Murong Ci asked coldly: "How are the Lan sisters getting along with other musicians and palace people?"
Mo Fan was dripping with cold sweat, wiped his sweat with his hands, and replied: "They get along well with other palace servants. The slaves are in charge of the entire Jiaofang Division, and there are many affairs. I don't know very well. Maybe they have a few qualifications?" The older maids bullied them, by the way, they have a good friendship with the other two new musicians, His Highness can ask them."
The two musicians who entered the palace at the same time as the Lan sisters were named Bai Xiaorou and Qian Zi, they knelt by the side and lowered their heads, not daring to do anything wrong.
When they heard the envoy mentioning them, they became even more frightened and trembled all over.
The two girls who ate and lived with them died, how could they not be afraid
If His Highness the Crown Prince believed that the deaths of the two girls were related to them, then they would feel terrible when they thought about it.
Shen Zhiyan beckoned them to come over, and asked, "You and the Lan sisters will enter the palace together, will you eat and live together?"
"Yes" Bai Xiaorou replied tremblingly, her chin almost poking into her chest.
"Did you bully them?" he asked sternly.
"Slave servant, how dare you bully me? Slave servant, Ruoxuan and Ruowei study music scores together day and night." Qian Zi's voice trembled and broke.
"Did other palace people bully you?" Murong Ci asked coldly.
"It's not bullying, it's just that those sisters who have been in the Jiaofang Division for several years saw that the servants and maidservants are newcomers, and their words were harsh and ugly."
"Have you ever hit you?"
"No."
"Apart from you and the servants of the Jiaofang Division, who else do the Lan sisters know?" Murong Ci asked again.
"The maidservant and them study music scores in the Jiaofang Division every day, and they don't know anyone other than the Jiaofang Division." Qian Zi gradually became less afraid.
"Have you ever seen them contact anyone other than Jiaofangsi?"
"I haven't seen it before." Bai Xiaoju's voice was like a mosquito, and so was Qian Zi's answer.
"Is there anything unusual about the Lan sisters in the past two days?"
"No. As usual, study the score."
"The four of you share the same bunk room. When you went to bed last night, did you notice that their words and deeds were different from usual?"
Qian Zi and Bai Xiaorou thought about it, then shook their heads.
Murong Ci was almost discouraged, and then asked: "Don't you find it strange that you didn't see them when you got up early this morning?"
Qian Zi replied: "Ruoxuan and Ruowei are very hardworking, and usually get up earlier than the slaves. This morning, the slaves thought they were up, so they had already gone to study the score."
Murong Ci asked again: "You didn't see them later, don't you think it's strange?"
Qian Zi said: "I didn't see them when I went to study music scores in the hall where the music scores and musical instruments are stored. I really thought it was strange. I haven't seen them since then, but I still talked about them with Xiao Rou, and asked other palace people, others They all said that they had never seen them. Although the servants were a little puzzled, they thought that maybe they were going to do something, and they didn't expect such a big thing to happen."
Murong Ci thought for a while, and continued to ask: "After falling asleep last night, did you ever wake up when you heard a strange noise?"
Bai Xiaorou and Qianzi looked at each other, then shook her head to say no.
Murong Ci and Shen Zhiyan felt lost and helpless after asking so many questions but did not get any useful clues.
Afterwards, they went to check the shop where the Lan sisters lived, and found nothing.
They rummaged through the clothes, jewelry and quilts of the Lan sisters, but found nothing. Instead, they found more than a dozen taels of silver, which should have been rewarded by the young master who listened to their singing in Deyue Tower.
Shen Zhiyan took away the relics of the two deceased, then asked a few court ladies, and then returned to the East Palace.
Before leaving, Murong Ci suddenly remembered a very important thing: How did the Lan sisters know that the secretary of the Jiaofang was recruiting new students
Mo Fan replied like this: "The slave sent someone to post a notice on the street. There were more than 20 people who participated in the election on the recruiting day. After the slave's three-level assessment, four people were finally selected."
She wondered secretly, could it be that the Lan sisters saw the notice on the street to run for election
Until the sun was setting, the guards did not find the two heads. Murong Ci passed on the order to expand the search scope again.
"Your Highness, if the murderer was from the palace, then the murderer would not have abandoned the head of the deceased in the palace." He speculated, "It is possible that the murderer has already taken it out of the palace to throw it away, and it may have been destroyed."
"How can it be ruined and the head can be chopped up, steamed and fried?" She curled her lips.
"Just burn it." Shen Zhiyan admired His Highness's heavy taste very much, and thought it was an indescribable thing.
"By the way, are you going to let Lan Mengse enter the palace tomorrow to identify the corpse?"
"It's best to let them identify the corpse. I'll take them into the palace tomorrow morning."
After a busy day without any clues, Murong Ci felt exhausted and went to bed early.
Dimly, she seemed to notice someone beside the bed, and a black shadow sat there for a long time. She wanted to wake up, and tried to open her eyes, but she couldn't open them no matter what, as if her soul was being pulled by something weird, and she just couldn't wake up.
Then, she seemed to hear a deep, anxious voice, as if calling her name, Ah Ci, Ah Ci, Ah Ci
&n
bsp;She woke up suddenly, and seeing the snowy face that was so familiar in the boundless darkness, she suddenly felt relieved and wanted to rely on her.
Murong Yu held her catkin and said softly, "I'm having a nightmare."
Murong Ci's breathing became calmer, and he pulled out his hand to go down, but he heard him ask: "What do you want to do?"
"I am thirsty"
"Don't come down, I'll make tea."
He hurried to pour a cup of tea, and when he came back, he handed the cup to her lips.
She took it and drank it all, and he took the teacup back and put it on the case.
"What time is it?" She looked out, Ruyi was in a deep sleep, presumably he hit her sleeping point.
"It's still early, the time is right." Murong Yu's voice was extraordinarily gentle.
Murong Ci still got out of bed and stood in front of the window. The night wind was cool and came in through the window. The chill chilled the sleeves, cheeks and fingertips.
Her temple hair fluttered in the night wind, her sleeves fluttered, and the cold made her mind clearer, "You haven't left the palace yet to return home"
"There are a lot of government affairs today, and it was already dark by the time the memorials were approved." Murong Yu stood beside her, dressed in the wind, with a handsome appearance, "You should investigate the case and take care of yourself. Don't get tired." fall down."
"A mere case will not tire me out."
"I heard that there was a murder in the palace, and it was a headless female corpse."
She nodded, surprised that Ning He was in a calm mood at this moment, and she could talk to him calmly, "This case is quite bizarre. I met the two deceased twice in Deyue Tower half a month ago. I didn't expect them will die in the palace"
She briefly talked about the murder case, including the part involving Mr. Qin, "Mr. Qin and Zhuijinfang should not be suspected. If they want to kill someone, it is unlikely that they would kill someone in the palace."
Murong Yu said in a low voice: "This case is indeed bizarre. Two Yangzhou skinny horses became headless female corpses in the palace. It was spread out, which is terrifying enough. The storyteller in the teahouse and wine shop has a new story to tell. Zhuijinfang is indeed impossible. , and I don't have the guts to enter the palace to kill people, I don't want to jump to conclusions about Mr. Qin."
"Now Bengong and Zhiyan have no idea."
"In order to find the two younger sisters, Lan Mengse took the risk to ask Shen Zhiyan for help in the Taifu's mansion, which is considered kind and righteous. I often hear people say that Yangzhou Shouma is a kind and righteous person. I didn't believe it before, but this time I wrote back .”
"Could it be that someone put Yangzhou skinny horses in the Royal Palace?" Murong Ci joked.
"In the first half year when I just returned to the court, there were indeed many people who sent all kinds of beauties to the palace, and many of them were handsome Yangzhou skinny horses." Murong Yu laughed at himself, "Do you know why skinny horses are so popular in Huaiyang?"
"The area around Huaiyang is so rich that the rich and the rich live together, and the rich and the poor are desperate for extravagance. In order to satisfy the absurd and lustful desires of the rich and the rich, the tooth-wives buy beautiful girls from poor families and teach them for a few years. Sell them at high prices to wealthy families as concubines. In the final analysis, it is your men's peculiar need for lust that leads to the tragic fate of women." She glared at him angrily, as if she regarded him as that kind of man.
"Salt merchants live in the Huaiyang area. They can be described as a wealthy party, and their extravagance is comparable to that of the royal family. It is these salt merchants that make Yangzhou a prosperous and prosperous place. I want to know how those rich and wealthy salt merchants choose lean horses "He said slowly, deliberately arousing her interest.
Murong Ci shook his head, "How to choose?"
Murong Yu said: "Yangzhou thin horses are divided into three grades. The top grade horses have good looks, good temperament, are proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, are good at Shuanglu dominoes, and are skillful in every way. The middle grade horses are fair in appearance, literate, and know how to keep accounts. They can help your husband with housework; low-grade ones are ugly, illiterate, and good at knitting and cooking. The rich and wealthy must choose top-grade lean horses, and the price is two or three thousand taels. If it is stunning, the price can reach five thousand taels. "
Murong Ci was dumbfounded, it turned out that Yangzhou Shouma still had such skills in the industry.
"A horse like Lan Mengse must be considered a top-grade lean horse."
"It should be a top-grade lean horse." He smiled lightly, "The Lan Ruoxuan and Lan Ruowei you have seen should also be top-grade lean horses."
"However, even if these women enter rich and wealthy families, they are still concubines. They have no status at all, and they are not destined to be bullied." She lamented for those women with tragic fate.
"That depends on their good fortune."
"You know so much about Yangzhou skinny horses, could it be that you bought them before?" She raised her eyebrows and asked.
"I'm jealous." Murong Yu didn't answer the question, but smiled.
"Who's jealous?" Murong Ci snorted coldly, and looked away.
He stretched out his arms to rub her into his arms, and hugged her from behind, "Even the night wind is sour."
She tried her best to break his hand away, but she couldn't do anything, so she couldn't help but angrily said, "I still don't let go."
He whispered in her ear, "If you admit that you are jealous, I will let you go."
She lifted her foot quietly, and was about to step back hard, but found that she was lifted into the air by him
He carried her straight to the bed, and she jumped off quickly, "You can stay if you want, and sleep on the floor."
Murong Yu put on a heartbroken and injured look, "You have the heart to let me sleep on the floor, it's very cold at night."
"If you don't sleep on the ground, then get out, I'm pure if you don't see it."
"Okay. Where's the quilt?" He wanted to cry but had no tears, with a look of being bullied and hurt.
"Get it from the locker yourself."