Suspicion breeds ghosts. Ever since she found out that the medicinal materials in the yard came from her concubine's grave, Mrs. Tan's inner demons have become more and more serious day by day. In addition to her deteriorating health, she will also see "ghosts"!
The Taoist priest Luan who was dancing the sword in the courtyard was originally invited by Mrs. Tan to exorcise ghosts.
According to the housekeeper, Taoist Master Luan arrived half a month ago and has been living in the Taoist temple donated by the Tan family. He is not here to help Mrs. Tan exorcise ghosts, but to help Mr. Tan perform rituals for the people who died from the epidemic.
According to the original plan, today was supposed to be the first day of the ceremony, but Mrs. Tan died and Master Tan disappeared, so the ceremony could only be delayed.
"After talking for a long time, I still haven't mentioned evil spirits." Shen Chongming said: "What is the connection between Mrs. Tan's death and evil spirits? Why did Taoist Luan not come earlier or later, but chose this time to come. He was dancing with the sword in the courtyard just now, maybe he wanted to tell us that Mrs. Tan was harmed by an evil spirit, and that evil spirit was a concubine who had died in the mansion for many years."
"It's a pair of bloody footprints."
The butler pointed toward the threshold.
Here's the thing.
Tan Xingzhi got up early to pay his respects to his mother. When he found out that his mother was dead, he immediately went to find his father. However, he searched around the house and asked all the servants in the house, but they all said they had not seen the master. The mother died and the father disappeared. Before the mother died, she had a dispute with the father and said that the father was not a suspect, but he did not believe it.
He looked into his father's room and found that all his father's things were there. He didn't bring anything with him except the clothes he wore on the night of the crime. I asked the accountant in the mansion and found that the key was still there, the items in the warehouse had not been touched, and no money had been deducted from the account. All the subordinate shops were also in normal condition.
When everything was normal, his father's disappearance became abnormal. Just imagine, how could a person trying to escape after committing a murder not even take any money with him?
So, Tan Xingzhi took the housekeeper to the county government office to report for official service.
After coming out of the county government office, Tan Xingzhi and the steward's soldiers split up in two directions. The steward took Gu Zuo back to his home, while Tan Xingzhi followed the government officer to find Zhou Yu'an.
During the autopsy, everything was normal. The housekeeper was waiting at the door to confirm that there were no bloody footprints on the threshold or steps. When Wu Zuo left, the housekeeper sent him to the door of the small courtyard and then came back. Except for Mrs. Tan, who died in the room, there were only two servants holding hands at the door of the courtyard. The housekeeper was very sure that there was no one alive in the small courtyard at that hour.
"How did you discover the bloody footprints?"
"It's strange to say that before the footprints appeared, the two doorkeepers and I smelled a very strong smell of blood." The housekeeper frowned: "The smell was very strong, like standing in front of a blood vat. It seemed that no matter how I covered my nose, it didn't work. I felt it was abnormal, so I asked one of them to inform the young master, and the remaining one went into the yard with me. "
"You saw the bloody footprints when you entered the yard?"
"No, there is no such thing as a coincidence. If it were such a coincidence, the servant and I would have run away long ago. You don't know, but I am a very timid person, and I don't like to see such evil things."
The butler wiped his sweat and continued.
"We walked very carefully. Firstly, we were afraid of damaging things in the yard and affecting the officials' handling of the case. Secondly, we were afraid that we would encounter something unclear and unknown. Although Madam is a Madam, she is dead. Qiqi, we always have some feelings in our hearts."
The butler clutched his heart.
"What are you afraid of? As soon as I walked to the place where the girl was standing, I heard a sound in the house."
"There was only Mrs. Tan lying on the floor in the room. Where did the sound come from?"
"It's scary here. Madam is dead. This is what Zuo Zuo said. It's a sure thing. But the servant and I did hear the sound, and it was a painful low moan. I'm not afraid of your jokes, I'm sweating The ground came up immediately, and my whole back was wet. The servant was not much better than me, his legs were weak, and he asked me if there was really a ghost in this yard."
Don't say that the housekeeper has never seen a ghost. Even if he has seen a ghost, he cannot admit it in front of the servant. He is the housekeeper, and no matter how timid he is, he must protect the Tan family and not let the Tan family fall into chaos at this time. He pretended to be calm and moved inch by inch toward the house with his servants. He didn't dare to look inside from the door, but looked inside through the window.
The room was still the same, and nothing seemed to have changed. There was just a "thud" in his ears, and the servant turned around and ran away in fright. He slid along the window and sat on the ground.
Having said this, the housekeeper pointed to the patch of herbs under the window sill. The leaves of those medicinal herbs are folded, and they look like they have been squashed. There are scratches on the wall. Judging from the marks, they are fresh. These marks are consistent with what the housekeeper just said.
The housekeeper told Zhou Yu'an that he sat on the ground for a long time. It was not until his legs gained strength that he slowly stood up while holding on to the wall. When I got up, I subconsciously glanced at the door and saw something red.
Only when I got closer did I see clearly that those were footprints. The red footprints were not one after the other, but a pair of neat bloody footprints. The toes point outward and the heels point in, as if someone jumped out of the house.
What's even more frightening is that the footprints disappeared in front of the housekeeper, changing from the original blood red to the shallow marks now.
The housekeeper pointed to the marks on the threshold and steps and said, "If this thing hadn't been there, I would have suspected that I was hallucinating."
Zhou Yu'an nodded and looked at the footprints.
"Do you have Mrs. Tan's shoes? Bring a pair over and compare them with the footprints above."
As soon as these words came out, not only the housekeeper of Tan's house, but also the officials' expressions changed.
"The girl is saying——"
"I didn't say anything, I just verified." Zhou Yu'an stretched out his hand, and the housekeeper hurriedly ordered someone to find a pair of Mrs. Tan's shoes. By comparison, the bloody footprints were the same size as Mrs. Tan's shoes.
The blood stains would dry, but they would not disappear immediately. Zhou Yuan wiped them and found that the bloody footprints were not made of blood.
"Did the weather change before and after the bloody footprints appeared?"
"There is no change." The housekeeper murmured: "It has only been an hour since I saw the bloody footprints. It was a little cold when I got up early, but the temperature is not much different from now. There is wind, but it is lighter than now, but this yard There are neither trees nor flowers planted here, and even if it is windy, there are no fallen leaves. The house faces the sun, could it be affected by the light? No, it is impossible. Madam, I have to come to this yard every day. If there is really a change in front of this door , it’s impossible for me not to see it.”
"The bloody footprints were left intentionally." Zhou Yu'an put his finger to the tip of his nose and smelled: "What is the name of the servant who entered this courtyard with you today?"
"Tan Liu is in charge of cleaning the yard. He should be in the miscellaneous room right now." The housekeeper gestured: "Have someone call Tan Liu here."
