Huo Weilou ordered his attendants to go home with the old man to get the Monkey King mask, and when he turned his eyes, he saw Bo Ruoyou standing in front of the stall thinking about something, he stepped forward and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Bo Ruoyou's black pupils flashed, and he hesitated when he spoke, "The Monkey King mask... Although I haven't seen the Monkey King mask yet, I have seen it recorded in the old case file of the government office. There is a The case is also related to the Monkey King mask."
"The victim in this case, Lord Hou, recognizes it." She said in a deep voice, "It is the case of Mr. Ming being kidnapped back then. I looked through the files in the government office library before, and I saw the records of this case, and I also mentioned it to Lord Hou." However, the record in that case is clear, saying that the person who deceived Mr. Ming at the beginning wore a monkey king mask on his face."
Huo Weilou showed surprise, "Do you remember it clearly?"
Bo Ruoyou nodded, "Really, because I read it several times at that time, I was wondering if I could find out what I missed, maybe if I searched again, I could find out the person who harmed Young Master Ming back then. I remember it very clearly. Back then, Young Master Ming was lured away, then he was stunned, and he didn’t see the murderer’s face, but he later remembered the murderer’s appearance, especially the monkey king mask he remembered very clearly.”
Huo Weilou pondered for a moment, "It's indeed a bit of a coincidence, it's just that there was a 14-year interval between the two events, and even if it's the same mask of the Monkey King, the color might be different, and if the murderer wants to commit another crime, there's no need to wear the same mask. "
After finishing speaking, Huo Weilou stepped forward to hold her hand, and pinched her cold knuckles again. Bo Ruoyou looked slightly relaxed, but he was not persuaded, "It's not only as simple as the Monkey King mask, but also the face of Young Master Ming... He was abducted at the Lantern Market by the Luohe River, and this time Wen Jin was also deceived in the downtown area. In such a densely populated place, the murderer does not want to be seen or remembered. The best way to cover his head and face is to wear a Such a mask, if you wear a bamboo hat or a veil, it will look weird."
Huo Weilou listened to her carefully, and waited until she had finished speaking before saying: "This is indeed a way to deceive people, because of this, the murderer fourteen years ago would think of using the mask, and today's murderer may also think of it."
Bo Ruoyou nodded, "That's true, maybe I'm too impressed with Mr. Ming's case, so I thought of going together."
Huo Weilou reassured: "Don't worry, wait for the old man to come back and ask again, no matter how bad it is, after returning to Beijing tonight, I will take you to Ming's house and ask Guilan again to see what other characteristics the murderer has."
Bo Ruoyou released the corners of her pursed lips, and said hesitantly: "This matter is something that Mr. Ming has in his heart. Would it make him unhappy to come to inquire?"
Huo Weilou showed his face, "Although I said last time that they have lost hope these years, the truth that came late is also the truth. If it is really similar to the case back then, you should still ask."
Bo Ruoyou felt relieved, and after waiting for half an hour, he saw the old man returning with the servants of the Hou's residence. In his hand, he really held a monkey king mask with a red face, white eyebrows and a golden crown. It was brightly colored, and the monkey king's face was carved The polishing is so lifelike that she thinks it is a delicate thing, and the red paint on it is similar to the ghost mask, but it is obviously much finer.
"Girl, girl, this is the monkey king mask that the villain said. It is expensive, and ordinary villains don't bring it. Today is a snowy day, and the villain thought that there were not many people coming to the market, so he didn't buy it." Take it with you."
The old man walked up to him and handed over the mask, and after Bo Ruoyou took it, he found that the touch was different, "When was the last mask sold, old man?"
The old man smiled and said, "Miss asked this villain if he remembered, the one who bought the Monkey King mask last time was an elderly man. He bought the Monkey King mask and then asked if there was any Little Monkey King mask. Yes, he bought a little fairy fox mask—”
The old man picked up the fox fairy mask on the stall, "It's like this. The villain was very happy at the time, so he asked if he bought it for his grandson, but he said he bought it for his own son. The villain saw that his hair was already gray. It seems that he has passed the age of forty, so he feels that this master is blessed, and he can be said to be old and successful, so he is even more impressed."
Bo Ruoyou hurriedly asked: "When was that? Is he alone?"
"It's also this month, it seems to be the tenth day of the winter month. The market was very lively that day, and there was a troupe of variegated operas singing in Dongtou. The villain should remember correctly. He was alone, without attendants, and I don’t see my wife and children…”
On the tenth day... On the tenth day of the lunar new year, I bought two masks, one big and one small, but she was single. Bo Ruoyou asked again, "Do you remember what that person looks like? How about the clothes? If I ask you to recognize him now, can you still recognize him?" "
"The appearance is Zhou Zheng, and the demeanor seems to be gentle and friendly, with a smile on his face. When the villain talks to him, he also talks to the villain with a smile. The clothes are not very luxurious, like ordinary wealthy people. If you let the villain People recognize it, they should recognize it.”
Bo Ruoyou's eyes lit up, the old man thought about it for a moment, and then said: "The old man bought some other gadgets elsewhere, and the villain saw a rattle pinned to his waist, so he put a red patent leather string on it." The rattle with two silver beads is also a delicate object."
Bo Ruoyou's pupils narrowed when he heard this, "Is there a rattle?"
"Yes, the villain did not remember wrongly. In the bottom of my heart, I was still thinking that this little son probably didn't get it easily, otherwise he wouldn't be so pampered."
Bo Ruoyou nodded, bought the Monkey King mask again, thanked the old man and returned to the carriage.
Huo Weilou followed him up to take a seat, and as soon as he sat down, Bo Ruoyou said, "Master Hou, in the records of Young Master Ming's case, it was also mentioned that the murderer was wearing a rattle, and this time, if the murderer hadn't bought Wen Jin a ghost mask , the paint in Wen Jin's nails was taken from the mask of the Monkey King—"
As she spoke, she tried to take off the paint on the mask. The mask was newly made not long ago, and she really let her take it off.
Huo Weilou's eyes darkened a little, if it was just a coincidence of the mask, it happened to be the mask of the Monkey King, and now they are all wearing rattles, and the old man mentioned that the man looks like he has passed the age of forty. When Ming Guilan was abducted, he was at least in his thirties, with a certain look on his face, "Let's go see Guilan."
Bo Ruoyou was not only thinking of Ming Guilan, "Fourteen years have passed, why did the murderer reappear? He only kidnapped Mr. Ming back then, but he ran away. If he hadn't escaped, that person would have killed Ming Guilan." Will the young master be kidnapped and sold elsewhere, or will he also be bled to death?"
Naturally, Huo Weilou didn't know about it. At this time, the bell rang in the direction of Xiangguo Temple at night. and die.
Huo Weilou said: "It's not too late, we're going back to Beijing right now."
Bo Ruoyou responded, and handed over the discovery to the yamen chaplain left behind by Wu Xiang, and ordered him to look for Wu Xiang, while he returned to the capital accompanied by Huo Weilou. Focus on errands.
Soon, Bo Ruoyou and Huo Weilou left the town in a carriage.
It will take two hours to go back to the capital. On the way, Bo Ruoyou looked at the monkey king mask in the carriage and was still thinking, "It is recorded in the case file that in the seventeenth year of Jianhe, Mr. Ming was in danger on the tenth day of October. But now that it has just entered the winter moon, the time before and after is almost the same, so it can be regarded as a similar place."
Huo Weilou's expression also became serious. If the Ming family was involved in this case, it would not be an ordinary murder. He even thought of something scary, "If it is really the same murderer, it is very likely that the murderer has not stopped killing people over the years. people."
When Bo Ruoyou thought of Wen Jin's tragic situation of being drained of blood, and then thought that maybe more than one child had been drained of blood to death, Bo Ruoyou felt a cold chill in her heart. Talk too much.
It was close to Zishi when he was outside the city gate, Huo Weilou revealed his identity and entered the capital, and ordered the carriage to go straight to the Ming Palace.
The carriage took about three more incense sticks of effort, and galloped all the way to the Ming Mansion. When the gatekeeper saw Wu Zhaohou coming, he rushed to report. The entire Ming Mansion had already turned off the lights, but within a short time, it was brightly lit again. , Ming Zhonghuai and his wife came to welcome them in person, and when they arrived at the main courtyard, they saw Ming Guilan, who was handicapped in legs and feet, sitting in a wheelchair and being pushed out by an attendant.
Seeing Huo Weilou and Bo Ruoyou appearing together, Ming Guilan was surprised at first, and he saw several masks held by the servants of the Hou Mansion, his eyes fixed on the top Monkey King mask, Before Huo Weilou explained, he asked, "Is something wrong?"
Ming Zhonghuai hurriedly said: "Please ask Lord Hou and the county master to enter the main hall to talk—"
A group of people entered the main hall and walked on the road. Ming Guilan couldn't stop looking at the monkey king mask. His complexion was so bad that even Ming Zhonghuai and his wife changed their expressions.
After Huo Weilou took his seat, he motioned to Bo Ruoyou, and Bo Ruoyou opened up about today's case, and said, "I didn't realize it had anything to do with Mr. Ming, but I read the file of Mr. Ming's case in the government office, and I remember Mr. Ming's case later Mr. Ming said that the man was wearing a monkey king mask and holding a rattle in his hand. He was very friendly and could tease children. When I first saw this file, I read it several times because I knew him well. , so I remember it very clearly, and then I felt that the murderer in this case might be related to the case of that year, so I came here at night."
Ming Guilan's eyes were gloomy, and he looked at the servant of the Hou's mansion, "Bring it to me to have a look."
The waiter never hesitated, and sent the Monkey King mask over, Ming Guilan took it in his hand, his fingertips trembled when he touched the golden crown on the mask, but Ming Zhonghuai and his wife had already changed their expressions.
Ming Zhonghuai also asked anxiously: "Is it possible to conclude that it is related to the case of the year just based on this thing? This monkey king mask is popular in the capital area. It is based on the description of the monkey king in a play. At the beginning, it was played by actors. The appearance on the face, the monkey king mask with this appearance came out in the market later. When the government was investigating the case, there were only clues such as the mask. We sent people to question many street vendors and craftsmen. Although this mask is exquisite, it is not difficult. see."
Ming Zhonghuai recalled the grief and anger of that year, and felt a dull pain in his heart. Looking at the mask in his son's hand, he didn't know whether he hoped that the murderer would appear again, or that it had nothing to do with the case back then. He was unwilling in the early years. After persuading himself over and over again, he accepted the fact that he could not catch the murderer. In recent years, he finally calmed down a bit, and now there is a glimmer of hope in this case.
He gritted his teeth, afraid that his hope would be lost again.
Bo Ruoyou said: "Just relying on the records in Mr. Ming's case file, there is no way to tell. That's why I came to the mansion to ask Mr. Ming."
Ming Zhonghuai hesitated to speak, and Mrs. Ming also had tears in her eyes, "For this and that case, we have exhausted all the means in the early years. In these years, the whole family did not dare to mention it. We all feel hopeless. After all these years, is the murderer really still killing people?"
"How did the child who was killed today die?" Ming Guilan asked suddenly.
Bo Ruoyou only said that there were children murdered outside the city, but did not mention the murderer's method of killing. At this moment, he said: "The murderer's method of killing people is strange. According to the autopsy, the child was hung up, and then the murderer was inside the child's feet. An opening was made at the blood vessel, causing the child to lose too much blood and die."
Ming Zhonghuai's father and son are both doctors. Hearing this, he knew why the murderer was so harmful. Ming Guilan frowned instantly, and his pupils were dark in thought.
Bo Ruoyou continued: "Other than that, the murderer didn't leave any trauma on the child, nor did he use more violence, and the method of harming others seems to be specifically to take the child's blood. "
"I was taken away back then. Although he gave me a drug, that person didn't seem to want to hurt me..." Ming Guilan spoke in a deep voice, and he spoke slowly, as if he was about to be sealed away The memory from fourteen years ago came back.
"I was in the downtown area, and I had walked a little far away from my servant. He seemed to have followed me for a long time, and then he came forward. He said he knew my father and would take me to find him. He also said that there was someone like me at home. The size of the child...”
"I can't remember anything else, but then I really left with him. He took me a short cut and covered my nose and mouth with a handkerchief when I was in a place where no one was around. I knew something was wrong when I smelled it. Then I didn’t dare to struggle, and then my body became weak, but my consciousness was sometimes clear and sometimes chaotic. When I woke up completely, I was in a ruined temple—"
Mrs. Ming showed her unbearable face, and said shamelessly: "Back then on the banks of the Luo River, we were indeed friends. On the boat on the banks of the Luo River, Lan'er was holding back hard on the boat, so we asked our servants to take him to light the lanterns. Going around the city, who would have thought that something would happen."
Bo Ruoyou only knew so many inside stories at this moment, and after hearing Ming Guilan's words, she felt that the two cases were related, "Yes, this old man said that the person who bought his mask went alone, and he also bought it. The smaller one is said to have a child in the family, and I bought it for my own child."
Ming Guilan sat up straighter, "I remember that day when I was separated from my servants, I was attracted by something, and I stood still on the street, and that person appeared at that time... I was... By the way, I was attracted by something. I was attracted by a few children who were about my age spinning tops and singing nursery rhymes. They sang nursery rhymes, and after the man appeared, he also sang along. I thought he would be like this as a grown man. From the beginning, I felt that this man was very kind. .”
"Nursery rhyme?" Bo Ruoyou's heart trembled, "What kind of nursery rhyme?"
Ming Guilan was troubled, as if he couldn't think of it, Bo Ruoyou asked, "Is it an iron song? Iron four, four flower needles are easy to pierce, iron five, five rice dumplings for the Dragon Boat Festival—"
Ming Guilan's expression froze, and the embarrassment on his face suddenly disappeared, "Yes! It's this iron song! How do you know?"
Bo Ruoyou inexplicably felt a chill creeping up from her ankles, "I remember this iron-making song, which was widely spread when I was young in the capital, but later it was forbidden to sing it because of a taboo, but a few days ago, I I heard children singing, and today in the small town at the foot of Xiangguo Temple, I also heard children singing."
Ming Guilan's face also became weird, and Bo Ruoyou calmed down, "This song doesn't mean anything. If the murderer intends to abduct the child, he will naturally pretend to be close, holding something the child likes in his hand. Singing nursery rhymes is more like what he likes, think about it, what other characteristics does the murderer have? How old did he look at that time?"
"Looking at his stature, he doesn't look old, and his voice is considered young, at most thirty years old." Ming Guilan said, thinking carefully again, but after fourteen years, he deliberately made himself forget this nightmare For a moment, I can't think of more.
Bo Ruoyou saw that he was uncomfortable, and hurriedly said: "There is no need to rush now, just based on the similarities at present, it is not yet possible to conclude, whether it is the same person or not, the government will try its best to track down the murderer in this case. It was different more than ten years ago, and I will try my best not to leave any regrets in this case, and when the murderer is caught, I will trace back to 14 years ago to see if he is a repeat offender."
Huo Weilou also comforted him, "The murderer was never caught back then, and it's heartbreaking for you. If the murderer is not the same person now, don't be too disappointed."
Ming Zhonghuai sighed, and only went to see Ming Guilan. Ming Guilan was the only one who met the murderer back then. Whether he could think of useful clues could only rely on Ming Guilan to recall the scenes of the year in a complicated manner. For Gui Lan, it must be painful.
Ming Guilan sighed, "I understand that if it's really the same person, I will do my best for myself and this child, which is what I should do."
It was already late at night, Huo Weilou and Bo Ruoyou couldn't stay longer, so they left the house soon, got into the carriage, and Huo Weilou sent Bo Ruoyou home.
The mask was also put back on the carriage, and Bo Ruoyou looked at the mask and said, "Although it's been many years, some murderers just have a fluke mentality and won't change their habits just because they are afraid of being discovered. What Hou Ye just said is right, if It's really the same person, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep myself safe these years, I will go to the Yamen tomorrow to find out if there are any similar unsolved cases in these years."
Huo Weilou felt sorry for her tiredness, so he only said: "Then I will pick you up tomorrow and go with you."
Bo Ruoyou was afraid of delaying his court affairs. It can be seen that although he is gentle and tender, he is unquestionable, so he had no choice but to agree. She is indeed tired after going out of the city today, and whether there is any progress in this case depends on whether Wu Xiang can find any clues. , she is also too much to worry about.
Huo Weilou sent her back to Cheng Zhai, and told her to rest before leaving.
Bo Ruoyou came in, because Cheng Yunzhi came back late, and Cheng Yunzhi hadn't rested yet, so he ordered Aunt Liang to prepare some soup for her to use. The father and daughter sat in the hall and talked, and Bo Ruoyou brought up today's case, and talked about it first. The little baby was exposed to the wilderness, and said: "The adoptive father must not have imagined how the murderer would harm people this time. He probably knows some medical skills, but he only left a small wound on the child's foot, causing him to lose blood and die. Right now I can't figure it out either, what is he acting like this for, is it really for this child's blood?"
After she finished speaking, she went to drink tea, but she swallowed the tea, but she didn't hear Cheng Yunzhi's answer. She looked up suspiciously, and saw Cheng Yunzhi's face was surprisingly ugly. She felt very weird in her heart, but she didn't ask yet. Then Cheng Yunzhi said in a hoarse voice: "Youyou, you are not the only one in charge of the yamen, so don't take care of this case."