"Last night? Last night was New Year's Eve. What happened?" Mu Qing jumped up and asked.
"His Majesty the Emperor gave twelve dishes for the New Year as usual last night, and rewarded the various important officials. Does the little prince know about this?"
"I know, we received a bowl of pigeon eggs... The emperor also didn't give any good..."
"Xiaoqing!" Nihuang scolded, "You always look like you are not serious and serious, let Wei Xima talk about it."
Mu Qing shrank his neck and did not dare to speak again.
"Every New Year's dish is given out by a team of five inner supervisors," Wei Jing'an continued, "naturally, 12 teams were sent last night. But until dawn, only 11 teams came back. The patrol camp dispatched together after the report, and finally found the bodies of these five people on the edge of Miyagi."
"Corpse? Killed?" Nihuang raised her eyebrows.
"Yes, the killing method is very neat, all of which are sealed with a sword. The deceased's face is peaceful, his clothes are intact and clean, and there is no sign of struggle, as if his life was taken out of thin air."
"Such a technique must be done by a master of the rivers and lakes," Nihuang thought for a while, and then asked, "Is there any direction for investigation? Are there any clues left at the scene?"
As soon as she asked these two questions, she saw Mei Changsu making a pause gesture to her with a solemn expression.
"Mr. Su..."
"It won't be too late to talk about the murderer later," Mei Changsu's eyes were fixed on Wei Jing'an's face, "How about Commander Meng first?"
Wei Jing'an saw that Su Zhe immediately saw the main reason why he had rushed to report, and his face couldn't help but show admiration, "Commander Meng is in a bad situation now. Killing the imperial envoy and the inner prisoner was really a serious provocation to Huangwei. After His Majesty heard the report, Longyan was very angry. Because the crime scene had not left the inner bank of the Miyagi moat, it should belong to the protection scope of the Imperial Army, so Meng Da commanded He must take the main responsibility for the incident. His Majesty scolded him for neglecting his duties and guarding him poorly, so that such an unfortunate murder occurred on the New Year's Eve, and he ordered twenty people to be stabbed on the spot..."
"Tingzhang?" Mei Changsu's brows twitched, "Still turning his face like this... and then?"
"Order Meng Da Commander to crack the case within 30 days and arrest the murderer, otherwise...you will be punished severely."
"What is the emperor thinking?" Mu Qing couldn't help but jumped up again, "Commander Meng is loyal and devoted to guarding Miyagi for these years. Even if he is responsible for this case, the emperor can't put all the fire on it. How can he be so faint..."
"Xiaoqing!" Nihuang shouted sternly, "You talk about Junfei, but you can't think of anything?"
"There are no outsiders here..." Mu Qing muttered in a low voice and shrank back.
Nihuang pondered for a while, then turned to look at Mei Changsu, saw him sitting silently, touching his forehead in contemplation, not daring to be disturbed, he turned around, lowered his voice and said, "Wei Xima, troublesome. You continue to track and inquire about the follow-up news, and report immediately if there is any situation."
"Yes."
"All generals, please step back first, this matter will soon spread, but I don't want to hear people from Prince Mu's mansion discussing this matter wantonly on any occasion. It's up to you to restrain your subordinates."
"As ordered!"
"Xiaoqing, go back to your own room for me right away, face the wall and meditate for two hours. How many times do you have to say this before you can change this dull temper?"
"elder sister… "
"Go!"
"Yes… "
In an instant, everyone in the hall had retreated like a tide, and Nihuang walked slowly to Mei Changsu's side, squatted in front of his knees, and asked in a low voice, "Brother Lin Shu, Meng The commander and you are on good terms, aren't they?"
Mei Changsu raised his eyes slightly and nodded, "Yes."
"Do you want Nihuang to enter the palace to intercede for him?"
Mei Changsu sighed slightly and shook his head, "I don't need it for now. What I'm worried about now is not his current situation, but the development of the whole incident in the future..."
"In the future?"
"Although the power of heaven is unpredictable, the emperor is not stupid, and he will never deny Mengzhi's ability to control the imperial army and protect the palace city with such a case. Whether it is scolding or court staff, it is just an emperor's anger. Commander Meng can bear the past. Unfortunately, this fight is not over. If the case cannot be solved within 30 days, what's more, if similar new cases continue to occur in the future, the emperor's evaluation of Meng Zhi will be It's going to get lower and lower, and that's the real danger..."
"New case?" Nihuang was a little surprised, "You mean there will be..."
"This is just my feeling." Mei Changsu stretched out his hand and pulled Nihuang up, made her sit beside him, and explained, "You think, there are motives for killing people, so why did you choose these five internal prisoners? Of course, love murder is the most impossible, vendetta? What kind of deep hatred will the ordinary officials in the palace forge to kill them outside the palace city? Robbery? They won't have any valuable money on them, and their clothes are in good condition... With these common murder motives, there is another reason for murder in the arena, that is, the masters are fighting for a name, but these five inner prisoners are unknown, and none of them have any martial arts that they can master, and they are too weak to practice... So after much deliberation, the reason for killing them should have nothing to do with them, but just for their identities."
Nihuang nodded while listening and said, "In other words, what the murderer wanted to kill was only the inner prisoners sent by the emperor Qin. As for which inner prisoners, he doesn't care."
"It should be like this." Mei Changsu said while revising his thoughts, "But why kill the imperial envoy? To annoy the emperor, to demonstrate to him? To test the defense of the imperial army, prepare for further action? Or ... It was aimed at Big Brother Meng, and wanted to shake the trust he received in front of the emperor... No matter what the purpose was, it was not something that could be stopped by killing five inmates."
"But... based on the existing information, we can't judge what the murderer's purpose is at all?"
"Nihuang, you have to remember that when you don't know where the enemy's arrows will shoot, you must protect your most vital parts first. As long as you don't get killed by a single move, you can take care of everything else. , and make corrections slowly." Mei Changsu smiled lightly, "As far as this incident is concerned, we should protect Brother Meng first, and then consider adjusting the corresponding countermeasures after we have more information. Anyway, as long as Brother Meng is still in charge of the Imperial Army , there won't be a big accident in Miyagi."
Nihuang thought for a while, and her eyes gradually lit up: "I understand. Let's assume that their target is Commander Meng, so as to confirm what we should do next."
"That's right," Mei Changsu smiled approvingly, "Judging from the current situation, killing these five inner prisoners has no effect on Miyagi's safety at all, so their most likely purpose is to use this Weakening the emperor's trust in the Imperial Army. The purpose of weakening the Imperial Army is, of course, to control Miyagi, so it is further speculated that the person who wants to control Miyagi is naturally the closest to the center of power."
"Prince Prince and Prince Yu..." Nihuang murmured.
"Yes, one of the two. But King Yu has no military confidant in his hands, and even if he pulls down Meng Zhi, he can't find a reliable successor to fill the position, and the prince..." Mei Changsu said deeply Glancing at Nihuang, "He has someone in his hand..."
"Marquis of Ningguo Xie Yu!" Nihuang folded her palms together, her face suddenly stunned, "Xie Yu is a first-rank military marquis, deeply favored by the emperor, the patrol battalion power in his hand should not be underestimated, and there are also some subordinates who can be dispatched. Suppression, or the dismissal of Commander Meng, only he can get started successfully…”
"It's logical to speculate like this. But... the emperor is not confused, he still trusts Meng Zhi very much, no matter how angry he is, his dismissal is far from enough..." Mei Changsu frowned, "So I think if This matter is indeed Xie Yu's handwriting, he must have something else to do..."
"Will it be like what you just said, constantly creating new cases and killing people every day, making the emperor less and less convinced of the defense capabilities of the Imperial Army?"
"Mengzhi will definitely make great efforts to rectify from today, killing people will not be easy..."
"But in such a big palace, there are always a hundred secrets and a few sparse ones. If an enemy like Xie Yu acts maliciously, I am afraid that it will be impossible to guard against."
"What you said also makes sense..." Mei Changsu closed his eyes, put the back of his head on the back of the chair, and muttered to himself, "But if I were Xie Yu, it would be more than just a simple method of killing... I want to The emperor no longer trusts Meng Zhi, so he must target the emperor's weakness..."
Having said that, Mei Changsu's eyes suddenly opened, his black crystal pupils condensed, and he immediately stood up from the seat.
"Brother Lin Shu?"
"Your Majesty's weakness is being suspicious!" Mei Changsu took a deep breath and said quickly, "The reason why he trusts Meng Zhi is because he confirms that Meng Zhi is only loyal to him, and has no private contacts with these two little masters at all. But if at a critical time like this, Xie Yu used his tricks a little bit to entice King Yu Yu to go to the emperor to plead for Meng Zhi, the situation would get worse."
"Will King Yu be lured into the urn so easily?"
"King Yu needs a sword too much now. After the fall of Duke Qing, he has absolutely no military force under him. Even if everyone thinks that King Jing is now on good terms with him, it is only a symbolic support. If he can get the direction of the commander of the Imperial Guard, he will wake up laughing from his dreams." Mei Changsu's brows tightened, "It's actually not difficult at all to seduce him, just find a way to spread the word to him, saying that he is being fooled. The great commander was scolded by the emperor just because of a fatal case on the inside of the moat, and His Royal Highness had already rushed over in private to intercede for the great commander. How do you think King Yu was willing to fall behind and give this favor to the prince alone Take it? He will definitely go to the palace to see the car immediately, and do his best to speak for Meng Zhi in front of the emperor. Even if he can't let the commander be grateful to his side, at least he can't be drawn by the prince..."
Nihuang listened, her face gradually turned pale, "Your Majesty is suspicious by nature, and now he is angry again. Once he sees King Yu guarding the Great Commander Meng so diligently, he will definitely suspect that the friendship between them is not shallow. The Great Commander of the Imperial Army guarding Miyagi , If you have contact with the prince who may win the throne, it is definitely something that the emperor cannot tolerate."
"This is a ruthless chess move, the chess piece is the heart of an emperor," Mei Changsu gritted his teeth slightly, "Xie Yu is able to play this kind of chess... Nihuang, pay attention to the situation, I must go there right away. Prestigious King's Mansion."
"Yes." Nihuang knew that with Mei Changsu's eloquence, it was not difficult to save King Yu from being deceived without a trace, so she didn't ask any more questions, got up and accompanied him to the second door, and watched him hurriedly board the sedan chair and leave. Then he turned back to the small study and summoned Wei Jing'an to discuss how to conduct the next step of exploration.
But at this time, Nihuang and Mei Changsu did not expect that even though the news they received was very fast, and the analysis of the situation and the action strategy they formulated were also very correct, they were one step slower in the end.
King Yu had just left the palace and entered the palace a quarter of an hour before Mei Changsu's arrival.