Everything was moving in a good direction, and the haze finally dissipated from everyone's hearts.
After Liu Yue came out, Zi An asked, "So, can you give us the blood antelope horn?"
Liu Yue said coyly: "It's not mine, just ask him. I stole it from him back then."
"Just admit it." Song Ruiyang rolled his eyes at her. After the incident that year, she stole the blood antelope horn and ran away.
Zi'an looked at Song Ruiyang, "Your Highness, then I have no choice but to ask you."
Song Ruiyang said to Liu Yue: "Give it to her. Zhuangzhuang is in a very bad condition and needs the blood antelope horn to survive."
Liu Yue said: "It's in the inn, who of you will go with me to get it?"
"Xiao Tuo!" Zi'an shouted.
"I'm coming!" Xiao Tuo came over, "I'm here."
"You and Liu Yue go get the blood antelope horn, Su Qing goes to Tingyuxuan to pick up Xia Lin, and I'll go over after King Liang's condition stabilizes." Zi'an said.
"Okay!" The two went out together and divided the work.
Song Ruiyang did not follow. He looked at Gongsun Yan and ordered coldly, "Go back to the posthouse first. You are not allowed to leave the posthouse without my order."
Gongsun Yan's face was gloomy, "I'll take my leave!"
Gongsun Yan was sent away by two guards. Gongsun Yan was very skilled in martial arts and was the only person around him who was both civil and military. Having grown up with him since childhood, she should have known his heart best, but she betrayed him.
Yi'er had been hiding behind Zi'an and secretly watching Song Ruiyang, feeling a very strange feeling in her heart.
Song Ruiyang smiled and called, "Come here."
Yi'er walked over and stammered, "Yes."
Song Ruiyang looked at her and naturally had a strange feeling in his heart. He still had no children, and because of this, he had been blamed by his father many times. As the crown prince, it was his responsibility to reproduce children. Fortunately, although his father blamed him, he did not force him.
"Yier, tell me, what did your mother tell you about me?" Song Ruiyang asked.
Yi'er said: "Mother said my father is dead."
"Dead?" Song Ruiyang looked slightly annoyed. "Did she say how she died?"
"You were bitten to death by a dog." Yi'er saw that he was not happy, but she did not dare to lie, "He said that you were fighting with the dog for food and were bitten to death by the dog."
Song Ruiyang gritted his teeth and said, "She really has the nerve to say that."
Yi'er comforted him, "Don't be angry. Mother said that you were full when you died, so you died of fullness."
"Aren't you competing with dogs for food? How can you still eat your fill?" Song Ruiyang said unhappily.
"You won the fight, but you lost."
Zi'an and Liu Liu, who heard this, burst into laughter.
Song Ruiyang's face twisted, "I'll give her a good beating later."
Yi'er was a little confused. "Then how did you survive in the end? Didn't the dog bite you to death?"
Zi'an took advantage of Song Ruiyang's madness to pull Yi'er away and said with a smile, "Yi'er, your mother lied to you. Your father didn't steal food from the dog, and he wasn't bitten by the dog."
Yi'er shook her head. "No, my mother wouldn't lie to me. Besides, she has said this several times. She must have thought that my father was bitten to death by a dog."
"She just hopes that I will be bitten to death by a dog." Song Ruiyang was too lazy to be angry. He was so angry that he didn't even know what was going on.
Yi'er looked at him, then at Zi'an, and found it difficult to understand what happened that year.
Liu Yue and Xiao Tuo returned to the inn. When Liu Yue reached out to push the door, he found something was wrong.
The door was opened.
She pushed the door open and saw the room was in a mess. Her bag had been rummaged through and her clothes were scattered all over the floor. She rushed over and looked through it, and said in shock, "The blood antelope horn is gone."
"What?" Xiao Tuo was shocked. He walked over and looked for it with her, but he really didn't see it. "Could it be that you left it at home?"
"Impossible, I packed it in my bag when I came out." Liu Yue said.
"Someone has obviously been here. Your silver was not taken away. He didn't leave here empty-handed. He came here for the Blood Antelope Horn." Xiao Tuo said.
He immediately rushed out the door, and when a waiter happened to pass by, he grabbed him and asked, "Who has been here today?"
The waiter was frightened by his vicious look and stammered, "No."
"It's been robbed. Someone must have come here." Xiao Tuo carried him in. The waiter was shocked to see the mess in the room. "There has never been any theft in our store. What's going on?"
"Go and ask the people in the store right away to see if anyone has been here." Xiao Tuo said.
"Yes, I'll go right away!" There was a thief in the store in broad daylight. This was no small matter, so the waiter went downstairs immediately.
Xiao Tuo checked the door lock. It was a copper lock, very sturdy. There were signs that the copper lock had been pried open, and there was still some iron wire left.
It is certain that this person came for the blood antelope horns.
A moment later, the shopkeeper came with his waiter. The shopkeeper recognized Xiao Tuo and quickly bowed, "It turns out to be General Xiao."
"Boss, have any strangers come here today?" Xiao Tuo asked.
This inn has the first and second floors. The front yard on the first floor is for dining, and the back yard is for living. They are separated. People who are not staying in this inn are not allowed to enter the guest rooms. If they want to enter, they must register.
The shopkeeper said, "In reply to the general, no one has come into the guest room area today. I have been at the counter all day. If someone came in, I would definitely know."
Xiao Tuo looked around and found that there was only one passage on the second floor, in other words, there was only one door to come in. The window faced the street and was sealed, so it was impossible for someone to come in through the window.
Moreover, there were signs that the door lock had been pried open, so it was certain that the person had entered through the door.
"No, someone must have been here." Xiao Tuo said firmly, "Look at the door lock. It has been pried open."
The shopkeeper leaned over to take a look and saw traces of friction on the keyhole, and there was iron wire left. His face changed drastically, "Did a thief get in?"
The shopkeeper immediately called all the waiters to ask, but they all said that they had never seen any strangers come in, and those who passed by were all guests staying in the hotel.
Xiao Tuo thought for a moment and said, "Show me the list of guests staying at the hotel."
The shopkeeper was a little embarrassed, "This, this is not good, right?"
"Why can't I watch it?" Xiao Tuo frowned, "Are you feeling guilty?"
"No, that's not the case. We cannot disclose the guest list casually. If the general wants to see it, he must first report to the authorities and ask them to retrieve the list." said the shopkeeper.
Xiao Tuo knew that this was the rule, so he said, "Why don't you report it to the police?"
The shopkeeper immediately ordered the waiter to report the case to the government. After a while, the captain of the police arrived with two constables.
After asking about the situation, the head of the police showed the official approval document and said, "Give the list to General Xiao immediately."
The shopkeeper took out the check-in list and gave it to Xiao Tuo and the captain. The two checked carefully and found that two people checked out today. One of them was the person who lived next door to Liu Yue. He checked in yesterday and just checked out not long ago. As for the other one, he checked out right after he checked in. Both of them registered as out-of-towners.
"Have both of you produced your official identification?" Xiao Tuo asked.
All outsiders must show their ID when entering or leaving the city, and also when checking into an inn.
"Yes, they have all been verified. General Xiao, please see. We have also recorded the public certificates they presented." said the shopkeeper.
(End of this chapter)