic. The voice shrank into a ball and trembled.

"Okay, pay attention," Ping Wei pulled He Zhou up, and patted his knife-holding hand, "I just went out and asked someone to call Mr. Qi over, and when he comes, you can tell him what you know , is there a problem?" He said the last sentence to Zhou Mu.

Mr. Zhou nodded hurriedly—how could he say no.

He Zhou was silent for a while, then suddenly asked, "Are you hungry, I'll ask someone to bring some food over?"

Pingwei was stunned for a moment, then turned his head to meet his bottomless eyes, frowned, "Okay."

So a quarter of an hour later, the food was delivered from the kitchen, Master Qi rushed over from the yamen and opened the door - what he saw was Ping Wei eating to his heart's content before the table was full of dishes, and his cold-noodle guard was serving him dishes, the strange scene of Mr. Zhou shivering under the table.

“…”

After staying in the officialdom for a few years, and a few days ago he followed the Fifth Prince to arrest Shi Qianlin, Qi Zheng quickly turned around and locked the door, walked to Ping Wei, "Your Highness."

"You're here," Ping Wei ate the last bite of fish in the bowl, put down his chopsticks, and said in a warm voice, "Do you know the one at the bottom?"

"I know," Qi Zheng replied, sitting next to He Zhou across a chair.

"Have you seen it in the palace before?"

"No." Qi Zheng glanced at Zhou Mu, "It's someone who once wanted to be caught in prison."