Liu Xi frowned and said, "I wanted to ask her something, not to visit her, but when I arrived that day, I was also stopped outside the door. I stood outside the house and said a lot, but nothing happened. I have to answer, I was a little worried about her accident at the moment, but the master of the nunnery said that she often did this, so I just left."
Wu Xiang frowned, "What are you doing?"
Liu Xi's complexion darkened, and the expressions of the others also changed. Wu Xiang glanced at them for a moment, "Now it can be concluded that Miss Seven was murdered, not only that, I also probably know what you want to hide—"
He said in a deep voice, "Miss Seven has given birth to a child."
As soon as this remark came out, everyone's expressions changed. The third master Liu Qian asked unhappily, "What does this have to do with the case?"
Wu Xiang looked at him indifferently, "Of course there is a relationship. A murderer needs a motive to kill someone. Anyone who has enmity or entanglements with Seventh Miss may be the murderer. Seventh Miss is not married or engaged yet, yet she has a life You should all know about this, and she was sent to the nunnery because of this, am I right?"
Liu Qian's throat was astringent, and he didn't know how to answer for a while, so Liu Xi couldn't help but said: "You mean, the person who murdered Seventh Sister may have conceived her innocent person?"
Wu Xiang shook her head, "You haven't said who the person who killed Miss Seven is innocent."
The elders of the Liu family all looked serious, as if they felt that this matter was quite difficult to talk about, Liu Yan hesitated for a moment, "Captain Wu, in fact, we don't know who caused the innocence of Seventh Sister, because of this, Seventh Sister was sent away."
Wu Xiang frowned, and Liu Qian and his brothers looked even more serious when they heard that. The second master Liu Xian said at this moment: "Why do you conclude that Yao'er was murdered? Didn't you say that the house was locked from the inside? She has been taciturn since she was a child. Very, very timid and cowardly, after an accident, it is more common to not want to live, and if it is suicide, it is not impossible."
Wu Xiang explained Bo Ruoyou's test, "It looks like suicide on the surface, but what you have done is not fake. Since it is a murder case, the government will investigate it to the end, so I hope you don't hide it. You can see it too. Now that the government is treating you with courtesy, and all the evidence in this case is to solve the case, it will never flow into the public and affect the reputation of the Liu family. But if the case remains unsolved for a long time, the story of Shuiyuean will spread again. , when the time comes, even if the yamen wants to keep it a secret for you, it will be impossible."
Speaking of Shuiyue Temple, Liu Xian's eyes flashed, Liu Qian and the fourth master Liu Jin also showed strange expressions, and the three young juniors, with dark faces and frowning eyebrows, especially the fifth son Liu Xi, had a stern expression on their faces. Revealed the color of disgust.
Liu Xian ranked second among the Liu family's elders. Because the old man in charge was not around, his words naturally carried weight, "What Yan'er said just now is true. We don't know who ruined her innocence. She didn't learn well, and she has nothing to do with life. Since she had an affair, and because she didn't like to go out of the yard, we didn't expect her to be pregnant at first. We didn't find out until the child was five months old and it seemed that she couldn't hide her pregnancy. She didn't say anything after exhausting everything, she wanted to kill the child with a bowl of medicine, but she is weak, and the doctor said that if she fell like that, she might not survive, so we showed mercy."
Wu Xiang frowned, "What about the child?"
"The child was not aborted, but we were also afraid that this would ruin the reputation of the Liu family, so we thought about sending the child away after it was born. Unexpectedly, the child was born prematurely at seven months. It was a boy. There was a weak disease in her mother, and she couldn't survive a few days after she was born, and she was even more troublesome at that time, and she could only go to the ground after two months of nurturing her body."
"We tried our best to be patient with her, but even to this point, she still refused to say anything. Seeing that she was really stubborn, we sent her to Shuiyue Temple to think about it—"
Now in the middle of August, Liu Yao has been in Shuiyue Nunnery for half a year, that is, was sent in February, so she gave birth during the Chinese New Year. In this way, she became pregnant around May last year, but the entire Liu family She couldn't even ask who ruined her innocence.
Wu Xiang frowned, "Who are the usual men who get close to her?"
Liu Yan said: "She doesn't go out much, and she seldom goes to other people's houses, so we find it strange..."
Wu Xiang said again: "Who knows that Beiguan is in Shuiyue Nunnery?"
Liu Yan said again: "In the beginning, only our own family members knew about it. Later, some relatives also knew about it. If we have to count, there are quite a few people who know about it now, but for some reason, only our own family members know about it."
The more Wu Xiang heard it, the more weird he felt. He glanced at the few people in front of him, and a guess that made him feel a little uncomfortable, but he couldn't help but didn't ask, just said: "You all say that she is reserved, so who will she marry?" Ever had a grudge?"
Liu Xi pursed her lips and said, "She is a timid person, she won't have any grudges with anyone."
She was not favored since she was a child, timid and afraid of getting into trouble, restrained and reticent, these descriptions fall on Liu Yao, which makes Wu Xiang suspect that the murderer who murdered Liu Yao this time has something to do with her being corrupted innocence.
Wu Xiang squinted her eyes and said, "Are there any of you who suspect that she was corrupted and innocent?" After a pause, she asked, "Among your cousins, who has the best relationship with her?"
The second son Liu Xu said: "I am the eldest brother. I have loved her more since I was a child. As for those who doubt..." He looked at the two younger brothers beside him, "We really don't know who she can get closer to. , because of this, we are so angry with her that we have nothing to do, otherwise, we wouldn’t have sent her to Shuiyue Nunnery for so long.”
Wu Xianglue pondered for a while and said: "You are all elder brothers, men and women are different, I don't know about her privacy, is her maidservant from earlier still in the mansion?"
Liu Xu said: "It's gone. After we found out that she was pregnant, I asked the servant girl, but the servant girl didn't know anything, so we sent her out of the house."
Wu Xiang paced back and forth, with a gloomy look on his face, he stopped suddenly, "Then we may have to go to your house and ask the servants in your house."
Liu Xiandao: "This is natural."
Wu Xiang looked at a few people, and asked the government officials to bring paper and pens, "Please also write down your travels and whereabouts during the three days from the fifth day to the seventh day of the eighth month, whether you have left the city, who you are with, and what you have done. , the more detailed the better."
The elders of Liu Xian showed impatience, and knew that this was to make them write an alibi, even if they were not willing, they had to write, but Liu Yan and the others had nothing to say, and soon they were on the other side of the table write up.
Not long after, Liu Xi frowned and said, "What if there is no witness?"
Wu Xiang raised his eyebrows, "Why is there no witness?"
Liu Xidao: "I was not in the mansion on the night of the sixth day. I lived in a house in the south of the city. No one can testify for me."
Wu Xiang frowned, Liu Xi said: "I bought the house myself, because it was not long ago and I haven't invited servants yet. It's intended to be used to make friends with literati and to set up a place for elegant gatherings."
Wu Xiang didn't change his face, "Let's write it down first, the yamen has its own regulations, and it's not because someone has no witnesses that they are regarded as murderers."
Only then did Liu Xi continue to write, and Wu Xiang said: "I will invite the government officials to come to your house later, and everyone will ask about their whereabouts in those few days, so you don't need to panic."
Everyone has no objection, Wu Xiang just let everyone leave after finishing writing.
Bo Ruoyou walked out from the back porch, Wu Xiang turned to look at her, "What do you think? Except for the fifth son just now, none of them have ever been out of the city, and they all have witnesses. I'll send someone to check later."
Bo Ruoyou said: "From what they describe, since Ms. Liu has no chance to meet a foreigner, could it be her family? If she is a servant of the family, and Ms. Liu is being forced, I'm afraid she won't hide it from her. , then there are only two possibilities, first, she really has an affair with someone, and she keeps silent in order to protect this person, and second, she keeps silent because she is afraid."
"If it is the first possibility, no matter who the target is, it is possible. If it is the second possibility, then it is impossible to be a servant of the family. I have a thought in my heart, but it is a bit shocking—"
Wu Xiang said, "You suspect the Liu family?"
Bo Ruoyou nodded, and Wu Xiang said: "Don't say it's you, I thought so too. After being a head arrester for the past few years, I have seen many cases, so I know nothing is impossible."
Bo Ruoyou also thought this way, and it was Wu Xiang who said: "When Your Excellency comes back, I will report this case to Your Excellency, and then I will take someone to Liu's house to see what is still unearthed. , this Liu family is mixed with the nunnery, so it is not considered a clean and upright family, I am afraid that there are many dirty things inside."
Bo Ruoyou also felt the same way, "Today is the fourteenth day of August. Calculated, the time of Liu Yao's death was indeed around the sixth day of the lunar new year. You can ask everyone in the nunnery to see who visited Liu Yao the most during the past six months. Let's see if it is true what the Second Young Master said, he has the best relationship with Liu Yao."
After a slight pause, Bo Ruoyou asked again: "Besides these few people, does the Liu family have any other sons?"
Wu Xiang then said: "The third son Liu Yan was born by the uncle of the Liu family. He has an elder brother in front of him. Now he is in the army and is not in the capital all year round. It should have nothing to do with this matter. The second son Liu Xu is born by the second master. , the fifth son who came today was born by the fourth master, then the third master Liu still has a son who is ranked fourth, but he got sick today—”
"Sick?" Bo Ruoyou raised her eyebrows.
Wu Xiang quickly said: "I suspect it's not an ordinary illness, maybe it's poisoned by the golden ointment, but when I went to Liu's house yesterday, I didn't see anyone else, so I can't be sure."
After a little hesitation, Wu Xiang said, "Do you want to go and have a look together?"
Of course Bo Ruoyou readily agreed, Wu Xiang was certain in his heart that Bo Ruoyou was the most careful, and since the victim was a woman this time, she would always be more considerate than he thought.
With this in mind, the two of them waited for Sun Zhao to return until the afternoon when Sun Zhao left the palace. He entered the yamen with a tired face, and when he saw Bo Ruoyou here, his eyebrows flickered After a while he hesitated to speak, and then asked about the case.
After Wu Xiang finished reporting the case, Sun Zhao said, "Then you should bring someone to investigate yourself."
Seeing the gloomy look on his face, Wu Xiang couldn't help asking: "My lord, is there any trouble in the court? Why do you look so worried?"
Sun Zhao waved his hand, "It's nothing serious."
Hearing this, Bo Ruoyou couldn't help asking: "My lord, is there any news from Southwest?"
Sun Zhao said calmly, "Of course there are. The southwestern side will submit a report to His Majesty every few days. It is still discussed today. It is said that the official circles in the southwest are very involved. This time, because of this poison, people in the southwest area There will be great turmoil in the officialdom." After a pause, Sun Zhao continued: "It is said that even the southwestern garrison has been mobilized."
Bo Ruoyou's heart trembled slightly, but she didn't want to ask too many questions. Thinking that Huo Weilou hadn't written a letter in the past few days, she felt that he must be too busy to get away, but she didn't dare to think about whether he would be in danger.
Since he decided to go to Liu's residence, Wu Xiang didn't delay, so after lunch, he took Bo Ruoyou to Liu's house together.
Liu's family lives in Pingkang Square, so it was the residence of the Earl of the Five Generations.
"What does Butou Wu want to inquire about, who does he want to see, just tell me, I will arrange for the Butou."
Wu Xiang frowned and said, "Where are the four sons of the family?"
Liu Yan's complexion changed slightly, and he pondered for a moment before moving up, "The fourth brother is ill, since the head catcher wants to see him, I will lead the way, follow me—"
The Liu family was quite quiet today. When Wu Xiang came last night, the daytime banquet was over, and the servants in the mansion were crowded with bustle, but looking at it today, it seemed that even the servants were much less. He noticed it in his heart, but he didn't ask, just Going all the way to the depths along the corridor in the mansion, it didn't take long to enter a small courtyard.
"This is the fourth brother's yard. It's just that he has been ill recently and has been taking care of himself. He rarely goes out."
After Liu Yan finished speaking in a pleasant manner, he quickly entered the door and entered the Nuan Pavilion again. After talking to someone for a few words, he let them in. After entering the Nuan Pavilion, he saw a thin young man half lying on the couch, covered with a brocade Under the covers, he looked sick, and there was a bitter smell of medicine in the Nuan Pavilion. Bo Ruoyou could tell what medicine he was using after smelling it a little.
The fourth son, Liu Heng, only heard that someone from the yamen came, but he didn't expect there to be a woman. He was surprised for a moment, "there is a woman in the yamen!"
"Miss Bo is the maidservant of our yamen." After Wu Xiang finished speaking, she asked again: "What disease does the Fourth Young Master have?"
Liu Heng's eyes flickered, "It's just the wind and cold."
Wu Xiang looked at Bo Ruoyou, Bo Ruoyou shook his head first, and then nodded, Wu Xiang and Bo Ruoyou also had a tacit understanding, and immediately understood, he pulled his lips, "The fourth son has been ill for a long time, right? It must be very hard to bear, if you can't cure it in the mansion, you can go to Chengnan Medical Camp to try."
Liu Heng's expression changed slightly, and Liu Yan also raised his eyebrows. He looked at Bo Ruoyou with scrutiny in his eyes.
"I don't know what the head catcher is talking about."
Wu Xiang calmed down and said: "Being poisoned by the gold ointment is not considered a crime. Looking at the appearance of the fourth young master, the poison is not serious. If it is really not good, you can go to the south of the city and ask for a prescription for decoction. Anyway, the prescription has been announced now. world."
Liu Heng's complexion changed a few times, and finally he gave a cold snort, "The arrester should ask the business."
"Did the Fourth Young Master ever go out of the city in the past few days?"
Liu Heng said calmly: "The sixth day is out."
"Where did you go?"
"Go to Xiangguo Temple to worship Buddha—"
Wu Xiang raised his eyebrows, and Liu Heng said in a low voice: "You can also see that I am sick, and when I can get up and walk around on weekdays, I think about going to worship Buddha and offer incense, and pray for the blessing of Buddha to recover soon, and that day I felt unwell on the way back, and when I returned to the gate of the mansion, I was carried in by someone, everyone knows this, and from that day until now, I have been recuperating in the mansion, and I have never left this yard."
Wu Xiang pursed her lips slightly, "Okay, nothing else."
After all, Liu Heng is the son of a family, and he doesn't want to cooperate with the yamen, so Wu Xiang didn't waste his time with him, so he said to Liu Yan, "Please take us to Miss Seven's yard to have a look."
Liu Yan took them out from Shan Ruliu, and on the way, Wu Xiang said again: "I need to trouble you to gather the concierge in the mansion, the personal attendants of the masters, and the nuns in charge of the mansion together for questioning."
Liu Yan responded and ordered the servants behind him to pass on the message, and after a while they stopped in front of a remote courtyard.
This courtyard is located in the northwest corner of the mansion. According to Feng Shui, it is really the worst place. The courtyard is small and the vermilion lacquer is mottled on the gate. It seems that it has not been repaired for many years. Liu Yan is also a little uncomfortable. was sent away, so the yard became barren."
Entering the courtyard, it is true that weeds are overgrown inside, but it cannot conceal the harsh and negligent treatment of Liu Yao in the Liu residence, Wu Xiang and Bo Ruoyou did not expose it, and brought a few servants into the atrium.
The door was locked, Liu Yan opened the door, and a group of people entered the house. The house that had not been lived in for half a year was covered with dust, and spider webs were occasionally seen on the beams. Looking at all this, Bo Ruoyou almost suspected that the Liu family would After Liu Yao sent her away, she had no plan to bring her back, so she quietly walked through the main hall, and then turned into the Nuan Pavilion.
There are several boxes and cages piled up in the Nuan Pavilion, which are Liu Yao's relics brought back from Shuiyue Nunnery.
Liu Yan said, "I haven't packed it yet, but I plan to wait for Seventh Sister's body to come back and bury it with her body."
The boxes and cages were randomly piled up on the ground, and the attendants only took out a few slightly more valuable ornaments, and the lid of the opened box was half open, and one could see the piles of pens, ink, paper, inkstone and books under it.
Bo Ruoyou went to visit the Nuan Pavilion again. Because the yard was small, Liu Yao didn't have a separate study room. There were a lot of books in the Nuan Pavilion, but it was considered a study room. Her desk was also covered with dust, and the inkstone in the corner of the table was thick. The ink had already dried up, and the thought of Liu Yao's death made one feel desolate.
Bo Ruoyou asked: "After the incident happened, did people from the mansion ever come to her place to search?"
If you really have an affair with someone, maybe there will be something like a token.
Liu Yan understood what she heard, and said, "Those who have searched, have searched her here and there, but they are only her own things, because we found nothing, which makes us very angry."
"Why do you think she didn't say anything?"
Bo Ruoyou looked at Liu Yan, and Liu Yan also looked at her. Seeing her bright eyes, calm but scrutinizing, his heart tightened, and he actually thought about it for a moment, "I can't tell, it seems to be I was afraid, and it seemed that I wanted to protect that person, we thought about it, even if it was a relative's son, he tried more or less later, but he didn't find anything."
Like guarding, but also like being afraid, Bo Ruoyou frowned, and went to look carefully at the bookcase. There were many posts on the cabinet, it seemed that she liked to copy posts very much, and there was a chessboard on the table next to it, and the chess pieces were placed very carefully. It's a convenient place, and it seems that she likes to play chess very much, but she is not favored or welcomed in the mansion. Who would come here to play chess with her on weekdays
Bo Ruoyou looked at it for a while, then asked Liu Yan, and after getting permission, she went to Liu Yao's bedroom. Frowning, "She likes being a female celebrity?"
Liu Yan was taken aback for a moment, and then nodded, "Yes, she is actually very cute, and she often likes to make shoes and socks for our brothers." At this point, looking at the room again, Liu Yan seemed to have only two hindsights. Sadness, "It's just something she made..."
He didn't finish, but Bo Ruoyou knew what he was going to say, "Do you think the things she made are very unlucky?"
Liu Yan was slightly surprised, but he didn't expect Bo Ruoyou to directly use the word "unlucky". He seemed to be trying to hide it, but Wu Xiang said, "I heard that she is in your mansion, and has a name of restraining her father and mother. That's why you don't like it."
Liu Yan hesitated for a moment, "It's not..."
Seeing Bo Ruoyou looking at him clearly, he could only smile wryly, "It's not our fault, the fifth aunt died because of giving birth to her back then, and something happened later, we juniors don't think much of it, but The elders talk too much, plus some monks and priests’ words, if you don’t believe it, you will feel it’s too much.”
Wu Xiang asked directly: "Did the third son wear the shoes and socks made by the seventh girl?"
Liu Yan's face was even more pale and pale, and after a light cough, he said: "Rather less..."
Hearing this, Bo Ruoyou's heart moved, "Among those young masters, who would wear more clothes?"
Liu Yan seemed to be looking for something to make up for, and quickly said: "Second brother and fifth brother will wear more, although I wear less, but... But I still love her very much on weekdays."
Bo Ruoyou recalled that the second son Liu Xu said in the Yamen that he cared about Liu Yao very much in the past. Hearing this, she couldn't help thinking for a moment. At this moment, she glanced away and saw a small dagger hanging On the wall, where did a little girl like Liu Yao get the dagger
She stepped forward to look at the dagger, "Who gave this as a gift?"
Liu Yan looked at the dagger and said hurriedly, "It's a gift from my second brother."
Liu Xu
Bo Ruoyou took a closer look, and saw that the scabbard of the short sword was made of bronze, with simple and complicated patterns of fierce beasts carved on it, which looked rather sinister. Seeing her concentration, Liu Xu said, "This short sword is a scabbard." The sword is a precious weapon, but because the blade is too short to be used in actual combat, the second brother gave it to the seventh sister, because the sword has the function of warding off evil spirits, and he felt sorry for the rough life of the seventh sister, who was weak and sickly , so I want to use this sword to protect Seventh Sister's house."
Having said this, his eyes darkened slightly, "Although the people in the house care about her a little bit, they also treat her well sometimes."
"So, Miss Seven really has the best relationship with Second Young Master?"
Liu Yan nodded, "Yes, because my eldest brother went to the army early in the morning, and the second brother is considered the eldest of our brothers, so he takes good care of our brothers."
Bo Ruoyou and Wu Xiang looked at each other, Liu Yan was a little confused by their actions, "What's wrong?"
Bo Ruoyou shook her head, "What about the elders? They all care about her very much?"
Liu Yan gave a wry smile in embarrassment, "I can't say that, the house didn't short her food and clothing, but there are some things that I would rather believe in than nothing. Except for the second elder brother who treats her well, our other brothers I will also give her gifts, and occasionally I will remember her when I get a gadget, but she already has that name, and then something like this happens again, it is always disappointing and disgusting."
Bo Ruoyou didn't know what came to mind, and suddenly asked: "I think she reads a lot of dramas, but you also gave me a gift?"
When she was in Shuiyue Nunnery, she saw that Liu Yao had a lot of books. She thought that she was reserved and reticent, and it was not like she found such fashionable things on her own initiative. Help her find it, and I have found two volumes for her."
This answer was a bit unexpected, since it was delivered, Bo Ruoyou had no reason to ask further, at this moment Wu Xiang said: "Go outside and find someone to ask."