Chapter 41 Chapter fifteen

Huang Yun was flying fast, and as dusk fell, Hong Canjun walked to the yamen dejectedly.He came out today to arrest him with little success, those young men couldn't tell what the face of the man in black clothes and trousers looked like, they only said that his face was pale, and there was a lock of curly hair hanging down his forehead.But what does this mean? He walked with his head down, and unconsciously turned into a street lined with shops.Suddenly, a big man with broad chest and broad shoulders walked past him.Hong Canjun's eyes lit up, and he felt that this person had a good face.Looking from a distance, he was wearing a black leather hat with a peak, which was very similar to the suspicious figure drawn by the dumb boy.

Hong Canjun was alert, and hurriedly pushed aside the crowd, and followed closely behind.He saw the big man enter a jewelry store.Hong Canjun walked to the door of the jewelry store and peeked into the shop.The shopkeeper of the jewelry shop was taking out a rosewood jewelry box inlaid with king beads from the cabinet.The big man wore a black leather hat very low, and his two fluffy earflaps were drooping, covering most of his face.Hong Canjun saw that he was opening the jewelry box with white gloves on, and was picking inside.Suddenly the big man took off a glove, took out a gleaming red gemstone from the box, and put it in the palm of his hand to watch carefully.Then I saw him bargaining with the shopkeeper.Finally, the shopkeeper shrugged, carefully wrapped the two rubies in flannel paper and handed them to the big man.The big man paid the money, took the velvet paper and wrapped it out of the jewelry store, and soon disappeared into the endless crowd.

Hong Canjun didn't see him for a while, he was very annoyed, blaming himself for being careless, when he suddenly saw the big man walking into the door of a wine shop.Hong Canjun watched carefully, so he hurried to follow.Only then did he see a black lacquered and gold-plated signboard hanging on the door of the restaurant: "Spring Breeze Restaurant". He looked around, hoping to spot an acquaintance or someone walking in the yamen, but he was disappointed.Just as I was anxious, I suddenly saw a shoemaker with a stall at the door of Chunfeng Restaurant, and there was no business at this time.Hong Canjun pulled the shoemaker to the corner, took out one or two pieces of silver from his sleeve, and handed him a famous thorn, saying, "Master Labor, go to the Yamen of the state capital and give this thorn to Mr. Di, and ask him to send it immediately." Someone came to Chunfeng Restaurant to catch the fugitive. You have the right to collect the taels of silver, run fast on the road, don't delay, there will be a big reward afterwards."

Seeing the reward of one or two taels of silver, the shoemaker agreed immediately, left the stall quickly, and ran to the government office in a hurry. After the shoemaker left, Hong Canjun opened the door and walked into the downstairs shop of Chunfeng Restaurant.There are more than a dozen tables lined up in the store, and each table is full of customers.Cups and plates were messed up, toasts were intertwined, the aroma of wine was pervasive, and people's voices were buzzing.Hong Canjun looked around the store, but he didn't see the big man, so he was surprised.Suddenly, the hall came out from the back of the bead curtain.With a flash in the corner of his eyes, he saw that there was an elegant seat behind the bead curtain.The big man was drinking alone with his back to the shop.

Hong Canjun stepped forward, opened the bead curtain, and patted the big man on the shoulder with his hand.The big man hurriedly turned his head, and was taken aback, the paper bag in his hand fell to the ground. Hong Canjun recognized the big man, he couldn't help gasping, his face turned pale, and he was extremely shocked. "So it's you? You're the kidnapper..." "Officer Hong, sit down, and I'll tell you everything." Hong Canjun pulled out an armchair from under the table and sat on the right side of the big man.The big man gave a dry laugh, and said: "It's a long story, Mr. Hong, don't be bothered, let me talk about it slowly..." As he spoke, he secretly took out a sharp dagger from his leather boots, and took advantage of Hong's unpreparedness to join the army. , suddenly pierced into his chest.

Hong Canjun's eyes were wide open, his hair and beard stood on end, his lips moved, and blood gushed out of his mouth immediately.His feet were already weak, and he staggered a few steps, only to feel darkness before his eyes, and threw himself on the table, coughing and panting, and groaning softly at the same time.He struggled to get up and dipped his trembling fingers in his own blood, and wrote a word on the table, then he convulsed violently and stopped moving. The big man glanced contemptuously at Hong Canjun who was lying on the edge of the table, then looked back at the noisy shop, sneered, and gently wiped away the word Hong Canjun wrote in blood.So he stood up, walked through the kitchen, and walked out the back door of the hotel.

When the big man went to make an appointment for a cup of tea, Di Gong led Tao Gan, Ma Rong, and Qiao Tai to the Spring Breeze Restaurant. The shop was full of onlookers, whispering to each other and talking about it.Ma Rong and Qiao Tai walked through the shop, lined up the crowd, raised the bead curtain, and let Di Gong enter the private room. Di Gong silently looked at Hong Canjun's body soaked in a pool of blood, and couldn't help tears welling up in his eyes.Tao Gan, Qiao Tai, and Ma Rong wept uncontrollably, and turned their faces away sadly. Tao Gan said: "Master, look at the blood on the table, it looks like someone wrote something, but it was smeared again, could it be Uncle Hong who wrote it."

Ma Rong gritted his teeth, and a trace of bright red blood oozed from his lips. "We want to avenge Uncle Hong. When the murderer is caught, we will cut him two hundred and forty knives and dig out his internal organs, and sacrifice Uncle Hong's blood!" Tao Gan knelt down, searched the ground carefully, and saw a velvet paper bag on the ground.He opened the paper bag and saw two sparkling rubies. "My lord, these two rubies must have been dropped by the murderer when he fled in haste." Di Gong took the velvet paper bag and looked at it, then nodded. "Tao Gan, we were one step too late, and let this flash attack succeed, and Hong Liang lost his life. ——I have more or less understood the matter of the ruby."

Di Gong called the shopkeeper of the hotel and asked, "Did Hong Canjun from Yali come here with a man wearing a pointed black leather hat?" The shopkeeper of the hotel was frightened and stammered, "They didn't come together. The guest officer in the black leather hat came here first, and ordered a pinch of white wine and two cold bowls. But the dead man didn't know when he came in." This small room. When our hall found that he was covered in blood, the murderer had already slipped away. I was scared out of my wits, and I was about to send someone to report to the Yamen here, but the master and the officials in the Yamen came first."

Ma Rong asked gruffly, "Shopkeeper, what did you see that murderer look like?" "He——his black leather hat was pushed down very low, and the fluffy earflaps on both wings covered the corners of his mouth. The villain...couldn't see his face clearly." Di Gongqiang suppressed the anger in his heart, and ordered Ma Rong and Qiao Tai: "Go to Goat Town tomorrow morning, and invite Zhu Dayuan to go with him. He is familiar with many shortcuts there, and he also knows the head. Find that hotel, I inquired in detail about Pan Feng's coming to rest that day, and went to ask the farmer who sold the copper stove. After all these inquiries are confirmed, I will go back to the yamen together with Zhu Dayuan. ——Listen carefully? "

Ma Rong and Qiaotai nodded. Di Gong said in a miserable voice: "At this moment, you two will move Hong Liang's body back to the Yamen."