Chapter 268 Who is the murderer -
Although it is the beginning of the Hai season, if it were normal, the lights on Water Street would still be bright, the crowds of people would not have faded away, and there would still be a lively atmosphere.
But today, due to the accident of the eldest princess’s wedding banquet, Water Street was temporarily closed under curfew, and everything ended hastily. It was dark all around along the river, but in contrast, Si Chen's mansion was brightly lit.
Among them, the Venerable Mansion is the most popular.
After the incident, both Qin Xueying and Ruan Mianmian were escorted back to the Lord's Mansion by the guards brought by the Territory Lord's Mansion for strict protection. The security patrols were even more rigorous, and many lighthouses were temporarily added to the mansion. The whole courtyard was illuminated as if it were daytime.
Mo Tingfeng hurriedly summoned Ding Heran and Ye Wujiu to the meeting hall of Sichen Mansion.
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“Who discovered the body?”
“Sir, the person who discovered the body was a helper in his forties who was responsible for cleaning the inner cabin and outer walls of the boat. , named Zhang Qi from Qingshan Village. He has been a servant on this ship for nearly twenty years, and he is responsible for the cleaning work of the five boats near Si Chen Mansion. "
General Ye Wujiu. All the information just investigated by the underground network grudge breakers will be reported back.
"At the time of the incident, Zhang Qigang had just finished cleaning the outer wall of the previous boat and rowed his own small sampan to the 'Wangjiangnan', which was the boat where Feng Yan was taken. Xiao Yu's body was stuck in the boat where he usually tied the sampan. At the water pillar."
"Zhang Qi has been taken back to Si Chen's Mansion and is waiting outside the palace. He can be summoned at any time."
Mo Tingfeng nodded and left for discussion. He stood up from the table and walked to the presentation area. There was a map of the Water Street area hanging there, including Sichen Mansion, Qingshan Village, and the two villages and towns along Water Street. He could clearly see it. He stared at the map for a long time without making a sound.
......
A corpse was found at the reception banquet for the eldest princess, and the deceased happened to be the maid Xiao Yu who was arranged to serve in the venerable mansion. This matter is weird no matter how you look at it. .
Moreover, the Water Street stretches for forty miles, and there are at least thirty painted boats in it. The one chosen for the reception banquet is not the one closest to Si Chen's Mansion. If the corpse flows down the water, why is it stuck here? On the water column of a boat? .
“Summon Zhang Qi.”
“Yes!”
A moment later, a man wearing a bamboo hat on his head, a short shirt on his upper body, and a pair of burlap trousers on his lower body. Wearing knee-length leggings and wearing a pair of hemp shoes, a dark-skinned man in his prime was led into the meeting hall by two ground network grudge breakers.
Zhang Qi had never experienced such a battle before. His legs went weak. Before anyone could ask him, he had already knelt down and called out to Mo Tingfeng again and again.
"Master Qingtian, I really don't know anything! I didn't kill the person, really not! I am usually the most timid person. I only dare to ask the butcher in the village to kill the pigs I raise at home. Please tell me. ! ”
“No one said you killed someone. Get up and talk. This is Mr. Mo. If you ask me anything, just answer it honestly and straightforwardly. Don’t talk about it. Do you hear me?”
After Ding Heran finished speaking, he pulled Zhang Qi up by the arm. He had been used to this situation for a long time. After all, they were all ordinary people. When encountering such a big thing, it was normal to panic and separate the relationship first.
"Yes, yes."
Zhang Qi's head was sweating, and he raised his shiny sleeves and wiped it randomly.
"Heran, give him a handkerchief."
Mo Tingfeng took two steps towards Zhang Qi, telling him not to be nervous, and trying to keep his voice as calm and gentle as possible.
"Old Zhang, at what time did you find the deceased?"
"Sir, it was Xu Shizhong, because the time for cleaning 'Wang Jiangnan' is fixed. The order is also fixed and has not changed for more than ten years, so I am very sure that the time must be Xu Shi."
"The body may have been tied or fixed to the water column with something like a rope when it was discovered. ?”
"My lord, the body was neither tied nor fixed. It looks like it was washed there by the current from somewhere upstream along the river, and it happened to be stuck by the water column of the boat."
Mo Tingfengyao Shaking his head, he already had a calculation in his mind.
"You have been working here on Water Street for many years, but have you ever seen this deceased person?"
When he asked, Zhang Qi visibly trembled, and it was obvious that he was indeed timid.
"Sir, I am not ashamed to tell you the truth. When I saw a dead man stuck in the water column, I peed my pants! This, this is how long it took..."
< br>
"Later, I was brought to your house. There was a young man who insisted on letting me recognize the face of the dead man. Oh, my mother-in-law. I was scared to death! No, I don't know him. I have never seen him before."
......
It seems that there are no clues from Zhang Qi.
Mo Tingfeng pondered slightly and ordered the two grudge breakers who escorted him in to send Zhang Qi back. However, because he was involved in a murder case, he had to stay at home for a short period of time to restrict his freedom. During the period of house arrest, the meals were arranged by the Si Chen Mansion. He lost a job by missing work. It should be borne by the Sichen Mansion and given double.
Hearing that there was such a good thing, Zhang Qiyi bowed three times and left with many thanks.
As soon as they left, silence returned to the assembly hall.
There were not many people in the meeting hall at this time. Since the matter involved the eldest princess, it was too sensitive to be publicized. Therefore, apart from Mo Tingfeng, Song Weichen and Zhuang Yuheng, there were only Ding Heran and Ye Wujiu in the room. , they all know Song Weichen's true identity, so there is no need to hide what he says.
"No blame, what do you think about the fact that Zhang Qi said that the body was washed into the boat by the current?"
"My lord, I think that spring has just begun, not During the flood season, if the body was thrown into the river from the upper reaches, it would be impossible to float to the painting boat based on the current strength of the current. "
"Even if the flow speed allows, if the body falls into the river from Sichen Mansion, it will not reach the painting boat. In front of the water column, there are at least three narrow places where the body can be intercepted. In terms of probability, the possibility of getting stuck in Wangjiangnan is not high.”
"So my subordinates tend to believe that Xiao Yu's body was deliberately placed there, and the purpose is very clear - to know who is on the ship, and to let the people on the ship discover it."
Mo Tingfeng Diandian Ye Wujiu's analysis is basically consistent with his.
Then the next question is obvious - who deliberately did this and what is the purpose? .
Song Weichen didn’t speak, just listened silently.
She looked very sick and lethargic, but she still insisted on staying in the meeting hall. Mo Tingfeng and Zhuang Yuheng asked her to go back to Wuqingju to rest several times, but they were rejected. How could she go back?
The person who died was Xiao Yu, the little girl who had stopped her and Gu Yu outside the Venerable Mansion four or five hours ago to care about Bai Lu's well-being.
How old is she? She looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, as old as a flower bud - she was still in front of her holding her skirt and running back to the Lord's Mansion. How could she die so mysteriously?
Could it be that someone caught up with Xiao Yu and had a secret conversation with her and Gu Yu, and was worried that some conspiracy hidden in the venerable residence would be leaked, which led to this little girl suffering this misfortune?
If this is true, wouldn’t he become the murderer who indirectly killed this little girl?
Thinking of this, Song Weichen couldn't sleep or eat well. She must solve the case as soon as possible and catch the murderer of Xiao Yu with her own hands!
"Ahem." She took out a brocade handkerchief and covered her mouth. Her qi and blood were in chaos due to her uneasy mood. She had coughed up blood several times since the discovery of Xiao Gu's body, but she was holding on with her iron willpower. Just yourself.
Song Weichen was so weak that Zhuang Yuheng, who was sitting next to him, could not notice. But this little girl was more serious than ten cows, even a thousand cows. If she didn't reply, he would have no better solution besides feeding her a pill every hour and giving her acupuncture on several important acupuncture points.
Thanks to Zhuang Yuheng's presence, Song Weichen was able to stay awake, did not miss any information related to the case, and persisted in participating in every important link of the evidence.
For example, at this moment, the coroner of the Si Chen Mansion, who performed the autopsy on Xiao Gu, had completed the autopsy and came to the council hall to report back to Mo Tingfeng.
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“Your Excellency, the cause of death has been basically determined through physical examination - there were no blunt force injuries or skin trauma on the deceased’s body, his private parts were intact and no traces of abuse were found, and there were no signs of poisoning or inhaled drugs. The cause of death was suffocation by choking on water."
"Based on the circumstances in which the body was found, it cannot be ruled out that death was caused by suffocation caused by falling into the water."
After finishing speaking, Wu Zuo took two steps back and waited. Further instructions.
Mo Tingfeng had not expressed anything yet, but Song Weichen shook his head after hearing this. This article said that Xiao Gu "slipped and fell into the water and drowned" - no, she could not have slipped and fell into the water!
"Did the deceased show no signs of struggle before his death?"
Song Weichen couldn't help but ask.
She is not wearing a white robe at the moment. In terms of status, she is just an ordinary piano player in the Si Chen Mansion. As a rule, she should not answer any of her questions.
But after all, she was the main witness at the crime scene, and she was allowed to enter the meeting hall by Lord Si Chen, so he treated her respectfully and answered all questions.
“Replying to the girl, there was no sign of struggle or being tied.”
"Are you sure she hasn't inhaled any drugs? She hasn't been hallucinated by evil magic and lost her self-consciousness?"
"Yes, I'm sure not."
......
Song Weichen was silent for a long time. Suddenly, she raised her head and looked at Wu Zuo.
“Where is Xiao Gu’s body now?”
"Girl, the deceased has no relatives. He is currently stored in the newly opened Bingjiao Village in Sichen Mansion, together with the three charred corpses brought back from Wuyin Village. They will be buried after the autopsy is completed."
< br>Speaking of which, there was no Yizhuang in Sichen Mansion originally because the identity of the three charred corpses brought back from Wuyin Village had not yet been identified, and the reason why they entered the underground cave was not found out, so they could not After burial, you need to find a place to store it.
Because Qin Xueying was coming to live in the mansion for a short time, it was not appropriate to leave the body in the dungeon of the mansion, so he bought an abandoned ice cellar outside the southwest gate next to Sichen's mansion and put it there. It was transformed into a private village dedicated to the government.
And this Wuzuo was also an official sent from the government office in the jurisdiction of Sichen Mansion after the establishment of Yizhuang. Song Weichen only knew his surname was Xu. He was said to be very senior and led four apprentices. , lives in Yizhuang on weekdays.
In summary, Xiao Yu is the first real case that Xu Wuzuo took after he came to Sichen Mansion to take up a job.
But it is not difficult to determine the cause of death at this level, so it only took him a stick of incense to return to life.
......
"Bingjiao Yizhuang."
Song Weichen muttered these words and suddenly stood up. Zhuang Yuheng subconsciously reached out to help her.
“I want to see Xiao Gu.”
"This..."
Xu Wuzuo looked at Song Weichen with some embarrassment. Even though she was the core witness, she was not a case handler after all, so she was really not suitable to enter Yizhuang.
“That place has a lot of ice to keep the corpses from rotting, so it’s extremely cold and cold. I’m afraid it’s not suitable for Miss Sang to go there.”
Wu Zuo declined in a tactful way.
Song Weichen didn't say anything, and turned to look at Mo Tingfeng expressionlessly.
"Sang Pu, you..."
Mo Tingfeng couldn't hide the distress on her face. She had always been timid. She was scared to vomit when she first saw the old human bones, but now she took the initiative to ask for it. If you go to a place like that to conduct an autopsy, you will never open your mouth unless you are determined.
"Don't worry, I can hold on, take me there."
Song Weichen spoke in a low voice, but there was a power in his voice that could not be refused.
Mo Tingfeng pondered for a moment, then turned to look at Wu Zuo.
"Sang Pu just happened to see the deceased at noon. It doesn't hurt for her to go and have a look. Maybe there will be new discoveries that can help solve the case - all of us will go." Please lead the way."
Mo Tingfeng nodded and walked towards Song Weichen, but Zhuang Yuheng, who had been standing by her side, took a step forward to block him behind him.
"Tingfeng."
Zhuang Yuheng called Mo Tingfeng, and the meaning was obvious. She could not be allowed to go. The most important thing for her to do now was to rest in bed instead of going to see him. corpse.
Mo Tingfeng sighed softly, stretched out his palm forward, and Song Weichen's cold little hand reached over Zhuang Yuheng and took the initiative to hold him.
"Yu Heng, let's go together. You still don't know her character? This little girl is soft-spoken and stubborn. She will not tell you anything about the things she has decided." Listen.”
“It’s better to fulfill her wish as soon as possible so that she can feel at ease.”
.
The group followed Xu Wuzuo to the southwest gate of Sichen Mansion. Ice cellar Yizhuang.
Ice Cellar Yizhuang, as its name suggests, is as cold as an ice cave inside. I don't know how Xu Zuozuo and his several apprentice helpers stay here on weekdays.
Song Weichen was wearing Mo Tingfeng's black cloak. Even so, her breathing was full of breath, but she couldn't care less.
All her attention was locked on the man on the bed in the middle of the house.