Chapter 22 Chapter two

On the way back to the small pavilion in the lotus pond, Ma Rong muttered, "My lord, why didn't you ask about it in detail just now? When she was listed in 'Yangliuwu', there were always a few people who were jealous. resentment..." Di Gong said with a smile: "I'm waiting for you to investigate the details. Don't you have some contacts with that apple blossom in 'Yangliuwu'?" "Master, it's not apple blossoms, but peach blossoms." Ma Rong pouted. "That's right, Bitaohua. ——You should go to 'Yangliuwu' right now, and talk to Bitaohua first, and ask clearly who Mrs. Meng had frequent contacts with there at that time."

Ma Rong agreed, so he said goodbye to Duke Di, took his mount outside the bamboo fence gate, and galloped towards 'Yangliuwu'. Di Gong came to Xiaoting alone and saw Yuan Kai talking with a well-dressed stranger. Seeing Mr. Di coming back, Yuan Kai hurriedly introduced: "Master Di, this is Wen Jingfang, the shopkeeper of the tea shop." Wen Jingfang hastily stepped forward and bowed, saying "bump". Di Gong asked lightly: "Why did shopkeeper Wen come here so early in the morning?" Wen Jingfang's expression was disturbed, and he hesitated: "Xiaomin just heard the news of Mr. Meng's bad news, so he came here to ask Mrs. Meng...but he felt that it was inappropriate, and he might cause trouble."

Di Gongdao: "So, shopkeeper Wen is very familiar with Mr. and Mrs. Meng?" Yuan Kai hurriedly said: "We are about to tell Mr. Di something. Mrs. Meng met us once when she was listed in 'Yangliuwu'. Her name was Jasmine at that time, and she was very popular. Of course, Mr. Meng paid a lot of money later. She was redeemed and moved out of the valley to Qiao, but the old friendship is still there. We are very happy to see her happy life after marriage." Di Gong asked again: "I don't know if you two came here last night?" Wen Jingfang timidly replied: "We both went to 'Yangliuwu' last night to fight and fight, and made a fuss until four o'clock. We didn't return home until dawn. How could we come here?"

Yuan Kai said: "After I got home, I packed up my hunting clothes and came to the county government office to wait for the master. Ma Rong went to hunt hares by the lake." Di Gong smiled: "I just ask casually, don't mind." Wen Jingfang felt relaxed and didn't dare to see Mrs. Meng without permission, so he walked out of the garden with Di Gong and Yuan Kai on the bridge.Seeing the lotus leaves turning over in the wind and the golden waves rippling on the lotus pond, he couldn't help sighing: "The scenery of this lotus pond is so charming, Mr. Meng really—"

Yuan Kai responded: "The scenery on the pool is certainly beautiful, but it's not quiet. The frogs in the water sometimes scream desperately." After leaving the bamboo gate, the three of them bowed to say goodbye. Di Gong got on his horse and went back to the county government. When Di Gong returned to the Yamen, he first went to the inner Yamen to issue a certificate, and ordered his party to send it to "Yangliuwu" quickly and hand it over to Ma Rong. The details of "Wu" and verify whether the servant boy in Meng's house really slept in his home last night.

Di Gong hurriedly swallowed a few pieces of fragrant cakes, drank a cup of tea, and went to the side room of the outer hall to hear the results of the autopsy.Wu Zuo submitted the detailed autopsy items to Duke Di for his review. ——Meng Lan was stabbed in the heart with a dagger and died.His body was very strong before his death.There was no sign of resistance at the time of death.The corpse has been temporarily housed in a coffin, and it is parked in a side room in the outer hall, waiting for the official case to be confirmed, and then the coffin is closed for recommendation, and the place is selected for burial.

It was noon when Ma Rong returned to Yali.Seeing his happy face and radiant spirit, Duke Di hurriedly asked: "You have spent the whole morning at Bi Taohua's place, and you must have developed a lot of true stories." Ma Rong said solemnly: "I'm on official business, how dare I blindly fall in love with her? Just because I want to get something out of the woman's mouth, I have to do it at the right time. Therefore, I will talk about some old feelings with Bi Taohua first, to relieve her doubts, and slowly It took me a while to turn the conversation to Mrs. Meng, as if I hadn't intended to ask about it, rather than a special investigation. Later, the yamen's official sent the master's warrant in a hurry, so I went around a bit more, and after a lot of hard work, I finally got it. Many insider details.

"It turns out that Mrs. Meng's maiden name is Shi, and her name is Shi Xiaolan. In 'Yangliuwu', her stage name was 'Jasmine Flower' when she was listed." She originally came from the north. Two years ago, there was a severe drought in her hometown, and many people died of starvation. , she was tricked and sold to 'Yangliuwu', and happened to be in the same courtyard as Bitaohua, so the sisters are very familiar and intimate. Jasmine is more lovable than other flowers in the courtyard, and it is naturally beautiful Second, she has an elegant manner, and third, she has a gentle temperament. ——When she was most popular, there were many young men chasing and flattering her, including Yuan Kai and Wen Jingfang. Yuan Kai also tried to buy Jasmine with money, but for some reason She didn't agree. Wen Jingfang also had this idea, but she also rejected it. However, according to Bi Taohua, Jasmine regretted it later, especially after she married that boring and pedantic wife Meng Lan At the same time, Wen Jingfang has always missed Jasmine and never forgot it. He often said to other sisters that it was a pity that Jasmine married that shriveled old man. A flower was planted on the cow dung pile.

"Master, I also found out that Jasmine has a brother named Shi Xiaoming, who is a worthless young man who likes to eat, drink, whore and gamble, and often begs money from her sister. Jasmine's meager savings have been exhausted by him. But Jasmine loves him dearly, never accuses him directly, teaches him, and allows him to squander. Later, Shi Xiaoming disappeared for some reason, and Jasmine was so anxious that he asked people to ask for news. A few days ago, he showed up again. Asking her sister for money and entangled with Meng Lan endlessly, Jasmine was very sad and could not comfort her. In the end Shi Xiaoming and Meng Lan quarreled and left angrily, threatening that he could borrow a large sum of money from shopkeeper Yuan. I haven't seen him since then."

Di Gong asked: "Did you ask about the servant boy in Meng's house? Did he go out last night?" "The servant boy didn't go out last night. Master, I asked his father and the neighbors about it. The servant boy went home after dinner in Meng's house. When he got home, he lay down on the broken bed and fell asleep. Until today's dawn. Yes, the master also asked about what happened to Yuan Kai and Wen Jingfang last night, and I also found out clearly. The person who accompanied Yuan Kai last night was Peony, and the two stayed together until after midnight before Yuan Kai left 'Yangliuwu'. Du Juan was accompanying Wen Jingfang, and Du Juan said that Wen Jingfang was so drunk last night that it was already midnight when she left 'Yangliuwu'. ——Oh, both of them walked home, and they refused to go home. Hiring a car, it is said that the moonlight is clear and the night breeze is cool, just to sober up, while enjoying the lakeside scenery.

"My lord, that's all I heard. From my point of view, that Shi Xiaoming is a very suspicious person. He hates Meng Lan for marrying his sister, cut off his money, is stingy, and reprimands him." He was not doing his job properly, and now that Shi Xiaoming is missing, could he be the one who killed him?" Di Gong said: "Ma Rong, you are hungry and tired. Go to the dining hall in the back hall to have lunch and have a good rest. I have nothing to do in the afternoon. I will come to you in the evening. Yes, you can ask the rafters to write a sea arrest document." , wanted Shi Xiaoming." After finishing his lunch in a hurry, Mr. Di picked a cool tung tree shade and sat down on a bamboo chair. He was about to sort out the clues of the case of Meng Lan's murder when the clerk on duty sent an official document.It turned out that Hong Canjun and the others had already detected the situation of the strong men who robbed the government treasury.According to official documents, a total of six people participated in the robbery.After a group of them had a great meal at the restaurant in Xijiepai Village, they handed over the stolen gold to a young man there.After the young man took over the gold-package, he left Xijiepai Village and walked into the dense forest of the neighboring county.On the second day, several woodcutters found the boy's body in a ditch in the dense forest.After a hasty autopsy, it was found that there was Mongolian sweat medicine in the boy's mouth, so Hong Canjun concluded that the robbery of the government treasury was carefully planned in advance.The group of strong men who started the attack were just hired by people with a lot of money, and the young man passed it on in the middle, and the culprit finally came out to clean up the end. ——killed the boy and swallowed the twelve ingots of gold all by himself.Because the young man died in a dense forest in a neighboring county, Hong Canjun implored Di's father-in-law to investigate the dense forest outside Xijiepai Village in his official document, and asked Wen Wen, the magistrate of neighboring counties, to cooperate in the search for the culprit in the case. Di Gong closed the document, closed his eyes and meditated.Although he should rush to Xijie Pai Village immediately to resolve the case, Meng Lan's murder case is not yet closed.Yuan Kai and Wen Jingfang are suspected, but what about Shi Xiaoming?What does his strange behavior indicate?Could it be that Meng Lan was really killed by Shi Xiaoming?He only felt a faint headache. The cool breeze is blowing, and the cicadas are singing.Di Gong gradually lost his mind, his eyelids became heavy, and he fell asleep unconsciously. When Di Gong woke up, the sun had already set in the west, and Ma Ronggong stood beside his bamboo chair and waited patiently.Di Gong was very annoyed and said that it was a mistake. Ma Rong reported that the arrest warrants for Shi Xiaoming had been posted everywhere, and additional soldiers were deployed at the four gates of the county to guard them closely. Di Gong nodded, handed the official document sent by Hong Canjun to Ma Rong, and said, "Please read this official document carefully first, and we will go to Xijiepai Village for on-site investigation tomorrow morning. It is a hundred and twenty miles away. You need Zhang Luohao to respond to the chariot and horse attendants and wait for dispatch. The state government has sent people to remind the letter, it seems that this matter cannot be delayed."