"Absolutely not, His Highness's birthday is not even on this day!"
"That's good……"
When the imperial guard stepped forward, made a trembling identification, and concluded that it was not the case, Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
He really didn't want to be involved in such a big case as soon as he arrived in Chang'an.
In any high-stakes case, if there are many people involved, there must be innocents among them.
In the end, he will definitely be in trouble.
This kind of thing is inherently unreasonable.
Now we are not cursing the prince, at least there is room for relaxation.
Of course, setting up a private mourning hall in the crown prince's palace is a big deal no matter who is worshiping.
Li Yan ordered four people, including Xu Hong: "Inform Shangguan immediately, and then go to the inner palace to ask for instructions!"
"yes!"
Four of the guards left, and the remaining six guarded the scene.
Li Yan thought that the water traces led all the way to the West Garden, and then they searched the mourning hall. He frowned and thought it was strange.
Is it possible that the person who is pretending to be a ghost hopes to be discovered in the mourning hall?
You don’t really think that this makes him believe that there are ghosts in the world, and that ghosts are here, right?
Li Yan sneered and said, "Light up the fire!"
The fire light became brighter, slightly dispersing the gloomy atmosphere in the mourning hall. Li Yan looked at the tablet: "How old is the deceased on this tablet?"
If it were Li Zhi or Empress Wu, wouldn't it be even worse?
Fortunately, Zhang Huan calculated his age and replied: "Li Wuwei, this... this person is only eighteen years old."
Li Yan simply asked: "Is there any nobleman of this age in the palace?"
What if instead of cursing the prince, he cursed the princess?
Zhang Huan thought for a while and said: "There is no such thing in Shaoyang Palace."
This means she is not a princess.
Li Yan frowned and thought silently.
Zhang Huan looked at the desk and let out a light sigh.
Li Yan immediately asked: "What's wrong?"
Zhang Huan said: "There are no tributes. In addition to the three animals, there should also be seasonal fruits."
He shuddered: "Did the female ghost eat it?"
After this reminder, Li Yan carefully looked at the tributes on the case, leaned over and took a gentle sniff.
He found that the meat offered was dried, but it must have been salted, so it didn't spoil or smell.
In other words, the person who set up the mourning hall probably set it up like this many days ago, and it was not a temporary setting at all.
Li Yan sneered: "I could have traced the clues from the tributes, but the other party didn't place any seasonal fruits. If it were a ghost, would it be scary?"
Zhang Huan suddenly realized: "So it turns out that listening to Li Wuwei's words is really better than me waiting for a night of random thoughts!"
Sounds familiar.
Li Yan ignored it and walked around the desk carefully, imprinting all the details in his mind.
Detectives are not created out of thin air. They must analyze clues to see through the tricks and get the truth.
While they were busy, Xu Hong and others came back in a hurry.
"The Crown Princess wants to see me? Now?"
Li Yan was stunned when he heard the news he brought back.
After confirming again and again, he had to go in the direction of the inner palace.
The inner palace is where the prince and his wives and concubines live.
In fact, he didn't have many wives and concubines. Li Hong was in poor health. Except for the crown prince Pei, a concubine also died of illness in his early years, so he had no other concubines.
Even so, outsiders are definitely not allowed to enter here, just like foreign ministers are not allowed to enter the emperor's harem.
Fortunately, the place where Crown Princess Pei summoned Li Yan was at the junction of the outer court and the inner palace.
Even so, Li Yan was a little unhappy.
In the minds of future generations, the harem of the Tang Dynasty was filthy, and the relationship between men and women was extremely bold.
But in fact, the Tang Dynasty's defense of men and women was not as exaggerated as that of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but it was not without protection.
Despite the fact that the royal family's daughter was a promiscuous person in private and was turned into scum by women with five surnames in the marriage market, when they left the palace, they had to wear curtains and hats to cover their faces.
During the Zhenguan period, people even had to wear a hat when going out, and a long veil hung from the brim of the hat to cover the whole body.
It was not until the Xuanzong era that curtains and hats were omitted, and noble ladies wore gorgeous clothes and heavy makeup, rode horses and showed their faces.
At this time, it is risky to see any female family member in the palace, but the prince and concubine are attracted by each other, so they must meet.
"Exemplary of good luck, don't always encounter cases!"
"I'm not a Death God elementary school student..."
Li Yan secretly thought that he was unlucky, but there was nothing he could do, so he just went and ran away.
He led a group of guards to the edge of the outer court. After waiting for a while, he saw lights shining in the distance, winding all the way.
A group of palace maids held lamps, surrounded by a woman with light steps, and walked over.
Under the light, Li Yan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
Because the visitor was wearing a turban, a scribe's robe, a leather belt, and riding boots, with red lips and clear eyes, he looked like a handsome prince.
Women disguised as men?
Yes, women disguising themselves as men was another option for women to go out in the early Tang Dynasty.
There is no need to cover your face, just wear men's clothes and you can walk around outside.
Sometimes the constraints of etiquette are just like this. They are covered with a fig leaf and everyone can easily accept them.
Of course, women disguising themselves as men won’t be like those in TV dramas, where you can’t tell the gender if you’re blind.
It's not a matter of appearance or figure, it's mainly because all adult men in the Tang Dynasty had beards.
Those who don't have beards, except for eunuchs, are little ladies dressed in men's clothing, so they are easy to identify.
As for the young ladies who deliberately put on their beards, they are disguised. If anything happens, they have to bear it themselves and cannot blame others.
However, Li Yan was still a little surprised when he saw the Crown Princess walking in the palace dressed in men's clothing, with a light figure and obviously proficient in martial arts.
This character is so wild!
The Crown Princess came to the edge of the inner palace not far away and looked at him from a distance: "Are you Li Yuanfang? Li Liulang?"
Li Yan heard something strange in her tone and replied: "Yes, I am."
The Crown Princess smiled and said: "Second Uncle and Aye's letters mentioned you emphatically. You helped him uncover the Tibetan bandits' conspiracy in Liangzhou and ensured peace. You played a great role in it. Now that I see you, you are indeed well-deserved!"
Li Yan raised his eyebrows slightly, and then he realized that the princess was actually the niece of Pei Sijian, the governor of Liangzhou.
Her father was Pei Judao, the general of Zuo Jinwu's guard. He was born in the East Household of the Pei family in Hedong, and Pei Sijian was born in the middle house of the Pei family.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The high-ranking gentry clan spread out and were passed down from generation to generation. If they are not children of the same family, there is actually no blood relationship.
But if the personal relationship is very good, according to the seniority, it is absolutely fine for Crown Princess Pei to call Pei Sijian uncle. After all, they are from the same family tree.
With this relationship, Li Yan understood why the Crown Princess summoned him, relaxed a little, and replied: "That's because Duke Pei is exaggerating!"
The Crown Princess began to ask more serious questions: "Who set up the mourning hall? What is its purpose?"
Li Yandao: "I met you for the first time tonight. I don't have a clue yet, but I assert that there must be something fishy about this matter!"
The Crown Princess pondered slightly, nodded and said: "This matter is of great importance and there really is no need to rush it. Then...where is the female ghost? Has anyone seen her coming or going? Why is she haunting my palace?"
Li Yan asserted: "The theory of ghosts is not credible. The Daming Palace has the spirit of a saint and a true dragon, and evil spirits will never dare to come near it!"
This was too politically correct, and the Crown Princess could only continue to nod: "Not bad! Not bad!"
Li Yan also made preparations in advance. Because people in this era were very superstitious, not only were folk obscenities serious, many people in the palace also believed in them.
It is normal to be afraid of ghosts and ghosts, and only a very small number of people are not afraid.
Li Yan was afraid that the prince or princess would be frightened and do some mysterious operations, which would play into the enemy's hands.
However, after listening to Li Yan's two nonsense words, the Crown Princess was not easy to fool. She said in a serious voice: "Now that something big has happened in the palace, I am afraid of disturbing His Highness. I am very worried. Liu Lang is both wise and brave. Can you teach me how to deal with it?"
Li Yan's pupils narrowed.
This is because he really treats him as a close minister and confidant, so he asks this question.
The future queen showed her kindness in person, and it would be very offending if Li Yan used an official answer to prevaricate.
He is also planning to use the prince’s traffic to gain achievement points!
After weighing it carefully and looking at his new talent, Li Yan said slowly: "The matter in the mourning hall is too big, and we must let His Highness the Crown Prince know about it. We cannot hide it. As for the matter of hauntings, I am not talented. I am willing to wait until ten
Within the next few days, we will do our best to investigate and find the person who is pretending to be a ghost!"
The princess was very moved when she heard this: "Liu Lang came to Xijing for the first time. Don't be harsh on yourself and insist on setting a time limit. No matter whether it succeeds or not, my husband and I will appreciate it."
Li Yan bowed and resigned, returning to the side hall.
As soon as he entered the palace, he saw Cao An, whose eyes were still red, approaching him: "Li Wuwei, just hope you're okay!"
Li Yan burst out laughing: "Why do you look like I'm being eaten by a ghost? You've already said that there are no ghosts in the world, so there's no need to be afraid."
Cao An nodded obediently: "Oh..."
Li Yan walked to the couch boldly: "I'm going to bed. You guys, please light the candles and go rest too!"
Cao An answered the question and lit the candle, but still stayed at the edge of the hall with other chamberlains.
Li Yan felt a little uncomfortable, but he still lay on the couch and closed his eyes.
After a while, I finally fell asleep.
…
More than an hour later.
"ah!!"
With a scream, Li Yan straightened up suddenly and reached out to touch the knife.
Cao An rushed over: "Li Wuwei, what's wrong with you?"
Li Yan's chest rose and fell, his breath gradually calmed down, he blinked his eyes and said: "Oh, I think about it every day and dream about it at night. I just dreamed that you were kidnapped by the female ghost in red. I tried my best to rescue you, but I was still one step short...
…”
Cao An discovered a blind spot: "Li Wuwei, don't you believe there are ghosts in the world?"
Li Yan's face darkened: "But you believe it, so it makes sense to dream about being caught by a ghost!"
Cao An finally understood and was so moved that his eyes turned red again.
***The author has something to say***
Thanks to the book friend "Pharaoh Scissorhands" for the reward.