"This case has caused panic in the capital and boiled public resentment. The murderer has not been found for a long time, and delaying it is not an option."
"There is definitely something wrong with the dead Shuangshuang. I want her to take the blame and calm the public's anger before continuing the investigation."
Bai Anning's intention was to let Shuangshuang take the blame, calm the public opinion first, and then conduct a thorough investigation in secret.
This proposal is good for both the imperial court and Long Chen.
Especially Long Chen, now everyone is scolding him and even impeaching him.
"This is a way, but it must be approved by the Holy Spirit."
Long Chen can't be the master of such a big matter, and he can't be the master of this, so there's no need to say that Long Chen is deliberately evading responsibility.
Bai Anning nodded and said, "I've drafted the memorial. Now I'm going to the palace to meet the saint."
Long Chen and Bai Anning went out and entered the palace together.
When they arrived at the yamen gate, the boy from Mo's house looked at Long Chen timidly, looking quite pitiful.
Long Chen took out a few taels of silver from his body and handed it to the boy: "Go buy some clothes, don't freeze."
The boy took the money and nodded slightly.
When they arrived at the palace, Long Chen went back to Qiuxing Palace, while Bai Anning went to Fengming Palace.
Entering the imperial study, Bai Anning reported the case. After reading the memorial, the empress asked coldly: "The real murderer has not been found yet?"
Bai Anning shook his head and said: "This murderer is extremely cunning and can even instruct the palace maid to commit suicide by taking poison. I really don't know what his background is."
When the palace maid Shuangshuang saw what had happened, she immediately took poison and committed suicide, which shows how capable the murderer is.
The empress threw the memorial aside and said, "Continue to investigate. You can't use a dead person as a shield."
Bai Anning thought that the empress would agree, but she didn't expect that she would be rejected.
"Wei Chen accepts the order!"
Bai Anning exited Fengming Palace.
....
When Long Chen returned to Qiuxing Palace, Di Luoxi came over and asked, "Where is the murderer?"
Long Chen shook his head and said: "No, that Shuangshuang was controlled by the murderer. She is not the real murderer."
Di Luoxi said: "What about Li Tianze? I heard that Shuangshuang is his follower, so he must have ordered it."
Long Chen shook his head and said: "I checked the background of Tianze. His father was an official and was killed for corruption. He lived in the capital for eight years. He usually helped people write and tell fortunes. Later, he voluntarily entered the palace and became a eunuch."
"His family background and martial arts skills are not enough to control a palace maid."
If he wants to control others, he must either give money and benefits or threaten violence and oppression. Li Tianze does neither.
As for the identity of the manager of Nangong, it is just a false position. In fact, Shangguan Xue is in charge of Nangong.
Li Tianze is incapable of committing such a major crime.
Di Luoxi said dejectedly: "Then what should I do? I went to see my mother today, and she seems to have a problem with you too."
Long Chen was surprised, the empress actually doubted himself?
"Three people become tigers. The pressure on the Holy One is too great, so he must show something."
Long Chen explained casually.
Di Luoxi took off her coat, sat on the kang, and said irritably: "When the murderer is caught, I will cut him into pieces and cut out his liver and lungs!"
Long Chen smiled and said: "When you find it, let the princess handle it."
Di Luoxi was very irritated. She grabbed Long Chen's clothes and said, "Come with me to relieve your boredom!"
Long Chen smiled and said: "How can the princess relieve her boredom?"
Di Luoxi slowly unbuttoned her collar, bit her jade finger with her red lips, and said, "What do you think..."
Long Chen smiled and said: "I'm going to wash my hands. Do you want to drink tea and rehydrate?"
Di Luoxi said softly: "I want..."
....
Morning.
Di Luoxi hugged Long Chen's arm and fell asleep while Xiang Ning packed her clothes beside her.
Picking up Di Luoxi's pants, Xiang Ning made a face and tiptoed out.
Xiao'e walked by outside and asked enviously: "Did you sleep with the adults again last night? Wash your pants quickly, they are so wet and easy to freeze."
Xiang Ning hissed: "Keep your voice down, princess."
In the room, Long Chen got dressed and got up. When he went outside, he saw Su Yourong coming.
"The princess is still sleeping."
Long Chen thought Su Yourong was looking for Di Luoxi.
"Sir, the Metropolitan Procuratorate sent a letter saying that the boy from Mo's house is dead."
Su Yourong didn't come to see Di Luoxi, she came to Long Chen to deliver a message.
"Dead?"
Long Chen immediately rode to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and saw Bai Anning.
"How did that boy die?"
Bai Anning's face was filled with apologies. He knew that Long Chen felt sorry for the boy, so he said, "I didn't notice him last night. He was sleepwalking in only a single piece of clothing. He was already frozen when he found out."
Sleepwalking and freezing to death at night?
Such a weird thing!
"Where are the people?"
Bai Anning immediately took Long Chen to the morgue to check.
Wu Zuo opened the white cloth beside him, and Long Chen looked carefully and found no wounds on his body. He was indeed frozen to death.
"Misfortune..."
Wu Zuo sighed.
Long Chen came out of the morgue and felt something was wrong.
Sleepwalking and freezing someone to death, this is so ridiculous, it must be murder.
If Shuangshuang is the apprentice who follows Mo Mei, since Shuangshuang is dead, why should he kill people and silence him?
Unless...this guy was instigated by someone else and didn't tell the truth.
Long Chen immediately left the Metropolitan Procuratorate and arrived at Mo's house in the north of the city.
The place is still in ruins, with some poor people rummaging through the ashes for valuables.
Long Chen got off his horse, walked to his neighbor's house, and knocked on the door.
An old man walked out of it and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
Long Chen was not wearing official clothes, so his identity could not be identified.
"Old man, I am a distant relative of Aunt Mo. Why is this house gone? Where is Aunt Mo? Is she still alive?"
If you directly asked about the situation, the old man would probably refuse, so Long Chen panicked.
The old man heard that Long Chen was a relative of Mo Mei, so he opened the door and sighed: "Come in, it's cold outside."
After entering the house, the old man asked Long Chen to sit down and warm himself by the fire.
"How long have you been here?"
The old man poured a cup of hot tea for Long Chen.
"It's been three years. I passed by the capital this time. My mother asked me to stop by and take a look. I didn't expect that the house was gone? What happened?"
Long Chen picked up the tea and held it in his hands, but did not drink it.
The old man said: "There was a sudden fire the night before yesterday. Everyone died except Xiao Feng."
Xiaofeng should be that boy.
"How could there be a fire?"
The old man lowered his voice and said, "What's strange is that the official came to ask questions at night, and he died in a fire that night."
Long Chen looked horrified and whispered: "The government kills people?"
The old man waved his hand and said, "I don't know."
Long Chen lamented for a long time and said, "It's a pity that my Aunt Mo's excellent midwifery skills have been lost."
The old man echoed: "Young man, you don't know yet, she has now become a mourning star. Many of the women she delivered have died, and no one dares to look for her anymore."
Long Chen started to get down to the topic and asked: "What does this have to do with Aunt Mo? Isn't it all nonsense."
The old man smiled and did not continue.
It is not kind to criticize a dead person in front of other people's relatives. This is not kind.
"Old man, I heard a letter from Aunt Mo saying that she has several apprentices. I wonder where they are now?"
The old man thought for a while and said: "There are two, two women, one is very beautiful, and the other is...a bit weird. They both left some time ago, I don't know where they went."
Sure enough, there was not one apprentice, Shuangshuang, but two.
"Oh, that craft is really lost. I have to look for it."
"Old man, do you remember their names? What do they look like? What are their characteristics?"
The old man thought about it carefully and said: "One is called Rushuang, with almond eyes and peach cheeks, and very pointed earlobes; the other is called Xiaoling, who looks very strange, but they are both stunning beauties with extremely white skin."
When the old man talked about it, he seemed to be talking about the old wine he had drunk, which gave him endless aftertaste.
Long Chen asked: "What does it mean to be weird?"
The old man said: "She doesn't look like a woman, but she is indeed a woman. The female relatives of those wealthy families like her very much and always invite her to embroider at home."
Is it possible that a man is disguising himself as a woman?
If that were the case, it would indeed be easy to sneak into the women's house.
In wealthy families, there are many concubines, and the male master is too busy to keep them busy, and there are also cases of having fornications with others.
"Do you know where they went?"
The old man shook his head and said, "I don't know about this, but they should be together."
Long Chen asked: "Why?"
The old man's wrinkled face revealed a sly smile: "They are a couple..."
Long Chen laughed and said: "Old man, do you still understand this?"
The old man chuckled and said: "Young man, I am now down and out. I think I was also a high-roller in a brothel back then. I liked this kind of thing at that time. It would be interesting to have two women together."
Tsk... I didn’t expect that the old man was still a vagabond back then.
"There is a saying that goes like this: Life comes from my door and death comes from my house. I can't bear it when I see it. Food and drink, men and women, how can people's great desires survive."
"If you are not romantic, your youth will be in vain. Even if you die under the peonies and become a ghost, you will be romantic. Your life will not be in vain."
"I won't disturb you anymore, I will take my leave."
Long Chen got up and went out. The old man walked to the door with his old legs that were not very flexible.
Long Chen smiled and said: "Old man, the Liuwei Dihuang Pills on the market can nourish kidney yin, you can always try it."
The old man laughed and said: "I have eaten it a long time ago. I didn't pay attention when I was young. Only when I got old did I realize that the bones in my body were hollowed out."
Long Chen smiled and didn't know what to answer.
"Take care of yourself."
Just as Long Chen was about to mount his horse, the old man pulled Long Chen's horse's rein again, with a sly smile on his face: "Young man, I think you are also a man of love. Let me tell you something."
Long Chen stopped and asked: "Old man, please tell me."
The old man chuckled and said, "Actually, that little spirit is easy to recognize if you find it."
Long Chen immediately asked: "Please enlighten me."
The old man smiled coquettishly and said: "The embroidery on her back is very beautiful, very beautiful."
Long Chen was stunned and asked: "Do you always peek at them bathing?"
The old man frowned, clasped his hands behind his back, pretending to be a virtuous elder, and said: "Young man, don't talk nonsense, I happened to pass by, they happened to take a bath, I happened to see them, everything is just right
Why is it that I peeked into the shower? You, a young man, cannot be taught!"
This is such a coincidence...
Long Chen gave a thumbs up: "Old man, you are always a role model for our generation, and the younger generation admires you!"
The old man chuckled: "I'm old. If you were twenty years younger, I would take you to visit Rouge Lane."
Long Chen cupped his hands and bowed: "I understand, farewell!"
If Shuangshuang and that little spirit are a couple, they must still be hiding in Nangong.
The two of them have a good relationship, and with the embroidery on their backs, you can tell who it is at a glance!
