Chapter 467: Crowd Learning

The Imperial Academy in the afternoon was a bit lively. The classroom without Xu Chuo was not always orderly. The teacher hadn't come yet, and the scholars were in groups of three or five, chatting together about what they had seen and heard.

"... The wontons at Zhanma Willow are delicious, the skin is thin, the filling is tender, and the soup is fresh..."

"Don't go there..."

"By the way, tell you guys, the brushes at Deyiju absorb ink better than Chunfeng Studio, and the ink color is even. I've used four or five."

"I also found a good bookstore yesterday. Look... this notebook is so exquisite, and there are several volumes that are more than enough..."

"Xu Yang, Xu Yang! I've read this poem of yours yesterday. Except for two errors in the metrical pattern, it's written very well..."

Seeing Pei Ye walked in. The bright sunlight spilled through the window. There was a strange peace in the noise. He found a seat and sat down. There was no Fang Jidao today. He spread the book on the table without looking at it, and still opened the case file first.

But his ears moved and he heard the loud voice over there: "... There has been no news about the recommendation recently. The disturbance in the Phoenix Pool these two days is not a dispute between Yuan and Li at all, but a case!"

Seeing Pei Ye was slightly stunned, remembering that the Imperial Academy was indeed adjacent to the Southern Office, and what happened was often the first place to be discussed. But the fact that this case he had personally experienced reached his ears again still surprised him, so he realized that the impact of the confrontation between the two sides in the past three days was far beyond his expectations.

"What case?" People over there asked.

"Ah! Is it the Jingzhao Prefecture side?"

"I heard that too, it seems that the Forbidden Army was even mobilized."

"Really or fake? Why don't I know?"

"If you don't know, go to Pingkang Ward tonight and see what the 'Number One Pavilion in Pingkang' looks like now."

"I went to see it last night. The Jin Wu Guards are sealing it, the gate walls are collapsed, and there is no one left."

"I heard that the Forbidden Army found a human trafficking case, which has been handed over to the Southern Office for sentencing, but someone wants to take it out to implicate others."

"If you ask me, it's strange for the Forbidden Army to investigate the case. It's righting the wrongs to hand it over to the Southern Office for sentencing, but why can it be taken out and repeated?"

"Is it reaching the sky?"

"That's unknown... Anyway, this case is now being re-investigated. I heard it has something to do with the Taiping Cao Gang..."

"Oh! The Wuyun Building we often eat at seems to be theirs. That time I heard we were students of the Imperial Academy, and that person even waived the bill for us."

"Eh, stop talking about the case. You can't talk about the truth." The loud voice at the beginning said, "The truly amazing thing about this matter is the current trend of the imperial court."

"... Ah, I heard that too."

"What?"

"The latest news yesterday was that Di, the Vice Minister of the Supreme Court, took over this case alone. The Three Departments were established, but there was no support from the Southern Office. The Vice Minister and the Censor did not go, and the imperial court reacted coldly." This scholar said, "Vice Minister Di issued a warrant, saying that he would break the case within ten days. He went to the Jingzhao Prefecture today. The people reported were only Li Zhao, the Temple Assistant, and someone who didn't know where he came from, named Seeing Pei Ye."

"The Supreme Court didn't send anyone else?"

"No, Minister Di took it himself—to put it plainly, it's just the three of us, and we want to overturn this case."

"... How can three people investigate a case?"

"Who knows—I also heard another thing."

"What?"

"Just at noon, Qiu Tianyu, the Great Dragon Head of the Taiping Cao Gang, 【Taiping Partridge】, set up a 'Ten-Day Banquet' at the Feijing Building in West Pool, three hundred people every day, saying that he would feast for ten days to entertain friends of the Cao Gang."

"..."

Seeing Pei Ye flipped through the files on the table and re-read the case of Zhang Mengyuan and his wife being intercepted. This case actually couldn't see any relationship with the Taiping Cao Gang, and the four words were not mentioned at all.

But it was a sense of disharmony that led him, and with the re-reading, he also saw something wrong again—the autopsy reports of the three were written very vaguely. The couple was cut in the throat, Zhang Mingqin was beaten to death, and all other details were missing.

Simple cause of death was not a problem, but since the cause of death was so simple, the case was filed on the 18th of the 9th month, why was Zhang Mingqin's autopsy report finished on the 23rd of the 9th month, and the couple's on the 26th of the 9th month?

Was the coroner busy these two days?

Seeing Pei Ye frowned slightly. At this time, the teacher finally walked to the front of the hall with a book. The students also gradually stopped discussing and sat back in their seats one after another.

Today, Li Mingqiu, a great Confucian scholar, was lecturing on "Spring and Autumn." He had no cultivation and was over sixty years old. His face was still upright, but the white hair on his temples was already difficult to cover. Only Xu Chuo and he taught "Spring and Autumn" in the Four Gates Academy. It is said that he was a doctor of the Imperial Academy when he was young and served as the Minister of Rites until he retired, but he did not return to his hometown and returned to the Imperial Academy to be a lecturer again.

This great Confucian scholar put the book on the table, but didn't rush to open it. He straightened his sleeves and crown and said: "I just heard that some students were discussing the human trafficking case of the Carp Pavilion."

The classroom was quiet for a while.

Li Mingqiu said: "You are the pillars of the future Great Tang. The Imperial Academy is built under the Phoenix Pool, intending to let students observe and discuss, and also let the predecessors set an example for the juniors."

"And the rumors of the imperial court are the real torrents of the Great Tang. I hope you will not only take it as a topic of conversation, but also have a heart of seeking truth and reality. The example you choose today may be the official career of your whole life."

Li Mingqiu did not express any opinion on the matter itself. After saying this slowly, he lowered his head and opened the page: "Right and wrong is also a meaning of 'Spring and Autumn'."

Seeing Pei Ye raised his head for the first time to look. Among the students in the hall, there were quite a few who stood upright and were thoughtful.

It was just that when the formal lecture started, the boy couldn't help but frown again. He couldn't understand "Spring and Autumn" even more, so he split his mind with the Quail Head, recording what he learned in class while looking at this case file.

In order, it was also Zhang Mingqin's report first, then the couple, which deviated from the narrative logic of the case.

Seeing Pei Ye frowned slightly and spent the whole class like this.

The sunset was melting gold, and the classroom was filled with warmth. After the teacher and students performed the ceremony, Li Mingqiu walked out of the classroom, and then the noise gradually grew again.

In the evening when the day's lessons were over, the scholars smiled and made appointments for where to go after leaving the academy. Although some people were still studying hard, more students were more willing to go to the lantern market to stroll around the fair, blow the wind by the lake, and socialize and relax.

The five or six people who came together at the door had been sitting nearby. Now a scholar in front smiled and leaned on the desk in the back row, shaking his two long, festive eyebrows: "Brother Chang, Brother Lin, did you bring the cricket yesterday? I found a majestic one. Let's fight later."

Lin Yuxian, who met at the door, rolled his eyes slightly: "How can you bring it to the classroom? The teacher is lecturing, and the cricket is chirping underneath?"

"Can't you put it outside the door?"

"I'm afraid of thieves."

"You look stingy, and you're still the son of a Vice Minister..."

The freckled girl put away her books and turned her head to call: "Cheng Youlun, stop worrying about the cricket—and Chang Yuan, are you going to the West Pool Poetry Gathering at the end of the month?"

Cheng Youlun turned his head: "No, the poetry gathering all day long, I'm tired of it."

The freckled girl took a breath angrily. The more stable man on the other side said: "Tinghua, who is going?"

The freckled girl's eyes lit up, and she first stretched her hands to the gentle woman beside her: "There is the talented woman Fu Zhiyun."

And to the right: "And the daughter of the Jin Wu Guard General, Yuan Junfang."

Then she pointed forward one by one: "As well as Li Teng, the second son of the Jing County Count, the Fengyang talented man Lang Mei, and Wei Yuanfan, Tang Zhouli, Liu Du... there are more than ten people."

Cheng Youlun turned his head and asked curiously: "Is classmate Changsun going?"

The freckled girl stared: "Keep dreaming!"

Cheng Youlun rolled his eyes and turned back. Fu Zhiyun said: "Wait until tomorrow... I'll ask her."

The freckled girl said: "Although classmate Changsun will definitely not come, we also have a rare guest at this poetry gathering."

"What rare guest?"

The freckled girl pursed her lips and brightened her eyes, leaned down and whispered: "I met a practitioner with Zhiyun that day, and I invited him this time."

"... I met a practitioner when I was eating noodles yesterday." Cheng Youlun said, "He was carrying a sword, very majestic, but he looked like he was thirty or forty, and he was mediocre..."

"It's not the same! This one is a 'Nanyue Mountain' direct descendant. Do you know what a 'direct descendant' is? It means the one who will be the head of the sect in the future. He is a true future giant of the Jianghu!" The freckled girl said.

Cheng Youlun became interested: "Really or fake?"

"Of course it's true! He is only twenty years old, and he won ninth place in the sword discussion of the thirty sects in the southeast last year. This is a true cultivation genius, not a trickster found everywhere..." The freckled girl said proudly, "Just like the Jinshi among us scholars!"

Lin Yuxian frowned: "... But I haven't heard the name Nanyue Mountain."

"I haven't heard of it either, but later I inquired. It is from the Jin Wu Sect in the southeast, a very famous sword gate."

Cheng Youlun rubbed his hands: "Then I'll go too!"

The freckled girl nodded with satisfaction. At this time, she suddenly remembered something, turned back to look at Seeing Pei Ye, who was frowning and supporting his chin, and asked curiously: "... This classmate, do you want to go to the West Pool Poetry Gathering to play?"

"..."

"This classmate?"

"Ah? Oh," Seeing Pei Ye was stunned and raised his head, smiling regretfully, "... I like listening to everyone's poetry, but I don't have much free time these days. Let's do it next time."

"Oh, okay, okay." The freckled girl just thought he declined politely.

Seeing Pei Ye lowered his head again, frowning. It wasn't that he didn't hear anything outside the window, but he was staring at this case file, and an idea was surging in his heart.

—If Zhang Mingqin and her parents were not discovered at the same time, or even not dead at the same time?

But why... would they not be discovered at the same time?

【Zhang Mengyuan and his wife threw the bodies outside the city, and their daughter Zhang Mingqin threw the body into the Long Shouqu】

Seeing Pei Ye's eyes condensed, and he suddenly raised his hand to hold the arm of the freckled girl who was about to leave: "Classmate, is there a map of the Divine Capital?"

The freckled girl was startled and stiffened: "Ah, hall, there is one engraved in the pavilion outside..."

"Many thanks."

Seeing Pei Ye walked out of the classroom with big strides and came to the pavilion, frowning and lowering his head.

The Long Shouqu was a huge water system surrounding the northeast of the Divine Capital. In addition to the main canal outside the city, there were five or six branches penetrating into the city.

If this "Long Shouqu" was not outside the city... but inside the city?

Intercepted and killed outside the city, but the girl was thrown into the canal inside the city?

Yongjia, Anxing, Shengye, Chongren, Yongxing... The Long Shouqu passed through these wards, all of which were imperial relatives and high-ranking officials.

—Is this really a robbery case?

Seeing Pei Ye suddenly thought of the girl named Cheng Xiaozhu in the back office of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

He put the case file into his arms, walked out of the Imperial Academy with big strides. At this time, the sky was already dark, and the students around were walking together and laughing vividly. Seeing Pei Ye jumped onto the carriage and said: "Go to the Jingzhao Prefecture immediately."

Seeing Pei Ye came to the backyard of the prefecture. The whole courtyard was pitch black, and only the file room was lit with dim yellow candles, which was truly a lonely lamp in the night.

This was almost a portrayal of the pressure they were facing. Di Jiu and Li Zhao said they could connect bit by bit and catch the other party's horse's feet sooner or later, but the fact was that the other party had already formed a thick shell, and the three people who were not familiar with the Cao Gang really couldn't get started.

Unless there was a long blade sharp enough.

Seeing Pei Ye didn't even go in to say hello. He grabbed a clerk in the office and asked: "Where is your head catcher?"

"Catch, the Thief Catching Division is behind the courtyard."

Seeing Pei Ye let go of him and walked over with his sword. This was another office with lights on. When Seeing Pei Ye pushed the door open, a middle-aged man with a black beard was sitting cross-legged and playing cards with two catchers. A basin of purple small fruits was placed in the middle. Seeing Pei Ye had seen them when he was at the Zhaixing Building. They were grapes from the Western Regions.

The middle-aged man with a black beard spat out a peel and raised a face with a thin scar to look over: "Who are you?"

"Who is Lu Dingwu?"

"I am." The middle-aged man with a black beard stood up slowly.

"The Three Departments are handling the case, asking you about a case." Seeing Pei Ye walked in front of him and shook open the case file in his hand, "For this case of Zhang Mengyuan and his wife, I want to know the handling process."

Lu Dingwu's eyes paused for a moment, as if he didn't expect him to take out this case file in half a day, but the next moment he still smiled: "This case isn't written above, does the Envoy not know how to read?"

"There are many omissions and contradictions in the case. I want to know how this case started, how it was investigated, and how it ended." Seeing Pei Ye said seriously, "You handled the case, you should know."

"Found the body, the brothers chased and found these four murderers, and then they were imprisoned." Lu Dingwu said, and looked at the two catchers beside him—Zhang You, Zhou Yuan—is that right?"

"Lu Yu Gu is backing you up, so you won't say?" Seeing Pei Ye lowered his head, put away the case file, and reached for his waist.

"The Envoy speaks nonsense. We are all officials of the Great Tang. You question me rudely, and still talk about backing up." Lu Dingwu raised his head, "I have the official uniform of the Great Tang to back me up—"

Before he finished speaking, his pupils shrank suddenly. A sword light that split the field of vision lit up without warning. He felt his heart and lungs clench and condensed his Qi to draw his sword, but the next moment, the violent heat on the sword exploded. In an instant, his entire arm lost consciousness.

At the same moment, the two catchers' movements of drawing their swords also froze in place. Seeing Pei Ye stood quietly, placing the sharp sword blade in front of his throat. In the mirror-like sword body, it reflected lotus flowers of jade-colored vermilion, which were moist and exquisite, as if born in the Yao Pool.

"Give you two choices, either say it here," Seeing Pei Ye held the Wild Goose Token in front of him and said calmly, "or say it in the heavy prison of the Immortal Platform."

Lu Dingwu looked at this token with a pale face, his lips trembling slightly... Only then did he know where this boy who was helping out came from.

Just at this time, the black cat whispered: "Did he inadvertently touch your pain point just now?" ===== CHAPTER 468 =====