Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 46 Arrest and Interrogation

It was late at night and everyone was asleep, but the Guo Mansion was not quiet. Lanterns on the eaves were swaying, and a thin black shadow had quietly sneaked into the mansion.

In the backyard in the northwest corner of the Guo Mansion, Guo Hongba had already arrived at Xie's yard with two servants. Perhaps he had not been here for a long time, and the strange smell coming from the yard made Guo Hongba pinch his nose in disgust.

"Is Madam in the house?"

Guo Hongba asked, and seeing no response from inside the room, he simply kicked the door open and strode into the room. Unexpectedly, as soon as the door opened, a basin of filth fell on his head. The suffocating feeling like drowning made him open his mouth and take a deep breath, and then he tasted the smell of feces and urine.

"Madam, I'm here. Husband, is my feces delicious? How does it compare to Doctor Wei's?"

An ambiguous voice came from the room, making Guo Hongba even more angry.

"You bitch, how dare you tease me? I'll kill you!"

He drew his sword and rushed into the inner room. When he could barely open his eyes, he saw a tall man standing in front of him.

The man turned around and saw two yellow spots on his head and two lines of yellow liquid flowing down his cheeks. He immediately covered his mouth and nose in disgust.

"Guo Yushi, why don't you go wash up first? You look like this, I don't know where to start."

"Are you the guard next to Xiao Zhongcheng? Why are you in my wife's room? Where is my wife?"

"Didn't you just say you wanted to kill me, your wife? What deep hatred could there be between husband and wife that would make Censor Guo hate me so much that he wants to kill me immediately?"

Guo Hongba was so angry that he saw stars and shouted:
"Kill him for me!"

The servants in the mansion immediately responded to the order and attacked Xuan Yu. At the same time, Xuan Yu blew a whistle, and suddenly several black shadows flew down from all directions and took down all the servants who attacked Xuan Yu one after another.

Seeing these men in black suddenly appear, Guo Hongba's face turned pale with horror: "Who are you?"

Xuan Yu's expression grew serious, and he immediately raised the token hidden in his sleeve in front of Guo Hongba. "Inner Guard, investigating this case, Guo Hongba, you are only an eighth-rank imperial censor, yet you maintain so many retainers and concubines in your mansion. Where do you get so much money? The Inner Guard suspects you of corruption, so we ask for your cooperation in the investigation. Furthermore, two of your concubines were murdered yesterday afternoon, and we further suspect you of murder."

"Clean him up and take him away!"

Guo Hongba was dumbfounded when he heard the word "Inner Guard Bureau". As the empress's direct supervisory agency, the Inner Guard Bureau could arrest and interrogate anyone they suspected. In serious cases, they even had the power to execute someone without reporting to the emperor later.

This is a place that makes officials more afraid than the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice.

I just heard that there was a traitor in the Inner Guard House, so a major reshuffle was carried out three years ago. All the people in charge were replaced. Except for Wuling Yue, whose identity is clear and he often assists the Dali Temple in investigating cases in public, the other members of the Inner Guard House have become a mystery.

"Unjust!" After a moment of hesitation, Guo Hongba immediately knelt down and said, "I have not killed anyone, nor have I committed corruption. I beg you to investigate this matter."

Xuan Yu didn't waste any more time talking to him and had Guo Hongba knocked unconscious and carried away!
……

At this moment, Murong Huan had already chased the figure to the backyard of Guo's mansion. He saw the black-clothed man about to shoot a flying arrow at Guo Hongba. Murong Huan rushed towards her like a sharp arrow and instantly grabbed her wrist, saying, "He will get the retribution he deserves, but now is not the time to kill him."

"who are you?"

"If I guess correctly, you are Xie Zi'e, right?"

The man in black had a pair of bright eyes that sparkled and sparkled. In the moonlight, when he saw Murong Huan's face clearly, he couldn't help but be stunned.

"I am Xie Zi'e. Who are you? Why are you stopping me from taking revenge?"

After the man in black finished speaking, he actually started fighting with Murong Huan. They both punched and kicked each other from above the eaves to below the eaves, until a white shadow flashed over and stood between them. At the same time, it pushed Xie Zi'e away with a palm, and the two stopped.

Murong Huan's eyes showed a hint of surprise. She didn't expect that Xiao Muchen, who looked so weak, could easily dissolve her strength and push Xie Zi'e away.

"what happened?"

Xiao Muchen asked, then turned to the masked woman: "Who are you?"

"She is Xie Zi'e!" Murong Huan replied, "Xie Zi'e, the daughter of a merchant demoted from Bozhou, has been trading with her father since she was young, making friends with many heroes and heroes. Later, she married the chivalrous man Duan Xianzhen. Unexpectedly, while on a business trip, her father and husband were both killed by horse thieves. So Xie Zi'e disguised herself as a man and searched for her father's murderer. She came all the way to Luoyang. She was hired everywhere and made many friends who helped her find the identity of her enemy. Until a month ago, she found out that the murderer of her father and husband was your uncle Guo Hongba.

Afterwards, you told your two sisters about this matter. You had planned to die alone and assassinate Guo Hongba, but you didn't expect that your two sisters hid it from you and seduced Guo Erlang to enter the Guo Mansion first.

Until today, you learned of their tragic deaths, so you came here to seek revenge on Guo Hongba, right?"

As Murong Huan spoke, the sorrow in Xie Zi'e's eyes deepened. She took off the black cloth covering her face, revealing a face that was indeed the one Murong Huan had painted. The only difference from the portrait was that this woman had short hair and was dressed in men's clothes. Even her skin was tanned and turned dark and yellow. She had a slender figure and a large frame, and now she looked no different from a man.

If she hadn't known that Xie Zi'e was a woman, she would probably have been deceived by her male attire.

"Why do you know so much about my experience?" Xie Zi'e asked.

Murong Huan smiled and said, "A month ago, you went to Ruyi Tower. The owner there remembered you and told us about your past. Add to that what I saw in Mrs. Guo's dream about your Xie family's past. Putting all this information together, it's not difficult to figure out your experience."

"Dream?"

Murong Huan nodded. "Have you heard the story of Nie Zheng assassinating the Prime Minister of Han? After assassinating the Prime Minister, Nie Zheng gouged out his own eyes and disfigured himself. He did so to prevent the Marquis of Han from discovering his identity and thus endangering his surviving family!" "And your two sisters also disfigured themselves after their failed assassination attempts on their enemies. They probably did so because they didn't want you to know about their deaths and grieve for them. And they didn't want your enemies to know of your existence either."

"Xie Zi'e, you can assassinate Guo Hongba, but unfortunately, Guo Hongba is not the culprit who killed your two sisters. Even if you succeed, you will lose your own life, and the culprit will go unpunished! Do you think it's worth it?"

When Murong Huan said this, Xie Zi'e's eyes were already red. She held back the tears that were rolling in her eyes and said stubbornly, "Who is the culprit?"

"We're checking that too!"

"Even so, Guo Hongba deserves to die!"

Xie Zi'e gritted his teeth and said this. Xiao Muchen continued, "I will let him die, but, Xie Zi'e, don't you want to expose his evil deeds to the public and seek justice for your Xie family?"

Xie Zi'e sneered, "In Luoyang City, cruel officials are rampant and officials protect each other. How can I trust you?"

"I can guarantee my life. I am the Chief Censor Xiao Muchen. If Guo Hongba is not dead after three days, you can come and assassinate me!" Xiao Muchen said.

Under the moonlight, the man with silver hair looked firm and solemn, as inviolable as a god, and yet he made people involuntarily convinced.

Xie Zi'e stopped talking.

At this time, Murong Huan said, "Xie Zi'e, let me take you to meet your aunt and two sisters first. I think you must have a lot to say to your aunt."

……

Guo Hongba was tied up in a secret hall with a sack covering his eyes and his eyes blindfolded. When someone removed the sack from his head, he felt that everything in front of him was extremely dark, as if he was in an empty hall, and the sound of dripping water echoed around him.

A "click" sound came from somewhere, and several candles suddenly lit up in the hall, swaying slightly.

He looked around in the candlelight and saw a man in a white robe with a hood over his head, whose face could not be seen clearly, sitting on a cloud-patterned silk above the main hall. He looked both real and illusory, and extremely ethereal.

"are you awake?"

A cold and mocking voice woke him up.

Guo Hongba saw Xuan Yu. When he came to his senses, he found that his limbs were tied to a rack and there was a charcoal stove next to him making a sizzling sound.

A red-hot iron is even more glaring.

Guo Hongba was a little frightened: "What is this place? Who... who is he?"

"This is a secret cell. He is the Grand Chamberlain of our Inner Guards. Actually, our Grand Chamberlains don't usually arrest people easily. Censor Guo, you are honored!"

"Why did the Grand Lord want to arrest me?"

"Of course I have something to ask, Censor Guo. Whether you can get out of here alive, or rather, whether you can suffer less physical pain, depends on how obedient you are with your mouth."

As Xuan Yu spoke, he picked up a red-hot iron and burned a piece of pig skin, making a crackling sound.

Guo Hongba's face turned pale with fear. He hurriedly said, "What do you want to ask? I'll tell you everything!"

Well, this cowardly look really ruins such a domineering name.

Xuan Yu came to the white-robed man and whispered, "Sir, you can ask now!"

The man in the white robe nodded and whispered something in his ear. Xuan Yu then asked, "First question, who are you working for?"

Guo Hongba hesitated for a moment, a little terrified. When Xuan Yu picked up the iron again, he struggled to answer again and again, "Okay, I'll tell you what I'm talking about. It's General Qiu and the King of Wei, and there's also a mysterious person I don't know."

"King Wu Chengsi of Wei?"

"Yes!"

The white-robed man was stunned for a moment, then gestured to Xuan Yu to ask the next question:
"Were the two Xie family women killed by the King of Wei?"

"That's it!"

"What does it mean?"

"The King of Wei was present with that mysterious man at the time, and General Qiu specifically requested these two women, so I brought them to Huanxue Pavilion and gave them to them. I don't know what happened afterwards, but a fight broke out inside. By the time I rushed in, Aying and Aqing were already lying on the ground."

When he said this, the hall fell silent for a moment.

"Second question: Why did the King of Wei want to meet these two women?"

(End of this chapter)