Both Ming Guilan and Eunuch Fu were used to Huo Qinghong's mischief, but they didn't expect that this time it would be in Bo Ruoyou's hands, and they both laughed out of face, Huo Qinghong was even more embarrassed, "You... You know? You knew it when you were seven years old?"
Bo Ruoyou glanced at the extinguished joss sticks in the room, "Your Majesty just lit the joss sticks, first wrote on the palm of your hand with the wax, and then when you held the paper ashes, there was still warmth on the ashes, which made the wax stained with ashes." , In this way, words appeared on the hand, is the girl right?"
The corners of Huo Qinghong's lips twitched, "You...how do you even know this?"
Bo Ruoyou also felt a little funny for a while, and the corners of her lips curled up, "My son uses wax, but if it's a juggling troupe who travels in the rivers and lakes, most of them will use honey to write on the palm. That way, you don't have to worry about the wax condensation. Not ash."
Huo Qinghong clicked her tongue, "How do you know?"
Bo Ruoyou smiled but said nothing, Wu Yu beside him couldn't help but said with a smile: "Miss Bo not only knows how to do autopsies, but also juggling?"
Bo Ruoyou shook her head, "I only know superficially."
Huo Qinghong snorted softly, as if thinking of something else interesting, he asked Wu Yu, "Is the one that used to be performed in the palace called 'Shaoyi Seeing Off Guests'?"
Wu Yu nodded with a smile, "Your Majesty did not remember wrongly, it was indeed burning clothes to see off guests."
Huo Qinghong turned to look at Bo Ruoyou, "Do you know the reason?"
Bo Ruoyou shook her head in a daze, Huo Qinghong frowned, "I'll just say, you can't know everything!"
Bo Ruoyou hesitated and said, "Your Majesty knows?"
Huo Qinghong's expression changed a little embarrassed, "I... I don't know..."
Huo Qinghong turned to look at Wu Yu, as if he wanted him to come to the rescue, Wu Yu smiled wryly for a moment, "Your Majesty, I don't know, although the Ministry of Rites invites some jugglers into the palace every year to bring some fun to His Majesty and the ladies in the harem, But I don’t know why.”
After Wu Yu finished speaking, she didn't know what to think of, and suddenly turned to look at Wang Qingfu, "Brother Wang, you should know."
Wang Qingfu smiled when he heard the words, "Actually, I put a piece of camphor into the clothes, and then lit the fire through the clothes. Although the fire is burning, it only lasts for a moment, and it won't burn the clothes. But, don't let the camphor burn for too long. Now, the dosage must be appropriate, otherwise, the clothes will really be burned to expose flaws."
Huo Qinghong was surprised, "Lord Wang actually knew."
Wu Yu said: "Brother Wang is from Qiangzhou. Qiangzhou is the hometown of juggling. It is rumored that everyone in Qiangzhou can do juggling."
Wang Qingfu said: "It's not such an exaggeration, it's just that there are many jugglers in Qiangzhou, and the tricks and juggling they do are mostly deceptive tricks. If you understand the truth, you don't think it's mysterious."
Huo Qinghong nodded frequently, he didn't know what he thought of, and he wanted to ask again, but saw Lu Ke coming out from the right side, "General Yue has finished asking, Mr. Wang, please go in—"
As expected, Yue Mingquan came out from behind him, and he didn't know what was being asked, and his expression was not very good.
Wang Qingfu entered the door in response, Yue Mingquan stood still and sighed a little unhappy, "Now we are all suspected, and Lord Hou also said that the person who murdered Jing Kong and Master Feng ten years ago was the same person, which is too shocking. "
Yue Mingquan was a rough man with a strong temperament, he didn't dare to speak in front of Huo Weilou, and couldn't help it when he went out, Wu Yu said: "General Yue, don't believe it, this is the result of Bo Yu's test."
Yue Mingquan glanced at Bo Ruoyou, then at Jing Kong's skeleton, "Bo Wu's method of autopsy is really powerful, I just hope that Lord Hou can find out the truth as soon as possible, so that we can rest assured."
When Bo Ruoyou heard this, she felt that there was something weird about it, but she couldn't tell.
Inside the right chamber, Huo Weilou asked Wang Qingfu, "The night Feng Lun died, you and Wu Yu went back to the courtyard together, what happened after that?"
Wang Qingfu said casually, "Xiaguan watched Brother Wu enter the yard, and then the lights in his yard went out not long after, presumably he took a rest, Xiaguan is used to going to bed late, but he has been reading a book, about two o'clock, the next official rest."
"Is there anything unusual here?"
Wang Qingfu frowned slightly, "I can't say it's abnormal. After brother Wu slept for half an hour, when the official was about to rest, he vaguely saw a light in his yard again. The official thought he relieved himself in the middle of the night. , I never thought about it.”
It was raining on the first watch, and Feng Lun was killed between the first watch and the second watch. If Wang Qingfu saw it, it was Wu Yu who killed Feng Lun and returned, it is not impossible, and the night was dark at that time, Most of his body was stained with blood, and he would have to turn on a lamp to clean it up, Huo Weilou frowned slightly, "You said Wu Yu was doing laundry a lot?"
Wang Qingfu smiled wryly, "Yes, I didn't feel it usually, but coming out this time will really make the officials feel ashamed."
"On the second day after Feng Lun was killed, did he have laundry?"
Huo Weilou asked directly, Wang Qingfu's complexion changed slightly, he hesitated for a moment before he said: "It's... washed... However, Brother Wu is a clean person, so it doesn't seem to be a big deal."
Wang Qingfu and Wu Yu had a good relationship, so he naturally wanted to excuse Wu Yu, but Huo Weilou had his own judgment, and asked, "Among you, who was Qing Kong closest to?"
Wang Qingfu said: "It should be Mr. Feng. Mr. Feng is an official in Luozhou, and he himself worships the Buddha. It seems that he often comes to the temple to let Master Jingkong give lectures on Buddhism. In contrast, although General Yue is also in Luozhou, he is a general. With a heavy murderous intent, he is quite alienated from Master Jingkong."
"He and Wu Yu are familiar?"
Wang Qingfu recalled carefully, "Brother Wu had already been here for a few days when the next official came. Master Jingkong was kind to others, and we were considered close friends." When he was in the capital, he often went to Xiangguo Temple to offer incense, and he has studied Buddhism quite well, so it is impossible for him to harm Master Jingkong."
If Jing Kong hadn't discovered the Buddhist scriptures, he would naturally hit it off as he should, but in the face of the sin of stealing relics, what is this hitch worth
Huo Weilou didn't go into details, but asked again: "Feng Lun has been in Beijing for the past few years, is he close to Wu Yu?"
Asked this way, Wang Qingfu frowned and said: "Brother Wu has not had many friends in Beijing in the past few years, and the lower officials count as one, and with Mr. Feng... it seems that he doesn't move around very much."
Feng Lun was promoted from Luozhou to the capital. It stands to reason that he also likes Buddhism, so he would get closer to Wu Yu, who also worships Buddhism and has worked with him before.
Huo Weilou asked Wang Qingfu to retreat after asking a few more words, and soon Wu Yu walked in.
Huo Weilou still asked the question of who Jing Kong was friends with, and Wu Yu said: "I am the most familiar with Master Feng. Master Feng worships Buddha, and is also the official of Luozhou's parents. He often comes to the temple to give lectures to Master Jing Kong. Besides, Among the remaining three of us, we had a good relationship with Xiaguanhui, and Xiaguan also believed in Buddhism, so I was very happy to come to the relic ceremony at that time, and I even asked Master Jingkong a few questions."
This remark matched what Wang Qingfu said, Huo Weilou asked again, "Before what happened to Jing Kong, did you ever see him?"
Wu Yu sighed, then shook his head again, "No, I still remember that the day before, we searched the temple separately. General Yue and Master Feng were in charge of interrogating the monks, and Xiaguan and Brother Wang were in charge of searching the monastery's premises. We were busy for a whole day Days, we were so devastated that when we finished our work, we immediately went back to the monastery to take a rest and didn't care about other things. At that time, the matter was serious, and His Majesty walked forward, and we felt that we were going to lose our heads. We really didn't dare to be careless at all. .”
Huo Weilou asked the three of them this question, and the three of them answered almost exactly the same. No matter who the murderer is, they have already raised their vigilance at this moment, and everyone knows this truth.
"After Feng Lun was promoted to the capital, which one of you walked more?"
Wu Yu thought for a while, "Let's walk around less. We are in different yamen, Feng Lao is also older, Xia Guan and Wang brother have known each other ten years ago, and these years, they are the only ones who have walked a lot with him."
Wu Yu saw that he had nothing to hide, but he also had no flaws. Huo Weilou pondered for a while, "If you say that among the three of you, the murderer who killed Feng Lun, who do you think is the most likely?"
Wu Yu's complexion changed slightly, "This... the lower officials can't guess."
He looked troubled, as if he really couldn't guess, Huo Weilou didn't make things difficult for him, he waved his hand to make him retreat, Lu Ke and Lin Huai were both inside, after asking the three of them, Huo Weilou asked, "How are you doing?" look?"
Lin Huai said: "The first person Jing Kong looked for back then must be the most suspected person. Now it seems that he was the closest to Mr. Wu and Mr. Feng, so he probably went to them first. Some skills, another sharp weapon, now that the two of them are reunited, Lord Wu is worried about Lord Feng, or there are other reasons, so he kills him."
Lu Ke also said: "On the night Mr. Feng was killed, although Mr. Wang testified for Mr. Wu, but the lights in the monastery were turned off, it would not be difficult for someone as skilled as Mr. Wu to sneak out of the courtyard without making a sound. Laundry is quite frequent, and it is not difficult to annihilate the evidence."
There were two murderers who killed Jing Kong, one was good at martial arts and combined punches and feet, and the other was fighting with a sharp weapon. If Wu Yu and Feng Lun were the first people Jing Kong sought, it would be an excellent explanation.
However, Huo Weilou stared, "What if Jingkong is looking for Wang Qingfu and Yue Mingquan first?"
Lin Huai frowned, "Master Wang... Lord Wang is not familiar with Master Jingkong, and he was not the official of Luozhou's parents at that time, and General Yue is a warrior with a murderous look on his body. If Master Jingkong is looking for someone he trusts, he will probably not be the first to look for him. "
These questions have been raised before, now the more I understand the details of the year, the more I feel that the previous inference is true, but Huo Weilou thinks that this inference is too natural, as if he missed something, but he can't remember what he missed What.
"Let the three of them go back and rest first. From now on, they are all confined to the Buddhist temple."
After Huo Weilou gave orders, Lu Ke went out and told the three of them to go back and rest. When Huo Weilou came out again, the sun was already slanting west, Ming Guilan and Huo Qinghong were gone, and Bo Ruoyou was squatting beside the Buddha statue. Look carefully at the neck of the Buddha statue.
"What are you looking at?" Huo Weilou walked behind Bo Ruoyou and asked.
The Buddha statue of the Venerable Buddha was still laid down, and Bo Ruoyou was scrubbing the neck of the Buddha statue with his hands at this moment, "The girl found that the Buddha statue could not be seen from a distance, but if she touched it with her hands, she could find that his neck was a little bit It's bumpy and different from other places."
Huo Weilou frowned, also came forward, stretched out his hand to swipe, it was true.
Bo Ruoyou said: "It seems that something went wrong when welding here, and then it was polished. If it wasn't for the extremely thick gold lacquer, this Buddha statue might be destroyed."
"It's strange that the corpse hidden in the Buddha statue has not been discovered. The artisans who molded the Buddha back then must have known something."
It's a pity that the craftsman is far away in Jizhou, and I don't know when he will be able to find it.
It is difficult to determine the murderer, and the disappearance of the relic has not yet been solved. After thinking about it, Huo Weilou still felt that the theft of the relic was quite strange. Soon, Huo Weilou ordered Fan Hejue to pass it on.
The two of them came very quickly, and as soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw the color of Jing Kong's corpse changed, and they were shocked. Bo Ruoyou had no choice but to explain that just now the autopsy was done by steaming the corpse, and some clues were obtained.
Seeing the two of them coming, Huo Weilou led the crowd to the Zen courtyard, opened the blueprint of the grand ceremony platform, and Eunuch Fu talked about the details of that day, "If you say the strangest thing, of course it was when it rained. But everyone was hiding in the main hall, only a distance of more than ten feet away, and the surrounding guards were heavily guarded, so the relic disappeared for no reason."
Eunuch Fu pointed to the blueprint, "It's so far away. At that time, the imperial guards were here, and there were corridors on both sides..."
Bo Ruoyou listened to Eunuch Fu's words carefully, and suddenly a flash of light flashed in his mind, "Eunuch said, at that time, the host found a big umbrella to cover the copper box, and Eunuch might say, what kind of umbrella is that?" umbrella?"
Eunuch Fu said, "The umbrella is so huge that it almost covers the lotus pedestal below."
Mr. Fu gestured with his hands apart and said, "The handle of the umbrella is not very long, it almost covers the copper box, and the edge covers the edge of the lotus platform. The rainwater flows down the umbrella surface, and the lotus platform and the treasure letter are not half wet."
Liao Fan also said: "In fact, the umbrella has been prepared for a long time. The temple has to be fully prepared for the grand ceremony."
Bo Ruoyou's eyes were fixed, "So, you can't see the copper box in everyone's sight?"
Eunuch Fu and Fan Qiqi nodded together, a gleam flashed in Bo Ruoyou's eyes, and he looked at Huo Weilou and said, "Master Hou, do people who steal relics use any tricks?"
Huo Weilou raised his eyebrows, and Bo Ruoyou said, "Today, the prince played a trick, and later Mr. Wang said that the trick was just a trick of the eye, so the women thought that when the umbrella was covered, everyone would feel that the umbrella did not move. The treasure letter under it is still there, but could it be that the treasure letter has disappeared after the umbrella is covered, and when the umbrella is taken away, although the treasure letter is there, the relic inside has disappeared, just... like a magic trick... "
"What trick?!"
As soon as Bo Ruoyou finished speaking, Huo Qinghong's voice sounded outside again, he floated in wearing a red shirt with big thorns, with a curious expression on his face, "What trick?"
Eunuch Fu laughed, "Don't worry, my son, you are talking about the case of the theft of relics back then."
Huo Qinghong's interest was half lost, at this moment, Huo Weilou asked: "How tall was the lotus platform with the copper box at that time?"
Although the lotus platform was drawn on the blueprint, it was only a rough outline. When asked this way, Mr. Fu said, "Half a person's height, the bottom is a lotus pillar, and the top is a blooming Buddha lotus. The treasure letter is placed on the Buddha lotus." On the lotus stamen, it is said that this object was also prepared in the temple early in the morning, and it took some effort."
Huo Weilou asked again, "How thick is the lotus column?"
Eunuch Fu raised his hand to compare, "It's about as thick as a hug."
Seeing Huo Weilou asking about this object, Liao Fan hurriedly said: "This object is made of wood, and it is specially prepared for the grand ceremony. At that time, many objects were carved and embroidered three months in advance. The things used in the grand ceremony are also It's all new."
Lin Huai was listening, and asked at this moment: "Could it be that Lord Hou suspects that there are organs in this thing?"
Huo Weilou nodded, "It only takes a moment to cover the umbrella, but if there is a trap inside, and people can hide in the trap, that moment of effort is enough to make him steal the relics, and the thief has bought Buddhist scriptures and knows the shape of the key. It can also come in handy at this moment.”
Eunuch Fu hesitated and said, "But the lotus column doesn't look very big..."
Huo Qinghong looked left and right, and couldn't help but whispered: "Actually, people can hide even if they are not big. Many of those who play tricks are good at cartilage, especially a kind of trick, where a person gets into a box, Stabbing with a sword but not dying, seems to be someone who is very good at shrinking and changing body shape."
Huo Weilou turned his eyes to look at Huo Qinghong, Huo Qinghong thought he had said something wrong, covered his mouth and took two steps back, but Huo Weilou said: "Your ignorance is finally of half use .”
Huo Qinghong was surprised, and then his face showed joy, Huo Weilou asked Fan, "Did the items for the grand ceremony be prepared in the temple?"
Liao Fan nodded, "That's true, but like sculpting Buddhas, the monk in charge is in charge of this matter, and there are still many craftsmen from outsiders."
"Then do you remember how this lotus stand was prepared?"
Liao Fan shook his head helplessly, "This little monk doesn't know anymore."
Huo Weilou looked at Jue, and shook his head when he saw it, "At that time, the temple started to prepare these early in the morning. After the Ministry of Rites came to inspect them, Mr. Feng was also watching over them. Most of the craftsmen were local carpenters in Luozhou. The monk in charge... seems to be Senior Brother Liao Hui."
Liaohui was the monk who led the way to Wanfo Cliff that day. Huo Weilou ordered him to be summoned. As soon as he asked about the lotus platform, Liaohui said: "The lotus platform is made by the carpenters in the city. The top is a Buddha lotus. It is hollow inside and has a hollow outside. Zhu Qi, after people from the Ministry of Rites came to check that there was nothing wrong with it, they put it in the warehouse together and put it under special supervision."
Huo Weilou stared, "Who is the caretaker?"
Liao Hui said: "At that time, places such as warehouses were guarded by the officials of the Luozhou government office and the Luozhou garrison. I can't remember exactly who is guarding here."
Liao Hui was still calm the day before yesterday, but now seeing Huo Weilou he was quite nervous and fearful, Jingming and Liaoqing have been guarded now, as Jingming's disciple, he is naturally quite in danger.
"How did you deal with the lotus platform?"
Liao Hui hurriedly said: "First it was placed in the warehouse, and later it was moved to the Buddhist hall to worship the Buddhist treasures. In the past two years, a batch of decayed utensils were replaced in the temple, and the lotus platform was replaced."
Huo Weilou groaned for a moment and made Hui retreat, "It seems that it was normal later on, but if someone was hidden in this thing, the guards would definitely not be aware of it. Was it Feng Lun's man or Yue Mingquan's man who was in charge of guarding at that time? It is unknown for the time being, and if the thief thought about using this method early in the morning, how would he have known that it would rain that day? If it had never rained, he would not have covered the lotus platform with an umbrella. key, how to steal the relic?"
Lin Huai said: "Rain is an unknown number. Unless they have made other preparations, even if it doesn't rain, there will be other troubles. When the time comes, take advantage of the chaos and always find a chance to do something."
Huo Weilou looked at Luke, "How's Jingming reconciled these two days? Can you say anything else?"
Lu Ke shook his head, "No, the two masters and apprentices read the scriptures for a day and a night, but they really seem to be repenting."
Liao Fan and Liao Jue stood aside, still a little upset when they heard this, Huo Weilou's eyes were uncertain, and after a while, he suddenly asked Fan, "What kind of temperament is your master? He was strict at the time?"
Hearing this, Liao Fan felt that Huo Weilou remembered that Jing Kong hadn't revealed the truth in front of people immediately, and immediately said: "Although Master is merciful, he is not a person who is merciful and has no principles. They are very strict in their studies, but they treat us very kindly outside of their studies. They are also patient with the monks in charge and ordinary monks in the temple. If you make a mistake, it is mostly an admonition, if you do it intentionally, it is a small mistake, and in the eyes of the master, it is also an evil thought and must be punished."
"Back then, Master didn't expose Senior Brother Qing right away. Although he was benevolent, it was because the matter was serious at that time, and he didn't dare to be careless. If... If Master hadn't had any accidents, Senior Brother Qing would probably be severely punished if he found out. It’s just that he was victimized by others, and there is no chance like that.”
As Liao Fan said, with sadness on his face, Huo Weilou pondered for a moment, and then frowned after ordering Liao Fan and the two to retreat, "We were wrong before."
Both Lin Huai and Eunuch Fu looked over, seemingly puzzled, but Bo Ruoyou was also thinking about something.
Huo Weilou said: "Qing Kong doesn't necessarily go to Feng Lun and Wu Yu."
"Looking at it now, the court officials at that time were all high-ranking and powerful, and everyone was an outsider to Famen Temple. Jing Kong's first reaction was to find someone he knew and trusted, but Jing Kong didn't know who he was close to. He is a person who can distinguish right from wrong, and Feng Lun and Wu Yu at that time were not worthy of his trust."
Lin Huai and Eunuch Fu were even more puzzled, and Huo Weilou said, "Among the four of them, only Feng Lun and Wu Yu believe in Buddhism, and the one who bought the Buddhist scriptures privately, and the one who stole the relics, can do this. It must be someone who knows a lot about Buddhism. Both of them have lectured on the scriptures with Jing Kong, and maybe they will also talk about the five-fold treasure letter and the relics. People who worship Buddha will steal relics from Buddhist scriptures, so would he dare to go to Feng Lun and Wu Yu?"
Lin Huai said: "But did Jing Kong start to doubt them at that time?"
"People who buy Buddhist scriptures privately are either rich or expensive, and the grand ceremony has been prepared for several months, and there are layers of defenses inside and outside, but the relics are still lost. Anyone who thinks knows that something must have gone wrong, but several chief officials But they didn't realize it. What's more, they had been investigating for a few days at that time, Jing Kong may have his own suspicions, and it is very possible to choose the most irrelevant person to ask."
After Huo Weilou finished speaking, Lin Huai felt hesitant, but he fell into hesitation, "Then, they are still suspicious. When Lord Hou asked him about the three of them just now, he didn't see any flaws. It’s just that Mr. Wang is quite protective of Mr. Wu in his words, but when he said General Yue, he was somewhat targeted.”
Mr. Fu said fairly: "The two of them are on good terms. General Yue has nothing to do with them in the army these years. On that day, Master Wu invited General Yue to see the pagoda, but General Yue also bluntly refused."
Bo Ruoyou suddenly raised her head, "Elder-in-law, did Lord Wu invite General Yue to see the pagoda?"
Eunuch Fu nodded, "That's right, our family was standing by the side at that time, and General Yue glanced at the sky lightly, and then rejected Mr. Wu. He didn't seem to want to befriend the two of them either."
Bo Ruoyou didn't know what to think of, and her eyes suddenly lit up, "Master Hou, the girl may have guessed who the murderer is."