Urban Night Returner

Luo Jing moved too fast, Shen Mobai had no time to pull him, so he could only wait here.Sure enough, after a while, the guards came to report, saying that the post station had been searched, and there were no thieves, so King Zheng even ordered them to be expelled.Although the magistrate knew something was wrong, he didn't dare to confront him face to face, so he had to turn around.The guards closed the gate of the inn, and those who lost their children had nothing to do, crying and crying, very miserable.

Shen Mobai saw that the gate of the post station was closed, but Luo Jing didn't come out, so he couldn't help being anxious, walking back and forth around the post station.With such noise, Biyan and Biquan naturally woke up early, and seeing that Luo Jing was not in the room, they also searched out.The three ran into each other on the street, Shen Mobai told the story, Biyan became anxious immediately, and Biquan wanted to sneak into the post station.The three went around to the back of the inn, only heard the slight sound of tiles on the wall, it was Luo Jing who came out over the wall, with a solemn face, seeing the three, he quickly motioned to keep quiet, and took the lead to turn back to the inn.

Bi Yan was already so anxious that she was so anxious that she grabbed Luo Jing as soon as she entered the door and said, "Master, why did you go in?"

Luo Jing stopped her, took out something and put it on the table.Under the candlelight, everyone looked at it, and it turned out to be a small golden lock with a long life.This thing is hung on the neck of the child by the wealthy family, to bless the child with a long life.There are different styles of cleats, some are just a piece of gold and silver, and some are real locks, but they are hollow and light in weight.The one Luo Jing took out was exactly the hollow one, but it has already deflated.Bi Yan couldn't see any way out, and said doubtfully, "Master, this—"

Luo Jing pointed to the dent on the longevity lock and said, "Look carefully."

After all, Biquan had been with Luo Jing for a long time, after looking carefully for a while, he saw something strange: "Master, it was pinched down by someone."

Luo Jing said: "Look carefully."

Biquan was at a loss.Luo Jing stretched out his hand to press the dent, and said, "Did you see it?"

Biquan took a closer look, and suddenly realized: "This is a woman's finger mark." The finger mark on Changshou Lock was so thin that Luo Jing's finger couldn't fit in it at all, obviously it was left by a woman.Gold and silver wares are not very hard, and it is not impossible to make a concave shape, but it is a bit unexpected for a woman to make a concave shape with one hand.

Luo Jing didn't take back his hand, but said: "Look at it carefully."

Biquan really couldn't see anything this time, for a moment, Shen Mobai said softly: "The front of the finger mark is a claw mark." Biquan looked carefully, and sure enough the front end of the dent was slender and sharp, and the end was especially so. Traces that can be squeezed by human hands.At this moment, everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, Biquan asked in confusion, "Master, where did this come from?"

Luo Jing said coldly: "I have searched in the station, but there is no trace of the child. This thing was thrown out of the window on the second floor of the station. It happened to fall in the yard, and I picked it up."

Biquan frowned and said, "So the child is on the second floor?" This thing was obviously pulled from the stolen baby, "But the second floor..." The second floor is the residence of King Zheng and Princess Wang.

Luo Jing held the golden lock in his hand, and said slowly: "First, why did King Zheng take these children away? Second, after taking the children away, why did he pull the lock piece off and throw it out of the window casually. Three, who is the person who left this finger mark on the cleat? Fourth, what is the claw mark?"

Biquan said in a low voice: "The female relatives who can live on the second floor are probably only the princess and the big girl who is close to her. But this claw mark...is really not human. Even a woman's long fingernails can't pinch such sharp marks .Could it be that King Zheng kept some kind of monster in his room?"

Luo Jing pinched the lock piece back and forth several times, and finally said: "The post station is too tightly guarded, we can't go in and search for people. I'm afraid we can't find the child even if we search again. Tomorrow we will leave later, when King Zheng is on the road , let's go to the station to have a look."

King Zheng and his party left the station early the next morning.He walked forward, and Luo Jing entered the post gate with his back foot.The post officer didn't know that he had arrived yesterday, but only knew that he was a general who was going to Beijing, so he flattered him naturally.Luo Jing led Biquan and others to the backyard, and together they searched the grass under the window.The post station wanted to flatter the officials coming and going, so the backyard was naturally neatly tidied up. The four of them didn't need to look any further to find a piece of ground that had been turned over. After digging a few times, a bone was dug out of the soil. It was only the length of an adult's middle finger, depending on the shape. It was a calf bone.Biquan's hand trembled, and Biyan almost cried out.Luo Jing's face was ashen, and he dug down with all his strength. With this shovel, he turned over more than a dozen white bones, all of which were only as long as the size of a finger and as thin as a finger. It was obvious that they were all bones of a baby.Bi Yan was stunned, almost vomited, and quickly turned her head away, not daring to look any further.Luo Jing waved the shovel and dug a few times, turned all the bones out, except for those extremely small, slightly longer leg bones with dozens of spines, and four skulls that were bitten to pieces. The brain was also sucked clean.

Filled with righteous indignation, Biquan stood up and said, "Master, this King Zheng is really inhumane, let's report him to the government!"

Luo Jing was still looking at those skulls carefully, and said coldly: "Quiet! Who are you going to report? Who can prove that these dead babies were done by King Zheng? Even if the government believes it, what courage does a small county government have? Qualified to deal with King Zheng?"

Biquan was dumbfounded, then slowly squatted down again.Luo Jing picked up one skull with a sullen face, buried the others as they were, and stood up: "Let's go."

On the carriage, Biyan watched Luo Jing hold the skull in his hand and looked at it repeatedly, feeling disgusted and frightened, she couldn't help but said: "Master, what are you doing with this thing?"

Luo Jing put the skull on the small table in the carriage, and said slowly: "Look, there are actually two kinds of tooth marks on this bone."

Biyan didn't dare to look at these bones at all, so naturally she couldn't answer, but Biquan said on the shaft of the car: "It seems to be some kind of beast that crushed the skull." The human skull is extremely hard, even if the baby's bones are brittle, it is not It can be easily crushed.The fractured part of the skull is deeply sunken, as if it was bitten deeply by the long and sharp teeth of a tiger or leopard.

Biyan guessed: "Could it be that King Zheng's convoy brought bulldogs?" King Zheng is good at field hunting, so such a guess is reasonable.

Luo Jing shook his head: "No matter what kind of beast, it can't gnaw the bones so cleanly and evenly." Except for a few deep depressions, the skull is complete and clean, without any muscle left.The sharp teeth of beasts are convenient for tearing, but not convenient for gnawing and scraping.

Bi Yan forced herself to take a look at the bone: "Then, what kind of thing gnawed on it?"

Luo Jing said slowly, "It's a human being."

When he said Qingyouyou's words, Bi Yan felt the hairs on his back stand on end, and tremblingly said: "Master, what did you say? Could it be messed up?"

Luo Jing shook his head slowly: "I just came under the command of the commander-in-chief, and I worked with him in the station. The size of the gnawing marks on this bone is exactly the same as that of a human tooth, and it is very neat and small--the person who gnawed, but the person who ate it Have a good set of teeth."

Bi Yan retched, covered her mouth and didn't dare to look at the skull again, and said in horror: "Could it be that King Zheng—cannibalism? Lord, what should we do?"

Luo Jing was silent for a long time before saying: "We can't do anything. Firstly, the cannibalism is too shocking after all, and secondly, King Zheng is in full bloom at this time. If we say that he is actually cannibalistic, or that there are cannibals around him, there are Who would believe it?" His fingers trembled slightly, and he quickly wrapped the little head with an oilcloth, "But one day, we will find evidence of his rebellion and pull him off the horse. At that time, these old accounts, Let's settle the matter with him."

The capital city is very prosperous, but with the arrival of the post station, Luo Jing and others are no longer in the mood to appreciate it.Luo Jing first arranged a residence at the post station, then reported to the Ministry of Officials, handed over the booklet and waited for the emperor to summon him, and finally went to visit an old colleague Han Lan.Han Lan is the military counselor of Ding Lancha, and he writes good documents. Because of the word "wen", he was called into the Ministry of Rites in Beijing to be a Wenlin Lang during the demolition of the border.Said to be a dignified Beijing official, but in fact he abruptly transferred Wu to Wen and left him idle.However, Han Lan is good at dancing, and although he is idle, he makes friends in Beijing. He is quite well-informed, and he is Ding Lancha's eyes and ears in Beijing.He and Luo Jing got along very well when they were in the army, and when they meet in Beijing today, they are naturally even more affectionate.

After the chatter was over, Han Lanping ordered his servants to go out, and said, "Do you know that King Zheng has entered the capital?"

Luo Jing sneered and said, "Not only do I know, I also met him at the station outside the city."

Han Lang didn't know the meaning of his words, nodded and said: "This time, King Zheng came to Beijing to invite the emperor to confer the concubine on the pretext of Xinna Wangfei. On the surface, he only brought 150 personal guards, but among them, there are quite a few of them. Dead man."

Luo Jing was shocked: "Does he dare to kill—"

Han Lang said in a deep voice: "The emperor is scheduled to go hunting in Xishan in ten days. Zheng Wang is good at field hunting, so he naturally wants to accompany him. If he arranges dead soldiers at this time, it will be difficult to guard against."

Luo Jing thumped the table: "The emperor trusts King Zheng too much!"

Han Lang smiled wryly and said: "King Zheng is both civil and military, and he is respectful. The emperor cherishes talents, and he is too kind and friendly..."

A murderous look flashed in Luo Jing's eyes: "King Zheng dared to kill the king, so why can't we kill him?"

Han Lang took a deep look at him and said slowly, "Do you think no one has done it?"

Luo Jing was taken aback.Although King Zheng was powerful and nearly half of the officials in the court formed a party with him, there were also some upright people who wanted to get rid of him.Han Lang said slowly: "Do you know why Wang Shilang, who retired last year, was ransacked?"

Luo Jing said: "Did he assassinate King Zheng?"

Han Lan nodded: "Wang Shilang went bankrupt and hired dead soldiers to assassinate King Zheng on his way back to the fief for the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration. This matter was done very carefully, because he was old, and no one expected it. At that time, King Zheng was accused of Official impeachment, had to bring dozens of people into Beijing, this is a great opportunity, but he unexpectedly, the person sitting in the carriage was just a substitute, but Wang Shilang's house was ransacked, if he hadn't taken all the charges , I am afraid that there will be dozens or even hundreds of people affected.”

Luo Jing frowned and said, "King Zheng only has dozens of people with him, so naturally he should take strict precautions. This opportunity seems good, but it's actually not good."

Han Lang shook his head and said: "That's not the case. At that time, Wang Shilang had worked hard and put his subordinates in the station for several years, in order to strike this day, and his plan was well planned, so it could be said that nothing would go wrong...But King Zheng seemed to be able to see the foresight, and he actually went ahead He arranged for a substitute to go out of Beijing, dressed himself lightly, and took a detour from the small road to get out of this misfortune. After careful investigation, it was found out that he had recruited a new princess who was good at divination and predicted the crime for him. Let him escape the golden cicada's shell."

Luo Jing sneered and said: "The technique of divination—" Suddenly thinking of Shen Mobai and Zuo Jian, he swallowed back the words for the first time, and said slowly, "Could it be the princess he brought to Beijing this time?"

Han Lan nodded and said: "It is said that this princess has a mysterious origin and has the ability to foretell good and bad luck. It is a foreigner." Luo Jing was silent for a moment, and said coldly: "I'm afraid it's not just a foreigner, but a foreign object." Take out the broken piece Skull, told the story of the station.Han Lang was horrified when he heard this, and murmured, "Could it be... a monster? This is too sensational..." It's nothing more than being good at divination. If King Zheng raised a man-eating monster at home, then It is also too scary.

Han Lang pondered for a while, and said: "Whether King Zheng raises a demon is too shocking, let's not worry about it for the time being, I will find out the news later. It's just that the emperor's hunt this time is really too dangerous. The officials have written several times to dissuade them, but Tian Lie said Wu is the tradition of this dynasty, and the emperor is young and active, so it is difficult to stop. I have entrusted someone to open the joints in the inner palace to let the emperor know that you have extraordinary skills. If you can accompany your driver to shoot and hunt, you must be careful to escort him."

Luo Jing shook his head and said, "Your Majesty is surrounded by countless guards, how can I be escorted by a small foreign official?"

Han Lang smiled and said: "Since the emperor wants to hunt in the field, he will shoot swans in the palace tomorrow. I have bought a servant and will call you when the emperor shoots swans. If you can shoot arrows in front of the emperor, you will have a chance." In the army, there are sharp archers, no matter how far or near they are, they can be called a hundred shots and a hundred hits.Today's emperor also likes shooting and hunting, especially those who are good at shooting.If Luo Jing can show his skills in front of him, regardless of other things, it is very possible to accompany him during the hunt.

Luo Jing sighed: "This is not a long-term solution..."

Han Lang also smiled wryly and said: "If not, what can we do? Now the commander-in-chief is far away in Qingzhou and cannot be used. Although there are upright men in the court, who can move King Zheng? The emperor trusts him so much, unless there is evidence of his rebellion, Otherwise... we can only scratch the surface."

Luo Jing sighed slightly, but did not answer.From their point of view, King Zheng's rebellion is obvious, but it may not be so with the emperor.What's more, King Zheng is extremely shrewd, it is not easy to get proof of rebellion...

The gold, silver and jewels that Han Lang sent out were not in vain. When applying for the cards, Luo Jing was already walking in the imperial garden of the palace with a servant.The servant walked in front of him, seemingly leading the way, but was actually explaining things to him as he walked.

"The emperor is shooting swans with King Zheng in the imperial garden. Our family has notified you. The emperor is happy to summon you. If you enter our house, we will not be able to help you."

"Thank you, my servant." Luo Jing stuffed another pearl calmly.There was a smile on the servant's face, but his mouth was polite: "It's a little effort, how can this be good..."

"It's a small thing, the servant is willing to accept it, it's a red face. Speaking of which, I still have a few things I want to ask the servant."

"General Luo is too polite, please speak up if you have something to say."

"I heard that Prince Zheng brought the princess to Beijing this time?"

"It's not the main concubine, it's Xinna's side concubine."

"Why didn't you bring the main concubine to the capital, but brought the side concubine instead?"

The servant laughed: "This side concubine was born in a poor family, and Prince Zheng came here specially to ask the emperor for her edict."

"I heard that this lady is good at divination?"

"The general is very well-informed. Exactly. The concubine concubine was playing guessing games with the queen in the palace yesterday, and our family was serving at the side. It was really interesting to see the empress right in every guess. But this empress is really weird. I heard that he likes eating swallow moxibustion very much. And he has a strange disease, so he is not allowed to touch water. The empress gave tea and water, but he didn't drink a sip. Our family is strange, if you don't drink water, don't you want to die of thirst?"

"Then, when the prince came to Beijing this time, did he bring something strange for the emperor? I heard that the prince is also very good at hunting. The year before last, the emperor brought a white wolf for the emperor to enjoy."

"That's not true. The front is here, the general should be careful."

Luo Jing also heard the sound of laughter coming from the front, so he didn't ask any more questions.There is no strange beast, so the two kinds of tooth marks on the skull seem to be from a "person".

The royal garden was very lively.Just as Luo Jing saw a group of people inside, there was a swish sound, and an arrow was shot towards him. The servant walking in front of him screamed and was too frightened to move.Luo Jing kicked him on the knee, the servant fell to his knees with a plop, the arrow flew past his scalp and shot straight at Luo Jing.The servant only felt something tickle on his face, and he stretched out his hand to wipe it, and it was a few broken hairs.He turned his head tremblingly and looked back, thinking that he was about to see Luo Jing's face covered in blood, but he only heard the sound of the wind around him, and Luo Jing had walked around him, knelt down, and held the arrow He held it high above his head: "Chen Luo Jing, kowtow to the emperor."

Everyone in the garden was silent for a while.The arrow just now was shot by King Zheng.Shooting the swan is to stand up the target and shoot the red heart, because the target does not move, and the emperor finds it boring after shooting a few arrows.So King Zheng proposed to shoot a live target.Of course, no ferocious beasts are allowed in the imperial garden, and there are concubines, so it's not safe, so the inner servant brought a big red pheasant from the animal garden, and tied a huge silk flower to its paw. Shoot this silk flower.Pheasants can fly but not high or fast, and are frightened by arrows and flutter around, making them a good target.In terms of archery, King Zheng is certainly better than the emperor, but he deliberately missed the shot. The arrow just now missed the pheasant, but it flew towards the servant and Luo Jing who just came in.He didn't mean to shoot people, but if he did shoot a lot of people, he didn't care.Unexpectedly, the person who came in kicked the servant down, and then lightly and skillfully leaned over to catch his arrow in his hand.Even though he didn't use all his strength when shooting the arrow, but receiving the arrow empty-handed... He asked himself that few of the guards around him could do it.

The emperor was first surprised and then delighted: "Pingshen. Aiqing is Luo Jing? I heard that you were extremely brave at the border. You single-handedly captured the head of the northern barbarian vanguard general, and you captured the years-old bandits alive in Yongzhou. When I saw you today, you are indeed extraordinary. .”

"Your Majesty is honored. It is my duty to kill the enemy at the border. I was able to defeat the former army of the northern barbarians. It was only through the concerted efforts of the whole army and the blessing of the emperor that I was able to win a big victory. I also had the help of the people to suppress the bandits in Yongzhou. I was able to wipe them out in one fell swoop. The minister dare not pretend to claim merit."

When he said this, the emperor was even happier: "Well, the young man is humble, and he will become a great weapon in the future. Come on, come on, I heard that Ding Hou said that you are very skilled, and your archery skills are especially good. I saw you catch the arrow just now, and you are really agile. Come and shoot some arrows for me to see. Come and get him a bow and arrow."

Luo Jing stood up, and a servant had already brought the bow and arrow.When Luo Jing tried it out, he sighed inwardly.This is a soft bow, and it only takes thirty to fifty steps. If you really go to the battlefield, using this kind of bow is courting death.It seems that the emperor's arm strength can only open this kind of bow, so this kind of bow is the only one prepared in this palace.

"Your Majesty, please issue an order, what should I shoot?"

The emperor also knew that shooting a swan was boring for those who were galloping on the battlefield. He was looking for targets left and right. King Zheng had already smiled and said, "Your Majesty, why don't you ask General Luo to shoot the silk flower to the emperor."

The silk flower is as big as the mouth of a bowl, even though it is tied to the pheasant, it is not difficult to shoot it.But what Zheng Wang said was to shoot "down", that is to say, to separate the silk flower from the pheasant.The silk flower is tied to the pheasant's claw with a red thread, which is the thread commonly used to hold shoes. Although it is not as thin as a silk thread, it is not too thick, not to mention that the pheasant is constantly moving. Startled flying, it is not easy to shoot off the red line.

For a moment even the emperor hesitated: "This—" Luo Jing bowed and said: "I will give it a try, if you are not good at archery, I ask the emperor to forgive me." He straightened up, drew the bow and set the arrow.

A smile flashed across King Zheng's face, and suddenly he shot an arrow first: "When Xiao Wang wakes it up, the general can shoot it." The arrow hit the pheasant's belly, and the pheasant was in pain and desperately shot. He jumped up and jumped into the air.Luo Jing stared at the pheasant, and said lightly: "Thank you, my lord." Suddenly, an arrow shot out, and the arrow flew past the pheasant's abdomen. The pheasant was frightened, and jumped out obliquely. Something fluttered down, it was the silk flower.Luo Jing took two steps forward, took the silk flower in his hand, turned around and knelt down facing the emperor, "I am lucky that I did not disgrace my life."

"Good!" The emperor was the first to clap his hands, "Sure enough, Marquis Ding is not lying. Come and reward me!"

The servants hurriedly brought over the rewards, but they were actually nothing more than gold ingots of silk and satin, which were only rewarded by the emperor, and the weight was different.The emperor's thoughts were still unfinished: "Good arrow skills. I will go hunting in Xishan in two days, and Aiqing will accompany you. When the time comes, I will see your arrow skills again."

"I obey the order." Luo Jing replied without looking sideways, but even if he didn't turn his head, he could still feel King Zheng's gaze on him, like the tip of a needle...