Ximen Shenhou's body was shaken, and Ximen Zhanying also changed his color slightly.
After a period of silence, the Marquis of Shen suddenly clapped his hands and exclaimed: "The descendants are to be feared, little Marquis. I actually heard from hearsay that there was a retarded heir apparent in the Jinyi Marquis Mansion. I just realized today that the hearsay is really unbelievable. Little Marquis." He is thoughtful and meticulous, and even a seasoned case-handling expert may not even think about it this far."
"The Lord Shen has given you the award." Qining felt a little embarrassed to be praised by the old detective, "He made the Lord Shen laugh by playing tricks on his own."
The Shenhou shook his head and said: "Young Master, you don't have to be humble." He looked at Ximen Zhanying and said, "Do you know now that listening to your words is better than ten years of reading? The young Marquis's analysis is reasonable. You may think of this a little?"
Although Ximen Zhanying felt that what Qi Ning said made sense, he still refused to accept it and said: "Dad, how do you know that he came up with this? If he went back and told his men, and they helped him come up with it, then it would be wrong Nothing unusual."
"I don't know how to repent." Shenhou snorted coldly, "How many times have I told you that if a threesome is together, there must be my teacher, and you can't be self-righteous." Without looking at Ximen Zhanying, he said to Qining: "Little Marquis, if you If you are not the Marquis of Jinyi, I will definitely drag you to the Shenhou Mansion for errands at all costs."
Qi Ning laughed loudly. This Ximen Shenhou was completely different from what Qin Ning had expected before. He had no airs at all. Although he occasionally showed an air of calmness and self-importance, the overall feeling was that he was very approachable.
The two of them talked about speculation and drank several glasses of home-cooked food. Qining practiced swordplay very late last night and slept until noon before getting up for the banquet. He was already hungry on the way, plus the homely cooking done by the Shenhou. The food was indeed very delicious, and the two of them were not shy about it. They drank and ate the food at the same time. It didn't take long for three plates of food to reach the bottom.
The Shenhou saw that Qin Ning was not restrained, quite free and easy, but also quite happy.
Only Ximen Zhanying had a cold face. The two of them had a drink, and she held up the wine jar to help pour the wine. When she saw Qining choking, she turned her face away from time to time with a look of disdain.
"From this point of view, the murderer is really likely to be an official of the imperial court." Shenhou drank a glass of wine and said thoughtfully: "The words of the young marquis helped the Shenhou Mansion find its target."
Ximen Zhanying frowned and said: "Dad, are you really going to send people to investigate the military attaches in Beijing? There are not five hundred but three hundred military attaches in Beijing. Are you going to send them all out to keep an eye on them one by one? And... and if When it comes to court officials, can our Shenhou Mansion intervene?"
"Miss Ying, although there are many military officers, how many of them are good at Qinggong?" Qi Ning thought to himself that this little girl's skin is still too tender, but she still wants to work as an errand in the Shenhou Mansion. According to her current understanding, it may not be possible to practice for another ten years. Being able to become a master, "and the corpse has shown that the murderer practiced hard kung fu. If you add these two points together, you can find an official with extremely high light kung fu and extremely strong kung fu."
The Shenhou nodded and said, "That's exactly it."
Ximen Zhanying suddenly felt a little embarrassed and could only say nothing.
"Shenhou, I am also talking drunkenly. I am not sure whether this is the case or not." Qi Ning said with a smile: "But it is not because of my words that the Shenhou Mansion went astray."
"That's not true." Ximen Zhanying finally grasped the topic and immediately said: "Your words are only part of the clue. Of course, the Shenhou Mansion will not mess up its position just because of your few words. Lord Jinyi You take yourself too seriously.”
Qi Ning secretly wondered if you, little girl, really want to be my enemy and always stir up trouble. If I really find an opportunity, I will teach you a lesson.
Ximen Zhanying has a very good figure, with long legs, pert hips, and firm breasts. She has a good appearance and a heroic temperament. Unfortunately, she is too cold and always looks like someone owes her money and refuses to pay it back.
"I feel relieved when Miss Ying says this." With Lord Ximen by his side, Qi Ning remained calm and looked well-educated. "Actually, officials are not the only ones who cannot leave the capital. Fortunately, there are others. People, and... Shenhou, Miss Ying is right, if it involves court officials, can the Shenhou Mansion intervene?"
Ximen Shenhou smiled faintly, picked up the wine glass and said: "If you are an official of the imperial court, you should be loyal to your duties and only do your own job. But as an official, if you secretly use cruel methods to practice evil, you will be punished by the world. That's the matter." He smiled and said: "Little Marquis, you have helped the Shenhou Mansion a lot today. I owe you a favor. You can tell me what kind of reward you want, as long as I can come up with it, just ask."
Qi Ning was startled, then laughed and said: "The Lord Shen is too polite, I just talked nonsense, how can I get the reward from the Lord Shen."
"The young Marquis is wrong. This is solving a case and it is an official matter of the court. Since the Marquis is helping to analyze the clues, he is helping the Shenhou Mansion. The Shenhou Mansion cannot fail to show its expression." Shenhou said with a smile.
Qi Ning looked at Ximen Zhanying. Ximen Zhanying was startled. He couldn't help but take a step back and said coldly: "You... what are you looking at?"
Qi Ning smiled secretly and thought, do you still think that I will ask Shenhou to ask for you? She has a cold face every day, without the tenderness of a woman at all. She is like an ice lump. Not only does it not warm people, but it also makes people uncomfortable. Not to mention that it is impossible for Shenhou to give away his daughter, even if he really has this Maybe, I would never want it.
He thought for a moment and then said with a smile: "Marquis Shen, since you have already spoken, it would be a bit disrespectful for me to refuse. Why not, if Marquis Shen is willing, how about giving me a painting?"
"Painting?" Shenhou was startled.
"Yes, yes." Qi Ning said with a smile: "I know that Shenhou is one of the four masters of art today, and his paintings are unmatched. In fact, I have always been yearning for Shenhou's paintings, and even hope that they will be on my bed. Everyone can have a painting by Shenhou. If Shenhou can give him a calligraphy treasure, I will be very grateful."
Ximen Zhanying said hurriedly: "Dad, you said yourself that you will not give paintings to others."
Qi Ning was stunned and sighed: "If this is the case, then the Lord God will not be in trouble."
The Shenhou hesitated for a moment and then said: "Little Marquis, I won't hide it from you. When it comes to paintings, I am actually just getting a glimpse of the art, and I have only a false reputation. But I am respected by others and am included among the four masters of art. I used to I also like to make friends with people and take care of the affairs of the world. I rarely make friends in the world, so I have sent a few paintings out before, but...!" He sighed: "I just didn't expect that after those paintings were sent out, they would be used by others. Touting, and... And the price is extremely high, causing a lot of noise. Many people are talking behind my back, saying that I am greedy for money. Hehe, actually I don't care what others say, I just let my paintings get entangled with gold and silver. It’s unpleasant.”
Qi Ning's heart suddenly tightened.
He actually knew that Shenhou was known as "Excellent Painter", and the paintings written by him should be worth a lot of money. If he really got a painting, he would sell it to Yuan Rong. Yuan Rong had many elegant friends. , If you really want to sell it, you should be able to get a good price.
Now that Shenhou said it directly, it was a bit embarrassing. Even if he got the painting, he would be too embarrassed to sell it. He could only bite the bullet and say seriously: "It's really annoying. Music, chess, calligraphy and painting are all works of art, how can they be bought and sold? Lord Shen, I really can’t deal with people like this who blaspheme art.”
The Shenhou laughed and said: "Young Master has said this, how can I not give up?" He stood up and said: "Young Master, follow me to the studio and choose a pair."
Qi Ning was already full of wine and food at this time, and thought that even if it really couldn't be sold, it would be a very honorable thing to hang an authentic "painting" in the house.
Ximen Zhanying, who had been waiting by the side for a long time, was already impatient. When he saw this, he hurriedly said: "Dad, let me clean up and go back to Shenhou Mansion first."
"There's no rush." Shenhou shook his head, as if he could see Ximen Zhanying's thoughts, and said, "Make tea first." Without saying much, he took Qining to the studio.
Qining walked a few steps and turned around to see Ximen Zhanying staring at him coldly. He blinked at Ximen Zhanying and pretended to follow behind Ximen Shenhou.
Ximen Zhanying clenched his pink fists, his teeth itching with hatred.
After walking a few steps, he suddenly saw Qu Xiaocang coming in a hurry. When he saw the Shenhou, his expression became respectful, he quickened his pace, stepped forward and cupped his hands and said, "The Shenhou!"
"What happened?" Shenhou frowned.
This is his private place. There is nothing special about it. No one except his own daughter dares to come in and out at will.
Qu Xiaocang glanced at Qining, and Shenhou said: "It doesn't matter if you just say it."
"Marquis Shen, there seems to be trouble in the Beggar Gang." Qu Xiaocang said: "The people from the Investigation Department have noticed that something is wrong with the Beggar Gang in the past few days. They have been keeping an eye on the Beggar Gang for several days. They just came to report that the Beggar Gang seemed to be dead in the past two days. many people."
The Shenhou was calm and calm: "The Beggar Gang killed someone? What's going on?"
When Qi Ning heard that it was about the Beggar Clan, he immediately paid a little attention, but he turned away deliberately, as if he didn't care about the affairs of the Shenhou Mansion.
"The specific situation is still under investigation." Qu Xiaocang said: "Today our people watched the Beggar Clan disciples leave the city and found that they took the corpse out of the city and buried the corpse on the outskirts of the city."
"Is it a conflict with other forces, or is there internal strife in the Beggar Clan?" Shenhou asked lightly, "Why didn't you notice it before?"
Qu Xiaocang was sweating on his forehead and said: "Shen Hou, we have been watching over the Beggars Gang. This thing happened very suddenly. There were no signs beforehand, and no signs of conflict between the Beggars Gang and other forces were found. .According to the numbers reported below, thirteen corpses have been sent out in the past two days. Because they involved the Beggar Gang, the Tiger God Camp let them go and also sent people to the Shenhou Mansion to report."
The Shenhou pondered for a moment and then said: "Let Wenqu and Han Tianxiao go investigate this matter in person. If there is really trouble with the Beggar Clan, let Xuanyuan Po and Han Tianxiao go to see Elder Zhuque in person and ask them to give an explanation and tell Zhuque Elder, no one is allowed to cause riots in the capital. If the Beggar Gang cannot handle it on its own, it will have to be handled by the Divine Marquis Mansion."
Qu Xiaocang said respectfully: "Disciple, I obey!" He bowed and retreated.
Qi Ning knew that the so-called Seven Stars of the Big Dipper were Jumen, Greedy Wolf, Wenqu, Lucun, Lianzhen, Wuqu, and Pojun. That Han Tianxiao should be Captain Wenqu among the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper.
After Qu Xiaocang stepped back, Shenhou turned around and said with a smile: "Little Marquis, let's go to the studio."
The studio is the room on the side. When you enter the studio, the style changes. Qining sees that there is no table or chairs in the room. Instead, a square wooden board is spread on the ground. The surrounding walls are antique. Next to the big wooden board were the Four Treasures of the Study and many drawing papers. The whole studio looked simple but free and easy.
On the wall on the left, a steel wire was stretched, and clips were hung. The clips held several paintings and hung them under the steel wire.
"These are some of the paintings that I am quite satisfied with." Shenhou put his hands on his back, walked to the row of paintings, and said with a smile: "Young Master, you can choose whatever you like."
Although Qi Ning has dabbled in painting, he doesn't know much about it. He can't tell whether such a high-level painting is good or bad.
There are four paintings hanging, the first two are landscape paintings, and the last two, one is of a galloping horse, and the other is of an eagle spreading its wings in the sky. Although he does not know the depth of the painting, Qining also clearly feels The majestic momentum in these paintings, the bold and unrestrained connotation seems to burst out of the paper.
He knew that brilliant paintings focused on meaning rather than form. The painting style of these paintings was smooth and free, not to mention the brushwork. The main thing was that the majestic artistic conception could be fully displayed, just by relying on it. In this regard, these four paintings are definitely top-notch masterpieces.
There are four masterpieces in front of you, so it’s hard to choose.
Qining lowered his head and was about to think about which pair to choose. Suddenly he found that there were several pieces of drawing paper lying in disorder not far from his feet. One of the paintings seemed to be unformed, with only a few strokes, which seemed to be a few floating clouds. But he was not sure, so he picked it up and opened it to look at it, then asked, "Sir, why don't you hang up this painting?"
"Oh?" Shenhou came over, took a look, and said, "This is a random graffiti. The young prince should not like it."
"No, no." Qining stared at the painting and said, "Shenhou, why do I think this painting is a bit abstract?"
The Lord Shen was startled and asked in confusion: "Abstract school? Young Lord, what does that mean?"