Chapter 2 Candy Girl 3
Cheng Jue's right hand had fingers as slender as bamboos, and his nails were trimmed into round shapes. His palm was facing up in front of her, and on it was a piece of maltose cut into a square.
Seeing Zhou Zhenzhen in a daze, Cheng Jue simply stuffed the candy into her hand and frowned: "I just saw it on my desk. You put it there, right? Take it back!"
Zhou Zhenzhen looked at Cheng Jue with wet eyes. He turned away and didn't look at her. He turned around and walked out.
The aroma of maltose rushed to the tip of Zhou Zhenzhen's nose. She broke off a small piece and held it between her lips and teeth. It was sweet.
However, she was not the one who put the candy on Cheng Jue's desk. Could it be that someone else besides her had sent food to Cheng Jue? And she had sent him maltose... That must be a girl.
The candy in her mouth, which she hadn't chewed yet, suddenly tasted bitter, making her want to cry even more.
Zhou Zhenzhen spat it out, and threw the remaining half aside.
Very annoying.
On the other side, Cheng Jue returned to his desk calmly and tapped the edge of the table a few times with his slender fingers. He could still feel the strange feeling that was gently surging like waves.
He had not had much contact with girls since he was a child, and when he was an official, the Dali Temple was almost entirely filled with men, so he had never encountered such a situation. He guessed that it was probably because Zhou Zhenzhen was born too young, so he asked Meng Fan just now.
"Meng Fan, what does your little sister like when she cries?"
"Why did you think of asking this, Master Cheng?"
"The case is relevant."
"Oh... Your little sister loves candy the most. Once she sees candy, she forgets everything else."
"Um……"
…
I think she won't cry if she eats the candy.
It's really annoying when she cries. She looks better when she smiles, or when she's analyzing a case with a smile on her face, her whole body sparkles and it's hard to take your eyes off her.
After Zhou Zhenzhen calmed down, she returned to Dongyuan from the Tianlao.
Meng Fan is sorting out the latest results of the Yuechu case. Cui'er has said everything she can, but whether Gu Qing deliberately lured her into committing a crime, and what leverage Yuechu had on him that made him spend so much time and energy on planning, all of these are unknown as Gu Qing committed suicide. The case can finally come to a temporary end.
All these things have proven the old saying: The net of heaven is vast and wide, and nothing can escape it.
There lives a wild beast in the human heart. When it is so dark around that no light can be seen, the beast becomes restless and rushes around until it smashes everything it sees into pieces, then opens its mouth wide and swallows it all in one gulp.
What did Gu Qing see before he died? Was it Yuechu, Cui'er, or something else that made him smile and look forward to something even when he was in pain.
Death of a person is not destruction, death of the heart is.
The next few days were peaceful. Zhou Zhenzhen had completely adapted to life in the Dali Temple in a short period of time, thanks to Meng Fan's enthusiasm and... Cheng Jue's instructions.
Every time Cheng Jue asked her to do something, she felt that even if his hand was not extended, it was as if it was holding the back of her neck, and she would run around for him with great enthusiasm.
Zhou Zhenzhen ran around, mostly delivering files to Cheng Jue on behalf of Meng Fan.
"We in the Dali Temple do not keep idle people." Cheng Jue said.
In the Dali Temple, which does not keep idle people, Junior Chancellor Meng Fan changed his job to copying files . Originally, the Dali Temple was full of men, but with the addition of a pretty girl, the atmosphere became a lot more relaxed.
Zhou Zhenzhen read the files of the princess case over and over again, memorizing every detail firmly in her mind, so that no matter when the case was decided or what questions were asked, she would be able to answer accurately.
Although this process is boring, it is not in vain. It will definitely come in handy in an emergency someday. She is waiting, and she knows Cheng Jue is also waiting, waiting for an opportunity.
March 26th is the Incense Picking Festival. On that day, many people will set up stalls on both sides of the streets in Chang'an to sell incense they make themselves. Most of them are unmarried girls who want to meet their lovers.
In addition to selling spices, there is also a lantern festival in the south of the city.
If there was ever a day when we could get close to the three princesses and try to hypnotize them and get them to talk, it would be that day. Before that, we couldn't alert them or cause any trouble.
The sky was a little cloudy since the morning, but it didn't rain all day. The Dali Temple closed early, and Zhou Zhenzhen walked back with the umbrella she brought from the Manyue Teahouse.
She had just walked a short distance when she realized something was wrong. She turned around and looked around but found nothing unusual. She always felt that there were eyes staring at her, monitoring her every move, making her feel like a thorn in her side, fidgeting. After standing for a while, she took a step and spent a copper coin to buy a bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts before the street stalls closed. They were warm, soft and sweet. She thought to herself: "Master Cheng should like them. I will bring some to him tomorrow."
These days, Zhou Zhenzhen didn't see anyone else sending gifts to Cheng Jue, so she could continue to do so. When she took the chestnut from the boss's hand, her eyes flickered slightly, but she walked forward as usual without making a sound.
At this moment, a dark shadow appeared at the corner of the street, following her closely.
Then he turned into an alley and saw that the end of the alley was empty. The little girl who was eating happily just now was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, big brother, you've been following me for several days. Aren't you tired?" A sweet female voice sounded behind the man. He turned around and saw the girl leaning against the wall, tilting her head and looking at him with a smile.
Today I finally caught a glimpse of him. If he really comes to cause trouble, hiding will be useless. Instead of living in fear and losing sleep all day, it is better to face him directly.
The place where she stood was connected in all directions, and she could run anywhere. If there was any sign of danger, she would run away immediately.
The man in front of her looked to be about 24 or 25 years old, with a handsome and tough face. His clothes were filthy and looked a little dishevelled. When he heard her words, his throat rolled up and down, and then he stepped closer.
But he had just taken three or four steps when several tall figures suddenly jumped out from the high walls on both sides and pressed the man to the ground in a stacked posture.
"Let me go, let me go!" The man was suppressed to the point of being powerless. He used all his strength, his face turned red, but he still couldn't move the person on him at all.
This sudden change caught Zhou Zhenzhen off guard. She was stunned for a moment and recognized that these people were guards from the Dali Temple, who were also transferred from the former Liushenmen Yamen. Their martial arts skills were average, but their level of ambush and arresting people was first-class.
Since the guards from the Dali Temple are here, that person should have come as well.
As if to confirm her guess, the next moment, footsteps were heard at the entrance of the alley, steady, powerful, and unhurried.
It was already drizzling. Zhou Zhenzhen turned around and saw Cheng Jue holding an umbrella, wearing a blue shirt, walking in the mist and rain, slowly approaching her.
Zhou Zhenzhen's heart beat faster. Somehow, she felt that his expression was a little gloomy.
Cheng Jue acted as if he didn't see her and walked past her. With a wave of his hand, the guards stood up and held the man down.
The day he came out of Princess Jintai's mansion, Cheng Jue discovered someone outside the corner gate.
In Wangxing Pavilion, the number of black and white pieces on the jade chessboard did not match that at the time of the crime. There was one black piece missing, and the white piece that had moved first had moved one step upwards.
Although the black and white pieces are still competing against each other, the white piece is like a dragon hiding in the clouds, with a faint momentum of breaking out of the clouds. In a few more moves, it will be able to completely overwhelm the black piece.
After the incident, someone avoided the sight of everyone in the princess's mansion, sneaked into the Wangxing Pavilion, and moved the chessboard.
And since this person could appear outside the princess's mansion, there must be a reason. He may be related to the death of Princess Jintai.
He had been following Zhou Zhenzhen for several days. Although he hadn't made any moves, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't... Thinking of this, Cheng Jue frowned slightly, and his voice was not loud, but very majestic: "Raise your head."
The guards pinched the man's face and forced him to look up. He swayed from side to side like a rattle and struggled even harder than when he was held down just now. He looked as if he was too embarrassed to face anyone. But in the end, he was outnumbered and was forced to look up.
The man looked at Cheng Jue in front of him with a look of despair. After seeing his face clearly, Cheng Jue couldn't help but be startled: "It's you?"
Huo Chi pulled the corners of his mouth and forced out a very dry smile: "Long time no see, Master Cheng, how are you?"
Cheng Jue frowned, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Zhou Zhenzhen, who was slowly moving towards him with a curious look in her eyes. He drooped his eyelashes and ordered his attendants, "Take him back to the Dali Temple first, and don't alarm anyone."
It was not the first time that the guards from the Dali Temple had done such a thing. They took out a black cloth bag from their arms and put it directly on Huo Chi's head. Then they lifted up his arms, and the group climbed over the wall and trees like they had come, and disappeared quickly.
When Zhou Zhenzhen saw this scene, she stopped in her tracks and was stunned.
Cheng Jue walked away without saying a word. Zhou Zhenzhen looked at his back and came to her senses. She ran after him and asked, "It's already time to leave the court. Master Cheng, do you want to go back to the Dali Temple to try that man?"
Cheng Jue said "hmm" lightly.
"Then shall I follow you?"
Cheng Jue paused and looked at her expressionlessly: "What do you think?"
"Of course I will go. After all, I can help when interrogating the suspect." Zhou Zhenzhen's eyes curved, and she moved closer to him, taking herself under the umbrella. "I just realized that the umbrella I brought is broken. It's raining harder and harder. Can you..." Fearing that he would object, she quickly added, "I am small and won't take up much space under the umbrella."
It's quite small.
Cheng Jue turned his gaze from her slightly wet head and said, "Let's go!"
Zhou Zhenzhen was delighted. She put the "broken" umbrella against the wall and ran back under the umbrella holding the bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts. "Thank you, Master Cheng."
Along the way, Zhou Zhenzhen peeled chestnuts with her hands while asking Cheng Jue about the situation.
"Huo Chi is the young master of Xuanji Pavilion. The Dali Temple and the Ministry of War have always cooperated with them. Every quarter, Xuanji Pavilion will send people to Chang'an to deliver weapon samples. In the past few years, Huo Chi has been the one who delivered them."
Zhou Zhenzhen put the peeled chestnuts back into the paper bag. She was distracted while walking and kept bumping into Cheng Jue's arm, but she didn't notice it. The sweet and sticky smell of the chestnuts mixed with the fragrance of her hair lingered in Cheng Jue's nose. The muscles on his cheeks tightened and he unconsciously moved the umbrella towards her.
"It's not the end of the quarter yet, it's really unusual for Huo Chi to come to Chang'an." After peeling the last chestnut, the two walked outside the Dali Temple. Cheng Jue put his umbrella aside, and his empty hands suddenly had something extra: a paper bag filled with cleanly peeled sugar-roasted chestnuts.
"Chestnuts are very sweet. I think Lord Cheng should like them. I would like to use this to thank you for your kindness in bringing me back." Zhou Zhenzhen looked up at Cheng Jue.
Cheng Jue picked one up and put it in his mouth. After a moment, his eyebrows relaxed and he said, "Not bad. Let's go and interrogate Huo Chi."
Zhou Zhenzhen smiled slowly at Cheng Jue's back and followed him with great joy.
Huo Chi followed Zhou Zhenzhen for a few days, just because he saw her and Cheng Jue went to the princess's mansion together, and guessed that she was also investigating this case. There were some things he didn't want to say to Cheng Jue, but before he had a chance to talk to Zhou Zhenzhen, he was caught by the other party.
Despite being depressed, Huo Chi still told everything he knew.
"I met Princess Jintai by chance when I came to deliver weapon patterns last spring. Lord Cheng also knew that Xuanji Pavilion made not only weapons but also mechanically controlled ornaments. Princess Jintai said she liked them very much and asked me to send them to the Princess's Mansion if there were any new and unique items in the future. After that, I went to the Princess's Mansion from time to time."
"On February 29th, I received a pigeon letter from the princess, asking me to go to the princess's mansion to find her before noon on March 3rd."
"The letter only told you to go find the princess. Nothing else?"
Huo Chi looked at Zhou Zhenzhen who was asking the question, then looked at the silent Cheng Jue... and at the paper bag he had been holding since entering the interrogation room, and shook his head.
"In the past, the princess always asked me to bring the newly made things from Xuanji Pavilion. This time, the letter didn't mention it, but I didn't dare to delay. I immediately rode on the road after receiving the letter. On the third day of the first lunar month, it rained heavily in Jiu'an Town. I waited there until the rain subsided before setting off. It was already past noon when I arrived in Chang'an City."
According to the coroner's autopsy, Princess Jintai Song Sanyue died around the hour of You on the third day of March.
Before his death, Song Sanyue wrote a letter to Huo Chi, and the date they agreed to meet was also the third day of March.
What a coincidence.
Zhou Zhenzhen's mind flashed with thoughts, and Cheng Jue, who had been frowning, spoke: "Then you entered the princess's mansion?"
Huo Chi shook his head again, his voice suddenly lowered: "I turned to the back door of the princess's mansion as before, but saw someone coming out in a hurry and then got on a carriage. Xuanji Pavilion has a rule that people in the pavilion are not allowed to get involved in royal affairs, so as not to cause trouble to Xuanji Pavilion. I thought I came at the wrong time, so I planned to see the princess the next day, who knows..."
Who knew that the next day, he couldn't enter the princess's mansion. Huo Chi thought of the person he had seen at the back door before. She was wearing a delicate pink dress. As if she was afraid of getting her clothes dirty, she raised her hands, and the blood dripped onto the ground. Then, it was washed away by the rain and became lighter and lighter until it completely disappeared.
Huo Chi was feeling uneasy and had been waiting outside the mansion until he saw Cheng Jue quietly avoiding everyone and entering the princess's mansion. Only then did he realize that he seemed to have done something wrong that day.
Princess...something really happened.
Cheng Jue's long fingers hooked on the paper bag and subconsciously tapped it twice. If Huo Chi hadn't entered the Wangxing Pavilion, then someone else must have entered the Wangxing Pavilion and moved the chessboard: "Who was that person you saw? Do you know him?"
Huo Chi nodded and raised his head: "It's Princess Lin'an."
"What?"
