At this point, Steward Liu sighed softly and said sourly, "I'm afraid Ah Lang won't be so strict with me in the future."
He waved his hand disinterestedly and said, "You may go. Stay in the side courtyard and don't wander around."
"Yes, Steward Liu, I'll go back first."
Yang Fan smiled respectfully and turned to leave.
"Zhou Xing?"
Yang Fan thought about this person as he walked. After a brief analysis, he shook his head and denied the possibility that Zhou Xing had anything to do with him.
In the second year of Yongchun, when the Shaozhou murder case happened, Zhou Xing was still a county magistrate in the north. It was only in recent years when Empress Wu's authority grew and she was expected to remove Li Tang's order and change the system, that she began to use ruthless officials to remove the obstacles to her seizing power. Zhou Xing won Empress Wu's favor because of his ruthless style of handling cases. That was how he rose to the top and became a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Justice.
It was impossible for Zhou Xing to have anything to do with what happened back then. Zhou Xing was now the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, the de facto leader. Whether it was from the perspective of caring for his subordinates or from the perspective of such a major case in Luoyang, it was normal for him to personally inquire about his subordinates' affairs.
He had already found out that although Cai Dongcheng was now the commander of the Left Imperial Guard and an illustrious general with great power, he was once a commander of the Dragonguard. There was an eighty to ninety percent chance that he was the perpetrator of the Shaozhou murder case. Injuring Yang Mingsheng had lured Cai Dongcheng out, but Cai Dongcheng was also a lackey. The mastermind had yet to show himself.
It seemed that if he wanted him to show himself, he would have to take down Cai Dongcheng and his four vajras first. Only then would he be able to force the mastermind to show himself!
Yang Fan pondered as he returned to the side courtyard.
That day, Yang Mingsheng blurted out a name: Helan Minzhi.
Yang Fan had already found out that Helan Minzhi was Wu Zetian's nephew. His mother was Wu Zetian's elder sister, who was once favored by Gaozong Li Zhi and was given the title of Lady of Han. His sister, Helan, was also favored by Li Zhi and was given the title of Lady of Wei.
As for Helan Minzhi himself, after Wu Zetian exiled his two older brothers, he changed his surname to Wu and became the heir of Wu Zetian's father, Wu Shiyan. He was given the title of Duke of Zhou and could be said to be extremely wealthy.
However, later on, Wu Zetian accused He Lanmin of making peace with her maternal grandmother, Lady Yang, embezzling public funds for personal gain, committing adultery with the Crown Prince's wife, Lady Yang, and many other crimes. She had her changed back to her original surname and was exiled to Lingnan. Helan Minzhi's legendary life.
Yang Fan couldn't think of any connection between Helan Minzhi and the small village in Shaozhou.
It was said that Helan Minzhi was a wanton and unrestrained person, dissolute and lustful. However, he was handsome, handsome, and talented. Not only that, he was also very knowledgeable. In addition to his illustrious family background and status, he had many friends in the royal court. Later on, these people were all implicated by him and were all demoted.
Yang Fan suspected that the Peach Blossom Village that was suddenly built was probably used to settle the officials who were implicated by Helan Minzhi and were demoted. The eleven families in the village were the officials who were implicated in the past.
However, the small village was built one year after Helan Minzhi's suicide, but the massacre happened eleven years later. This was a bit strange.
If the villagers who suddenly appeared in this small mountain village were the officials and their families who were implicated by Helan Minzhi, and if the court wanted to eradicate these people, there was no need to wait for so many years, and there was no need to use the plague as an excuse to cover it up.
Moreover, during the Shaozhou bloody case, Helan Minzhi had already turned into a pile of dirt. The court and the common people had long forgotten such a person. How could it be possible that more than ten years later, Helan Minzhi would suddenly kill those who were implicated by him? Judging from their secretive actions and the people they used to cover up their identities and whereabouts, it couldn't be the work of the court.
Yang Mingsheng was the perpetrator of the Shaozhou massacre. From what Yang Mingsheng blurted out, it could be proved that the massacre of the village must have a great relationship with Helan Minzhi. This was certain. The question was: What was in the mountain village? What secret did these "villagers" have that someone would use such an inhumane act of slaughtering an entire village to solve the problem?
Perhaps, only by clarifying this problem, could he find the real culprit behind the scenes. Yang Fan thought for a long time, but he really couldn't think of any other way. It seemed that he could only use killing as bait to alarm the culprit behind the scenes.
One of Cai Dongcheng's four great vajras was already gone. Even if the remaining three joined forces, it would be difficult for them to display their combined strength. Yang Fan planned to eradicate the four great vajras one by one, and then finally kill Cai Dongcheng. At that time, the frightened Yang Mingsheng would definitely ask for help from the real culprit behind the scenes.
The mourning hall had been set up for three days, Cai Dongcheng's three valiant generals had been guarding the mourning hall for three days, and the entire Yang Residence had been on high alert for three days. Everyone had been tired and exhausted, but the mysterious assassin had never appeared again.
In this world, one could be a thief for a thousand days, but there was no way to guard against a thief for a thousand days. Such intense defensive measures couldn't be maintained for long. Not to mention Marquis Wu and the workshop attendants, even the officials of the Ministry of Justice and the patrolmen of Luoyang Prefecture were full of complaints after three days. If this went on, before the assassin came to kill them, everyone would collapse.
Cai Dongcheng and Yang Mingsheng also knew that this couldn't go on. The two of them discussed for a while and had no choice but to restore the system of patrolling the night. Everyone took turns to keep watch at night, so that they could all rest.
That night, it was still Yang Fan's first patrol. According to the rule of three shifts, they had to take turns every eight hours. In other words, Yang Fan had to keep watch from nightfall until dawn, a total of eight hours. Then he had to rest for 16 hours.
"Shh, shh, shh!"
When Yang Fan walked past a thicket, Maqiao came out again. He had a straw hat on his head and was waving at him.
Yang Fan walked over and said with a smile, "Brother Qiao, you really hid well."
Maqiao pulled him under a tree and scolded, "You're silly! Why are you working so hard? Walking back and forth. If the assassin comes in and sees you, he'll kill you with one blow. At most, the Lang Zhong residence will give you a coffin! "
Yang Fan naturally understood Maqiao's good intentions, but he couldn't just walk back and forth. Others could slack off, but he couldn't. He was looking for an opportunity to strike, but the security in the residence was obviously much tighter than before. It was easy for him to kill someone, but it was difficult to do so without leaving any traces.
Seeing that Yang Fan only smiled shyly, Maqiao glared at him in exasperation and said helplessly, "You, you're so honest!"
As he said this, Maqiao reached into his bosom and took out something, handing it to Yang Fan.
The object was heavy in his hand. It was a curved piece of iron. Yang Fan asked curiously, "What is this?"
As Maqiao untied his belt, he said, "This is the base of a pot. My family has a pot that leaked, and I originally planned to use it as a supplement. But when my mother heard about what happened in the Yang residence, she was worried and broke the pot in half."
As Maqiao said this, he pulled out another piece of metal from his waist and handed it to Yang Fan, saying, "Here, keep this in your bosom. There's one on your chest and one on your back. If it's really … it might be of some use."
Yang Fan hurriedly declined, "No, if I use it, what about you? This is what Auntie prepared for you, take it back quickly. "
Maqiao said, "Hey, I'm lying here, what are you worried about? Besides, I have many brothers at home, if something really happens … it's fine! In a while, I'll find a more secluded place to lie down and sleep. It doesn't matter if the assassin comes or not, I won't get up no matter what, and I won't be stupid enough to shout and scream. What can happen? "
Maqiao fastened his belt and burrowed into the bushes. He worriedly poked his head out and said, "Don't be too stubborn, if you can slack off, then slack off. Even if the steward catches you, at most he'll scold you. What else can he do? It's not worth risking your life. "
"Hey! I got it! "
Although Yang Fan didn't need this armor, he still felt warm in his heart. In front of Maqiao, he stuffed the two pieces of metal into his clothes and left.
In fact, carrying these two things would greatly affect his skills, so after leaving Maqiao's line of sight, he wandered to the place where he met Miss Xuelian last time. Looking around and making sure there was no one around, he took out the metal pieces and stuffed them into the place where Miss Yang Xuelian hid Big Brother.
"You, what are you doing here?"
Yang Fan kicked the metal pieces into the bushes. Just as he was about to fasten his belt, a cold voice came from not far away.
Yang Fan was secretly shocked. This person could actually hide from his ears, and his footsteps were very light.
Slowly turning around, Yang Fan saw a man with ape arms and a long body, wearing a round collar long gown. He had a scarf on his head and a Thousand Bull Saber hanging from his ribs. His hand gripped the saber hilt tightly, and his posture was as steady as a mountain. This person was standing on the small path, looking at him. Beside him was a pear tree, and the glistening yellow pears bent the branches, as if they were about to touch his shoulders. "Thousand Bulls Ready Shen Jiahui!"
Yang Fan recognized him at a glance!
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