Chapter Sixty: Night Investigation

  As night fell on the land, one by one the gateways were closed, and except for the occasional patrol of the martial marquis on the streets, not a single pedestrian could be seen.

  In the Xiwenfang, some households still had bright lanterns lit up. The Fang family in the southeast corner was hosting a banquet for noble guests from afar. In the northwest corner, there was a brothel with silk and bamboo music drifting through the night air, carrying the soft sounds of sensuality.

  In Yang Fan's small hut, a single lamp shone like a bean, and the silence was extreme. An old mouse poked its head out from the corner of the wall, seemingly also feeling uneasy due to this unusual silence, it squeaked twice, finally giving up its plan, turning around and drilling back into the hole in the wall.

  Dim light shone on Yang Fan's body, Yang Fan knelt on the ground, wearing a crisp and neat short shirt.

  The bundle on the bird's nest has been taken back by him, and now it is unfolded on the table. Yang Fan took out a sharp short knife, tried the sharp blade with his finger, inserted it into the easiest position to pull out at his waist, then took out another small sword and lightly inserted it into the leg strap.

  Finally, he took out a mask, the mask was green-faced and red-browed, with two snow-white fangs, which looked extremely terrifying in the dark. It was an exorcism mask that could be bought anywhere on the street, Yang Fan gently placed the mask on his knees, waved his palm to extinguish the candle flame, closed his eyes, and waited quietly.

  "Bang! Bang bang!"

  The sound of the drumbeat came from afar, and Yang Fan's thoughts surged in a sea of blood: people running for their lives all over the mountains and valleys, arrows and blades chasing after them like hunters, one by one falling bodies, men, women, old people, children... A cold-blooded official with a hawk-like nose and a green robe stood on a high slope, shouting orders: "Kill! Kill them all! Not a single one is allowed to escape!"

  Yang Fan's body suddenly shook violently, his eyes snapped open, and the dim interior seemed to flash with two lightning bolts, then that sharp light gradually dissipated, becoming ordinary again.

  The superior martial arts, what is being cultivated is not just the body, but also the mind. His mind has already become more stable and calm than most people of the same age.

  "Consider before acting, plan first and then move!" This was a sentence his father had explained to him when he was young teaching him the art of war, at that time he didn't pay much attention to it, but somehow now he often thinks about it.

  After a long time, Yang Fan gently buckled the mask on his face, and he became a green-faced, iron-toothed fierce ghost.

  Yang Fan slowly stood up and slipped out of the room like a ghost.

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  A simple and elegant study room.

  On both sides of the bookshelves are some antique artifacts and historical documents.

  Under the wall, a curved foot rolled ear case, on which a lamp with a shade was placed, paper, ink, pen and inkstone, and a stack of files.

  Behind him sat Yang Mingsheng, a judicial officer of the Ministry of Justice, with a huge screen behind him, on which dragons and phoenixes danced, writing line after line of bold characters:

  "The Han family has its own system, but it is mixed with the way of the hegemon. Why rely solely on moral teachings and use the politics of Zhou? Moreover, common Confucians do not understand the times, they like to praise the ancient and criticize the present, making people confused about names and realities, and unaware of what to defend. Therefore, those who use the state, establish righteousness and become kings, establish trust and become hegemons, can be king above and hegemon below, using the way of the hegemon to assist the way of the king..."

  Yang Mingsheng took a light sip of tea, turned over a page of the file, and continued to read on seriously.

  The tea soup is not clear, because this tea has added salt, pepper, ginger, dates, cheese and other seasonings, a big pot of stewed soup, the taste is really not good in modern people's mouth, but at that time, the tea ceremony was like this.

  At that time, tea was not a popular beverage in the upper class of the Tang Dynasty. Except for the people of Bashu, only monks and Taoist priests liked to drink tea. The Shu people were the first to use tea as a beverage, and the Sichuan people with developed taste buds began drinking tea as early as the Western Han period, but this habit was limited to local people. Yang Ming was from Shu, so he had this habit that was not popular in Luoyang yet.

  Yang Mingsheng finished reading the page, picked up his cup and took a light sip of tea, gently pushed the celadon white flower teacup to one side, narrowed those eagle-like sharp eyes, looked at the folded scroll in front of him, stroked his beard, and fell into a deep thought.

  At this moment, a figure slipped into the Yang Langzhong's courtyard like a ghost.

  The Yang Langzhong's mansion was magnificent and occupied several acres of land, but at night it was equally quiet. In various places in the mansion, only some corridors and courtyards hung lanterns, which swayed gently in the evening breeze, emitting a dim light.

  At that time, many wealthy families built houses without certain rules. They would build houses based on different landforms and geography, or according to the owner's interests and hobbies. Therefore, the architectural layout of the house is not exactly the same, and it is difficult to judge where the owner's residence is based on experience.

  Moreover, Yang Fan had been abroad since childhood and was even more unfamiliar with the layout of the grand mansions of wealthy families in the Central Plains. However, he was patient and after sneaking into the Yang residence, Yang Fan did not rush to act. He stood quietly for a while.

  Although only a wall away from the Cross Street in the alley, he had never been to this Yang's house before. He first familiarized himself with the scenery and layout of the yard, then lowered his figure and slipped into the back house.

  Suddenly, he stopped behind a clump of flowers, and keenly discovered that there was a lamp at the corner of the corridor, under which a large black dog was lazily lying. Yang Fan's eyebrows slightly furrowed, the Yang family had raised vicious dogs, this was trouble.

  A dog's sense of smell and hearing is far more sensitive than that of humans, and it can detect the entry of a stranger from a great distance. If it barks loudly several times to attract the attention of the night watchman guarding the yard, it would be very bad.

  Yang Fan cautiously approached a little closer, still at a distance, when the black dog suddenly raised its head, looked around, and sniffed its nose alertly, as if it had sensed something unusual.

  Yang Fan immediately stopped in his tracks, not taking another step forward. He had originally intended to get rid of the watchdog, but just as he was about to act, a thought suddenly occurred to him: "Yang Mingsong is the Chief of the Ministry of Justice's Department of Punishment, overseeing criminal lawsuits and holding significant power and authority. His residence would not possibly have lax security measures in place. If there are watchdogs here, could there also be night watchmen?"

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  Hua Xiaoqian stood under the Osmanthus tree for a long time.

  The night wind was a bit cool, he wrapped his cloak tightly around him, took a deep breath, the osmanthus trees were in full bloom, their sweet fragrance wafting everywhere, invigorating to smell.

  Hua Xiaoqian is a qualified night watchman, and he has chosen a good location.

  This position is at the corner of the courtyard, where you can see the entire central garden. Any moving object cannot escape his eyes, no matter which direction people come from, it's not easy to find the night watchman standing under the tree, wearing a mottled and colorful uniform that blends with the color of the tree bark. With his back against the big tree, he doesn't have to worry about being ambushed from behind.

  The sound of drums came from the street, Hua Xiaoyan listened carefully for a moment, it was almost three o'clock, and in half an hour, he would be off duty. He had been standing for a long time, his feet were already sore. He wanted to jump onto the osmanthus tree and sit on the horizontal branch to rest for a while, after holding on for another half hour, he could go back and sleep well.

  A gust of wind blew by, and some osmanthus petals floated down from the tree. Hua Xiaoyuan loosened his grip on the hilt of his sword and bent his knees, then sprang up into the air.

  He spends a small amount of money to stay overnight every other night, each time staying for two watches. He always chooses this location, and when the night is deep and people are quiet, he will jump onto this osmanthus tree to rest for a while. So he is very familiar with this osmanthus tree, and he doesn't need to lift his head to clearly know what it looks like, knowing that there is a horizontal branch that can bear his weight, and sitting there is also very comfortable.

  He spent a small amount of money, his movements were quite good. With one swift motion, he leaped up about ten feet high, then stretched out his hand to grab onto a horizontal branch. As soon as he grasped it, he pulled himself up and with a twist of his waist, he sat down on the branch, leaning against the big tree, smelling the fragrance of flowers.

  But this time something unexpected happened, his body had just jumped up, and he felt a weight on his shoulder, his mouth was tightly covered, the hand that was about to grab the tree branch was tightly grasped by an iron-like big hand, twisted into a strange posture behind his back, with just a little force it would be extremely painful.

  He fell back to the ground, and there was already someone behind him. The moonlight shone from behind him, and a pair of human shadows appeared on the ground.

  "Shut up! If you don't want to die!"

  This is a hoarse and aged voice, spending a small amount of money just slightly moving, knowing that there is no room for resistance at all, hurriedly nodding to indicate willingness to cooperate.

  The hand covering his mouth loosened slightly and swiftly slid to his throat, Hua Xiaoqian's throat was tightly constricted, the force transmitted through his fingers was extremely great, he was very clear that as long as he let out a loud cry, that hand would be able to crush his throat instantly.

  "Old gentleman, who are you? Do you know this is the residence of Yang Langzhong, the Judicial Officer of the Ministry of Justice?"

  He flashed his identity as the master of the house at a small cost, hoping that the other party was a thief or a burglar who had mistakenly entered the mansion without knowing the identity of its owner.

  Bandits do not fight with officials, and those who are willing to go against the authorities are few. Yang Langzhong is an official in charge of justice and punishment, so big thieves are even more unwilling to deal with him.

  Unfortunately, he was disappointed, and the old, low, hoarse voice said: "I am here for Yang Mingsheng!"

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