Chapter 1 Murderer Zhou Zhao
There is an abandoned Wujin Alley in Puningfang, Chang'an City. An old locust tree grew up in the middle of the alley.
Four years ago, on June 15th, purple thunder fell and split the crown of the locust tree. From then on, the pavilions on the west side were like canopies, and the east side was like cliffs. It was like the heaven and earth divided into yin and yang, which became a strange thing in the capital.
The summer rain has begun to stop.
A rare carriage stopped under the old locust tree today, and a thin girl got down from it. She looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, with thin lips, and she was holding a lamp in her hand. Silk lamp, look at her, she looks like a maid from a wealthy family.
"The child is crying in ghostly dreams, and the beast gods will invite Birch; their wings cover the sky, their beaks break the ground, and the mirror hangs high to drive away the epidemic..."
Listening to the faint chanting in the air, the maid glanced at the mansion deep in the alley and couldn't help but frown.
The gate of the house is mottled, and even the plaque hanging on the door saying that Shanming Villa is said to have been built by crows.
Because of its desolation, there were no lights in the alley, and it looked so dark that there was no end in sight.
"Brother Tan, please go in with me to invite the girl! Many people died tragically in the Shanming Villa next to it four years ago. This place is very unlucky and gloomy, and I feel uneasy in my heart."
The coachman, who was called Brother Tan, glanced at the closed courtyard door in front of the carriage with some hesitation, and said worriedly, "I didn't hear the girl's summons and just barged in like this. I'm afraid you and I will be punished."
"In another moment, the gate will be locked. If you violate the curfew and are caught by the Northern Army, you will not only be punished, but a hole will be made in the sky!"
The maid said as she stepped forward and pushed the door anxiously.
The door was unlocked and opened with a slight push. The maid cleared her throat and whispered, "Girl, it's time..."
Before she finished speaking, her eyes suddenly opened wide, as if someone had strangled her throat, and she couldn't utter a single word.
I saw a black figure reflected on the closed doors and windows of the main room. The figure was hung upside down on the beam, his neck twisted in a strange direction, and his long hair fell down, stretching his head.
What's even more chilling is that next to the figure's head, squatting is a huge ghost, with its mouth wide open, its sharp fangs clearly visible, and a pair of rugged horns of different lengths on its head. It bites the upside down man on the face.
"Ah!"
When the maid came back to her senses, all the sounds came out in an instant, and she let out a shrill scream.
She stumbled, rolled and rushed towards the door. She didn't even have time to lift her hands, so she knocked the door open and fell towards the house, falling directly on the threshold.
The wind brought up when she opened the door blew out the oil lamp in the room. The maid trembled and covered her mouth with one hand, and raised the silk lamp in her hand tremblingly.
The ferocious ghost disappeared without knowing when, and a woman wearing a curly robe hung upside down from the beam.
Her eyes were closed, as if she was asleep. Her fair cheeks were bitten by monsters and became bloody, and the tooth marks were clearly visible. Countless translucent gauze stretched out from behind her, and she looked like a prey trapped in a spider web.
The woman has lost her breath.
Scattered under her body were pieces of black wooden plaques, with blood-red names engraved on them...
"Girl! The girl was bitten to death by a ghost!"
This scene was too horrifying. The maidservant shouted, shaking her hand and the silk lamp fell to the ground.
"Your girl was not bitten to death by a ghost, but was killed by someone. What is the driver doing in a daze? Go and look for the Northern troops who are patrolling the night. There is a life case."
The maidservant was startled, turned over suddenly, and looked towards the door.
At some point, there was an extra person behind her.
It was a little girl of sixteen or seventeen years old. She was wearing a black dress and carrying a long blue cloth bag on her back. The evening breeze in the hall blew up the hair tie tied behind her head. One is embroidered with black characters on a white background, "The Heavenly Law is Clear", and another with white characters on a black background is embroidered with "No Taboo".
The coachman, Brother Tan, seemed to have a backbone. He recovered from his daze and rushed out the door.
"Both the steps and the forbidden steps are there. It can be seen that the murderer is not seeking money, but just killing people."
"There are two tea cups on the table. The noble lady meets guests in the abandoned alley after dark. Your girl seems to have a lot of secrets." "There were two obvious stab wounds on the deceased, one on the chest and one on the left. It is on the left side of the neck. Which part is the fatal injury requires a close examination.”
The little girl said, raising the silk lamp a little higher and getting closer to the corpse's right hand.
The hand was pulled by a translucent gauze and formed into a strange arc. There was a faint hint of black in the palm of the fist.
The little girl looked at it and pulled the lamp closer, illuminating the black wooden signs scattered on the ground.
The wooden plaque was about half the thickness of a finger. At a casual glance, one could see many familiar names. King of Chu Liu Huang, Marquis Zhang Qi of Anyang... almost all of them were descendants of the rich and powerful in Chang'an City.
"In the palm of the deceased's hand, he held a wooden sign with his name engraved on it."
"This may be the last words left by the deceased, it may be the name of the murderer, or it may be a clue. Of course, it may also be..."
Halfway through her words, the little girl heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the courtyard and looked toward the door.
The driver hunched his neck and led a group of Northern Army soldiers in.
Counting the time, it seemed that he had already encountered this group of night watchmen who had heard the news before he left Wujin Alley.
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The leader of the Northern Army was a bearded man about thirty years old, with bulging eyes like frog eyes, and he looked fierce.
He obviously heard the last few words of the little girl. He waved his hand and said loudly, "Zhu Li, go and look at the wooden sign in the hand of the corpse."
"No!"
The soldier named Zhu Li responded loudly and walked quickly towards the house. He took a black wooden sign from the corpse with a slight jump.
He glanced at it first, and then faced the wooden sign to everyone.
I saw two big characters written in bloody red on the dark wooden sign, "Zhou Zhao".
"Zhou Zhao? But Zhou Zhao, the daughter-in-law of the Zhou family of Tingwei? My girl has seen her today."
The little girl let out a surprised sound, and glanced thoughtfully at the maidservant who was lying weakly on the ground.
Her eyes moved, and she raised the silk lamp in her hand, "Well... I think I should be the Zhou Zhao engraved on the wooden plaque."
"That's the Zhou family you call Tongjiuzhanglu who is good at investigating cases, Zhou Zhao." She added.
There was silence.
Everyone looked at the little girl. She looked like a clear breeze, not crazy.
After a while, the bearded man spat with a complicated expression, "The forest is really big, and there are all kinds of birds! Master Jun, this is the first time in my life that I have seen the murderer not running away after killing someone, but still staying behind." I came down to solve the case and worked hard to prove that I was the murderer!”
"What are you waiting for? Get him!"
As soon as the bearded man finished speaking, Zhu Li, who was closest to Zhou Zhao, put his sword on her neck without ceremony.
Zhou Zhao didn't panic at all. He raised his eyes and glanced back at the hanging female corpse, stretched out two fingers and clamped the sword body.
She certainly didn't kill anyone. But the deceased held her name in his hand and happened to call her to the scene of the murder. Was this someone deliberately setting a trap for her?
Zhou Zhao lowered his eyes, a hint of interest flashed in his eyes.
"It doesn't have to be like this, I'll just go with you."
The new book is released. I have been ill during this period, so everyone has been waiting for a long time! This book is the story of a girl who overcame obstacles to realize her political ambitions, reformed the judiciary and finally became Ting Weizheng. Of course there will be all kinds of weird cases. Hope everyone will continue to support!
(End of this chapter)