Aoyama

Chapter 230 Murderer
Dragon Inn?

Previously, Liang Biaotou had said that there was an inn in Guyuan with great powers, which was opened by General Wentao's former subordinates and could send people to Jingchao.

I wonder if this is the family that Liang Biaotou is talking about?
Chen Ji looked out the window and saw the thief Hu Sange running away with a few young children. He was the only one left in the room with dozens of corpses and the silvery moonlight pouring in from the window.

He listened to the sound of iron hooves getting closer and closer, and finally stopped in front of the post station. The friction sound of dense iron plates of armor could be heard, and hundreds of people dismounted in front of the door.

Someone shouted, "Surround the post station!"

Amid the shouts, Zhang Xia rushed into the herringbone room and looked at Chen Ji who was standing in the moonlight: "Chen Ji, there are outsiders in the post station, they must be the prince's men!"

She glanced at Chen Ji and went straight to pull the sheets off the bed. When she came to the bed, she saw the body with blood and tears, and hesitated and stopped.

But after hesitating for just two moments, Zhang Xia gritted his teeth and tore off a bed sheet.

Chen Ji was slightly stunned, not understanding what she was going to do.

Zhang Xia came in front of him, lowered his head and wrapped the whale knife with the bed sheet again: "I guess you definitely don't want to attract attention. This knife is too conspicuous. It's better to cover it up for you."

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "Miss Zhang Er is so calm and attentive in the face of danger. I admire you. Let's go out and take a look."

When the two of them arrived at the courtyard, they saw Chen Liqin holding up the hem of his official robe and hurriedly running in: "Madam, may I ask about filial piety?"

Liang staggered a few steps and threw herself into his arms, crying sadly, "Master, you are back. If you were any later, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to see us."

Chen Liqin coughed and said, "The prince is here too, please don't be impolite."

Liang looked up in surprise, her eyes passed over Chen Liqin's shoulder and looked outside the gate of the post station.

But a nobleman in a white fox fur coat came towards him, followed closely by more than 20 soldiers in silver armor and white cloaks, with their hands on long swords at their waists.

The nobleman had his hair tied up with a white jade hairpin, and his lips were red and his teeth were white, as if he had walked out of a painting.

"Your Highness?" Liang quickly broke away from Chen Liqin's arms, wiped her tears and bowed: "Your Highness, may you be well."

The prince bowed in return and said in a gentle voice, "Aunt Chen, please don't be polite. Today, it's all my fault for my negligence. I knew that Guyuan was not peaceful, but I didn't think of arranging soldiers to protect you in advance. Fortunately, you are all safe, otherwise I would be blamed for it."

When Liang saw the prince returning the gift to her, she was flattered for a moment: "Your Highness, please don't say that."

Chen Liqin bowed and saluted: "Your Highness, don't blame yourself. Who would have thought that this thug from Guyuan was so rampant that he dared to assassinate the relatives of an official of the imperial court? I am very grateful that you came here in person."

Chen Wenxiao cried and said, "Father, this matter must be thoroughly investigated!"

Chen Liqin's face darkened: "How can you cry in front of the prince? Learn from your brother and see how he does it."

The prince praised him, "Brother Wenzong is truly a hero. After such a disaster, he dared to come to the Dusi Mansion alone to report the news, which is enough to show his courage and courage."

Chen Ji, Zhang Xia and others stood in the corner of the yard. Zhang Zheng muttered quietly, "We've been here for a long time, but no one has gone to see those maids and servants. They all died in vain."

Zhang Xia glared at him fiercely: "Brother, talk less."

Zhang Zheng said carelessly: "Our Zhang family and Xu family are not afraid of him!"

Zhang Xia lowered his voice and said, "You don't plan to be an official, but don't let others get involved!"

Zhang Zheng glanced at Chen Ji and closed his mouth.

At this moment, Chen Ji remained silent.

The moment the prince appeared, the molten flow in his body surged up wildly like a ferocious tiger.

His heart was beating rapidly, and the gurgling sound of the blood pumping from his heart flowing through the blood vessels in his forehead was like the roar of molten liquid.

After more than ten breaths, the molten flow gradually subsided.

This is the first time that the molten stream has such a crazy reaction... Could it be because it met the crown prince of a country?
While thinking, the prince looked towards the courtyard. His eyes swept across Chen Ji's face. When he saw Zhang Xia, his eyes paused slightly, and then looked at Zhang Zheng and Xiao Man: "Who are these people..."

Chen Wenzong stepped forward from behind and said, "Your Highness, on the left are my brother Chen Ji and his personal maid, and on the right are the son and daughter of Master Zhang Zhuo. They came with us to Guyuan this time with the original intention of sightseeing, but they did not expect to be in danger."

The prince nodded slightly and bowed to Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia: "I have been ordered to come to Guyuan to thoroughly investigate the murder case. I am sorry for causing trouble for you two..."

Before he finished speaking, a fire was lit outside the inn.

Everyone turned around and saw a group of soldiers coming with weapons in hand, posing like wolves and tigers. The soldiers were wearing rattan armor, and there were traces of axes, chisels and knives on the armor.

He is a frontier soldier.

Behind the prince, more than twenty silver-armored guards came out with their swords drawn. The border soldiers, wearing worn rattan armor, held their swords yet did not draw, and kept marching.

The heroic spirit that had fought through the sea of ​​blood and corpses rose to the sky, forcing the guards to subconsciously take two steps back. The border troops stood on the steps of the post station, and the prince's guards stood at the steps of the courtyard, with their swords drawn, and the flames of the torches kept swaying, puffing in the wind.

At this moment, Chen Ji suddenly felt someone grabbing his arm, with increasing force.

He glanced sideways and saw Zhang Xia staring in the direction of the border troops.

Zhang Xia opened his lips slightly and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito: "The man behind the border general came to the post station in the afternoon. He was not wearing rattan armor at the time, but he had a scar on his right cheek. I would not mistake him."

Chen Ji's pupils suddenly contracted. He looked over and saw the man with a scar on his face looking past the others and towards the courtyard, as if he was looking for something.

Not right.

According to the postman, this post station has been idle all year round and there is not even enough firewood on weekdays.

It was not logical for a frontier soldier to change into plain clothes and quietly come to the post station.

If this person is really the murderer, he is too arrogant. He killed 34 members of the Chen family, and he dared to come back here so arrogantly?
What confidence does the army here have to dare to disobey the crown prince of a country like this?
Zhang Xia asked in a low voice: "Do you want to expose him?"

"No," Chen Ji responded calmly, "This is the border army's territory. If we really provoke them into a corner, no one will survive. What's more, we only saw them coming here, and we can't prove that they came to poison us. Don't be nervous, don't let them find out."

Zhang Xia nodded, his expression gradually calming down: "Understood."

In the tense confrontation, the prince looked up at the border troops on the steps and asked: "What are you doing here?"

The leading general of the frontier army clasped his fists and responded, "Reporting to the Crown Prince, I heard from the guards of the Dusi Mansion that a murder occurred at the post station, and I led my men to arrest the murderer."

Li Xuan stepped forward and stopped the border troops: "You don't have to come in, our Yulin Army is here."

The general of the border army was startled when he heard this, and immediately put his hand on his sword and said in a deep voice: "Lord Li, my Guyuan Dusi Mansion governs 36,000 households and is in charge of this city. Catching spies and arresting criminals are my responsibilities. I hope the Crown Prince and Lord Li will not overstep the boundaries."

Li Xuan put his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist and said sharply: "How do I know if this was done by your Guyuan border troops? If this case is handed over to you, it will be a good opportunity for you to destroy the evidence!"

The general's face changed, his eyes flashed with ferocity: "Master Li, what do you mean? We are here to defend the border, sacrificing our lives and shedding our blood. We will not tolerate you throwing dirty water on us!"

Li Xuan sneered: "Whether it is throwing dirty water or not, you know it very well in your heart."

The general of the border army said angrily: "We border soldiers have always fought hand-to-hand with the thieves of Jing Dynasty. When have we ever used such a despicable method as poisoning?"

Li Xuan wanted to say something else, but the prince held his shoulders.

He turned around and looked at the prince: "Your Highness..."

The prince said slowly, "It's okay, I'll talk to General Zhou."

Li Xuan hesitated for a moment and stepped aside.

The prince looked up at the border army generals on the steps and said, "General Zhou, it is shocking that Lord Chen has suffered such misfortune just after arriving. When I return, I will write a memorial overnight and send it to the capital at an urgent speed of 600 miles to report to my father and ask him to investigate the matter thoroughly. Now that the border army is also suspected, it is better to avoid suspicion."

General Zhou looked solemn, "Your Highness, it's not that we intend to offend the majesty of heaven, but we are also worried that someone will frame us for this matter. In recent years, the border army has been criticized a lot, and we really can't bear such a stigma. The prince originally came to investigate the case of killing Liang for false credit, and it has nothing to do with this matter, so why bother to intervene?"

The prince shook his head gently, "No, Mr. Chen is now the young Zhanshi of the Zhanshi Mansion, and he has entered my East Palace office. His affairs are naturally the affairs of my East Palace. General Zhou, you brought people to surround my Yulin Army, are you trying to rebel?"

General Zhou stared at the prince and said, "Your Highness, don't scare me. I, Zhou, crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood. I stand tall and proud, and I have a clear conscience. Even if you ask me to judge before the emperor, I am not afraid. If His Highness the Prince insists on not letting us investigate this matter, then we can only offend him."

The prince looked at the ferocious Border Army soldiers, and after a moment's silence, he said, "How about this, the Border Army and the Imperial Guards investigate this matter together. If the Border Army is really innocent, the Imperial Guards can also serve as witnesses for you all."

General Zhou's eyes flickered, and after a few breaths he made a decision: "Okay!"

The prince turned to look at Chen Liqin and said, "Master Chen, this post station is no longer suitable for living. Please follow me back to the Dusi Mansion. There are still a few empty courtyards there."

Chen Liqin cupped his hands and said, "It's all up to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to arrange."

The prince looked at Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia again and asked, "What do you two think?"

Zhang Xia replied: "Your Highness, we will go with the Chen family."

The prince walked up the stairs first, and the border soldiers made way for him.

Zhang Zheng whispered from behind, "How about we run away? The Dusi Mansion is the frontier army's lair. If we move in, won't we be walking into a trap? We will be worried every day and won't even dare to eat."

Zhang Xia denied it, "If we run away, it will definitely make the other party suspicious and alert them."

Chen Ji said calmly: "If it was really done by the border troops, they would never let anyone die in the Dusi Mansion. Let's go, it is safest to go to the border troops' territory at this time."

(End of this chapter)