"This piece of gold sprinkled paper was found in the inkstone in the corner. It was not burned elsewhere, but it was burned in the inkstone. It shows that Mr. Zheng was in a hurry, but he didn't notice that the paper was not burnt out, which also shows that Based on this point, the ashes of the burnt part are very complete, which means that he put the inkstone in the corner and never cared about it again.”
After Bo Ruoyou finished speaking, he continued: "It is preliminarily concluded that Zheng Sanye died of excessive blood loss due to the subduing magic pestle inserted into the back of the heart, puncturing the heart veins. It can be inferred from the marks of the robe on his arms, neck, waist and abdomen, etc. , He was unconscious first, and after lying on the table, the murderer inserted the magic pestle into the back of his heart without any effort."
Huo Weilou frowned, "Coma?"
Bo Ruoyou nodded, and picked up a white towel from the table. There was a small black stain on the towel, "I found this from Zheng Sanye's nasal cavity. It's still a mandala."
"Zheng Sanye's body has not yet shown rigor, and his body spots have not yet begun to settle. After a person dies, the fastest thing to appear is the relaxation of muscle meridians. This is what Zheng Sanye is doing at this moment, and his body is still warm, indicating that The time of his death should be within half an hour, that is to say, he arrived at the study and burned the golden note, and the murderer arrived not long after that."
While Bo Ruoyou was talking, Huo Weilou went to check the back window, and soon found a trace of smoke and fire in the window crack of the north wall, not far from Zheng Wenyan's desk , but obliquely behind Zheng Wenyan's desk, even if there was obvious smoke, Zheng Wenyan might not be able to notice it for a while.
Huo Weilou didn't say much, he personally brought the embroidered clothes and went out of the back window.
From the eaves to the back wall, less than ten steps away, it was covered with snow at this moment, it was getting late, the embroiderers were lighting torches, as soon as they approached, Huo Weilou saw chaotic footprints on the ground.
Huo Weilou raised his hand, pointed to the ground and the back wall, and immediately an embroidered clothes envoy stepped forward to check.
Soon, the embroidered envoy came back and said, "Master Hou, the footprints have come and gone, but there is only one person's footprints, and the snow on the back wall also has traces of being crushed. The person who came here must have climbed the wall."
Because it is the cabinet courtyard of the mansion, the courtyard wall is not high, and it is nothing in the eyes of Huo Weilou and the embroidered clothes. Huo Weilou said: "Go out along this trace and continue searching."
In the study room, Bo Ruoyou was still checking the corpse, but suddenly heard a sound from the backyard, and although the back windows were closed tightly, the sound of Huo Weilou could still be heard clearly.
Bo Ruoyou felt a little strange, she raised her eyes, raised her eyes again, and suddenly saw above the rear window, above the roof beams, there was a place shaped like a transom, and her heart skipped a beat.
When Huo Weilou came in again, he saw Bo Ruoyou standing on a chair.
At this moment, both the embroiderer envoy and the yamen were sent out, He Cheng was outside to question the fifth lady and the second lady who had just arrived, Eunuch Fu was teasing Zheng Xiao, there was only Bo Ruoyou in the room, and Bo Ruoyou was not short , but even if she stood on a chair, she couldn't reach the beam anyway, so she could only raise her neck high and look hard at the transom.
But even so, she still couldn't see whether the transom was open or closed, so Bo Ruoyou leaned back against the wall with one hand, leaned back, and then she was about to see it, but at this moment, the chair under her feet As soon as she moved, Bo Ruoyou couldn't stabilize her figure in an instant, and she was about to fall off the chair. Suddenly, a hand was placed on her waist.
This time of danger is different from the last rescue, Huo Weilou just supported her back waist, his big palm was as hard as iron stone, and his ten fingers were even more slender and powerful, at this moment when he supported her like this, he actually found her thin waist, It was covered by his palm, and his fingertips were slightly retracted, as if he could hold his waist.
It was the first time Huo Weilou knew that a woman's waist could be so thin.
The waist is flowing, and the waist seems to be boneless.
Huo Weilou's arms went numb, and he suddenly recalled the feeling when his slender waist was embraced by his arms.
The beauty in the morning was not distracted when she was pregnant, but at this moment, he realized that he was a little confused. At this moment, he heard Bo Ruoyou whisper, "The transom is open!"
After Bo Ruoyou said this, Huo Weilou lightened his palm, and it was Bo Ruoyou who grabbed the back of the chair and stood up straight, then turned around and jumped off the chair lightly. Seeing this, Huo Weilou subconsciously wanted to help, but Bo Ruoyou Obviously not a delicate person, he stood firmly on the ground, and turned around with excitement, "Master Hou, the transom is open, please ask Master Hou to send someone to check."
Bo Ruoyou's eyes are bright, with enthusiasm and persistence for finding clues. Obviously, that superficial touch just now did not cause a ripple in her heart at all. Huo Weilou doubts even more that Bo Ruoyou didn't realize that he helped her just now. Give her a hand.
He took a deep look at her, lifted his robe and stood on the chair by himself.
Bo Ruoyou's body only reaches Huo Weilou's shoulders, and she usually doesn't notice much difference. Now that Huo Weilou stands on the chair, Bo Ruoyou raises her neck high even if she looks at Huo Weilou, and Huo Weilou's hair has already touched the top beam.
There are a lot of books in the study room, and the windows are usually opened at noon, depending on the weather, so only the transom above the beam is half-open all year round, Huo Weilou quickly got down from his chair, "The transom It is open."
Bo Ruoyou's eyes lit up, "The doors and windows are locked, could the murderer come in from here?"
Huo Weilou glanced at the transom window, "The position of the transom window is extremely high. To enter from here, the murderer needs to be skilled. In addition, although the transom window is open, the caliber is only about ten inches. Unless it is a child under ten years old, otherwise Impossible to enter from here."
Bo Ruoyou's bright eyes darkened, "Then how did the murderer come in and how did he escape? The embroidered envoys were guarding outside the courtyard, the murderer must not dare to be careless, and when the second young master came, he saw the murderer, and he was frightened." Afterwards, the embroiderer immediately came over from the courtyard gate, the distance is only a few feet, how can the murderer disappear out of thin air?"
After Bo Ruoyou finished speaking, she seemed to be really immersed in this question, her eyebrows were raised, and she looked up at the direction of the transom again.
Huo Weilou puts great effort into his work, but he never shows his anxiety on his face, he treats everything with ease, but Bao Ruoyou is different, she will not hide her emotions yet.
At this moment, He Cheng walked in from the outside, "Master Hou, the two ladies have asked, and there is no doubt about it. Today, except for the second lady and the eldest son, the third lady and the fifth lady have all gone to the old lady's mourning hall. Afterwards, everyone dispersed, everyone was safe and sound, the second lady was not feeling well, and wearing the filial piety of the second master, she didn't go, she was in the courtyard all the time, and there were many witnesses."
Having said this, He Cheng's face darkened, "In addition, just now, the front yard came to report that all the servants in the mansion had been questioned, and in the entire Hou mansion, except for Nanny Yu, no one had worked in the manor for more than fifteen years. Year."
Huo Weilou frowned, "How many housekeepers have not exceeded fifteen years?"
Among the servants of the Hou Men's family, there are a lot of children. Many people don't say fifteen years, maybe several generations have been servants in the same Hou Mansion, but He Chengdao: "No, the oldest of the housekeepers was also thirteen years ago. Those who come, and other servants, there is no fixed number of coming and going, as for the family in the mansion, there are some children, but most of them are in charge of Zhuangzi's affairs, and there are no ones who have been serving in the mansion."
He Cheng frowned and said, "I'm a lowly official. More than ten years ago, the Hou Mansion seemed to have undergone a major clean-up, and all the attendants were replaced."
It is absolutely impossible to replace all the attendants for no reason.
With narrow phoenix eyes, Huo Weilou glanced at the inkstone in the corner, and ordered: "Go invite a Taoist with a better reputation in Qingzhou City."
He Cheng hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, do you want to find out the meaning of the Yin Year?"
Huo Weilou nodded, "Of the four words on paper, only this one is unusual. As for the theory of repaying one's life, if you understand the meaning of the cloudy year and the cloudy time, I'm afraid it's not far from the truth."
He Cheng immediately turned around and gave instructions. When it is cloudy and cloudy, it has something to do with Taoist fortune telling.
Bo Ruoyou said: "The old lady died in the Buddhist hall, but Zheng Erye and Zheng Sanye both left their own yard first, and then died unexpectedly. Does Hou Ye think that the murderer used these four words to lure them away?"
Huo Weilou nodded, "Especially Mr. Zheng's behavior is the most weird."
Second Master Zheng refused to go to the mother's first seven rituals, but instead went to the remote Yaoyue Pavilion. If the murderer hadn't deliberately lured her, there would be no explanation. Huo Weilou said again: "Zheng Wenchen saw those four words, if they were just ordinary To play tricks, he must have someone check it out, but he actually swallowed it, and Zheng Wenyan chose to burn the note because he didn't want others to see it."
Huo Weilou said firmly: "These four words may be related to the old affairs of the Hou Mansion, and the two brothers knew about it, and after seeing it, they wanted to cover it up for the Hou Mansion, but they were murdered by the murderer."
Speaking of this, Huo Weilou said loudly: "Tell Zheng Wen'an to enter."
Zheng Wen'an came in quickly, Huo Weilou looked at him and said, "Does your family believe in the theory of gods and ghosts?"
Zheng Wen'an was slightly stunned, and shook his head, "Not really, it's just that my mother believes in Buddhism."
Huo Weilou looked at him with a good look, "Your two elder brothers, before they died, they both saw a piece of gold-sprinkled paper with a few words written on it, one of which was' in the cloudy year, pay for my life ’, the two of them read these words, one went to the Yueyue Pavilion, the other left the residence to the study, and they were both murdered by the murderer, do you know the meaning of these words?”
Zheng Wen'an's eyes quickly lowered, but he quickly raised his eyes again, "Master Hou, the day my mother left, that is, the first day of the Lunar New Year, was an unlucky day. A master came here, and the day of the burial was counted. The masters once said that the first day of the lunar new year is a cloudy day, and there have been no good days recently. It would be better to stay for seventy-seven forty-nine days for my mother. After that, there will be a few good days. Therefore, the third brother made a decision to suspend his death for seventy-seven forty-nine days at that time."
Zheng Wen'an's eyes moved a few times, and his expression became panicked, "Master Hou, could it be that mother's ghost really harmed people?"
Huo Weilou looked at Zheng Wen'an coldly, "Your second brother and third brother died one after another. Guess, if the murderer is not caught in another seven days, who will die next?"
Zheng Wen'an's face turned pale, and he pulled the corners of his lips stiffly, "No... no, I am a mother and child, who has always been filial, never will..."
Huo Weilou also bent the corners of his lips, and said softly, "This is the best, let's back down."
Zheng Wen'an bowed his hands and saluted. When he pushed it out, his steps were heavy, and even his back was bent by two points.
Huo Weilou's smile disappeared in an instant, and his eyes were terribly dark, "You played a good show, let someone keep an eye on it, Ben Hou guesses that he is going to go tonight, I'm afraid he's going to look for that nanny Yu .”
He Cheng hurriedly responded, Huo Weilou's momentum was overwhelming, it was hard to guess what he thought, He Cheng was nervous and began to sweat again.
Bo Ruoyou stepped forward and said, "Master Hou, my lord, the body of Mr. Zheng still needs to be examined carefully."
Huo Weilou then ordered the embroiderer at the gate, "Send the body to the west courtyard and put Zheng Wenyan's body in the same place."
The embroidered envoys responded, and entered the door to carry the corpse. Just as the corpse was carried out of the door, the third lady threw herself up and cried loudly with Zheng Hao in her arms. Huo Weilou didn't stop him when he saw this, he just took Bo Ruoyou to the west courtyard first.
Seeing that he was about to walk out of the courtyard, suddenly, a woman with disheveled temples rushed in. The woman didn't look at the road, and hit Huo Weilou so hard. Huo Weilou stamped his feet, and the woman herself Instead, they fell to the ground. In an instant, everyone was breathless and looked at Huo Weilou, fearing that he would get angry because of it.
But Huo Weilou just looked at the woman on the ground calmly.
And the woman glanced at Huo Weilou, and then at Zheng Wenyan's corpse not far away. Not only was she not afraid, but her eyes widened and she laughed strangely.