The hidden guards of the palace also knew how to wink, upon hearing Ji Yanran's order, they raised the board without saying a word, and slapped Li Cai heavily in front of him with coercion. With a "crack", the three-finger-wide thick bamboo board was twisted and cracked in the middle, and debris and dust were splashed everywhere. Li Cai watched helplessly as a deep hole was smashed into the ground, and the half of the dangling and weak torture stick looked like his own. The broken leg, which was about to droop weakly, cried out almost hoarsely: "Madam! The corpse medicine was given to me by Madam!"
"Oh?" Ji Yanran asked, "It's not Master Xu, but his wife?"
Li Cai was sweating and nodded repeatedly. That night he kept going out to gamble, and was called back in a hurry until dawn. At that time, Zhang Ruirui had already died, his body was covered with wounds, and there were obvious bruised and purple finger marks on his neck, which was too horrible to look at. It was planned to take it to the back mountain to dig a pit and bury it, but a group of guests came to the house at that time, saying that they would like to congratulate the shopkeeper Xu for winning another beauty. The corpse was thrown into the dry well.
"I planned to wait until evening before taking it out to bury it." Li Caidao, "But in the afternoon, the eldest lady suddenly said that she has a bottle of water for dissolving corpses, as long as you pour it on, it can be kept until there is no residue left."
So late at night that day, Li Cai followed his advice and poured a whole bottle of potion into the well.
Mrs. Yuan and several other servants were there at the time, and they thought it would quietly turn into a puddle of pus and blood like in the storytelling story, but who would have thought that it would not take long before a violent and pungent gas flowed out of the well? The smell lingers for a long time, like the ferocious soul of an innocent girl, who is about to climb up the stone wall, frightening everyone out of their wits, and hastily took seven or eight quilts to cover the mouth of the well, and endured it for several hours in fear. The taste has just dissipated a little.
Li Cai continued: "After dawn, I had the courage to take a look, and the inside was almost melted, a pile of bones and white."
Ji Yanran asked: "Since they are all turned into bones, why not pick them up and throw them outside the villa, but keep filling them in the well?"
"The eldest madam did plan to throw it away." Li Cai said honestly, "but later changed her mind."
The strange smell had already permeated to the bone marrow when the corpse was turned into a corpse. The yellow dog in the house would bark like crazy when he smelled it, and Radu couldn't help but want to rush to dig it. Yuan was worried that if the fresh bones were thrown outside and were dug out by wild dogs, it would inevitably attract the attention of the government and cause unnecessary trouble, so he simply threw a lot of sweet and greasy spices into the well, intending to smoke it for a period of time before processing.
Yun Yifeng propped his cheek with one hand: "All these things were done by Mrs. Yuan alone? What about Master Xu? Could it be that after spoiling the girl, he was so frightened that he retreated into the room and shut the door behind him?"
"When I came back from the gambling house, there was only the eldest lady in the courtyard, and the master stayed in the room, saying that he didn't want to see the dead." Li Cai recalled anxiously, "Then the congratulatory guests came, and the master went to the front yard to entertain the guests. At night, when he was brought back by someone, he was already drunk."
Zhang Guhe heard the evil deeds committed by the Xu couple, his heart was burning with anger, his face that was originally blue and black now turned purple in the black. He thinks he knows clearly and is always fair, but he doesn't want to be deceived by Xu Qiuwang for many years, and he has always respected him as a benevolent and charitable person. After raping, murdering, and dismembering the corpse, pouring a basin of sewage on the head of the deceased has caused the Zhang family to suffer so far, but he swaggered to drink and entertain guests. If he can do such things that are inferior to animals, how can he be worthy of a " Good" word.
Ji Yanran asked again: "So after the corpse was thrown into the well, Xu Qiuwang went to the front yard and didn't come back until evening. And that afternoon, Yuan gave you the corpse water?"
Li Cai nodded: "Yes."
"Where did she get the corpse water?"
"I don't know about that, I really don't know." Li Cai said, "I was also scared that day. The eldest lady asked me to guard the dry well in the courtyard. She went back for a while on the way, and when she came back, she took the corpse water. Just put it in the room."
Zhang Guhe frowned at the side, obviously also aware of the abnormality. Listening to the situation of these people when they mutilated the corpse, it should be the first time to do such a thing, otherwise they should not panic when they smell the smell, not knowing what to do. But if he has never killed anyone before, why is there water for transforming corpses in the room
Li Cai was paralyzed, lying on the floor shaking like a sieve, but couldn't say anything, the secret guards of the palace dragged him down, and took him into custody for a while to rest.
Zhang Guhe asked: "What does your lord think about this?"
"Yuan planned to bury the corpse in the barren mountain at the beginning, but she didn't change her mind until the afternoon." Ji Yanran said, "So during this time, someone should have reminded her and gave the bottle of corpse water."
Zhang Guhe nodded, and asked again: "What about the master of Yunmen?"
"Me?" Yun Yifeng said sincerely, "I'm just from the rivers and lakes... ah!"
Ji Yanran patted him on the forehead again: "Speak well!"
Yun Yifeng sat up straight, and said: "The person who gave her the corpse water should be inexperienced, otherwise at least one should be reminded that doing this kind of thing needs to be done in a well-ventilated field, and the riverside is the best. Pour it directly into a dry well, that kind of place is humid and narrow, and the smell will not be cleared for three to five months, even if it is a year or two, I'm afraid it won't be completely dissipated.
"Then who is it?" Ji Yanran said to himself.
Yun Yifeng replied: "People in the villa. The Yuan family is a woman. Before Xu Qiuwang's accident, she lived in seclusion, so she probably didn't have many opportunities to meet idlers outside. But who is that person, I'm afraid it will be up to Mr. Zhang." It's time for trial."
…
At dusk, Yuan Shi was brought into the government office.
Now that the matter had been revealed, she was not as flustered as she was before. She showed the calmness of the mistress and insisted that the corpse water was brought back by Xu Qiuwang half a year ago. Turn a pig into a chicken, and see how vicious the miracle medicine in this storyteller's story is. When I first discovered Zhang Ruirui's body, I was too scared to remember it in time. After a while, I remembered that there was still this thing, so I used it directly.
Ji Yanran clicked her tongue and said, "Take the corpse and hydrate chicken, duck and fish. Shopkeeper Xu's daily hobby is quite strange."
Yuan bowed her head: "Yes, my master likes to collect all kinds of rare things on weekdays, from antiques to weapons, and even the poisoned dry babies of the Nanfang family. They have filled several rooms. If you don't believe me, you can go to them at any time. look."
The story sounds flawless, and Yuan Shi's eyes didn't dodge in any way, and the supporting evidence is even more complete—there is even a corpse of a dry baby, so it is not surprising that there is a bottle of corpse water.
The man was killed by Xu Qiuwang, the corpse water was bought by Xu Qiuwang, and Sun Da was found by Xu Qiuwang. Now that Xu Qiuwang is dead, he lives for his own life. Zhang’s family came to apologize, return the deceased’s innocence, pay some silver taels, and maybe get punished and jailed for repentance, and the case will be closed smoothly soon.
But Yun Yifeng always felt that there might be more secrets behind this matter.
After coming down from the courtroom, he sat on the roof, staring at the galaxy in the distance alone in a trance.
"Isn't it cold?" Ji Yanran searched around before finding someone, "I didn't eat any food, why did I come here?"
Yun Yifeng patted his side.
Ji Yanran easily jumped onto the roof, sat down and asked, "What are you thinking?"
"Think about the bottle of corpse water." Yun Yifeng replied, "The disciples of the Fengyumen have returned, and they said that Xu Qiuwang did collect several rooms of strange things, and Yuan Shi did not lie."
Ji Yanran pulled up the collar for him: "So, you still have doubts?"
"Xu Qiuwang is dead." Yun Yifeng said, "If I were Yuan Shi, I would also want to push everything on him, so that the living people are innocent."
"This matter is indeed a bit tricky." Ji Yanran said, "Why not, I will pay Zhang Guhe for money, and hire Fengyumen to help find clues to find out where the bottle of corpse water came from, how about it?"
Yun Yifeng refused straight away: "Not really."
Ji Yanran raised her hand: "With Lao Wu here, I promise not to pay on credit this time."
Yun Yifeng looked up and down, as if thinking about the credibility of these words.
Ji Yanran has rich experience: "Soldier charms and mothers can't do it."
Yun Yifeng couldn't hold back his laughter, and stretched out his hand to push him.
"Let's go, let's eat something first." Ji Yanran pulled him up, "Let's go to the Eight Immortals Tower."
"No appetite." Yun Yifeng was staggered by him, "Is there no kitchen in the government office? Just cook a bowl of Yangchun noodles."
"Don't." Ji Yanran reminded, "If you stay in the government office to eat, you have to accompany Zhang Guhe. Apart from the case, he still hates himself for not knowing people clearly, and his face is as black as coal. You and I should stay away. .”
Eight Immortals Tower is the largest restaurant in the city, and it is time to eat, the hall is crowded with diners, and there are even people sitting at the door waiting for a seat. The sound of fist punching and drinking could be heard even miles away, Yun Yifeng stopped in his tracks, unwilling to take another step forward: "Why don't you go in and reveal your identities first, and drive out all the people inside."
Ji Yanran didn't change her face, and grabbed his shoulders: "What did you say just now, do you want to eat noodles?"
Unwilling, Yun Yifeng squeezed out a lazy "um" from his nose.
I knew it.
In the quiet alley, the stall owner and his wife warmly greeted them, cooked thin longxu noodles for them, and brought over sweet and hot soup.
The topping is local river prawns, which are crispy and tender. Ji Yanran asked in a low voice, "How is it? It's not worse than Baxian Tower, is it?"
Yun Yifeng wrapped her clothes tightly, concentrated on eating noodles with her head down, and didn't want to talk to this person anymore.
Ji Yanran just ate a few steamed buns in the government office, but she was not hungry, so she just sat on the side to accompany her. I was bored and looked around. The noodles in this restaurant were probably really delicious. There was a rough man who sucked and sucked loudly. The soup splashed under the candlelight, and he talked while chewing. .
…
His Royal Highness Xiao Wang calmly withdrew his gaze.
Yun Yifeng quietly finished a spoonful of soup, then turned to look at him wonderingly: "Why is the prince staring at me?"
"It's nothing." Ji Yanran replied calmly, "I found that among these many people, only you have the best eating appearance."
Yun Yifeng asked casually: "How beautiful is it?"
Ji Yanran thought for a while, and remembered the flock of white big birds she had seen in Yuhuayuan Lake when she was a child. They often stayed on the water surface gracefully in pairs, with their long necks hanging down. They were noble and beautiful, making people feel I can't help but want to touch it lightly, or draw it carefully on paper.
So he said without thinking, "Like a goose."
Yun Yifeng was confused.
Can you say that again