"Bang! Bang!
Bang! "Sitting in the carriage, Hua Xi Wan heard the faint sound of the night watch from afar. She lifted a corner of the curtain and found that there was a thin layer of fog on the street. She frowned. How could there be fog in the current weather?
When she was in the palace, she saw the full moon hanging in the sky. Now, it had only been an hour. How could the weather change so quickly?
She took a closer look. It turned out that it was not fog outside, but a downy drizzle. Because the street was a little dim, it looked like fog.
"It's raining?" Yan Jinqiu, who was sitting beside her, lifted the curtain and took a few glances. There was some regret in his voice. "We can't admire the moon."
Hua Xi Wan put down the curtain and smiled at him. "We can admire the moon at any time. Why bother about which day?"
"Is Xi Wan always so open-minded?" Yan Jinqiu looked at her. There was a seriousness in his eyes that Hua Xi Wan could not understand. "You don't care about anything. Can you be open-minded about anything?"
"Only those with an open mind can live a happier life. Life is short, so why make life difficult for yourself?" Hua Xi Wan's smile did not change. Instead, she looked at the jade gourd hanging on the wall of the carriage. "People who are too calculative want more things. If they can't get it, won't they be disappointed?"
"But if you meet something you like, if you don't fight for it, how will you know it doesn't belong to you?" Yan Jinqiu looked at the rain outside getting heavier. "At least you won't regret it if you try."
"Who knows if you won't regret it after you try?" Hua Xi Wan held the jade gourd in her hand. "There are many people in the world who regret their obsessions."
"But there are also those who regret not trying." Yan Jinqiu put down the curtain and smiled.
"It's just a different standpoint." Hua Xi Wan smiled mockingly. "What's more, those who regret are losers. If you're happy, you won't have time to think about what you didn't get."
Yan Jinqiu was silent for a moment. Then he smiled noncommittally.
"Ah!"
A shrill scream came out from the alley, which was particularly frightening on this quiet street. If it weren't for the fact that Xian Wang Fu had enough young and strong bodyguards, some of the accompanying servant girls would have been scared to death.
Hua Xi Wan frowned. This was not like the TV dramas in her previous life, where men and women could wander around the streets at night. After all, there was a curfew at night here. Unrelated people could be arrested as thieves or rebels if they wandered around the streets.
Now, at this time, there was someone who inexplicably screamed so horribly. Was it a coincidence or something else?
Obviously, this scream did not affect the progress of Xian Wang Fu's carriage. Therefore, the group of people continued to move forward at their original speed. Just as the carriage was about to turn the corner, another shrill scream came from the alley. This time, the scream was even more horrifying than the previous one. It sent chills down one's spine.
At this moment, a series of footsteps came from not far away. There was also the sound of armor and weapons clashing. After a while, Hua Xi Wan heard a somewhat familiar voice.
"Vice Official of the Guard Office, Zhang Hou, greets His Highness Xian Wang."
Zhang Hou saw the carriage stop in front of him and let out a sigh of relief. Then, he saw that the curtain in front of him was lifted up by a third, revealing Xian Wang's figure. He blinked and accidentally saw a red corner of Xian Wang's clothes.
"Vice Official Zhang, what's the matter?" Yan Jinqiu had a trace of a smile at the corner of his mouth. He sized up the young Vice Official of the Guard Office in front of him. People who could muddle their way to this position were not simple people. Otherwise, the position of Vice Official of the Guard Office would not be given to him.
"Reporting to Wang Ye, this one heard a woman's scream nearby, so I specially brought people to patrol." Zhang Hou's face was covered in a layer of mist. It was sticky and uncomfortable, but in front of Yan Jinqiu, he did not dare to carelessly wipe it. "We did not expect to encounter Wang Ye's carriage. This one has offended you."
"Vice Official Zhang is too serious. You are thinking of the safety of our Jing City. However, it is strange to hear a woman's scream in the night." Yan Jinqiu's lips curved. "Please pay more attention, Vice Official Zhang."
"Many thanks to Wang Ye for the reminder." When Zhang Hou raised his head again, he saw that the curtain of the carriage had been lowered. He bowed to the carriage and then left with his subordinates. They began to check the alleys one by one.
"Although Zhang Hou is young, he has his own way of doing things. His position does not seem high, but many things in the Jing City are closely related to him. Most people in the Jing City will give him some face." Yan Jinqiu said to Hua Xi Wan, "I heard that when you spooked the horse last time, it was he who brought people to control it?"
Hua Xi Wan nodded and said, "This Vice Official Zhang is indeed skilled."
Before the carriage reached the gates of Xian Wang Fu, they heard someone report that Vice Official Zhang had already found the person who had screamed. However, the victim was covered in wounds and unconscious. She had already been sent to the medical hall for treatment.
Hua Xi Wan frowned. No one would like such a thing to happen. She could not help but ask, "Did you find out the identity of the victim?"
The person reporting outside hesitated for a moment before saying, "These two girls are from Qing Yi Zhai."
"Qing Yi Zhai?" Hua Xi Wan was puzzled. The name sounded quite elegant, but she did not know what it did.
"Why aren't you leaving? Who allowed you to say the name of such a dirty place in front of us?" Mutong reprimanded harshly.
Hua Xi Wan suddenly understood. So it was a brothel. With such an elegant name, she had thought that it was some kind of Go or book club.
Seeing that her expression kept changing, but there was no sign of disdain when the brothel was mentioned, Yan Jinqiu said in surprise, "What does Xi Wan think of this matter?"
"I don't think so," Hua Xi Wan shook her head, "The Dali Monastery is investigating the case. I don't even know the cause and effect. What opinion can I have?"
"What I mean is … what do you think of these two girls?"
"You shouldn't have asked this question in the first place. It is too inappropriate." Hua Xi Wan's tone was harsh, but then it became gentle, "But us husband and wife can talk about some private things that can't be said outside. It's not a big deal." She yawned. She had drunk a few cups of wine at the banquet. Now she suddenly felt sleepy, "If there is no business, there is no market. That's my opinion."
Yan Jinqiu first stilled. When he reacted, he smiled helplessly. He wanted to say that this was a fallacy, but when he thought about it, he found that the other's words were not reasonable. If all the men in the world could control themselves, why would there be women in the flesh business at this time?
The carriage moved forward for a while before stopping. Hua Xi Wan heard the servants outside say that they had arrived at the Wang fu. She lifted the curtain to take a look. There were already two soft sedan chairs parked at the gate. There were also several servants holding umbrellas.
She and Yan Jinqiu had just poked one foot out of the carriage when the servants came up to hold the umbrella for them. There were also people who came to block the wind. When she sat in the sedan chair, not even a drop of rain blew on her face.
Zhang Hou waited outside the medical center all night. In the end, he waited until dawn with great difficulty. He heard his subordinates report that one of the injuries was too serious. There was no medicine to save him and he had already passed away. After hearing this, his face suddenly became ugly. After a while, he said: "I know. Let people report this to the Dali Monastery."
The people of the Guard Office were only responsible for patrolling. If there was a murder, they could only hand it over to the Dali Monastery or the Ministry of Justice. They had no right to intervene in this kind of matter.
"Then should we also hand over the things that we found with the deceased to the Dali Monastery?" A subordinate came over with a piece of cotton cloth. On the cotton cloth, there was a blood-stained rag and an ink-colored gemstone.
"If not, what's the point of keeping it?" Zhang Hou's gaze swept over the blood-stained rag. "Now that Prince Sheng is in charge of the Dali Monastery, with Jun Wang Ye there, what case can't be solved?"
Everyone present thought of the murder of Prince Sheng's son, who had been in charge of Prince Sheng's case. Their mood suddenly became complicated. After all, that incident involved the Crown Prince. It made the people in the capital panic. Until now, many people were still trembling in fear, afraid of being inexplicably implicated.
Four hours later, the Dali Monastery received the murder case from the Guard Office. They were more unlucky because the other victim from an hour ago had not been saved. He had died from his serious injuries.
Both victims were dead. It was extremely difficult to find clues on the bodies of the dead. However, they had no choice but to investigate. After all, this matter had caused a storm. Some people who did not understand the matter even began to spread rumors that it was the work of ghosts. If they did not investigate clearly, who knew how chaotic the situation would become in the capital.
The feelings of the Dali Monastery's minister were more complicated than anyone else. He found that the evidence handed over by the Guard Office was somewhat troublesome. He looked at Prince Sheng sitting at the head of the table and didn't dare to breathe loudly.
Yan Boyi's expression was similarly ugly. After all, no one would be in a good mood when investigating a case and finding that the evidence found on the body of the deceased was something that belonged to them.
"Since this matter involves me, it is not convenient for me to interfere." Yan Boyi stood and no longer looked at the evidence related to the case. "I will report this matter to the Emperor. Daren, please do not mind."
What could the Dali Monastery minister say? He could only sweat and smile.
Yan Jinqiu was not in the mood to look at his expression. He lifted his foot and walked out of the Dali Monastery's door. Inside, he was thinking, who would use such a clumsy method to frame him?
"General!"
Hua Xi Wan smiled and clapped her hands. "I won this game."
Yan Jinqiu looked at the messy chess game that had been played by the two and smiled helplessly. He had the servants take the chessboard away and then said, "These days, the people in Jing are anxious. Pay attention and don't be affected by the rumors outside."
Hua Xi Wan did not care and thought about it. She had personally heard the screams that night. It would be strange if she believed the rumors outside.
In any case, no matter how the matter developed, it didn't have much to do with her. She wasn't mentally ill. Why would she do something that had nothing better to do?
The author has something to say: Thank you to Ying _ Xiang, 11994893, and Ben, the three nouveau riche.
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