Qi Ning said warmly: "General Shen expresses my condolences and obeys the change." He winked at Wei Yujiang again. Wei Yujiang understood and asked: "General Shen, you mentioned the death of the Governor twice just now and used the word "murdered". Could it be that General Shen Do you think there’s something fishy in it?”
Shen Liangqiu pondered for a moment and then said: "Master Marquis, I have learned that you are now in charge of the Yamen of the Ministry of Punishment. If the imperial court feels that there is nothing fishy about this case, why did it send you here?"
Qi Ning smiled, and Wei Yujiang already said: "The Governor is a famous general in the empire. His sudden death will naturally be treated with caution by the court."
Shen Liangqiu nodded slightly and then said: "I am a soldier and I don't understand the names of punishments. But the Governor and I have known each other for many years, and I know his temperament very well...!" After a pause, he said: "He has great ambitions and wants. Help me, Da Chu, to unify the world, so I have stepped up my military training in these years and never slacked off. Moreover, he and his wife are in harmony with each other, and they just got a young son...!" He glanced at everyone present and said seriously: "I dare to ask you, what kind of situation is this? Understand, even an ordinary person would not be able to think of committing suicide, let alone an iron-blooded governor who commands tens of thousands of soldiers?"
Everyone nodded slightly, feeling that what Shen Liangqiu said was reasonable.
"General Shen, according to what you said, the governor was harmed by others, but who in the East China Sea is so brave and bold as to attack the governor of Tantai?" Qi Ning looked into Shen Liangqiu's eyes and asked: " If General Shen has someone to suspect, you don’t have to identify who it is, you just need to tell us the possibility so that we can find clues and start."
Shen Liangqiu shook his head and said: "Master Marquis, as you said, it is hard for me to imagine that anyone in the East China Sea would dare to attack the Governor. The Governor is mainly on the Navy side and does not have much contact with other people, and in the East China Sea, the Governor In the humble general’s memory, the Grand Governor doesn’t seem to have any grudge against anyone.”
Qi Ning shook his head and said, "General Shen's words are wrong."
Shen Liangqiu was startled, but Qi Ning had already said: "Back then, Mr. Jin Dao, the old marquis, led the army to conquer the East China Sea. One general succeeded in pacifying the East China Sea, but it also caused the Tantai family to have countless grudges in the East China Sea."
Shen Liangqiu frowned slightly and nodded: "If you say so, it's not bad. However, Tantai's expedition to the East China Sea is for state affairs. What I mean is that the governor has no selfish hatred in the East China Sea."
At this moment, they saw someone hurriedly coming in from outside the door. Everyone's eyes immediately turned to him. They saw an old man in his early sixties coming in from the door. Shen Liangqiu had already stood up and stepped forward, saying to Qining: "Master Hou. , this is Mr. Hou." Then he said to the old man: "Mr. Hou, these are the Jinyi Hou and the officials from the Ministry of Punishment, who have been ordered to investigate the case of the Governor."
Although Mr. Hou was over sixty years old, he was not hunched over. He probably did so because he was in the army. The old man took a few steps forward and knelt down to salute Qi Ning. Qi Ning had already stood up and said: "Boss No need to be polite, just stand and talk."
"Thank you, Mr. Hou." As soon as Mr. Hou said a word, his eye circles were already red, and he cupped his hands and said: "Mr. Hou, please be sure to find out the reason why the governor was killed, otherwise the governor will die in peace."
Qi Ning frowned and said, "The old manager also thinks that the Governor was harmed?"
Tears welled up in Mr. Hou's eyes: "I have been with the Governor for almost ten years, and I have watched him grow up since I was a child. I will never believe that he committed suicide. I will never believe...!" His tone was very firm. .
Qi Ning and several officials looked at each other and then ordered: "Bring a chair to the boss." Wei Yujiang stood up and moved a chair over. Manager Hou hesitated for a moment, but sat down anyway. Qi Ning then asked: "Old manager, on the night of the incident, who was the first person to discover that the Governor had committed suicide?"
"There... there were several people." Manager Hou controlled his emotions and recalled: "That night, the Governor was in the study all the time. When it was almost Haishi, the lady asked the old slave to ask the Governor to rest early. When the old slave arrived in the study, The light in the study was on, and the old slave called out several times, but the Governor didn't answer."
Everyone was looking at Mr. Hou, concentrating without saying a word, listening to Mr. Hou describe the scene that night.
"The old slave was very strange at the time, thinking that the Governor had fallen asleep in the study?" Manager Hou recalled: "So he wanted to open the door and go in. Normally, the Governor rarely locks the door even if he is in the study, but the old slave When he pushed the door open, he discovered that the study door was locked from the inside." He glanced at Qining before continuing: "The old slave felt even more strange. He called a few more times, but the governor still didn't respond. Old slave If you feel something is wrong, report it to Madam immediately."
Qining held his chin and stared at Mr. Hou, only to hear Mr. Hou continue: "When Madam found out, she was also surprised and immediately went to the study. There were two maids with Madam at that time. When we got to the study, Madam also called a few times. , the Grand Governor never responded. Madam knew something was wrong and had someone kick open the door. The old slave called two house slaves and kicked open the study door. When they entered the room, they... saw...!" Manager Hou raised his eyebrows. He raised his hand and grabbed it twice, his whole body trembling.
Wei Yujiang stood up and brought his own tea. After the tea was served, he did not drink the tea. The tea was clean. Manager Hou took the tea but did not drink the tea. He just glanced at Wei Yujiang and said in a sad voice: "We all saw it. The Grand Governor... The Grand Governor has committed suicide by hanging himself from a beam!"
"Suicide by hanging from a beam?" Qining frowned.
He had long known that Tantai Zhilin committed suicide, but he didn't know how he committed suicide until now.
"The madam collapsed in front of the door. The old slave only thought there was an assassin, so he rushed in with two servants and wanted to put down the governor. But the madam thought of something and told me not to touch the body of the great governor, and ordered the old slave to go immediately Come back to General Shen." Mr. Hou was already in tears at this moment. "At that time, the governor's hands and feet were cold. The old slave knew that this was a big deal, so he followed his wife's order and immediately went to the navy camp to ask General Shen to come back. "
Wei Yujiang asked: "Old manager, was there anyone else in the study at that time?"
"Absolutely not." Mr. Hou said resolutely: "The study only has two bookshelves, a desk, and a chair. The Governor likes simplicity in everything, so the study is not worth it and is very simple. You can see everything in the study at a glance. Corner. Moreover, the two servants were still inside the house to check, and the doors and windows were all locked from the inside."
Wei Yujiang frowned and said: "The doors and windows of the study are locked from the inside, which means that after the incident, no one can come out from inside."
"Yes, the door was locked from the inside. It was kicked open by someone, and the windows were also locked from the inside... If this is true, then it is impossible for anyone to come out of the room." Qi Ning was also thoughtful.
An official stood up, cupped his hands and said, "Master Marquis, should we go and see the scene?"
"Exactly." Qi Ning stood up: "Only after seeing the scene can we understand the general truth. Yes, the old manager, has there been any change in the Governor's study?"
Shen Liangqiu said from the side: "Master Marquis, I was worried that someone would destroy the scene and cause the clues to be lost, so I sent people to guard the study that night. As of today, except for the slight treatment of the body of the governor, everything on the scene has been cleared." Not a shred of damage.”
"Has the Governor's body been disposed of?" Wei Yujiang was startled and frowned.
Shen Liangqiu said: "The weather was hot, and I was worried that the body would be damaged, so I worked with Manager Hou to remove the body of the Governor, and then took ice cubes to prevent the body from changing. Other than that, there was no movement. There is not a trace of the general's body." Xiang Qining said: "When I took off the body of the governor, my wife was also present!"
Qi Ning nodded slightly and said: "This is also a helpless move. General Shen, please lead the way!"
Shen Liangqiu raised his hand and said: "Master Hou, please!" and then said to Mr. Hou: "Mr. Hou, go and tell Madam that the imperial court has sent Jin Yihou to investigate the case thoroughly. If the Governor is really being exposed, No harm, Lord Marquis will definitely be able to get to the bottom of this case."
Manager Hou agreed, with a sad look on his face, obviously he had not yet recovered from Tantai Zhilin's death.
Shen Liangqiu led the way, and the group went straight to Tantai Zhilin's study. After walking a long way, Shen Liangqiu suddenly asked: "Master Marquis, is there anyone among you who is good at autopsy?"
"Autopsy?"
Shen Liangqiu nodded and said: "The Governor has passed away. Although it is disrespectful to touch his body easily, in order to find out the truth, I hope that the Marquis will send someone to conduct an autopsy to determine the true cause of the Governor's death."
An official behind Qi Ning already said: "Don't worry, General Shen. This official is good at examining remains and has brought tools." He raised it with his right hand, but he was holding a package.
Shen Liangqiu nodded and said, "Thank you."
The Dudu's Mansion is actually not that big. Maybe it's for the sake of reputation, or maybe it's because of Tantai Zhilin's temperament. The Dudu's Mansion is not big in general, but it is estimated that it is bigger than an ordinary mansion in terms of power.
The layout of the mansion is also very ordinary, but there are flowers and trees everywhere. I think that on the coast of the East China Sea, a variety of flowers and trees can make the air in the mansion fresher. There are clusters of flowers along the road, colorful, and the air is also floating in the air. The fragrance of flowers and trees.
The study is a separate courtyard. The outside of the courtyard is surrounded by a circle of flowerbeds, full of flowers. There are guards guarding the courtyard door. Seeing Shen Liangqiu coming, a guard opened the door lock of the courtyard door very consciously. Shen Liangqiu Walking to the courtyard gate, he raised his hand to ask Qining to come forward. Qining was not polite and entered the courtyard.
This is a fairly spacious yard. In the corner of the yard is a big tree with lush branches. There is a weapons rack against the wall, with swords and guns placed on it. There is also a round table under the big tree. It is shaped like a small stone table, and two stone piers are placed on the left and right sides of the small stone table. I think Tantai Zhilin would practice martial arts here occasionally when he had free time.
Qining put his hands behind his back and looked at the big tree. He recognized it as a large locust tree, which stretched out a lush green cloud, like a giant pillar reaching into the sky. At first glance, it looked like an old locust tree.