In the Northern Song Dynasty, he started by marrying the eighth daughter of the Su family.

Chapter 273 Various Speculations

Upon hearing this, Han Zhi, who had just picked up the fish head and was about to take a bite, had to put it down. He then stood up and said:

“Come outside with me to talk.”

With that, he walked out first and came to the door. Zhang Xun quickly followed, and then, at Han Zhi's signal, closed the door.

The case concerning ritual implements had been temporarily set aside and was no longer the main focus of the Dali Temple. Only a portion of it was left out, while the rest returned to normal operations.

"Tell me, after investigating in the west of the city for so long, what have you found out?" Han Zhi asked in a low voice.

Zhang Xun looked around before cautiously replying, "It's like this, it's what the Zhang family servant confessed to last time. Wasn't it said that the area outside the west side of the city was once the route Zhang Yaozuo and Jia Changchao secretly used to transport ritual objects?"

Han Zhi nodded and asked, "Just tell me the situation."

“Our brothers searched along the road, but apart from the wheel tracks, there was nothing else. However, after expanding the search area, we found a small estate,” Zhang Xun said. “Then, when we took the Zhang family servants there to verify, we confirmed that it was Zhang Yaozuo’s estate.”

Han Zhi's fingers unconsciously tapped a rapid rhythm on the corridor pillar. At the same time, he asked, "Has anything been found at the manor?"

Zhang Xun nodded and said, "We've found it. There's something inside..."

As he spoke, he took out a wine vessel, but as soon as a corner of it was revealed, Han Zhi was so startled that he quickly pressed it back down. Even Zhang Xun was bewildered and asked:

"Han Shaoqing, this is..."

"Be careful." Han Zhi said solemnly in a low voice, "If someone else sees this, we'll be in big trouble. Could this wine vessel be one of the ritual vessels stolen from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices?"

Zhang Xun swallowed hard and nodded vigorously: "That's right! The brothers found it in the warehouse of the manor, but they only found this one item. I don't know if it was left behind during the transfer."

"They could hide a whole warehouse like that, and still manage to leave out a small item during the move..." Han Zhi rubbed his temples and said, "Either they really did leave it out by accident, or..."

"It was a trap deliberately set for us."

He suddenly noticed the red mud on Zhang Xun's official boots and asked, "Where did this mud get on you?"

"Han Shaoqing, this mud got on my feet near the Luoma Bridge by the manor." Zhang Xun looked at the red mud on his feet and replied, "There's a lot of fresh mud there; I guess it was from that time."

Han Zhi paused for a moment, then turned around and knocked on the door. He opened it a little wider, poked his head in, and asked, "Eighth Sister, when did it rain recently?"

Su Zhen was sitting in his original seat eating when he heard this. He turned around, the silver lock on his wrist jingling, and replied: "There was a sudden downpour two days before Qingming Festival, what happened?"

"Closer?"

Su Zhen put down the celadon bowl, the bottom of which made a clear sound as it hit the table. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "The other evening, it rained with raindrops the size of copper coins. Why do you ask about that, sir?"

Han Zhi raised an eyebrow, pulled his head out, and instructed Zhang Xun, "Is there anywhere nearby?"

There's a pawnshop.

"Then go and investigate that pawnshop. Ask them anything you need to know, and bring them back to the Dali Temple for questioning. You know what to do with the rest. Go," Han Zhi instructed.

"Yes!"

Watching Zhang Xun run away, Han Zhi suddenly remembered that he hadn't invited him to have lunch with him. Helpless, he opened the door, went inside, and sat down in his usual spot.

He grabbed his chopsticks, intending to pick up the fish head, but Zhou Miao'an tapped his hand with them. Startled, Han Zhi lost his grip, and the entire fish head fell back into the bowl.

"This is cold, don't eat it." Zhou Miao'an said, taking a plate, placing a piece of lamb spine on it, and then setting it in front of Han Zhi, saying:

"Eat this, it's still warm."

"Thank you, Mother." Han Zhi smiled and quickly picked up the plate to start eating.

Han Zhi took a bite of the tender lamb spine, the braising sauce dripping from the corner of his mouth, but he was oblivious, his mind still preoccupied with the case. Seeing his absent-mindedness, Su Zhen gently took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth, softly saying:

"My lord, eat slowly, don't choke."

At this moment, Xiao Hei, who had somehow crept under the table, stared longingly at the lamb spine in Han Zhi's hand, making low "woof" sounds in its throat. It was still biting its own rice bowl, seemingly protesting that it had been ignored.

Seeing this, Han Zhi quickly finished the lamb spine in his mouth, leaving a bone. He put it in Xiao Hei's food bowl, and the dog immediately buried its head in it, gnawing on it with a crunching sound.

Su Zhen used a handkerchief to wipe the sauce from the corners of his mouth, then picked up two pieces of lamb spine and fish, placing them on the plate in front of him, and said with a smile: "My lord, eat slowly, no one is going to steal your food."

“That’s just how he eats; I don’t know who he learned it from.” Zhou Miao’an smiled as she served Su Zhen some food, saying, “On the contrary, he’s just as busy as you adults.”

Han Zhi was gnawing on a lamb spine bone, some of the juice dripping onto his plate. Little Black immediately came over, wagging its tail, trying to get some food, its fluffy head rubbing against Han Zhi's ankles, making them itch. Su Zhen smiled and handed him a warm towel.

&34; Judging from the way you eat, my lord, you're eating like a child. If Little Watermelon and Second Watermelon are like this in the future, I will certainly discipline them properly. &34;

"Don't talk to him, eat your fill first," Zhou Miao'an said with a laugh, scooping out some candied plums from the celadon jar and placing them in front of Su Zhen, saying, "Eighth Sister is pregnant now, so eat less braised food."

"I remember Aunt Li saying that Eighth Aunt's taste is sometimes sour and sometimes spicy. According to the saying that sour means a boy and spicy means a girl, could Eighth Aunt be carrying a boy or a girl?"

Han Zhi coughed, choked by his own mother's words, and Xiao Hei took the opportunity to paw at his knee, begging for a bone. He put the bone in Xiao Hei's food bowl, and then said:

"With my lazy nature, the fact that I was able to have twins is a blessing from my ancestors. I haven't done anything particularly meritorious, so how can I say that this time it's a boy and a girl?"

There's some kind of saying, isn't there?

Twins (male and female) can only be born to people who have accumulated great merit.

The main reason is that the probability of getting this thing is too small; it's said that only those who have performed great deeds can obtain it.

Su Zhen gently patted Han Zhi's back, and after he recovered, he smiled and said, "What you're saying, sir? Didn't we just resolve that ridiculous system of convenient sales a while ago, saving the people from disasters all over the country? How can that not be considered a great deed?"

"Then she helped clear Wei Shaoqing's name; they really are a perfect match."