Tang Dynasty detective

Chapter 386 Mutton Soup Restaurant
In the main hall, the governor of Luoyang was discussing political affairs with the officials of Wucao. Seeing Li Canghai coming, several people bowed and saluted: "See you, my lord!"

Li Canghai nodded, and said, "My lords, you are welcome. I don't know where Sihu is?"

I saw a person wearing a blue official robe come out, cupped his hands and said: "My lord, the next official is Sihu."

"Sihu, is it under your control to compile the household registers of births and deaths in Luoyang City?" Li Canghai asked.

"My lord, it's under the management of the lower officials." Si Hu bowed and said.

"I want to check the population book of Luoyang City, and ask Sihu to lead the way." Li Canghai said.

Sihu nodded quickly and said, "My lord, please follow me."

Li Canghai nodded slightly to the rest of the people, then followed Sihu out of the main hall and walked towards Sihu hall.

The government of the Tang Dynasty set up Sihu, Judiciary and other Caos.In Chang'an Mansion, there are six Cao Caos: Sigong, Sicang, Judiciary, Siyue, Sibing, and Sihu; Luoyang, as the accompanying capital, has five Caos and no Sibing Cao, while the upper, middle and lower counties have Sihu and Judiciary. Cao.

The Six Caos were established to assist local governors in governance, while Sihu was the official in charge of local population and household registration.

Several subordinate officials in the Sihu hall were busy with the household registration information of the school team. Seeing Sihu and Li Canghai coming in, they stood up and saluted.

"I don't know when my lord is looking for the population register? I'll arrange someone to look for it." Sihu said respectfully.

Li Canghai said indifferently: "In the 28th year of Kaiyuan, the population book of General Qin's Mansion in Dongshi."

"General Qin's Mansion?" The Sihu was stunned for a moment, and he asked suspiciously: "Dare to ask the general Qin that your lord said, but Qin Fu?"

"Are there other Qin generals?" Li Canghai asked rhetorically.

"Understood, my lord, please serve tea here, and I will go get the relevant household records." Sihu bowed to him and left in a hurry.

After a cup of tea, Si Hu came over with a household book, handed it to Li Canghai respectfully, and said, "My lord, this is what you want, please have a look at it."

Li Canghai put down the teacup, took over the household registration book and looked through it carefully.

After searching through the entire household book from beginning to end, Li Canghai did not find any clues about the Qin family.

Li Canghai frowned slightly, and asked Sihu who was standing beside him, "Sihu, why is there no record about the Qin family in this household book?"

Sihu was stunned for a moment, and he said in doubt: "My lord, this is impossible. In the 28th year of Kaiyuan, when Xiaguan first took office, Xiaguan remembered very clearly that the Sihu Department had checked the population of Luoyang City at the beginning of that year. The Qin family is also among them."

Li Canghai frowned, and he turned over the household book again. This time, he carefully looked through the pages. After turning about halfway through, he suddenly found a very thin piece of paper between the two pages.

Li Canghai thought instantly that this was the trace left when he was artificially torn apart.

"Things are getting more and more interesting. The Qin family was ransacked and wiped out. It's fine if there is no closing statement. Now even the household registration information has been torn away."

Li Canghai narrowed his eyes. The Qin family's household registration information was artificially torn out, which just shows that this matter is definitely not as simple as it seems on the surface.

"Sihu, has anyone else touched this household book?" Li Canghai asked.

"My lord, this household book has been stored in the 'Household Book Pavilion' for a long time, and no one has done it without authorization." Si Hu said.

Li Canghai raised his eyebrows slightly, and asked, "After so many years, how do you know that no one has tampered with it?"

"Your Excellency, I don't know that all the information of the Sihu Hall is stored in the 'Household Book Pavilion', and the 'House Book Pavilion' has only one key, which is under the control of the Sihu. Anyone who wants to enter the 'House Book Pavilion' to read information must I got the order from Mr. Fu Yin and recorded it in the book, and then Sihu went to get the relevant information. It can be said that no one else can enter the "House Book Pavilion" except Sihu. Carry the key with you, so you can be sure that no one will touch the transfer book except for the lower officials." Si Hu cupped his hands.

"Could it be that even Fu Yin didn't go in?" Li Canghai asked.

Sihu said with certainty: "Returning to my lord, when Mr. Fu Yin entered, he was accompanied by a subordinate official. And all the checks by Mr. Fu Yin of the previous Fu Yin were the household registration information of that year, and the household records of previous years have never been checked. .”

Li Canghai lowered his head and pondered, he didn't doubt what Sihu said.

For the ministries of industry, household, and military, Datang has already established a complete division of labor system.

It is precisely because of this that the Tang Dynasty was able to go through two great times and become a famous and powerful dynasty in history.

Li Canghai did not reveal that this household book was damaged, he thought for a moment, and said: "Sihu, this household book is temporarily borrowed by the official, you bring the register, and I need to register it. "

Si Hu was slightly taken aback, and hurriedly said in trepidation: "Since my lord borrowed the book, I just take it directly, and there is no need to register."

Li Canghai smiled and said: "This is the law, I should obey it, you can get it soon."

Sihu hesitated for a moment, and then ordered someone to bring the roster.

Li Canghai picked up a pen, registered his name in a fluttering manner, then tucked the household book into his sleeve, and said, "Since that's the case, I won't disturb your lords' work, so I will leave."

"Congratulations, my lord!" Sihu and the others hurriedly bent down to salute.

After leaving Luoyang Mansion, Li Canghai walked on the street alone, but he kept thinking about this case in his mind.

At this time, the sun had already begun to sink, but the setting sun did not make the noisy Luoyang City quiet at all, but made it even more lively.

On the bustling streets, there are cries of hawking one after another. Although the Tang Dynasty is not as good as it used to be, the degree of prosperity has indeed not diminished in the slightest.

"Steamed buns~ Hot steamed buns! It's cheap, two for a penny!"

"Mutton soup, hot and fragrant mutton soup~, guest officer, would you like a bowl?"

……

Hearing the cries of hawkers one after another, Li Canghai suddenly felt a little hungry, and then he remembered that he hadn't eaten at noon.

Smelling the aroma wafting from the street, Li Canghai took a deep breath and walked directly towards the mutton soup shop.

"Hey, guest officer, please come inside, what do you want to eat?" Seeing Li Canghai coming in, the store owner hurriedly greeted him.

Li Canghai thought for a while and said, "I just heard you yelling so loudly, of course I want to taste your mutton soup."

"Okay, sit down objectively." The shopkeeper led him to a table, and then shouted, "A bowl of mutton soup!"

Soon, a bowl of oily, steaming, fragrant broth was served.

Li Canghai just smelled it, and felt that his saliva was about to flow down.

"Shopkeeper, please go and get me two... no, six buns!" Li Canghai said as he took out a few copper coins and threw them to the storekeeper.

The store owner was also a cheerful person, after a reply, he ran to the bakery shop opposite and bought a few buns.

"Guest officer, your bun!"

Li Canghai rubbed his hands, picked up the bun and took a bite, then took another sip of the broth, and a warm current ran through his body.

"That's right, this mutton soup is really good." Li Canghai couldn't help but praised.

"Guest officer, why don't you tell me that you have a good eye? This is an old shop. I started making this mutton soup since my grandfather's generation. I use the secret recipe handed down from my ancestors. To tell you the truth, all the dignitaries in Luoyang City have drank it. This is our soup!" The shopkeeper proudly said.

"The store is so confident!" Li Canghai said with a smile after swallowing the buns in two or three mouthfuls, and took another sip of the broth.

"That's right! This is not bragging. Have you seen that guy over there?" The shopkeeper pointed with his chin to a wealthy man who was eating mutton soup at three tables away from Li Canghai.

Li Canghai nodded: "What's wrong with that one?"

"That is a regular customer of our shop, and has been eating here for more than ten years without interruption!" the shopkeeper said triumphantly.

Li Canghai looked at the man in surprise, and said strangely: "This man has been able to eat with you for more than ten years from poverty to wealth, which shows that your mutton soup is very suitable for him!"

"Hey, how did the guest officer know that he was poor before?" the shopkeeper asked in surprise.

Li Canghai picked up another steamed bun and said while eating, "This man has dark skin and callused hands, which are caused by years of hard work. He has obviously done coolie work. The person he is engaged in should be a blacksmith or carpenter or something. Rich and noble." How can someone do such rough work? Therefore, I conclude that this person must have been poor in his previous life, and his family situation improved later on."

"This guest officer, you are amazing!" The shopkeeper exclaimed in admiration, stretching out a thumb to Li Canghai.

Now, there were no customers in the store, so the store owner simply sat down and chatted with Li Canghai.

"Guest officer, you are really amazing. You can see his experience based on these alone. It is indeed the same as what you said. He used to be poor. He worked as a blacksmith, carpenter, and served in a bathhouse. He was even buried by the government. When he was poor, he passed out from hunger in front of my small shop. My father saw that he was pitiful, so he gave him a bowl of mutton soup. Therefore, since then, he has often come to visit the small shop , until I suddenly became rich and honored, and I didn’t forget about our small shop.” The shopkeeper lowered his voice and said tut-tsk.

Li Canghai became a little curious, he stared at that person, and asked: "This person doesn't seem to have made his fortune from a gambling shop, you said he suddenly became rich, could it be possible to pick up a treasure?"

The store owner shook his head and said: "That's not very clear. More than ten years ago, he collected the corpse for the government, and then he suddenly became rich. The villagers all said that he did good deeds for the dead and received blessings from heaven. "

Li Canghai laughed, and said half-jokingly: "Could it be that he took advantage of the time of collecting the corpse to make money from the dead?"

"Absolutely not." The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "The house where he collected the corpse was ransacked and all the property was confiscated. How could he have the opportunity to reap the wealth of the dead?"

Li Canghai keenly caught a few words, his heart moved, and he hurriedly asked: "Is the family where he collected the corpse surnamed Qin?"

The shop owner scratched his head and said, "I don't know that well. I was still in the countryside at that time, and I hadn't come to Luoyang yet. What I told the guest officer before, I heard from my father!"

At this moment, the man stood up after eating and drinking, and shouted: "Shopkeeper, collect the money."

The shopkeeper walked over hurriedly and said, "Brother Xiong, you paid a lot more last time, how can I charge you more this time!"

"Hey, the last time was the last time, and this time is this time. I ate your food, so naturally I have to pay. We have been friends for many years, so why not be polite!" A broken piece of silver was given to the shopkeeper.

"Brother Xiong, what you eat is only five yuan at most, and you gave too much. What's more, you have been taking care of the business of the small shop all these years, so I can't accept this money anyway." The shopkeeper declined.

"Shopkeeper, you can't say that. If the old shopkeeper hadn't given me a bowl of mutton soup to save my life, I would have been frozen to death. To repay the old shopkeeper in this way, what is this little money compared to the life-saving grace?" The man said seriously.

"This... Since Brother Xiong said so, then I'll accept it. However, next time Brother Xiong comes to the store, he can't give any more money." The shopkeeper couldn't refuse, so he had to accept the money.

The man patted the storekeeper on the shoulder before walking out of the store.

After watching that person leave, Li Canghai asked, "Shopkeeper, what is this person's name? Where does he live?"

While clearing away the bowls and chopsticks, the shopkeeper said, "His name is Xiong Asi, and he lives in Yongtongfang, West City. Does the guest officer want to know Brother Xiong?"

After the shopkeeper finished cleaning up, he looked back and found that the table was already empty, except for a few copper coins on the table.

After leaving the mutton restaurant, Li Canghai walked directly to Yongtongfang in the West Market.

The streets of Luoyang City intersect vertically and horizontally, matching in width and narrowness, like a chessboard.

The places where the common people live are called "fangs". There are [-] squares in Luoyang City, and there are three cities in the city.

Yongtongfang is located in Xishi, near the Luohe River.

Li Canghai came to Yongtongfang, found Xiong Asi's residence, thought for a while, then turned and left the West Market.

When we returned to Di's house, it was getting dark.

There were bursts of qin playing in the courtyard, and Li Canghai followed the sound of the qin to find it. In the pavilion in the courtyard, he saw Xue Xuan teaching Di Qing how to play the Yaoqin.

Li Canghai rubbed his nose. Although he didn't know the melody, he could tell that Di Qing's piano sound was simply not flattering.

"Qing'er, it's dark and windy this night, is it really okay for you to make noise like this?" Li Canghai walked over and said with a smile.

Seeing Li Canghai approaching, the two looked at him at the same time, Di Qing gave him a hard look, and said angrily, "I've never played the piano before, so of course I won't! You still made fun of me and ignored you! Hmph !"

Li Canghai suddenly burst out laughing.

Xue Xuan said with a smile: "Qing'er is extremely talented, and she has already learned very quickly. As long as she keeps practicing, her achievements will definitely be far better than mine in the future."

When Di Qing heard this, her eyes suddenly turned into crescents. She squinted her eyes and proudly picked her chin at Li Canghai, saying, "Look, even sister Xue said I have talent!"

Li Canghai smiled, then changed the subject suddenly, and asked, "Qing'er, didn't you go to investigate Tang Ao? Did you find anything?"

Di Qing tilted her head and said, "I didn't find anything, but luckily I met Sister Xue, and I told Sister Xue about the 'Shadowless Needle', and Sister Xue said she knew something."

(End of this chapter)