Chapter 129: Strict order to pursue the murderer

In the next few days, Xiao Fan calmed down and began to practice his slingshot skills. In order to achieve the effect of excellence, he specially dug the wet soil, then rolled the soil into mud balls, and dried it in the sun. This became the bullets of the slingshot. The dried soil formed into hard balls, and after being shot, it was extremely powerful. The mud balls made a burst sound after contacting the target object, and a palpitations dust raised. After hitting, it not only caused people to break their muscles, but also gave people a great visual impact.

Unfortunately, Xiao Fan's slingshot skills are really not up to the table. No, he is still too praising him. In fact, the mud balls in his hand are shot out, and the accurate head is very strange. The gods don't know where they will hit, so he himself doesn't know. Therefore, every time Xiao Fan practices slingshot, there is no one in the circle with him as the center of the circle. No matter people, animals, shrimps, crabs, or fleas.

When you reach this level of slingshot, you are truly unprecedented.

Xiao Fan himself was very happy to practice and turned a blind eye to the fear that the people of the Xiao Mansion were so anxious that they were all day long. For him, learning more skills is not bad. His ancestors once said a very reasonable saying: Too much skill does not suppress one's body.

In the afternoon, an order came from the palace. His Majesty summoned him and Xuan Xiaofan entered the palace.

Xiao Fan did not dare to neglect, so he hurriedly put on his official uniform and headed towards the palace gate.

In Wuying Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang still looked tired, his eyelids drooped, and he quietly watched Xiao Fan bow to him respectfully.

"Get up." Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was hoarse, like a lonely lamp that was about to be exhausted, trying hard to keep himself from extinguishing. Although he looked just an old man with a passing life, his eyebrows still released a powerful majesty, which made Xiao Fan feel awe from the bottom of his heart. The old man in front of him might no longer be young or healthy, but no one could deny that as long as he was alive, he would be a lion that he could never provoke. No matter how old the lion was, it would be a lion. All beasts could only crawl and surrender in front of him.

Zhu Yuanzhang's gasp was relatively rapid, and the phlegm in his throat was hissing. He raised his eyes slightly and also stared at Xiao Fan.

Zhu Yuanzhang has never understood this young man.

At the age of twenty, he acted and spoke cautiously, and did not see the sharpness of the young man at all. It seemed that under his young skin, there was a heart that was more vicissitudes than a centenarian. Zhu Yuanzhang had always wanted to know how many strange thoughts this young man was hiding in his mind, and what kind of unruly and unruly soul he had under his seemingly respectful appearance.

Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to know even more that such a minister would be able to firmly grasp such a weak Zhu Yunwen in the future? Can he control him well?

Zhu Yunwen once advised him several times about the illegitimate vassal kings, and his words showed his urgent desire to reduce the vassal vassals, and Zhu Yuanzhang never spoke.

The ills of the vassal kings took root in his heart, and Zhu Yuanzhang gradually began to pay attention to it, but the degree of attention was far lower than the caution of foreign ministers.

For him, whether to cut down the vassal state or not is an internal matter of his Zhu family. Although this matter needs to be resolved, there is no need to rush for a moment. It requires a long-term brewing and a perfect plan that does not hurt the prince's feelings, nor does it shake the country. - Governing a big country is like cooking a small freshman, especially a huge measure that shocks the world, which requires caution. Haste will not be achieved, and everything will be reversed if it is extreme.

Perhaps even Xiao Fan himself didn't know that Zhu Yuanzhang actually knew his words and deeds clearly. He repeatedly encouraged Zhu Yunwen to reduce the vassals and to make enemies with the fourth prince Zhu Di and Huang Zicheng, etc. Zhu Yuanzhang saw it in his eyes, but never mentioned it to anyone.

From the perspective of the emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang's most taboo is that his ministers are in a relationship in private and have no gaps. This is definitely a threat to the monarchy, but Xiao Fan did a good job. He offended people everywhere in the court and made grudges with others everywhere, and tortured himself into a disgusting thing that grandma does not love his uncle.

Zhu Yuanzhang likes such ministers so much. Ministers with many enemies are good ministers. Xiao Fan... is definitely a good minister.

This is also the main reason why Xiao Fan did things wrong many times, and Zhu Yuanzhang still tolerated or even favored him.

Seeing Xiao Fan stand up and standing respectfully in front of the dragon table, Zhu Yuanzhang's wrinkled mouth quietly curled up a smile.

"Xiao Aiqing..."

"I'm here."

"Geng Qi, the son of Changxing Hou, was seriously injured. Is there any progress in this case?"

Geng Bingwen has been in the palace many times recently. He always cried in front of the emperor about his son's tragic experience and asked Zhu Yuanzhang to make the decision for him. Zhu Yuanzhang was so annoyed that he had to summon Xiao Fan into the palace to ask.

Xiao Fan's eyebrows jumped, and his expression was still calm: "Go to Your Majesty, this case is quite tricky. The perpetrator took advantage of the night to capture Geng Yu and beat him inhumanely outside the walls of Geng Mansion. The plot and the brutal methods are really crazy and outrageous. I dare not neglect after receiving the order. After continuous consideration and judgment day and night, I can finally make a conclusion..."

Zhu Yuanzhang was interested when he heard this. He leaned forward slightly, looked at Xiao Fan, and said slowly: "What conclusion?"

Xiao Fan's expression remained unchanged, and he said calmly: "...It's certain that the murderer...is a bad person."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face gradually turned blue: "..."

In the hall, the king and his minister were silent for a long time. Zhu Yuanzhang's tone contained anger and said slowly: "Is this your conclusion?"

Xiao Fan heard Zhu Yuanzhang's bad tone and said in panic: "Your Majesty, there is no clue in this case. I have been pursuing it day and night, and investigated the people who had been grudges from Changxing Hou and his son Geng Qi one by one, but still found nothing. This case... seems to have become a headless unsolved case..."

Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly: "I don't believe that someone at the foot of the emperor did such a bold and reckless thing, but there was no clue left behind. The headless case? Humph! I'm afraid that your Jinyiwei is incompetent?"

Xiao Fan hurriedly knelt down and said in a trembling voice: "I... I'm dead!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's vicissitudes of old face almost shaved, and he said coldly: "I have no clue and can't catch the murderer. Could this matter be stopped? How can I explain it to him from the Marquis of Changxing?"

Xiao Fan sighed in his heart, the real murderer is standing in front of you now, discussing with you how to arrest the murderer...

Xiao Fan thought for a while and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, although it is very difficult to solve the case, if Your Majesty wants to give Changxing Hou an explanation, there is actually a way..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's body suddenly leaned forward slightly and said, "Oh? How to explain to Changxing Hou? Do you have a solution?"

Xiao Fan was silent for a moment, then looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said slowly: "...We can announce the whole country and use severe words to condemn the murderer's cruel behavior, which will make the murderer feel uneasy in his conscience, or... ask the Taoist priest to do the trick and draw circles to curse the murderer."

Zhu Yuanzhang: "..."

In Wuying Hall, the monarch and ministers fell into silence again...

It took a long time...

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly said with a smile: "Xiao Fan, do you think this method is a little too ridiculous?"

Xiao Fan thought about it and finally nodded and sighed: "...It's really a bit of a play."

"Bang!"

Zhu Yuanzhang turned his back faster than reading the book, and his old face turned pale in an instant. He was furious, slapped the dragon case hard, and shouted hard: "Damn it! Since you know it is a joke, you can find the murderer for me! Remember, what I want is the murderer! The murderer! If it is not condemnation, don't curse! I want his life!"

"I am afraid! I am guilty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was still furious and gasped and said quickly: "The case has happened for so many days, why are you clueless? The Jinyiwei is so useless. What is the use of you wine bags? You... you said! What have you been doing these days? What are you doing?"

"I... I'm practicing slingshot..." Xiao Fan wiped his sweat from fear, thought for a while, and then hurriedly added: "... In order to protect the country and country of Ming Dynasty, I've practiced my slingshot skills..."

Zhu Yuanzhang: "..."

...

...

"Get out! Get out!" Zhu Yuanzhang burst out a few words from his teeth. His face turned pale and his eyes turned red. He gritted his teeth and said, "...Xiao Fan, I will solve this case within five days and arrest the murderer, regardless of life or death! Otherwise, I will treat you as the murderer and cut you alive! Did you hear it?"

Xiao Fan bowed in panic and said, "I will receive the order!"

"roll!"

Seeing Xiao Fan running away from Wuying Palace with his head in his arms, Zhu Yuanzhang still angrily slapped the Dragon Case.

"It's a bastard!"

Standing in front of the Dragon Case and walking back and forth for a few steps, Zhu Yuanzhang's anger gradually calmed down. He smacked his lips and suddenly felt thoughtful.

"...I was injured by Geng's death, but it was not fatal. I even threw him into the Geng's thatched cottage. How could I think about such a sinister and despicable method? The more I thought about it, the more I felt that it was exactly the same as what Xiao Fan had always done?"

Xiao Fan looked very angry when he walked out of the palace gate in a panic.

If you have to forgive others, why should Lao Zhu always yell at the murderer? Didn’t he beat the boy of the Geng family? He didn’t kill him, he just lay in bed for a few months. How big is it? The whole country is so big, and there are so many state affairs to deal with, and he always holds a small mess and is still unreasonable?

Xiao Fan looked up at the sky, sighing with sadness.

It is too difficult to be a minister with such a narrow-minded emperor!

What to do next?

Check out the murderer!

The biggest question now is: Where can I find the murderer? Old Zhu Qian solves the case within five days, which means that Xiao Fan must find the murderer within five days. In other words, Xiao Fan must find a scapegoat within five days and bear the charge of beating and injuring Geng Qi on his behalf.

This sheep...is very difficult to find.

After returning to the Jinyiwei Fushiyaya, Xiao Fan called Cao Yi.

"Brother Cao, come with me."

"Where are you going?"

"Go to Changxing Marquis' Mansion, we want to investigate the case and find out the murderer who injured Geng Qi!" Xiao Fan said with a righteous look on his face.

Cao Yi's expression suddenly became extremely strange, and he secretly admired him in his heart.

Brother Xiao has a prosperous career and is soaring. There is always a certain reason for a person's success. Just because of Xiao Fan's acting skills, expressions, and face... it's unreasonable not to be promoted.

"Brother Cao, we are going to catch the murderer, not to catch the adulterer. Can your expression be more normal?" Xiao Fan said as if nothing had happened.

Cao Yi looked around and saw that there was no one around, and couldn't help but whisper: "Sir, but, but... the real murderer..."

Xiao Fan immediately took his words and said sternly: "That's right! The real murderer is to be investigated! Without investigation, there is no right to speak. Therefore, we must go to Changxing Marquis' Mansion to check what's going on, and see who is brave enough to actually hurt Changxing Marquis' son and destroy the happy marriage between Geng Qi and Princess Jiangdu..."

Cao Yi looked at Xiao Fan's righteous look in amazement, and couldn't help but admire him. - How thick does it take to make such a shameless voice?

Xiao Fan said with a solemn expression: "Brother Cao, since you have eaten your king's fortune, you should share your worries. Your Majesty strictly entrusts to investigate and deal with this case. You and I should do our best to deal with it. We must catch the murderer who beats and commits the murderer. The world is bright and bright, and the emperor has no laws at his feet..."

Cao Yi opened his mouth for a long time, staring at him. After a while, he sighed: "I really didn't expect that lord is such a person full of justice. When you were the son-in-law of the Chen family in Jiangpu County, if I knew your character, you would definitely not be able to come to the capital, let alone become an official..."

"Why?"

"You must have been beaten to death by me."

The Changxing Marquis Mansion is located in Xicheng and covers a wide area. In order to show the world that he was not a cold-blooded emperor who cruelly killed the founding heroes, Zhu Yuanzhang specially gave Changxing Marquis Geng Bingwen a mansion to show his grace.

But everyone in the world knows that the so-called founding heroes, those who were killed and those who died of illness, are the only ones who survived. The only thing that survived is full of irony.

Of course, Geng Bingwen, the Marquis of Changxing, knew better that the reason why he could escape Zhu Yuanzhang's butcher's knife was because of his relatively mediocre military talent. The generals who were good at siegeing cities and plundering land were killed by Zhu Yuanzhang. Fortunately, Geng Bingwen was not good at attacking on the battlefield, he was only good at defense.

A military general who only knows how to defend militarily will not pose a threat to the ruler.

So Geng Bingwen survived, and he lived a very good life. Since Zhu Yuanzhang did not kill him, he must be favored more than he wanted to show that the emperor was not a cruel tyrant who was mean and ungrateful. The significance of Geng Bingwen's survival was greater than that of a living specimen to show the emperor's kindness to the people of the world.

Changxing Hou Geng Bingwen also understood this very well, so he lived a life that was more careful than any meritorious minister. He was good at observing his words and expressions, and knew how to make a difference. He did not fight when he should fight, and retreated thousands of miles when he should retreat. Even if he was wronged, he would never say anything. This is another important reason why he could survive.

So when Xiao Fan and Cao Yi led several households in the brocade clothes to the door, Geng Bingwen did not pretend to be a marquis because he was the founding general Qin's title of marquis. Instead, he was kind-hearted and welcomed him out of the mansion in person. He even invited Xiao Fan and others into the mansion with a little humility.

耿炳文穿着一身灰色的便服,看起来很朴素很低调,年已六十多岁的模样,花白的头发,花白的胡须,面孔因常年的征战而显得黝黑,一双浑浊的眼睛里不时流露出老迈沧桑之态.尽管其爱子莫名其妙被人揍成重伤,而且又被扔在茅房,可他面对萧凡时仍能保持侯爷的雍容气度,神情中只带着几不可觉的淡淡悲愤.
To be continued...