After the protagonist's HE, I ran away all night [Quick Travel]

Arc 4: Chapter 101

Huo Ye saw Song Xiu again ten days later.

　　The Yanzhou case, which had been pending for nearly two months, was investigated with great efficiency due to the emperor's urging. The evidence that should have been conclusive suddenly had loopholes, and people were kept busy.

　　First, an unidentified male corpse was found in the suburbs of Beijing. His face was disfigured and he was carrying a large amount of silver bills. After investigation, it was found that the man was named Li Shan. When he was young, he worked as a private school teacher for a while relying on his status as a scholar. Later, he became poor and destitute. Because he could read and was good at imitating handwriting, he often wrote letters for others to make a living.

　　According to the coroner's report, Li Shan was attacked from behind and his throat was cut, killing him instantly. The attacker's technique was sophisticated and quick and decisive. The shape of the wound was clearly caused by a horse-head scimitar commonly used by the Tartars.

　　At such a sensitive moment, those who are involved with foreign enemies must be paid special attention to. Soon, the bailiff in charge of the case found several pieces of unburned paper under the stove in Li Shan's house. The scattered contents on the papers were exactly the same as the secret letters found in the Zhen'an General's Mansion.

　　This is also the clearest part of the three judges' closing statements.

　　Huo Ye served in front of the emperor, so naturally he often heard reports from court officials. A group of people investigated and interrogated people, and in the end only caught Xu Chi, and the rest were all blamed on the Tartars.

　　——Xu Chi, the "hero" who "rushed to the aid of Yanzhou" that day, was a rare smooth-talking general with mediocre qualifications. Although he benefited from the protection of his ancestors and became a third-rank official, he was not among the nine "Andong, Annan, Anxi, Anbei", "Pingdong, Pingnan, Pingxi, Pingbei" and "Zhonglingjun", and only got the nickname "Tiger Fang". From his name to his achievements, everything was full of water.

　　Such a "villain" who is disliked by his colleagues is most suitable to be a discarded pawn to take the blame.

　　What's more, when Lu Tingyun was expelled from the capital in his early years and had just joined the army, he had served as a soldier under Xu Chi, but was not valued. When they met again, the former was already the prestigious General Zhen'an. He was not yet thirty years old, but his position was equal to that of the Three Dukes, so it was inevitable that they would be compared and discussed together.

　　When a narrow-minded person becomes jealous, it seems that nothing he does is strange.

　　Only Huo Ye knew that Xu Chi was a weak person and valued his life very much. If he didn't have a "backer" to support him, he would not dare to accuse Lu Tingyun of treason even if he had a hundred thousand guts. At most, he would just make a few sarcastic remarks in the memorial to the emperor to flatter him.

　　Not to mention shooting with a crossbow yourself.

　　As for the cold iron arrowhead that appeared in the young man's mouth, it had completely disappeared. No relevant record could be found after searching through the entire file.

　　How did the food and grass get cut off? How did the Tartars know Lu Tingyun's handwriting? How did they quietly slip the secret letter into the general's mansion at the foot of the emperor? How could a body that was carelessly discarded and highly decomposed be discovered only now and reported to the authorities?

　　There are many doubts.

　　However, all the above doubts were put to rest with Xu Chi's "suicide out of fear of crime."