Unexpectedly, Han Changmu suddenly turned around and said meaningfully: "My lord, these plum blossoms are about to wither. I wonder if I will be lucky enough to come over to appreciate the plum blossoms before the flowers fade."
Wang Gui's smile suddenly froze on his face, and he twitched the corner of his mouth in embarrassment: "Yes, yes, I will post a message for you some day."
Han Changmu raised his eyebrows and smiled before leaving safely.
In the twilight, the smoke is curling up from the kitchen, the smell of rice is overflowing, and there is a peaceful and leisurely scene everywhere.
Han Changmu rode through the long street, feeling at peace in his heart.
The weather didn't seem as cold as the previous few days, and the snow on the eaves and along the roads showed signs of melting.
Some young men who were strong enough to withstand the cold took off their thick coats and wore only long robes. Even though they were shrinking from the cold and their faces were white and their noses were blue, they still had to look like elegant noblemen.
The eighteen corpses excavated from the Sese Building were placed in the yard. The ice cubes wrapped on them had completely melted. He was immersed in the autopsy. His waist and knees were so tired and his hands and feet were twitching that he did not dare to slack off.
He Zhenfu took the inner guards and turned the Sese Building inside and out again, not even missing a single roof tile. He also opened it and took a look.
Yao Yao took a pen and paper and recorded all the abnormalities that could be seen. The drawings were supplemented by text, and the two were compared, making it simple and clear at a glance.
She bit the penholder and stared at the thick old tree in the yard. She looked left and right and felt that this tree was planted in the wrong place.
Han Changmu walked quietly behind Yao Yao, followed her gaze in the same direction, and gave a rare joking smile: "The dead tree is blooming in spring?"
Yao Yao didn't look back, but said melancholy: "This is a jujube tree. When it grows leaves, there are nests of evergreen moths." Thinking of the word green moth, she trembled with horror. The sting of that thing was painful, and it was considered a shadow of her childhood.
Han Changmu looked at the location of the jujube tree, suppressed his smile, and frowned slightly: "The jujube tree is planted here. The shortest way from the back garden to the front hall is to walk under this jujube tree. The sting of the green moth is extremely painful, so if you don’t want to be stung, you have to take a detour.”
He narrowed his eyes, called He Zhenfu over, and simply ordered: "dig up that tree."
He Zhenfu wiped his sweat, trembled his legs, greeted the inner guards who were almost exhausted, and went to dig the tree bitterly.
Han Changmu looked at He Zhenfu's staggering back and said again: "I'll dig up the tree and I'll treat him to a drink."
He Zhenfu and the inner guards were suddenly shocked and energetic.
I don’t know if the guards spent all their energy digging the tree, or if the jujube tree was not planted well enough. The guards used it swarmly, and dozens of shovels took off, scattering the soil, and the tree quickly fell. It was on the verge of collapse.
He Zhenfu shouted, and the guards hurriedly moved away from the direction of the jujube tree. Then a finger-thick hemp rope wrapped around the trunk of the tree and pulled it down hard.
With a "boom", the bare jujube tree rose up from the ground and hit the side heavily. There was a loud crackling sound, and the dry branches broke off and scattered all over the ground.
A huge tree pit appeared in front of everyone's eyes, and bursts of decaying smell surged out from the pit, making people almost unable to stand.
He Zhenfu held the lamp with one hand and covered his mouth and nose with the other. He leaned in front of the deep tree pit and looked down. He exclaimed: "Sir, this seems to be a well."
Han Changmu's expression changed slightly, and he hurried forward. In the excavated soil, a collapsed and dilapidated well platform was vaguely exposed.
At this time, it was completely dark. Even if a few more lanterns were lit, the clues in the well could not be clearly seen.
Moreover, the smell is also very strong. If you stay here any longer, these people will not be exhausted to death, but will be suffocated to death.
Han Changmu patrolled the tree pit and said in a deep voice, "Have the guards come to change the guard?"
He Zhenfu nodded and said, "Here we come. Jingzhao Mansion has also sent officials to assist. The body and evidence have also been sent back to the Department of Internal Security."
Han Changmu said calmly: "Okay, the government officials of Jingzhao Mansion are stationed outside the Sese Building, and the internal guards are stationed inside the building. We also need to keep people in this well, and we will investigate it carefully tomorrow. The remaining internal guards will go to the Shizi Mansion tonight. , I have already ordered the house to prepare wine and food."
He Zhenfu was stunned for a moment and quickly declined.
Han Changmu looked at the sky: "Don't refuse, there's already a curfew, if you don't live in Zifu, do you want them to spend the night in Sese Tower?"
He Zhenfu immediately lowered his head and said nothing more. He and Yao Yao split up, and the Jingzhao Mansion Yamen, who had arranged the internal guards on duty, led dozens of internal guards to Yongchangfang in a mighty manner.
Before Han Changmu went out today, he had already ordered Mrs. Liu to prepare more food, packed up all the empty rooms, and burned the kang in advance.
After the group entered the house, food and wine were quickly placed on the table. At first, the guards were a little restrained in eating and drinking, and did not dare to make any sound for fear of offending the superior.
Han Changmu also knew that he was in the banquet, and the guards definitely did not dare to let go of their hands and feet to eat and drink, so he greeted him politely, and asked He Zhenfu to take good care of the guards for him, and left the table in advance.
As soon as Han Changmu left, the inner guards breathed a sigh of relief and started making noises about anything.
"Young Master, this residence is really nice. The saint is very kind to you."
"This Mu Shi is well made. I wonder where the cook bought it from."
"It's no use knowing where to buy it. With your little salary, can your family afford a cook?"
"It would be great if we could do more errands like this in the future, so that I could come to your place for meals every now and then."
"What a beautiful thought."
"Has our lord got a wife? He is good-looking and has a cold face and a warm heart. His wife must be a fairy."
"Isn't this evening meal prepared by your wife?"
"You only want good things."
He Zhenfu finally couldn't listen any more, so he picked his ears and slapped the food table hard: "I can't stop you from eating. If you don't want to eat, go back and sleep."
The hall suddenly became quiet, but it was not quiet at all. The guards all started eating freely. The appearance of eating was unsightly, so there was naturally a lot of movement.
Dozens of people were tired all day and night, and they didn't eat well. They had an astonishing appetite. They completely consumed all the food prepared by Mrs. Liu today. Finally, they cooked several pots of buns, and these people were considered full. .
He Zhenfu and Jin Yu arranged the rooms for the guards, and Mrs. Liu took the boys to boil bath soup and bring it to the room. They were busy until Xu Zheng was approaching, then they rubbed their sore waist and eyes and put everything in order. Cleaned up neatly and arranged properly.
After Han Changmu took a bath, he changed into homely clothes, lay on the bed, and asked Jin Yu to invite He Zhenfu, Yao Yao, and Wu Zuo over.
Jin Yu choked for a moment, looked at the pitch-black sky outside, and said angrily: "My lord, you are made of iron. You don't need to eat or sleep, but others still have to sleep."
Han Changmu raised his eyelids: "Don't worry, at this hour, they are not sleeping, and they are making a lot of noise. If you don't believe it, just take a look."
Jin Yu couldn't resist Han Changmu, so he had to walk towards the courtyard where the inner guards were housed. Before he could get close, he heard the noisy sound.
Some were shouting drinking orders, some were throwing leaf cards to make a crackling sound, and there was also the sound of throwing dice, clear and short.
He stopped his steps, with a wry smile on his face. He was indeed a wise prince, but he couldn't sleep yet.
Not long after, Jin Yu led He Zhenfu and the others into the study.
Han Changmu had already tied up his hair, asked the three of them to sit down, and first asked He Zhenfu about the interrogation.
He Zhenfu presented all the dossier documents to Han Changmu, sorted out his thoughts, and replied in a deep voice: "Those people who were in Sese Building that day have all been reviewed. Except for the clerk and shopkeeper in Sese Building, everyone else is normal. I have let them out because of my humble position.”
Han Changmu nodded and asked while flipping through the file: "What is recorded here is that Sese Building has changed hands several times. The current shopkeeper is Sese Building that took over three years ago. There was no major construction work after taking over the building, nor any changes to the building's courtyard. Make big changes and everything will be the same as it was three years ago.”
He Zhenfu nodded: "Yes, he is not familiar with the previous shopkeeper. He only met a few times during transactions. But among the people arrested together, one of them has been a clerk in Sese Building for eight years. His humble position has given him orders. Strict trial.”
Han Changmu looked at the file records carefully, pondered for a moment, and then asked: "Didn't the guys in Sese Building hear anything when the crime happened?"
He Zhenfu was also puzzled. It should be said that after killing so many people in broad daylight, there shouldn't be any news.
At this moment, Wu Zuo took a step forward and interrupted eagerly: "Sir, the commander-in-chief, I have something to say."
Han Changmu said calmly: "Tell me."
Wu Zuo said calmly: "Sir, these corpses have all been frozen. I once read a book that records that the time of death of frozen corpses is usually much earlier than the time found by examination."
Han Changmu was stunned for a moment and said in disbelief: "Really?"
Yao Yao also took a step forward and interjected: "Sir, what you said is right. I have heard this statement even in humble positions." She coughed lightly and found a more understandable explanation: "Sir , Boar meat in the cold winter months must rot slower than in the dog days of summer."
Han Changmu thought for a moment and suddenly smiled: "That's right." He looked up at Zuo Zuo and praised, "Continue talking."
Wu Zuo's heart was beating fast. Seeing that Han Changmu had no intention of reprimanding him, he felt relieved and his speech became much smoother: "Sir, the post-mortem examination found that these people should not have died together. All deaths occurred first and then later. , some people were frozen for a long time, and some people were frozen for a short time. The previous judgment that death did not exceed two hours, I think is not accurate."
