After receiving the imperial edict to investigate the case, Li Derjian dispersed the people from the Detective Department and hurried back to his home. He found his father in the study and explained the situation. Li Jing also paid great attention to the matter. After thinking for a moment, he asked: "Nine times out of ten, the murderer is the murderer."
He's a dead soldier, so he left well prepared. There are no clues from the murderer, do you have any ideas?"
"Back to my father, I have no clue, so I came here to ask for advice."
"This matter is difficult, but it is not traceable. We can start with the purpose. Anyone who does anything has a purpose. Why did the murderer burn down the shop?" Li Jing reminded.
"There are only two kinds, one is revenge and the other is competition."
Li Jing nodded with satisfaction: "I have made a lot of progress. It seems that when I asked you to follow Huai Dao, it was the most correct thing I have ever done in my life. Very good. My father asked you, if you take revenge, who is the most suspicious?"
"this……"
Li Derjian was a little embarrassed. He thought for a moment and said with a wry smile: "Father, it's hard to make a decision. There are too many people who want to die in pregnancy. The Wang family in Taiyuan has declined, but there are still Fanyang Lu family, Boling Cui family, and even Zheng family."
There are also some festivals. It can be said that Huai Dao has offended most of the five surnames and Qi Wang, but the five surnames and Qi Wang have always been on the same page, protecting each other when encountering problems, and working together to deal with the outside world."
"That's right, but you haven't looked at the problem deeply enough. If it's revenge, don't resort to such low-level methods as burning down shops, just send people to assassinate you. Don't forget that the road is in Tubo. The mountains are high and the roads are far, so there are plenty of opportunities. So, here,
The case should be a combination of revenge and competition." Li Jing said solemnly.
"What does father mean by burning the shop is to vent his anger and to compete for interests?" Li Derjian asked, and saw Li Jing nodding firmly, thinking deeply, and his eyes were slightly focused.
After a while, Li Derjian suddenly thought of a question and said hurriedly: "Father, if there is competition, then the other party must also be studying those good things from Huai Dao. If the shop is burned down, there will be one less competitor in the same industry. The child suddenly thought of several recent incidents.
The missing cases are all old craftsmen registered with the Ministry of Industry."
"The old craftsman is missing?" Li Jing looked at Li Derjian seriously.
Li Derjian said firmly: "That's right, a few disappeared every few days, and the Ministry of Punishment couldn't find any clues. It's very strange. Who would kidnap a bunch of old people? Now it seems that they were kidnapped for research and trying to make a decision.
The purpose of burning the liquor, soap and other items in Huai Dao's house is to prevent Huai Dao from continuing to sell them."
"Report!"
A servant from the mansion hurriedly came in: "Master, young master, a person from outside calling himself the Supervisory Office came to report that a person in charge of purchasing in Qinjiazhuang was missing. I went to the Protector's Office to verify it. It was true.
.”
"There are also people missing in Qinjiazhuang?" Li Jing's face changed slightly. After waving his hands to signal the servants to leave, he solemnly said to Li Derjian: "There is another possibility. Someone has been researching and trying to create liquor, soap and other products, and they would not hesitate to kidnap workers.
But things were not going well, so they burned down their shop to vent their anger, and kidnapped people from Qinjiazhuang instead. This was because they were targeting the craftsmen in Qinjiazhuang and were preparing to rob them directly."
"My child understands how to do it." Li Derjian's eyes lit up.
"What are you going to do?" Li Jing asked in the exam.
"A two-pronged approach. Arrange people to secretly keep an eye on the Qin Family Village and the Duke Protector's Mansion to see who is going to take action. Then let people trace the missing craftsmen with great fanfare, knocking the mountain and shaking the tiger, forcing the other party to make mistakes."
"Not bad, go ahead." Li Jing smiled with satisfaction.
Li Derjian did not leave immediately, but hesitated to speak. Li Jing asked: "If you have something to say, don't talk to your mother-in-law. It's not like a man."
"Father, I would like to ask Lu Dongzan. He may know something, but he has a special status. I am not sure and am afraid something will happen."
"Go ahead, secret interrogation is about it. It's not easy for people in the Supervisory Office. Don't let others see it. You can clean it up afterwards. You have acted too righteously. You have to learn to be kind and combine the right and the strange. You will be successful."
"Understood." Li Derjian hurried away this time.
Soon, Li Derjian returned to the Supervisory Mansion, went straight to the backyard, and quietly slipped into the wing where Lu Dongzan was under house arrest. He startled Lu Dongzan, who was reading a book. After some pleasantries, Li Derjian went straight to the point and ordered that the shop was burned down, and the craftsman lost contact.
He informed me of the matter, and finally added: "Big talk, Mr. Qin has been kind and righteous to you. It concerns Mr. Qin's interests. Can you tell me who is behind this?"
"Are you so sure that I know everything?" Lu Dongzan asked.
Li Derjian didn't know, it was just a deception. When he saw the other party's face with a determined expression, as if he knew something, he was immediately overjoyed and asked: "Of course I know, just ask for any requirements in the big talk, as long as you can do it, there will be no ambiguity.
how?"
"Want to trade with me?" Lu Dongzan asked bluntly.
"You can understand it this way, but don't go too far. After all, it is Mr. Qin's business. We don't know what Mr. Qin will think when he comes back and learns about it."
"Are you threatening me?"
"No, it's just a reminder." Li Derjian did not show weakness.
Lu Dongzan looked at Li Derjian deeply for a while, then suddenly sighed and said: "There are so many talents in the Tang Dynasty. A Master Qin can defeat me miserably. You are not bad either. Sooner or later, Tubo will not be the opponent of the Tang State. Master Qin is right, the world
The general trend, whether it is divided and combined, or unified, can reduce wars and chaos."
"So what are you willing to reveal?" Li Derjian said in surprise.
Lu Dongzan looked out the window, contemplating and silent, his eyes flashing with unknown thoughts.
Li Derjian waited patiently and did not rush.
After a while, Lu Dongzan said: "I can only tell you one thing. Your inference is very correct. Someone is indeed studying Mr. Qin's stuff. As for being nervous, I don't know."
"You just need to tell me who it is."
Lu Dongzan shook his head: "Telling you will only hurt you. If something happens to you, I will die when Lord Qin comes back. Besides, you are the son of Duke Wei. I can't bear the consequences. Let's wait until Lord Qin comes back."
After saying that, he closed his eyes and rested his mind, refusing to say another word.
But Li Derjian knew an important piece of information. The identity of the person behind it was not simple, and he had the ability to kill himself. He was shocked and immediately became furious. He felt unwilling to admit defeat and left quietly, knowing that nothing could be asked.
…
Qunfang Tower, since Wanhua Tower was sealed, has become the first building in Chang'an.
The main building has three floors, and there are many annexes and separate attics. It is built around a huge pond. There are fields of lotus leaves in the pond, small boats rippling, and a larger flower boat. It is decorated with red lanterns and hung high. There are many girls.
Children shuttled among them, and there was melodious music.
In a private room inside the ship, Prince Li Chengqian sat upright, his eyes a little cold. Sitting next to him were four people with equally cold expressions. A middle-aged man knelt on the board of the ship, his face was pale and he was sweating coldly. He begged: "Your Highness the Prince
, if you give me some time, I will be able to make it."
Li Chengqian served tea with an indifferent expression: "I said the same thing last time, why can't you change it?"
The voice was not loud, but it was filled with an inexplicable chill. The middle-aged man kowtowed desperately, making a thumping sound, and blood quickly overflowed from his forehead. He repeatedly begged for mercy: "Your Highness, I promise this time, and for the last time, please show mercy to the prince."
"The lotus pond outside is not fertile enough, and the lotus flowers are less pink and beautiful. They need some human blood to water them. They are sinking." The prince said silently, putting down the tea cup.
A guard rushed up from behind, knocked the person unconscious with one palm, found a rope and tied it up skillfully, inserted a thick iron plate in front and back, opened the window and threw the person out, sinking to the bottom of the lake.
Everyone watched this scene calmly, no one said anything, their expressions remained unchanged, and they were obviously not surprised after seeing so many things.
Li Chengqian looked around and continued: "Everyone, let's see the joke."
A man in green clothes smiled and said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has mercy on you. People like these who are incompetent should have been killed long ago. That is to say, the Crown Prince is benevolent and righteous. Give him another chance."
"Let's talk about business." Li Chengqian interrupted.
The man in green nodded and continued: "We captured a few more craftsmen yesterday and are working hard to develop them. I didn't expect that those liquors, soaps and other products are so difficult to make. However, the prince can relax. He just arrested a person from Qinjiazhuang and is interrogating him.
, as long as you know who has the technology and recruit them directly, you can save a lot of effort."
"You shouldn't burn down Mr. Qin's shop. It's too ostentatious."
The man in green was startled and asked: "I didn't do this, but which of you did it?"
The remaining three people shook their heads, and one of them said: "In extraordinary times, wouldn't burning down the shop cause trouble for yourself? Since it's not just us, there might be someone else."
Several people looked at Li Chengqian one after another.
Li Chengqian also realized that something was wrong. After pondering for a moment, he warned: "I'm afraid someone is plotting against us. Let's calm down for a while and find out more about it. The workshop will be more alert. My father has ordered the Supervisory Office to investigate. There is no one of us in the Supervisory Office."
, it’s impossible to get the news in advance, so it’s better to be careful.”
Everyone responded one after another and became more vigilant.