Regarding the origin of Qianjiao Garden, we have to start from the beginning.

Shangguan Jie invited Fu Guan and Lou Xiyue to take a seat and brought them tea. He said: "It would be a long story to tell the story of Qianjiao Garden."

Lou Xiyue: "Oh? Is the 'story' you mentioned related to our plan to visit Qianjiao Garden tonight?"

"Exactly." Shangguan explained with a smile: "Princess, please don't be impatient. Let me listen to my explanation... I have said before that my rank secretly investigated the account book of Furong Bank that day and found that an abnormal amount of money flowed into Qianjiao. garden.

"Xiaguan felt strange at that time, so he wanted to find out the details of Qianjiaoyuan."

Fu Guan: "Qianjiao Garden is located in a remote place, and it is also related to officials from the DPRK and the Central Government such as Qi Yu and Nie Huaishen. I'm afraid it will not be easy to investigate?"

Shangguan Jie replied: "It took some effort, but I didn't investigate deeply at that time because I was busy with the murder case of Furong Bank and couldn't spare much time to investigate the doorways in Qianjiao Garden." .As for what happened later..."

He said: "Later, the Furong Bank case was temporarily shelved, and the official took over another case. And this case is inextricably related to Qianjiao Garden."

Let's say that two months ago, Shangguan Jie failed to investigate the murder case at Furong Bank, and was reprimanded by the young minister of Dali Temple. He felt depressed. He had been worried about this for many days, but he had no choice but to give up temporarily.

Previously, a villager came to report to the police, claiming that a body was found beside a river bank in the suburbs of Beijing.

"According to the case records, after the villager reported it to the official, a government officer went to collect the body. However, after many identifications, no one knew who the deceased was, and no one in Beijing had ever reported a missing case." Shangguan explained. .

"Wouldn't that make it an unsolved case?" Lou Xiyue said.

"Yes." Shangguan explained: "And for some unknown reason, this case has been backlogged for some days and no one has dealt with it. By the time the lower official took over, the body had already been buried."

The body was buried in a graveyard in the southern suburbs. Shangguan Jie ordered people to dig out the body and conduct an autopsy, and discovered one of the strange things——

"The official speculates that the identity of the deceased may be unusual because he, like the eunuchs in the palace, is missing something..."

Lou Xiyue was startled: "Eunuch?" She said: "You mean, the deceased came from the palace?"

Shangguan explained: "This... I can't guarantee it, but it is very likely that it is a chamberlain in the palace."

Fu Guan said: "Common people's homes need to continue to maintain the incense, and the possibility of the deceased coming from the market is very small. However, in addition to the imperial palace, there are also internal prisons in the princes' mansions in the capital, but the number is not as large as that of the imperial palace. But..."

He knocked on his fan and asked: "There is a missing eunuch in the palace. This matter can be big or small. Has Lord Shangguan reported this case to the Ming Prince?"

"Never." Shangguan explained: "Because the identity of the deceased may be somewhat special, I dare not report it to Prince Ming. Otherwise, this case will become an 'unsolved case' again."

There was something in his words, and Lou Xiyue picked up some clues.

She asked: "How do you say this?"

"Then let's talk about Qianjiao Garden." Shangguan explained: "It turns out that Xiaguan didn't know the origin of Qianjiao Garden in depth. He only found out that Qianjiao Garden was originally a winery, and it was recorded in Master Nie's name. in his name."

He said: "That's Nie Huaishen, Mr. Nie. Mr. Nie works with Qi Shangshu and is the best friend with Qi Yu. The Qianjiaoyuan winery under his name is famous because of Qi Yu..."

As the reputation outside grew, more and more guests came to Qianjiao Garden. Among the guests who came to the banquet were either officials of different sizes or famous wealthy businessmen.

Probably thinking that just tasting wine was too monotonous, Nie Huaishen added many beauties to the garden, and they played songs and dances, which became their pastime. Shangguan explained: "As a winery, Qianjiao Garden is rich in all kinds of famous wines, including a very special wine, which is brewed with eighteen flavors of flowers and fruits.

"It has a long-lasting fragrance and endless aftertaste. This wine is called Colorful Purple Red, and it tastes sweet after one sip, just like the flowers blooming in spring."

"Really?" Lou Xiyue said, "It sounds like the taste of this wine is very wonderful." She turned to look at Fu Guan and asked, "Have you ever drank this wine? How does it taste?"

Fu Guan also looked at her: "If you want it, ask Nie Huaishen for a jar someday and taste it carefully."

"That's not necessary." Lou Xiyue was not interested in this.

Hearing this, the Shangguan explained with a smile: "Wanziqianhong is not strong wine. If the princess is curious, there is no harm in trying this wine. Moreover, the fragrance of Wanziqianhong wine is rich and long-lasting. Once it is contaminated, it will last for ten days and a half. The aroma of wine will never dissipate.”

He said: "It is precisely because of this characteristic that the lower official was able to distinguish the smell of colorful colors from a piece of clothing left by the deceased, and then concluded that he had been to Qianjiao Garden before his death."

"Oh?" Lou Xiyue was silent for a moment and asked, "Maybe the deceased was exposed to the aroma of wine from somewhere nearby?"

"The princess doesn't know something. This variety of red wine is unique to Qianjiao Garden and cannot be found in other restaurants or pubs nearby." Shangguan explained.

"It is really unbelievable that a eunuch who may have come from the palace died in the suburbs of Beijing without any explanation." Fu Guan asked: "So, have you found any other clues about Qianjiao Garden?"

Shangguan Jie shook his head: "Xiaoguan also tried other methods, but the handymen responsible for guarding the garden were very vigilant and did not reveal any useful information."

He then continued: "But according to the investigation of the subordinates, in the past few days, men's shouts can be heard in Qianjiao Garden every night at 1:15. At that time, the guards at the entrances and exits of the garden will be much laxer. .

"It's just that I don't know the reason for this."

Lou Xiyue understood what this meant.

She looked at Fu Guan and said: "In that case, you said that you should follow a plan when visiting Qianjiao Garden at night, so this 'plan' - do you want to sneak into it while the guards are lax?"

Fu Guan: "Relatively speaking, this is a safer approach."

Lou Xiyue nodded: "Okay." She asked: "What time is it now?"

"Well..." Shangguan Jie hesitated for a moment, "Based on the time, it should be almost time..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a miserable scream coming from the distance!

Lou Xiyue and Fu Guan stood up immediately. The two looked at each other, then walked outside the door and looked in the direction of Qianjiao Garden.

In the quiet surroundings, only the bright lights in Qianjiao Garden were on. And those screams came from somewhere in the garden...

Lou Xiyue also vaguely heard the sound of the watchman playing the clapper in the garden.

"It's time." Fu Guan said.

Without saying a word, Lou Xiyue quickly changed into night clothes, and immediately climbed over the high wall with Fu Guan and sneaked into Qianjiao Garden.


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