As the sun sets, the courtyard is quite dark, and everything is quiet and peaceful. A gust of wind blows, and the lush branches and leaves of the old locust tree sway gently in the wind, and a few old leaves fall from the branches.
Shen Liangqiu walked to the door of the house and stopped. Qining followed with his hands behind his back, staring at the door.
The door was very ordinary, without much carvings. The two thick door panels were closed. Qining glanced at it and saw that the door was locked. He didn't say anything and just looked at Shen Liangqiu.
"On the day of the incident, the door was not locked." Shen Liangqiu naturally understood what Qi Ning meant and immediately explained: "Mr. Hou said that the door was locked from the inside that night. Mr. Hou asked his wife to come over. It took two more laborers to open the door. Because we wanted to protect the scene, we locked the door after we placed the body of the Grand Governor. During this period, no one dared to come near. "
"General Shen's ability to protect the scene in time was of great help to the case." Qining nodded.
Shen Liangqiu didn't say much. He went up to unlock the door and opened the door. Qining was not in a hurry to go in. He glanced at Wei Yujiang. Wei Yujiang understood and held his hand to Shen Liangqiu. He was the first one. Entered the house.
Wei Yujiang is a veteran of the Criminal Department and has been exposed to many crimes. He is naturally familiar with on-site investigation. Qining knows that experience is very important in such matters. He does not go in first, but lets Wei Yujiang enter first so that he can investigate the scene.
Several other officials from the Ministry of Justice were well aware of this and were waiting outside the door and did not act rashly. Shen Liangqiu seemed to understand the reason and stood in front of the door without going in. After a while, he walked Wei Yujiang to the door. , nodded to Qining, and then Qining slowly entered the door.
As soon as I entered the house, I felt a cold air coming across my face, which was in sharp contrast to the temperature outside.
The room is very spacious, but the furnishings are very simple. On the left side, near the window, is a desk with books scattered on it. Only a few steps away from the desk, there is a row of bookshelves against the wall. On the bookshelves There are not many books on display. In addition, in the middle of the study room is a small round wooden table with four mahogany round stools placed around it.
There are teapots, cups, and an oil lamp on the table, but other than that, there are no other objects.
Qining glanced around and saw a chair placed in the middle of the room. The chair obviously matched the desk. Normally, it should be placed behind the desk, but the position it appeared at this moment was very unusual. Qining Slowly raising his head, he saw a rope hanging in the air above the chair, and the lower end of the rope was tied into a rope loop. There is no doubt that Tantai Zhilin used this rope to hang himself from the beam.
Several officials from the Ministry of Justice followed Qining into the house and were already looking around to observe the scene.
The officials from the Ministry of Justice brought by Qi Ning this time are all veterans of the Ministry of Justice, and they are all good at solving cases. To be chosen by the young Marquis to come to the East China Sea to investigate such an important case, everyone knows that the matter is serious. There was no chance of being sloppy, so they were very cautious, but they also hoped in their hearts that they could make a contribution under the eyes of the young marquis this time, so they were also very positive.
Qining looked around and finally landed on the corner.
I only saw a plank bed set up in the corner. There were several iron pipes surrounding the plank bed. There were also water stains under the plank bed. The top of the plank bed was covered with a piece of white linen. Qining knew that if nothing happened, If so, there should be Tantai Zhilin under the white linen cloth.
The dignified Golden Sword Marquis Crown Prince and the Commander-in-Chief of the East China Sea Navy are now lying here quietly, which really makes people sigh.
"Master Marquis, I have done an inspection in my humble position. If there was indeed no damage here, then it is absolutely impossible for anyone to enter the house on the day of the incident." Wei Yujiang checked the house for a long time, and by this time he had already walked to Qining and reported: "There are a total of two windows in the house, but they are both bolted from the inside and cannot be opened from the outside."
"Are you sure there is no other place to enter?"
Wei Yujiang shook his head and said: "There is no secret passage in this room...!" He raised his head and looked upward: "There are no signs of movement on the roof tiles." He looked at Shen Liangqiu and asked: "General Shen, on the night of the crime, you He rushed over quickly, and everything in this house remains as it was then?"
Shen Liangqiu looked solemn as he stepped forward and said: "Master Hou and everyone can rest assured. Ever since the discovery of the murder of the Grand Governor, this house has been under surveillance. When I came here, I immediately cleared this house After careful inspection inside and outside the room, many people can testify that the windows and furnishings in the room have not been moved. Except...!" Pointing to the hanging rope ring: "Except for the Governor's body, the Governor's body was there at that time. Above, after Mr. Hou and his wife broke in, they found that the governor's body was cold and had been killed for a long time, so they did not dare to take down the body of the governor until I rushed over and took the body of the governor down with me."
"General Shen was worried that the governor's body would be damaged due to the hot weather, so...!" Qining raised his finger and pointed at the body covered by white linen, but did not continue.
Shen Liangqiu nodded and said: "Returning to what the Marquis said, I saw the Governor hanging himself from the beam. He didn't believe it at all, so he thought that the imperial court would send someone to investigate the case. The Governor's body is the most important thing in this case. The clues are of great importance. The humble general knew that he must do his best to protect the body of the Governor, so he sent people to find ice and placed the body of the Governor here, using ice to protect the body from damage. "
Qi Ning nodded slightly, then looked at the official from the Ministry of Civil Affairs who was holding the package in his hand, and said, "Mr. Zheng, I will leave the body of the Governor to you."
Chief Zheng was also a widower back then. After listening to Qi Ning's instructions, he immediately went to the body, squatted down, put down the package, and said to the body: "Grand Governor, I'm sorry!" He reached out and lifted a corner of the white hemp, Qi Ning and Wei Yujiang and others slowly approached.
The room was very dark, and when the white linen was lifted, there was naturally a corpse underneath. Tantai Zhilin's bun was first revealed. At this time, the lights suddenly turned on in the back, but Shen Liangqiu had already lit the oil lamp and held it in his hand. The oil lamp comes closer.
Tantai Zhilin's face was covered with white gauze, with a black beard peeking out from the edge. Qining knew that the white gauze mask was also a sign of respect for Tantai Zhilin. His eyes moved down to Tantai Zhilin's neck. There is a very conspicuous mark on his neck, which seems to be the result of the rope being used to strangle the house when the beam was suspended.
"Master Marquis, General Shen, if you want to do an autopsy, you will definitely offend the governor's body, and even... cut and damage the flesh." Chief Zheng looked up at Qining and said cautiously: "I don't know...?"
"General Shen, the emperor and the old Marquis Jin Dao sent me to investigate this case, so we must be careful." Qi Ning looked at Shen Liangqiu: "General Shen also suspected that there was something fishy about the death of the governor, so We don’t need to make a conclusion early on whether the Governor committed suicide or was harmed by someone else. Let’s investigate step by step and let the facts speak for themselves.”
Shen Liangqiu said: "This is what I mean, too."
"So our first step is to determine the true cause of the Governor's death." Qin Ning said with a solemn expression: "To determine the cause of death, it is inevitable to conduct a careful autopsy. General Shen has already taken the initiative to request an autopsy before, and that is what I want, so Next, Chief Zheng will conduct a careful autopsy. If there is any offense to the Governor, there is nothing we can do about it."
Shen Liangqiu said: "To be honest with you, Lord Marquis, before you arrived, I had already asked Madam for her wishes. Madam said that as long as the murder of the Governor can be brought to light, an autopsy can be performed on the Governor." Looking at Chief Zheng, Said: "Thank you, Master Zheng!"
After receiving the consent from Qi Ning and Shen Liangqiu, Chief Zheng opened the package without any scruples and took out the tools one by one.
Shen Liangqiu frowned slightly and said to Qining: "Master Marquis, please forgive me for being rude. I will conduct an autopsy for the governor. I don't want to stay here, so I can only go out and wait."
Qi Ning looked solemn, nodded slightly, and said to Wei Yujiang: "Sishen Wei, you stay here to assist Chief Zheng, everyone else should leave here first, and we will wait outside."
The deceased was a big one, and today's situation forced the body of Tantai Zhilin to be examined. Of course, it was not suitable for everyone to stand around during the autopsy, so Qining took the initiative to let everyone go out and wait. Hearing this, Shen Liangqiu frowned. Showing a hint of gratitude, he raised his hand and asked Qi Ning to go ahead. Qi Ning left Wei Yujiang and Chief Zheng behind and led the others out.
Perhaps it was because of the old locust tree that the courtyard seemed unusually dark and even had a gloomy atmosphere. Qining looked at the old locust tree with his hands behind his back and suddenly asked: "General Shen, this big tree is very important in the courtyard." A few years ago?"
Shen Liangqiu was startled, then shook his head and said: "I really don't know when this big tree was planted. When the old marquis was in charge of Donghai, his mansion was in the southeast corner of the city. Later, when the old marquis returned to Beijing, The eldest son...the eldest governor was ordered to guard Donghai, so he moved his mansion here. This house was originally the property of the Jiang family in Donghai, and was later dedicated to the imperial court."
"Donghai Jiang Family?" Qining tensed up.
Shen Liangqiu nodded and said: "Exactly, Han Lu Jiangchen, one of the four most powerful families in the East China Sea, and the Jiang family is one of them."
"Does General Shen know about Jiang Suiyun?" Qi Ning turned to look at Shen Liangqiu.
Shen Liangqiu nodded and said: "That is the eldest son of the Jiang family, Jiang Mantian's eldest son. I heard that he is now an official in the capital. The Marquis naturally knows this person."
Qi Ning said with a slight smile on his face: "He is now on duty at the Ministry of War." He pondered for a moment before saying: "According to what I heard, the Jiang family is extremely powerful in the East China Sea and is known as the number one businessman in the East China Sea. Is this true or not? "
"It is worthy of the name." Shen Liangqiu smiled faintly: "Thirty years ago, the Jiang family was naturally far from being comparable to the Han family and the Lu family, but today, the strength of the Jiang family is by no means inferior to the Han family. The Jiang family has a fleet of ships on hand. Teams, trade every year, and now they are fighting for gold. Some people say that the Jiang family is as rich as the enemy. It may be an exaggeration, but the number one wealthy businessman in the East China Sea is indeed worthy of his name."