The morning sun shines on the wall of the west city gate.
Lin Cheng led his horse through the Xingzifang Market and walked through the streets.
With a piece of sesame cake in his mouth, he came to a run-down alley in a familiar way.
There is a ruins of a small courtyard at the end of the alley, which is the old courtyard where Huang Xuan's family lived.
Lin Cheng walked into it and looked around.
This is not the first time he has come here for on-the-spot inspections. Including this time, he has been there seven or eight times, probably more than the Xunyang Grottoes at the Shuangfeng Peak.
In the ruins, Lin Cheng squatted down from time to time.
He picked up a piece of broken bowl porcelain with his fingers.
There is still a faint remnant of dried white porridge on the porcelain pieces.
Lin Cheng was chewing the cake and looking at the porridge stains on the porcelain pieces.
What happened in this small courtyard that day, the ins and outs, Rong Zhen wrote a complete case while recovering from serious injuries.
Lin Cheng had memorized everything by heart.
According to the case report, the clever-eyed little girl named Huang Xuan took out a crude short dagger and stabbed Ouyang Lianghan while serving porridge to Ouyang Lianghan.
Because Huang Xuan was willing to show her innocent eyes and cooperate with Rong Zhen in setting up an array to search for the owner of Die Lianhua, Rong Zhen, Yan Zhang and others did not punish Huang Xuan at that time, put aside the dispute, and somewhat sheltered her, and instead let Ouyang
Liang Han left to heal.
According to Huang Xuan's words that Rong Zhen recalled afterwards, it can be seen that the reason why the little girl hated Ouyang Lianghan so much seemed to be because Ouyang Lianghan valued too much his reputation as a gentleman and the collective interests of the so-called Xingzifang toiling people, which made her and her father have conflicts.
Not a "little gift" from the wealthy Yangzhou business gang.
From this point of view, Huang Xuan is not grateful to Ouyang Lianghan as her benefactor. Maybe her father is more mature and knows how to be self-sufficient and grateful. But as a child, she probably missed out on the big house and the wealthy life.
As a result, resentment arose, and a fight between favors and favors turned into hatred.
As for why they hated Ouyang Lianghan, Lin Cheng and Rong Zhen before him both went to ask Huang Feihong personally afterwards.
According to what this bearded man swore, he rejected Pei Shisanniang's kindness for the sake of his benefactor's reputation in Xunyang Tower, but he did not expect that Xiaoxuan, who was silent at the time, would have such a grudge in his heart.
"Repaying kindness with hatred? You are so young, you really have such a scheming mind..."
Lin Cheng muttered to himself.
In fact, following this logic, there are two weak links that are slightly difficult to explain.
First of all, when Huang Xuan first met Rong Zhen, why did she help Rong Zhen in the name of trusting her benefactor and her friend?
Did you start pretending at that time? Was it because you were afraid that Rong Zhen and Ouyang Lianghan had a good relationship, so you just followed the trend?
Secondly, how dare Huang Xuan assassinate Ouyang Lianghan? She is a little girl from a slum. Doesn’t she know the power of a governor?
Or is it because Rong Zhen is needed and Yan Zhang needs her to set up the formation that he is so arrogant and not afraid of the consequences?
Under the morning sun, Lin Cheng finished eating the cake, put down the porcelain pieces, and clapped his hands calmly.
"It's not that it can't be explained."
As he muttered, he stood up and walked around the yard with his hands behind his back, his eyes showing deep thought.
Combined with the subsequent behavior of Huang Xuan leaving with the Taoist priest of Shangqing Sect, it can be seen that this little girl knows the value of her eyes, and she also has great ambitions in refining qi.
She should know that she is the one with the innocent eyes, and the little ink spirit probably told her about her talent.
When the formation was first set up, Yan Zhang and Lian Qing were tolerant and courteous towards her, and Rong Zhen also promised to recommend her to join Si Tianjian.
These should gradually give this little girl a lot of confidence.
After Ouyang Lianghan arrived at that time, according to Rong Zhen, he had some conflicts with the male historian Yan Zhang, and as the chief historian, Ouyang Lianghan had nothing to do with Yan Zhang.
Looking back now, it is estimated that the conflict between Ouyang Lianghan and Yan Zhang, and the weak position of local officials in front of Si Tianjian's Qi trainers, may have emboldened Huang Xuan, losing her filter for Ouyang Lianghan, and despising arrogance
stand up.
Therefore, the resentment that she had been careful about before was naturally no longer hidden, and she took advantage of the moment when Rong Zhen, Yan Zhang, and Lian Qing all needed her to take revenge.
This backward reasoning makes sense logically, but...
"The character of this girl seems to be a little different from what the neighbors of this hospital described."
Lin Cheng frowned slightly.
"Isn't it said that he is kind-hearted and knows how to repay kindness..."
After a pause, he nodded slowly:
"However, the stewards at Hanlei Mozhai all say that she is reserved, thoughtful, cunning, and good at pleasing noble people...
"In addition, Huang Feihong didn't seem surprised when Huang Xuan stabbed Ouyang Lianghan. Instead, he apologized on his behalf. Was it Mo Ruofu, the best friend, or...acted?"
Lin Cheng walked around the yard.
The corners of his mouth were turned down and his eyes were squinted in silence.
The whole chain of logic makes sense.
But...he actually doesn't like this kind of specious reasoning.
Because many of these seemingly trivial aspects require him to figure out the behavioral logic for the parties after the fact.
Lin Cheng remembered the teacher saying that sometimes, people who are too smart are not suitable for investigating crimes.
Because it is easy to be clever but be misled by cleverness.
Smart people will naturally think of others as smart as themselves and find logic to fill in the gaps for them.
Reasoning for handling cases may require logic, but reality sometimes does not require logic.
The same is true now. The person involved, Huang Xuan, can't be found. He doesn't know the details of this woman. Lin Cheng has no way to verify many details, so he can only make general deductions that are specious.
A true detective needs a keen sense of smell and mysterious intuition.
Lin Cheng's intuition was that Huang Xuan's assassination of Ouyang Lianghan seemed a little out of the ordinary in the whole old courtyard incident.
However, it was just sudden. Huang Xuan's assassination of Ouyang Lianghan was not the most important in the whole incident. The importance level in Lin Cheng's heart was actually not high, because there were many other important directions.
For example, the little ink spirit seems to have had a connection with the owner of Dielianhua. Another example is that the owner of Dielianhua is actually an amazing poet and has such a vast literary talent. Another example is that the owner of Dielianhua also has some inexplicable magical power.
Can drive the tripod sword to kill people in Chixiayue formation...etc.
Mainly based on Lin Cheng's past experience, sometimes clues are often hidden in the minutiae. Maybe Huang Xuan's assassination of Ouyang Lianghan is the clue to solving the case?
After thinking about it for a long time, Lin Cheng shook his head and temporarily let go of the suddenness here.
However, compared to this sudden incident that seems to be a personal grudge, there is another incident that deserves more scrutiny.
Lin Cheng stood up, walked out of the courtyard, and looked around.
"How did the owner of Dielianhua find this place?"
His eyes slowly rested on the eaves of Chengtian Temple not far away.
"Yuan Huaimin, a person from Chang'an, the Yuan family in Jingzhao... was demoted to Sima Jiangzhou..."
Half an hour later, inside Chengtian Temple.
In a guest courtyard with the door ajar, Lin Cheng saw Yuan Huaimin who had just taken a nap.
"Yuan Sima, I, Lin Cheng, and Si Tianjian, Xia Guan Lingtailang, were ordered to investigate a murder case in Jiangzhou... there are many troubles."
"Well, good afternoon, Mr. Lin Lingtai. Please have a seat. You can sit wherever you want. You're welcome."
Yuan Huaimin stood up in confusion and casually pointed to the courtyard where there were actually no resting stools.
Lin Cheng asked calmly:
"Master Yuan is a descendant of an aristocratic family and a Sima of a state. Why do you live in Xingzifang or a cheap guesthouse like this in a temple?"
Yuan Huaimin thought for a while and asked:
"Mr. Lin Lingtai, you Si Tianjian don't have to eat breakfast every morning, right?"
"No need." Lin Cheng shook his head.
Yuan Huaimin looked envious:
"How about we change our official positions, and you become the Sima of Jiangzhou? How about you go on to become a Lingtai Lang?"
"No change." Lin Cheng shook his head: "Isn't Jiangzhou Sima also an official, so how can he be so miserable? Do you think... you have to take care of the stable?"
Yuan Huaimin looked regretful:
"The position of Sima is quite leisurely, but the prerequisite is that a good Shangguan must be appointed... Ahem, it's not that Brother Lianghan is not good, the main thing is...it's that Brother Lianghan is too strict. In his words, he is a small scroll.
For a moment, I don’t know when this small volume will end.
"Sima Jiangzhou's salary is actually not low. Occasionally, he can go to Xunyang Tower to listen to Qin's pipa music, as long as he doesn't have his salary deducted every day."
His face shivered as he recalled the past:
"I think back in the past, before Brother Lianghan came to be the chief historian, I had a much better life than now. I remember the first time I came to Jiangzhou, I ran to go on duty in the morning, and I deliberately arrived an hour late, and found that I was actually here.
The earliest one, at that time, I felt that I had come to the right place. Who else could I do with Sima Jiangzhou? But now... well, forget about it."
After saying that, Yuan Huai raised his head and glanced at the sky, his face suddenly became happy, he turned around and ran back into the house, packed his things, and prepared to go out.
At the same time, he politely said:
"If Mr. Lin Lingtai is fine, please come back. I'm going out as well. Are you going to Xunyangfang? We can go together."
Lin Cheng looked curiously at Yuan Huaimin, who was about to go out with great interest:
"Where is Yuan Sima going?"
"The time has come. It's time to go to Brother Lianghan's house for dinner. We go there every three days. Well, if I weren't embarrassed, I would go every day."
Lin Cheng was about to speak but stopped.
When Yuan Huaimin saw it, he suddenly looked wary and said:
"Mr. Lin Lingtai, I can't bring anyone over."
"...?" Lin Cheng.
"Lang Lingtai doesn't know. Brother Lianghan is fine, but his shrewish aunt is very strict. Every three days I go there to have a meal, I will be verbally abused by her at the dinner table. She is full of sarcasm and sarcasm.
, I have no choice but to swallow my anger with a gun in my hand, which is really an insult to my gentleness."
He sighed and slapped his hands heavily:
"Hey, if it weren't for that table of good dishes, how could a man tolerate such a humiliation! Forget it, this unruly woman from the countryside is no longer as experienced as her. Who told her to cook delicious food?
"Lang Lingtai seems to be a good man at first glance. It's better not to suffer from this bird's anger. Hey, just go back and go back. Let's go to this pit of fire."
Lin Cheng frowned at Yuan Huaimin, who was speaking righteously, and suddenly asked:
"I heard that Sima Yuan was an outstanding poet. He was a famous scholar in Chang'an in the past."
Yuan Huaimin nodded: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but it's more important to eat now, so I'll leave first..." After saying that, he wanted to run away.
Lin Cheng interrupted with a straight face: "Why don't you write it now?"
"Well, it's not like a sow is giving birth to piglets, so how can it be so productive?" Yuan Huaimin stopped and turned around seriously.
Lin Cheng shook his head and said softly: "The reason."
"Does your Si Tianjian still care about this?"
Lin Cheng said calmly: "Then please hand over a piece of calligraphy. Si Tianjian needs it for investigating the case."
Yuan Huaimin hesitated for a moment and asked: "Can you paint? There is a picture of shy winter plums."
"Can."
Yuan Huaimin turned back to the house, hurriedly rolled up a scroll and stuffed it into Lin Cheng's hand.
Lin Cheng put away the scroll and suddenly asked:
"Does Ouyang Changshi often come to you to listen to the piano?"
Yuan Huaimin was stunned and nodded: "Yes. What's wrong?"
"As Sima, you should know about the case of Huang Xuan's family. Did Ouyang Lianghan make an appointment to come to you on the day of the accident?"
"We usually don't make an appointment at a specific time. He is very busy and comes only when he has time. I will be at home that day."
"Okay, got it."
Lin Cheng walked out of the yard, but he did not leave immediately.
Standing in the dark, he watched Yuan Huaimin go away as he hurried to catch the meal.
Turning around, he arrived at a lake in the temple.
These days, he comes often.
Lin Cheng stood on the shore and silently looked at the pavilion in the center of the lake.
This temple and lake are located in the center of Xingzifang.
It is said that a star fell from the sky and fell in the lake.
Later, it was regarded as auspicious, and the people of Xunyang gathered around the water, and the surrounding area gradually became prosperous.
Later, this square was also named Xingzifang by the governor of Xunyang County in the early Han Dynasty...
"Xingzi Lake...Xingzi...what a good name...avoiding the moon and reaching for the stars...avoiding the moon and reaching for the stars..."
I don't know how long it took, but Lin Cheng's figure disappeared by the lake.
On his way back, Lin Cheng visited the ruins of the old courtyard again, walked around in a circle, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, and left the courtyard.
He calmly walked out of the alley where the old courtyard was located, and when passing by a large house at the entrance of the alley, he suddenly stopped.
"Clean up and move everything out. The buyer will come back for inspection later. Don't neglect the guests..."
A woman's condescending and cold voice could be heard faintly in the house.
"Yes, Thirteenth Mother." The little people said yes.
Lin Cheng was quiet for a while, looked at the high wall of the house, turned around and walked around to the main entrance of the big house.
I saw many slaves carrying furniture at the gate.
Lin Cheng, who was wearing a gray low-key soap suit, covered up the golden lacquer token of Si Tianjian around his waist, and walked into the crowd with a calm expression.
He went against the flow of people and entered the house for a leisurely stroll. The servants and servants around him didn't notice him for a while.
Lin Cheng stopped not far from the hall of the residence and raised his eyelids.
I saw a noble lady wearing a purple lotus flower silk in the hall.
She had a cold look on her face, and her tone of voice when ordering the servants was quite serious, as if she was in a bad mood.