On this day, the sky in Bianliang, the imperial capital, was as blue as water, and the warm winter sun caressed her child like a mother reunited after a long absence. The whole city of Bianliang was full of joy and peace, and everyone's eyes were filled with excitement for the New Year.
They just want to live a more prosperous life in the coming year than this year, without war, and the world will be peaceful and prosperous. The red lanterns hanging high are like the burning hope in everyone's hearts, becoming more and more dazzling.
Ling Tianyun took Zhao An and Ma Chenghui out of the Zhao Mansion. When they left the Zhao Mansion, the warm winter sun had already risen into the sky, and the white fog that rose in the city at dawn had already been driven away by the warm sunshine. Everywhere.
Except for the occasional gusts of biting cold wind blowing in, everyone was filled with joy and joy.
They came to the place where the crime occurred, Xiting Street. At this time, Xiting Street was less lively and prosperous than it should be due to the murder, and had a bit more of a condensed and chilling atmosphere. It was originally such a beautiful place with clear skies.
Weather, this is an extremely lively and bustling street, and there should be more people. But today, there are only a few people. It’s not that pedestrians don’t want to come here, but that there is a murder on this street, and everyone
Due to the self-danger and the blockade of the scene by the government officials, the street became extremely deserted.
When Ling Tianyun and the others arrived at the murder scene, they saw several police officers in official uniforms checking the scene. Those police officers were all unfamiliar faces, but they did not see the figure of Liu. Ling Tianyun was very surprised.
Doubtful, he knew that Da Liu was the first police officer to come to the scene, but there was no reason not to see him. When the three of them approached a noodle shop, they were stopped by the police officer who was investigating the scene.
"No idlers are allowed to approach, otherwise they will be charged with obstructing official duties." A stern-faced and not tall policeman shouted at the three of them. It could be seen from their cold eyes that they were very concerned about this matter.
Although people have been killed in the imperial capital city all year round, since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, the number of such incidents has gradually decreased. Especially this year, there were almost no murders in the city. However, at the end of the year, something happened
Such a strange murder case occurred, which made the police officers not take it seriously.
Seeing that the police officer of the government paid so much attention to this case, Ling Tianyun frowned. He knew that there must be a reason why Mr. Liu was involved. But why did he not see Mr. Liu? Logically speaking, Mr. Liu should
He would appear here as soon as possible, but he did not see the figure of Capt. Liu. Of course he also knew the relationship between Capt. Liu and that old Li. Could it be that Capt. Liu went to investigate on his own.
Unable to get close to the scene, Ling Tianyun was not discouraged. He ordered Zhao An and Ma Chenghui to carefully survey the surrounding environment. They saw shocking footprints one after another. There was no clue at all in those messy footprints.
This made Ling Tianyun give up a little. Since there were no clues at the scene, he could only go to other places to look. And all the shops in this street seemed to be closed because of the murder, and many of them were closed.
Of course, the detectives on the scene did not ignore those shops. They kept going in and out of the shops with open doors, and then walked out disappointed one by one. There were solemn and depressed expressions on their faces.
, there were no witnesses in all the shops here, which meant that no one knew what happened here at dawn. No one heard or saw the bloodstains all over the floor and such a big move.
arrive.
Looking at the respectful shop owners sending out inquiries to the detectives, Ling Tianyun knew that it would be difficult to find any clues here. And his eyes couldn't help but look around the shops on both sides of the street. When his eyes
When I landed at a shop, my eyes lit up. The shop was a rouge and gouache shop specializing in women's products. I saw a graceful woman standing in front of the shop, looking at the busy people with calm eyes.
The detectives.
The woman was about thirty years old, with fair skin like gelatin, and a gauze-like long skirt that showed off her graceful figure. She was originally in her thirties, but she had a girlish complexion, with a tinge on her cheeks.
A faint pink blush, like that of a girl pregnant with spring. Her eyes swept over Ling Tianyun's body, and she didn't seem to notice the seventeen or eighteen-year-old Xuanyi boy.
But Ling Tianyun felt a little uneasy in his heart. As for what was wrong, he couldn't tell. But he felt that there was some unique charm and feeling in the woman's eyes. He seemed to have encountered this feeling before, but he
For a moment, he couldn't remember where he had met him. The woman's figure and gaze were firmly remembered by Ling Tianyun. He just remembered the woman directly based on his own feelings, but he couldn't tell.
Something is wrong.
You can't stay here for long, because the detectives have begun to notice the three of them. If they continue to stay here, they will definitely cause some unnecessary trouble. Although these troubles do not pose any threat to Ling Tianyun,
But it is better to do less than to do more.
The three of them continued to move forward. They deliberately bypassed the cordons set up by the police and moved forward. Along the way, Ling Tianyun couldn't help but look at the messy footprints on the ground, one of which was stained with bright red blood.
The footprints made him feel his heart sinking. These footprints should have been carried by a person. The combined weight of two bodies made the footprints more clear, while the other footprints were messy but not very clear.
"Master Ling, those footprints are not those of the Khitans." Ma Chenghui, who had been following Zhao An, suddenly whispered to Ling Tianyun. Ling Tianyun, who was deep in thought after his words, was stunned and had not yet reacted. Then Ma Chenghui said again.
After saying it once, his words made Ling Tianyun and Zhao An stop.
"Old Ma, how do you know those footprints are not from the Khitans? Can you tell whether they are from our imperial capital or the Khitans based on these footprints?" When Zhao An heard this, he couldn't help but retort to the bandit.
You can tell whether they are Khitan or Han just by looking at the footprints. This is incredible.
But Ma Chenghui's words shocked Ling Tianyun, and he went through the footprints he just saw in his mind again. Ling Tianyun couldn't say that he understood 100% of the Khitan people who were always on horseback, but
He could definitely say that he basically understood it. As for the clues about the footprints, he really didn't notice it for a while. Only then did he remember that those footprints were relatively smooth and well-proportioned. If they were the footprints of the Khitan people, then they would be
It will be different. The Khitans are good at fighting on horseback, and they spend more time on horseback than on the ground. Therefore, their feet should have some deformities and may not be so symmetrical.
"Yes, Lao Ma is right. Those footprints are not those of the Khitans, but those of certain people in the imperial capital." Ling Tianyun's eyes flashed, and he explained to Zhao An. Since they are not Khitans, why
To put the blame on the Khitans, could it be that the real culprits had some ulterior motives? He couldn't help but wonder to himself.
When Ma Chenghui heard that Ling Tianyun agreed with his point of view, his eyes suddenly showed some strange brilliance. But Zhao An was confused. He saw that Ling Tianyun was deep in thought again and couldn't disturb him, so he had to ask Ma Chenghui for advice.
.In the Zhao family, apart from Zhao Kuangyin and Ling Tianyun who are familiar with him, it is Zhao An, the servant of the Zhao family. Zhao An is simple in nature, but smart and lively. He can get along with anyone.
He didn't have any discriminatory feelings towards Ma Chenghui. When Ma Chenghui saw Zhao An asking him for advice, he told the key to it without any reservation.
Ling Tianyun originally wanted to ask Zhao An about Fei Que Camp, but Fei Que Camp was a secret, and Zhao An might not know about it. As for the matter between Lao Li and Alai, Zhao Kuangyin also gave him an overview, but
Some details were not mentioned. Presumably, Zhao Kuangyin may not know all of those details.
The three of them walked along Xiting Street. When they came to the end of the street, they saw a long and narrow alley appearing at the end of Xiting Street. There was a towering tree at the entrance of the alley.
The big tree, like a loyal guard, protects the entrance to the alley.
"The courtyards on both sides of this alley belong to the wealthy families in the imperial capital. There are about ten families all the way down the street. The wealthy families have a habit of opening a small door behind their courtyard for convenience.
." Zhao An saw Ling Tianyun frowning as he looked at this deep and endless alley, so he explained to Ling Tianyun. And Ma Chenghui's eyes showed a bit of surprise. He had never seen anything like this before.
The deep and long alley.
Ling Tianyun looked into the alley again, and saw a gloomy feeling in the deep and endless alley, and there were bursts of rustling sounds on the ground full of dead leaves. At a glance, the alley
There are dead branches with all their leaves on both sides. These dead branches cover the alley less than a foot wide. Coupled with the mottled courtyard walls on both sides of the alley that are about to collapse, they form a deep and eerie place.
Long hole.
Ling Tianyun raised his feet and walked towards the alley. He looked up at the sunlight shining through the gaps between the dead branches. The gaps between the mottled trees were filled with golden sunlight, covering the ground full of dead branches.
It was brightly illuminated. Although the sun could shine into the alley, there were gusts of gloomy wind that gathered together and never dispersed, causing people to have a creepy heart palpitation.
Seeing Ling Tianyun stepping into the alley, Zhao An and Ma Chenghui also walked in. When they stepped in the alley full of dead leaves, they could only hear the rustling sound of dead leaves under their feet, and there were bursts of sound.
There was a gust of wind and a howling sound. I don’t know how long they walked. The alley seemed to have no end, and there was still no end in sight.
In front of them, on a dead branch sticking out of the wall, a eye-catching object was fluttering in the wind. When they stepped forward and saw it, it was a red ribbon. The blood-red color on the ribbon looked like it had been soaked by wind and rain all year round.
It was old, but still well-preserved. The sudden appearance of this dazzling ribbon made their hearts tighten suddenly, as if the bright red and blood-like ribbon was a life-threatening weapon.
"This courtyard was the residence of an important minister of the Jin Dynasty in the previous generation. At that time, the Shi family was still sitting on the dragon chair, but they did not want to be replaced by the Liu family for the Han Dynasty. During the war of the coup, this
The entire family of an important minister was killed and turned into ashes. This ribbon was worn by the important minister’s daughter, who was said to have been in love with a man of low status. But unexpectedly, something unexpected happened, the whole family was killed, and the man also disappeared mysteriously."
A strange light flashed in Zhao An's eyes, and he narrated to Ling Tianyun and Ma Chenghui that he did not tell the identity of the man, but was just talking about the relationship between a woman who was persecuted by a war and a man of low status.
A love story. There is no tragic emotion, only a story that makes people feel a tremble in their hearts. This is just a corner of this imperial capital. There are countless similar things that happen in this imperial capital every day.
Here's the story.
"Do you know who the owner of this courtyard is?" Ling Tianyun's heart did not fluctuate much. Although he had some feelings about such a story, it was not enough to make him fluctuate.
"The elder of the four dynasties, the most beloved minister of the country, the residence of Grand Master Feng." Zhao An showed a solemn look in his eyes, and he told Ling Tianyun who the current owner of this courtyard was.
"Master Feng, but Feng Dao, also known as Feng Daozi." Ling Tianyun frowned and blurted out. Faintly, he felt that when he said this name, his whole body tensed, and he seemed to feel a pair of sharp eyes in the dark.
The eyes were watching them. It shouldn't be said that those eyes were watching him, watching his every move.