Night falls.
In the Qin Mansion, the colorful lanterns were still on, and the house was filled with happy characters, but it was silent.
The noisy voices had long since faded away.
The autumn wind blows, and petals flutter all over the ground, adding to the desolation.
The frail Miss Qin was helped into the bridal chamber by Qiu'er and Zhu'er. She was still wearing her bright red wedding gown and red veil, sitting quietly beside the bed, waiting for her groom.
Zhu'er cried silently in the corridor.
Qiu'er stood by, lowered her head and said nothing.
A full moon rose above the branches, and the cold moonlight sprinkled down, filling the garden with frost.
On the street outside.
Last night there were cars and horses flowing like water, and crowds of people surging, but tonight it is deserted and there are few pedestrians.
Wu Bei, along with the Jinyiwei guards, escorted the four people in the carriage and quickly entered the inner city.
They did not go directly to the palace guard post for interrogation, but turned left and right and ran to a mansion in the east of the inner city.
The carriage quickly turned into a wide alley and stopped in front of a mansion.
Wu Bei dismounted, walked quickly up the steps, and said a few words to the guard at the door, who immediately went into the mansion to report.
Wu Bei looked inside the gate, bowed slightly, his face full of respect.
On both sides of the gate, there are two huge stone lions sitting, and on the plaque above the gate are four large characters "Zhongwu Bo Mansion" inscribed.
"Lord Zhongwu?"
When Qin Wen Zheng saw these words on the carriage, he frowned slightly and thought carefully, realizing that he had never heard of this person.
Not long after, the guard who had gone in quickly returned and whispered a few words to Wu Bei.
Wu Bei nodded, and immediately walked to the steps, and said coldly to the four people in the carriage: "Master Qin, you four can get off now."
Qin Wen Zheng opened the door of the carriage and took Qin Chuan and the other two out of the carriage.
Wu Bei glanced at the four people and sneered, "Master Qin, please wait a moment. My master will be out soon."
Qin Wenzheng narrowed his eyes and said, "Your master is..."
Just as he finished asking the question, a tall man wearing a Qilin costume and a short sword with a golden sheath on his waist walked out quickly from the door.
When Wu Bei saw them, he hurriedly bowed over and said respectfully, "Commander-in-chief, these are the four suspects from the Qin family. Bring them all here."
The tall man stood on the steps, looking down at the four people below with a stern look on his face.
When Qin Wenzhen and Qin Chuan saw this person, their faces changed.
When Luo Qingzhou saw this man, his heart was shocked and he clenched his fists in his sleeves.
The eldest son of Chengguo Mansion—Luo Changtian!
He had seen him once three years ago during the Chinese New Year.
At that time, Luo Changtian was still training in the Dragon and Tiger Academy, but after returning to Chengguo Mansion, he was surrounded by people and his momentum was terrifying. He didn't even dare to get close to him.
Now he was wearing a Qilin costume and holding a golden sword. He looked tall and straight, with a stern and majestic look, which added to his aura.
"Uncle Qin, I'm sorry."
Luo Changtian stood on the steps and bowed to Qin Wenzheng, his face still stern: "Luo Yu was brutally murdered. We have investigated all the people with motives and suspicions. You have the greatest motive. Although we have no evidence now, we still hope that you can go back and cooperate with our investigation."
Qin Wenzheng sneered, "How can you cooperate? Are you going to force a confession through torture?"
Luo Changtian said calmly: "Without evidence, we will not use torture on meritorious officials. Uncle Qin, rest assured, we Jinyiwei handle cases and do everything according to the rules."
Qin Wen Zheng looked at him with a gloomy face and said nothing more.
Luo Changtian looked at Qin Chuan beside him and said calmly: "Qin Chuan, congratulations on your qualification to enter Dragon Tiger College. However, this qualification should have originally belonged to Luo Yu. With your strength, it is naturally impossible for you to kill Luo Yu, but we still need to investigate your whereabouts and friends at that time."
Qin Chuan snorted coldly and said, "You can investigate as you like. I am an upright person. What is mine is mine, and what is not mine is not mine. I will never use despicable means to get what I am not qualified to get. Luo Yu's death has nothing to do with me! Even if you beat me to death, I will never admit it!"
Luo Changtian didn't say anything else and looked at the young man next to him again.
Luo Qingzhou, wearing a bright red wedding gown, was looking at him calmly.
The two looked at each other for a while.
Luo Changtian smiled calmly, "Qingzhou, I haven't seen you for a few years. Your courage and temperament have indeed changed a lot. I heard that you ranked first in Mocheng in the imperial examination this year? Congratulations. I asked you to come here today to ask about your situation in the days after the imperial examination. After the imperial examination, it is the Dragon and Tiger Academy exam. You are in the Qin family, so you must know it better than anyone else. Don't worry, as long as you tell the truth, everything will be fine. You are a scholar, this matter has nothing to do with you, don't worry."
"and… "
After a pause, he continued, "Although I heard from my father that you have severed ties with our Chengguo Mansion, you and Luo Yu were once brothers after all, and I believe you will not get involved in this matter."
Luo Qingzhou didn't say anything.
Luo Changtian looked at the girl next to him again.
At this time, a middle-aged man in a brocade robe, accompanied by a woman in luxurious clothes, walked out of the mansion, surrounded by some maids and servants.
Qin Wenzhen's child's eyes shrank.
"Brother Wen Zheng, long time no see."
Luo Yannian stood on the steps, bowed, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
Beside him, Wang first looked at her majestic son with loving and tender eyes, and then looked at the four people at the bottom of the stairs. Her gentle face immediately became gloomy.
The two sides looked at each other.
There was a brief silence in the field.
Wang's eyes suddenly turned red, and she gnashed her teeth and said, "Changtian, Yu'er's death must be related to those beasts in the Qin family! Originally, the quota for Dragon and Tiger College belonged to Yu'er, but they were jealous, so they sent people to assassinate Yu'er. Qin Chuan was defeated by Yu'er, so what qualifications does he have to enter Dragon and Tiger College? He doesn't deserve it! Changtian, you must avenge your brother..."
Luo Yannian said solemnly, "Okay, you don't need to say anything. Since Changtian has taken over this case, he will definitely find out the real murderer. Before there is evidence, you must not talk nonsense, so as not to affect Changtian's handling of the case."
Wang was trembling all over, as if she remembered the day her son's head was suddenly cut off in her arms. She said in a trembling voice, "Master, if Changtian finds out, I will personally cut off the beast's head!"
Luo Yannian didn't say anything else.
Luo Changtian said in a gentle voice: "Mother, don't worry, Eucalyptus will definitely get to the bottom of it, and I will never let the murderer go. It's cold outside, you can go back first."
Wang looked at the four people at the steps again with hatred. When she saw the figure in the wedding gown, a look of confusion first appeared on her face, and then she suddenly sneered.
She tried to hold it in, but when she thought of the arrogant look on the face of this little bastard when he slapped her, she finally couldn't hold it in anymore and walked down the stairs and stood in front of him. She looked him up and down and grinned, "Little bastard, are you getting married again? Are you going to marry into the Qin family's family again? Are you going to marry that dying girl from the Qin family?"
Then he gnashed his teeth and said, "You thought you could stand up after betraying us and joining the Qin family? You thought you could rise to prominence after passing the imperial examination? What's the result? Aren't you going to jail soon? Bastards will always be bastards, and you will never be able to stand out! As long as I live, you will be like your bitch mother, and you will always be worthy of staying in the mud! Never think about turning over!"
Luo Qingzhou looked at her calmly, and waited for her to finish, then slowly said, "Staying in the mud is better than having your head cut off. Madam Wang, what do you think?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Wang's face turned pale and her eyes were bloodshot.
Luo Qingzhou ignored it and continued, "I heard that your precious son was held in your arms when his head was cut off. His death was so tragic and unfilial. Why did he want to scare his mother before he died? Madam Wang, what was your feeling when you saw your precious son's head falling off his neck and blood gushing out of his neck? Can you tell us about it?"
"Little bastard!"
Wang suddenly roared, like an enraged beast, and grabbed his clothes. She was trembling all over, her face was twisted and ferocious, and she said in a hoarse voice: "Shut up! Shut up!"
Luo Yannian came over immediately, grabbed her, and had a ferocious look on his face.
Luo Qingzhou looked at the two people in front of him calmly and said, "Madam Wang, you can talk, but please don't touch me. You are a lady of imperial title, and your son is a member of the Imperial Guard. You are indeed of noble status, but you cannot do whatever you want. I am no longer a slave of your Chengguo Mansion. I am a juren, and I have a reputation. Even if the government wants to arrest me, they dare not do anything without evidence. If you touch me, you are touching all the scholars in the world. You can try."
Wang was trembling all over, clutching his clothes tightly with both hands, her eyes were red, and she was gritting her teeth.
"Mother, let go."
On the steps, Luo Changtian still had a stern expression, as if he was not affected by anything.
Luo Yannian forcibly pried her hands apart, then looked fiercely at the familiar yet unfamiliar face in front of him, gritted his teeth and said, "Little bastard, I shouldn't have taken you and your son in in the first place!"
Luo Qingzhou suddenly looked at him and said, "I've always been curious. You are the master of Chengguo Mansion, and my mother is just a nobody in the village. How did you fall in love with her?"
Wang, who was standing next to him, suddenly burst into laughter. After laughing for a long while, she said with a vicious grin, "Little bastard, do you think my master would fall for that bitch? My master just passed by there, drank some wine, and then... hehe..."
The muscles at the corners of Luo Qingzhou's eyes twitched a few times, and his tone remained calm as he asked, "Then what happened?"
Xia Chan, who was standing next to him, felt his hand holding her little hand trembling slightly.
Luo Yannian said expressionlessly: "Then I forced her to have sex with me, gave her a few taels of silver afterwards, and forgot about her."
Wang gritted her teeth and grinned, "Who knows if that bitch is a fickle woman? She has already been played with by other men, so no one knows whether you are the master's child or not. But the master took you in because he felt sorry for you. Now it seems that you, a little bastard, how could you be the child of our Luo family? You are not worthy at all!"
Luo Qingzhou's Tong Kong gradually became stained with blood.
He was silent for a moment, then looked at the man in front of him and asked, "So, we have no blood relationship, right?"
Luo Yannian sneered: "Of course not."
Luo Qingzhou nodded, and a look of relief suddenly appeared on his face: "I'm very glad that it has nothing to do with you. I'm really glad."
"Wu Bei, take the men back to the guardhouse cells and guard them separately. I will go back and interrogate them later."
On the steps, Luo Changtian suddenly gave an order in a cold voice.
"yes!"
Wu Bei immediately grasped the hilt of the knife, hurried down the steps, and shouted, "Get in the car!"
Luo Qingzhou still stood there, looking at the man in front of him calmly.
Qin Wenzheng said gently: "Qingzhou, let's go."
Qin Chuan also pulled his arm and said, "Qing Zhou, let's go. Don't pay attention to them."
Xia Chan held his hand tightly.
Luo Qingzhou retracted his gaze, turned around, and followed them. When getting on the carriage, he suddenly turned his head to look at the strange man and said, "Luo Yannian, do you know what retribution is? I think you will know."
After saying that, he got on the carriage.