dtnovels Chapter 150 Liuhu Murder Case
Chapter 150 Liuhu Murder Case
On the second day, Feng Jia got up very early and went to the Dali Temple before daybreak. According to speculation, one more person was needed to perform the ritual today, so Lu Xun would most likely attack someone today.
Feng Jia walked through the heavily guarded gate of the Dali Temple. Officials stood on both sides with their hands hanging down. Further ahead was a courtyard with a wooden swing in it.
The rope of the swing was tied to an apricot tree. There was red rust on the iron chain and there were also stains on the wood. Feng Jia was reminded of the past when she saw the swing. She remembered that when she was a child, she would always come to the Dali Temple with her father. When her father tried cases in the Mingtang, she would sit here, eating sweet apricots and swinging on the swing. She didn't expect that after all these years, the swing was still there.
However, the lingering emotion only stayed in her heart for a second before it was suppressed. She retracted her gaze and followed the servant who reported the incident to her by the doorman into the main hall of the Dali Temple. In the main hall, Shi Xun was sitting upright, carefully reading the case files.
Feng Jia explained what was in her mind one by one. Shi Xun thought for a moment and said, "You mean, you want to gather all the students of Gu's private school in one place?"
Feng Jia nodded: "Since we can't find the murderer, we will start with the victim. In addition to Zhou Muqi, there must be other students involved in Lu Qin's case. I think Lu Xun is likely to target them, but I'm not sure which one of them it is. If we send people to protect them separately, firstly, there are too many students and the troops are dispersed, so it is inevitable that there will be omissions. Secondly, many of the students are noble ladies. If we rashly send people to guard them, it will cause panic among the people."
Shi Xun was silent for a moment and then said, "I know what to do."
At the moment of noon, all the students of Gu's private school were gathered together.
"Have you heard that Dean Gu was murdered? His death was horrible!"
"I've heard about that, too. The Dali Temple hasn't caught the murderer yet. Who do you think killed Dean Gu?"
Someone shivered with fear: "I'm not afraid of this. Think about it, they clearly said that the class was suspended, so why did they suddenly notify us to come here? And there are so many Dali Temple officers and soldiers around, could it be that..."
The man lowered his voice and asked, "Could it be that the people from the Dali Temple suspected that the murderer of Dean Gu was a student of our academy? So they put us under strict surveillance?"
Everyone had a look of confusion on their faces.
"Also, have you noticed that Zhou Muqi has not been found since she disappeared? Isn't that already..."
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Someone else whispered, "Actually... I heard from my uncle who works at the Dali Temple that a body was fished out of the large dry well in our West Hall last night!"
"Although my uncle didn't say who it was, but this morning the Zhou residence started hanging white silk, and the two of us made the connection..."
"Shock, you mean Zhou Muqi is dead too?"
A man squeezed in and said, "Dry well? Is it the dry well where Lu Tan fell to his death?"
With a "bang", the inkstone next to it was knocked over.
The ink on the table dripped all over the floor, and some of it seeped into the gaps between the floor tiles.
"sorry……"
Xie Xiyi hurriedly picked up the inkstone, but in his panic he hit his head on the corner of the table, and all the brushes on it fell into the ink.
The floor and the table were a mess.
Everyone looked at each other in surprise. What happened today? Why was Xie Xiyi, who was usually calm and composed, so panicked?
Could it be that he knows something?
Hearing the noise, Feng Jia withdrew his gaze from the window and fell on Xie Xiyi, his eyes filled with thought.
She deliberately let Shi Xun release the news in order to observe the reactions of these female students and find out the culprit who dropped the silver hairpin that day. Unexpectedly, the woman who dropped the silver hairpin was not found, but Xie Xiyi jumped out.
Why is she so nervous? Is she simply frightened? Or is there something else going on?
What role did she play in these two cases?
Just as he was lost in thought, there were two gentle knocks on the windowsill. Feng Jia turned around and saw Shi Xun still in the same scarlet official uniform, standing in the sun with a clear face and a tall, graceful figure.
Feng Jia followed him out to the spacious inner courtyard. There was a red lacquered wooden table in the courtyard. Jiang Yun was sitting at the desk, writing something. When he saw her coming, he bowed respectfully and handed her a piece of letter paper on the table.
There were three names written on it, the black ink not yet dry.
Shi Xun put his hands behind his back and said, "There are a total of 128 students in the academy, and only these three people were absent today due to illness."
Feng Jia nodded. Three names were written on the paper: Zhao Weirui, Liu Jingyuan, and Song Shu.
Shi Xun said, "Zhao Weirui, the second daughter of Mr. Zhao, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, said that she had a headache and was sick at home. Liu Jingyuan, the third daughter of Mr. Liu, the Inspector of the River, said that she had a stomachache the night before yesterday and was in so much pain that she couldn't get out of bed."
Feng Jia brushed her finger over the last name: "What about this Song Shu?"
Shi Xun said, "Song Shu's family is poor. He and his parents all live in Yanliu Lane in the capital. He said he got pollen allergy two days ago and couldn't stand the wind, so he was bedridden."
Feng Jia looked up and saw that the sun was setting. It was already past noon. Shi Xun saw her worry and said, "I have sent heavy soldiers to guard the homes of these three people. Whatever they said, how many sips of tea they drank, and how many times they tossed and turned on the bed were all recorded."
"That's right! With our people keeping watch one on one, there will be absolutely no mistakes today. Don't worry too much, Miss Nine!" Jiang Yun took out a white porcelain bottle from somewhere, poured a black pill into his mouth, and gave one to each of them. He said, "This is the Qingxin Pill newly developed by my father. It can lift your spirits after taking it. It is very effective."
Shi Xun swallowed it without hesitation.
Feng Jia held the pill in her hand and didn't eat it: "Master Jiang, thank you, but I'm not sleepy."
"Are you not sleepy yet? The dark circles under your eyes are almost falling onto your nose bridge!" Jiang Yun smiled playfully.
Feng Jia choked. Indeed, she spent most of the night studying the case and barely closed her eyes. Even so, she still looked at the little ball from left to right, looking extremely cautious.
Jiang Yun clapped his hands and laughed. Shi Xun couldn't help laughing and consoled him, "Don't worry about eating. Jiang Yun's father is Lord Jiang, the imperial physician."
"Ah?" Feng Jia was caught off guard and looked at Jiang Yun, as if trying to find some genetic traces of Doctor Jiang.
Jiang Yun deliberately stretched his neck and straightened his back: "How is it, doesn't it look like it?"
Feng Jia swallowed the Qingxin Pill, and felt a refreshing coolness spreading from her throat to every part of her limbs. The fatigue all over her body was really driven away by 70%. She did not forget to comment: "Not like." Very unlike.
"Doctor Jiang is a steady person, but Lord Jiang, you..." Feng Jia looked at the half-shaved blue stubble on the other's face, and the few tufts of small curly hair that popped out from the gaps under the hat, and hesitated about how to describe it without being offensive.
Jiang Yun's face was full of understanding and overconfidence: "I understand what Ninth Miss means. Father is used to being an imperial physician. He is very cautious in his behavior and courage..." He made a pinching motion with two fingers, paused, and then closed the distance: "It's just this small!"
"I told my father about the two cases last night. I thought that since he was a royal doctor in the palace and had a lot of experience, he might be able to help me find some clues. But when he heard about the heart being dug out and the tongue being cut, his face turned pale. I asked him to go to bed early, but guess what! He panicked and tripped over the threshold when he went out, and fell flat on his face. Isn't it funny how courageous he is?"
After saying that, he laughed heartily.
As he was speaking, a yamen runner rushed over in a panic.
"Oh no! My Lord, something bad has happened!"
"A body was found in Liuhu Lane in the southwest. The rest of the body was intact, but the left arm... was missing!"
Left arm missing?
Wouldn't that be...
Feng Jia's smile faded, and Shi Xun's expression changed unpredictably.
Jiang Yun shuddered, and the porcelain bottle containing Qingxin Pills fell to the ground and broke into two pieces. The black pills inside fell to the ground and were crushed to pieces by the Dali Temple runners who came out one after another.