The first work of the imperial prison

Will it be Qiaoguo?

Ye Baishao looked at the apricot blossoms on the street. In early spring and February, the breeze was gentle, which was much different from the fiery July. Looking up at the sky, the sun was shining brightly, illuminating everything, definitely not the place to sleep and dream.

"Why do you suddenly...want to eat this kind of thing?"

She was only stunned for a moment, and she looked at her younger brother with heartbroken eyes, hating that iron can't be made into steel, why are you only getting up at this time!How much work other people have done!If you are so lazy in Beizhen Fusi, aren't you afraid of being punished by a lesson?

As soon as Ye Baiting heard the voice, she knew that her sister would definitely do it, so she happily dismounted, her eyes brightened: "Sister, do it for me!"

Ye Baishao originally wanted to scold his stupid brother, but when he heard the righteous "do it for me", tears almost fell down. How long has it been since he heard his brother's willful and coquettish request?

People always have to grow up, they will gradually mature and steady, remind themselves not to trouble others, ask less, ask for less, but the relationship will gradually fade like this, Ye Baishao doesn't like it very much.

It's not that she doesn't want her brother to grow up, she just... is a little reluctant.She doesn't want to be like other people's family. Relatives are gradually alienated. In the end, there are only greetings and memories left in time. She is a bit stubborn. She likes the days when she was free and unrestrained, and likes to be intimate with her younger brother.

She wants to be the same now and in the future.

Fortunately, the silly brother is still the silly brother.

"If you want to eat, just ask someone to tell you, is it worth such a big fight?" Looking at Jin Yiwei who was chasing after him, she patted the dust on her brother's cuff, "I really can't wait, cook Beizhen Fusi, let me see It's not bad, it's not something difficult, it will definitely be."

Ye Baiting was startled, as if...forgot about this, thinking of Qiao Guo, subconsciously came to find her sister.

Ye Baishao didn't understand his younger brother's expression, he was immediately proud: "But you are more right to find your sister, your sister is a famous chef in the world, who can make better food than me!"

Ye Baiting: ...

"That's right, my sister is the best! She can recite poems from a young age, can fight in martial arts, and you rub all the brats on the ground when she goes out for a block. What is a mere kitchen? As long as my sister wants to do something, she will always be successful." !"

"Be good," Ye Baishao coughed, looked around, "keep a low profile, don't tell others to listen."

Ye Baiting's expression was serious: "That's right, my sister can only be mine alone! I want to protect my sister, no one else is allowed to snatch her, and no one is allowed to bully her!"

Ye Baishao laughed, as if she had returned to her teenage years, when she was the most wanton and innocent: "Okay, don't be poor, tell me, what kind of food do you want to eat? Southern or northern, salty or sweet ?”

"Qiaoguo uses a lot of materials?"

"Of course, in addition to the essential flour, the north may use eggs, salt and pepper, sesame, old noodles, etc., and the south will like to use some fruit filling, cheese, sucrose to increase the sweetness...Even every small town, Have your own preferences, plus unique local specialties."

Ye Baiting listened, and felt that it was the right time for her to come here. The cook from Beizhen Fusi must know how to make Qiaoguo, and he also has a certain understanding of the tastes of the north and the south, but her sister likes to study food, travels a lot, and she is a girl. At this point, it might be more helpful.

"Sister, after leaving Kaifeng to the east, there is Linqing City, do you know the rules for making Qiaoguo here?"

Ye Baishao really knew: "There, it is really different from other places. The most important thing in the ingredients is tofu."

"Sister will do it?"

"Who is your sister, as long as she has eaten it, she will do it!"

"Then I want this!"

"Wait here obediently, don't run around!"

Ye Baishao put his younger brother in place, turned around and went to the kitchen, walked to the corner feeling a little uneasy, took a peek outside, the Jin Yiwei who were chasing his younger brother had already hidden, the street was peaceful, as if nothing had happened just now Like too.

She should not be too familiar with this kind of scene. She aimed at the only one who was not hiding at the door, and asked Xiaoer to deliver a pot of tea, and hinted a little bit that everyone has worked hard. Report the incident to the commander.

In case the silly brother sneaked out, she would help to report it... the commander can still hit him lightly when he carries it back.

When Qiaoguo was ready, Qiu Xunqing also arrived.

There is no need to ask. Thinking about the progress of the case, the recent collection of clues, and important and difficult points, he knows what Xiao Zuo is thinking: "Do you think Yao Yin may be this?"

Ye Baiting looked at the different shapes in the tray, smelled delicious, looked delicate and cute, and nodded vigorously: "En!"

"Then we..."

"Go, go and try!"

Ye Baiting pulled Qiu Yiqing and was about to leave, Qiu Yiqing could only hastily nodded to Ye Baishao: "I'm sorry, please leave first."

"Go, go, busy with your business!"

Ye Baishao breathed a sigh of relief, okay, fools have fools, and my younger brother can still do it, this beating is over!

……

This time there was Xuan Guang, and the two of them rode together, and soon arrived at Ying Gonghou's mansion, the courtyard of the second room.

Cai found something new again, this time it was not a painting, not a letter, but a letter, a lot of letters, a sudden wind blew up outside the curtain, lifted the paper pages, whirled, and gently fell to the ground.

Ye Baiting and Qiu Xunqing saw the love letters, there were many, many.

Qingqing Ruhui: The moonlight is long tonight, and the autumn insects are singing happily, just like the day I met you.Deeper still, you should be asleep, thinking that the moonlight can sneak up to your pillow, somehow, I am a little jealous.

Qingqingruhui: The flowers bloomed earlier this spring, remembering that last year you took pity on the peach blossoms on the branches that were bitten by evil insects, and gently brushed them away. I am a man, and I seem to have no future. Although I am not afraid of insects, I will see them I'm bored, I don't know when you will be able to take pity on me and give me a brush?

Qingqing Ruhui: I knew that the last letter would make you angry, but you wrote a few thick pages to scold me, stay with me, how can I have the heart to let you see dirty and stupid bugs?You once said that you were used to it in the past, so you wouldn't be afraid, but here with me, I don't allow you to get used to this kind of thing.I just... would love to hear from you.Will you answer this letter?When is the next time?

Qingqingrume: I haven't seen you for two hours.In the past, I traveled alone, enjoyed poetry and painting, and never felt lonely. Today, I am sitting in the crowd, drinking cups and cups, watching other people talking, and I suddenly feel that the excitement is theirs, and I only miss you.Tell me, what's the point?

The letter papers were scattered one by one, full of words of love, Ying Puxin's words were beautiful, elegant for a gentleman, and romantic for a celebrity, making it unforgettable at a glance.

This time there was no need for anyone to remind her, Cai reached out and touched the wet marks on her face.

She cried again.

This time it seemed that the emotions were more complicated, not just a little sad, but her heart was empty and uncomfortable.In order to divert her attention, she looked at the person who came in at the door, and her gaze slowly shifted from the faces of the two to the food box carried by the suspicious Qing.

"What... is so fragrant?"

Ye Baiting smiled: "I heard that Madam was born in Linqing City, today is a coincidence, and I got some local food, Madam, would you like to have a taste?"

"still……"

Cai immediately wanted to refuse, it was too impolite, and the others didn't bring something specially for her, but just out of politeness, how could she take it seriously when she asked casually?But this smell... She seemed to be unable to refuse, she couldn't even take her eyes off it.

Ye Baiting: "Ma'am, you're welcome. I got a lot today, and I really can't finish it, so I just carry it with me. If someone likes it, it would be great."

Cai lowered her eyes: "That concubine is disrespectful, thank you both."

She didn't care about the letter on the ground, and led the two of them to sit down at the table, took out a small plate, took out a Qiaoguo, took a bite, and narrowed her eyes happily. It seemed that she really liked it. .

But it didn't take long before she finished eating a Qiaoguo, and she dropped her chopsticks on the ground, covering her head with her hands: "It hurts..."

Cai doesn't know how to describe the current feeling, like drowning, and like being covered by a transparent cover, everything next to him can't be seen clearly, can't hear, can't breathe, it seems that the whole world is suddenly far away Far.

The head hurts, like a big hand is stirring inside, something is about to jump out, she tried very hard to stop it, but she couldn't stop it, the headache was extreme, consciousness gradually moved away, and the surroundings were in chaos...

"Hold her quickly!"

"Help her to lie on the couch!"

The maid Xiao Xing was always in the room, tidying up the letter paper on the floor. The master forgot, so she could ignore it, but she couldn't ignore it. Seeing her wife like this, she put the letter paper on the table and helped her to lie down on the couch. .

Ye Baiting looked at her: "You know it all, don't you?"

Xiao Xing was as steady as ever, following the rules of etiquette, and spoke calmly: "The maidservant dare not intervene in the master's affairs."

I'm afraid it's not because he didn't dare to intervene, but because he engraved the rules into his bones, he only said what should be said, and what should not be said, without the master's permission, he would not miss a word.

This is a loyal servant girl, Ye Baiting doesn't know if she doesn't believe her, but it doesn't matter, they can ask the Lord.

The waiting time was not long, after about a cup of tea, Mrs. Cai woke up.She opened her eyes and stared straight at the beam, with a dazed expression, as if she hadn't reacted for a while, but also seemed to be thinking about something.

The breeze blew across the window sill, bringing the light fragrance of apricot blossoms, and the letter paper on the side of the table rattled.

Cai tilted her head, seeing the words on the letter paper, her tears burst into tears instantly.

This time the tears were no longer silent, she didn't even know she was crying, her throat was choked up, her fingertips were tensed, and she was almost out of breath.She turned her back and tried hard to control herself. She stuck her fingers into her lips and teeth, and made heavy teeth marks, but she couldn't stop her body from shaking.

As a forensic doctor, Ye Baiting has seen many people cry. When almost all of them cry, they are reluctant to let strangers see it, because it is a sign of weakness, because crying is ugly, with a hideous face, but one knows the moment between life and death. , it's hard to bear it.

Cai turned around, only the back was left, but he knew that she was in great grief now.

The room was very quiet, everyone did not speak tacitly, waiting for Cai to dispel the sudden pain.

After a long time, Cai sat up and said a word in a hoarse voice: "Water."

Xiao Xing immediately fetched water, wet the handkerchief, and wiped her face.

After taking care of herself so that she could be seen by others, Cai turned around, and bowed to Ye Baiting and Qiu Yi Qingfu, "I'm so disrespectful, I made you two laugh at me."

"Madam, you don't need to be like this." Ye Baiting pushed the teacup forward, "sit down and talk."

Cai thanked her with lowered eyes and sat down.

Qiu Yiqing: "Now, do you know your name?"

"Yes," Mrs. Cai closed her eyes, "I only knew that Jin Yiwei was powerful before, but I didn't expect him to be this powerful."

These words have been acquiesced, and her memory has recovered.

The room was quiet for a moment, Qiu Yiqing was not in a hurry to ask about the case, but looked at Mrs. Cai: "Do you have anything to ask the envoy?"

Cai raised her eyes, her lips were pale, and there seemed to be endless desolation and sorrow in her eyes. It took a lot of strength to ask: "That corpse...that skeleton buried in the secret passage, who might Jin Yiwei find out? ...My husband?"

Qiu Xunqing looked at Ye Baiting.

Ye Baiting replied very firmly: "No. I have reconstructed the skull of the deceased, and compared with Ying Puxin's appearance before his death, it does not match."

"No... no."

It's hard to describe Cai's expression now, she stretched out her hand to wipe her tears, she felt relieved that she was afraid of hearing the bad news and rejected the bad news, and also felt a sense of loss that the dust had not yet settled and could not be relieved.

Qiu Yiqing: "Are there any other questions?"

Cai shook her head: "Not anymore."

Qiu Yiqing: "Then it's our turn, your current memory has been fully recovered?"

"I've recovered a little bit," Cai said with a wry smile, "Since Jin Yiwei can find out why I am amnesiac, and can also find the medicine I used, some things... shouldn't be hidden."

Qiu Yiqing: "'Die Yuan Duan', you ate it yourself."

"That's right. This medicine comes from the rivers and lakes. It's extremely powerful. After taking it, you will lose your memory immediately. If you want to remember everything, just the medicine is not enough. You need a period of time, at least three to five days, and at most a month." Cai rubbed his forehead, "Although I can remember many things now, some things are still vague and unclear."

Qiu Xunqing: "Why do you take this medicine, madam always remember?"

Cai frowned: "When Ying Yutong died, I saw it."

Ye Baiting and Qiu Yiqing looked at each other, saw it, what do you mean?

Cai: "He has been plotting against me for more than a day or two, scolding doesn't work, he has no shame at all, and the people here don't care much, he can't beat him, and it's not easy for me, a woman, to do anything to him. He avoided him. His hands and feet were not clean, and he would steal things. When I left the dining room at the family banquet that day, he chased me out and told me to show me something and let me go to his study. Go ahead and throw that thing out there for all to see."

"It happened that my yard lost a small coat the day before yesterday. The lewdness in his eyes and the complacency on his face when he spoke, it was obvious what kind of tricks he was playing. I didn't want to be ashamed, so I just let it go. But when I arrived, he was already dead. , just hanging from the beams of the house, it looks like he hanged himself."

Cai sneered: "How could he hang himself for such a shameless person who doesn't want his face? I thought it was wrong at the time, but I was right there. I went to his study. I was seen by others, and when others pointed at me, I couldn't tell."

"I could only think of other ways. At that time, I was anxious and panicked, my mind was empty, and I couldn't think of it at all, so... I took out the dagger from his desk, held it in my hand, fought it out without fear of pain, and slammed my forehead against the wall with all my strength. Go up, get hurt, and run out pretending to be a victim..."

She explained: "When people ask me like this, I just presume that I don't know anything. I didn't kill anyone. I was bullied and ran out. Ying Yutong was fine when I came out. You see, I have a wound on my forehead, but the dagger is not. Blood, I have never hurt anyone. As for what happened to him, I don’t know who made the move... After thinking about everything, I felt unsafe when I heard Jin Yiwei coming outside. Jin Yiwei is different from his family , I heard that I was very shrewd in handling the case, I was worried that I would not perform well, and I would still have to reveal my secrets, so I ate 'Chen Yuan Duan'... I really don't remember everything, and others will believe my innocence."

Ye Baiting: "So this incident was an accident?"

Cai: "Very surprised. I don't know what other things Ying Yutong arranged besides calling me over. I don't know anything about it."

"You didn't know that Ying Yutong was going to die, and there was an accident, 'mortal fate broken', it couldn't be an accident, right?" Ye Baiting looked at her, "Why did you immediately think of taking this medicine? When did you prepare it?"

Cai paused for a moment, then shook his head: "I can't explain it, I haven't remembered yet...Maybe I don't want to feel sorry for my deceased husband?"

"It's been four years since your husband's death. You have carried it through the past four years, and now the injury is unbearable. Do you want to forget it?"

Ye Baiting didn't believe it at all, and looked at Xiao Xing, the maid behind her: "Tell me, where and how did your wife get this medicine?"

Xiao Xing tied her hands in front of her lower abdomen: "Responding to my lord's words, the servant girl is only serving Madam closely, but she doesn't know everything. The maidservant doesn't know anything about Madam's thoughts and what she did. Only a month ago, Madam I told the servant girl that if she suddenly encounters any accident or forgets something, just wait another month and make her a hometown fruit..."

So still prepare in advance.

Ye Baiting was not sure whether she knew or not, but obviously he couldn't ask anything more, so he asked Cai again: "You went to the study that day, where is the thing that Ying Yutong used to threaten you? Did you get it back?"

Cai nodded: "I got it back. Although he is hanging on the beam, he must have been waiting for me before hanging up. The things are under his bedside pillow, so it's not difficult to find."

"Aside from taking things away, finding a dagger, and hitting your forehead against the wall to make a wound, what else did you do?" Ye Baiting asked, "How was the environment of the room at that time? It wasn't clean or tidy, but what's the difference? Something special?"

Mrs. Cai thought for a while, then shook her head: "No, it just looks like an ordinary study room, but I was panicked at the time, and I didn't look very carefully."

"A wound on your forehead is enough to prove that you've been 'bullied', so why are you still holding a dagger?"

"Because it's more like, when people are in a hurry, they always want to resist," Cai lowered his eyes, "I just want to be more real."

something wrong.

Ye Baiting looked at Qiu Yiqing, did Cai conceal some truth, or did he really just remember part of it?

Qiu Xunqing: "What happened six years ago, how much do you remember?"

"Six years ago, I came home with my husband..." Mrs. Cai paused, "A lot of things happened before and after, I don't know what you two want to know, the back house or..."

Qiu Xunqing: "As for the matter related to the historical name, what did you see when the Marquis Mansion encountered robbers that day?"

Mrs. Cai thought for a while, and said: "My husband and I are newcomers to the capital city, so we should be low-key and cautious. My sister-in-law is in charge of Zhongfu. Although she is not very close, she is not too embarrassing. My husband and the prince have quarreled several times. They also suppressed their tempers, there was no splash, and the days were fairly smooth. That day when the eldest sister and uncle returned home to visit their relatives, both of them looked very unhappy, as if they had just had a quarrel, and they didn't like to sit together. They said they were visiting their relatives, but in fact Talking to us is also a matter of face, unfamiliar..."

"Ying Yutong always likes to mess around, I don't know where the topic is, but suddenly said something, the elder sister is not the same without the man's nourishment, the skin is getting looser and looser, not good-looking, not like the sister-in-law...the two started to quarrel In order to persuade everyone, everyone went to the scene one by one to drink, and they were all drunk, and then, thieves broke into the house..."

"It was very chaotic at that time, the door was sealed, I had already helped my husband back to my yard, I drank the hangover soup, and I couldn't get out at all, but my husband wanted to go out, but the wine was hot and my feet were weak, so I couldn't walk... There was a lot of noise outside, A lot of people died, and a lot of money was taken away. I was shocked at the time. I didn't expect the capital to be so chaotic. The wolves were so anxious that they dared to come and bite people in broad daylight..."

Ye Baiting asked: "When was the last time you saw a historical name?"

Cai: "On that day, after the robbers left, the gate of the courtyard opened. I went out to check the situation. I saw my uncle hurried out from the moon gate in the east, but where he went and what he did, I don't know."

"What happened after that? Didn't see it again? He said he didn't see it when he went home?"

"No," Cai shook her head, "Eldest sister said he was very drunk, dizzy, and couldn't walk. We got into the car first, and we didn't care too much. Some people just get drunk slowly and leave late, maybe my uncle is like this. "

"So the last time you saw him, he wasn't drunk."

"I didn't pay much attention. I just remembered that he walked very fast. He should be drunk and not very deep?"

"The secret passage in the mansion was dug after this incident?"

"Yes."

"What time exactly?"

"Looks like two or three days later? Old Hou Ye lost his temper because of this matter, and the people below dare not slow down."

Ye Baiting thought for a while and looked into Cai's eyes: "I'll ask you one more question, it's very important, please answer it carefully."

Cai sat up straight: "Yes."

"Remember the jade wrench that the commander and I brought earlier? Do you know it?"

"The one with my husband's name written on it?" Mrs. Cai shook her head, remembering the way she wrenched her fingers, "I don't know, I haven't seen it before."

That's strange, why is there such a finger puller near the corpse of Shi Xueming?

Ye Baiting looked at Qiu Yiqing, but Qiu Yiqing had already put his hands behind his back and wrote a word on his back: Chu.

early……

Ye Baiting figured it out after thinking about it. When they met for the first time, in terms of seniority, Ying Baisu and his wife probably prepared a gift for the second-bedroom couple. This finger pull was for Ying Puxin. For some reason, they didn't give it away immediately when they met. On the contrary, following my own death, when I was being tossed and moved between the corpses and stripped of my clothes, my finger accidentally fell on the ground, not far from my feet.

That's why this finger was not worn on the deceased's hand bone. Strictly speaking, it did not belong to the deceased.

"Do you know the cause and effect of what happened to your husband four years ago?"

"I know," Mrs. Cai closed her eyes, "it was to save people. I was trapped in Zhuangzi together with him during the heavy rain in those days. There were a lot of victims down the mountain. We opened the door of the village, thinking that we could help one by one. At that time, a child stepped on the ground, and he went into the water to rescue him. But suddenly the flood surged, and he lifted the child up. The child was fine. But never came up again…”

"At that time, there were only you and your wife in the Zhuangzi? What about the other people in the Hou Mansion? For example, Xu Kai, Ying Yutong?"

"Nothing at all," Mrs. Cai shook her head, her eyes were red again, "It's just us. I can't bear the heat of summer. The Zhuangzi he took me to said that it's cooler on the mountain..."

Ye Baiting brushed the rim of the teacup with her fingertips: "Your husband has always had a sweetheart... You should remember now, who is she?"

Cai closed her eyes: "Me."

Opening it again, the emotions in the bottom of the eyes still haven't been cleared, there are endless yearning, nostalgia, pain, and a little bit of shyness covered with bitterness.

"The person he likes is me."