Youshi heard the "ghost calls" in his own residence, but the half of the white leg bone came from the dry well in the backyard of Xu Qiuwang and Yuan Shi. Although it is not certain that the two things are related to each other, but since a new murder case has been discovered, it will be If we continue to investigate this clue, we may be able to follow the clues and pull out more secrets buried deep in the ground.
Ji Yanran asked: "Why would Miss Xing'er think of digging a dry well?"
"Because I'm from Fengyumen." Ling Xing'er said, "Isn't that the way to search for clues? The utility room, firewood room, dry well, and beams are all good places to throw corpses and hide secrets. They all slipped into Xu Qiuwang's yard, so naturally they had to turn upside down. This is what the door master taught us on weekdays, so that the thieves would not go empty-handed."
Ji Yanran: "Pfft."
Yun Yifeng had a headache: "I was just making an analogy, go back and let Qingyue teach you how to read!"
Wu Suosi had a piece of white ointment on the bridge of his nose, and he looked like a treacherous official on the stage. He pointed to the table and asked, "Is there only this half bone at the bottom of the well?"
"There are too many. They are piled up here and there. I checked roughly, and the whole skeleton is there, but I can't bring them all back, so I just picked up a clean one and showed it to the sect master." Ling Xing'er Said, "There is still a cloying sweet fragrance in that well, which makes me sick to this day."
Ji Yanran guessed: "To cover up the smell of the corpse?"
Yun Yifeng corrected him: "It's not a corpse, it's corpse water. This half of the leg bone was soaked with medicine water. It should have been melted away shortly after the person died, and the bones and dregs were thrown into the well. The smell of corpse water is strong, and it will stick to the bones for a long time, and the bottom of the well is not ventilated, so if you use some strong spices, it will be stronger than the sour smell."
Although corpse-transforming water is common in Jianghu, ordinary people obviously shouldn't have this thing ready all the time. Ling Xing'er asked: "Do you want to pick up all the remaining bones?"
Yun Yifeng shook his head: "It's just some ordinary white bones. After being corroded by the potion, even if there was a bone injury in life, you can't tell the difference. It is enough to know whether the deceased is a man or a woman. Let's start from here."
The Shibashan villa has a great business, not only maids and rough envoys, but also nanny, embroiderer, theater troupe... all of them are added together. for a while. Fortunately, the government can intervene in this matter openly, Zhang Guhe quickly asked for a detailed list from the housekeeper in the name of investigating the murderer.
The Xu family is generous to their servants, and the rewards during festivals and festivals alone can be equivalent to a year's wages. Therefore, except for major weddings, few people are willing to leave voluntarily, except for a maid named Zhang Ruirui. .
Ling Xing'er said: "Wow!"
"What are you 'wow'?" Yun Yifeng was vigilant, "I tell you, a man's mouth is a deceit, you can't believe anything easily, don't be coaxed by some slutty kid in the future, remember Don't remember?"
Ji Yanran stood aside with a teacup in his hand, his conscience ached, and he felt as if he had been insinuated again.
Ling Xing'er responded obediently, and continued to read the comment. Zhang Ruirui is the daughter of Zhang Orion in the city. A few years ago, her father fell ill, and her elder brother accidentally broke his leg in the mountains. In order to supplement the family income, she entered Shiba Villa as a maid, and was responsible for ironing clothes on weekdays. After one year, she ran away with the man, leaving only a few taels of silver to her parents, and she has not returned home until now.
Ji Yanran asked: "Who did you run away with?"
"There is an old oily man named Sun Da in Wangxing City." Ling Xing'er said, "Look at what the housekeeper wrote. This scoundrel is good-looking, and he has a good-spoken mouth. He seduces little widows everywhere, and he is often sued. Government."
"Go pass on Zhang Guhe." Ji Yanran said, "I'm afraid he will have to come forward in this matter."
When Zhang Liehu was in good health, restaurants all over the place liked to accept his game, and he was quite famous, so Zhang Guhe had a deep impression of this incident, and he remembered it all when he mentioned it. It is said that after Zhang Ruirui and Sun Da eloped, Shiba Villa once sent a sum of money to her home, and helped to hire a doctor for two patients. After entering the villa to do errands, I am very grateful to the Xu family.
Ji Yanran asked: "He didn't think his sister's 'elopement' was strange?"
Zhang Guhe sighed and said: "Don't say it's the Zhang family. At the beginning, even the official thought it was impossible. Who is Sun Da? No one in Wangxing City, men, women, old or young, knows. Zhang Ruirui has always kept himself safe, obedient and honest , such a big girl, how could she be willing to elope with such an old hooligan?"
At that time, Zhang's family was in trouble, and the officials also reported it, and the government also investigated, but they found nothing for two months. Just when everyone was overwhelmed, Sun Da ran back alone, carrying a few boxes of pastries and cured meat, knelt down at the gate of Zhang's house, kowtowed and called his parents, which made Zhang Orion very angry. Sun Da was very sincere, he would not fight back if he was beaten or scolded, he only said that Zhang Ruirui was pregnant with his own flesh and blood, so he had to wait for the child to be born, and then the husband and wife would come back to apologize.
When the neighbors heard the commotion, they all came to watch the commotion. Zhang Orion couldn't hold back his face. He beat Sun Da out of the courtyard with a shoulder pole, and then uttered cruel words. As the saying goes, bad things spread thousands of miles, especially this kind of indiscriminate thing, the people will be more excited, gossip and gossip in the city for several days, after Shiba Villa heard about it, they sent someone to send it back Silver and medicinal materials, said that since the misunderstanding has been eliminated, it is important to ask old man Zhang to take care of his body earlier.
Ji Yanran clicked her tongue and said: "Repaying grievances with virtue, no wonder he is a first-class kind person."
"The common people also say the same." Zhang Guhe said, "Why is the prince suddenly interested in this matter?"
Ji Yanran didn't answer his question, but continued: "If my guess is correct, Sun Da hasn't appeared since then, right?"
Zhang Guhe nodded: "That's right, some people say that they went out to sea and went to Nanyang."
Yun Yifeng stood aside, understanding the meaning of Ji Yanran's words, that Sun Da probably lost his life instead of going out to sea.
If the bones in the dry well were really Zhang Ruirui, the best excuse the Xu family could find to cover up this matter was to elope. The Zhang family is not stupid, and the Orion background is not easy to fool, so a real man is needed in the story. Since Sun Da is a rascal and lustful rascal who is greedy for money, it is very likely that under the temptation of money, he agrees to cooperate with the Xu family in this play.
If Sun Da is found now, many mysteries should be solved, but according to the power of the Xu family in the local area, I am afraid that he is already in danger.
…
In the evening, Eighteen Villas.
There was a "squeak" from the door, and a young man came in from outside. He was wearing shorts and looked very capable, but he walked with a slight limp. He threw the sack in his hand to the corner at random, and lit the oil lamp on the table.
A beautiful girl was sitting on the stool, with her cheek propped on one hand, staring at him with big watery eyes.
The young man took two steps back in panic: "Who are you?"
"Hush." Ling Xing'er put one hand on her mouth and made a silent gesture, "Brother Zhang, I'm here for your sister."
Zhang Shengsheng was taken aback when he heard the words: "My sister, do you... have news from Ruirui?"
Ling Xing'er shook her head: "No, I heard something today, you should love your sister very much, right?"
Zhang Shengsheng sat at the table without speaking.
"Sun Da has not heard from you for a long time." Ling Xing'er continued, "Brother Zhang, do you believe that he changed his mind and took your sister to Nanyang to make a living? If you don't believe it, then what is hidden behind this, you Really don't understand?"
Zhang Shengsheng said, "What exactly do you want to say?"
"I found out about the Zhang family by accident when I was investigating other cases." Ling Xing'er said, "Sun Da is not a good guy. Everyone in Wangxing City knows it. But if Brother Zhang doesn't want to get into it, I will Seeing that you are living a good life now, don't bother me." After she finished speaking, she got up and wanted to leave, but was stopped by Zhang Shengsheng from behind.
"I think!" His tone was agitated, and his chest heaved, "I came to Shiba Villa just to find my younger sister. I never believed that she would abandon her parents and run away with that shameless man. !"
With her back turned to him, Ling Xing'er secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
In the afternoon, after listening to Zhang Guhe's story about Zhang Shengsheng, Yun Yifeng judged that he might still have doubts about his sister's disappearance, and didn't give up on finding the truth—otherwise, why would he reject the Xu family's original arrangement? Going to work as an accountant at a business in the city, why don't you have to go to Shiba Villa to do handyman
Now it seems that it is so.
"Ruirui has been honest since she was a child, and she is also smart. Sun Damo's words are sweet words. Even if he digs out his heart, he will never be able to coax her away." Zhang Shengsheng said, "After entering Shiba Villa, I have been Inquiring secretly, my sister has a few good friends here, and they all said that Rarity has someone she secretly likes, who is a nursing home, and it has nothing to do with Sun Da at all."
The date of her accident was the fifth day of June. She behaved normally during the day and said that she would go home to send money to her parents in a few days, but she disappeared that night. The little sisters didn't believe in the nonsense of "running away", but they couldn't talk nonsense without evidence. Later, when they heard that Sun Da had gone to see the Zhang family's parents, they had no choice but to keep this matter in their hearts in a daze. Didn't mention it.
Ling Xing'er asked: "Who was the last person to see your sister?"
"It's a cook named Zhong Gu. She was preparing dinner at the time. Rarity washed half of her clothes, and she was hot and thirsty, so she went to ask for a bowl of water." Zhang Shengsheng said, "The Xu family was having a banquet that day. I'm too busy here, and Rarity helped cut a few pots of vegetables, how does this look like I'm going to elope?"
"Master Xu wants to hold a family banquet?"
"It's Master Xu." Zhang Shengsheng said, "He married a new concubine that day, and the house was very lively."
It's the shopkeeper Xu again, Ling Xing'er thought to herself, the bones were hidden in Xu Qiuwang's dry well, and Xu Qiuwang himself was thrown into the well. Could it be that some knights retaliated with an eye for an eye, and wanted to avenge this innocent little girl who died tragically?
"Girl." Zhang Shengsheng asked anxiously, "What have you found out? Has my sister really..."
"There's no conclusion yet, don't worry, I'll take care of this matter to the end." Ling Xing'er exhorted, "But until the truth comes out, you can't take any action, protect yourself well, understand?"
Zhang Shengsheng nodded: "Yes, I understand."
When Ling Xing'er left Shiba Villa, there was still the sound of chanting scriptures in her ears. The buzzing sound was like a large black cloud before the rainstorm, covering the sky and the earth in an impenetrable way, without a ray of light to penetrate. enter.
Dark and depressing.
Just waiting for a sound of spring thunder to split this chaotic world.
…
At noon the next day, Yun Yifeng and Ji Yanran took people to Shiba Villa again.
Although Xu Qiuyi and Xu Qiuping have returned home, both of them are the targets of the murderous nursery rhyme. Before the murderer is caught, it is obviously not suitable to move around, so all family affairs are still handled by Yuan Shi. This time she just came back from the accountant's room, and before she had time to sit down and have a cup of tea, she heard the news from the servants that the master of Yunmen and Ji Shaoxia had arrived at the door, as if they had lost something.
Could it be that there are thieves in this villa? Yuan Shi hurried out, and sure enough, she saw Yun Yifeng was looking anxiously, looking left and right.
"Ma'am." The little maid whispered in her ear, "Master Yunmen said that his mink ran away, and it seems that he ran into our yard."
Yuan Shi was taken aback: "Diao?"
Yun Yifeng stretched out his hand to compare, yes, Diao, so fat.
Ji Yanran had a gentle attitude: "Someone saw the ferrets coming here with their own eyes. The lady doesn't mind if we go in and look for them?"
"This... Has any of you seen it?" Yuan asked the servants around her sharply.
Everyone shook their heads, saying they hadn't seen it.
I really didn't see it, but the master of Yunmen spoke with certainty and confidence! He didn't lie, he did lose a fat mink, and thinking about it still hurts his heart.
Ji Yanran said: "Whether there is one or not, we will only find out after looking for it."
Yuan Shi agreed: "Of course, please rest assured, both of you, I will send someone to look for it."
"There's no need to be so troublesome." Ji Yanran smiled, "The ferret is afraid of life, so I have to find someone I know, come here!"
"Here!" The subordinates all took the order. Yuan Shi panicked, stood up and wanted to stop her, but because of Ji Yanran's identity, she didn't dare to make a sound, she just smiled and said: "This... There are several dogs in the house, and the ferrets are afraid to come, will it be Did it go somewhere else?"
"That's why we need to search as soon as possible." Ji Yanran said slowly, "If there is indeed no one, we can go to the next place as soon as possible."
The subordinates dispersed, Yuan's face was pale, and she barely sat back on the chair, her hands shaking uncontrollably.
Seeing her like this, both of them had a judgment in their hearts. Not long after, several subordinates came back to report that Diao had not been found, but a human bone was found in a dry well in the backyard.
"What!" Before Ji Yanran could speak, Yuan exclaimed first, "How could such a thing appear?"
There was a servant with a wink next to him, and he hurried forward to answer the question: "It is likely that after the criminal committed the crime, he randomly found a dry well to dispose of the corpse. The fence in our backyard has fallen, and we haven't taken care of it. Outsiders just come in and out at will. "
Yuan's lips trembled: "This... this is simply lawless!"
"Yes." The servant helped her to sit down, "Fortunately, Master Yunmen's ermine was lost, otherwise this corpse would have been hidden for some time, Amitabha, it's really scary."
All the bones in the well were picked out and placed in the courtyard.
Yuan Shi just glanced at it, then her legs started to weaken again, she turned around and said, "Hurry up and take it away."
When Mrs. Xu heard the news, he also rushed over in a sedan chair. During this period of time, the murder at home seems to have no head, and the nursery rhyme has not been clarified yet, and another nameless bone appeared. He was helped out of the sedan chair by his servants, and he was almost furious: "What's going on here? ?”
The servant knelt down and said: "Go back to the old man, there are only bones left, and you can't even tell what it looks like. Let Master Zhang check it."
The old man Xu sighed: "Ji Shaoxia, Yunmen master, look at this—"
"These bones were treated with corpse water." Yun Yifeng interrupted him, "The lady really doesn't know? I don't think so."
Yuan's face turned pale again: "What does Master Yunmen mean?"
The secret guard of the palace said from the side: "According to the shape of the scattered bones, the deceased should have poured the corpse water into it after being thrown into the dry well."
Yuan Shi said stiffly: "So what?"
"The scent of the corpse water is pungent, and it may last all night before it dissipates." Yun Yifeng said, "Which murderer is so good at picking places, leaving so many empty courtyards in Shiba Villa for use, but he chose to be the head of the house?" The mother's house was destroyed and all traces were wiped out. Just choose, there are more than a dozen people in this yard, but none of them has ever smelled a strange smell?"
Yuan gritted her teeth: "The murderer chooses to destroy the corpse at night. If the patrol guards are lazy and don't go to the backyard, the smell will dissipate after sunrise, so no one will notice."
"That makes sense." Yun Yifeng nodded, "Then I'll just believe that there was no one patrolling the corpse that night, because the backyard is too remote, so no one has ever noticed the smell of spices in the well, but the villa Now that there is a murder case, Mr. Zhang still needs to have a trial." He looked around and pointed, "Why don't you go to the government office for a while, make a statement, and see if you can think of anything else."
The servant who was pointed at was shocked: "Me?"
"Yes." Yun Yifeng nodded kindly, "It's you, take it away!"
The secret guards of the palace responded together, stepped forward and tied up the man, dragged them outside, and walked out, not as a witness, but clearly tied up the prisoner.
Yun Yifeng clasped her fists coolly: "I'm sorry to bother you all. I'll send someone to report to Old Mrs. Xu after the outcome of the trial and leave."
Before leaving, I would like to add, yes, I will come to Diao next time.
Yuan's face was pale.
When the matter developed to this point, Old Master Xu could naturally see the purpose of Yun Yifeng's trip. After everyone left, he slapped the table hard: "Who is that?"
"Yes...it's a girl named Zhang Ruirui." Yuan knelt down and cried, "Qiu Wang's lewdness, father knows about it. On the day Naping'er came in, he drank a few more glasses of wine during the banquet, and he also I don't know what happened, but I let the newcomer in the house not want it, but I went to the woodshed to rape this girl, and beat her to the brink of death. She died before dawn. I was worried that spreading the news would damage the Xu family's reputation, so I decided on my own. Throw her into the well."
"Zhang Ruirui, that girl who eloped?" Old Master Xu asked.
Yuan Shi nodded: "Yes, the Zhang family is a hunter. Although the father and son were sick and lame at the time, they were both violent and difficult to deal with. So Qiu Wang came up with this idea and bribed Sun Da in the city."
The old man Xu was so angry that he couldn't breathe smoothly: "Bastard! What about Sun Da?"
"I really don't know about that." Yuan said in a low voice, "Qiu Wang only said that everything was settled. As for how it was handled, I didn't ask, and I don't want to ask."
After a while, seeing that the old man didn't speak any more, she boldly said: "It's not a big deal to kill a girl. If Mr. Zhang gets angry again, he won't blame Shiba Villa. At most, he will deal with a few insignificant servants." , Daddy don't need to worry too much."
Old Master Xu asked: "Ah Cai was brought to the government, how much does he know?"
"Ah Cai went out to gamble that night." Yuan Shi said, "I only found him when the corpse was being disposed of in the morning."
Old Mrs. Xu said harshly: "Oh!"
…
In the government office, Yun Yifeng rummaged through the bamboo tube in front of him and asked, "Which one is the servant of the big punishment?"
Li Cai knelt on the ground, trembling all over.
Zhang Guhe fought beside him: "Master Yunmen, why don't you let me handle the case trial?"
Yun Yifeng glanced at Ji Yanran.
His Royal Highness Xiao Wang said: "Master Zhang has also worked hard recently, let's sit down and have a rest."
But Zhang Guhe said: "This is the job of a subordinate official, why talk about it so hard!"
He is an upright and good official, so even if the prince hinted, he insisted on trying the case himself - how can there be any reason to leave this kind of matter to the Jianghu people
Yun Yifeng glanced at Ji Yanran again.
"Cough." His Royal Highness Xiao Wang slapped the gavel, "Come here, I will serve you with great torture."
Zhang Guhe: "..."
Can it still be like this
Since Ji Yanran wanted to interrogate in person, Mr. Zhang had no choice but to give up his seat and sit back obediently.
Not even the yamen servants were used, the secret guards of the palace directly swung the board and swung it down with the sound of howling wind.
Li Cai howled earth-shatteringly.
He is not afraid of Zhang Guhe's trial, because Master Qingtian will definitely not use torture lightly, but Yun Yifeng is different. Is there a certainty when people in the Jianghu fight
"I'm recruiting! I'm recruiting!" He burst into tears and snot.
Yun Yifeng said with regret: "You are going to recruit so soon? You might as well hesitate a little longer."
After another strike, Li Cai's voice was hoarse and his veins burst out: "Master Zhang, I'll recruit!"
Zhang Guhe stood up: "My lord!"
"Okay, okay." Ji Yanran signaled the hidden guards to back down, "Go ahead."
Li Cai hesitated for a long time in shock, before he said: "The corpse is a little maid in the villa named Zhang Ruirui. One night, the master drank two more glasses and ruined him in a daze. The girl was already dead, so she was thrown into the well."
Zhang Guhe was furious when he heard this: "You bastard!"
Yun Yifeng continued to ask: "What about the corpse water, where did it come from?"
Li Cai replied: "It was also given to me by the master."
Yun Yifeng tut-tsk: "Your master still carries this thing with him when he lives?"
"... yes." Li Cai swallowed with difficulty, "maybe he... he bought it from somewhere."
Yun Yifeng asked: "You bought it after you killed someone?"
Li Caidao: "Yes."
"Who's going to buy it, you?"
"No, it's not me." Li Caihan said like rain, "It's the master, the master went to buy it himself."
"Oh, I bought it myself." Yun Yifeng leaned back on the chair and said slowly, "My lord, what do you think?"
Ji Yanran was very cooperative: "Come here, and then serve on the torture."