Hua Feiyan took the list written by Zhang Chang and looked at it carefully one by one. It is unlikely that Liu Zhang, the king of Taiyuan, would do such a thing. As the emperor's favorite nephew and a noble king, why would he use such despicable tricks?
To kidnap women.
It is impossible for Wu Han, the great commander, to do such a thing. Wu Han already has his most beloved wife at home. It is impossible for Jianwei General Geng Yan. Geng Yan is young and has already become a general. He is a young and talented man.
There are countless noble ladies pursuing Geng Yan.
There are also Gai Yan, Lai She, etc. In Hua Feiyan's opinion, none of them are possible. Looking down the list, he saw Jingzhao Mansion, Fufeng Mansion, Feng Yi Mansion, etc.
People in these government agencies also frequently come in and out of Chang'an and will not be subject to interrogation. However, the possibility of people in the government plundering women of the people is extremely slim.
Continuing to look down, there seemed to be nothing suspicious about the people on the list, as well as the various government offices. Just when Hua Feiyan was about to finish reading the list and thought she would get nothing, she suddenly saw a name, Xiping Granary.
Her eyes stopped on the name, pondered for a moment, and asked: "Zhang Jingzhao, why can this Xiping Granary leave the city without being interrogated?"
Zhang Chang glanced at the list and said: "Xiping Granary is one of the largest grain merchants in Chang'an. The grain merchant that delivers ingredients to Guanji has always been Xiping Granary."
"oh?"
"Hua Meiren also knows that Guanji is a place dedicated to the God of Five Grains. A considerable part of the ingredients purchased by Guanji are tributes. Jingzhao Mansion... really cannot conduct a careful search of them."
When it comes to tributes and offerings to gods, this is very sensitive. If Jingzhao Mansion is too tough and insists on searching Guanji's ingredients, it will cause public outrage.
Zhang Chang is a bold man, but when it comes to religious matters, he has to think twice.
After listening to his explanation, Hua Feiyan understood the reason why Jingzhao Mansion did not search Xiping Granary. She asked casually: "How often does Xiping Granary send ingredients to Guanji?"
Zhang Chang thought for a while and said: "I used to go once every eight days for ten days. Recently, I go more frequently, once every three or four days."
Hua Feiyan asked: "Why do you go there so often recently?"
Zhang Chang said: "Isn't it the Autumn Society Festival? Guanji started preparing ingredients one or two months in advance for His Majesty to have meals in Guanji." As a result, all these preparations were in vain, and His Majesty was not at Guanji at all.
Ji eats.
Hua Feiyan nodded, and this explanation seemed reasonable. She read the list from beginning to end. She didn't know why, but she just felt that in this list, only the Xiping Granary was the most eye-catching.
She said nothing more, took the list provided by Zhang Chang, and left. Hua Feiyan did not return to the palace, but went to Yuhua Pavilion. Now the shopkeepers and waiters in Yuhua Pavilion have all been replaced by
People from Yunxi Pavilion.
The boss behind the scenes has changed, but the business of Yuhua Pavilion is still booming, even more popular than before. In front of the main entrance, there is a lot of traffic, and there is an endless stream of diners coming in and out.
In a study room in the backyard of Yuhua Pavilion, Hua Feiyan was sitting in the middle. There were three people standing below. One of them was the shopkeeper of Yuhua Pavilion, Xu Zheng. The other two were Liu Buxin and
Horse opens.
Xu Zheng was originally the gangster leader in Luoyang, and Liu Buxin and Ma Kai were both his subordinates. Later, Xu Zheng brought his brothers to join Yunxi Pavilion, and they were all favored by Hua Feiyan.
This time, Yunxi Pavilion expanded its power to Chang'an, so Hua Feiyan asked Xu Zheng to be the shopkeeper of Yuhua Pavilion. To put it bluntly, he was asked to be the person in charge of Yunxi Pavilion in Chang'an. Liu Buxin and Ma Kai were both Xu Zheng
's deputy.
In the study room.
Hua Feiyan took the tea that the maid had just brewed, took a sip, then put down the tea cup, looked at Xu Zheng and others, and asked straight to the point without any unnecessary nonsense: "Recently, there have been frequent cases of missing women in Chang'an City.
Do you all know this?"
Xu Zheng, Liu Buxin, and Ma Kai glanced at each other and said in unison: "Report to Madam, I have heard about it." In private, the people in Yunxi Pavilion did not call Hua Feiyan a beauty, but called her a beauty.
For Mrs.
"Why not report it?" Hua Feiyan asked.
"This..." They thought this was an ordinary case, except that the other party's method of committing the crime was relatively sophisticated.
The main responsibilities of Yunxi Pavilion are, firstly, to detect the enemy's intelligence, and secondly, to find out the enemy's detailed operations on their own side. As for ordinary cases, they are not in charge of them, that is the responsibility of the local government.
Seeing that none of them spoke and Hua Feiyan did not blame her, she asked, "How much do you know about this case?"
Xu Zheng said truthfully: "Madam, we don't pay much attention to it, and we can't say we know much about it."
"Then now, I need you to fully understand the case." Hua Feiyan said helplessly: "Now there are rumors that the missing women are related to His Majesty..."
Hearing this, Xu Zheng, Liu Buxin, and Ma Kai were all shocked, and the three of them said in unison: "Madam, this is pure nonsense!"
Hua Feiyan waved his hands to them and said seriously: "No matter whether it is nonsense or not, no matter how ridiculous and absurd this rumor is, in short, it has already involved His Majesty, so it is no longer a trivial matter. We, Yunxi Pavilion, should
Intervene and investigate thoroughly. This time, when His Majesty learned about the matter, he became furious and reprimanded us, Yunxi Pavilion, for our inaction, and gave us, Yunxi Pavilion, three days to investigate the case."
Xu Zheng, Liu Buxin, and Ma Kai looked at each other with embarrassment on their faces. Jing Zhaoyin had been pursuing this case for a month or two, but no clues had been found. Now they were suddenly asked to investigate in Yunxi Pavilion in three days.
It is really difficult to investigate this case internally.
Hua Feiyan said sternly: "Yunxi Pavilion is what it is today, thanks to His Majesty's support. Your Majesty has not only invested a lot of money and resources in our Yunxi Pavilion, but also has high hopes for our Yunxi Pavilion. Therefore, even if
No matter how difficult it is, we cannot let His Majesty down."
Xu Zheng, Liu Buxin, and Ma Kai looked straight, bowed and saluted, and said, "Yes! Madam!"
Hua Feiyan said: "Jing Zhaoyin has searched all over Chang'an except the palace, but found nothing. This means that the missing woman has either been moved out of the city or is hidden in the palace."
Xu Zheng's expression changed and he stammered: "This... this is impossible, Your Majesty..."
"Even if they are really hidden in the palace, they may not have anything to do with His Majesty."
After all, there is not only one palace in Chang'an, but three palaces, such as Changle Palace, which His Majesty has never been to, and Jianzhang Palace, where His Majesty only received the Kushan envoy Di Rang.
If a thief really takes advantage of this and secretly hides those women in a hidden place in the palace, it is not impossible.
She said seriously: "I will investigate carefully at the palace. The direction of your investigation is to focus on the fact that those women are no longer in Chang'an City."
"Madam, what you mean is that the thieves secretly sent them out of the city?"
"This is the only possibility."
"But during this period, Jingzhao Mansion conducted strict checks on people entering and leaving the city."
"But not all of them have been interrogated." Hua Feiyan handed the list written by Zhang Chang to Xu Zheng and said, "This is the list of people who have not been interrogated. Among them is a grain merchant named Xiping Granary, which I find very suspicious.
, you can focus on investigating it later."
With the direction of the investigation and the specific target of the investigation in hand, Xu Zheng and the others secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It's easy to tell if there is a target. If there is no target, let them investigate with a blind eye. Let alone three days, even thirty days, they may not be able to find anything.
Xu Zheng took the bamboo slips with both hands, bowed to Hua Feiyan and said, "Madam, don't worry, my subordinates will definitely investigate this Xiping granary within two days at the latest!"
Liu Buxin asked curiously: "Madam, I have a question."
"explain!"
"Since Xiping Granary is just a grain merchant and it goes in and out of Chang'an, why doesn't Jingzhao Mansion check it? Could it be that the water behind Xiping Granary...is very deep?"
Hua Feiyan curled up the corner of her mouth and showed a smile. She was very satisfied with Liu Buxin's acumen. He was indeed someone valued by His Majesty.
She explained: "This is exactly what I want to say. The reason why Xiping Granary went in and out of Chang'an without being interrogated is because they were delivering ingredients to Guanji."
"Guanji?"
"Well! The ingredients for Guanji have always been purchased from the Xiping Granary. The ingredients sent out of the city by the Xiping Granary involve Guanji's tribute. Jingzhao Mansion does not dare to touch them easily. It is not only afraid of offending the gods, but also afraid of causing public anger."
"So that's it." Liu Buxin rolled his eyes, looking dazzled, and whispered: "Madam, if... if there is really a problem with this Xiping granary, then... then I'm afraid Guanji will also... maybe..."
Hua Feiyan waved her hand, interrupted him, and said, "I don't want to hear these ambiguous and specious words. Everything we report to His Majesty needs to be based on real evidence, not just speculation."
"Yes! Madam!" the three of them responded in unison.
"Okay, let's get to work! Don't forget, we only have three days, the sooner we find out, the better!" After Hua Feiyan finished speaking, he picked up the tea cup again and drank the tea slowly.
Xu Zheng, Liu Buxin, and Ma Kai all saluted Hua Feiyan, and then filed out of the study.
When they got outside, Liu Buxin said: "Brother Zheng, I plan to go to the Xiping Granary tonight and sneak in to explore its reality."
Xu Zheng said with some worry: "If there is really a problem with the Xiping Granary, it will be like a dragon's pond and a tiger's den. If you sneak in, once someone discovers it, you will be unable to escape!"
Liu Buxin said confidently: "Brother Zheng doesn't understand me either? If I can't beat him, I can still escape if I run!"
Speaking of Liu Buxin's ability to escape, he is indeed very powerful. He has a quick mind and quick reactions. He has also learned illusions and has a magic rope in his hand. His use of it is superb.
Even for someone much more powerful than Liu Buxin, it would be extremely difficult to capture him.
Xu Zhengsi thought about it and reminded: "If you don't believe me, you must be more careful and don't act recklessly. Even if we can't find anything, we can take a long-term approach and start elsewhere."
Liu Buxin said: "I understand, don't worry, Brother Zheng!"
After a pause, he said quietly: "If I can come out safely, then it means that there may be nothing wrong with the Xiping Granary. If I don't come out, then there must be something wrong with the Xiping Granary."
Xu Zheng's face darkened and he scolded: "Don't talk nonsense!"
Liu Buxin smiled and said, "Brother Zheng, I just said it casually."
"Can you say this casually? You followed me into Yunxi Pavilion, and His Majesty is very fond of you. Please let me live longer. Maybe I will count on you in the future!" Liu Xiu!
She really admired Liu Buxin and wanted him to work by her side. Later, Hua Feiyan took the initiative to ask Liu Xiu for someone, so Liu Xiucai let Liu Buxin temporarily take up a post in Yunxi Pavilion. It can be said that Liu Buxin's future development space is indeed great.
