It was freezing cold, frost covered the ground, and the darkness of night could not see five fingers, but the lights in the main courtyard of the Marquis of Zhenyuan were still on, and it didn't stop all night.
Fu Tingzhou put a bandage on his arm, and listened to the report below with a cold face: "Master Hou, the brothers searched all night, but did not find Miss Wang under the cliff."
"What about the nearby mountain pass?"
"I've been looking for it, and the snow is covered on the ground, and no one has been there."
Fu Tingzhou pressed his eyebrows. He was still wearing daytime clothes. He only had a thick bandage on his arms, and he didn't even change his clothes. Seeing Fu Tingzhou's pale face, the housekeeper persuaded distressedly, "Master Hou, you have stayed up all night. You are still injured, so take a break."
Fu Tingzhou put down his hands, his eyes were cold, like an angry tiger, and he was not angry: "she hasn't come back, how can I sleep? She fell under my nose, if it wasn't for her, I'd be hurting more than just my arm. . The order goes on, continue to search in Xishan, live to meet people... "
Fu Tingzhou paused, and couldn't even bear to say the second half of the sentence "death to see a corpse". How could she possibly die? He is three years older than her, he is evil, and he is ruthless.
Seeing Fu Tingzhou's face ashen, the people in Hou's mansion were silent and dared not say anything. The guards clasped their fists, silently exited, and went down the mountain to search for the second time.
When the guard pushed the door, the cold wind from outside blew in, straight into the man's collar. The housekeeper shrank his arms. He folded his hands, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Master, it's so cold outside, you can't stay in the wild at all. If Miss Wang falls into a coma after falling off the cliff, and there are no wild things in Xishan, Miss Wang must be fine. Stay at the foot of the cliff; if Miss Wang is not in a coma, how can you find a way to contact the people in Hou's mansion. It's been all night, and there's still no movement, will it be... Miss Wang is not in the suburbs of Beijing?"
Fu Tingzhou got up and paced slowly in the study with his hands on his back. This is what he is most afraid of. Whether it is dead or alive, people will never fly away out of thin air, but the guards say that the bottom of the cliff is clean, and the pass where they happened is covered with snow, and there are no footprints.
How is this possible
No trace is the biggest trace. This can only mean that someone has been to the bottom of the cliff before him, and has made a disguise one step ahead. He dared to attack Lord Hou at the feet of the emperor, and he was able to camouflage the scene of the crime without leaking, except for that one.
Fu Tingzhou rubbed his eyebrows and sighed wearily. Lu Heng... He still underestimated this lunatic.
Fu Tingzhou was afraid that Lu Heng would do something to the Fu family, so he personally escorted the old lady and Wang Yanqing to Dajue Temple to offer incense. Fu Tingzhou really didn't expect that Lu Heng was so mad that he set up an ambush in the suburbs of Beijing and attacked in front of Fu Tingzhou.
He is so confident that he can retreat completely
Fu Tingzhou has a headache. If it is someone else, Fu Tingzhou can guarantee that he will get the evidence within three days, and then negotiate or put pressure on him, he has to let the other party lose a layer of skin. But if it falls into Lu Heng's hands, it will be like looking for a needle in a haystack, and Fu Tingzhou is not even sure where Wang Yanqing is.
Jin Yiwei is engaged in intelligence work, and their eyeliners are all over the court. Seeing Fu Tingzhou's bad expression, the housekeeper said, "Master Hou, you are the pillar of Zhenyuan Hou's mansion now. You must take care of your health. If you don't want to go back and rest for a while, you should go to court in a while."
Fu Tingzhou has no time to sleep now. He waved his hand and said, "No need. Let the concierge prepare the horse, and I'll set off later."
Fu Tingzhou ordered that the main courtyard, which had not slept all night, be put into operation immediately. If the master doesn't sleep, everyone below has to follow along. Fu Tingzhou hurriedly took a shower and put on his court clothes after changing his dressing. A maid came in with the people in the kitchen. She saluted Fu Tingzhou and said to please: "My servant, please give your respect to Lord Hou. Lord Hou, the old lady is very distressed when she hears that you are going to court. She ordered the servant to come and give you some obedient food. Hot food. Lord Hou, are you seriously injured? Why don't you take a day off from the yamen today and take a day off."
Fu Tingzhou tidied up the sleeves of the court clothes without raising his eyes, and said, "I have trouble with my mother, it's just a minor injury, it's okay."
This maid is a celebrity next to Chen's. She has learned 100% of Chen's way of doing things. She looked at Fu Tingzhou's face carefully, and said, "Master Hou, what happened yesterday scared the old lady. I heard that you have the lights on here, and you haven't slept well all night. Lord Hou, who was so daring yesterday? Dare to attack Zhenyuan Hou's Mansion?"
What a bunch of idiots, Fu Tingzhou rolled his eyelids and raised his head unbearably. Yesterday, the Marquis of Zhenyuan and the Marquis of Yongping were attacked on the way down the mountain. Miss Hong San almost rolled to the bottom of the cliff. In the end, Hong Wanqing was fine, but Wang Yanqing fell off the cliff. After all, the Fu family wasn't a vegetarian either. They were caught off-guard earlier, and after they reacted, they organized a counterattack immediately.
Fu Tingzhou roughly stopped the bleeding, and immediately went to find Wang Yanqing in person. However, Hong Wanqing kept crying, Chen shi took his hand and muttered about his fear, Fu Tingzhou couldn't get away, so he could only leave the search to his cronies, and escort the female relatives back first.
After returning to the city, Yongping Hou's mansion thanked him for thousands of times, and Yongping Hou also said that he would personally bring Hong Wanqing to the door to thank him in the future. Both families have experienced in the political whirlpool, and know the seriousness, Yongping Hou and Fu Tingzhou jointly suppressed the matter, only saying that the female family was a little frightened on the way to the incense, and did not say anything about the attack.
Fu Tingzhou did a good job of dressing up when he returned to the Marquis Mansion of Zhenyuan. He watched the movement outside all night and kept giving orders, but what came back was not the news he wanted to hear.
She is gone. He disappeared completely as if he had never been by his side.
Fu Tingzhou was worried about Wang Yanqing, and was also terrified by the extent of Lu Heng's hands and eyes. But the people from Zhenyuan Hou's mansion, it's fine if they can't help him, and they even came to ask who attacked them yesterday.
Fu Tingzhou was going to be pissed off. Who else could it be
The maid originally had some words of concern, but after she caught Fu Tingzhou's gaze, she seemed to be stared at by a tiger, and she became hoarse. Fu Tingzhou was expressionless and said coldly, "Since mother is frightened, she should rest well and don't care about the outside world."
The maid was frightened, and suddenly realized that she had made a taboo. Women are not allowed to ask about things in the outer court. The old lady was also in a daze, and even came to inquire about Hou Ye.
The maid hurriedly bowed her head, tremblingly said: "This servant did not intend to offend, please forgive me."
Fu Tingzhou has no time to be angry with a little girl. He didn't bother to scan it, and said, "Go on."
The maid squatted down and quickly stepped back with her head lowered. The maid's eager footsteps fell on the ground, making the room more and more quiet. The housekeeper personally prepared dishes for Fu Tingzhou, and asked, "Master Hou, it will be Laba in two days. Is this year's boxing still the same as last year's?"
Daming is a human society, family politics, and human exchanges are also an important part. The boxing ceremony seems to be the female relatives of the two houses giving each other things, but the involvement is all-round. It stands to reason that this is the job of being the mistress of the house, but with Fu Chang and Chen's brains, Fu Tingzhou didn't dare to leave this kind of thing to them, so he could only worry about it himself.
Fu Tingzhou was about to speak when something flashed through his mind, and he hurriedly asked, "What day is today?"
The housekeeper was stunned by the question, and replied, "Today is the second day of the twelfth lunar month."
"Second day of junior high..." Fu Tingzhou stood there, his heart suddenly throbbing.
Yesterday was the first day of December, her birthday.
He even forced her to see Hong Wanqing on her birthday, and even caused her to fall off a cliff. No wonder she was always gloomy yesterday, he secretly blamed her for taking Joe too much, but he was the one who took too much.
Fu Tingzhou stood in front of the dining table absentmindedly, the food was steaming up, but Fu Tingzhou had no intention of touching his chopsticks at all. There was a sound of small footsteps outside the window. Seeing that Fu Tingzhou's expression was wrong, the butler hurried out to stop the person who didn't have long eyes: "Master Hou is eating, and it will be late for the court in a while. I'll talk about it later."
When the other party was stopped at the door, she was a little anxious, disregarding the rules and raising her voice, looking into the room: "Master Hou, this servant has something important to report."
Seeing that she dared to look inside, the housekeeper immediately pulled down his face to have a seizure. Fu Tingzhou recognized the woman's voice and said for the first time, "Let her come in."
The butler's eyebrows were still standing, so it was neither fire nor not, so he glared at the maid. Fei Cui bowed her head to apologize to the housekeeper, walked quickly into the room, and knelt down with her dress turned up as soon as they met: "This servant is negligent, please forgive me."
Fu Tingzhou knew that this was Wang Yanqing's personal maid, and because of Qingqing's face, he was willing to endure her overstepping. Fu Tingzhou asked, "What's wrong?"
Fei Cui did not dare to be careless, she lowered her head deeply, and brought the things up with her hands: "This servant found this in the cage where the girl was changing clothes."
Fu Tingzhou asked at random, but when he glanced at the thing in Fei Cui's hand, he stopped for a moment. He looked at it for a while, then leaned over and took the items.
Documents, road guides, and household posts. This is a must-have when going out. What are you doing with this
·
Lu House.
Lu Heng dismounted, and the concierge hurried down the steps to lead the horse to Lu Heng. Lu Heng casually explained, "Feed the ingredients well", then lifted the hem of his clothes and strode back.
Guo Tao quickly chased behind Lu Heng and said, "Commander, the Fu family spent the night at the bottom of the mountain last night, and this morning there was someone watching at the west gate of the guardhouse."
Lu Heng laughed: "Dare to stare at Jin Yiwei, you are not too brave. It seems that yesterday's arrow was shot lightly."
The court had just dispersed in the early morning. Fu Tingzhou gathered at the Meridian Gate as usual, and then entered the palace to go to court, and there was nothing cheap. After the war, Lu Heng and Fu Tingzhou went their separate ways without even making eye contact. However, Lu Heng knew that Fu Tingzhou had a wound on his arm, and also knew that the reason why Fu Tingzhou did not come to him was not because he was calm, but because Fu Tingzhou had not found any evidence.
If you have nothing in your hand, what's the use of rushing up? It will only give Lu Heng the handle for nothing.
Lu Heng knew that Fu Tingzhou suspected him, but he didn't care. Guess what, if you want to prove that Lu Heng moved his hand, you have to show evidence. If Fu Tingzhou can find traces, he will be considered as capable.
Fu Tingzhou was just a side dish in Lu Heng's place, and he didn't intend to kill Fu Tingzhou. Lu Heng knew the man in the palace too well. The emperor looked at willful behavior, but he was actually very shrewd. The courtiers fight each other to help stabilize the imperial power. The emperor is happy to pretend to be deaf and dumb, but if it goes too far and threatens the security of the northwest frontier, the emperor will not tolerate it.
The Fu family has a deep foundation in the army, especially Fu Yue, who has been guarding Datong for many years, is very famous in the Northwest Army. The emperor also counted on the Fu family to guard the western front, and would never let the Fu family have an accident at this juncture.
After the annoying monkey was beaten, Lu Heng let out his breath and immediately shifted his focus to his own business. He asked, "Are those in the prison willing to speak?"
Guo Tao shook his head: "No. They are Hanlin civil servants, all of them are delicate and expensive, and we don't dare to punish them.
Lu Heng said: "There is someone behind them to protect them, but it's not that they are safe. Lock them up first, and don't give them food or water. I'll see how long their bones will be hard."
Guo Tao hesitated for a while: "Commander, isn't this offending people too much?"
The civil servants of the Hanlin Academy are amazing. The civil servants who can enter the Hanlin are all born in the second-class jinshi. Behind the in-laws, the relationship between teachers and students is intricate. If one moves, one party is moved. If the person is released alive, when the other party recovers, he will surely bite Lu Heng like a mad dog; if he is killed... a group of mad dogs will rush over.
Lu Heng glanced at Guo Tao lightly, and there seemed to be a smile on his lips: "I also want to be a good person, but the emperor wants results, not to offend anyone, where can I find results?"
Guo Tao stopped talking, bowed his head and bowed his hands: "Yes."
Speaking of this, Lu Heng remembered one more thing. Yesterday he went to clean up Fu Tingzhou, just in case he set up an ambush under the cliff, he didn't expect that the Fu family didn't catch him, but unexpectedly got a gift. Lu Heng asked, "Is that woman awake?"
"No." Guo Tao remembered this, and said with some schadenfreude, "The commander did not see you. Yesterday, the Marquis of Zhenyuan was digging at the bottom of the mountain for a night, and I was still looking for it this morning. I don't remember Fu Tingzhou's fiancee who fell down. , why is he so concerned?"
Lu Heng laughed briefly, but said nothing. If it was Hong Wanqing who shot yesterday, things would have gotten worse. He plotted against Fu Tingzhou. This is a personal grievance. If Guo Xun's niece is involved, the situation will expand.
Lu Heng said slowly: "I gave him a chance to be a hero to save the beauty, and he should thank me. It's not a loss to exchange a sister for Guo Xun's niece. You go back and interrogate those Hanlin bachelors first, and I'll go see Fu Tingzhou. 'sister'."
Guo Tao clasped his fists: "Yes." Then he turned around and left.
After sending Guo Tao away, Lu Heng unhurriedly walked towards the backyard. His original intention was Fu Tingzhou, and it was a surprise to catch Wang Yanqing. There is nothing in the world that Jin Yiwei does not know, especially in the capital, the minister himself does not know if the child is theirs, but Jin Yiwei knows.
Lu Heng effortlessly, Wang Yanqing's files appeared in his mind.
The daughter of a military household in Datong Prefecture, her grandfather Wang Wei, died in the spring of the third year of Zhengde, and her father, Wang Cong, died defending Fu Yue from an arrow in the first year of Jiajing. Both her grandmother and mother were daughters of military households in the same village. In the first year of Jiajing, Wang Yanqing became an orphan and was adopted by Fu Yue. She grew up in Beijing for the next ten years, and was regarded as half a child bride of Fu Tingzhou.
Lu Heng had heard before that the Fu family had an adopted daughter, who was amazingly beautiful. It's just that Fu Tingzhou treats people to death, otherwise someone would have already started, how could he stay until the seventeenth. When I saw it yesterday, it really lived up to its reputation.
No wonder Fu Tingzhou has been secretive for ten years. It's a pity that Fu Tingzhou was one move short of chess, and he still fell into Lu Heng's hands.
All the way, Lu Heng thought about what conditions to use Wang Yanqing. Judging from last night's posture, Fu Tingzhou should care a lot about this woman. With such a big handle in Lu Heng's hands, he would be a surname Lu if he didn't cut a piece of Fu Tingzhou's flesh.
Lu Heng walked into the backyard, and when the maids saw him, they bowed their heads in salute from a distance, and did not dare to shake their bodies. The maid in the room hurried over to greet Lu Heng: "See you sir."
Lu Heng nodded lightly and asked, "Where are you, are you awake?"
The two maids looked nervous, their shoulders tensed: "Lang Zhong came to see it in the morning and said that Miss Wang has blood congestion on the back of her head and needs special medicine to restore it. The slave girl just gave Miss Wang medicine, so she should wake up soon. already."
Lu Heng nodded and stepped into the main hall. The earth dragon in the room was very hot, and the spices smelled of medicinal herbs. As soon as you smelled it, you knew it was a woman's boudoir. Lu Heng didn't go in. He planned to take a look and leave, but as soon as he entered the room, there was movement from the screen.
The maids clasped their hands nervously. Lu Heng thought it was a coincidence. Fu Tingzhou didn't know what to do, but his sister was very respectful. Lu Heng sat down unhurriedly, poured a cup of tea for himself, and raised his chin slightly.
The maid hurried inside to serve Wang Yanqing. After a rustling movement, Wang Yanqing struggled to wake up from the coma, opened his eyes, and quietly watched everything in front of him.
The eldest maid Lingxi said in her heart that this girl Wang was so arrogant, she didn't cry or make trouble when she entered the Jinyiwei Nest, her eyes were as calm as if she didn't know them. Lingxi saluted Wang Yanqing and said gently and politely, "This servant has seen Miss Wang. Girl, are you still feeling uncomfortable?"
After Lingxi finished speaking, after waiting for a long time, Wang Yanqing did not respond. Lingxi had a smile on her lips and said again, "Miss Wang?"
Wang Yanqing blinked and finally spoke: "Who are you?"
This sentence can still be said to be within the expectations of Lingxi, but the next moment Wang Yanqing's performance shocked her.
Wang Yanqing raised his head, tapped his forehead laboriously, frowned deeply and asked, "Who am I?"