Nightwatcher

Xu Qi'an took out the prepared secret letter and put it on the table.

Susu couldn't wait to unfold it, and read it several times. The tears in her eyes seemed to grow stronger, but they couldn't fall.

Tears are a strong emotional color, but not real.

How could a ghost cry, yes, she couldn't even cry for her family.

"I, how did my father provoke so many enemies? This, this is unreasonable." Su Su mourned.

"The case of the Su family is extraordinary." Li Miaozhen patted the shoulder of the paper figurine maid, and said in relief:

"One of the purposes of our coming to the capital is to investigate your family's case. Don't worry, I will investigate that case for you."

Xu Qi'an cupped his hands, "Then there will be Lady Lao Feiyan, please wait for the good news."

Li Miaozhen immediately turned her head, with an angry face, and gave him a hard look.

Of course, she just said it casually, to cheer up Susu, how could she be the only one to rely on this kind of thing. Xu Qi'an must be in charge.

This man just can't see her being in the limelight.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Xu Yin." Li Miaozhen pouted.

"This is what I promised you, it's just that," Xu Qi'an showed a look of embarrassment, and said:

"I thought it was a small case, a matter of convenience, but, but I didn't expect it to be so deeply involved. Besides, I am no longer a silver gong, and the investigation of the case is blocked everywhere, I'm afraid"

Susu's face changed slightly: "Do you want to go back on your word?"

Xu Qi'an shook his head and said in a deep voice, "No, the time limit must be increased."

Zhong Li and Li Miaozhen didn't react for a while, but Susu understood, lowered her head shyly, and said softly: "How many, how long?"

Xu Qi'an said, "Let's talk about it later."

He didn't expect that Susu really agreed, and he just said hello to tease the beautiful female ghost.

Just as he was talking, Lao Zhang, the concierge, shouted in panic from the yard: "Da Lang, Da Lang, the people from the government are here!"

Li Miaozhen frowned when she heard the sound, grabbed the flying sword on the table, and opened the door to go out.

Xu Qi'an went out with her, and happened to see a group of people entering the mansion forcefully, the leader was a middle-aged man wearing the armor of the commander of the imperial army, followed by a dozen or so armored soldiers.

In addition, there were several watchmen accompanying him, Yingong Li Yuchun, Tonggong Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao.

The originally aggressive commander of the Imperial Army swept across the inner courtyard with sharp eyes. Si Tianjian's Chu Caiwei, Zhong Li, Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen from the Two Sects of Heaven and Man

His gaze softened slightly.

The three of Xu Qi'an and Li Yuchun made eye contact, then moved away without much communication.

The commander of the forbidden army pressed the hilt of the knife with one hand, and raised his voice: "Xu Qi'an, according to His Majesty's order, came to inquire about the robbery of the princess, please cooperate."

Emperor Yuan Jing is very concerned about the princess. Even at this sensitive moment, he still sent someone to investigate me. This is enough to show that he attaches great importance to the princess.

We must deal with it well, otherwise, the current peace is likely to be broken. If Emperor Yuan Jing knows that I have "privately hidden" the princess, he will definitely not let it go

Xu Qi'an silently nodded, and said calmly, "What do you want to ask, General?"

The commander of the imperial army said in a deep voice: "Please trouble Mr. Xu to gather everyone in the house. Besides, this place is not a place to talk, let's go into the hall and have a talk."

Xu Qi'an immediately asked the concierge Lao Zhang to summon the servants of the house, and he brought the commander of the imperial army, Li Yuchun, Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao into the inner hall.

Because the servants were all summoned in the compound, no one served tea, Xu Qi'an sat in the main seat, looking at the commander of the imperial army expressionlessly.

What kind of attitude is this? It's simply arrogant. The commander of the forbidden army glanced at him, and with a straight face, said:

"His Majesty has already heard the envoy mention the princess's robbery. However, there are still some details unknown. Please tell the truth, Mr. Xu."

Seeing that Xu Qi'an nodded, the commander of the forbidden army continued: "According to the description of the maid who was sent back to Duke Huai's mansion, after the concubine was taken into captivity, Mr. Xu caught up with the four leaders of the barbarian tribe. Is there such a thing?"

Xu Qi'an answered truthfully: "Yes."

The commander of the forbidden army asked: "What happened next?"

"Naturally, I ran away later. Does the general think that I am a sixth-rank martial artist, capable of rivaling four fourth-rank powerhouses? Even if I have the magic book bestowed by Confucianism, I can't do it, right?" Xu Qi'an asked in a rhetorical tone. .

In this regard, the commander of the imperial army did not refute it, and it was regarded as acquiescing, but he did not fully believe it, squinting his eyes, and asked:

"Since you know that you are not an opponent, why did Master Xu chase after you?"

Xu Qi'an's face was as usual: "I didn't know at the time that there was a fourth-rank strong man waiting for a rabbit. The reason why he chased after him was to do his duty as a courtier, to see if there was a chance to save the princess. If he couldn't do anything, he would naturally Let it go."

Do your duty as a courtier? The entire imperial court, the most unworthy of you, the commander of the imperial army, was silent for a few seconds, and suddenly showed a meaningful smile:

"It seems that no one has ever told you that the princess is still alive, right? According to the description of the maid, the "concubine" had already died at the hands of the snake demon Hongling. How did Lord Xu know that the princess was still alive?"

When Xu Qi'an arrived, the fake princess was already dead.

The mission reported that the princess was taken away and her whereabouts were unknown, because they did not see this scene. And Xu Qi'an clearly saw this scene at the time, logically speaking, in his understanding, the princess was already dead.

Now, Xu Qi'an is not surprised that the princess is not dead, what does this mean?

Facing the questioning from the commander of the Forbidden Army, Xu Qi'an also showed a meaningful smile: "It seems that no one has ever told you, I don't know that it is a fake princess."

The commander of the imperial army frowned.

Xu Qi'an smiled confidently: "At that time, Chu Xianglong abandoned the mission and fled alone. Not only did he carry the "Wang Concubine" on his back, but he also let the guards carry the maid on their backs to escape together.

"Hehe, Chu Xianglong is not a good person. If I still can't see that the real concubine is among the maidservants, then I'm taking the title of number one god catcher. Isn't it a waste of my name?"

The commander of the imperial army was stunned, he was powerless to refute Xu Qi'an's words, and even felt that it should be like this.

If the fake princess can hide Xu Qi'an, then he is not a legendary god catcher.

At this time, a forbidden soldier walked to the door of the inner hall and said respectfully: "Commander, the inspection has been completed."

The commander of the forbidden army got up immediately and said, "Farewell."

He didn't even look at Li Yuchun and the others, and led them away.

In the inner hall, only the former colleagues remained, the four people who had a deep relationship in the past, but they couldn't find a topic for a while, and they were silent with each other.

After a long time, Li Yuchun got up, Xu Qi'an got up quickly, Brother Chun walked up to him, examined it, stretched out his hand to smooth the creases on his chest, and said lightly:

"If there are wrinkles in the clothes, it is not decent. You have to remember to deal with these small things."

After finishing speaking, he whispered: "You did a good job, I'm proud of you."

"Boss" Xu Qi'an's eyes were hot.

Li Yuchun waved his hands and looked at Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao.

"Ning Yan, you should leave Beijing as soon as possible."

Song Tingfeng opened his arms, hugged him, and whispered in his ear: "Your Majesty will not let you go."

Zhu Guangxiao said in a muffled voice: "Leave the capital, don't come back, maybe the three of us brothers will never see each other again. But it's good, it's better than no life."

Xu Qi'an grinned and said with a smile: "I won't leave for the time being, I will treat you when I have time to listen to music."

He sent the three of them out of the inner hall, and as soon as they reached the door, they saw Zhong Li leaning against the wall, carefully moving over, looking left and right along the way, to prevent possible danger.

Then, she and Li Yuchun stared at each other face to face.

Xu Qi'an clearly saw goosebumps on the back of Brother Chun's neck, and then, as if he had encountered something terrible, he instinctively jumped back and kicked in the air at the same time.

boom!

Zhong Li was kicked and flew away, Gululu rolled into the distance.

Li Yuchun opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything, he didn't dare to look at Zhong Li, so he covered his face and walked away.

Xu Qi'an flew over and helped Senior Sister Zhong up. She was crying and asked aggrievedly, "Why did he hit me?"

""

Xu Qi'an also opened his mouth, and didn't know how to answer for a moment, so he patted her head pitifully: "He has something wrong with him, I'll see him later, just avoid him."

The commander of the Imperial Army led his subordinates to leave the Xu Mansion, rode for a while, then slowed down and asked, "How is the situation in the Xu Mansion?"

The subordinate replied: "There are no new servants who have entered the mansion recently, and there is no trace of disguise. Everyone's identity has been asked clearly. Later, you can check your identity with the household registration of the government office and Changle county office.

"In addition, we briefly searched Xu's residence, and found no woman of unknown origin."

It seems that he really has nothing to do with the princess. The commander of the imperial army nodded and ordered:

"During this time, send people to watch Xu's mansion, pay attention to everyone who enters and leaves the mansion, and report immediately if there are new servants entering the mansion."

The subordinate nodded yes, and then asked: "Does Xu Qi'an need to send someone to watch?"

The commander of the imperial army said angrily: "Are you following a rank-6 martial artist?"

""

After returning to the palace, the commander of the forbidden army reported the matter truthfully, but Emperor Yuan Jing did not respond, neither ordered to continue the investigation, nor said to let it go.

The afternoon sun is slightly dry and hot, and the green leaves reveal colorful halos in the brilliance of the scorching sun.

Aunt decided to make sour plum soup for everyone, which was well received by Xu Lingyin, Lina, and Chu Caiwei.

Xu Qi'an pushed open the door of Erlang's study room, Xu Erlang was playing chess with Chu Yuanzhen, drinking, playing chess and chatting.

Dudu Xu Baijiao knocked on the table twice, attracting the attention of the two, and said in a deep voice:

"Erlang, I remember that there is a kind of official position, which is to record every word and deed in the emperor's court, no matter how big or small, everything must be recorded."

Chu Yuanzhen smiled and said, "It's the living man."

Xu Qi'an nodded immediately: "That's right, that's the living man, um, he's from the Imperial Academy, right?"

Xu Erlang raised his chin, nodded and said: "The Imperial Academy is responsible for compiling history books, and daily life notes are one of the important basis for compiling history. Naturally, Qinggui from my Imperial Academy will be the living assistant."

Xu Qi'an asked, "Can you touch it?"

Xu Erlang hesitated a little, then nodded: "It's a bit difficult, but it's possible."

Xu Qi'an whispered: "I want to pay attention to all the daily life of Emperor Yuan Jing since he ascended the throne."

Xu Erlang refused straight away: "It's absurd. I can't bring it out in daily notes, and besides, I can't transcribe it grandiosely."

Xu Qi'an shook his head: "I didn't ask someone to transcribe it, and I didn't ask you to bring it out. Use your mind to write it down, and then recite it to me. The eighth-level cultivation of the body, I have never forgotten it."

Xu Erlang's face turned pale: "That's also very tiring, the daily notes are too long."

Xu Qi'an patted the younger brother on the shoulder: "Aren't you flirting with Miss Wang's family? Big Brother will teach you a unique trick after a while: Edo Forty-Eight Moves."

The next day, Xu Qian rode his beloved filly to a restaurant, asked for a private room, ordered food and drink, and waited slowly.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Mr. Chen of the Ministry of Criminal Justice and the Prime Minister of Dali Temple came to the appointment one after another.

The two were wearing casual clothes, very sneaky, as if afraid of being recognized by others, they made a simple disguise.

"Master Xu is a taboo person now. When meeting you in private, you have to be careful." Dali Si Cheng had an old-fashioned smile on his face, eating food and drinking leisurely.

Boss Chen's face was serious, and he cut straight to the point: "What are you looking for from us?"

Xu Qi'an poured wine for the two of them and said with a smile:

"I would like to trouble you for one thing. I would like to investigate an old case. The name of the victim is Su Hang, a Jinshi in the 29th year of Joan of Arc. In the 14th year of Yuanjing, he was demoted to Jiangzhou as the magistrate for unknown reasons. Corruption asked to beheaded.

"This person used to be one of the princes, and his status is not low. There must be his file in the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple. I want to take a look."

Dali Sicheng frowned: "I have never heard of this person, why did Master Xu suddenly investigate an old case from more than 20 years ago?"

Xu Qi'an explained casually: "To be honest, this eldest daughter of Su Hang is my concubine."

After saying this, he saw Chen Butou and Dali Sicheng's expressions suddenly change.

"???"

The prime minister of Dali Temple swallowed: "The person who died in Yuanjing's 14th year, he, his eldest daughter is your concubine?"

Chen Butou didn't speak, but looking at Xu Qi'an's eyes, he seemed to be saying: How are you?

Well, Susu's real age can indeed be my mother. Xu Qi'an realized it, and smiled indifferently:

"Just kidding, it's actually the daughter of his eldest daughter, who is my concubine. Because of an accident, the eldest daughter happened not to be at home, so she escaped unharmed."

The Prime Minister of Dali Temple nodded: "This matter is easy to handle. We will meet here at the same time in three days. I will bring you the file, but you cannot take it away. After reading it, I will take it back."

Chen Butou said: "Me too."

Xu Qi'an breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you both."

With that said, he took out two silver notes with a face value of one hundred taels.

The Prime Minister of Dali Temple didn't pick up, and laughed at himself: "I just said that Mr. Zheng has regained my conscience, so don't insult me ​​again. Having a banquet with you is considered a reward."

Chen Butou: "Me too."

Are you Zhang Yide? Xu Qi'an complained in his heart, raised his wine glass, and smiled.

Satisfied with wine and food, he straddled on the back of the filly and followed the rhythm of ups and downs, heading for Yaxing.

There is also a big beauty waiting for her to arrange.

After lunch, the princess returned to the inn sullenly, and sat in front of the dressing table without saying a word.

She suspected that she had been abandoned, and the Saintess of Tianzong had been gone for four days without hearing from her. And that smelly man seemed to have completely forgotten about her.

Never came to her again.

There is still money, enough for her to stay in this inn for ten days, but she has no support in her heart, so she can no longer feel safe.

Especially after breakfast today, the concubine disguised herself as an ordinary woman, wandered around the city alone, and went to the theater.

The theater building is always interesting, lively, and there are good plays to watch.

She took out five copper coins and went in to watch a play. In the play, a daughter from a wealthy family fell in love with a poor scholar, but because of the wrong family background, the family disagreed, so the two eloped.

The first life was sweet and happy. The scholar studied hard for fame, the rich daughter learned to do embroidery, and the spoon was plain. The young life was poor, but it was passable.

But gradually, as the money brought by the rich family's daughter was spent, the scholar only knew how to study, and his life became stretched.

So the rich lady was abandoned by the scholar and kicked out of the house.

She walked down the street sadly alone, and finally chose to throw herself into the river.

Seeing the end, the princess burst into tears, feeling that she was that poor rich daughter.

He was tricked out of the house by people with sweet words, and then was abandoned tragically.

"Xu Qi'an, who suffered a thousand dollars, must have forgotten me, thinking I'm a burden." Sitting in front of the dressing table, the princess wept silently.

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the guest room.