Chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen

There was a heavy rain in the middle of the night, and the lotus pond in Houya was washed so that it was not stained.In the early morning, the air is clear and fresh, the lotus fragrance is overflowing, the hibiscus is curling up in the wind, and the lotus leaves are like a cover.Di Gong chanted alone for a long time before going back to the inner office to have breakfast. Hong Liang and Ma Rong were waiting in the inner yamen.When Mr. Di was having breakfast, Ma Rong reported that he had gone to Qingfeng Nunnery early in the morning, and that Fang Jingxing's injury had improved. According to Baoyue Road, he would be fully recovered in ten and a half months.

Di Gongdao: "Last night, I thought about this case carefully. Today we will go to Ziguang Temple to search again, and then we will send 'monk' and his daughter Chunyun to ask questions." Ma Rong said: "This Chunyun girl is clever, clever and cute. She is a 'monk' buried in the Qingfeng Nunnery. She knows Ziguang Temple very well, and she even drew a plan of Ziguang Temple." Di Gong drank the last mouthful of porridge, wiped his mouth, put down the bowl and chopsticks, nodded and said: "Ma Rong, the floor plan of Chunyun is very interesting." He took out the picture from the drawer and spread it on the desk Watch and play carefully.

While pointing out the floor plan, Ma Rong recounted the details of his pursuit with the murderer last night. "I saw that fellow rushing out of the palace gate, I ran after him, but I tripped over a rope ladder, and my mouth and nose were blue." Suddenly Di Gong punched the desk hard, the teacup was shaken upside down, the tea flowed in a mess, and the floor plan was soaked.Hong Liang hurried forward to wipe it with a rag. "God! It turns out that the agency is here! How come I didn't see the clues until now. Last time I went to the temple, I felt that the layout of the hall was a bit unusual, but it turns out that there is a lot of attention."

With his hands behind his back, Di Gong began to pace back and forth, stroking his beard repeatedly.Hong Liang and Ma Rong understood that the case was not far from the truth.However, at this time, no one wanted to ask random questions and confuse Duke Di's thoughts. The sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the study, Fang Xiaowei rushed in to report to the emperor. "The barbarians in Beiliao are surrounding Tara to show off their violence. They throw stones and mud at her and hit her, saying that she is a demon star, a devil, and a criminal, and they are about to put her to death."

After hearing this, Ma Rong complained in his heart, and looked at Di Gong with wide eyes.Di Gong nodded, and he immediately ran out of the yamen, took the horse, raised his whip, and galloped out of the yamen. Beiliao was in chaos, Tara's house was already on fire, groups of thugs were hissing, yelling, and yelling wildly, chasing Tara like a tide.The two yamen servants stopped and retreated, and the few barbarians who ran in the front threw stones violently.Tara fell to the ground, covered in blood, panting Linlin. Ma Rong galloped his horse towards the crowd, lashing out with his whip, and the mob backed away one after another, and then dispersed with a howl.He dismounted to rescue Tara.Tara was bloodied and dying.A pair of big dark eyes flashed a terrifying light.She looked at Ma Rong speechlessly, seeming to recognize him, with a bleak smile on her calm face.

Suddenly there was a loud noise, and Tara's house burned down, and several thick black smoke rose up.The black smoke dissipated, and flames rose several feet high, and there were crackling sounds all around. Tara smiled, closed her eyes and passed away.Ma Rong picked up her body and put it on the horseback, and charged towards the crowd: "Go put out the fire! Go out with me!" Then everyone came to their senses, and they carried water and ladders to put out the fire. ——Tara's neighbors have been engulfed in flames, and there are waves of panicked cries for help. Ma Rong returned to the government office, exhausted.He ordered the yamen servants to take Tara's body to the incineration factory and burn it before returning to the inner yamen to report to Duke Di.

Di Gong and Hong Liang are listening to the secretary who came back from Qiemo Town report the results of his investigation in the study. When Ma Rong walked into the study, Di Gong said: "You came just in time, let's listen to the clues from Qiemo Zhengou together." He ordered the secretary to continue talking. Ma Rong brewed a cup of tea by himself, and when he was about to drink it, he saw seven pieces of paper lined up on Di Gongshu's case, one of which was written with big characters of Gongkai.It was inconvenient for him to take a closer look, so he took a sip of the fragrant tea and calmed down to listen to the secretary's narration.

"As soon as Zou Xianggong, the treasurer of the household department, arrived in Qiemo Town, the official post dispatched an officer to serve him. According to the officer, this Zou Xianggong declined the government's banquet, saying that he was exhausted and physically exhausted. , ordered the officer to prepare a little wine and drink in the official post room. No one was invited, so he ate alone and fell asleep. His entourage rested in the outhouse. The officer also said that before going to bed, Mr. Zou ordered him to go Find a leather craftsman and say that a leather suitcase he was carrying with him was broken and needs to be repaired that night so as not to delay the journey tomorrow. ——The night guards found a leather craftsman surnamed Liu, and he retreated to the servant's room Went to rest. The next morning, Mr. Zou set off on his way. ——that's all the officer knows."

"I quickly found the leather craftsman. His name is Liu Shanlong. This Liu Shanlong is clever, eloquent, good at various crafts, and has a lot of contacts. He is also an acquaintance with the official in the government, so the officer asked him to replace Zou. Mr. Xianggong repairs the suitcase, which is considered a good business recommendation." "Zou Xianggong showed Liu Shanlong the leather suitcase, and there was a crack in one corner of the suitcase. Zou Xianggong said that it was because the suitcase fell from the horse's back when crossing the Gobi Desert. Then Liu Shanlong looked at the crack in the suitcase carefully, and said It is necessary to open the leather case and sew the ribs from the inner corner. Zou Xianggong was scruples, so he just asked the leather craftsman to find a way to sew up the gap outside without opening the lid. The two disagreed, so Zou Xianggong stopped repairing it, and Liu Shanlong’s business was out of business. It's done."

"It turned out that when Liu Shanlong checked the cracks in the suitcase, he vaguely found that the contents of the suitcase were gold, and the weight was very heavy. In addition, Mr. Zou hesitated and refused to open the lid of the suitcase. He believed it even more. Liu Shanlong knew all kinds of religions, gold and silver He has done business in copper, iron, silk and fur, and he has figured out this box of gold, how can he hide it?" "However, this Liu Shanlong is timid, cautious, and law-abiding after all. Knowing that it is an official gold ingot, he didn't dare to steal evil thoughts. But his mouth was itchy, like a trough running through water, and he couldn't help spreading it. The news First spread among the gold and silver jewelry makers, everyone grinned in disbelief. When Zou Xianggong arrived in Lanfang, the news that he was carrying a lot of money had already disappeared in Lanfang."

"In the past, the virtuous way, wealth is not revealed. Zou Jigong was negligent, and he insulted his mission and was thrown into prison. The fifty ingots of imperial gold were stolen that night, and there was no news about it." The secretary couldn't help sighing when he said this, showing great embarrassment Sophisticated style. Di Gong nodded frequently and raised his teacup to pay tribute.The secretary stepped back. Ma Rong reported the process of suppressing the chaos in Beiliao, and said that Tara's body had been taken to the Huaren Factory and burned.Duke Di nodded in satisfaction, thinking in his heart, a group of mobs who believed in evil gods actually murdered Tara, and the government couldn't identify which one was the murderer, so they punished them severely.The most urgent task at the moment is to clarify this huge serial case of murder and robbery. He said: "Let's not go to Ziguang Temple yet. When the secretary came, I was discussing the details of this case with Hong Liang, especially the date of each plot before and after. I feel that although this case is glamorous, It is very fancy, but there is a line running through the inside. The arrangement of the dates is very particular. Oh, you see, I have arranged seven pieces of paper on this table, and I drew a name on each piece of paper, and each name is The murderer is suspected.—Let us now ponder these seven names in detail."