nucmednet Chapter 282 The City God Temple Turmoil 9
Chapter 282 The City God Temple Turmoil 9
Xiao Ji placed the letter on the candle flame and lit it.
Shen Lan asked, "If Zhao Xuan doesn't receive this letter, won't she suspect you?"
"No, this is content copied from Suiying."
Xiao Ji's cold expression actually made Shen Lan less angry.
But there's always someone plotting against her behind her back; no one could be in a good mood in that situation.
If Zhao Xuan weren't Xiao Ji's fiancée, she might have already taken action.
But thinking about it the other way around, if she weren't Xiao Ji's fiancée, she wouldn't have targeted him.
Ultimately, it was because she was standing next to Xiao Ji that she was unhappy.
She had previously thought that things would be better after they got married and had an intimate relationship, then they wouldn't have time to care about her, a marginal figure.
In retrospect, she had overestimated the magnanimity of this Miss Zhao.
She moved the things on the table and laid out her autopsy results.
Xiao Ji was completely unprepared. When he first saw the food that had been ripped out of his stomach, he covered his mouth and ran out to vomit.
Shen Lan shrugged and calmly waited for him to return.
When Xiao Ji came back in, he was wearing a mask and asked from a distance, "What are those?"
"You should have guessed it by now. These are all foods taken from the stomachs of the deceased. I brought over the ones I could identify."
The group ate the same breakfast, so they must have acted together. Moreover, from their planning to the assassination, it's impossible that the City God Temple was too far away.
The adults can send someone to check the breakfast shops in that area to see which ones sell mutton, steamed buns, and a kind of fried soybeans.
Furthermore, these people had dried grass found on their bodies or in their hair, leading me to suspect that they had stayed in a dilapidated temple or a shared dormitory room in an inn last night.
It can get cold at night this time of year, so sleeping on some dry grass is a good idea.
But ordinary people don't sleep on hay.
"Is there anything else?" Xiao Ji listened with great interest.
"Also, when did the news of the Crown Prince going to the City God Temple to offer incense first spread? This group of people must have scouted the place beforehand, so they must have been in Bianjing for at least three days. Should we take the portrait to the city gate guards and ask them?"
"You scouted the location?"
"They always wander around that area, always choosing a suitable location for the assassination and an escape route."
Xiao Ji agreed, "That's right. The Crown Prince also said that there were seven or eight assassins who escaped at the time. As long as we can catch one of them, we will have completed our mission."
"With so many people, it's impossible that they wouldn't have left any traces unless they dispersed outside the city."
"The Imperial City Guard has already set up layers of encirclement at the city gate, so escaping the city won't be so easy."
It's getting late, let's talk about it tomorrow.
Xiao Ji packed his things and went home.
Seeing the pile of things on the table made his stomach churn again.
Shen Lan quickly threw away those things, keeping only a small piece of silver.
"This piece of silver was found in the stomach of the first victim. It weighed less than a qian (a unit of weight), so it must have been swallowed much longer. But I can't figure out under what circumstances he would have swallowed silver."
Xiao Ji countered, "Have you ever seen someone who is extremely poor?"
"There are quite a few people at the bottom of society who are living in poverty."
Whether in Guli Town or on the outskirts of Aoki County, the lives of ordinary people are not good.
If even warmth cannot be provided, then nothing else is possible.
“I have seen thieves who would secretly swallow a copper coin and then excrete it. That small piece of silver might keep that person from starving for several days.”
Shen Lan sighed.
"His skin was dark, especially his face and arms, so he must have lived in a relatively hot environment for many years, did manual labor, and was often beaten, which made him different from other assassins."
If we could know the identities of these people, it would be much easier to find out who is behind them.
Shen Lan initially thought that these assassins were in cahoots with Li Ye and that it was all an act.
But after meeting Li Ye at the Crown Prince's residence, he realized he had guessed wrong.
The two walked out talking, unaware that someone was hiding in a corner outside the Criminal Investigation Department.
Sui Feng drove the carriage over and had just gotten off to greet the two when he heard a whooshing sound behind him.
He instinctively dodged to the side, and saw an arrow fly past his ear and shoot towards Xiao Ji.
"Be careful, sir!" He hurriedly reached out his hand, but it was too late.
Shen Lan grabbed Xiao Ji, and the two collided. Shen Lan fell backward, and the two rolled on the ground.
Hearing the commotion, the officers on night duty in the yamen rushed out, drew their swords, and stood guard at the gate, vigilantly looking around.
Sui Feng turned and chased after him for a while, but he didn't see the person who had shot the arrow earlier.
Xiao Ji met Shen Lan's furrowed brows, propped himself up with his arms, and separated the two bodies that were pressed together.
He got up, reached out and helped Shen Lan up as well, and asked, "Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?"
"Cough, it's nothing... Is the master alright?"
"It's alright, luckily you reacted quickly."
He walked over and picked up the arrow that had fallen to the ground, and found a letter stuck in the arrowhead.
It is obvious that this arrow was not intended to kill.
"Who sent the letter?" Shen Lan went to the side to get a lantern and brought it over.
The two read the contents of the letter by the light of the lantern, but were completely baffled.
"What do you mean?"
The letter read: Tonight at midnight, outside the City God Temple.
Someone wants to meet Xiao Ji at the City God Temple.
Xiao Ji stuffed the letter into his pocket, got into the carriage, and instructed the officials to keep the matter a secret.
Inside the carriage, Shen Lan examined the letter's handwriting and paper quality but couldn't discern anything significant.
Sui Feng said through the door, "That person's archery skills are quite good, and I saw the arrow aimed directly at the master. If it weren't for Miss Shen's quick reflexes..."
He didn't even dare to imagine how serious the consequences would be.
"Therefore, this person is an enemy, not a friend," he concluded.
Shen Lan also said, "There was just an assassination attempt at the City God Temple. The Imperial Guards patrol there all day long. This person still dared to meet there. It can't be that he wanted to kill someone."
Xiao Ji laughed and said, "Don't overthink it, just go and see for yourself."
"What if the other party intends to harm you?"
"Perhaps the assassin is trying to bribe me?"
After returning to his residence, Sui Feng immediately gathered his men and set off an hour early to set up the City God Temple.
Coincidentally, Zhang Xinghui was on patrol with the Jinwu Guard tonight. He looked like he'd seen a ghost when he saw the Xiao family coming to set up their plan.
"What does the Xiao family mean by this? Are they planning to put on a grand opera at the City God Temple in the middle of the night?"
Zhang Xinghui asked unhappily, "This is the area under the patrol and jurisdiction of our Jinwu Guard. The Xiao family should report to us in advance what they want to do."
Sui Feng glanced at him and said coldly, "Young Master Zhang is just a minor officer now. It's not your place to meddle in the affairs of the Xiao family."
Sui Feng holds grudges; last time he was seriously injured, this person in front of him has to bear half the responsibility.
Although the Zhang family later apologized on Zhang Xing's behalf and sent him a generous gift, the feud between the two families was still established.