Chapter 81 Easily
"Master Jinzhu, what does the thief from Jingchao that we want to catch look like?"

"He was so dark that no one could see his face clearly."

"What's your exact height?"

“It’s hard to judge.”

That's easy...

Chen Ji imagined that he might be arrested due to some negligence, and he also imagined that Gui and Wu Hongbiao did not escape and confessed to him in prison.

After returning to the clinic last night, he has been in a state of high alert, with all the money on him, ready to flee with Wuyun at any time.

But Chen Ji didn't expect that the Secret Service would let him arrest himself...

He was somewhat puzzled: "Sir, why me? Your intelligence and talent are far superior to mine, why do you need me to do it for you?"

In the main hall of the clinic, Jin Zhu was dressed like a tenant farmer with a bamboo hat on his head. The hemp rope of the hat outlined his double chin, which made him look a little funny.

Jin Zhu took off his hat and placed it on the counter, holding Chen Ji's hands and said sincerely: "You don't have to belittle yourself. You can help Yun Yang and Jiao Tu find evidence of the Liu family's crimes, so you are definitely outstanding. I might as well tell you that the Luocheng Secret Service has been infiltrated, and we failed to catch the Jing Chao thief last night because the news leaked. Now you are the only person I can trust in the Luocheng Secret Service."

Old man Yao put away the account book and walked silently to the backyard. He was afraid that if he didn't leave, he would laugh out loud later.

There are three things that Jin Zhu is most famous for in the capital. The first is his support for Tianma, the second is his picky taste and love of gourmet food, and the third is his shrewdness.

Such a shrewd person is now holding the hand of the real murderer and talking about trust.

Chen Ji silently pulled his hand back: "Why don't you catch this Jing Chao thief yourself?"

Jin Zhu smiled and explained, "My most important task now is to find out the traitor, so you and I will act separately. You do your thing and I do mine. I will send six secret agents to follow you and they will protect you."

Jin Zhu added: "You must catch the thief from Jing Dynasty. If you do, you will take the credit. If you don't, don't blame me for turning my back on you. This is how our Secret Service is. Even brothers cannot interfere with our work."

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "Master Jinzhu, I can try to capture this wanton criminal from Jing Dynasty, but I have a request. Please keep my identity confidential. You also know that this is the territory of the Liu family. There are definitely more people connected with Jing Dynasty than just Liu Shiyu. If I make meritorious contributions repeatedly, I am afraid that the Liu family will bear a grudge against me."

The Golden Pig was happy: "Don't worry, I dressed like this to see you just to hide my identity. Tonight at midnight, someone will be waiting for you at the Yingke Restaurant in Hongyi Lane."

After saying that, he put on his hat again and turned to go out.

At this time, a carriage stopped in front of the clinic, and the curtain was lifted from the inside. The driver hurriedly took a footstool and placed it next to the carriage, and helped a middle-aged man with a mustache get out of the carriage.

Chen Ji recognized the other person as the housekeeper of the Chen residence. He had seen him before when he was carrying his belongings home from vacation.

The butler wore a corrugated tassel hat, thick black boots, and a light green satin robe. He looked more like an official than a butler.

When Jinzhu went out, he passed by the butler. He looked at the butler in surprise and left in a hurry.

But after the butler got off the car, he walked into the clinic slowly with his hands behind his back, looking around the clinic with interest. When he saw Chen Ji, he smiled and asked, "Are you having a good time here?"

Chen Ji stood calmly beside the counter: "What are you doing here?"

The housekeeper smiled and waved to the driver outside the door, took a string of copper coins from the driver and handed it to Chen Ji: "Three hundred coins, please count them."

Chen Ji didn't reach out to take it, and said calmly: "No need to count, just put it on the counter."

The butler's hand was frozen in mid-air as he handed over the money. After a moment, he casually threw the copper coin onto the counter and slowly wiped his mustache: "Do you think three hundred coins are too little? Do you know how many people died in Yuzhou in the flood this summer? Now three hundred coins can even buy a maid's indenture in western and southern Henan. It's not easy for your family to support you to study medicine, so don't forget your roots."

As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Li walked out from the backyard, shouting as he walked, "Chen Ji, come make dumplings together. Dumplings taste better when they are made together... Hey, who is this?"

When the butler saw Baili, his expression suddenly changed, and he said humbly: "Princess Baili, I am the butler of the co-magistrate of Luocheng. I came to the palace with the master for a banquet during the Lantern Festival last year, and I met you from afar."

Bai Li was surprised: "Have we met before? I don't have any impression of it."

The butler hesitated for a moment: "I'm sitting over there with the servants..."

"Oh...you're here to see Chen Ji? Then you two can chat first. Chen Ji, come and make dumplings after you're done," Bai Li said and went back to the backyard.

The housekeeper looked at her back and looked at Chen Ji in doubt: "Why is Princess Baili in Taiping Medical Clinic?"

Chen Ji explained casually: "She has a good relationship with my master, so she comes here often."

The housekeeper was relieved. He thought that being sent to this clinic was a blessing in disguise and that he won the favor of the princess of the royal palace.

He changed the subject and said in a commanding tone, "In three days, Master Wenzong and Master Wenxiao will take part in the Autumn Examination. The master told me last night to call you home the day after tomorrow to have dinner together."

Chen Ji glanced at him and said, "Please go back and report it. Just tell them that I'm busy with schoolwork recently and can't go back."

The housekeeper's face darkened: "You don't listen to the master's words, but have you forgotten the kindness of the Chen family in raising you? If this is the case, I'm afraid you won't even get the 300 yuan per month in the future."

Chen Ji smiled and said, "It's gone, so let it go. Don't come to Taiping Clinic anymore in the future."

The housekeeper laughed angrily: "You said that yourself!"

Chen Ji nodded: "Yes, I said it myself."

The butler turned away, he came quickly and left quickly, it seemed that he didn't want to waste any more time here.

At this time, Bai Li poked his head out from the back corridor and asked: "Did you have a quarrel with your housekeeper?"

"Ah."

Bai Li said softly, "You are so smart that you must have figured it out. He doesn't want you to return to the Chen Mansion the day after tomorrow. The housekeepers in the mansion are not fools and will never offend people for no reason. This housekeeper deliberately said bad things just to provoke you to say something impulsive and then report it to your father when you return to the mansion... You shouldn't have let him down."

Chen Ji turned around and looked at Bai Li, and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter whether I go back to Chen Mansion or not. I don't plan to go back again."

Bai Li said, "If you don't want to go back, then don't go back. Let's go make dumplings!"

"Okay," Chen Ji looked towards Anxi Street outside the door, and listened to the 'chopping' sounds of chopping dumpling stuffing coming from the backyard. His mood suddenly calmed down.

……

……

night.

The once bustling Hongyi Lane suddenly became deserted.

On the long bluestone street, the bright red lanterns were hung high as usual, but there were no pedestrians or customers. The singing girls and dancing girls stood by the railings, looking listless.

After a lot of effort, they saw a customer turning into the alley from the west. The girls were just about to shake their red sleeves, but after seeing the conical hat on the other party's head, they became silent and retreated back into the house.

The Yingke Restaurant was closed, and the living room was dark without even a kerosene lamp. Six secret agents dressed in black, each holding a long knife, leaned against wooden pillars, like killers waiting for their prey to come.

In the dark silence, someone suddenly asked, "Xifeng, did the master say who to call to assist in the investigation? An assistant in the investigation is so arrogant that we have been waiting for a whole day, wasting our chance to make a contribution."

"It's the midnight hour, and there's only one stick of incense left before midnight. Why is there no one here yet?"

The secret agent named Xifeng raised his head, and his sharp eyes swept across the darkness at everyone under his bamboo hat: "The master said to wait, so we just need to wait."

Someone whispered, "Xifeng, you are about to be promoted to Hai Dongqing, so don't let others delay your achievements. If you handle this case well, you can be sent out as Hai Dongqing. If you can get Lord Jinzhu to help you go to Huainan and Huaibei and raid the homes of a few small salt merchants, you might be able to accumulate a considerable fortune."

But Xifeng sneered, "You said you want to confiscate their property? The salt merchants all have strong backgrounds, and the civil officials in the south collectively reject our Imperial Household Department. How can we just do it as we please?"

"Hehe, Brother Xifeng, you don't know. I am from the same hometown as one of Baohou's secret agents. I heard him say that every time a new Hai Dongqing goes to Lianghuai to take office, the Salt Merchants Association will recommend one or two small salt merchants to give to the new Hai Dongqing to establish his authority. Their houses can be raided and their heads can be chopped off at will. After that, everyone lives in peace and it looks good. After taking office for three years, they can enjoy endless beauties and money."

Xifeng sneered: "Do you think the Chief Justice is just sitting there doing nothing? If someone gets hold of this kind of evidence, they will be able to control you in the future. I am following Master Jinzhu to do great things, how can I lose the big picture because of a small one?"

A spy suddenly asked tentatively: "I heard that Lord Jinzhu has a grudge against the Xu family in Shanghai. Is that true?"

Xifeng's voice turned cold: "Are you guys tired of living? How dare you ask about the adults' private affairs? Do you want me to send you to the inner prison to cool down?"

"No, no, no, I'm just bored... By the way, why hasn't the person that Master Jinzhu mentioned arrived yet?"

Just as he finished speaking, the door of the Yingke Restaurant was pushed open with a creaking sound.

Everyone became solemn and returned to their serious expressions.

Xifeng turned his head and saw that the person coming was wearing a bamboo hat and covering his face with a gray cloth.

He was stunned for a moment and subconsciously looked at the other person's legs. He saw that the man was walking normally and did not look like he was injured.

what.

Xifeng followed Jinzhu and knew Chen Ji's abilities, and Chen Ji was also a native of Los Angeles, so he thought that the person coming tonight would be Chen Ji.

But now it seems that the person coming is not Chen Ji.

Xifeng asked in a serious tone, "Why are you late? Do you know that wasting time will allow the Jingchao thieves to escape?"

Chen Ji stood opposite the six people. He did not answer Xifeng, but said in a low voice: "Are you the secret agents under Lord Jinzhu?"

Xifeng was stunned for a moment: "Yes."

Chen Ji nodded: "Lord Jinzhu has ordered that you will be under my command from now on. Help me capture the spies of Jing Dynasty."

The six spies looked at each other with ambiguous expressions in their eyes.

Jinzhu didn't tell them that he had to obey this person's orders. Everyone thought that Xifeng was the one in charge this time, and the person who came was just someone to assist in the investigation.

Xifeng thought for a moment and did not argue with Chen Ji. He winked at the other spies and clasped his fists to Chen Ji: "Sir, I will take you to see the place where the fighting is taking place and see if you have any plan."

With a solemn expression, he led Chen Ji to the backyard, where he saw six secret agent bodies lying on the ground, without even the bloodstains washed off.

Xifeng looked at Chen Ji and said softly, "Sir, the killer killed six spies here last night. The bodies and belongings have not been moved. Please check."

After saying that, Xifeng kept silent and refused to say another word.

The six secret agents stared at Chen Ji with burning eyes. Everyone understood Xifeng's look, which was to give Chen Ji a warning, so that Chen Ji would understand that if he didn't have real ability, he couldn't be the master of six people.

Chen Ji glanced at the six people, slowly walked around the yard, and lowered his head into deep thought.

The spies' eyes intertwined under their bamboo hats, and they kept exchanging glances, and finally looked at Xifeng together: If he can't do it, we will support you together.

Now Xifeng is only one step away from Haidongqing. If an outsider takes the credit, Xifeng will have to wait another year.

It’s not that everyone is loyal, but when outsiders are around, xenophobia is almost everyone’s subconscious choice.

Time passed minute by minute, and Chen Ji kept his head down in thought without saying a word.

A spy used his eyes to hint to Xifeng to speak and take the initiative, but Xifeng was also able to keep his composure. If Chen Ji didn't speak, he wouldn't speak either.

The next moment, Chen Ji suddenly moved.

The spies looked at him together, and saw him standing in the corner of the yard, touching the crossbow nailed to the wall, and said calmly: "The killer entered the yard from here, and attacked one person first, pierced the spy's lung and kidney with a dagger, and then hid behind the injured spy to avoid the crossbow."

After that, he took two steps forward and came to a prone body. "The killer left the injured spy here and rushed into the crowd. He used his short knife to break the spy's long knife, and then..."

The six spies looked at each other again, their pupils constricted.

Xifeng could not help asking, "Sir, how can you infer that there is only one assassin here? We never said such a thing. There are two types of knife wounds on the six spies, which may have been caused by two people."

Chen Ji said lightly: "There are two kinds of knife wounds because he took the knife from the spy, not because there are two people."

Simon was silent.

They had been deducing the incident non-stop since last night. Several spies with extensive experience in fighting, together with several coroners, investigated the scene. It took them two hours to deduce the killer's entire murder process.

And now this temporary boss was able to recreate the scene of the fight within just one stick of incense with just one glance at the scene?

If they had known that the other party had this ability, why did they bother in the morning?

Xifeng immediately gave up the idea of ​​continuing to intimidate Chen Ji.

Little did he know that Chen Ji was also sighing: It turns out that reasoning can be so easy, all you have to do is repeat what you have done.

It's easy.

Xifeng gave up the idea of ​​probing and couldn't help asking, "Sir, the other party broke the sword as easily as drinking water. We have never heard of such sword skills in the martial arts world. I wonder if you can determine the other party's identity?"

Chen Ji did not answer, but said calmly: "Don't jump to conclusions. Let me ask you, did the killers only fight here last night?"

Xifeng explained: "There is another one, on Tongji Street."

"take me."

Everyone walked out of the restaurant, and Chen Ji and Xifeng walked side by side through the living room.

However, when the two of them reached the door and were about to go out, Xifeng suddenly stopped subconsciously, letting Chen Ji go first, and he followed silently behind him.

(End of this chapter)