Mr. Hou is not a stupid person. He was able to be left in East China Sea by Mr. Hou to help the Golden Sword Crown Prince. In fact, Mr. Hou is a relatively shrewd person.
After Qin Ning asked a few words, Manager Hou faintly realized something. His face turned pale, his expression was uneasy, and his voice was trembling: "Master Hou, could it be that... do you mean...?"
"Mr. Manager, don't overthink it." Qi Ning said immediately: "Until the truth is found out, all our conjectures will be invalid. I came to see the Manager tonight just to learn as much as possible about the situation at that time. .”
Manager Hou looked a little dazed and nodded mechanically.
"I remember you said that before the Governor committed suicide, he was not in a good mood and seemed to be very anxious." Qining looked at the old manager: "But the old manager just said that the Governor was in a good mood when he came back this time. This...!"
Manager Hou explained: "Master Hou, actually during that time, the Governor was really in a bad mood." He hesitated to speak, but finally said: "The Governor suffered a loss at the hands of the pirates and was very angry. During those times Mr. Rizong was in a depressed mood. Although after he came back, he would try his best to hide it when he saw the young master, but the old slave could see that the governor was upset and was always worried about him. This time the governor came back, it was very different from before. The old slave... The old slave just thought that the Governor had figured it out...!"
Qining was silent and did not miss every word that Mr. Hou said.
"Originally, the Governor was in a happy mood after he came back, but... on the night of the accident...!" Manager Hou recalled carefully, and as soon as the words came out, he immediately shook his head and said: "No, something went wrong again that day."
"What's wrong?"
"In the past two days, the governor has been playing with the young master, and his wife is also accompanying him. It is rare for their family of three to enjoy family happiness like that." Mr. Hou said: "The old slave only thought that everything had changed, and he still felt that I was overjoyed and thought about sending a letter to the old Marquis, but... the next morning, the Governor's expression turned bad, and he remained silent all day, looking like he was out of his mind."
"Is the soul out of control?"
Manager Hou nodded: "During lunch that day, the old slave called him several times by his side, but he didn't even notice. During the meal, he didn't speak and kept drinking. He drank alone for more than an hour. The slave persuaded him to stop. That afternoon, he sat alone in the living room without saying a word. He sat there until dinner, drinking alone again. His wife also persuaded him, but the governor seemed not to hear him. , after dinner, I went directly to the study."
"So that's it." Qi Ning asked thoughtfully: "The governor changed his attitude overnight. Old manager, the night before the governor died, he stayed in the mansion? Did he... go to see anything? people?"
"No." Mr. Hou said: "The Governor played with the young master for a long time that day. After dinner, he went to the study. The old slave saw that the light in his study was always on. When it was almost midnight, the Governor came out of the study. , never went out.”
"Did you see the Governor come out of the study with your own eyes?"
"Yes." Mr. Hou said: "The Governor had left the study before midnight at the latest. That night I saw that it was almost midnight. I was afraid that the Governor had forgotten and wanted to go over and remind him. As soon as he entered the courtyard, the Governor He just came out of the study and went back to the house without saying anything."
Qi Ning leaned back on the chair, pondered for a long time, and finally stood up and said: "Mr. Manager, it's already very late. You have been working hard day and night these days. You should take more care of yourself and rest early." He looked at the wine jars all over the floor. , shook his head and said: "This wine... it's better not to drink it."
Manager Hou also stood up and said softly: "Master Hou, as long as we can find out the truth about the death of the Grand Governor, I will not hesitate to do anything, even if it means risking my life."
Qining held Mr. Hou's hand and said warmly: "I can understand the mood of the old manager. Don't worry, I will do my best to find out the truth of the matter. There will definitely be places where I need the help of the old manager." He lowered his voice and said: " It’s just that every word we say tonight must be kept secret by the boss, and don’t tell any third person.”
"Master Hou came so late, I already understand the meaning." Manager Hou looked solemn: "Don't worry, Master Marquis, if you say anything tonight, I will only bring it into the coffin."
Qi Ning knew that it would be fine if Tantai Zhilin just committed suicide, but if he was really harmed by someone with a premeditated plan, then this matter must be no small matter.
Tantai Zhilin is the Golden Sword Crown Prince and the Commander-in-Chief of the East China Sea Navy. He can be regarded as the most powerful person on the surface of the East China Sea. To attack such an important figure, it is necessary to have an extremely careful plan, otherwise once a flaw is exposed, , it is difficult for anyone to bear the revenge of the Jindao Tantai family.
Qi Ning had just arrived and knew that it would be unreasonable to easily find a flaw.
Although the scene where Tantai Zhilin and Mrs. Tantai committed suicide was indeed impeccable, Qining knew that this case was very strange before leaving the capital. He believed in the judgment of Mr. Jin Dao, and his intuition also told him that Tantai Zhilin Death is not simple.
Intuition cannot replace facts. He knew that if Donghai aggressively investigated the case, it would only make things worse. From the first day he stepped into Donghai, he began to look for fragments about this incident. Only Only by gathering these fragmented fragments can it be possible to restore the truth of the matter.
Qining had a long sleep the next day.
The more you face a big challenge, the more you need to maintain sufficient energy and physical strength, and the more you need to maintain a peaceful and calm mind.
Several officials from the Ministry of Justice brought from the capital had become bored and idle since the first day when it was confirmed that Tantai Zhilin committed suicide. Without Qining's instructions, no one dared to leave the post house. They only knew Lord Bu Tang led them to investigate the suicide case of Tantai Zhilin, but they had no idea when they would return to Beijing. Lord Bu Tang did not say.
Wei Yujiang had many doubts about the case from the beginning and wanted to investigate in depth. However, the bodies of Tantai Zhilin and his wife had already been placed in the coffin. In addition, he had almost no clues available and no breakthrough point. He needed to investigate in depth. It is really difficult.
At noon, Qining sent someone to call Wei Yujiang to have dinner with him. Wei Yujiang hurriedly packed up and entered the small hall. He saw Qining waiting and was about to salute when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps behind him. When he turned around, he saw Wu Dalin hurriedly coming. Come.
Wu Dalin was carrying the wind as he walked. He passed by Wei Yujiang and without having time to say hello, he cupped his hands to Qining and said, "Master Marquis, General Shen sent someone to report something urgent."
Qi Ning originally wanted to take advantage of lunch time to see if Wei Yujiang could think of any useful clues. After hearing Wu Dalin's report, he immediately thought of something and said in a deep voice: "Where is the person?"
"Wait right outside the door!"
"Let him in!"
Wu Dalin went out and called the man in. The man was wearing light clothes and seemed to be deliberately trying to conceal his identity as an officer. After entering, he knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, by order of General Shen, we have an urgent military report!" He took out a letter from his arms and presented it with both hands. Wei Yujiang immediately took it and handed it to Qi Ning. Qi Ning reached out to take it, quickly opened the letter, glanced at it twice, put the letter into his arms, stood up and said: "Wu Dalin, prepare your horses!"
Wei Yujiang originally wanted to ask about the content of the letter, but when he thought that the Marquis had not taken the initiative to say it, he really couldn't ask more. Wu Dalin agreed and was about to leave. Qining stopped and said, "Take ten skilled brothers with me." Go, the rest will stay here at the post house.”
Wu Dalin bowed his hands and stepped back. Wei Yujiang thought that when the Marquis went out these days, he just asked Wu Dalin to take two or three people to follow him, but this time he had to mobilize ten people to go together. It seemed that the matter was not trivial. Before he could ask more questions, everyone came together. Ning already said: "Wei Sishen, you stay here to take care of me. No one else is allowed to step out of the post house without my permission. I will tell you the details when I get back."
Wei Yujiang raised his hand and said yes. Seeing Qining's serious expression, he felt puzzled.
Wu Dalin ordered all the men, and Qi Ning had already left the post house. Without any nonsense, he got on his horse and asked the messenger to lead the way. He led Wu Dalin and other ten tigers and wolves, and they roared out like autumn leaves.
The group of people walked out from the east gate of Gulin City without stopping, and their horses were as fast as flying along the way.
The Donghai Navy Camp is more than 20 miles east of Gulin City, and it takes less than a stick of incense for Kuai Ma to do so. Looking from a distance, the first thing that catches the eye is the flag fluttering in the wind. Under the flag, there are It is a continuous military camp, which is extremely spectacular under the sun.
The naval camp is still several miles away from the seaside, and the ground is still mud. Therefore, the military camp is not a tent, but a wooden house. Surrounding the military camp are barbed wooden fences. The buildings in the military camp are distributed very evenly and orderly. , there are two large flagpoles standing at the camp gate, with a flag flying on the top, one with the word Chu, and the other with a golden knife flag. In the world, the golden knife flag can only be flown by the Jindao Tantai family. Only this one, no other semicolon.
There are five armored guards on each side outside the courtyard gate, holding a gun in one hand and holding a saber in the other, like ten stone sculptures.
Before Qi Ning entered the camp, he felt a chilling air coming towards his face. He secretly approved in his heart. He had to admit that Tantai Zhilin did have extraordinary talents in commanding troops, and he was worthy of being a famous general of the Chu Young Sect.
Although it was still several miles away from the seaside, Qining, riding a horse, could see the masts of warships on the sea in the distance. Countless masts stood in the sky like spears, as if they were about to pierce the sky.
Arriving in front of the camp gate, Qi Ning and others slowed down their horses. The messenger who led the way shouted. The ten guards immediately knelt down on one knee. Qin Ning took the reins of the horses and glanced around. Shaking the horse's reins, he led Wu Dalin and his men on flying horses and rushed into the Donghai Navy Camp.