Chapter 116: Fatal Question
Throwing smoke bombs...is not actually exclusive to Japanese ninjas. Rather, it is something they learned from the Central Plains.
From today's perspective, the manufacturing process of smoke bombs is not difficult, but in the Northern Song Dynasty, it was considered a unique skill.
The smoke bomb thrown by Tofu Xishi was considered to be somewhat "harmful". It contained a lot of irritating dust, which was thrown everywhere by the kinetic energy caused by the burning of trace amounts of gunpowder.
After throwing the smoke bomb, Tofu Xishi rushed into the bedroom and ran out hugging her man.
It must be said that people who practice martial arts are strong. Tofu Xishi looks like a delicate and weak woman, but when she really starts fighting, she is as fast as the wind. She hugged the man in a princess hug, then hit the window with her back and jumped out. She was about to use her light skills to fly over the eaves and walls to leave, but after just a glance, her body stiffened.
The reason was simple. There were already a large number of constables in place around her house, and there were also archers watching at some commanding heights.
It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a dragnet.
Zhan Zhao also jumped out from the window. He covered his mouth and nose. When he came out and saw Tofu Xishi standing there, he smiled and gently brushed off the red dust on his red official uniform.
Lu Sen walked out of the house slowly. He walked calmly, without any debris on his body, and he didn't need to cover his nose like Zhan Zhao did. Because all the dust was not allowed to get close to his body within an inch, there was an invisible force field that separated the debris from him.
Zhan Zhao raised his eyebrows when he saw this scene.
Tofu Xishi also saw it and a look of despair appeared on her face.
In her opinion, being targeted by Zhan Zhao and a large number of detectives was already troublesome enough, but she did not expect that now there would be an ignorant Master Lu following her.
I am just a weak woman, is it necessary?
Lu Sen looked at the man that Tofu Xishi was holding and said with a smile, "I was kind enough to help your husband cure his illness, but you threw a cigarette bomb at us instead. This hospitality is too enthusiastic."
Tofu Xishi slowly put the man in her arms down, then turned to Lu Sen and said, "I admit defeat. Master Lu, I have no grudge against you, can you please let my husband and I live!"
Lu Sen waved his hand gently: "It was Kaifeng Prefecture that arrested you, it has nothing to do with me. I came here this time just to hear some intelligence."
Alas! Tofu Xishi looked sad and helpless.
At this time, outside the encirclement, many idle people had gathered, pointing at this side and talking.
Tofu Xishi was a celebrity in this neighborhood, and many people knew her. Seeing her like this, some lecherous men became hot-blooded and pointed at Zhan Zhao and others, and their voices gradually became louder.
Zhan Zhao's eyes were cold as he glanced at those busybodies whose voices were getting louder and louder. He stared at them so hard that they became uneasy and gradually lost their voices.
When the people's emotions calmed down, Zhan Zhao came over and said to Tofu Xishi, "Come with us. If you have anything to say, let's talk about it in the court of Kaifeng Prefecture."
Then nearly a hundred detectives, escorting the tofu beauty and carrying a man who could not move, returned to Kaifeng Prefecture.
Because Tofu Xishi was involved in Guifanlou, this assassin organization is actually quite brutal and will never leave alive anyone who knows their secrets. Therefore, this trial was not open to the public and the public was not allowed to attend. It was a closed-door trial.
Bao Zheng sat in the main seat, looking down at the kneeling Tofu Xishi with his eyes narrowed, as if thinking about where to start the interrogation.
Lu Sen was sitting next to him. He looked at Bao Zheng and felt something was wrong. After thinking for a while, he immediately understood what was going on: "Prefect Bao, why don't you merge and transform? If you don't turn into charcoal, it won't taste right!"
When Bao Zheng heard this, he felt helpless. He took the gavel and slammed it on the table: "No one who has no connection with the court should disturb the court, otherwise you will be expelled from the court."
Lu Sen stopped talking immediately.
Although Bao Zheng did not become darker or fatter, he still has that kind of iron-faced and impartial style.
Before Bao Zheng could speak, Tofu Xishi spoke first: "Prefect Bao, I confess. Please don't hurt me and my husband."
Then, under everyone's strange gazes, Tofu Xishi rubbed her face for a long time and actually rubbed out a thin human skin mask.
Um?
Not to mention Bao Zheng, even Lu Sen was shocked.
After taking off the human skin mask, Doufu Xishi became a completely different person. Her face looked more beautiful, two points less fierce and five points more gentle.
To put it simply, she is a virtuous person with a strong wifely charm.
"My humble daughter Qin Xianglian pays respects to Prefect Bao." She then bowed slightly to Lu Sen and said, "I pay my respects to Master Lu."
Bao Zheng leaned forward slightly, stroked his beard, and said, "Qin, it seems that you seem to have other hidden secrets."
"Your Excellency Bao, I beg you to listen to my detailed explanation."
After saying that, Qin Xianglian saw that neither Bao Zheng nor Lu Sen had any objection, so she told them her story.
It turns out that more than a year ago, Qin Xianglian was just a weak woman who lived in the countryside with her husband Chen Shimei, and their life was harmonious and happy.
A year ago, Chen Shimei went to Beijing to take the imperial examination and passed it successfully. Then he was selected as a son-in-law and married the Princess of Qingyao County! He also wrote a divorce letter and sent it back to the countryside.
The grief-stricken Qin Xianglian didn't understand why her husband changed his mind after going to the capital and even wrote a letter of divorce.
In despair, she threw herself into the river to commit suicide, but she was lucky enough not to die and was washed to the shore downstream.
Then, besides her, there was another woman with wounds and blood all over her body who was also unconscious on the shore.
After Qin Xianglian woke up, she thought about rescuing the seriously injured and unconscious woman.
As a result, the woman woke up soon, and seeing that she was kind-hearted, she said that she would not live long, and passed on all her internal strength and unique skills to her, and even "passed" on the position of female leader to her.
Half a day later, the woman died, and Qin Xianglian became a first-class master.
After burying the woman, Qin Xianglian no longer thought of committing suicide. She came to the capital, intending to find her husband and ask him why he wanted to divorce her.
As a result, she found out that her husband had been abducted by the two evil spirits from Mianzhou and taken to a mountain stronghold in another place. Then she chased them alone with her sword, destroyed the mountain stronghold, and rescued her husband.
However, the person was rescued, but Qin Xianglian was heartbroken by her husband again.
He was determined to divorce Qin Xianglian so that he could live with Princess Qingyao, but Qin Xianglian was an obstacle to his success.
Upon hearing these heartless words, Qin Xianglian, filled with resentment, controlled her husband and did not allow him to go out. She stayed in the capital, pretending to be a female leader and working as a tofu beauty to support herself and her husband.
After hearing this, whether it was Bao Zheng, Lu Sen, or even Zhan Zhao, they all felt that this matter was really outrageous, and the plot was so twisted and bizarre that it was hard to imagine.
Bao Zheng tapped the gavel lightly and asked, "According to what you said, you are not the real female leader of Guifan Tower, but a good citizen?"
"Yes." Qin Xianglian lowered her head and said sincerely, "For more than a year, I have pretended to be a female leader and a tofu beauty. Although I did help the organization gather some intelligence, I have never killed or kidnapped anyone."
"Is there any evidence?" Bao Zheng asked.
Qin Xianglian thought for a moment and said, "I don't have any evidence. After all, staying in Guifan Tower is like walking on thin ice. I have to be extremely cautious in everything, for fear of exposing my tracks."
"In this case, I will trust you for now, but you must stay in jail until the case is concluded and the truth comes to light." Bao Zheng slammed the gavel again: "Is the suspect Qin Xianglian willing to obey the verdict?"
"I am willing to listen to the prefect's decision."
Bao Zheng nodded and said, "Captain Zhan will be in charge of taking you into custody later, and your husband will also be detained in prison for the time being. Before that, Master Lu seems to have something he wants to ask you."
After finishing his words, Bao Zheng left.
Qin Xianglian turned to Lu Sen, bowed, and said, "Master Lu, please ask. I will tell you everything I know."
Lu Sen looked Qin Xianglian up and down for a while and was quite impressed.
The transformation from a weak woman who thought about committing suicide when her husband changed his mind to a strong woman who can dance on the edge of a knife and support a family is indeed a bit exaggerated.
Perhaps it's because he has mastered the 'power'?
Lu Sen guessed for a while, then said: "I want to know a lot of things, the personnel of Guifanlou Organization, the location layout, the contact slogan, etc. Tell me everything."
"yes."
Qin Xianglian then told him everything she knew.
This means two hours.
Then Lu Sen left Kaifeng Prefecture and returned to Aishan.
Zhan Zhao took a group of detectives to the sewer, arrested many thugs from Guifanlou, and found many boxes filled with silver and copper coins.
In total, it is at least 300,000 strings of cash.
The entire court was alarmed at once.
Kaifeng Prefecture has been taking frequent actions recently. Not only did it crack down on Wuyou Cave and rescue a large number of abducted people, it has also now cut out a piece of the "scalp" of Guifanlou. This is considered the most effective public security rectification in recent decades.
Zhao Zhen was immediately overjoyed. He praised Bao Zheng repeatedly in the court and gave him a large amount of money.
Bao Zheng had almost reached the point where he could no longer be promoted, and the only thing he could do was to give him money.
However, many officials began to attack Bao Zheng, saying that he had killed too many people recently and that this was against benevolence and harmony!
Over two months, Kaifeng Prefecture killed nearly eight hundred Wuyou Cave villains, with heads rolling everywhere and murderous aura rising to the sky.
Bao Zheng listened to such criticisms without any refutation, but just looked at these people with a strange look.
Like a cat seeing a mouse.
Especially at this time, the black cat lying on his shoulder would show a similar look, and the officials who were stared at by him would all be terrified.
On the other side, after Lu Sen returned to the low mountain, he saw Yang Jinhua, who had merged with the flamingo and transformed into a flamingo, gliding in the forest garden with the red wings behind her and playing with the butterflies.
Let out a series of pleasant laughter.
The red flame 'special effect' wrapped Yang Jinhua's whole body and turned into a set of feather clothes with wings. She twirled and danced lightly and agilely, looking like a Bifang fairy descending to the earth.
After floating in the air for a while, she saw Lu Sen and immediately turned around and flew in front of Lu Sen, and asked happily: "Sir, does this dress look good?"
Looks great! Lu Sen nodded, his eyes full of amazement: "You have wings now, can you fly now?"
Yang Jinhua shook her head embarrassedly: "Not yet, it just allows me to jump higher with Qinggong, and then land farther."
Oh, Lu Sen understood. It was to increase the jumping height and gliding distance of Qinggong.
"But I have a feeling that one day when I fully master Bifang's abilities, I will be able to fly into the sky."
Lu Sen laughed when he heard this: "Then you will become Chang'e, flying up to Guanghan Palace and never coming down."
Lu Sen was joking, but Yang Jinhua was frightened when she heard this. She immediately grabbed Lu Sen's hand and said hastily, "My dear, I will never leave you. We will be together forever and will never be separated in this life. If there really is a feathered robe that takes me up to the sky and won't let me down, then I will take off the feathered robe. Even if I fall to my death and turn into a nun, I will land in front of you and be with you."
When Yang Jinhua said this, her expression was extremely firm, without any sign of wavering.
Lu Sen was stunned for a moment, then he knew he had said the wrong thing. There was nothing he could do. People in later generations were more free and easy. In contrast, the Song people were much more serious at this time.
"Well, I said the wrong thing. We are a loving couple. How could Jinhua leave me and go away?"
Lu Sen gently embraced Yang Jinhua and stroked her back. After they were intimate for a while, he asked, "By the way, Jinhua, I have something to ask you."
Yang Jinhua raised her head from Lu Sen's arms, a hint of confusion on her face.
"I want to form a team that only obeys our command. Do you have experience in this area?"
Lu Sen now feels more and more that it is a very troublesome thing that he has no available manpower.
I can't trouble my father-in-law or Zhan Zhao for everything.
Besides, there are some things that he is not convenient to reveal to outsiders.
Blinking her beautiful peach blossom eyes, Yang Jinhua was slightly surprised and asked, "Sir, do you want to raise loyal soldiers or retainers?"
"What's the difference?" Lu Sen asked, and then he looked at Yang Jinhua: "You seem very happy?"
Yang Jinhua nodded vigorously: "Our Lu family is considered a prominent figure in the capital, but we don't have any available manpower. I have wanted to arrange this matter for a long time, but I am afraid that doing so will affect the master's practice. After all, I heard that there are many taboos in practice."
"There is no such saying. Just don't let your men do evil." Lu Sen said.
"That's easy. Your Excellency is a fourth-rank civil servant and has the power to support servants to guard the house." Yang Jinhua thought for a moment and said, "It will be very troublesome if we build one from scratch! Your Excellency, come back to my mother's home with me. We will ask my mother and the old lady to ask them for a few people to help us."
Half an hour later, Lu Sen and Yang Jinhua rode the snow dog puppet to Tianbo Yang Mansion.
Moreover, Yang Jinhua returned home in the form of "Bifang".
Along the way, I don’t know how many people’s eyes were shocked.
When the two entered Yang's Mansion, Marshal Mu was shocked at first when he saw his daughter's appearance, but then he immediately reacted and pulled his daughter to run to the martial arts field.
"I heard that when spirit beasts merge, their strength will increase greatly. My dear daughter, let me see how strong you are now compared to your mother!"
Then the mother and daughter started fighting each other in the martial arts field.
Lu Sen admired the two beauties singing and dancing, with the waves crashing against the shore, it was so pleasant.
At some point, a person appeared beside him and asked him out of the blue, "Master Lu, which of these two do you think is prettier?"
"of course……"
Lu Sen almost answered, then immediately reacted and turned his head sharply, wondering who had asked this "fatal question", only to find that it was Old Lady She with a kind face.
Seeing that Lu Sen had reacted, although Old Lady She was still smiling, the corners of her mouth were slightly twitched, and she seemed very unhappy.
