Chapter 21 Twenty-one, make Zhang and make tiles

Everyone looked at Lu Zhiyuan, and there was an uproar. Since this old man entered Dali Temple, he has been standing buried in the corner, and no one has paid attention to him.Because of the contempt for him, even when it comes to a few people related to Dicui, other people's eyes only pass over him and don't stop. However, at this time, Huang Zixia held up the wire and asked him a question. Everyone's eyes, along with Huang Zixia, fell on him. Lu Zhiyuan tried his best to hide his figure in the shadow of the hall, he was still hunched, and the darkness of his half-worn cloth shirt made his face appear thicker.

As if he didn't understand, he slowly raised his eyes to look at Huang Zixia, and asked slowly, "What did you say?" Cui Chunzhan also echoed: "Eunuch Yang, didn't you say that this case is related to the Zhang family's collection of the late emperor's posthumous pen? Since his family has a collection, has Lu Zhiyuan ever seen that painting?" "Of course I saw it. Just after Wei Ximin's death, Dicui took out Zhang's painting to him in order to send off his father who came to ask for a bride price, and told him that several of us speculated at the time that the three people on the picture The content of the graffiti. It was only at the time that Mr. Lu said that he didn’t believe it, so she pawned ten coins and handed it to him.”

"So that painting... Mr. Lu really saw it." Zhou Ziqin agreed affirmatively, but his expression was hesitant, "But...but you also said that he was going to ask for a bride price. Does he look like this? Really... will kill?" "Hmph... I don't. I have all the money, why go to kill people for a girl's film?" Lu Zhiyuan shook his head with a sneer, and said firmly, "No! I didn't put such a thing in my candle, maybe Someone else made it, or maybe the wire was mixed in the incense, and it was burned like this in the incense burner, what does it have to do with me?"

"But in the chaos at that time, only the big incense burner in Jianfu Temple did not fall down. If the iron wire was in it, how could it be brought out? And you said that the iron wire was inserted into the candle wick by someone else, so that's even more wrong." Possible things," she showed him the curved end, "if it goes straight up and down, it may be possible to insert the reed core, but the curved wire is underneath, except for your hands when you first made it. Besides, who can insert its crooked end into a straight bundle of reed core?" Lu Zhiyuan said again slowly: "Oh... I'm old and my eyes are blurred. Maybe a wire got mixed into the core of the reed at some time, but I didn't notice it. But I dare to ask my father-in-law. What the hell, what law did you break?"

"Did you really let the wire get in by accident? In short, I don't believe it, because your seemingly inadvertent action is actually the beginning and focus of the whole case." Huang Zixia shook his head and said, "Old man Lu, you A great deal of thought was spent on the layout of this murder. The weather in the few days before the incident was already depressing, and there was a thunderstorm, and you noticed that the one-foot-high candle was already at the same level as the main hall. Adding an iron wire can easily lead to lightning. So you inserted an iron wire into the wick of the huge candle you made. In order to prevent others from finding out, you insisted on setting up the candle yourself— —In this way, after the candle stands up, you can pull out the iron wire that was originally hidden inside. And when the ladder is removed, no one below will notice that there is a thin wire hidden in the burning flame of the candle wick. What about the long wire?"

"It turns out that...the so-called thunderbolt from the sky was caused by him alone?" Cui Chunzhan was dumbfounded, "Then, then he was very lucky, and let the thunderbolt blow up his enemy impartially!" "No, of course there is a reason, otherwise, how could Tianlei just choose Wei Ximin among the thousands of people in Jianfu Temple?" Huang Zixia showed the wire to everyone, "I wonder if everyone noticed , this wire bends straight up and down. The upper straight half not only has traces of burning, but also has a little black ash leftover. But the bent part below has no trace of burning. Isn’t this very strange Because I have seen Mr. Lu make the candle wick of this kind of giant candle. After wrapping the reed wick tightly with linen, soak it in wax oil, put a red-hot iron tip on it, and insert it into the semi-solidified candle. So Even if the candle exploded at that time, the reed wick tied on the wire was bound with sackcloth and the wax was frozen, and it was extremely difficult to dissipate. Even if it really dissipated, the iron wire that had absorbed the wax would burn for a moment , burnt a layer of black, which cannot be washed off even in water. But your iron wire is completely clean underneath. What is the reason?"

Cui Chunzhan, Wang Lin, Jiang Kui and others passed on the iron wire and thought about it. Although the emperor was also curious about the eunuch's death, he didn't react too much. He just said, "Yang Chonggu, hurry up." "Yes. Based on my servant's guess, the candle wick made by Lu Zhiyuan at that time was only half the length of this iron wire. The straight and blackened part on the top was sandwiched in the wick, and there was no wick at all under the wax surface of the candle. , the wire is exposed, so of course there is no way to burn it." Everyone was stunned, Zhou Ziqin quickly asked: "Then, what's the use of him making such a huge candle with only a short wick on top?"

"Because he wants to use that candle to hide something. And the curved arc under this wire is just to avoid that thing." Zhou Ziqin slapped his head, and immediately said: "He must have hidden sulfur and explosives in the candle! So when the thunder struck, the iron wire caused the lightning, the candle burned, and Wei Ximin beside him was burned to death!" "No, I went to check shortly after the explosion, and I didn't smell a strong smell of sulfur and gunpowder at the scene." Cui Chunzhan immediately retorted, "Besides, Lu Zhiyuan was not at the scene at the time, how could he guarantee that when the candle exploded, Wei Ximin It must be right next to the candle, and it must be Wei Ximin who you want to kill when the thunder fire hits?"

Zhou Ziqin scratched his head, and could only look at Huang Zixia suspiciously. "The above is the evidence we have seen. However, there is another piece of evidence in this case, which is invisible. That is—the people present at that time, Prince Kui, Zhou Ziqin, Zhang Xingying, Lu Dicui, and me, five of us Everyone was near or far from the huge exploding candle, but no one saw Wei Ximin before the candle exploded." Having said that, Huang Zixia turned to look at Li Shubai. Li Shubai nodded and said affirmatively: "I really didn't see Wei Ximin at that time. Because he was by the princess's side, if I had caught a glimpse of him in Jianfu Temple, I would have been impressed."

"Prince Kui, who has such a long-term memory, didn't notice Wei Ximin. Perhaps it can be said that Wei Ximin was too far away to see Wei Ximin because he was mixed in the crowd. But Zhang Xingying and Lu Dicui were beside the candle at that time, and Wei Ximin was the one who hurt Lu Dicui, and he was wearing a crimson eunuch costume. Since he was able to be burned in the first place, he must be very close to the candle. Why was Wei Ximin not caught by the huge candle? Anyone else saw it?" Under the thoughtful eyes of everyone, Huang Zixia finally said the most important conclusion: "Because the height of that candle is more than one foot, and the circumference is half thick, even if the melted wax on the top and the thinner bottom are removed, The rest is eight feet high, and Wei Ximin's height is only five and a half feet, enough to hide in a candle!"

There was a moment of silence in the hall, and everyone was amazed, stunned, and unbelievable by this crazy idea. "The original translucent yellow wax was dyed colorfully to cover up the hidden things inside; in order to make more space, he cut off the candle wick; some small holes can be poked on the carvings of the candle body to ensure that it is hidden inside. The bent wire is because Wei Ximin's head needs to be avoided, and it can guide the thunder fire into the candle, causing the candle mixed with cinnabar, sulfur, black oil and other flammable materials to explode and scatter quickly. " Zhang Xingying, Zhou Ziqin, Li Run and everyone were stunned. They looked at Huang Zixia and then at the wretched and hunchbacked Lu Zhiyuan, in disbelief. Lu Zhiyuan looked down at the blue brick floor under his feet, with a sneer on his face: "Elder-in-law, I don't know what you are talking about, I hide a big living person in the candle? I sent the candle with the hidden person to the recommendation Fukuji? You are so whimsical!" "It sounds absurd, but as I said, I have conclusive evidence in my hand." Huang Zixia said clearly, "First, on the day you delivered the candles to Jianfu Temple, you spent all night making candles, Exhausted, why do you still refuse to give it to others, and insist on sending it to Jianfu Temple by yourself, and then leave after watching it stand up?" "I am devout to the Buddha, this candle has cost me several months of thought, I don't trust others to send it for me!" Huang Zixia was noncommittal, and said: "Secondly, it took more than half a year for Jianfu Temple to collect so much wax to make that giant wax, but the candle exploded and burned all at once. Ordinary wax will burn when it encounters fire. Is it so thorough that only the last half of the jar of wax you scrape away is left? You are afraid that there will be too little wax left, and people will know that your candle is hollow, so you simply add a lot of wax that burns when heated. paint, and burn off all the remaining wax." Lu Zhiyuan didn't even look at her, and said, "What do you know? When making candles, in order to render various colors, it is necessary to add various pigments." "However, you have been making candles for decades, don't you know that with the addition of cinnabar, sulfur, black oil, etc., the whole candle may burn when it touches the fire?" Huang Zixia said, shaking his head again, Said, "What's more, you have also made a mistake that a master candle maker absolutely cannot make, that is, adding cinnabar to the wax." Lu Zhiyuan sneered and said, "Who said I chose cinnabar? It's obviously the same ordinary paint as usual. How can you accuse me casually without evidence?" "Although the people present didn't have any serious problems, I do have evidence. Because after the incident, the heavy rain washed the embers of the candles into the fish pond, and all the fish in the released pond died!" Huang Zixia said, turning her head to look at her mouth Zhou Ziqin, who couldn't close it, asked, "At that time, you picked up dead fish and went back to examine them. What was the cause of death of those fish?" "It's mercury poisoning." Zhou Ziqin said quickly. "Yes, that's why you can't use cinnabar as a pigment when making candles. Because cinnabar will turn into mercury when it is burned in a fire, and the mercury will permeate the air, and everyone who breathes it will be poisoned. How can you use it? However, for To make the candle flammable, I still chose cinnabar!" Huang Zixia looked directly at Lu Zhiyuan and said, "When I went to your store before, I saw you put red on the candle. The red wax is definitely not made of cinnabar, and it will never be Poisonous smoke. And why did you use expensive and dangerous cinnabar on that huge candle? You keep saying that you are pious, but why do you make such harmful candles for the Buddhist Association? Aren’t you afraid of burning candles? Will the poisonous smoke in the future harm all men, women and children in Jianfu Temple?" Lu Zhiyuan was at a loss for words for a while, he stood in the backlight, the wrinkles on his face became deeper, and his face seemed to look older in an instant. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. "Actually, it's nothing, isn't it? You knew from the beginning that the whole candle would explode after a short period of time, and the crowd would disperse, and the mercury would not kill anyone." Huang Zixia shook his head and said, "But even if you plan carefully, On the wax block, you still showed your flaws. The wax that Jianfu Temple took so long to collect, but you can gather enough wax oil to make such a large candle in a few days. I ask you, your wax Where did you get it? You said that you saved it for many years. If you have so much wax, would Jianfu Temple need to search all over the country to buy it? So the truth is, you didn’t use that much wax at all in the first place. Wax, because candles are inherently hollow, and many of the wax pieces sent to you by Jianfu Temple are left over, so they were useless in the first place!" Seeing that Lu Zhiyuan's face was ashen, but he couldn't explain it, Zhou Ziqin hurriedly asked: "Chonggu, I have a question! Although I have been depressed for a few days, it seems that thunderstorms are coming, but if the thunderstorms don't come, What is he going to do?" "Even though the iron wire did not attract lightning, the wax underneath is still mixed with black oil and sulfur. As long as it is burned for a while, the whole candle will explode, and then all the exploded wax blocks will be burned. As for Wei Ximin, who was hidden inside by him, his body had already been covered with inflammable substances, and he would still be burned to death! At that time, as long as he said that something went wrong with the candle and accidentally injured others after it exploded, he could still explain it away, but it was not as powerful as a lightning strike. It's just mysterious." Cui Chunzhan frowned and said, "It's true... Wei Ximin was inside the candle, and at that time Master Zhen happened to talk about retribution, the sky thundered, the iron wire caused the thunder, and the candle exploded. In the middle, I only think that the person who fell to the ground was burned by the person next to the candle, who will find out where he came from in the crowded crowd?" Zhou Ziqin was full of doubts, and asked again: "Then, why did Wei Ximin stay in the candle obediently? He was crying and rolling on the ground at that time, a big living person, why would he hide in the candle?" "Linglingxiang, have you forgotten? Qian Guansuo heard from Lu Zhiyuan that he had excellent Linglingxiang, so he bought it as a thank you for Changpu, the cook of the princess mansion. Changpu is a servant. According to the rules of the mansion, this Naturally, such a valuable thing must be sent to the princess for review. However, the princess has not given birth to a child after marriage, so how could she use such a thing that is not conducive to pregnancy? Wei Ximin is greedy on the one hand, and has a headache on the other. Linglingxiang is just right for him. It was a good thing, so it was logical to use it. One or two a day, and the incense was used up on the seventh day, and he went to ask for it from Calamus again. After a disturbance, he ran to threaten Qian Guansuo, who took him Went to Lv Zhiyuan's store - that day was the night before the Buddhist meeting in Jianfu Temple. That night Wei Ximin did not return all night, and this Wei Ximin, who everyone agreed was disrespectful to gods and Buddhas, the next day in a place where no one had seen him beforehand. Under such circumstances, he suddenly appeared in Jianfu Temple, and as soon as he appeared, he was covered in fire and died wailing," Huang Zixia stared at Lu Zhiyuan, and said slowly, "Lu Zhiyuan has calculated everything, one is the rules of the Princess Mansion, no matter what Whoever gets the valuables must first offer it to the owner; the second is to use Qian Guansuo to recommend his Linglingxiang to him; the third is to calculate the dosage for patients with headaches and ask him to come to ask for it on time in a few days. As he expected, Wei Ximin threw himself into the trap and disappeared in his shop. On the night Wei Ximin disappeared, I think it must be that Lu Laozhang used Linglingxiang in the shop, so that he fell asleep unconsciously. Wake up only when you are covered in fire." All eyes were on Lu Zhiyuan, watching this skinny old man kneeling in front of the hall, motionless, like a skinny tree root that had been dead for many years, full of gray and black traces of wind and frost, but full of vigor line. Huang Zixia's voice was firm, and she continued: "And Sun Laizi's death is also inseparable from you." "No, Eunuch Yang, you may have misunderstood the case of Sun Laizi." Zhang Xingying looked at the silent Lu Zhiyuan silently, and said, "It was noon when Sun Laizi died... Both Adi and I went to Passed there, wanted to make a move but didn’t find a chance. At that time, we didn’t see Mr. Lu in Daningfang… Mr. Lu, and many people later confirmed that he was making candles in the West Market store at noon. I don’t believe he had a chance Kill Sun Laizi." "He doesn't have to be there at all, because from the moment he called someone to repair and strengthen his house, Sun Mangzi would have died." Huang Zixia turned his head and motioned to Zhou Ziqin to pry the iron forehead they had pried off from Sun Mangzi's house at that time. It was displayed in front of everyone and said, "On the main gate of Sun Mangzi's house, there is an iron forehead that is popular in the capital today. At that time, the master who strengthened the door and windows for Sun Mangzi installed a brand new one for Sun Mangzi. It was bright, but after the incident, it was found that the paint had completely peeled off." "This iron plaque...was made by Qian Guansuo!" Cui Chunzhan immediately pointed at Qian Guansuo who had room for embarrassment. Everyone's eyes once again focused on Qian Guansuo. Qian Guansuo, who was originally full of lifeless anger, looked at Huang Zixia and Lu Zhiyuan at this time, his eyes that had been sluggish finally widened, and he didn't know where the strength came from, he screamed out: "Wrong ...You are wronged! Caomin didn't kill anyone! Caomin's iron forehead was... made in Liu Ji's blacksmith shop, and after getting it back, it was piled there, and the villain just glanced at it!" Zhou Ziqin was impatient, so he grabbed Huang Zixia and asked, "In your opinion, what does this little iron forehead have to do with Sun Laizi's death?" Huang Zixia asked back: "Do you still remember that Lizheng of Daning Fang once told us that when Boss Qian opened the gate of Sun Laizi, there was a black energy rushing out, and everyone thought it was the evil spirit of Dicui? " "Yes, Lizheng said," Zhou Ziqin looked at Zhang Xingying, scratched his head and frowned, "but the problem is, Dicui is not dead, so how could there be evil spirits?" "Because someone burned something on the door, and when the door was split open, the ashes were shaken, and the inside was always stuffy, so as soon as the door was opened, the black ash immediately floated out, forming the so-called black ash." 'Bad air'," Huang Zixia said, pointing to the scorched black and curled paint on the iron forehead, "but there is no trace of fire in the house, the only ashes are inside the hollow iron plaque. Therefore, Sun Manzi's Death, the hands and feet of the murderer, is here. "After discovering Sun Laizi's death, Dali Temple immediately closed the house, and it is impossible for anyone to touch the iron forehead. Therefore, the only possibility is that the night after the doors and windows were reinforced the day before, and the time between noon the next day. During this period, someone burned something in Sun Laizi's iron forehead. And this thing, I concluded, should be Linglingxiang—because when we went to investigate the case at night, Wang Duwei, the son of Wang Shangshu, escorted us together In the past, he smelled the scent of Lingling incense left in the house. He is a well-known incense practitioner in the capital, so he should not be mistaken. And I dare to conclude that this Lingling incense must be the same as the one that fascinated Wei Ximin at that time Yes, that's why Sun Laizi remained in that position after being stabbed in two places, dying motionless." Cui Chunzhan hurriedly asked: "Then, how did Lu Zhiyuan sneak into that sealed room and kill Sun Laizi? Could it be...he also knew where the sewer passed?" "This case has nothing to do with the sewer. If the murderer sneaked in from the sewer, then there must be traces in the house. Even if it is trampled down by people who followed Qian Guansuo to watch the fun, it is impossible to have the kind of solid ground. What's more, Lu Zhiyuan was busy in the store at the time, how could he have time to climb the sewer?" Huang Zixia asked Zhou Ziqin to lift the hollow pattern on the iron forehead, and said, "You can see that among the remaining ashes inside, there are two fingers The traces of erasure. Before we looked at the iron forehead, who would pay attention to this thing that was buried in a large number of spell portraits on Sun Manzi's wall? It is even less likely that anyone would have thought that there would be something hidden in the iron forehead. I think , the only person who might go inside to get something should be the murderer. And what did the murderer take away from here?" Pointing to the two traces left in the incense ash inside, she said: "This is a relatively large circular trace. If this thing is circular, judging from this diameter, it is absolutely impossible to get it out of the strange-shaped hollows of the iron forehead." If it is a flat disc, the murderer can barely reach in with a finger, move it out from the bottom, and take it out from the long gap in the cloud below—but this is not the case for the murderer. Take it, he took it from above, but here, the only hole can only allow a finger to pass through, and such a large circle that can be taken from such a small place... What is it?" Everyone couldn't help looking at the small hole and thinking, no one spoke in the hall for a while, only Zhang Xingying stood in the hall, looking at Di Cui's father as if looking at a stranger, while Lu Zhiyuan stood there in a daze, not saying a word. He didn't say anything, as if everything Huang Zixia said had nothing to do with him. After a short silence, Li Shubai said slowly, "It's a springboard." "Yes, it is the kind of stretch used on bows and crossbows. When scraping on the dust, it will leave a larger circular shape, but no matter how small the hole is, just turn it a few times, and it will be completely gone. Take it out effortlessly." Huang Zixia said, turning his gaze to Lu Zhiyuan again, and said as if sighing, "And Mr. Lu, he was drafted into the army back then, and he joined the crossbow team." "Could it be that Lu Zhiyuan... installed a crossbow in it?" Zhou Ziqin was stunned. "No, only two stretchers are needed." Huang Zixia pointed to the iron forehead and said, "Spread phosphorous powder on the outer layer, and put Lingling incense on the back. After Lingling incense, it is a stretcher sealed with wax. There are two thin iron sheets that have been poisoned on top of it." "I remembered! The rotten sores on Sun Laizi's half body make him only able to maintain the side sleeping position, and Mr. Lu has been a crossbowman for many years. He only needs to adjust the tension according to the angle between the door and the bed, and seal it with wax. Just stay there, and aim at the bed that is squeezed into that little space, a person who always sleeps in that position!" Zhou Ziqin suddenly realized: "That day at noon—maybe it won't be until noon, as long as the sun is strong enough , shone on the iron forehead, the phosphorous powder was heated, and ignited Lingling incense. This soothing and hypnotic incense would make Sun Mangzi drowsy, and his bed was facing the gate and the iron plaque on the door. When the Lingling incense was burned out, an open flame was lit inside the iron forehead, and the wax sealing the bandage melted instantly, and the bandage sealed in the wax popped out immediately, and the iron sheet placed on it shot straight into Sun's mouth at a slightly downward angle. Laizi's body. This fragrance can make Wei Ximin wake up from the bumps after sleeping all night, and Sun Laizi who is in a coma may not feel it at all, so he died!" "Yes, when he found out that Sun Laizi was looking for someone to strengthen the house, Lu Zhiyuan had already planned all of this. He first got an iron forehead from Qian's shop—anyway, the batch ordered at that time had the same pattern—renovated I put it inside, sealed it up as it was, and then went over with the toolbox, deliberately pretending that I only found out that it was for Sun Laizi to install the lamp holder at this time, and left after making a fuss. He has already replaced the iron forehead that was originally prepared, anyway, the masters are very nimble, they just hold something and insert it into the reserved seam, and they don't even look at it." "However, if this is the case, all the craftsmen present at that time would be suspicious of replacing the iron forehead, wouldn't they?" Cui Chunzhan said immediately, "Besides, as long as we see the poisonous iron flakes on his body, we can find it according to the angle. The murder weapon. However, neither Ziqin nor Dali Temple's experts could find anything like iron sheet on Sun Laizi's body!" "Yes, the poisoned iron sheet will completely reveal the secret of Sun Manzi's death in the secret room, so there is no way for people to think it is a punishment from God. So the murderer must go to Daningfang that afternoon, and he needs to arrange a In the play, he made a fuss about Sun Laizi's death, and made himself the first person to approach Sun Laizi's body. And that afternoon, in the tavern near Sun Laizi's house, Qian Guansuo, who was about to settle accounts, met the same Lu Zhiyuan, who was about to collect debts, split open the door of Sun Laizi’s house together—the small ax brought by Lu Zhiyuan, and the door opened by Qian Guansuo. The two of them broke in before everyone else, and the drunk Qian Guan Suo pushed the corpse directly to the ground, and Lu Zhiyuan, who pretended not to know, took the opportunity to turn his corpse over. However, no one saw it. At this moment, one of the two people closest to the corpse threw Sun Laizi pulled out the murder weapon stuck on his body, then pretended to be scared, and retreated to the door together with the other party. In the chaos of everyone reporting to the government and looking at the corpse, the murderer could take the opportunity to take away the mechanism in the iron forehead "Huang Zixia said, looking around everyone in the hall with clear eyes, "So, after Sun Laizi died, the first person who approached his body was the murderer." She turned around and her eyes fell on Qian Guansuo who was still kneeling there.He had a complex expression on his face, he didn't know whether it was shock or relief, but he looked at Lu Zhiyuan, the fat on his face trembling slightly. Li Run asked: "Qian Guansuo and Lu Zhiyuan were the first to get close to Sun Laizi's corpse at that time. You are right, they are the only ones who have the chance to take away the murder weapon from Sun Laizi's corpse. But why do you think that the murderer is not Qian? Guan Suo, but Lu Zhiyuan?" "It's very simple, isn't it? First, Qian Guansuo didn't have a chance to see that painting, so he wasn't the one who could kill people according to the second graffiti; second, the two of them were the only ones who approached the corpse first. The two of them In the middle, Lu Zhiyuan is awake, if Qian Guansuo took away the murder weapon, he would definitely be able to detect it; but if Lu Zhiyuan took the murder weapon, Qian Guansuo's state may not be able to detect it." Lu Zhiyuan was still standing there, with his back arched and his head lowered, motionless.It was just his eyes, fixed on the blue bricks on the ground. There, there was a drop of wetness. I don't know if it was the sweat dripping from his cheeks or the tears falling from his eyes. The summer sun shone hotly from outside the hall. Although everyone in the hall was standing in the backlight, the heat wave still scorched everyone, making people feel scorched. In the silence of the room, Lu Zhiyuan finally spoke. Although his expression was tired and gloomy, when he raised his head, his eyes were surprisingly sharp. "Yes. I killed Wei Ximin, and I also killed Sun Mangzi. They all deserve to die, don't they?" His voice was hoarse and his tone was calm, "I sometimes wonder why everything I do goes so smoothly. After I made the hollow candle outside, I also made the inner candle inside. Just before Wei Ximin came to see me, I was already disappointed and decided to put the inner candle inside, so I gave up this plan... Who knows, Just when the sky was getting dark, he came, God, after all, I was fulfilled! I once thought, is it because God is also pitying my daughter, so that I can bless me to kill without hindrance and very smoothly... " "However, when you killed the princess, you seemed extremely hasty. I think she wasn't in your plan, right?" Huang Zixia looked at him and said in a low voice. As soon as this sentence came out, the whole hall was dead silent, and everyone's breathing stagnated. The emperor's face suddenly changed drastically, he pressed the table uncontrollably, and stood up abruptly. He glared at Lu Zhiyuan, his eyes were bloodshot, and growled, "Tongchang...Tongchang is also your...killer!" Lu Zhiyuan stood motionless, lowered his head, and said vaguely: "I have never been in the princess mansion, and I have never even seen the princess's face." Wang Lin, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishments, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke at this time, and said, "Eunuch Yang, I also feel a little doubtful about this matter. Don't forget that the princess died under Jiuluanchai, and Jiuluanchai, Before the princess passed away, she disappeared mysteriously. I think it would be very difficult for the owner of a incense and candle shop to sneak into the princess's mansion and steal Jiuluanchai, who is locked in many locks, right?" Concubine Guo Shu also nodded, and said with a sob: "Tongchang has always cherished the Jiuluan hairpin, and this time he cherished it carefully because of his dream. Who knows... who knows, someone can arrange various tricks, and finally stole this hairpin... ..." Huang Zixia shook her head and said, "No, this servant thinks that the Jiuluan Chai, which is locked in many locks, can actually be stolen by a very simple method." The emperor pointed at her and said sharply, "Say it quickly!" "Dictation may be difficult to describe. Please also ask Dali Temple to prepare a box and two locks, one large and one small, so that I can reproduce for everyone the situation when Jiuluan Chai disappeared." Cui Chunzhan immediately ordered someone to bring a box, and Huang Zixia asked someone to put it against the wall, and then borrowed the box containing tissue paper from Li Run, the King of E, and pressed down the macaroni on his hairpin, pulled out the jade hairpin inside, Wrap it in a handkerchief and put it in a box. After she showed the things to everyone, she asked Li Run to lock them herself.After Li Run put the box in the box, she asked him to lock the box with another lock and put the key away. She pointed to the box and asked Chuizhu and the others: "Is that the case when the princess put the Jiuluan hairpin into the treasure house?" Several maids said with tears: "Exactly, exactly the same." Huang Zixia nodded, and then said to everyone: "Everyone can see that I have never touched a single finger of the contents of this box, but I have actually stolen the contents of this box." Li Run said in astonishment: "Impossible! You have been standing two steps away from me, how could you have the opportunity to steal it?" "If you don't believe me, Lord E, please give me the key, and I will open it for you to see. It's just like the princess gave the key to the maids and asked them to fetch things." She looked back at the silent maids and said with a smile, "Of course, Several people must go together so that they can supervise each other.” She walked up to the box, motioned the four maids to stand behind her, and asked, "The treasury is lined with shelves, where were you standing at that time?" After thinking for a while, the maids walked one by one and stood behind her. "Because of the surrounding shelves, you can only stand behind me and see my back, but you can't see what my hands are doing, can you?" She opened the box against the wall, and then put the He took out the box, put it on the closed lid, opened the small box again, and said loudly, "The things are gone!" Hearing her announcement, not only the maids, but also everyone in the hall surrounded her.I saw Huang Zixia standing in front of the empty open box, holding the open box in his hand, looking back at them. Chuiyu turned pale with fright, and said, "Yes! That's how it disappeared out of nowhere! Chuizhu, Chuizhu, don't you think so?" Chuizhu stood there motionless, without answering. Huang Zixia said coldly: "This is a method that can only be implemented by those who open the box with their own hands." Zhou Ziqin suddenly realized, and immediately asked: "So, when you opened the box, you stuffed things into your sleeve or bosom, and then pretended that the box was already empty?" "Impossible!" Luo Pei immediately said, "As soon as the things were found missing, the princess immediately ordered a search of everyone, not to mention Chui Zhu and us who went to fetch the things at that time, even the maids of Qiyun Pavilion Search the body, search the room, if a hairpin as big as Jiuluan Chai had been hidden by Chuizhu, it would have been discovered immediately!" "Of course it's impossible to hide it on your body." Huang Zixia rolled up her sleeves to show that there was nothing inside, "I just used the moment when the lid of the box was opened again to deliver the things that no one else would notice." It's just a place." She dragged the empty box back, and in the gap between the box and the corner of the wall, she wrapped it with a handkerchief by herself, and the hairpin that was placed in the box locked by King E was impressively on the ground. Amidst the stunned low voices of the crowd, Huang Zixia opened the handkerchief, took out the jade hairpin inside and inserted it back into the silver hairpin on his head, then returned the box to King E, and said: "When everyone searches the body and the room, But no one thought of pulling the box out from the bottom shelf to see what was hidden in the gap behind the box. In the treasure house of Qiyun Pavilion, only the box was covered with rags. It must have been planned by Chuizhu long ago, because he was afraid that Jiuluan Chai would make a noise when he lifted the box and let the hairpin slip off, so he laid cloth strips there in advance to reduce the sound, right?" Chui Zhu listened blankly, her knees gave way, she knelt down and collapsed on the ground. Concubine Guo Shu jumped up and shouted: "Chuizhu! It's you! You... the princess treats you well, but you...you dare to murder the princess!" "No! The servant is just... the servant just took away the Jiuluan hairpin, the servant... the servant has no choice but to..." Chuizhu cried, shaking her head again and again, "How dare the servant do anything to the princess? Even if the servant has ten thousand courage, The servants also absolutely dare not!" The son-in-law Wei Baoheng, his haggard and absent-minded face was now even more ugly, almost ashen.He stood up unsteadily, opened his lips, but said nothing. "You are here to tell me the truth!" The emperor strode up to her, pointed to the bead and asked, "You are the person around Linghui, and she relies most on you on a daily basis. Is the princess sick with anxiety?" "Because...because..." Chui Zhu said in a trembling voice, but she didn't dare to open her mouth, she just fell down on the ground crying bitterly, almost fainting. Huang Zixia looked back at Qian Guansuo who was kneeling and shivering beside the hall, and said slowly, "Of course it's because of your father, Qian Guansuo." Chuizhu still cried and prostrated herself on the ground, without raising her head. But Qian Guansuo's body shook, his fat and loose neck turned inch by inch, looking at the drooping bead that seemed to be twitching because of crying too much, his lips were trembling violently, but he couldn't squeeze it no matter what. Come up with a word. “到底怎么回事？给朕一五一十说清楚！”皇帝直接面向黄梓瑕，一拂袍袖，指着她喝道。 “是，我想这件事，应该从十年前说起。”黄梓瑕见钱关索茫然不知所措，垂珠伏地哭得几乎晕厥，而皇帝就站在她面前等待答案，只能说道：“那时钱关索因为穷困潦倒，所以卖掉了女儿杏儿。杏儿入宫之后，被改名为垂珠，分到了公主的宫中。垂珠聪颖勤快，经过十年的磨炼，成为了公主身边最不可缺少的人——而就在这个时候，她发现自己的父亲出现了。在她即将因为公主的帮助而嫁给朝中前途大好的青年官员时，这个从小抛弃了她的父亲却出现了。而本朝以来，官吏与商户之间，虽已有较多通婚，但一个商户女与一个由公主亲自销除奴籍又亲自指婚的侍女，在夫家看来，到底应该是哪个更好一些呢？” 众人都默然无语，只看着全身颤抖伏在地上的垂珠。 而垂珠终于抬起头，眼泪泉涌，无法抑制。她努力想睁大眼看自己的父亲钱关索，然而终究被泪水模糊了眼睛，无论如何都看不清。 她只能喃喃说道：“是……我熬了十年，终于要熬出头了，可你……可你为什么忽然又要出现，为什么要断绝公主替我铺设好的锦绣前程？你知不知道，若是我真的与你相认了，我大好的婚事就完了！就算对方不会悔婚，我一个商户女，以后在夫家，又怎么做人？” 黄梓瑕默然看着她，轻声说：“然则，你的父亲一直期待着与你重逢。” “是啊，被自己卖掉的女儿，居然没有死，居然还在公主府中过着那么好的日子，他喜滋滋地捧着那个金蟾回去，向所有人炫耀自己女儿有出息，却不知我忧虑得整夜没睡，我好怕……好怕自己只是个商户女的身份被人发现。”垂珠委顿地坐倒在地上，从众人旁观的角度看来，她那种绝望的神情动作，与她的父亲钱关索，几乎是一模一样。 钱关索终于嗫嚅着，低声说：“可……可我们见面的时候，你很爽快地给我看过胎记，我还听到了你的笑声……还有，还有那个金蟾，是你自己要给我的，不是我要的……” 垂珠怔愣了一下，呆呆地没开口。 黄梓瑕便问：“钱老板，你不觉得，与你说话的'你女儿'，和现在垂珠的声音，并不一样吗？” 钱关索颓然点头道：“是……不太一样了。” “和你说话，给你看胎记，又把金蟾给你的人，不是我，”垂珠终于颤声开口，目光畏惧地投向皇帝和郭淑妃，“她……她是……” “是同昌公主，不是吗？”见她始终不敢说出口，黄梓瑕便帮她说道，“虽然我不知道公主为什么要冒充钱关索的女儿，但在公主府之中，我们曾见过她身边一个小瓷狗。那种瓷狗，只是市井中最普通的玩物，与周围富丽堂皇的环境格格不入。当时我便觉得奇怪，因为公主小时候曾被碎瓷器割破手腕，圣上珍爱她，因此下令，她的身边不能出现陶瓷的东西。那么，这个小瓷狗是哪里来的，在公主死后，又是谁将它摔碎，企图隐瞒呢？” 垂珠呼吸急促，眼泪一颗颗掉下来，却什么也没说。 “现在想来，那应该就是钱老板送给她，换来了金蟾的那一个小瓷狗吧。而在公主薨逝之后，她身边的人——应该就是你，为了隐瞒，而毁掉了小瓷狗。最简单的方法，当然就是将它从高台摔下，然后假装不经意，走到合欢树下，将那一堆碎瓷片踩入泥中，神不知，鬼不觉，”黄梓瑕摇头道，“而且，除了小瓷狗之外，我想，能让厨娘菖蒲和你就算撒谎、就算引火上身也要尽力隐瞒，而且还能将皇上赐予的东西随便送人的，也只有公主了。” “是……”垂珠终于出声，她不敢再看面前众人，头垂得极低极低，低若不闻地喃喃道，“谁知道呢，我听菖蒲说起钱……钱老板要找自己手上有胎记的女儿，因我手上烧伤后早已没有胎记，便只假装不知。谁知公主却凑巧在里屋睡醒，听到了此事，说自己每日无所事事无聊至极，便让我帮她在手腕上用眉黛画了个胎记，又和我商议如何骗过他。看她如此兴致勃勃的模样，我也只好答应了，凭记忆给她画了我手上的胎记，又给她出主意隔着屏风说话，只想让她骗一回好玩就算了，谁知他们说话间偶尔提起小瓷狗，钱……钱老板巴巴地就去找了来送给她，一来二去，公主竟乐此不疲了……” 一个朝中最受宠爱的公主，居然去冒充一个从小被卖掉的孤女，而这个孤女子又恰巧是她身边的侍女。众人听着这简直匪夷所思的事情，堂上一时寂静无声。 钱关索呆呆地跪在堂上，这一刻他身体的颤抖也停止了，仿佛他已经感受不到自己遍体鳞伤的痛，他只是跪在那里，怔怔地，却想不明白，茫然而悲哀。