"Murder according to the script?"
Tang Fan repeated the words, frowned and asked, "What does this mean?"
Sui Zhou didn't answer, but first handed him the words book in his hand.
"The Legend of the Beads?"
Tang Fan flipped through the text book, and the signature on it was "Jingxi Ke". The text book written by this man has been very popular recently. As soon as it was printed in the bookstore, it was quickly sold out. As a text book lover, Tang Fan naturally also read some of the other's other works.
The writing is bizarre and beautiful, and he especially loves to describe the scenes of Fengyue. It can be said that he has captured the secret preferences of many people. Even those ladies who stay at home are said to have asked maids and maids to buy them secretly.
Tang Fan has also read this book, "The Legend of the Beads". It is about a little Jiabiyu from a down-to-earth family who married an equally down-to-earth scholar in his family. The scholar is a nerd who can only study behind closed doors all day long, and his wife is unwilling to do so. Lonely, he hooked up with a playboy. After the scholar found out, he dared not to speak out, but his wife became even more aggressive. Seeing that he did not dare to say a word, he became more and more blatant to hang out with men outside. The scholar finally couldn't bear it any longer. When the clouds and the rain were turning over, he took the knife and killed the two of them, and then he committed suicide.
The plot is relatively old, but there are many and detailed descriptions of the wife's cheating in the book. Many people love it and buy it back as a romantic book for their pillow.
Suizhou said: "Three days ago, there was a case in the capital. There were three people who died. The relationship between them is almost as described in the book."
Tang Fan: "This case will alarm Jin Yiwei, there must be other reasons?"
Suizhou nodded: "Firstly, the adulterer's identity is somewhat special, he is the cousin of Zhenyuanhou, secondly, there are three similar cases in two months, this is already the third case, Shuntian Prefecture is helpless, I It was only after taking over these cases that I discovered that they all seem to be related to Jingxi Ke's words, and whenever this person publishes a new word, within a few days, a similar murder will happen."
Tang Fan said, "Has this person from Jingxi Ke ever checked?"
Suizhou said: "I checked it, and it was a first-timer. His name is Qi Wenshan. Including last year's meeting, he has already failed three times, but he has been living in the capital since he failed last year. livelihood."
Tang Fan touched his chin: "The house in the capital is expensive and the prices are high. He hasn't settled in the capital a few times before, which shows that his family is average, but this time he can find a house to live in. I'm afraid it will be difficult to keep up with writing alone?"
Sui Zhou expressed his admiration for the key point in his words: "Yes, Qi Wenshan's family is indeed average, that house belongs to his cousin, and his cousin's family just moved back to their hometown last year, so he lent the house to him. ."
Tang Fan: "You must have checked his cousin?"
Suizhou: "His cousin is from Huaiqing Prefecture, Henan Province. Last year, most of Henan was hit by drought, and Huaiqing Prefecture was among them. Many people fled to other places, and it may not be so easy to find, and there may be no news for a while. "
Tang Fan smiled: "But you came to me suddenly, there must be other progress in the case, so don't sell it."
During this time, Tang Fan had just been transferred to the Henan Qingli Division of the Ministry of Punishment. At this time, it was not the end of the year, and there were not many case files, so he was relatively free.
Suizhou said: "Even before Qi Wenshan wrote "The Story of the Leftover Pearl", in order not to scare the snake, I had sent someone to spy on him, and he could not commit the crime again, but after "The Story of the Leftover Pearl", he still went out there. pile of cases."
Tang Fan: "You said earlier that three people died in that case, is it really suicide?"
Suizhou: "The woman and her adulterer killed him, and the scholar committed suicide."
Tang Fan frowned: "According to this, it should be just a coincidence, but where in the world can such a coincidence happen? Several cases in succession are completely in line with the words of Jingxi Ke!"
Suizhou: "Jin Yiwei can't find out why this matter is temporarily. I want you to pay attention to it and see if you can find any clues."
Tang Fan: "Is Qi Wenshan still writing a storybook?"
Suizhou: ""The Legend of the Beads" just came out, I guess the new edition won't be that fast."
Tang Fan pondered for a moment, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "How about I come to be a Beijing-Western guest?"
Sui Zhou understood as soon as he heard it: "Do you want to write a script in his name?"
Tang Fan nodded: "If these cases are really related, Qi Wenshan is not the murderer. As soon as Jingxi Ke's book comes out, the murderer will definitely show up."
Sui Zhou glanced at him, frowned and refused: "No, this case has nothing to do with you, you shouldn't get involved, just help pay attention to one or two."
Tang Fan touched his nose, smiling noncommittally.
Although Suizhou rejected the proposal, he did not leave the case to his subordinates for investigation because of this. Dozens of copies are sold in bookstores.
But this move did not lead to any follow-up. Tang Fan was born in Hanhua, so there is no need to say much about his writing style. Dozens of books were sold out quickly, but the real "Jingxi guest" Qi Wenshan knew his pseudonym. After being embezzled, he was so angry that he ran to the bookstore boss to make a theory, but Tang Fan did a perfect job, and Qi Wenshan couldn't make a fuss in the end.
A month after this incident, Qi Wenshan published a new storybook called "Fanlou Regret", which is about a brothel woman who fell in love with a benefactor who often came to her, and hoped that the benefactor could give her After redeeming her body and marrying her into the door, Enke was naturally unwilling. After the woman found out that Enke was just sweet words about her past oaths, she was in despair. When Enke came to the door again, she tried to kill Enke.
As soon as the story came out, people in Suizhou immediately drew attention to the Qinlou and Chu Pavilions in the capital. After hearing the news, Tang Fan also sent people from the Department of Punishment to investigate secretly. There are clues.
Hongxingguan, in this little-known brothel, there is such a girl with red sleeves. She is a little famous. She is not young and has read the dust. Five years ago, there was a salt merchant from Shanxi who often spent a lot of money. When she patronized her, the girl with red sleeves became famous because of it. Many men heard about this and wanted to come and see what the charm of the girl with red sleeves was. In this way, it helped to make the girl with red sleeves more famous. After leaving the quagmire of the brothel, the other party never thought of staying with her for a long time. The two had a conflict because of this. The rich businessman had not gone to Hongxiu for more than ten days.
This story, except for the ending, is exactly the same as what Qi Wenshan wrote.
This is undoubtedly a very important clue. Suizhou immediately ordered someone to spy on it, but the murder may not happen, and even if it does, it does not necessarily happen there.
Tang Fan read "Fanlou Remorse" several times, and found two important details: there is a mole on the upper left of the back of the brothel woman in the text; After entering the dust, it was only because he had a soft spot for an older man like a wealthy businessman in Shanxi.
The first detail is easy to verify. The big deal is to send someone to pretend to be a client to see it. The latter details are a little troublesome to verify. First, it is many years later, so it is difficult to inquire about it. Second, such a secret past, As long as Hongxiu is a normal person, it is impossible to talk to everyone, so there must be someone who can tell her words, so as to prove whether Hongxiu is the woman who wants to kill the benefactor in "Fanlou Regret", and if so , Maybe you can use this as a clue to trace the connection behind these cases.
After thinking about it, Tang Fan decided to go into battle in person - pretending to be a whore and going to Hong Xingguan to find out what happened.
However, Suizhou must not know about this matter, so he disguised himself, abandoned the clothes he used to wear on weekdays, had a sticky beard, and had a stooped back. Not everyone in Jinyiwei knew him. In this way, No one could recognize this vulgar-looking client who turned out to be Tang Fan.
Hongxiu doesn't have those arrogances that show off her skills and not sell her body. Although she is a little famous, as long as the price is high enough, she can still buy it overnight.
When she saw Tang Fan entered her house, she looked around, and smiled tenderly, "Could it be that this gentleman has never entered a brothel before, so why does it seem like he came back right away?"
Tang Fan stroked his beard: "It's not the same, how can those vulgar fans be compared with the girl with red sleeves, your house is unusual, and there are imitations of Yan Liben hanging on the walls, and they are very clever. At first glance, he is an elegant person."
Hongxiu giggled: "The slave family is about to be praised by the master to the point that he has no bones!"
Tang Fan looked at her up and down, and joked, "You are soft and boneless, where did you get your bones?"
If it wasn't for his sallow face and a full beard on purpose, just relying on this lotus mouth and his handsome face like a fairy, I'm afraid that the red sleeves would have been pasted at this moment, instead of standing there with him. Flirting.
"I hate it!" Hong Xiu gave him a sideways glance, and said delicately, "The slave family still doesn't know the name of the master!"
Tang Fan: "My surname is Niu, you can just call me Master Niu."
Hong Xiu covered his mouth and smiled: "This surname is rare!"
Tang Fan touched his nose: "No, when people ask me about my surname Gao, I deliberately say it vaguely, so that they think my surname is Liu, and they call me Master Liu!"
Hong Xiu was amused: "Master Niu is really funny! The slave family seems to be the first time to see you in this Hong Xing Restaurant? Haven't seen you before."
"It was the first time I came back. When I was drinking with Brother Li last time, I heard him mention you and say that you are no worse than those famous courtesans," Tang Fan showed a tacit and ambiguous smile: "Especially when the candle is extinguished. After the fire, don't have a romantic taste..."
Brother Li in his mouth is the Shanxi businessman who often comes to Hongxiu.
Hongxiu did not suspect him, her face paled when she heard the words, and her hand holding the pot trembled slightly: "He, did he really say that?"
Tang Fan: "Naturally. Why, you don't believe it?"
Hong Xiu shook his head and smiled miserably.
Tang Fan: "I see the girl's appearance. Could it be that she has genuine affection for Brother Li?"
Hong Xiu forced a smile: "Who doesn't know what to do with us, ruthless bitch, welcome and send it to you, a little red lips will be tasted by thousands of people, who would like us?"
Tang Fan: "Why do you have to belittle yourself, girl with red sleeves, in fact, brother Li cherishes you very much, and it is easy to refuse to show it to people, but after I heard what he said, I became curious, and wanting to come and see will make Brother Li fascinated. What does a half-year-old woman look like?"
Hongxiu: "Then Master Niu has seen him now, but he is very disappointed?"
Tang Fan said with a smile: "Not only was I not disappointed, but I liked it very much. I knew that Brother Li had an extraordinary vision. When I saw the girl, I immediately felt that I didn't come here in vain. What is said in the poems, the beauty is like a flower. Across the clouds, although the girl with red sleeves is sitting in front of me, I always feel that you are as unattainable as a fairy!"
Hong Xiu couldn't help laughing: "Master Niu is really a wonderful person!"
Tang Fan scratched his head and showed a simple and honest smile: "No, all my friends say that!"
He didn't forget his purpose. Taking the opportunity of Hongxiu pouring wine, he asked, "Why is there a scar on the back of Hongxiu's hand?"
Hongxiu: "I did rough work when I was a child, and I was accidentally scratched."
Tang Fan shook his head: "I can't see it, I can't see it!"
Hong Xiu: "What can't you see?"
Tang Fan said with a smile, "You're such a lovely person, you look like a lady, and you don't seem to be doing rough work!"
Hong Xiu sighed: "I know that Master Niu wants to make me happy, but I'm down in the dust. I'm afraid I won't be the daughter of a clean family in my life, let alone..."
Tang Fan felt that his ears were buzzing a little, and his head was a little heavy.
He knew that the drinks in the brothel were always mixed with aphrodisiacs, so the wine Hongxiu poured, he took the opportunity to speak, and didn't drink half of it, but the dizzy situation was obviously not normal.
Tang Fan held his head and felt that his whole body was gradually heating up. He realized that he was probably being too careless, because he thought that there were Jin Yiwei secretly watching around the Hongxing Pavilion, and he preconceived that the murderer should be Qi Wenshan, a "Jingxi guest". , so a lot of defenses were less, and this was the trick.
"What did you do to me?" He frowned, but his vision was blurred.
"Actually, the person I want to kill wasn't you, but you brought it to the door yourself." Hong Xiu's body was pressed up, and her thin clothes were exquisite and neat, she smiled tenderly in Tang Fan's ear, "Anyway, killing one is also killing, Killing two is also killing, a ruthless bastard like you who is greedy for beauty, it would be better if they all died!"
Tang Fan could be sure that what was in him wouldn't be poison, otherwise he would be bleeding from seven holes now, instead of burning hot all over his body, and even his lower body gradually reacted in an inhumane way.
"...You've been drugged?" His eyes gradually blurred, his lips opened slightly, but his self-control still made his fingers tightly grasp the edge of the table, as if forcing himself to be more awake. "If you want to kill me, why not just poison me?"
"It's not a drug, it's an aphrodisiac, so you can enjoy it before you die, and you won't get in front of the Lord of Hell and say that I have treated you badly!" Hongxiu's laughter was obviously very different from before, with a hint of sternness and madness .
She reached out and pulled Tang Fan's shirt open. Tang Fan should have stopped it, but the moment his skin touched the air, he felt much cooler, and he couldn't help pulling the shirt wider.
Hongxiu snorted: "You are white, different from your face?"
Tang Fan was gasping for breath and had no time to answer her. He thought to himself why those Jin Yiwei hadn't appeared yet, but his body had reacted completely differently. With his soft body with red sleeves against him, it was hard not to make a drugged man go crazy. .
Hong Xiu also thought it was very strange. The other party was hiding under the clothes. It was obviously a young body. Although the complexion was fair, it was not thin. On the contrary, the texture was delicate and elastic. of.
At this moment, no matter how stupid she was, she realized that Tang Fan's face was probably disguised. There was a trace of panic in his heart, but Hong Xiu's hand couldn't help reaching out to the other's face. At this moment, there was a slight movement behind her, and she hurriedly turned around, but before she could see it clearly, she was hit hard on the back of the head, and her body fell softly to the ground.
Sui Zhou's face was cold and solemn, he turned around and told his subordinates to guard the outside, not allowed to come in, and leaned over to embrace Tang Fan.
Tang Fan could still tell who was in front of him, so he just followed his instinct and put his body on it.
The front of the shirt was just pulled open by the red sleeves, so that a large part of the chest was exposed.
"It's very hot..." Tang Fan pressed his forehead against the other's forehead, the slightly cold touch made him sigh comfortably, and regained his senses: "Is it Guangchuan?"
"Yes." Sui Zhou wanted to ask coldly, but finally showed a hint of helplessness: "If she gave poison, are you still alive now?"
"I miscalculated..." Tang Fan said hoarsely, "Don't be long-winded, just carry me back..."
"How can you go back like this now?"
Master Tang naturally didn't know that his clothes were messy, his face was flushed, his hands and feet were shaking, let alone going back, he probably couldn't even go out on the street.
"You're carrying me..." Because of the medicinal properties, Tang Fan gasped three times now, and even his tone became soft unconsciously, sounding like he was coquettish, with a moist tone.
The person who said it was unconscious, but the person who listened had his eyes sank.
In fact, you don't have to find someone to relieve your desires when you are in the aphrodisiac. Taking a few pairs of Chinese medicine can also dissolve the medicinal properties in the body, but in that case, Suizhou will definitely feel that...
"It's too much trouble." Sui Zhou said coldly.
He directly picked Tang Fan up by the waist and threw it on the bed: "I'll help you."
"No need..." Unfinished objections were drowned out behind the heavy bed tents.
A faint sweet smell wafts in the room, which is echoed by the slightly trembling curtain, like the starlight in the pond outside. When the wind blows, heavy ripples appear, shattering the originally fragile calm.
The initiator was still lying quietly on the ground, unconscious.
Poor Master Tang, he still had to see a doctor and drink medicine the next day—because he contracted a cold.
He was wearing single clothes, sitting on the bed with the quilt, and handed the empty bowl to A-Dong, listening to her nagging in his ear, with a pitiful expression on his face, and the whole person was dizzy.
"Has the case been solved?" He even spoke in a heavy nasal voice.
"What case?" A-Dong didn't even know what case they were working on. She rubbed her eyes and opened the door in the middle of the night. When she saw Suizhou come in with a half-conscious Tang Fan on her back, she woke up immediately. It's asking for a doctor again, and it's decoction and medicine again.
"It's nothing." Tang Fan rubbed his forehead, "Where are the people from Guangchuan?"
"Brother Sui went out early in the morning, take a good rest, but don't run out to get a hair dryer!" A-Dong urged again and again, in exchange for Tang Fan's wry smile.
Where did he get this disease from the wind, it was clearly yesterday... Stop! Tang Fan quickly said to himself.
It turned out that Cao Cao, Cao Cao had arrived, and A-Dong had just left before long before Suizhou came in.
After coming in, without saying a word, the other party first probed his forehead, and then showed a satisfied expression: "It's not hot anymore."
Tang Fan wanted to be calm and correct, but who knew that he had touched him like this, but his face suddenly turned red, and it was difficult to hide. , Hong Xiu is related to this case?"
Sui Zhou nodded: "Hong Xiu wanted to kill Li Bin, but because he ran into you, he changed his mind temporarily and planned to kill one more."
Tang Fan: "Yes, I heard her tone last night, and it was indeed like this."
While speaking, his eyes met Sui Zhou's heavy gaze, and he could not help coughing lightly: "It was thanks to you that you arrived in time last night. I thought Jin Yiwei was guarding outside, so there should be no serious problem, but I was careless..."
Suizhou handed him a glass of water, and Tang Fan thanked him for taking it. Without waiting for the other party to speak, he quickly asked, "What about Qi Wenshan, does he have any connection with this case?"
"Yes." Suizhou said, "He didn't kill himself, but every time before writing a storybook, he would first identify the target, and then intervene and instigate it. Like this time, Hongxiu listened to his words, and just wanted to kill. Qi Wenshan wrote the storybook based on this, so as long as his storybook is published, there will be murders, and everyone is curious. Over time, he will become more and more famous, and everyone will rush to buy his words. Look."
"The world is so big that there are all kinds of surprises!" Tang Fan shook his head, "Although the case is not complicated, it can be regarded as unusual."
He still has many questions, such as how Qi Wenshan, a scholar, knew about these things, and how he interfered and participated in it, but after drinking the medicine, he was very sleepy, and he couldn't concentrate after a few words. , I just want to fall down and take a deep sleep.
Seeing his expression, Sui Zhou said, "You spent too much energy last night. You should sleep more. I'll tell you about it later."
Tang Fan: "..."
He wanted to pretend to be nonchalant and obfuscate what happened last night, but when he heard Suizhou say it in a more nonchalant tone than him, the corners of his mouth twitched, and his mood was indescribably complicated.
Before Tang Fan could think more, Sui Zhou had already bent over and almost pressed his lips: "What are you still thinking about?"
While speaking, he pressed Tang Fan's belt with his hand, which seemed to contain infinite hints.
"It's nothing!" Master Tang shuddered in desperation, quickly lay down, and pulled the quilt around his neck, revealing only one head, indicating that I was obedient.
With his loose hair, he looked gentle and soft, which made people want to touch it. Sui Zhou really did just that. He touched his hair with five fingers and slowly massaged it along the scalp.
"Sleep." Maybe even Sui Zhou didn't realize that when he said this, his tone was obviously very different from usual.
The acupoints on the scalp were pressed, Tang Fan relaxed all over, and soon fell asleep. The last thought before going to bed was: Anyway, they have a deep friendship with each other and are not inferior to siblings, so what happened last night was actually a sudden incident. , Suizhou came to help, it's nothing, don't think too much... Master Tang, who is good at self-comfort, sank into a beautiful dream.
Feeling that his body was completely relaxed, Sui Zhou's face softened, his fingers followed from top to bottom, sliding all the way down Tang Fan's outline, and finally stopped on the opponent's chin. After a while, he released his hand.
At this time, the two of them did not expect how close their connection would be in the second half of their lives.
-Finish-