"no."
Gu Jiao denied it.
Mu Qingchen looked at her coldly, trying to see even the slightest flaw and guilt in her eyes, but Mu Qingchen was disappointed.
If Gu Jiao was asked to play some kind of love, hatred, and hatred, it would be possible to blind people's eyes and make her feel guilty. This is her true character.
flaw
impossible.
It's just that Gu Jiao's guilty conscience and Mu Qingchen's trust are two different things. Mu Qingchen is not as easy to fool as Li Sande, and there is no logical blind spot in his thinking that can be guided at will.
He has his own inferences and will not be influenced by Gu Jiao.
He clenched the hilt of the sword in his hand, his eyes were like ice: "You will not save Nangong Li, you have only one possibility at the scene, you killed him!"
Mu Qingchen has been with his classmate for so long, and not to mention that he knows each other well, but he can also see that he is by no means a person who repays grievances with virtue.
Since he had a holiday with Nangong Li long ago, how could he risk being treated as a killer to rescue him
It would be the kindness of this classmate not to make up for Nangong Li.
Gu Jiao spread her hands: "You say yes."
Mu Qingchen kept clenching the hilt of the sword in his hand, and his anger seemed to have reached a certain peak. In fact, he couldn't tell what he was angry about, whether it was simply anger that he did something wrong in Shengdu, assassinating the famous general of Yan State, or anger that he had always been angry with him. He hides a lot and never treats him honestly.
"Who are you? What is your purpose in coming to Yan Kingdom?"
Gu Jiao didn't speak.
Mu Qingchen was even more angry. Compared to arguing with himself and asking himself why he didn't believe him, the attitude of the other party that he didn't want to say anything was the most maddening.
Mu Qingchen gritted his teeth and said, "Why didn't you speak? Did you admit it?"
Gu Jiao looked at him and said calmly, "I have nothing else to do. I want to fight another day. I don't want to do it at the door."
After all, Gu Jiao didn't even look at the long sword that was lying across her neck, she turned around and raised her hand to push the courtyard door.
Mu Qingchen said coldly, "Stop for me! If you don't speak clearly today, don't blame me for doing it to you!"
Gu Jiao ignored him, the courtyard door had been pushed open by Gu Jiao.
Seeing that Gu Jiao ignored her threats and anger, a nameless fire rose in Mu Qingchen's heart, he raised the long sword in his hand and stabbed at Gu Jiao's back.
Gu Jiao didn't want to fight with Mu Qingchen, but just turned slightly to avoid it.
However, Mu Qingchen was determined to force Gu Jiao to act, and he quickly made a second move.
Just at this moment, there was a rush of small footsteps in the yard, and they came to the door.
"Jiaojiao, are you back?"
crunch —
The courtyard door was opened, and Xiao Qingkong's little head stuck out!
Mu Qingchen's eyes trembled, and she suddenly retracted her sword!
But there was still a trace of sword energy that could not be contained in time.
The gate of the courtyard is only opened a crack. If people are caught out, they will be injured; if they are pushed in, they will fall again.
When it was too late, Gu Jiao stepped forward, bent over to protect Xiao Qingkong and blocked the sword energy.
Mu Qingchen didn't kill him at first, not to mention that he had already taken most of it. This is just a trace of sword energy left, but for this reason, Gu Jiao's back was still cut open.
The clothes were torn, revealing a small piece of ice muscle and jade bone and a circle of corsets that tightly wrapped her front.
Mu Qingchen was stunned for a moment, he only felt that the small piece of skin was dazzlingly bright, but he didn't even bother to think about the circle of cloth wrapped around Gu Jiao's body.
He turned around, his mind buzzing for some reason.
Xiao Jingkong didn't see Mu Qingchen outside the door. He thought that only Gu Jiao had come back, and he wanted to call her Jiao Jiao, but Gu Jiao lifted a forefinger and gently pressed it on his small mouth.
Mu Qingchen wanted to turn around, but couldn't hold it back for some reason. He squeezed the long sword in his hand and said in a low voice, "I will definitely find out the truth and find evidence. If it is really you, then I will not tolerate it!"
After speaking, he held the sword and stepped into the night with a heavy gaze.
Gu Jiao closed the courtyard door to prevent Xiao Jingkong from seeing her back, otherwise the little guy should be worried again.
Xiao Jingkong tilted his head and said, "Jiaojiao, who was outside just now? I didn't understand what he said."
"It's nothing, a classmate who sent me back." Gu Jiao patted his little head, "Why did you come here?"
Xiao Jingkong said: "The academy is on holiday, my brother-in-law sent me here!"
Gu Jiao asked, "Your brother-in-law is there too?"
Xiao Jingkong shook his head, spread his hands and said, "He's here at noon, he's going out now, he said he'll pick me up tomorrow, or Brother Chengfeng will pick me up!"
Xiao Heng specially sent Xiao Qingkong here, there should be important things to do.
Gu Jiao guessed right, Xiao Heng was indeed going to work.
Gu Chengfeng was also there.
Xiao Heng first brought Xiao Jingkong to Gu Jiao's side and handed it over to Master Nan and Master Lu, then went to Tianxiang Pavilion and returned to the inner city with Gu Chengfeng.
In fact, Gu Jiao didn't tell anyone about her plan to assassinate the palace, but Xiao Heng could guess.
The two people in the world who know Gu Jiao best are Gu Yan and Xiao Heng.
From the moment Nangong Li went out of the city to look for Gu Jiao, the two of them had been eyeing him.
Gu Chengfeng followed his carriage all the way, while Xiao Heng first sent Xiao Qingkong to Nan Shi Niang and Lu Shifu.
After Nangong Li left Tianqiong Academy, he went straight to the palace.
Gu Chengfeng and Xiao Heng did not dare to chase too close, but fortunately, Nangong Li did not dare to park the carriage too close to the palace in order not to be discovered.
Nangong Li contacted a palace eunuch and sneaked into the palace by hiding in the box where he was buying ingredients.
Nangong Li's confidant guards stayed in the carriage and waited.
The news of Nangong Li's death did not spread so quickly. It was not until evening that the confidant guards heard from passers-by that General Nangong was killed in the palace.
If others don't know the inside story, how can the confidant guard not know
Nangong Li went to kill the student of Tianqiong Academy. If something happened to Nangong Li, it must have been killed by that student!
The confidant guard hurriedly drove the carriage to report to the Nangong family.
Not good on the street.
Xiao Heng spread out the inner city map and said to Gu Chengfeng, "Go east."
Gu Chengfeng drove the carriage and said, "Don't make a mistake!"
Xiao Heng said: "It can't be wrong."
They crossed an alley to the east, and happened to meet the carriage of the confidant guard. The confidant guard seemed to realize that he was being watched, and turned his head and passed through another alley.
Xiao Heng looked at the direction of the alley and said, "Turn around and go to Nanyu Street."
Finally, the two blocked the confidant guards at the corner of Nanyu Street.
Once he was dealt with, no one would know why Nangong Li entered the palace today.
…
Nangong Li's death caused an uproar in Shengdu. There are three major doubts about this matter. First, why did Nangong Li appear in the palace? There is no record of his entry at the gate of Mingming Palace, in other words, he entered the palace secretly.
The servants of the Nangong family said that he went out with a bodyguard named Liu Dong.
The Ministry of Punishment immediately sent people to search for the bodyguard named Liu Dong, and found that Liu Dong was dead on the street.
He was stabbed at the gate with a hidden weapon, killing him in one hit.
The murderer obviously had very strong anti-reconnaissance capabilities, and there were no traces left at the scene, and no witnesses were found nearby.
The case reached a deadlock as soon as it broke through.
The second most suspicious point is the three eunuchs who died at the crime scene.
Two of the three were from the Imperial Household Supervisor and the other was from the Hall of Central Harmony. The three did not meet in private, nor were they close on the surface, so they somehow appeared there together.
There were sacks and ropes around them, and they looked like they were going to grab something.
And after the autopsy, it was speculated that they were killed by Nangong Li's internal force.
"Why can't it be the murderer's inner strength?" In the morgue, Dali Si Qing asked Zu Zuo.
The Minister of Punishment was also there, and he was also quite curious about it.
Zuo Zuo said, "Xiao has also done an autopsy on General Nangong, and General Nangong was not injured. Xiao dared to speculate that the murderer had no internal strength."
Dali Si Qing frowned and said, "Without internal strength, he was able to kill the famous General Nangong with a branch, old man Sun, do you understand what you are talking about? It's not your fault, right?"
Zuzuo said without being humble or arrogant: "It's been decades since the small autopsy was done, and I dare not say that I never missed it. If adults don't believe it, you can find another Zuzuo to perform the autopsy for General Nangong."
Dali Siqing naturally found it.
The results are consistent with the results of the autopsy of the old man Sun.
"If he didn't need internal power to kill General Nangong, then he didn't even need to kill three eunuchs." Based on this reason, Zuo Zuo deduced that the internal power that killed the three came from Nangong Li.
So, the third biggest doubt in the case appeared - who could have easily killed Nangong Li without using internal force or not using internal force at all
Yang Chang, the minister of Dali Temple, and Dong Wei, the minister of punishment, investigated for a day and a night, but found nothing.
Dali Temple Secretary Yang Chang said: "It's clear that Liu Dong is the best breakthrough. As long as you ask him what Nangong Li did in the palace, the truth of the case can be solved easily."
Minister of Punishment Dong Wei said: "Everyone is dead, and it's useless to say that."
Both the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment are located outside Duanmen, but the Dali Temple is in the west and the Ministry of Punishment is in the east.
Seeing that it was about to dawn, it was impossible to return to the residence to rest, so he could only go to the yamen to change his clothes and prepare to report to the monarch about the case.
When they were about to part ways, Yang Chang saw Dong Shangshu's thoughtful expression, and couldn't help asking, "What are you thinking about?"
Dong Shangshu said: "I'm thinking, who killed Nangong Li? Or did he kill him in the palace, this feeling is like..."
"Like what?" Yang Chang asked.
Dong Shangshu shook his head: "I don't have any conclusive evidence, but when I stood at the crime scene and looked at Nangong Li's body and the branch that was thrown at the scene, I seemed to feel a murderous intent of revenge. "
This is one of Dong Shangshu's abilities. He is a judge with a keen intuition about the case, and his intuition is accurate in most cases.
They once arrested the murderer of a serial murder case, and they had no clue. However, once the murderer and Dong Shangshu ran into each other on the street, and at a glance, Dong Shangshu pointed at the man and said, "He is the murderer."
Therefore, when Dong Shangshu said that the other party was seeking revenge, Yang Chang did not immediately deny this statement.
Yang Chang thoughtfully asked, "Has Nangong Li offended anyone?"
Dong Shangshu said: "You should ask, who among the people Nangong Li offended could easily kill him? Have you carefully observed the shape of that branch? Do you think it looks like a long spear?"
Yang Chang recalled for a moment, nodded and said, "Yes, the front end is sharpened, and the length is close to that of a long spear."
Dong Shangshu said, "As far as I know, only the Xuanyuan family's marksmanship can possess such power without using internal force."
Yang Chang frowned: "What do you mean... Nangong Li was killed by the Xuanyuan family? All the Xuanyuan family died, and the only remaining ex-wife was also abolished in martial arts. Your inference is not valid at all. ."
Dong Shangshu pondered for a moment, then said, "What if... there are people who survived by luck?"
Yang Chang said firmly: "There is no case, don't forget, all the bodies of the Xuanyuan family have been checked one by one, and the two brothers Jing Shizi at that time carried away the coffins after they were nailed to death."
Dong Shangshu said solemnly: "Xuanyuan Sheng, when I saw the murder weapon during the day, I somehow thought of him."
Yang Chang said with a smile: "It's even less likely that he is the murderer. Among all the sons and daughters of the Xuanyuan family, he was the one who died the worst. It hung in the tower for a whole month. Prince Jing almost lost all his wealth before returning the body of Xuanyuan's son, as long as there is a living person, Jing Shizi doesn't have to do that step."
Prince Jing, the current Duke of An Guo.
Yang Chang paused, patted Dong Shangshu on the shoulder, and said earnestly: "Old Dong, I understand that you were promoted by the Xuanyuan family in your early years, and you have always been brooding about the fact that you did not plead for the Xuanyuan family back then, but you also You should understand that you personally took over the case, and the Xuanyuan family has indeed rebelled. As officials of the imperial court, you and I should not be in the company of big rebels and rebels, and you should not die in a righteous manner. You mentioned the Xuanyuan family in front of me today. I didn't hear anything, and when you are in front of Your Majesty, you must keep your mouth shut, and don't touch His Majesty's bad head."
"Old Yang." Dong Shangshu stopped him as he turned and headed towards Dali Temple.
Yang Chang looked back at him: "What's the matter?"
Dong Shangshu's expression was complicated: "Is that thing really right?"
Yang Chang asked, "What do you mean?"
Dong Shangshu said, "You know."
Yang Chang's eyes sank, and he said sternly, "Old Director, you just have to remember that what the ten great families do... is righteousness!"
…
Nangong Li's death caused an uproar among the family. Although Nangong Li was not the eldest son of the Nangong Patriarch, he was better than the older brother. The Nangong Patriarch had always used him as his heir.
Unexpectedly, he was killed in the palace.
Nangong Patriarch Lei Ting was furious and put pressure on the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple to find the murderer within three days!
However, this is impossible, not to mention that they have no clue now, even if they have clues, they can't investigate this murder case with great fanfare.
Because the king's birthday is coming.
Shengdu is busy celebrating the monarch's birthday. At this critical moment, the murder case of General Nangong Li has caused a lot of uproar. Is it looking for bad luck for the monarch
What's more, Nangong Li sneaked into the palace privately, which made the monarch somewhat unhappy.
After the emperor's birthday banquet is over, they will conduct a high-profile and thorough investigation.
…
Gu Jiao didn't know anything about what happened in the foreign court, she went to the academy as usual.
Mu Qingchen also came to class.
He was still sitting in the second position in the last row, near the right rear door.
The first is Gu Jiao's position.
Everyone was used to Mu Qingchen and Gu Jiao sitting at the same table, and no one felt inappropriate when they saw him sitting there.
Only Gu Jiao clearly felt that Mu Qingchen's aura had changed, and he looked at Gu Jiao with a very cautious look.
Gu Jiao sat down without changing her expression.
Zhou Tong, who was in the front row of her, turned around and looked at the two of them with a smile: "Sure enough, it's Liu Lang, you have a lot of face. When you come back to class, Young Master Qingchen will also come."
Yes, the face is big enough that the first son of Shengdu came to monitor her in person.
Mu Qingchen didn't speak, the aura was terrifyingly cold.
Zhou Tong shrank his neck, covered his face with a book, and whispered to Gu Jiao, "What's wrong with Young Master Qingchen? Are you upset?"
Gu Jiao thought to herself, your voice can be heard in half the classroom, why are you using a book to cover it
"Ask him yourself." Gu Jiao said.
Zhou Tong pouted, but he didn't dare to ask.
Zhou Tong changed his words and said: "Hey, Liulang, did you go to the palace to see the monarch yesterday? Is 10,000 taels worth it?"
"10,000 taels of what?" Gu Jiao's focus is always on gold.
Zhou Tong said: "It's rumored outside that the bonus for the second place is 10,000 taels. Even the servants of our academy said so."
Gu Jiao took out the book from the bookbag: "One thousand taels."
If it was 10,000 taels, Muchuan would have been buried alive by her.
No, she really wants to bury Muchuan alive now.
Forget it, for the sake of killing Nangong Li by taking this opportunity, I will bury him later.
The monarch's birthday banquet was scheduled for the tenth day of the sixth month. Officials of the fourth rank and above in the court hall and the family of the hairpin Ying family in Shengdu all received the banquet.
And just the day before the banquet started, Gu Jiao heard the news she had been waiting for for a long time.
The national teacher has returned to Shengdu.
(End of this chapter)