Chapter 41 Chapter Sixteen

A group of official sedan chairs stopped at the "Kaiyan Residence" behind Faxing Temple.The gate has long been guarded by regiments.Di Gong asked Li Jia: "Where is the scene?" Lijia replied: "My lord, the crime was committed in the small pavilion on the left side of the inner courtyard. The villain will lead the way." Di Gong followed Li Jia to Xiaoxuan on the left side of the inner courtyard.Bao Kuan, Tao Gan, Qiao Tai, Yao Taikai and four Ya Ding followed closely behind. While walking, Mr. Di asked again: "Did you touch anything at the scene?" "No. When the little girl here came to report the case, she only said it was Miss Wang. The villain came and knew it was Mrs. Bao. She had seen it before. She didn't move a single item."

After a while, I arrived at Xiaoxuan where the accident happened, and I saw two regiments guarding the door.Lijia said: "When I was about to leave, I ordered someone to guard it. I wondered if someone had come in." Di Gong agreed and ordered everyone to wait outside the door for a while.He first went to Xiaoxuan and looked around carefully.Nai ordered Qiao Tai to come in and turn over the corpse lying on the ground, and let Bao Kuan identify it. The face of the corpse was terrifying, the long swollen tongue stuck out of the mouth, and the purple blood was smudged.Bao Kuan yelled, covering his face, not daring to look closely.

Di Gong ordered the little girl who first discovered the murder case to be questioned. Li Jia passed a trembling little girl to him. Duke Di asked, "What's your name?" The little girl replied: "The slave is called asparagus." "How did you find out that someone was killed here?" Duke Di said kindly. "When the servant came to this Xiaoxuan to offer tea, he suddenly saw Miss Wang curled up on the ground. He yelled a few times and saw that she was already dead with a white silk scarf around her neck." "Do you know what Miss Wang is here for?" Di Gong asked again.

"Miss Wang has been here a few times, and met a man. She just talked, and never avoided hiding. ——Miss Wang came first today, who would have thought that she would be strangled to death." The little girl also felt sad. "Wen Zhu, let me ask you again, do you know that man?" "I don't know. This Miss Wang also heard from Nanny Shen, but she never answered the words." Di Gong nodded.He waved his hand to signal asparagus to back down, and sent Madam Shen to ask questions. After a while, Nanny Shen passed the news to Xiaoxuan, reporting her surname and age.Di Gong then asked: "Sister Shen, I heard that you are the manager of this mansion?"

"Returning to the master, yes. Shopkeeper Yao ordered the old daughter-in-law to guard the house and take care of the four girls. There are also a few little girls who follow, and Wenzhu is one of them. Shopkeeper Yao comes once or twice a month, sometimes Bring some friends." "How did you know Mrs. Bao?" Di Gong asked suddenly. "Returning to the master, the old daughter-in-law just found out that the victim was Mrs. Bao. In the past, she was only called Miss Wang. Otherwise, how dare the old daughter-in-law let Mr. Ni associate with her." "Mr. Ni is in contact with her, does shopkeeper Yao know about this?"

Nanny Shen looked at Yao Taikai suspiciously, and said timidly: "The shopkeeper Yao really doesn't know about this. Mr. Ni is a famous person, and he has benefited a lot from spreading money. He only calls it Miss Wang, who wants to stop it?" ? Besides, when the two of them met, they never dodged and closed the door. They just held tea and talked, and never saw anything wrong. ——If the master doesn’t believe it, you can ask the girl here. They meet in this small pavilion, and don’t Talking about sleeping on the bed, there is no more bench. The two of them just sit across the coffee table and gossip, sometimes abandon a game of chess, eat some snacks, and then leave."

"Can Mr. Ni and Mrs. Bao be notified in advance when they come?" Duke Di asked again. "They never give advance notice, they come whenever they want, and they always come in their own way. Today, Mrs. Bao came a step earlier, but she was plotted against, but Mr. Ni didn't come, and the old daughter-in-law also felt puzzled." Di Gongdao: "Before and after Mrs. Bao came here, did Madam Shen see other guests coming here?" "Back to the master, no. . . . Oh, there was a poor blind girl who came here, and Mrs. Bao kicked her first." "You said she was a blind girl?" Duke Di was alert.

"Yes. This blind girl is plainly dressed and speaks elegantly. The old daughter-in-law asked her if she often sells crickets and shopkeeper Yao, and she answered yes. Once I saw shopkeeper Yao waiting for her at home." Di Gong asked: "You told her that Mr. Yao is not here, did the blind girl leave immediately?" "No, she chatted with the old daughter-in-law at the door for a while. She also said that she was going to meet a girlfriend. The old daughter-in-law led her out of the back door and walked away." Suddenly, Li Jia came in angrily and reported to the Xuan Xuan.I saw Ni Tianji being dragged in by two yamen.

"What's going on here?" Duke Di asked. "This Mr. Ni just came here in a sedan chair, and he walked towards the inner courtyard calmly. The villain thought that the suspect had thrown himself into the trap, so he took him down." Di Gong glanced at Ni Tianji's bewildered state, and asked, "What is Mr. Ni doing here?" "I have a date here with an acquaintance. I should have arrived early, but I was delayed by two friends for a drink. Unexpectedly, as soon as I came in, I was detained by the yamen, for some reason." "I don't know who is Mr. Ni's acquaintance?" Di Gong said softly.

"Let's not mention his name. They are all regulars of Mr. Yao's Kaiyanju. I don't know what happened here. I am so panicked. Master Lao Di is responsible." Mr. Di twisted his beard and said: "Mr. Ni, don't beat around the bush. Mrs. Bao Xingzhi was killed here in Xiaoxuan." Ni Tianji's face was pale, he was dumbfounded, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time. Bao Kuan suddenly rushed in and shouted: "Where is Ni thief? See if I peel off his skin." Di Gong waved his hand to signal Ya Ding to take Ni Tianji to another room for Qiao Tai to question him carefully.Bao Kuan stopped him head-on, and refused to let him go. He raised his hand and wanted to hit Ni Tianji.

Di Gong shouted: "Bao Xianggong is self-respecting! You are so presumptuous in front of me!" Bao Kuannai came to his senses and didn't feel embarrassed.He lowered his head, grabbed his chest and stomped his feet. Di Gongdao: "Mr. Bao doesn't have to be so embarrassed. I told you the truth, Ling Hu was killed by mistake." "Wrong kill?" Bao Kuan raised his head and looked at Di Gong blankly. "Yes, the gangster killed the wrong person. It turned out that the blind girl selling crickets was the one the gangster chased after. The blind girl came one step ahead, and she also took a step ahead. Linghu is very similar to the blind girl, and she turned her back to the window. , and was strangled to death by the gangster's silk scarf." After hearing this, Bao Kuan was stunned for a while.Suddenly he said: "Zhuojing bought crickets with that blind girl several times, so he must have known each other. The murderer is using her as a lead to come here to kill someone." "Mr. Bao, let's go back to the mansion first. I heard what Mr. Ni said, as well as what Shen Shen and Wen Zhu said here. ——Ling Yu Suxian, Nei Ze, has no trace of infidelity. It is definitely not appropriate to date Mr. Ni, but Absolutely nothing was done, and it did not tarnish the reputation of your Bao Mansion." Two yamen help Bao Kuan to retreat, and go back to the mansion in a sedan chair. Di Gong turned to Qiao Tai's right room where Ni Tianji was being judged, and saw Tao Gan was also here.They just had a heart-to-heart talk with each other, knowing that Ni Tianji was innocent in this matter. Seeing Di Gong come in, Qiao Tai reported: "The murderer came down from the roof. There is a big tree outside Xiaoxuan's window, which can be hidden. Mr. Ni and I went to see it just now, and indeed a few branches were broken." Ni Tianji's eyes were absent-minded, and his face was full of tears. Di Gong persuaded: "Although you and Xingzhi fell in love first, but the red rope was lost, she had to become Mrs. Bao, which is also fate. Forget about this unfortunate incident. You have a close relationship with a married woman. , there is no happy ending." Ni Tianji grinned. Di Gong ordered Qiao and Tao to accompany Ni Tianji to the street for dinner and wine, and then come to see him after dinner. ——He drove back to the governor's yamen with Yao Tai, and wanted to ask more questions.