Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

Jiang Shangxian also thought it made sense. "If there are thieves working together from within..."

"It's possible." Cui Bianxu also leaned towards this point. "Zhao was Li Xingquan's second wife. She was only twenty years old. Her family was a commoner family. After Zhao married into the Li family, they left Chang'an. I heard they went back to their hometown."

"Come to Chang'an specifically to marry your daughter? Madam Zhao already has an engagement with Li Zhubu?" Jiang Shangxian felt strange. According to the current transportation conditions, most people will never leave their hometown in their entire lives. It is really too inconvenient.

Cui Bianxu shook his head. "According to the Li family, Zhao was visiting relatives with her parents when she ran into Li Xingquan. They fell in love at first sight, and Zhao's parents betrothed their daughter to Li Xingquan. After they were married, they left."

Jiang Shangxian found this outrageous no matter how he listened to it. A young lady of eighteen or nineteen fell in love at first sight with an old man in his fifties? Come on!

"I guess Li Zhubu must be very handsome." Jiang Shangxian said it with a smile, he must be a confident elderly man.

Cui Bianxu rolled his eyes secretly. This young lady is not honest!

"That night, the nearby Wuhoupu and Jinwuwei didn't notice any unusual movements. The houses near the Li family have also been searched, but nothing was found." Cui Bian recounted these useless efforts calmly.

This case does sound very strange. Two living people disappeared in their own house late at night. No wonder there were rumors of them achieving enlightenment and ascending to heaven.

But Jiang Shangxian's mind worked quickly. She pondered over what Cui Bianxu had just said for a while before she said, "Zhao is the second wife. Does Li Zhubu's first wife have any children?"

It is not easy to be a stepmother. In a family, in addition to the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, the relationship between stepmother and children is also a place where conflicts are more likely to occur.

Especially at Li Xingquan's age, his children must be in their thirties or even forties, right? At this age, the children must be grown up, and it is a critical period for fighting for the family property.

If Zhao gave birth to a child, wouldn't there be one more person to share the family property?

Therefore, Jiang Shangxian believed that if it was done by a thief in the family, then Li Xingquan’s children were most likely to have done it.

Cui Bianxu looked at the young lady in front of him with admiration and said that her brain was barely working. He also thought so before going to Li's house today.

However, today he questioned the servants of the Li family one by one...

"Today, the servant guarding the back door said that Zhao and her personal maid left the Li family's back door on their own that night..."

The servants of the Li family had already been questioned once by the people in Chang'an County. Their confessions all stated that there was nothing unusual and they had not seen the two Zhaos.

But for some reason, the man came up with a new story today. He said that night, he dozed off alone on a chair outside the corner room at the back door. The weather was hot, and the corner room was stuffy and unbearable. There were mosquitoes outside, and although there was only dim light, he spotted Zhao and the maid at the first moment.

Just as he was about to stand up and pay his respects, Zhao stopped him and told him not to speak, only to open the door. Although he felt strange, he dared not disobey his mistress's order and immediately opened the back door. Unexpectedly, there stood a veiled woman outside.

He couldn't see the woman's face clearly. Suddenly, a stranger appeared, so he naturally went forward to ask questions. Who knew that the woman...

"What?" This guy was very bad. When he reached the critical moment, he suddenly stopped. Jiang Shangxian felt itchy in his heart and his hands were itching too.

Cui Bianxu looked at her anxious expression with satisfaction, laughing inwardly, but his expression remained expressionless: "Send someone to make a pot of tea."

"Yes." Jiang Shangxian was eager to hear the rest of the story, and didn't care about his deliberate bad intentions. He opened the door and went out, found the waiter, ordered tea, and then quickly returned to sit on the stool, hands on knees, waiting obediently for him to continue. "Shaoqing, the order is ready, and it will be right up."

"Well."

The guy still didn't say anything, fanning himself and waiting for tea. Fortunately, the waiter was very quick. Just when she looked up at the door for the twelfth time, the tea finally came.

The freshly brewed tea was a little hot, so Cui Bianxu drank it very slowly. Jiang Shangxian always wanted to go to the toilet when he was anxious, and he was no exception at this moment.

Seeing her like that, Cui Bianxu happily finished his cup of tea and finally continued, "That woman claimed to be a palace maid. She brought the cloak given by the Lord and gave it to Lady Zhao. The Lord ordered Lady Zhao to leave home at this moment and follow the woman."

Damn it! Jiang Shangxian’s eyes widened, and he covered his mouth with both hands, afraid that he would accidentally scream out loud: “How dare they slander him like this…!”

Jiang Shangxian has seen what it means when an old man hangs himself because he thinks his life is too long!

Cui Bianxu carefully observed her reaction: "Why can't what he said be the truth? No one is perfect..."

"Young Master, be careful with your words."

Jiang Shangxian reminded him, then brushed away the hair that escaped from the gap in his headscarf, his tone vague and obscure: "Your Majesty, although... But Li Zhubu's second wife, I don't think Your Majesty would be so..."

Although Li Shimin had a history of taking his brother's wife as his concubine, Concubine Yang was still Concubine Yang. Let's not talk about how beautiful she was. At least when Li Shimin was still the Prince of Qin, she tried to throw her eyes to remind Li Shimin.

No matter how you look at it, it is a contribution to the community. After the task is completed, it cannot be brought up when the merits are awarded, but it is reasonable to give an explanation and a status.

But who is Li Xingquan’s step-wife, a completely unrelated person?

How beautiful must she be to seduce Li Shimin into doing such a thing as stealing his wife?

But these are not the main points. The main point is: "How does Shao Qing plan to verify this matter?"

Whether it is true or false, once it is related to people in the palace, it will be difficult to investigate.

It’s true. The investigation into the case turned up the emperor’s private life and he was killed.

It is false. Seeing someone slander the current emperor but doing nothing, the emperor is humiliated and his ministers die.

However, Cui Bianxu's next words gave Jiang Shangxian a new understanding of this man's recklessness.

"I intend to go to Luoyang in person and present this case to Your Majesty."

Cui Bian's tone and expression when he said this were too nonchalant, as if he was casually saying that he was going to a farm outside Chang'an City to have a farm meal the next day.

Jiang Shangxian's first reaction was that there might be something wrong with his ears, but the next moment he thought that this guy must have made a slip of the tongue, and he should have said "sending a memorial."

Unfortunately, Cui Bianxu was a man of action, highlighted by his strong personal initiative: "If I submit a petition, it must first be approved by the Ministry of Public Security. This matter is not easy to publicize, so why not I go there myself?"

"Shaoqing, if I remember correctly, officials of this dynasty are not allowed to arbitrarily..."