Yang Fan, with his whistle stick in his hand, mingled with a group of unwilling, miserable, and unlucky fellows. He also had a bitter expression on his face as he swaggered into Yang Langzhong's house. From afar, they looked like a group of slow-witted penguins walking back and forth on the beach.
Yang Fan pretended to be bitter, but in his heart, he was laughing so hard that his belly was about to burst. He had devised several follow-up plans for the pursuit of the criminal, but he had never imagined that he would actually be sent to Yang Langzhong's mansion to help the Yang family catch the thief at night.
The officials of the Ministry of Justice and Luoyang Prefecture carried their podaos, and with grim expressions, they hurriedly paced back and forth in Yang Langzhong's mansion. Both open and hidden sentries were being arranged everywhere. Yang Fan and his group were brought to the busy Luoyang Prefecture Commandant, Tang Zong.
Looking at the whistle sticks in the hands of the workers, Tang Zong frowned and ordered, "Give them the podaos!"
When a few officials appeared with podaos in their hands, the workers holding whistles immediately became restless. These brave and ruthless youths usually only had a whistling stick as their weapon. Although they were unwilling to work in the Yang residence, when they saw the fine workmanship and sharp podaos, they couldn't help but feel a little excited at the sight of them.
One by one, the podaos were handed to them. Yang Fan gripped the podaos in his hands tightly, and carefully examined the sharp edge of the blade. His finger lightly touched it, and along the curved blood groove, he lightly drew a line upwards. The cold gleam of the blade was like a mirror, reflecting his gaze, and it was as sharp as the blade.
Yang Fan blinked, and restrained the sharpness in his eyes. Beside his ear, a rough voice loudly berated, "Take it! With a knife in your hand, do you think you're the young hero of Chang 'an? Ah ~! Bah! How can we rely on a group of trash like you to catch this kind of high-flying thief? What the Shaofu wants is your pair of eyes and your mouth. When you see a thief, you shout, understand? "
The scolding stopped, but saliva was still flying in the air. Yang Fan picked up his sleeve and wiped the saliva off his face. He looked at the burly man with a full beard and asked blankly, "What?"
"Take this!"
A drumstick was stuffed into Yang Fan's hand, and then a copper gong with a hemp rope tied to it was hung on his thumb. Big Beard curled his lips and shook his head. He walked up to the second shopkeeper and said in a bad mood, "Stupid fool, all of you are like this. Here, take it. For you, this is the thing that can save your life!"
Yang Fan held a drumstick in one hand and a gong in the other. He looked at the worker on his left who was given a waist drum, while the worker on his right was holding a bamboo whistle in a daze. He couldn't help but burst out laughing …
After the weapons and equipment were distributed, they were brought to a place to rest. Although they were on night duty, it was impossible for a group of people to stay up all night. If two shifts were to rotate, they would need a place to rest.
The Yang Mansion originally had guest rooms, but there were only a few of them, and they had already been occupied by the few officials who stayed in the Yang Mansion. The rest of the officials could occupy any room they wanted. When this batch of Marquis Wu and the shopkeepers were assigned, they had to be arranged according to their status. Finally, when it was Yang Fan and Maqiao's turn, they were assigned to a woodshed.
There was a broken straw mat on the ground, and they threw down their bedding. This would be their nest from now on.
The two of them threw down their bedding, and before they could sit down to catch their breath, the officials shouted for them to gather again, saying that it was an errand.
Tang Zong stood on the steps with his brows furrowed.
He was actually extremely dissatisfied with these sloppy Marquis Wu and the shopkeepers, but the Ministry of Justice and Luoyang Prefecture had limited manpower. Moreover, they didn't know when the murderer would come again, so it was impossible to mobilize a large number of officials from the Ministry of Justice and Luoyang Prefecture to guard Yang Langzhong Mansion.
Left with no choice, they could only mobilize the Marquis Wu and the shopkeepers. No matter how stupid these Marquis Wu and the shopkeepers were, they should be smarter than that big black dog, right? When the time came, there would be a sentry every three steps, and a sentry every five steps. Using the tactic of overwhelming numbers, no matter how capable one was, how would one be able to sneak into Yang Langzhong's sleeping quarters without a sound?
Seeing that everyone had gathered at an extremely slow pace, Tang Zong collected his thoughts and gave them a lecture. He explained to them the rules that they should follow in the Yang Mansion, and taught them how to react if they discovered the Flying Burglar, how to hide, and how to sound the alarm. After explaining everything, he began to assign them tasks.
Their tasks were similar to what they usually did in the streets, patrolling and keeping watch, but instead of patrolling in the streets, they were patrolling in Yang Mingsheng Mansion.
The murderer was a Flying Burglar who could come and go as he pleased, and if they were to really meet him, they might end up as ghosts under his knife. Therefore, being an open sentry was obviously more dangerous than being a secret sentry. Everyone understood this, so when Tang Zong said to arrange a secret sentry, the crowd of Marquis Wu and the shopkeepers swarmed forward and volunteered. Their enthusiasm was breathtaking.
"An open sentry? An open sentry that roams everywhere? "
A trace of treachery flashed across Yang Fan's eyes, and then he also joined the ranks of the competitors.
Unfortunately, Beta Persei was still a young man, and could not compare to the burly and strong men. When he finally squeezed in front of Tang Zong, he raised his head and saw Luoyang Lieutenant Tang Zong's finger, as thick as a carrot, pointing at his forehead, "Let's start arranging the roaming sentry …"
…
In Yang Langzhong's bedroom, the room was filled with the strong smell of medicine. Yang Mingsheng sat hugging a blanket and said passionately, "This official is loyal to the imperial court, and I am indebted to the Empress Dowager and His Majesty's trust. Ever since I took charge of the Department of Justice, this official has been fair and strict in enforcing the law, and I abhor evil. All these years, I don't know how many corrupt officials, bandits, and so-called wandering swordsmen have been punished …"
Qiao Junyu interrupted him and said, "In other words, Lang Zhong does not know who the person who entered the mansion to seek revenge is? Which case did he come for? "
Yang Mingsheng was silent for a moment and then nodded slightly. He said, "Yes, that person seems to have a great hatred for this official. After restraining this official, he continuously abused and vented his anger. He gritted his teeth and said that this official caused the destruction of his family, but he never said who he was or why he hated this official."
Qiao Junyu muttered to herself for a moment before replying, "From what the murderer said to your residence's imperial bodyguard, Xiao Qian, that old man's family has children and grandchildren. This is also consistent with his aged voice. If that's the case, then the person who had been punished by Lang Zhong should be one of this old man's children and grandchildren. The Ministry of Justice has already taken out all the case files that Lang Zhong has handled in these years, and the low-ranking officials are carefully combing through them from beginning to end. The families that have fathers or ancestors and their families were implicated so they were sentenced to assassinate at the border will be investigated. Lang Zhong, do not worry. Your case has even disturbed the Empress Dowager, and Assistant Minister Zhou was very angry when he heard the news. The court will definitely find the perpetrator! "
Yang Mingsheng chuckled and raised his stiff arms. He called out Qiao Junyu's courtesy name. "Zi Ping, this one was persecuted by a traitor, and my entire life was ruined by his hands. I will leave the matter of arresting the perpetrator and returning justice to me to you!"
His words were sincere, but the laughter seemed to be slightly disdainful and strange. Hearing this, Qiao Junyu couldn't help but frown.
If this was a normal time, Qiao Junyu would not dare to frown. As an official, Yang Langzhong had always been rigid and upright, serious in speech and manner. The officials of the Ministry of Justice usually did not dare to change their expressions in front of him. But at this time, no matter if you frowned, rolled your eyes, or even made a face at him, he would not see it.
Qiao Junyu frowned and stood up. She held onto Yang Langzhong's arms and said in a deep voice, "Lang Zhong, rest well. This one will do his best and not disappoint Lang Zhong!"
Stepping out of Yang Mingsheng's bedroom, Qiao Junyu thought to herself, "Yang Langzhong's words are not entirely true. There seems to be something else going on!"
Yang Mingsheng's official rank was too high. The prison officials that had arrived first did not have the qualification to ask him about the case until Qiao Junyu's group arrived. When Qiao Junyu arrived, the doctors were busy treating Yang Mingsheng and giving him medicine. When the doctors finished, officials who had heard the news came to the fu to inquire, causing the matter to be delayed.
In the end, he did not obtain anything useful from Yang Mingsheng. Based on his many years of experience in handling cases, and the fact that Yang Mingsheng had undergone a great change and could not be as calm and serious as usual, he could vaguely see some clues. "I fear that Yang Langzhong is hiding something."
Qiao Junyu thought, I'll just do as Yang Langzhong said and report the truth to Assistant Minister Zhou Xing. I definitely cannot speak of this suspicion. With Assistant Minister Zhou's intelligence, he will definitely detect it. If he wants to, he will come and ask Yang Langzhong. As an official, one should not tread in waters that one does not know the depth of. Curiosity can kill people!
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