Within the three streets and nine alleys, the night was still bustling with noise. The common people were hustling for a living, and there were quite a few who worked day and night.

Living in a place like three streets and nine alleys was inevitably noisy, but today there was a hint of restraint in the noise.

Seeing the soldiers suddenly appear at the entrance of the alley, the night watchmen who were about to start their rounds couldn’t help but curiously look over. They saw several officials in green robes coming out of a house at the alley’s entrance. One of them said, “Someone is dead. There are signs of a struggle. The house is in complete disarray, and the freshly prepared plain noodles are scattered all over the floor. The deceased didn’t manage to hit the other party but received three knife wounds. The final one struck a vital area and caused the death.”

Was someone dead? The night watchman who was about to leave stopped, looked at the two green-robed officials who were talking, frowned, and hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and asked, “Dare to ask my lord, it was the owner of this house who died, the cripple surnamed Hu?”

As soon as these words came out, Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu, who were talking, looked toward him and asked, “Do you recognize him?”

The watchman nodded: “Yes.” After a pause, he said again, “He and I have known each other since we were young. I think he was pretty good in these three streets and nine alleys back then. Who knew… Hey! Among all the neighbors, his place is the shabbiest.” He pointed to the eaves and the wooden footbath underneath.

Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu followed his direction and looked over, looking at the broken eaves above the wooden foot basin. They immediately understood: that when it rains, it rains heavily outside, and it rains lightly in this house. The footbath was used to contain leaking rainwater.

Although ordinary people lived in the three streets and nine alleys, their lives were not rich and they all lived in low-rise houses. But among such a row of houses, only the house in front of them was the shabbiest among the four neighbors.

“When his parents were alive, he worked hard and lived a pretty good life here. Later, he was drafted into the army for a few years.” The watchman couldn’t help but sigh as he spoke, “It’s also bad luck. I heard he was sent out, and he was injured while rescuing people. A good man became lame. After he came back, he couldn’t marry any good girl. After a few years of delay, his parents passed away before he could marry a wife. Since then, he has been living alone, occasionally going around with the retired veterans. But the man he was most familiar with was the man named Ma from the next alley. He had injured his hand. I heard that the two of them were injured at the same time. Their situations were similar, and they were the only ones left in their family. So they took care of each other.”

Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu looked at each other when they heard this.

At this moment, Lin Fei took Zhao You and a few other guards around from the next alley. When he saw them, Lin Fei didn’t say anything and walked into the house immediately.

The room, worn and somewhat damp, exuded a musty atmosphere. Even the oil lamp on the table was hastily bought by the constables from the street, or else there would be no way to illuminate this place.

Lin Fei walked over, squatted down, and looked at the big man lying in a pool of blood.

Hu Chengzu, forty-five years old. He had lived a miserable life, and his appearance looked much older than that of his peers. His hair was mostly white and his beard was stubble.

The lame leg was bent unnaturally. Lin Fei visually inspected the man’s figure: If nothing happened, he would be a tall and powerful man. Such a person could do something good when he joined the army.

However, the lame leg eliminated this possibility.

After chatting with the watchman outside, Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu walked in and called “Lin Shaoqing.”

Lin Fei said “Hmm” and before the two of them could speak, he said: “Ma Sanci in the next alley is in the same situation as Hu Chengzu.”

He was injured and retired, and his family members died one after another, leaving only one person. Having never married a wife, life was miserable, so the two of them moved around each other to take care of each other.

The only difference was that one injured his leg and the other injured his hand.

“People who recruit people for work rarely hire people like them. Even if they do, they won’t give much money, so life will naturally be tight.” Liu Yuan sighed, and then sneered, “There is only one street across the street. Two people in the alley got into trouble at the same time, how could it be a coincidence?”

It was just a robber stealing… Which robber would choose people like Hu Chengzu and Ma Sanci to attack?

Speaking of this, Liu Yuan couldn’t help but feel annoyed: “These two people were fine when we came over to ask during the day. If it had been then…”

Bai Zhu reached out and patted Liu Yuan’s shoulder, comforting him, and said: “At that time, neither Hu Chengzu nor Ma Sanci showed anything strange, but somehow…”

This was not his excuse, but the reactions of Hu and Ma at that time were indeed very ordinary. The two of them asked again and again, but they both shook their heads and said they didn’t know much about the Huaishan County Prince’s family, and what they said was no different from other retired veterans.

Lin Fei lowered his head and looked at Hu Chengzu who was lying on the ground, and said nothing for a long time.

Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu looked at each other without speaking to interrupt Shang Feng’s contemplation.

I don’t know how long it took before Zhao You’s voice rang outside.

“Lin Shaoqing, we’re here!”

Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu looked back, only to see two tall men walking in led by Zhao You.

As soon as they stepped into the house, the two tall men turned red-eyed when they saw Hu Chengzu lying on the ground.

“I didn’t expect Chengzu…”

“Yes! He and Sanci are the only ones among us…how could it be…”

“Back then, they were the best in martial arts and the fastest in promotion. If not…eh !”

Lin Fei looked at the two tall men, and sighed for a moment before asking aloud: “What caused the injuries to Hu Chengzu and Ma Sanci?”

The two men were startled when they heard this, and their eyes fell on Lin Fei’s scarlet officer robe and paused for a long time before saying: “Theoretically, this shouldn’t be said. After all, when soldiers go out to exterminate evildoers, they are prepared to be injured or even die. So where did this injury come from? Not only me but also Chengzu and Sanci didn’t mention it. But my lord, Dali Temple…”

They were not foolish. Seeing Lin Fei’s official attire in crimson, and having dealt with Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu during the day, they naturally understood that this matter was related to a loss of life and a homicide case. Furthermore, the simultaneous attacks on Hu Chengzu and Ma Sanci at this moment were clearly suspicious. Therefore, without much hesitation, they revealed the cause of the injuries.

“Twenty-five years ago, I was serving as a soldier in a military camp near Salt Lake City. The two of them were the most capable and the fastest promoted.” The two men said, “Later, the two adults spent the day together. The Prince of Huaishan who came to ask about his family being captured was reported to the military camp. Only then did the military camp learn that officers and soldiers near Salt Lake City were colluding with bandits to oppress the people, so they sent troops to suppress it.”

“Before sending troops to suppress, you must be clear about the situation in Salt Lake City, so the military camp sent a small team of elites to sneak into Salt Lake City to investigate the situation. Chengzu and Sanci were among them.” The two men said, “Half of the small team of elites were outside the city to provide support, and the other half went inside. When they entered the city, the two of them were with the group who went in. However, the half who entered the city were unlucky and faced the local officers, soldiers, and bandits. Many of them died. The two of them were lucky. When they were rescued, they thought they could not survive. In the end, they saved their life, but their legs and hands were injured.”

Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu changed their faces as early as the two men said that Hu and Ma were injured in the capture of Prince Huaishan. Upon hearing this, they could no longer restrain themselves and said to Lin Fei, “Young Master Lin, it seems that this matter is probably related to Prince Huaishan’s household.”

(End of Chapter)

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