Seeing that Leng Linjiang showed no intention of retreating, An Qi narrowed his eyes and lowered his head calmly, hiding the fleeting gloom on his face.
Outside the crowd, Meng Suige saw Leng Linjiang rushing over, and knew that things would not be a big mess. He took a few steps back with a sigh of relief, walked to a deserted place, then quickly walked back to the east wing and opened the door. When he came in, his voice was slightly cold: "There is a maid who hanged herself in the west end room of the back room."
"What?" Yao Yao stood up suddenly, his face filled with fear and fear he had never experienced before: "Which room did you say it was?"
Meng Suigai's face darkened: "The room at the west end of the back room."
"How is this possible?" Yao Yao's expression suddenly changed, he turned around and walked towards the door.
Meng Suige grabbed Yao Yao's shoulder: "Leng Shaoyin has passed."
Yao Yao suddenly came back to his senses and slowly stepped back, his brows furrowed, and a faint doubt lingered between his brows for a long time.
Yao Yao had been in Jingzhao Mansion for several years and had seen countless murder cases. Today's abnormal surprise made Meng Suigai very puzzled: "What's wrong? Could it be that the dead maid was the one who stole the four beautiful pictures in the main house? "
"I didn't see the body, so I can't be sure." Yao Yao shook his head: "But it can't be such a coincidence. The maid stole four beautiful pictures from the main room, and the maid died in the back room." She said slowly He took a breath slowly and shook his head with a wry smile: "But if it is really the maid who stole the four beautiful pictures who died, then it is impossible for someone to see me taking the pictures."
Hearing this, Meng Suigai was also startled: "Your kung fu is so good, how can you be watched and not be noticed?"
Yao Yao rubbed his forehead: "There are people outside the world, but my skills are not enough in front of real masters."
Meng Suige looked troubled: "Then, you were caught taking the painting, and your identity must have been exposed. What should you do?"
Yao Yao pursed his lips and glanced at Meng Suigai seriously, as if he had seen something funny. A faint smile appeared in the depths of his clear almond eyes.
"..." Meng Suigai looked at that narrow chuckle and felt stupid for a moment. He glared at Yao Yao and gritted his teeth and said: "Is it fun?"
Yao Yao couldn't help laughing. He pursed his lips tightly to hold back the laughter. He walked to the back window, opened the curtain to reveal a narrow gap, raised his eyes to the direction of the back room, and then burst into laughter.
Meng Sui grinded his teeth, but smiled helplessly, laughing at himself for being naive and clumsy with his tongue. He walked to the back window and looked out through the gap with Yao Yao.
The east wing and the west room of the back room are diagonally opposite each other. You can only see the onlookers gathered in the open space in front of the back room, but you can't see what's going on in the west room.
The many people surrounding the back room were all holding their breaths. No one dared to make a loud noise. They only stared at the movement in the room with their eyes wide open.
It is not easy to encounter such an unlucky thing. Whoever stands out at this time will be the one who dies first.
The west room is shady and not very spacious. A clay kang occupies most of the room. The rest of the room is occupied by a dining table, a bed, three large cabinets that are as tall as a person, and three boxes and cages that are as tall as a person.
Although the room is small, it is fully equipped with everything, and the materials are of high quality and the workmanship is exquisite. They are not ordinary things.
Leng Linjiang looked around, and he didn't know whether it was because of the constant shadow in the west room or because of the death. As soon as he stood in the room, he felt the coldness and shivered inexplicably.
He lifted up the bed that had fallen on the ground. The girl's hanging feet did not touch the bed, and there was still more than a foot between them.
He frowned slightly and turned to look at An Qi.
An Qi wanted to pretend to be stupid, but when he saw Leng Linjiang's clear eyes, he couldn't pretend to be stupid anymore, so he had to wave his hand and call a few onlookers to come over and put the clothes hanging on the beam. The girl let go.
Leng Linjiang is not an expert in autopsy. He has handled countless cases in the Jingzhao Mansion Office for so many years, but he has really never had much experience in autopsy. What he is good at is questioning and examining people's hearts.
Facing such a corpse that had just died and still looked very fresh, he felt a little at a loss as to where to start. However, he was always prudent in official matters, so he hid this at a loss.
It was already approaching noon, under the scorching warm sun, amid the lush green trees, there was a faint and brief chirping of cicadas.
The pace of hot summer is approaching unconsciously.
After a moment of silence, Leng Linjiang suddenly spoke, startling An Qi: "Is this the dead maid in the house? What is her name? Who discovered the body first? How many people live in this house?"
This series of questions caught An Qi off guard. He was a little confused. He was really stunned for a moment before he said: "This person's name is Shichun. She is the second-class maid next to the empress. She was purchased from the tooth shop five years ago. Yes, in charge of tea, snacks, and other matters. There are three maids living in this house, all of whom are second-class maids like Shiharu. The one named Shiqiu is in charge of cleaning matters, and the one named Shidong is in charge of sweeping. "The first person to discover the body was Shi Qiu, Shi Qiu," he shouted to the crowd of onlookers, "Come here."
As soon as these words came out, the crowd of onlookers dispersed immediately, and the girl who was standing at the back of the crowd timidly was exposed in front of everyone.
She was wearing the same clothes as Shichun, with her head lowered, and her appearance and expression could not be clearly seen. When An Qi called her, she trembled slightly, and walked hesitantly to the door, but refused to go into the room. He took half a step forward, lowered his head, and said as calmly as a mosquito or a fly: "My maid, I have met you in the autumn of this year. I have met your Excellency."
Leng Linjiang glanced at Shi Qiu up and down. Although he couldn't see her appearance clearly, he could vaguely see that her figure was somewhat similar to that of the dead Shi Chun. They were both slender and taller than ordinary girls.
"Five Dynasties Rivers, Mountains and Winds"
He withdrew his eyes that were as scrutinizing as a sharp sword and said calmly: "This is the time when you are on duty. What are you doing back at your residence?"
Shi Qiu seemed to be particularly nervous. His hands hung by his sides, and the fingertips exposed on the cuffs were faintly white. His voice became weaker and weaker: "My maid, my maid, when I was washing the clothes today, I didn't have enough soap." "My maid, I came back to get some soap. As soon as I opened the door, I saw Sister Shichun hanging from the beam." She covered her mouth and cried out in horror: "Sister Shichun, she's gone. I’m angry.”
"She is still hanging on the beam, how did you know that she has run out of breath?" Leng Linjiang asked sternly, without giving Shi Qiu a chance to breathe. He grinned casually, showing his white teeth: "You He said that you came back to get some spices, and when you saw Shichun dead in the house, you must have no time to get any spices. Come on, tell me where you put the spices, and I will get them for you."
"Mistress, maid," Shi Qiu suddenly raised his head, his face turned pale, his lips pursed, and he couldn't tell the whole story for a long time.
Leng Linjiang still had a faint smile on his face, but he became more serious. He said coldly: "Anqi, search this room. I want to see what kind of spices are hidden inside." It’s so shameful!”
Hearing this, Shi Qiu fell to his knees with a pop, raised his pale and bloodless face, his liver and gallbladder split with fear: "My maid, my maid is guilty, my maid is guilty."
Leng Linjiang sat calmly and looked at Shi Qiu with disdain: "What crime? Did you strangle Shi Chun to death?"
"No, no, no, no," Shi Qiu shook his head wildly in fear, tears splashing out: "No, not the maid, the maid was wronged, not the maid!"
Leng Linjiang flicked his fingers indifferently, and suddenly shouted loudly: "You are wronged, I think you are not wronged at all!"
Shi Qiu was so frightened that he suddenly collapsed on the ground, crying with tears.
Seeing that something was wrong, An Qi stepped forward, grabbed Shi Qiu's collar, and slapped him across the face. Shi Qiu's face turned red and swollen in an instant, and he cursed angrily: "You bastard! In front of Mr. Shaoyin, you dare to hide something and say! Hurry up and tell the truth!"
Shi Qiu was so frightened that he took out a moon-white purse embroidered with lotus flowers from his sleeves, and threw it to the ground with a soft "click" sound as if it was hot.
"Mistress, maid, I'm here to hide this." Although Shi Qiu felt that the purse was very hot, it really made her abandon it, and she was particularly reluctant to part with it. She looked at the purse again and again, sobbing repeatedly. : "This is, this is a gift from brother Yuan Chen in the front yard today, maid. When the maid saw that this was not an ordinary thing, she didn't dare to take it with her. So, just, she found an excuse and came back. ”
"You guys, the rules of the palace are not to give or receive privately! Shiqiu, it's not the first day you've been working in the palace as an errand. Don't you know the rules?" An Qi was furious that such a shameful thing would happen under his rule. His face turned livid with anger and he almost passed away.
Leng Linjiang didn't care whether An Qi was angry or not, he wanted to know what was in his purse.
He bent down to pick up the purse and took out a pair of red gold Fulu earrings.
The hollow gourd-shaped earrings contain two colored gemstones, one red and one blue. Under the sunlight, the brilliance flows and shines.
The bottom of the gourd is lightly carved with the word "imperial".
His eyes narrowed slightly. This was something made in the palace. In other words, it was something given by Emperor Yong'an.
He handed the pair of earrings to An Qi and said expressionlessly: "Anything rewarded by the palace can be used to give and receive privately. Your palace is really generous."
An Qi's heart skipped a beat. As soon as he took out the pair of earrings, he felt they looked familiar. Now when he took them in his hand and looked at them, his heart suddenly fell to the bottom. This pair of daring slaves actually dared to steal the royal earrings. A gift.
He calmed down his anger for a while, held the earring tightly in his hand, pointed at one of the onlookers, gritted his teeth and ordered: "An Yu, go, go to the front yard to arrest Yuan Chen, and then Together with Ruyu, we will search the whole house and re-count the items in the warehouse, counting everything carefully and not leaving anything out."
An Yu's expression changed slightly, he answered yes, and hesitated: "Then, are we still searching the side yard?"
The side courtyard is the residence of the concubines and concubines whom Prince Annan adopted when he was still alive. Although these people look down upon Princess Annan and dare not say anything, they are still in this mansion after all. His half-master is not something that a servant like An Qi can humiliate at will.
An Qi thought for a moment: "Don't disturb the people in the side yard yet, wait until I report back to you."
An Yu responded to everything.
An Qi lowered his eyes and looked at Shi Qiu, who was lying on the ground and crying bitterly. He became more and more angry. His eyes were like knives, gouging out Shi Qiu's cheeks: "Take this bastard down and watch it for me." , crappy she died and escaped."
An Yu said yes again, called two helpers over, tied up Shiqiu Wuhuada, and escorted him to the woodshed in the front yard.
After such an embarrassing thing happened, An Qi felt that his face was dull. When facing Leng Linjiang, he felt a little guilty. He didn't know what to say, so he just said to the onlookers: "Keep your mouths shut." Shut up tight to me. I have thought clearly about what should and should not be said. If I know that you are too talkative, I will not only pull out your tongues, but also sell the men to bitter cold places and the women to the underworld. Wait for the kiln!"
His voice was not loud, but it was cold and stern enough, and the content of what he said was ferocious enough, which shocked a group of people who were watching the excitement and did not think it was a big deal.
In fact, such a big thing happened just now, and everyone onlookers were so scared that they wanted to leave long ago. However, during this sensitive time, leaving hastily may be considered as a guilty conscience, colluding with confessions, or leaking information. Therefore, when An Qi didn't say anything, none of these people dared to leave without permission, and they still had to watch the fun.
Leng Linjiang stopped talking. He saw clearly that even if he hid a secret reward, it would not kill anyone. Even if he killed someone out of anger, he would not be as thorough as he was in front of him. At that time in autumn, It can only be said that it was unlucky.
He put his hands behind his back and walked slowly in the not-so-spacious room, searching carefully.
He was waiting for an opportunity, waiting for these eyesores to go away, and he didn't want to dwell on a corpse.
You will have nightmares at night.
In the gloomy silence, a man in his thirties hurriedly ran in from the back room. He looked somewhat similar to An Qi. He was caught off guard and staggered by the corpse on the ground. He was about to say He was frightened back by his words, and his face turned pale as he choked.
He met An Qi's cold eyes, quickly calmed down, and said in a low voice: "The chief steward, Mr. Han, the envoy of the Internal Security Department, handed over the invitation to pay a visit to the empress."
"Who? Director of the Internal Security Department, Han Changmu?" When An Qi heard the name, his head started to buzz, and his heart was pounding. He actually had an ominous feeling that a catastrophe was imminent and the Annan County Prince's Palace was going to be in trouble.
The Prince of Annan County, Han Changmu, and the Internal Security Department had no contact with each other. They always stayed as far away as possible. He couldn't figure out what this person wanted to do when he suddenly came to the door. It was definitely against the rules to be at the gate of the Prince's Mansion. He glanced at Leng Linjiang gloomily, then suddenly changed his face to a flattering smile, and took a step forward: "Young Master, that's the one in the mansion."
He hesitated to speak, looking embarrassed.
Leng Linjiang raised his head and glanced at An Qi. He knew that Han Changmu was coming, but he pretended not to hear it. He waved his hand indifferently and was very considerate: "Go ahead." He paused and pointed at the door. Outside, with an impatient look on his face: "Let them all disperse, there will be a panic!"
An Qi said yes with a smile and glanced at the man who had just come to report the news.
The man understood, walked out of the house quickly, waved his hands and shouted loudly: "Go, go, go, go away, you have nothing to do, right? Should you be on duty or not, sooner or later you will be betrayed!"
Hearing this, the onlookers made a "buzz" sound and ran away.
Some people ran out for a few steps, stopped, turned around and looked at the back room a few more times.
The man's face suddenly darkened, and his expression was much more serious than before. He glared and shouted loudly: "Still looking, still looking! If you look again, I will betray you immediately!"
As soon as these words came out, these people didn't hesitate at all, the wind blew under their feet, and they ran away with a huff.
The front of the back room became empty and silent.
An Qi bowed his hands respectfully towards Leng Linjiang: "Master Shaoyin, then, I will go to the front hall first and leave An Qiang behind to follow Master Shaoyin's instructions."
Leng Linjiang glanced at An Qiang, who was standing next to An Qi, and became even more impatient: "No, no, no, I don't need anyone to serve me, everyone is leaving! Everyone is leaving!"
An Qiang choked and looked a little ugly. As the second manager of Annan County Prince's Mansion, second only to An Qi, he was used to being complimented. How could he ever be ridiculed and despised like this?
If it weren't for Leng Linjiang's high position, An Qiang would have kicked him eight feet away.
An Qi knew that his younger brother had an intolerable temper, so he hurriedly pulled his sleeves to appease him, and said respectfully: "Listen to Lord Shaoyin, I will leave first. If Lord Shaoyin has any If you tell me, go to the front hall, the villain and others are there."
"I got it, let's go, let's not delay my case." Leng Linjiang nodded impatiently and asked them to leave even more anxiously.
An Qi and An Qiang had no other choice. It was not appropriate to leave Leng Linjiang here alone, but it was even more inappropriate for them to force another person to stay here.
The two of them were quiet for a moment, then quickly walked out of the back room, and looked back at Leng Linjiang. Seeing that he had a solemn look on his face, he was indeed focused on business, selfless in his heart, and had no other thoughts. They both breathed a sigh of relief and turned around. He quickly rushed to the front hall.
When an envoy from the Department of Internal Security comes to visit, he must be treated as an honored guest no matter what the matter is.
Now the Annan County Prince's Mansion is in troubled times, and he cannot be careless at all. If he neglects the envoy of the Internal Security Department, he may cause other troubles.
Hearing the footsteps receding, Leng Linjiang raised his head and passed through the empty yard. Seeing that the yard was indeed empty, he stood up with his knees up, patted the dust on his clothes, and sat down not far away. On the bed, he crossed his legs and looked at the door casually.
In just a moment, a light figure walked around from the east wing to the back room, stopped in the corridor for a moment, looked around warily, and then quietly entered the west room of the back room.
