Li Zhi, don't be a coward

Chapter 405
The only way now is to find the real mastermind and make the case an iron case, so that the two princesses can escape from prison.

Li Qinzai is very clear that the current situation is getting more and more serious, and it has gradually deviated from the nature of the case itself, and it has more and more a taste of political confrontation.

However, the source of everything is the real mastermind who has never been caught.

To trace this source, we can only start from the enemy of Guo and Fan. The direction may not be correct, but it is the only feasible direction, and other directions have become dead ends.

Holding the list selected by Song Sen in his hand, the list is full of people who theoretically have enemies with Guo and Fan. There are more than a hundred people listed in it, and it is difficult to distinguish between loyal and traitorous.

Li Qinzai could only identify them one by one, and even had to rely on guesswork.

Staring at the list for a long time, Li Qinzai suddenly murmured: "There is one thing in common. The people bullied by Fan Yunxian are mostly down-and-out eunuchs in the palace. You see, some of them are nursery supervisors of the Imperial Forest Garden, and some are eunuchs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The highest one is the ninth-rank chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

"Tsk, Fan Yunxian is the servant next to the empress. He is a famous fried chicken in the Forbidden Palace. Is he so worthless, and he has nothing to do to seek the bad luck of these low-level eunuchs all day long?"

Song Sen glanced at the list and said, "There is one thing that County Uncle Li probably doesn't know. These poor and low-level eunuchs who were bullied by Fan Yunxian were all powerful celebrities in the Taiji Palace many years ago."

"Some are the people who serve the Queen, some are the people who serve the Concubine Xiao Shu, and some are the people who are around the abandoned Prince Liang Wang Li Zhong. At that time, they walked with their nostrils up in the palace..."

"Later, Queen Wang and Concubine Xiao Shu were hanged to death, and the former crown prince was deposed. These mighty eunuchs lost their power and their status plummeted. Naturally, they became poor and low-level eunuchs."

"Fan Yunxian's bullying of them is probably due to the grievances that Empress Wu had accumulated with the masters of these people back then, so he tortured them tirelessly, which can be regarded as a vent for the empress and himself."

Li Qinzai was startled, and sat up straight involuntarily. He stared at the list seriously again, and couldn't help but raised his hand and gave Song Sen a slap in the face.

"Are you stupid from birth or a half-step stroke the day after tomorrow? Didn't you find such an obvious clue?" Li Qinzai said angrily.

Song Sen covered his forehead inexplicably: "What clue?"

"In the list of more than 100 people, there are actually only about [-] former celebrities. We will focus on these [-] people and check them one by one."

Song Sen was startled and said, "What Li Xianbo means is that only among the popular people in those days can they be Fan Yunxian's enemies?"

Li Qinzai said in a deep voice: "The hatred that has been accumulated for many years is the real hatred. The rest of the people who have been bullied swallow their anger, but it is just cowardly. They are used to being bullied, so they dare not take the initiative to retaliate."

"Only those eunuchs who have been popular in the past, they have seen conspiracy, they have also experienced ups and downs, they know how to endure, and they know how to kill with one blow, these people are the real suspects."

Song Sen pondered for a while, and if he realized something, he clapped his hands fiercely, and said excitedly: "If there are only twenty people, the lower officials will take them down and torture them one by one. If you don't believe them, you won't recruit them!"

Li Qinzai sighed: "You have exposed your stupidity again..."

"Uh..." Song Sen really showed puzzled and stupid eyes.

"How dare you make such a big commotion in the palace when you are a little white cavalier in charge? Are you going to be blind and deaf when the emperor and queen are born?"

Song Sen was dazed for a while, then straightened his clothes and bowed to Li Qinzai.

"The lower officials are dull, please enlighten Li Xianbo."

"Go out and hug a tree, look up to the sky and yell 'I'm an idiot' three times, and I'll tell you."

Song Sen: "..."

"Forget it, I can't offend you to death, maybe we will cooperate next time." Li Qinzai changed his words regretfully.

Song Sen breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his brow: "...Thank you."

"You let the eyeliners in the palace spread the news, saying that Guo and Fan who were imprisoned in Dali Temple retracted their confession again. .”

Song Sen was stunned: "And then?"

"Then send someone to watch over the twenty or so people to see how they react tonight."

"How will they react?"

Li Qinzai said slowly: "Innocent people may be afraid and panic when they hear the rumors, but they know they are innocent and will not take any action."

"But if it's the real mastermind, their reaction will be different. They may find a way to escape from the palace, they may bury the evidence, or they may pretend to inadvertently inquire about the mastermind... In short, he will definitely do something kind of move."

Song Sen's eyes lit up: "Spiritual strategy? High!"

Patting Song Sen on the shoulder, Li Qinzai said: "This is the person we are waiting for. We are sure to take him down in the future, can we do it?"

Song Sen raised his chest: "Yes!"

Excited Song Sen was gearing up, and stood up neatly to say goodbye: "Your Majesty, let's get ready and say goodbye."

Li Qinzai smiled encouragingly: "Go, Makabaka, useless little trash."

…………

Outside Chang'an City, in an unknown apricot blossom forest, a thatched cottage looms among the red and white elegant apricot blossoms.

There are only three or two rooms connected to each other in thatched hut. The open space in front of the hut is surrounded by fences, and there are some chickens and ducks scattered around the back of the hut, as well as two handsome red-crowned cranes.

Sandalwood was burning in front of the hut, and an old man was sitting cross-legged, with half-closed eyes, stroking a guqin in his hand.

A quaint and distant piano sound reverberates in the apricot blossom forest, and floats in the air with the faint smell of sandalwood, which is picturesque and elegant.

The old man devoted himself wholeheartedly to the sound of his zither, completely forgetting himself, and even had a little bit of enlightenment. He wondered if he had comprehended the way of heaven through the sound of the zither, and there were faint signs of ascension.

The county magistrate of Jinxiang knelt on the futon, her small mouth pursed slightly, but she couldn't appreciate such an elegant piano sound at all, instead she was full of worries.

After an unknown amount of time, the old man finally sighed dejectedly. Obviously, there was no breakthrough this time, and there was no hope of ascension.

If Li Qinzai was present at this time, he must know this old man.

It's half an acquaintance.

At the beginning, Li Qinzai led the Li family's trilogy to travel hundreds of miles from Chang'an to Taiyuan, and burned down the ancestral house of the Wang family in Taiyuan.

And this old man is Niu Fangzhi, the great Confucian who blocked Li Qinzai outside Wang's ancestral house.

Later, when Niu Fangzhi learned the truth, he was ashamed of himself and deeply ashamed of Wang's evil deeds. He angrily walked away in the fire of Wang's ancestral house, and broke off relations with Wang from then on.

After severing diplomatic relations, Niu Fangzhi came to Chang'an alone, found a quiet place outside Chang'an City, and lived in a hut, enjoying the quiet life of a hermit outside the world.

To this day, the quiet life was broken by the sudden arrival of the county lord of Jinxiang.

Why did Jinxiang know Niu Fangzhi, a great Confucian in the world?
Because of her father, King Teng.

An old dude who likes to be arty, and only makes friends with contemporary literati and poets.

(End of this chapter)