The Golden Hairpin

While listening, Huang Zixia looked around the room while holding the lantern.

Sure enough, as Zhou Ziqin said, this is a very dilapidated loess house, which can be described by the four walls of a family. Upon entering the door, there was a low bed full of messy things, almost facing the door. There was not even a table in the house, and I took a look at the stove in the left corner. There were two or three cracked earthen jars on the stove, and scattered firewood and broken rice jars were piled beside it. On the right, there is a broken Hu stool against the wall, and a two-foot-long low table in front is also piled with all kinds of tatters.

Huang Zixian first picked up the ashes from the stove, and found no embers of Lingxiang, so he went over to check the things on the short table. The big deal was the daily necessities such as baskets of flints, which were mostly covered with dust.

She walked to the bed again and squatted down to check. This bed was very narrow due to crowded things in the house, almost as big as the door panel. But on this big bed, there were a lot of things piled up, a few rags, a pair of rusty scissors, a whetstone, two bundles of yellow paper, and a water hyacinth.

On the floor in front of the bed, there were a few things scattered on the ground, such as wooden pillows, a broken black tile, and a few moxa wrapped in dried lotus leaves.

She was watching, the back was coming, her face had not been wiped clean, she nodded and bowed to them: "Three officials, didn't the officials just left after checking? Why are the three of them bothering to come in the middle of the night? Investigate..."

Zhou Ziqin Li patted his chest boldly: "We eat the monarch's loyalty to the emperor's affairs, do our duty loyally, act impartially, and what's wrong in the middle of the night? Where are the dead bodies...no, wherever we are unjust cases!"

Li Zheng was in awe, and quickly saluted him: "Yes, yes!"

Huang Zixian gave Zhou Ziqin a helpless look, pointed to something on the bed and asked Lizheng: "Lao Zhang, do you know what these things are on his bed?"

Li Zheng turned his head to take a look, with a look of bad luck: "I know, isn't it just those."

"Those?" Zhou Ziqin asked quickly.

"Didn't he commit a notorious incident before? Later, somehow, he was not held accountable. He was still proud to show off to others every day. It is true that Benfang's face was completely shamed by him! A fire broke out in Jianfu Temple for a few days and burned to death an **** in the princess's mansion. He panicked, fearing that he would also suffer from God’s condemnation. It's the wadang soaked in black dog blood, this is yellow paper sprayed with amulet water. And this, it's scissors for self-defense...and the wall, look!"

Lizheng raised the light in his hand, and they saw several messy charms, calligraphy and paintings on the wall. They didn't know where they picked them up. Some were new, old, Taoist, and Buddhist. A wooden sign of Cihang Pudu was hung by the window, a small iron plaque was nailed to the door of Mulian to save his mother, and the bedside was actually a picture of Guanyin.

Zhou Ziqin couldn't help but pointed to the bed and asked, "Such a small broken bed and full of things, can he turn over when he sleeps?"

"Does he need to turn over? He has a sore half of his body, so he can only sleep on his side and turn over!" Li Zheng obviously hated the shame of this shop, and sneered in his words. "Three, I didn't say," When he found his body in the afternoon, everyone said that this is retribution! He ruined the other girl, and boasted everywhere that he had caused the girl to commit suicide. No, the retribution came so quickly! Even if he hides in the house. , Plugged in the door, locked the window, plastered the talisman, and couldn’t get out of it. It’s not dead yet!"

Zhou Ziqin nodded in sympathy: "Yeah! So people must never do bad things!"

When Lizheng saw someone affirming his own thoughts, he was even more eloquent: "It is said that when Sun Laizi's door was opened in the afternoon, everyone saw a resentment coming out of the house, and the evil spirits rushed to the sky! Everyone! Said, this is the girl who died unjustly avenged her, and her soul returns, and she can finally rest in peace!"

Huang Zixian and Zhou Ziqin looked at each other, but they didn't answer—because they had just spoken to the "unjustly killed" Di Cui this afternoon.

After inspecting everything in the house and carefully inspecting the door bolts and window locks, Zhou Ziqin put the seal on again and signed the word Zhou on it.

Wang Yun took off the mask, looked back at the house, turned his gaze to stare at Huang Zixia, and exclaimed: "Chonggu, I only learned that you are not easy today. I really admire it."

Huang Zixian lowered his head to avoid his gaze, and said vaguely: "Fortunately...it's not always the case."

"That's not bad! Last time, you didn't see it when Chonggu and I went to dig the corpse, and the time you fished the corpse in the ditch..."

Huang Zixia could only treat it as if she hadn't heard her, and walked to the side of Fusha first.

Wang Yun asked by her side: "How can you kill the people in such a room that is almost no loopholes? And how can you...how can you find out the truth?"

Huang Zixian turned on her horse and whispered: "Let's investigate slowly. I think as long as it is a crime, it can't be concealed."

"That's right, Chonggu is in my mind, but a detective genius who is enough to keep pace with the person I like, how can there be a rare case in the world where she is rare?" Zhou Zi Qin said triumphantly, as if Huang Zixia's glory was his. Honorable.

Huang Zixian didn't know if he should thank him for omitting the last three words of "My favorite person Huang Zixian"-Zhou Ziqin was not so stupid, and it was naturally impossible to say in front of Wang Yun that his favorite person was his fiancée.

Fortunately, Wang Yun was not interested in Zhou Ziqin's people. Seeing that the road ahead was at the intersection, he only smiled, looked at Huang Zixian and said, "Then, Chonggu, Ziqin, see you tomorrow."

"Okay! Tomorrow we must come to your side for dinner on time~" Zhou Ziqin waved.

When Wang Yun left, Zhou Ziqin was riding a horse casually on the street while discussing with her: "Chonggu, this matter is really tricky this time, what do you think?"

Huang Zixian nodded and said, "Well, the door bolts and window locks are different from the one in Yizhuang. It is absolutely impossible to use a piece of copper to open it."

"That's right," Zhou Ziqin said annoyed. "It can almost be said that the deceased died in an airtight iron cage!"

Having said this, he was taken aback for a moment, and then yelled out with an "Ah": "Chonggu! Do you still remember the painting in Zhang Xingying's house? It was the one dedicated to the hall, and it is said that it was bestowed by the emperor. That weird picture!"

Huang Zixian nodded and slowly said, "Of course I remember."

"The three weird ways to die in the painting... The first is to be struck and burned by the sky thunder to die; the second is to die in an iron cage; the third is to be pecked by a phoenix bird. Die!" Zhou Ziqin looked at her with excitement and horror on his face, "Now, two of these three methods of death have appeared on Di Cui's enemies!"

Huang Zixia was worried, and only nodded: "Yeah."

"Aren't you surprised at all? You said, this is a coincidence, or someone did it intentionally? Don't you think this is too strange?"

"Zi Qin." Huang Zixian turned his head to look at him, staring at him calmly under the dim lights of the street, "Tomorrow, we will meet Zhang Er Ge at the Beijing Defense Department."

Zhou Ziqin nodded heavily, but his face was full of triumph: "Look, Chonggu, I finally thought of something you didn't think about!"

"Yes...I'm ashamed." She said, looking at the Prince Kui Mansion, which was already in sight ahead, she couldn't help but remember the most important thing in her heart—

The third method of death...will it appear?

On the second day, the sky was clear. In Chang'an with a million people, the deaths of one or two people are insignificant and still peaceful.

When Li Shubai took Huang Zixian to the Ministry of Engineering, he did not get off the car, and only asked where to clear the waterway today, and went straight there.

Today, the Ministry of Industry is repairing the waterway in Tongjifang. They used to see a group of laborers carrying silt at the entrance of the waterway. The Minister of the Ministry of Engineering squatted and looked down. The waterway below was dark and smelly, and he covered it. Frowning his nose and looking at it, there is nothing to do.

Li Shubai and Huang Zixian got out of the car, and it happened that the head of labor reported to Chief Jiang, and said: "The following has been unimpeded. Look, the chief...Is it right to settle the money first?"

Master Jiang hesitated and asked, "Is it really clean?"

"I'm doing things, don't worry!" The laborer patted his chest and promised, "At any rate, the small one has to be trusted by the Ministry of Industry to get this errand. It will never be done! If you don't get through it, you come to me!"

"So, the following should be unimpeded?" Li Shubai asked slowly behind Mr. Jiang.

The head of the laborer did not know his origin, but he also saw his extraordinary status at a glance, and quickly said: "Oh, don't worry, noble! I am Zhang Liuer doing things, absolutely no problem!"

When Mr. Jiang looked back and saw Li Shubai, he hurriedly saluted: "Prince Kui, how can you come to such a pickled place? Hey, hurry up to the wind..."

"No need." Kui Wang, Li Shubai, who is well-known in the capital, stood at the entrance of the waterway and asked, "That Zhang Liuer is in charge of this matter?"

"Yes, he knows all the sewers in the capital, large and small, he knows everything. In the past few years, the Ministry of Industry recruited the labor service of the sewers, and he became the leader. The waterways must be added to cash."

Huang Zixian listened in the back, thinking, whoever broke the rules and added extra money every time the water channel is connected. This group of people are not looking forward to the sewer blockage every day. They can't wait for a small blockage in three days and a large blockage in five days. How could it be possible? Do your best to work?

Li Shubai didn't speak, but just motioned to Zhang Liu'er to come over, and then asked, "Is the following really good?"

"The truth is good, really!"

"What do you mean by good, is it that a hole is dug in the silt garbage in the lower waterway and can barely drain to cope with the errand, or the silt garbage in the waterway has been cleaned up and there is no obstruction?"

"Oh, look at what the prince said! Naturally it is all cleaned up, and I dare not save a little bit of silt!" Zhang Liuer was sure that Li Shubai would not go down and check it. It was a moving place. "The court supplies us every month. Brothers' salary, we also know that this matter is related to the people's livelihood of Chang'an, how can we still dare to make a difference? All of them are doing their best and dare not to be negligent!"

"Okay." Li Shubai didn't say much, and motioned to Jing You to hold up the two locks at the back. The two huge iron locks were really eye-catching, and everyone couldn't help but take a look.

"From now on, the Ministry of Industry has other rules for waterways. This is the first time this king tried it out today. Since you said that the following has been unimpeded, this king also knows that my waterways have always been made of blue bricks, three feet high and five feet wide. It’s not difficult for a person to bend down and walk inside, let alone crawl.” Li Shubai pointed to the first lock and said, “After the waterway is cleared, you, as the laborer responsible for this matter, have to go down into the waterway. The king will personally lock the waterway, you can go forward in the unobstructed waterway, and the king walks on it. The waterway you pass this time, the king will walk along to the front exit, then turn back, and walk again. Wait. When I reach the exit of the waterway there for the second time, whether you come out or not, the king will lock the exit over there with the second lock and take the key away."

Zhang Liu'er's face suddenly turned pale, his lips were blue, and his throat was speechless.

Li Shubai picked up the first lock and signaled Huang Zixian to open it, preparing to lock the waterway: "Also, since you said that there is no more mud underneath, so when you come out, if you get too much mud on your body, it may be The king will not be too happy."

"Wang... Lord!" Zhang Liuer's body sifted out the chaff and fell into the street with a plop, "Please... please let the younger one go down and check again... lest... lest there be any omissions!"

Li Shubai put the lock in his hand back into the tray with a smile, "Go."