Qin Ruo smiled joyfully, "Speaking of which, these two murder cases have a lot in common."
Shen Zhiyan nodded, his face became more and more serious, "The two murders happened in different places, but there are so many similarities, it's really unimaginable."
Murong Ci's bright eyes were gloomy, "Perhaps the two murders are related, but we don't have substantive evidence yet. Let's talk about the case of Xia Xiaolu's master and servant."
With a low voice, he said: "Xia Xiaolu is from Jinzhou. She brought her maid Chuntao to Beijing to find someone, and she was looking for Mr. Rong. It is unknown how she and Mr. Rong met and fell in love in Jinzhou. Xia Xiaolu came to Beijing On the 5th, I stayed at Kesiyunlai Inn. A few days ago, I died in front of a small temple outside the west city gate. The maid Chuntao suffered a bruise on the back of her head, and the wound was bloody. She must have been pulled by her hair and slammed into the wall violently. , and died soon. Xia Xiaolu was raped and murdered. There were no obvious wounds or bruises on her body. Two or three days later, four fingerprints appeared on her left cheek. It was initially suspected that Ma Dong, a beggar who often stayed overnight in a small temple, had raped Xia Xiaolu. They raped and then killed, but Ma Dong's right hand was broken before, so he couldn't use his strength, so it was basically useless, and Ma Dong was not suspected of committing the crime. The murderer who killed Xia Xiaolu's master and servant took Ma Dong, a drunken beggar, as the dead ghost. "
Murong Ci went on to say: "In the corner of the small temple, Ben Gong picked up a rather delicate and bright red wishful knot. Apart from this, there are no other clues in or around the small temple. This murder case is related to Lin Shu The first case and the Zhao Qingsong case also have two things in common. First, Xia Xiaolu went to Beijing to look for Mr. Rong, the woman Lin Shu likes. Mr. Rong met and fell in love, but according to our investigation of people with the surname Rong in the capital, there is no Mr. Rong who meets the requirements. Therefore, it is very likely that Mr. Rong is just a pseudonym, and it is very likely that he has deceived Xia Xiaolu's heart. In other words, Mr. Rong ruthlessly abandoned Xia Xiaolu. This point is similar to Lin Shu's case and Zhao Qingsong's case, except that the men and women have been switched. Another point, which I can't understand, is that Xia Xiaolu saw the emperor on the street. My younger sister was very excited, and asked the imperial sister if she knew Mr. Rong."
"So, the appearance of Mr. Rong and Princess Zhaohua are somewhat similar," he asked doubtfully.
"The slave was there at the time, that's what Xia Xiaolu said." Qin Ruo said, "The princess and Mr. Rong are somewhat similar in appearance. Xia Xiaolu probably thinks that the princess and Mr. Rong are a family, like brother and sister."
"This is really weird." Shen Zhiyan's eyes were lingering with a sharp light, "Lin Shu's case and Zhao Qingsong's case can be investigated together, but Xia Xiaolu's master and servant cannot be investigated together."
"But the clues are all broken right now, it seems that the mountain is at the end of the river, and there is no way to investigate." Just listening, she felt troubled for them.
"Either there is very little physical evidence left at the scene of the crime, or it has been a long time and the evidence has disappeared, which is really a headache." Murong Ci sighed softly, "By the way, Xia Xiaolu's guest is like Yunlai Inn, have you visited it?"
"Of course I went to see it, and I also asked the clerk and shopkeeper. They didn't find any useful clues except for a change of clothes and a money bag in their luggage." He frowned, "I hope Xiuhe can think of something and provide new clues. Xia Xiaolu's family members will arrive in Beijing in a few days, maybe there will be clues."
"I hope so." Seeing Lin Yu and a woman coming over with food, she smiled, "Finally I can taste Miss Lin's cooking skills."
"Your Highness and Your Excellency have been waiting for a long time." Lin Yu smiled modestly and gently.
After serving the dishes, Murong Ci asked Lin Yu and Qin Ruo to sit down and eat together, which would be more lively.
During the dinner, Murong Ci said sincerely: "Miss Lin, we will do our best to investigate your brother's murder, you can rest assured."
Lin Yu quickly put down the bowls and chopsticks, and knelt down heavily, "In the huge capital city, I have no relatives, and I don't know the place where I live. If it weren't for His Highness's help, I still don't know what to do. Your Highness and Lord Shen have shown great kindness to me , Lin Yu never forgets."
Shen Zhiyan hurriedly said: "Miss Lin, get up quickly, I am responsible."
Qin Ruo pulled her up and said with a smile, "It's fate that Your Highness met you on the street. It's all destined."
Lin Yu sat down slowly, and said clearly: "Your Highness and Lord Shen have the heart, and if you try your best, Lin Yu will be satisfied. Whether you can find the murderer to avenge your brother is the second, it depends on God's will."
"I'm relieved that you are open-minded and open-minded." He smiled.
"By the way, you really haven't seen that Miss Rong that your brother likes, nor the portrait your brother painted for Miss Rong." Murong Ci asked again.
"I haven't seen anyone or a portrait. I was busy at that time, and I didn't care about my brother. I didn't even know when my brother was killed." Lin Yu became sad, and his eye circles immediately turned red, with a lingering look in his eyes tears.
"The portrait your brother drew for Miss Rong is very likely to be taken away by the murderer." Murong Ci sighed.
"The murderer has a lot of brains." Shen Zhi said.
When the atmosphere became dull, Lin Yu wiped away his tears, changed his smile and said cheerfully: "Your Highness, my lord, let's eat first."
Three days later, Xia Xiaolu's parents arrived in the Imperial Capital.
Murong Ci got the news and rushed to Dali Temple immediately.
Shen Zhiyan arranged for Xia Xiaolu's parents to stay in an inn near Dali Temple, and to ask questions after His Royal Highness came down.
Murong Ci stepped into the lobby in a hurry, and saw two middle-aged men and women sitting in the lobby, and a young man standing next to him, dusty and sad.
The middle-aged man and woman were Xia Xiaolu's parents, and the young man was Xia Xiaolu's elder brother Xia Xiaochen.
Xia's father and son were unbearably sad, Mrs. Xia's eyes were red and swollen, and she looked haggard, which shows that she cried all the way.
"Meet His Royal Highness the Prince."
The three of them knelt down and saluted together, very respectful.
Murong Ci motioned for Qin Ruo to help them, saying: "No need to be polite, get up."
Everyone sat down again, Shen Zhiyan said softly: "The three of you have tea first."
"Thank you, my lord. His Royal Highness, sister Caomin was unfortunately killed in the capital. I implore His Highness and Lord Shen to find out the truth and avenge my sister's justice." The man did not flick his tears lightly, but when he was sad, he couldn't hold back. Xia Xiaochen's voice was sorrowful , his eyes were red, and he tried his best to restrain his grief.
"What does the family do for a living?" Murong Ci saw that they were well dressed and their conversation was not vulgar, so he guessed that they were a family of merchants.
"The four generations of Caomin's ancestors have been in business. There are several shops and thousands of acres of fertile land in Jinzhou." Master Xia replied.
"Miss Xia left home to go to Beijing with her maid Chuntao, the three of you will know."
"Lu'er mentioned to the woman that she wanted to come to the Imperial Capital. At that time, the woman asked her what she was going to do in the Imperial Capital. She hesitated to speak, but finally said nothing. The woman told Lu'er not to go to the Imperial Capital. She is not familiar with the place. What should I do if I meet a bad person?" Mrs. Xia wiped her tears sadly, "If I knew she would secretly leave home and come to the imperial capital to die in a foreign land, then the women should ask clearly and do everything possible to stop her."
"On the day and night when Luer left home, Caomin found out that she had sneaked away." Master Xia sighed, "Caomin's daughter has been pretty since she was a child, so she invited a very talented gentleman to teach her how to read and write. When she grew up, she was proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and she was quite assertive and stubborn. As long as it is something she believes in, no matter what the grassroots and wife say, she will not change her mind."
"That night, Cao Min and her parents saw the letter left by my sister and knew that she was going to the Imperial Capital, so they sent people to chase after her that night." Xia Xiaochen added, "Unfortunately, they didn't catch up."
"In other words, you don't know what Miss Xia is doing in the Imperial Capital." Murong Ci said again.
"I don't know." He shook his head.
"You three know that Miss Xia already has a sweetheart," she asked solemnly.
The three members of the Xia clan were quite surprised and looked at each other in blank dismay. Mrs. Xia asked hesitantly: "Lu'er really has a sweetheart?"
Shen Zhiyan said firmly: "Miss Xia came to the Imperial Capital to find her sweetheart. About half a year to a year before she came to the Imperial Capital, did the three of you find out that she had any unusual words and deeds or did you know the young man from the Imperial Capital?" man"
The three of them looked at each other again, their expressions getting more serious.
Seeing their situation, Murong Ci knew that they didn't know.
Xia Xiaolu has a sweetheart, why didn't she tell her family
Mrs. Xia couldn't help being sad, tears rolled down her cheeks, she knelt down suddenly, and begged with tears in her eyes: "His Royal Highness, Lord Shen, Lu'er died so badly, you have to find out the truth and avenge Lu'er, I beg you, my wife!" , you must avenge Lu'er."
Qin Ruo helped her up, "Don't worry Madam Xia, His Highness and Lord Shen will try their best to find out the case."
Mrs. Xia cried heartbroken and almost fainted.
Xia Xiaochen suddenly remembered something, and said: "So, Caomin remembered something. About half a year ago, Caomin saw his sister and Chuntao coming out of a teahouse on the street, followed by a young gentleman. Caomin was busy at that time. Good guy, I didn't come forward to ask what happened, and Caomin forgot to ask my sister who the young master was afterward."
"Are you sure that young master is with Miss Xia?" Murong Ci asked cautiously.
"It's together, because the younger sister turned her head to talk to the young master with a slight smile."
"Have you seen that young master clearly?"
"The distance is relatively far, so I can't see clearly. But Caomin remembers that the young man is not tall and thin, not a little taller than his sister. By the way, that young man is wearing white clothes, with a good temperament, which is impressive. "Xia Xiaochen repented, "It's a pity that the grassroots didn't come forward that day, otherwise they would have known what that young master looked like."
Murong Ci and Shen Zhiyan looked at each other. From Xia Xiaochen's description of that young master Rong, none of the young masters surnamed Rong in the imperial capital matched him.
She asked again: "How old do you think that young man is?"
Xia Xiaochen replied: "About twenty years old. By the way, Chunliu and Chuntao, my mother's handmaiden, are sisters. Maybe Chunliu knows something."
Immediately, he went outside the lobby to summon Chunliu to come in.
Chunliu is the elder sister, because the family is extremely poor, and her younger sister Chuntao was sold by her father to Xia's family as maidservants.
It was the first time seeing so many big people, Chunliu was stiff and nervous, with her head down and her clothes twisted.