Both groups of people began to rest one after another.
They were looking for firewood and keeping vigil in an orderly manner. What was strange was that only two of the three boys on the opposite side were busy, while the leader just sat back and enjoyed the results.
But that's other people's business, there's no need for them to meddle.
Perhaps it was his first time staying out overnight, so Bai Jin was too excited to sleep. When he turned to look at the other people, his eyes were as wide as bells, and he was in high spirits and not sleepy at all.
They simply stopped lying around and gathered around to chat.
It was up to Li Wei to keep an eye on the fire to prevent a few people from being careless and causing a fire.
Just chatting is meaningless, and Bai Jin is not good at reciting poems and writing poems, so he should relax himself at night.
He thought of a suspenseful story on the spot and asked everyone to guess who the murderer was.
"Everyone, please listen to the question." Bai Jin cleared his throat and spoke in a rhythm, bringing them into the story as if they were immersed in it.
Rumor has it that there is an ordinary couple living in Guihua Lane, Yueyang County, Beijing. One day, a guest came to visit their home before noon, but they and their neighbors found that the husband had died tragically at home.
On the dining table were cold rice, cold vegetable soup, and half-eaten steamed buns. There was also a tabloid published by the imperial court every morning on the side. It seemed that the master happened to meet the murderer just when he was having his meal.
Chu Cheng raised an objection: "What is a tabloid?"
Bai Jin was choked by his sudden question and almost failed to answer.
Huang Xuandu, who was eavesdropping on their conversation with his ears straight up, was also startled for a moment, and a strong curiosity arose in his heart.
Bai Jin explained to Chu Cheng and others, "The tabloid summarizes all the major events happening in the world, the latest news, and various government decrees issued by the court. It can even publish articles written by itself, as well as the information of various businesses. " Business name, it's a disguised form of advertising."
"Advertisement?" Guan Yuan reacted. "To merchants, this thing is like honey wrapped in arsenic. It will take a lot of blood to get it published." , I'm afraid they will be happy with it."
Zuo Anli also expressed his opinion: "Isn't it easy for tabloids to control the world's public opinion? People's sources of information are limited, and it is very likely that they will follow the wind, so such an important tool must be used. It has to be in the hands of the emperor."
Others had not thought of this aspect, and when the evil side that might backfire on the owner came out, everyone thought about it and broke into a cold sweat.
Bai Jin glanced at Zuo Anli in surprise. He could quickly think beyond the limitations of the times and think about the pros and cons, which was much better than him, who had developed habits after being impacted by many knowledges from later generations.
Talent is something more than time and sweat can easily make up for.
Huang Xuandu was fascinated by what he heard. This county boy named Bai Jin had so many fantastic ideas. He would tell his father about this when he returned, which would be considered a part of his future political achievements.
He would not ignore Bai Jin's merits. After all, as the lord, the world would belong to him from now on. He only needed to control the talent allocation well, so there was no need to gain fame for himself.
After the prince wrote down the matter, he looked at Zuo Anli for a long time, divided them into his own small talent treasury, took a small notebook to remember them, and when he returned to the East Palace, he brought them to his side.
Bai Jin continued the story just now.
The wife returned home at this time and found her husband's tragic death. She screamed and immediately reported the incident to the police.
The police arrived shortly after with the policeman. Because there were so many people watching the excitement, no one was given the opportunity to move the body at will, and the scene was well preserved.
After conducting an autopsy, it was found that the husband's death time was during today's Chenshi (7:00-9:00). The next step is to interrogate the prisoner.
The wife said that she went to the embroidery room at 3:30 in the morning and had been working in the embroidery room all the time. She also had the alibi made by the embroidery girls for her. She did not return home until work time in the afternoon to cook.
The neighbor said that he had been with her since yesterday. The husband slept at home after drinking. He didn't get up from bed until three o'clock in the morning and wash up. After dinner, he met a guest who happened to be looking for her husband.
The guest said that he had made an appointment with the couple to meet today a few days ago, and he was here to make an appointment to view the house. He had just been to the dental shop before.
The police have already interrogated Ya Zi and confirmed that what he said was true.
The tabloid was delivered at half past midnight, which was around eight o'clock. At that time, the child delivering the newspaper will put the newspaper in the wooden box at the door of the house, and the owner can unlock it and take out the tabloid to read.
Chu Chengdu was about to faint. Before Bai Jin could finish speaking, he took a sip of water to moisten his throat and said meaningfully: "When the agents were collecting the body, they suddenly found that the husband was holding a jade pendant tightly in his hand. This jade pendant happens to belong to the guest."
He squinted and said with a smile, "So, who is the murderer? Answer quickly!"
Chu Cheng answered without hesitation: "It was the guest. He was accidentally caught when he killed his husband. He got the jade pendant and ran away in a hurry, so he didn't have the chance to destroy the evidence. " Bai
Jin asked him, "Then why didn't he escape instead of visiting on purpose? Isn't he afraid that the matter would be exposed?"
He was stunned: "This..."
A clear and crisp voice suddenly sounded from the other end of the temple: "This is not simple. It must be because he thought that he had no clues. Only by arriving on time would he not arouse suspicion. In this way, Thinking will clear away the suspicion."
Everyone turned their heads and found that the speaker was Huang Xuandu. He put his hands behind his head, his face was full of pride, and he was impressed by his superb ability to solve the case.
Guan Yuan shook his head: "No, the last words Bai Jin said seemed to be deliberately added to interfere with other people's judgment. If it was really that simple, you wouldn't use it to test us."
Huang Xuandu paused for a moment. , his face was full of dissatisfaction.
Bai Jin nodded: "Brother Zhang is right. The murderer is indeed someone else. It depends on whether you can guess it."
"Is the murderer among the three suspects?" Huang Xuandu asked reluctantly.
"Yes." Bai Jin did not hesitate to answer.
Everyone was lost in thought. It was at this moment that Zuo Anli said softly: "The murderer must be the wife." Chu Cheng was
the first to stand up and retort: "How is it possible? The time just doesn't match up! She was always there when her husband died. Where is the opportunity to kill people in the embroidery room? It's better to say that the neighbor went crazy and killed someone after drinking. " Zuo
Anli said something interesting: "Are you sure that your wife was in the embroidery room when her husband died?
Cheng fell silent, racking his brains to think of the key.
Everyone thought about it and found out that the time of death that Wu Zuo mentioned at that time was at Chenshi, and the time when his wife went out was at three quarters of Chenshi, so the crime could have been committed during this time.
"No...what's going on with the tabloid?" Huang Xuandu murmured.
Guan Yuan immediately figured out the key: "The tabloid has been placed in the wooden box waiting for the owner to pick it up, but he didn't say when to pick it up!"
Chu Cheng's scalp was numbed by their group of riddlers, and he begged for mercy: " Please stop being pretentious and tell me the answer."
Zuo Anli glanced at Bai Jin, who was holding his chin and his eyes bright, as if he was waiting for his answer.
He paused and then combed through the case from beginning to end, pretending to reveal his talent inadvertently.
In fact, the wife killed her husband when she first arrived, rushed back after work and arranged the scene to make people think that he was killed while reading a tabloid, then left in a hurry, and rushed back at the right time for the guests to visit, so that she could create a perfect scene. Prove alibi.
"And that jade pendant is probably perjury to frame others." Zuo Anli thought for a moment and came to a conclusion.
Bai Jin clapped his hands, his palms turning red, and he praised: "You are right, the young master is indeed both talented and beautiful."
He said: "Later, the police found clues from the jade pendant, and the blood stains on it were not It was strange. After asking, I learned that the wife hated her husband who often went out to drink and have fun, and it was only easier to get away with framing the guests."
Chu Cheng was surprised by this series of cases. Marveled at Zuo Anli's intelligence.
"You are so powerful, I think you will have no problem handling cases as the minister of Dali Temple in the future." He did not hesitate to praise him.
Zuo Anli said modestly: "Brother You Shou, thank you for your praise. Anli just focused on the details. Whether it is reading and practicing calligraphy, or interrogating and deciding a case, the most important thing is to be cautious and treat it as a big deal."
"You are really young. He's not as cute as Bai Xiaojin," Chu Cheng said, waving his hands.
Guan Yuan wanted to tear off Fa Xiao's offending mouth. He pressed the person down and said, "Don't listen to his nonsense. This person is just talking nonsense, but he is actually envious of your talent."
Chu Cheng: "Uh-huh. Uh-huh."
He struggled to pry his friend's hand away and covered his mouth, but he couldn't do it for a long time and had to give up.
Huang Xuandu has been paying attention to them for a long time. Although he didn't talk much, the eyes that moved towards them from time to time showed that he must be very interested.
The two young men couldn't help but murmur, these people are really lucky.
If they hadn't known that there was absolutely no way they could recognize the Crown Prince, they would have thought that the people across from them were just putting on a show, and they could have easily won the Crown Prince's appreciation, which was much better than their exhausting companions.
The two of them can go out and experience with the prince, so their status is naturally not low, and they are also valued by the prince.
But the grace gained from family and childhood friendship is different from the true talent.
After finishing the suspenseful story, most of the day had passed. After all the fuss, everyone came to sleep, yawned, took off their coats, and got under the quilt.
"Brother Li, remember to wake us up later. Chu Cheng and I will stay here for the rest of the night." Guan Yuan reminded.
The guard did not refuse and nodded in agreement.
They had agreed beforehand that the vigil would be divided into the first half of the night and the second half of the night, with several people taking turns to avoid losing their energy.
Bai Jin also took off his outer shirt and lay down on the quilt wearing only his middle coat.
His long, silky hair was spread loose, and his voluptuous waist that could be held by his hand could always be seen, vaguely adding a touch of hazy beauty.
His jade-skinned hands tightened the belt, so that he could see it more clearly. It was really the same size as one of his hands lying horizontally.
Zuo Anli suddenly looked away, silently warning himself not to look at anything inappropriate.
The bedding of the two of them is placed together, which means that if they are adjacent to each other, they can see each other's face close at hand as long as they turn around.
The fire ignited with the sound of beeping fire tongues, and the warm red firelight reflected on Bai Jin's delicate and handsome face. His appearance was really beautiful, especially when set against the light, it added a bit of thrilling temptation. .
Zuo Anli's cheeks couldn't help but heat up, and the red tide slowly climbed up his neck.
While distracted, he ran into Bai Jin's clear, dark brown eyes, as if all the evil in his heart had been exposed to the sun and roasted.
It was like a bucket of cold water was poured into his pocket, all the heat in his body was washed away, and his whole body gradually calmed down.
But Zuo Anli gradually discovered that Bai Jin was not so calm. His eyes were empty for a moment. After looking at him, his cheeks were like rouge, crimson and rosy.
He looked over, and Bai Jin's eyes dodge slightly.
Some subtle hopes gradually arose in Zuo Anli's heart: Did Bai Jin, him, not mean anything to him?
*
The morning light is faint, and the sky is breaking.
Bai Jin hurriedly went to the nearby river to fetch water before they got up, and washed himself first to avoid being discovered by the few observant people.
If they were separated in other places in the past, washing and bathing in the same place, it would not be easy to be discovered.
Now that they are all together, he has to be careful and careful.
He squatted by the river and wiped the water from his face. Suddenly, there was a sound of light and heavy footsteps behind him. It was the sound of a person trying his best to drag himself after waking up.
Bai Jin hurriedly applied makeup on his forehead, and quickly put the box into his pocket, barely being noticed by anyone.
He turned his head and saw to his surprise that the person coming was the arrogant young man Huang Xuandu from before.
Bai Jin, who was slightly relaxed, heard him say, "What are you hiding?"
He was so frightened that he almost couldn't hold it up, and he hesitated: "No, it's nothing. I'm just washing my things. I don't want to be beaten." Others saw it."
Bai Jinxin said that this person's straightforward temperament seemed not to be an advantage, and secretly complained that the other person couldn't read his eyes.
Fortunately, the man finally realized what he was doing was inappropriate and went to the other side to get water to wash up.
The river water was sparkling, the breeze ruffled the water surface, and the shadow of Bai Jin reflected on the water surface was blown into pieces.
He looked left and right at his forehead, but didn't find anything wrong, so he took a bamboo tube and a water bag to fill up the water, and brought it back to his companions.
Bai Jin didn't know that Huang Xuandu was watching him with his peripheral vision, and his eyes flickered after he left, thinking about something for a while.
After a few people went back, they casually ate some dry food such as cakes and said goodbye to each other. They were not traveling together, and they had no intention of traveling together.
This encounter on the road was just a fateful encounter, and there was no real friendship.
I didn't expect that they were so destined. They clearly didn't follow the same path - the official path that Bai Jin and the others took, and the small path that Huang Xuandu and the others took, but they met by coincidence.
Everyone looked at each other in front of the resting village, and finally Huang Xuandu came out to say hello. He was thick-skinned and didn't feel any embarrassment at all.
This is Liucheng Jinjiu County, and it is also the only lower county in Liucheng.
Bai Jin and the others were in Guangxing County, Mian City.
Their final destination was Liucheng in Yingzhou, where there were specially set up private schools in various places. With the recommendation letter from Zuo County Magistrate, and after passing the entrance examination and being ranked on the list, you can directly enter the school.
After three years of assessment, you can get a recommendation letter from the mountain chief, go to the Imperial Academy for direct assessment, and enter school after being ranked.
Almost every process is indispensable, unless one's father has the protection of an official position and can go directly to the Imperial College to study.
However, most of the places are only one, and they are reserved for children who are incompetent at home. If you can pass the exam through your own efforts, your resume will not only look better, but it will also save your family a lot of help.
The reason why so many aristocratic families were able to stay together in ancient times was because they worked together, even if their brothers were at odds with each other, they could still resist their insults. When it was time to make concessions for the interests of the clan, they had to make concessions obediently.
This village is called Lihua Village, named after the large tracts of pear trees planted in the village.
It was mid-spring, and the trees were full of pure white pear petals, which really echoed Cen Shen's poem, "Suddenly, as if a spring breeze came overnight, thousands of pear blossoms bloomed on the trees."
The village chief came to receive them in person. The old people said slowly in hoarse voices: "We haven't had young men studying here for a long time. The last time they came here to rest was probably ten years ago."
His There was a little nostalgia in his eyes.
Bai Jin and the others greeted the village chief with their hands raised, as if they were scholars.
Huang Xuandu looked left and right and saw that they were all bowing. It was too out of place for him to stand upright, so he reluctantly bent down to salute.
The village chief led them into Lihua Village. The pear blossoms were in full bloom. It could be seen that this year's harvest would be good, but the villagers had sad faces and numb expressions on their faces.
Some of the villagers tightened their belts. Although they were not skinny and skinny, they obviously did not have enough to eat.
The court actually encountered such a thing, it was obviously weird, and everyone was immediately on alert.
The villagers' attitude towards them was also lukewarm, unlike the people in other villages who would not say hello to them when they saw them, but at least greeted them with smiles.
They just had an attitude of indifference and looked at each other without paying attention.
Zuo Anli asked the village chief a few indirect questions, but he didn't get anything out of it. On the contrary, it made the village chief's expression and posture even more indifferent. After arranging a residence for them, he quickly left.
Leave no unnecessary words behind.
"This Lihua Village must be hiding important secrets. They are too indifferent to outsiders. Moreover, the people in the village are not in good health. When I first came here, I saw a child who was as skinny as a stick." Chu Cheng felt a little uncomfortable. When I read this book, I immediately thought of various conspiracies and conspiracies.
Huang Xuandu's expression was the ugliest. This was a world governed by his father. The fact that such miserable people still existed among his father's subjects was a denial of the emperor's ability.
He will never allow such a filthy person to exist!
"Why don't we go investigate this matter?" Huang Xuandu suggested.
Chu Cheng's idea coincided with his, and he agreed simply.
Bai Jin frowned, not because he thought a few people were meddling in other people's business, but because a whole village was like this, so the person who caused the villagers' misery must be quite powerful.
This is not someone who can be easily defeated by just a few of them.
He was very disdainful of the rash actions that several people might take.
Guan Yuan also frowned, and even the two teenagers next to Huang Xuandu had expressions of disapproval.
This was the first time that they stood against Huang Xuandu. After all, they were on a study tour this time. Their number was pitifully small. They said they were here for training. If the prince really did something wrong, their lives would not be enough to pay for it.
When Huang Xuandu saw that no one responded to his plan, he couldn't help but burst into anger: "How can you be so cowardly! Do you have the courage anymore!"
The other two people did not dare to face the prince's anger directly, and stood aside like quails, not daring to say a word.
Zuo Anli's eyes were heavy and he asked him: "Master Huang, have you ever made a comprehensive plan? Can you guarantee that we will escape safely after finding out the clues?"
Huang Xuandu choked and puffed up his cheeks angrily. He turned his head and said, He still looked unconvinced, "Are you going to let the people behind the scenes do evil and let the people suffer? What kind of man is that?"
Bai Jin had no choice but to smooth things over: "Stop arguing, why not find an event to compete with?" , I will listen to whoever wins."
Everyone's eyes lit up, and they all thought this was a good idea. Since the most powerful person has decided what to do, the rest of the people might as well just listen to him.
They discussed it for a while and decided to play Feihua Ling.
Bai Jin asked around, and after seeing that several people agreed, he announced that he would play Feihua Ling.
The rules are very simple. The participants agree on a word and take turns saying the verses containing this word in ancient poems. Within a stick of incense, whoever can stand to the end will be the winner.
Bai Jin lost the fastest. After all, he was not good at reciting poems and composing poems. This thing tested his talent too much, but the three days of fishing and two days of drying the net were not enough for him to catch up later.
So he gave up naturally, without any painful embarrassment or struggle, simply and smoothly.
Even if the Feihua Ling exam he was taking now was just a poem he had memorized, he had already forgotten it all and couldn't figure out the ending even if he racked his brains.
At the end of the game, only Zuo Anli and Huang Xuandu were left on the field.
But looking at the state of the two of them, it was clear that Zuo Anli, who was very comfortable, was better. Huang Xuandu was sweating profusely, his lips were trembling slightly, and he was obviously about to give up.
Zuo Anli stared at the other person's face, and an idea flashed in his mind. He finally remembered where he had seen the young man named Huang in front of him - wasn't he at the top of the emperor's throne?
This person is none other than the prince.
His eyes flashed slightly. Based on his understanding of the emperor, it was definitely impossible for the prince to go out alone to practice.
They must have hidden the secret from the young and energetic prince, and specially sent secret guards to hide in the depths to protect them.
Zuo Anli turned to look at Li Ge. When he saw that the other party had received his hint and nodded, he had an idea.
In the end, he decided to make the flying flower order slightly waterproof, allowing the prince to win the competition.
Huang Xuandu narrowly won, the corners of his mouth kept rising, and he couldn't keep the pressure down.
He doesn't think it's due to luck this time. After all, he still has the strength to win.
After this comparison, his attitude towards Bai Jin changed greatly, mainly because of the Confucianism prevailing in the Dali Dynasty.
Although Bai Jin is not empty-handed and is a little smart, he is not very knowledgeable, which really makes Huang Xuandu and others look down upon people who don't take "witch doctors and musicians" seriously.
But on the surface, they still looked serious, and Bai Jin didn't notice anything was wrong.
When a few people were having a lively quarrel, a clear and sweet voice suddenly sounded outside the hospital: "Who are you?"
The author has something to say:
The future prince: Fortunately, I just dismissed it in my heart.