Perfect Encounter

An Ruochen retreated into the room, looking around in thought.

Meng Jiayue was surprised, and said: "Miss An, what do you suspect? Although I don't believe that Mr. Huo will commit suicide, but the fact is that if there is any mistake, one or two people can hide it, and dozens of people are watching here , how could it be possible to hide it."

"Ma'am is right." An Ruochen agreed, but said, "It's because of this that it's even weirder."

Meng Jiayue froze there for a long time, picked up the sword and put it away, unable to hide her sadness: "I killed him, if I don't give this sword back to him, maybe he won't die."

It is really embarrassing that a person who wants to seek peace for the people and the emperor uses his "sword of peace" to kill himself. But An Ruochen just couldn't believe it, how could it be possible? ! This is Mr. Huo, Mr. Huo, whom everyone admires and praises, has gone through so many ups and downs, and seen so many dangerous battles. He could not have come to Daxiao, but he came because he voluntarily went to Beijing to express his love , unbearable pressure?

An Ruochen looked at the desk. The prefect is very considerate. Although the house is not too big, it has all the supplies. The four treasures of the study are all new. Mr. Huo used these to write his suicide note.

An Ruochen carefully checked everything on the table and everywhere in the room, but found nothing special.

It can only be suicide, otherwise how could the assassin give Mr. Huo time to write some suicide note slowly. What's more, no one saw the assassin at all.

An Ruochen stood stiffly in that room, smelling the disgusting smell of blood, her heart was filled with grief, indignation and helplessness. Why do things go wrong every time I see hope, and what went wrong. She is not reconciled, she really cannot be convinced.

Looking at An Ruochen's actions, Meng Jiayue also felt futile and helpless, she had no choice but to die, in their Zhonglan City prefect's mansion. Meng Jiayue hugged An Ruochen, sobbing sadly.

The mood of the prefect Yao Kun cannot be described in terms of shock, grief, and panic. Huo Mingshan's death has shattered those previous complacency and wishful thinking. This is really a thunderbolt! His memorials have already been sent out, and the documents for the envoys' convoy to pass through the various counties have also been sent out. Not only the whole Da Xiao, but the whole world may know that Huo Mingshan was with him and ready to leave, and then suddenly committed suicide!

Who believes? He couldn't believe what he saw with his own eyes!

How does he explain to the emperor? How to explain to Nanqin? How to explain to inspectors? He simply jumped out to share the blame for Shi Pingqing, and Shi Pingqing was afraid that he would laugh out loud.

All the officials who rushed over looked solemn, and no one could say anything. Jiang Song's face was even more ugly. Yao Kun immediately asked about the status of the memorial and the documents sent to the counties, and whether they could be recovered. But he also knew in his heart that this was something that could not be recovered. I have to negotiate with everyone how to report this matter and how to deal with it.

"This matter must not be leaked. Your Excellency immediately ordered everyone in the entire mansion not to spread it, no matter the guards, the servants, or all the people in the mansion, so as not to spread rumors and buy some time for your lord's disposal. Wait for your lord to think about it." Countermeasures, unify the caliber, and then report to everyone." Juncheng Xia Zhou said.

Zhou Changshi was in a hurry, and hurriedly said: "General Long can't delay, the matter is very important, let him know quickly."

Jiang Song also said: "This matter must be reported to General Long immediately."

The master Bo Jianghongqing said: "There is also that Cao Yihan, we have to detain him here, whether it is silenced or a hostage, we must wait until the matter is over, and wait for the inspector or the emperor's order to come down, and then we will see the reaction of Nanqin. How about, let's discuss how to dispose of his and Mr. Huo's remains."

At this time, Cao Yihan was locked in the room, covered in cold sweat, and clenched his fists. He drank some water, calmed down, rushed to the door and knocked on the door vigorously, and shouted: "I want to see General Long, let him have a look at Mr. Huo, he should feel guilty and blame himself, he should take responsibility! It's him As a result, he forced my husband to go to Beijing! He is sorry, sir! Let me see General Long!" No one paid any attention to him, and he shouted again: "I want to see the prefect! Why did you just leave like this? My husband's Is that the fate? I want to see the prefect, I want to see General Long!"

The door opened, Meng Jiayue and An Ruochen stood outside the door, Cao Yihan stopped shouting and stared at them.

Meng Jiayue said softly: "Mr. Cao, my lord is discussing Mr. Huo's matter. I'm afraid it will take some time. I will tell you that he must come and listen to what you have to say after he is busy. Don't shout anymore. You are so angry." , it will hurt your body. Mr. Huo is gone, you must take care." She paused, almost burst into tears again, took a breath, and said, "We will properly handle Mr. Huo's funeral. I will invite the eminent monk Come to do things for him, let him rest in peace. If you need anything, just say hello. If there is anything, let them call me. Sir, there are many things to deal with on the other side, but I can come at any time Yes, if you have any requirements, just let me know."

Cao Yihan said stiffly: "Mr. wants to be cremated, let me bring his ashes back to Nanqin."

"Okay." Meng Jiayue agreed without hesitation. "After finishing the funeral and finishing the ceremony, I will see Mr. Huo off with fire."

"Before I bring my husband back to Nanqin, I want to see General Long."

Meng Jiayue said: "I'll tell my lord to arrange it for you."

Cao Yihan stared at her, and suddenly burst into tears again: "Fake kindness, you hypocrites are all fake kindness. You killed Mr.!" He turned and went back to the house, cried on the table, and ignored Meng Jiayue.

After listening to Meng Jiayue's report, Yao Kun agreed to hand over Huo Mingshan's funeral to Meng Jiayue himself, but he could not agree to Cao Yihan's request to see Long Da. "If this accident happens, the front line will start fighting at any time. How can I call General Long back? Besides, if there are other urgent matters, it's fine. A servant wants to reprimand and I call General Long back. What am I doing? If something happens on the front line, I will be blamed again. Isn't there enough trouble now?"

Meng Jiayue thought for a while: "Then let Mr. Cao meet General Long at the border before returning to Southern Qin. I think General Long should also hope to send Mr. Huo on his last journey back to China."

Yao Kun shook his head: "No, we discussed it, Cao Yihan can't leave for the time being, he has to stay in the territory of Daxiao, in Zhonglan City."

Meng Jiayue was taken aback.

Yao Kun said: "Mr. Huo's matter is of great importance. The inspector is coming soon. We have to leave a personal certificate. Otherwise, if the matter is not clear, we will be held accountable. Cao Yihan found the body, and he found the suicide note." , and the handwriting was also confirmed by him."

"But everyone has seen and heard things with their own eyes, and not all of them are witnesses. Didn't your lord and all the lords go to see the situation in the room today in person. Now it's not appropriate to detain Mr. Cao?"

"Of course it's not detaining him. He's still eating and living in the courtyard. I don't know if there will be any problems after this matter. In short, it will be better if this person stays in our hands."

Meng Jiayue frowned: "How long?"

"I don't know about this at the moment. Let him go back when the matter comes to an end. You don't have to say anything to him. The funeral will take time. Didn't you say that you need to invite an eminent monk to perform rituals for Mr. Huo? Usually it takes time. It would be good for you to delay the matter for a little longer, which is reasonable, but it’s not that we make things difficult for him. After a while, maybe the inspectors will arrive, and it’s not bad for Mr. Liang to decide the countermeasures. In short, everything is as usual, first Soothe him. This period of time will be hard for you."

Waiting for Mr. Liang to make a decision? But didn't Mr. Liang go to Mao County to investigate the case? How long will it take for him to pull away and come over to ask about this matter? Mr. Huo's last wish is to return to Southern Qin, but are they planning to delay it like this first? Meng Jiayue stopped talking and left.

An Ruochen waited outside the whole time, seeing Meng Jiayue came out, he asked the prefect how to arrange it. Meng Jiayue roughly explained Yao Kun's intentions, and asked the post soldiers to send the letter to General Long on horseback, but Nan Qin will not notify for the time being. The consequences of the incident and the matters involved need to be discussed and discussed again. After all arrangements are made, a memorial will be submitted to the capital.

It sounded like there was no problem, An Ruochen was full of doubts and went back.

At that time, Jiang Song returned to Ziyun Tower with the guards. An Ruochen wanted to ask him about the situation, but Jiang Song didn't look good. After all, the person died under his guardianship, no matter what the death was, he was suspected of dereliction of duty. An Ruochen also knew that today she questioned this and that in public in a hurry, which made Jiang Song lose face, and if she continued to talk about it after returning, she must have annoyed him.

An Ruochen went to find Zhou Changshi again, Zhou Changshi was trembling, and the report to General Long had already been sent, but this matter was too strange, he always felt very guilty. An Ruochen asked him if he had any news, and told him that if the general came back with orders, he must tell her no matter what. Zhou Changshi agreed one by one.

An Ruochen couldn't sleep well all night, thinking about Huo Mingshan all the time. When she was in the prefect's mansion, she went to see the corpse. Cao Yihan was really careful and kept Huo Mingshan's appearance clean and tidy. An Ruochen couldn't see anything about the body either. After tossing and turning till dawn, I felt that I should also write a letter to Long Da, expressing my thoughts on this matter. The general is smarter than her, maybe the general can help her solve her doubts.

After grinding the ink and spreading out the paper, An Ruochen hesitated. Xiao Zuo has not been caught yet, and the letter is not sure if it is safe. If there is a mystery in this matter, then it is better not to show suspicion in this letter. How should I write it so that the general can understand what she means, but make the fine work unable to understand it?

An Ruochen stared at the paper and thought, suddenly a flash of light flashed across his mind. She jumped up suddenly, as if she was about to catch a clue, but she couldn't figure it out. An Ruochen spun around the room, and managed to last until dawn, and hurried to the prefect's mansion to ask for an audience.

It was a bit too early, Meng Jiayue was surprised. An Ruochen said to see if there was anything he could help. Meng Jiayue thought for a long time, and said: "I'm busy with funeral arrangements, so I don't have much time to appease and persuade Mr. Cao. If Ms. An doesn't mind, you can take care of me for a while. I'm worried that he will be overwhelmed with grief, and he will be overwhelmed."

"Did he ever yell like yesterday?"

"Not really. I'm just concerned about when I can see General Long and when I can return to Nanqin. I'll call someone to ask about it every once in a while."

An Ruochen frowned: "Then what is the prefect's plan? I asked Zhou Changshi yesterday, but there was no intention of inviting the general back?"

Meng Jiayue looked around, and said in a low voice: "This matter involves a lot, adults need to discuss clearly and figure out a countermeasure before arranging for Mr. Cao, so there is no set return date for him for the time being. In short, let's talk about the funeral first." .”

An Ruochen understood. She nodded, and went to deliver breakfast to Cao Yihan with Meng Jiayue. Cao Yihan really did what Meng Jiayue said, the same old sayings, he wanted to see General Long, he wanted to go back to Southern Qin, and he had to do it as soon as possible. Meng Jiayue coaxed a few words, Cao Yihan seemed relieved, and ate his breakfast.

After that, Meng Jiayue went to take care of the funeral, while An Ruochen stayed behind.

An Ruochen went to Huo Mingshan's room again, it was like yesterday, nothing moved. An Ruochen flipped through the papers on the table again, looked at Huo Mingshan's **** clothes, and then she went to Cao Yihan.

"Mr. Cao, you found Mr. Huo's body yesterday?"

Cao Yihan nodded.

"After that, who touched him?"

"Do an autopsy."

"Apart from the suicide note and the sword, did Mr. Huo leave anything behind?"

"No. What else can be left?" Cao Yihan's young face showed alertness.

An Ruochen stared at his expression, and said softly, "For example, leave some other messages."

Cao Yihan stared at her: "What message? What do you want to say?" He jumped up: "Could it be that you are looking for an excuse to frame Mr. or something, you..."

"Sit down." An Ruochen frowned and told him.

Cao Yihan was taken aback by the drink.

An Ruochen said: "People will not seek death until they reach a dead end. And some people, even if they are at a dead end, they are still unwilling to do something. Even if they shed the last drop of blood, they must fulfill their long-cherished wish. I think Huo That's what Mr.

Cao Yihan stared at her, sat down, his eyes were red. "Sir is indeed such a character, but unfortunately he is already dead. He died in the place where he wanted to fulfill his long-cherished wish."

"Do you want to help him finish his unfinished business?"

Tears welled up in Cao Yihan's eyes and ran down his cheeks. "I am soft-spoken and just a servant. Even if I go to the capital, the emperor of your country will definitely not summon me, nor will I listen to what I say."

"So you want to see General Long?"

Cao Yihan was stunned, wiped away his tears, and yelled again: "What's wrong with seeing General Long, can't you? Can't you see the Great Xiao Emperor, and can't you see General Long? He forced Mr. to death. At the very least, I should tell him for Mr. Ask for an apology."

"But according to common sense, if something like this happens, you should think about quickly returning to Southern Qin with his ashes as Mr. Huo said."

"What's wrong with going back after seeking justice?!" Cao Yihan said angrily, "You owe sir justice."

"So we must see General Long first?"

"Can't you? If you report to General Long, he will definitely be willing to see me. Unless you have something wrong and guilty, you dare not let me see him."

An Ruochen said indifferently: "In my opinion, your reason for going to see the general is not sufficient."

Cao Yihan sneered: "I know you, you are from the future, Mrs. General." He deliberately bit the word "future" hard, "I didn't know that the future Mrs. General could be above the prefect. , Your Excellency is willing to let me go, can you stop it?"

An Ruochen said: "You're talking the wrong way. In Zhonglan City, only I am willing to help you meet General Long."

Cao Yihan's face froze and he couldn't laugh anymore.

"You are familiar with officialdom. I think Mr. Huo must have taught you a lot during his lifetime, and he also trusted you and was willing to entrust you with important responsibilities. You know very well that you were not imprisoned after such a thing happened. It is luck to be charged with a crime. This is Da Xiao, you are alone, and your country's soldiers and horses are the border, waiting for an order to kill you. You have nothing to rely on." An Ruochen paused, "Except for General Long .”

Cao Yihan put on a straight face and didn't speak.

"General Long is far away at the border, so naturally he can't fly back to see you. If Mr. Huo said this to seek justice, then you have a great chance of seeing General Long, but unfortunately, you are just his attendant. What do you think about the situation? It's very clear, that's why you're worried that you won't see General Long, you're worried that you won't be able to return to South Qin in time, and you even have to worry about whether you will be able to return to South Qin."

Cao Yihan pursed his lips tightly.

An Ruochen looked at him and continued: "I heard that when Mr. Huo gave the sword to the prefect's wife seventeen years ago, he said that if the assassination of the prefect was done by people from Nanqin, If someone maliciously sabotages the peace talks, the prefect's wife can use that sword to kill him."

Cao Yihan took a deep breath and clenched his fists. Of course he also knew about it.

"Now that sword took his life." An Ruochen said.

Cao Yihan lowered his eyes and didn't speak.

"Mr. Huo's posthumous writing was very calm, with neat strokes and clear handwriting. It seems that he has made a lot of determination. He explained the reason for his suicide seriously, and also asked you to clean up his body and change his clothes." Ann Ruochen looked at Cao Yihan: "You don't need to ask him to do this, and you will definitely do it. But he seems worried, afraid that others will rush to do it. There is a suicide note, a murder weapon, an obvious fatal wound on the neck, and All the grown-ups are staring, I don’t think Wu Zuo should seriously search for Mr. Huo’s belongings, after all, the cause of death is too obvious.”

Cao Yihan moved his sitting position, still lowering his eyes and not speaking.

However, An Ruochen suddenly changed the subject and asked him, "Do you know how many sheets there are in a bundle of new paper?"

Cao Yihan waited, but didn't listen to what An Ruochen said, and raised his head suspiciously.

"Twelve." An Ruochen waited for him to look at her, and then said. "Mr. Huo used a new inkstone, sharpened a new ink stick, used a new brush, and tore out a new bundle of paper. He wrote his suicide note on a piece of paper. But there are only ten pieces of paper left."

Cao Yihan opened his mouth wide, staring at An Ruochen like a ghost.

"What else did he write? Is it a letter to General Long?"

Cao Yihan put away his surprised expression, pretended to be dazed, and said, "I don't know what you are talking about. There is one piece of paper missing, are you joking? Who knows if Mr. Huo used it before, or Someone used it when they entered his house, or there were only eleven sheets of paper at all."

An Ruochen ignored his excuses, and continued: "He specifically asked you to dispose of his body and change his clothes because he wanted you to read that letter and help him complete the things he asked .So you asked to see General Long."

"No letter. I want to see General Long because it was General Long who asked Mr. to go to the capital. Mr. originally wanted to go back to Southern Qin, but was persuaded by General Long to stay."

An Ruochen didn't refute him, she looked at him, and after a while said: "The prefect will not hurt you, but he will keep you here, you are an important witness. But you are not Mr. Huo, so you won't If there are two hundred guards guarding you again, you will have no way to rush out of the eunuch's mansion to see General Long. Whether you want to seek justice from General Long, talk about family affairs, or convey important messages from Mr. Huo Forget it, I'm afraid it will have to be delayed for a long time. Has the important responsibility you shouldered been delayed? How do you explain to Mr. Huo under the Nine Springs?"

Cao Yihan clenched his teeth.

"You are right, you can indeed rely on General Long. But I have to tell you, before meeting General Long..." An Ruochen paused, and when Cao Yihan looked into her eyes, she said, "You have to Rely on me."