The Delicate Lady Coroner Chapter 17: One Inch of Gold 17

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Chapter 17 An Inch of Gold 17

The fire burned for a whole day.

At dusk, the solemn ancestral hall turned into a pile of charred ruins. Most of the surrounding pines and cypresses were burned, and there were still a few wisps of smoke curling under the dim sky.

Huo Weilou stood near the fire scene, with a solemn look on his face as if the rain was about to come.

He Cheng couldn't help but speak softer as he stood behind him, "Master Hou, this fire started from within. There must be no other reason. It's just that it will take six or seven days to clean up this place."

The ancestral hall is not small. Excluding the main hall, there are more than ten rooms in total. At this moment, broken walls and rubble, combined with unburned beams, columns and rafters, collapsed into a smoky hill-like place. Darkly, looking to the side of the wind, he saw Zheng Wen'an standing aside with a sad expression.

"Gather the servants in the mansion and transfer some people from the Yamen to clean up this place within three days."

As soon as Huo Weilou said these words, Zheng Wen'an came back to his senses, took a step closer and said: "Master Hou, people in the house are in panic now, why not solve the case first, and then clean up this place..."

Huo Weilou looked at Zheng Wen'an. Zheng Wen'an's eyes changed several times, but he still responded, "Yes, I'll make arrangements right now."

Zheng Wen'an waved to several stewards and followed Huo Weilou's instructions. He Cheng also ordered the arrester to send the government servants. The night was about to fall, and the cold wind was biting. Huo Weilou's gaze was fixed, and he suddenly realized Bao Ruoyou's frail figure was climbing up a pile of blackened beams.

Huo Weilou frowned and walked towards Bo Ruoyou.

The fire has gone, but there are still smoke and sparks among the ruins. As we get closer, the ground under our feet seems to be still warm. Huo Weilou wonders what Bao Ruoyou is climbing up there. Her skirt The pendulum was stained with black ash.

"What are you doing?"

Huo Weilou asked in a deep voice, sounding dissatisfied.

Bao Ruoyou turned around, but did not feel afraid. Instead, he asked: "What smell can Mr. Hou smell?"

Huo Weilou frowned, and Bo Ruoyou walked down from the pile of burnt black. Her hands were also stained with black ash. She clapped her hands and said, "Master Hou, this is tung oil. Although it has been burned out, there is still some. A hint of smoke smell——"

Huo Weilou joined the army when he was young and knew what tung oil was. He often used tung oil in fire attacks on the battlefield. This is because tung oil burns quickly and is not easily extinguished by water. When it burns, it produces thick smoke, and the smoke is poisonous.

Bo Ruoyou also said at this time: "Most of the lamp oil used for the Buddha's memorial tablets in the Buddhist temple is ghee. Although ghee is valuable, it has less smoke and a lighter smell. It is also considered flame-resistant. Tung oil should not appear here, and Earlier, the girl discovered that Aunt Jade also smelled of tung oil."

As Bao Ruoyou spoke, he brushed the broken hair around his face with the back of his hand, "The fire started suddenly and with rapid momentum. I think the Marquis has already guessed that there is something wrong. Now the daughter of the people can be sure that there is someone with this idea." Tung Oil deliberately set fire." She looked sideways at the ruined scene, "The ancestral hall is the most important thing for the clan, and it will never be set on fire unless it is urgent. Master Zheng Wu came here last night, and the eldest lady is going to Beijing early this morning, and the ancestral hall is on fire again. The folk girl felt that there must be something strange in this ancestral hall, and all of this was the decision made by Mr. Zheng Wu and Aunt Yu last night. They wanted to hide something, so they became cruel."

After Bao Ruoyou finished speaking, Huo Weilou did not respond. She was worried that she had said too much, but when she turned around, she saw Huo Weilou looking at her with an unclear expression. Bo Ruoyou felt that something was not right...

Huo Weilou first looked at Bo Ruoyou's face stained with black ash, and then looked at Bo Ruoyou's hands.

She had very few scruples during the autopsy, and she did not hesitate to face the rotting corpse. Her ten fingers were stained with corpse water and were cold. Now the **** of her left hand are slightly red and swollen. They are now stained with gray stains that have not been removed. It is really unbearable. Gaze.

"There is indeed something strange about the ancestral hall. The sudden fire only proves this point. We have ordered people to clean up and search this place." After a pause, Huo Weilou said in a gentler voice, "There is no need for an autopsy today. You You don’t have to be here.”

These words made her retreat, but Bo Ruoyou hesitated and said tentatively, "The daughter of the people wants to stay here for a while."

Huo Weilou stared, and Bo Ruoyou hurriedly said: "Although a civilian girl is a woman, she is meticulous and will never make mistakes——"

A glimmer of light flashed in Huo Weilou's eyes. He heard clearly that Bo Ruoyou still remembered that he didn't like women in the place where he was doing errands. Huo Weilou glanced at the fire scene and said, "What can you find in this situation?" When your time comes, I will call you.”

Bo Ruoyou followed his gaze and saw only charred beams and pillars falling to the ground, and rubble and broken walls lying on the ground. It was indeed some manual work. Bo Ruoyou understood that before these heavy things were cleaned up, , it’s really hard to find anything.

She sighed helplessly, "Then... the civilian girl resigned."

This tone seemed to be a bit regretful. Huo Weilou was used to people in the officialdom shoving the blame and avoiding people. Looking at Bo Ruoyou now, the more he looked at her, the more attractive her features were. Even if her face was gray and stained, she still looked beautiful. The posture of bones.

With this thought, Huo Weilou frowned lightly. He had been abstinent from women for many years. In the capital, no matter how peerless beauties were, they were just vulgar and pink in his eyes. Now, he felt that Bo Ruoyou was a bit pleasing to the eye.

It must be because she is diligent and talented in handling errands.

Huo Weilou was determined. When he looked at Bo Ruoyou again, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful. He responded lightly, and Bo Ruoyou turned around and walked away. He Cheng came up to her at this moment. Seeing the stains on her face, he hurriedly exposed it. Surprised, "Xiaobo, you..."

He Cheng pointed at her cheek and couldn't help but smile, "Why are you so embarrassed?"

Bao Ruoyou finally understood the reason for Huo Weilou's gaze just now. Although she didn't feel embarrassed, she was a little rude after all, so she smiled bitterly and left quickly. He Cheng looked at her back and clicked his tongue. Seeing that Huo Weilou seemed satisfied with Bo Ruoyou in the past two days, he said, "Mr. Marquis made me laugh. Xiao Bo is really safer than those boys. He has helped with errands several times." , never feel tired."

At this point, He Cheng sighed, "Thanks to Xiaobo's help in the past two years, there is no backlog of pending cases in Qingzhou. God really treats me well. Seeing that the Marquis has no doubts about his employment, my officer is also quite educated. Although he can't Appointed by the yamen clerk, it can be heard that there are many talented people in the sect of the Marquis. This kind of cherishing of talents makes me admire. If this is the case, I will treat Xiaobo as my disciple and simply let her live in Qingzhou City. , it will be more convenient to help the state government government in the future..."

He Cheng praised Bo Ruoyou and Huo Weilou, and felt that the compliment was done in one go, without any trace of deliberateness. But before he finished speaking, Huo Weilou's face darkened for some reason, and he felt a chill in his heart. , He Cheng took out his handkerchief again and started wiping sweat.

Emperor Jianhe was very open-minded in his administration, and there were always several guests in the court. Huo Weilou had more than ten thousand people under one person. He was deeply trusted by Emperor Jianhe, and he also recruited talents for him many times. Therefore, congratulations Cheng's words were not unexpected at all, but Huo Weilou felt a little unhappy when he heard them. When they returned to the guest house in the evening, others seemed a little gloomy.

Eunuch Fu only thought that he was annoyed because of the fire in the ancestral hall and missed the opportunity to search, so he said: "The fire broke out suddenly, and Aunt Jade is the most suspicious. She was indeed the old lady's most confidant in the past, so there is no doubt that she set fire to the ancestral hall. , But so what if the ancestral hall is burned down. The Marquis is wise and powerful. In a few days, I won’t be able to find out the truth..."

"I remember that Xiliang Kingdom paid tribute to an object years ago."

"Ah?" Eunuch Fu was stunned. He didn't know why Huo Weilou suddenly mentioned this matter. He thought for a moment and nodded, "The tribute from Xiliang Kingdom this year is mainly Qimen weapons. What did the Marquis say? ?Is it that divine machine?"

When Huo Weilou joined the army when he was young, Eunuch Fu’s first thought was of the magical crossbow. The envoy from the Xiliang Kingdom said that the magical crossbow could fire several arrows at once, with a range of hundreds of miles. If it could be put into use, it would surely be The key to victory in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

However, Huo Weilou shook his head and said, "It's a hand guard made of extremely fine copper wire."

Eunuch Fu thought hard for a long time, but he never thought of this thing. However, Huo Weilou ordered: "Fei Ge sent a letter back to Beijing and asked someone to fetch the thing and deliver it."

Eunuch Fu went to pass the letter dubiously. When he came back, he saw Huo Weilou reading the official document. He didn't know what it was for. Eunuch Fu sighed, knowing that he couldn't guess Huo Weilou's thoughts, so he didn't think much about it. ask.

At this time, the embroiderer who was responsible for guarding Bao Ruoyou's yard came back and came outside the door, but hesitated before entering.

Eunuch Fu came out and said, "Why are you back? Didn't I tell you to look at Miss Bo?"

The embroiderer said in confusion: "Miss Bo went to the bamboo forest in the east and refused to let my subordinates follow me. I felt it was inappropriate, so I should come back and report her."

Before Eunuch Fu spoke, Huo Weilou's voice came from inside.

"What did she do in the bamboo forest?"

The embroiderer said hurriedly: "I don't know, but Miss Bo asked the servants in the house for some incense and candle money. It seems that... she wants to pay homage to her old friend."

Huo Weilou raised his eyes from the official document and frowned slightly.