Su Huangzhe and An Ying went to Master Cheng's study again.
The study room is at the back of Jiaye Hall. It is only about a hundred steps along the path behind Jiaye Hall. Mrs. Cheng led the way and said, "The study is an important place and is usually guarded by two guards. I won't come over anytime."
"After Lao Cheng's accident that day, I have been focusing on his affairs. Why do I still want to get the study? All the guards were called to the front room, and the study was left unattended. In the afternoon, Lao Cai, the doctor of the Ministry of Etiquette, came over. There was an important document that I was rushing to report. I asked Xiao Tao to take him to the study to look for it, and Xiao Tao found that the study had been rummaged through."
An Ying took a look and saw that the study was neat and clean, and asked, "Has it been tidied up?"
Xiao Tao stepped forward and said: "I have kept records of all the master's files and documents. There are regulations on where to place the documents."
Mrs. Cheng wiped her tears again and said, "This is a habit in the military camp."
Xiao Tao pointed to the multi-layered shelves next to the study and said: "Here are the official documents. This is the draft that needs to be kept. This is the completed official documents. Here are the urgent official documents. Here are the important documents of the government. These are personal correspondence, letters.”
Xiao Tao opened the drawer and said, "The document Mr. Cai mentioned was drawn up by Sir the day before. It should be in this urgent official document box. But when I came to pick it up that day, I found it was missing."
"I thought it had been stolen, so I hurriedly called Madam to report it."
Mrs. Cheng continued: "Dr. Cai said that there might be an enemy country that steals important documents? He said that Old Cheng was drawing up a list. I heard that it was a list of envoys to Xixia. My heart trembled when I heard it, and I quickly added To deliver a message to the governor of the capital, the Ministry of Rites, and the military department of the capital, this is a major military and state matter."
"Later, people from the Ministry of Rites, the governor of the capital, and the military department of the capital came."
Xiao Tao continued: "During this period, I opened other boxes and found this document in the private correspondence box. Then I checked carefully and found that the boxes had been flipped over and looked neat, but the order was messed up."
"Are you sure what was lost?"
"All the documents from the Ministry of Rites are there and have not been lost. The directory that Mr. Cai mentioned is also there."
"Then Mr. Li from the Military and Horse Department said that it cannot be ruled out that someone has read these documents and memorized them or copied them."
Su Huangzhe nodded. It cannot be ruled out. The guards were gone for half a day, and there was indeed enough time for people to sneak in and read and copy.
An Ying asked: "What about the other documents? Don't you mean there are personal letters and some of your own documents in the house?"
Xiao Tao said: "Butler Jiao took care of these. After he looked at them, he said they were not lost."
The study room is not big. On one side is the Duobao Pavilion, where there are several vases of various types from Ru kiln, with withered lotus pods. On one side is a bookshelf, and there aren't many books. There are also some drawers, all opened. It seems that everyone who came before has opened it and checked it.
An Ying walked around in a circle. Su Huangzhe touched the upper floor of Duobao Pavilion and picked up a few bottles to look at. Mrs. Cheng on the side smiled and said, "They look valuable, but they are actually from Yuezhou." Cheap stuff. My husband doesn’t like to spend money on this. The furnishings at home are all fake.”
"Master Cheng, this is the study?" Su Huangzhe asked.
"My office is here on weekdays. There is also a small study room in the backyard, where I usually write and draw. I will take you there right now."
The study room in the backyard is much larger. There is an unfinished painting spread out on a whole desk. It can be seen that it is a picture of a bamboo bird, with double hooks and colors, but the coloring is not finished yet. There are hundreds of scrolls inserted into several large porcelain jars nearby.
"Have the people from the Ministry of Rites looked here? Are there any important documents?"
"I've seen them all. Lao Cai from the Ministry of Etiquette and a few people have opened and looked at the paintings one by one. They are all pastimes that have nothing to do with official duties. Lao Cheng likes to paint when he has nothing to do." Mrs. Cheng lowered her head and wiped it. With tears in his eyes, he added: "My old Cheng is a meticulous person, even if he likes to wield swords and guns. He made a booklet of his paintings and calligraphy by himself, and Mr. Dai from the capital government office checked them one by one. There is nothing missing, but he found that there are many The painting still belongs to the Duke of Qi. I heard that the Duke of Qi also..."
"Well, we also sent people to the Duke of Qi's mansion. Let's take these paintings back to the Ministry of Punishment first. Also give me a copy of the roster in the mansion."
After returning to the Criminal Department, An Yingre slumped in his chair.
Xiao Yi brought her an ice drink, and she drank it.
After regaining her composure, she looked at Su Huangzhe who was thinking at the side and asked, "Mr. Su, did you find any doubts?"
Su Huangzhe shook his head, "Be prepared to see the bodies of Cheng Qi and Qi Guogong tomorrow. The weather has been too hot these days. Even if you use ice, it will probably be enough for you."
Yun Pan and Master Guo are also back.
When Guo Xi came in, he took a big sip from the cup of ice and snow, and then said, "Hey, I stayed in the Duke's Mansion for a whole day today. Hey, there are so many things to check."
Yun Pan looked at the drink Xiao Yi brought and frowned, "Give me a warm drink, I don't want ice."
"Hey, here it is, Mr. Yun." Xiao Yi was sweating profusely and went to get another pot of drink. "Ms. Cao specially left this for you. She said it was made from the good black plum, cinnamon and Lilac, why do I smell like lychee?"
Yun Pan slowly took a sip and said: "I gave this recipe to her. When boiled with a few herbs, it tastes like lychee. If ice is added, it becomes ice and snow lychee paste. You can also drink some of this, and drink it suddenly on a hot day. It's cold and not good for your health."
Xiao Yi waved his hand nonchalantly, "On a hot day, I like to drink ice. We have an ice supply in the Ministry of Justice's office, which makes us envious of other yamen."
Yun Pan shook his head and poured another drink for Mr. Su.
"There are three hundred people in the Duke of Qi's residence, not including relatives and friends." Guo Xichou said: "The Duke of Qi has about ten servants and girls. If you want to review the records, at least twenty people will be given to me. "
Su Huangzhe pondered for a while and asked, "What about his study? Do you know what was missing?"
Guo Xi said: "Hey, I don't know what I lost."
"I don't know?" Su Huangzhe asked strangely: "Didn't Lao Dai say that his study was rummaged through?"
"Hey, Duke Qi has been in bed for more than a year, and the study has been useless for a long time. No one takes care of it, and no one knows what is missing. The housekeeper only said that all the valuable ornaments are there. But the calligraphy and paintings in the study The paperwork was checked several times by the personal attendant, and all I can say is that everything I remembered is there."
An Ying said a little strangely: "The study has not been used for more than a year, and no one has taken care of it. How did you find that it had been rummaged through?"
Yun Pan said: "On the seventh day after the death of Duke Qi, the eldest son of Duke Qi went to the study to find some calligraphy and paintings of Duke Guo to send to relatives and friends to express their condolences and to leave a message for a few friends. When he opened the study, he found that it had been rummaged through. It was such a mess, and thinking about Minister Cheng who left a few days ago, I felt something was wrong, so I reported the case."
Yun Pan took out a few thick stacks of paper from the bag he was carrying, "This is the story of Duke Qi. Three years ago, Duke Qi's health was in and out of health, and he invited famous doctors from all over the country to come for diagnosis and treatment. The Queen Mother was still considerate and specially issued an order for him to be treated. Imperial physician Li Fengfang diagnoses and treats the disease. Li Fengfeng is always meticulous in his work, and the pulse of each diagnosis is recorded. All medicines are also sent from the imperial medicine hospital in the palace."
Su Huangzhe looked through it for a while, "This case is quite interesting. The previous cases lacked witnesses and physical evidence. These two cases are better. There are mountains and seas of evidence to investigate."
Yun Pan looked at the roster of the Cheng family that Su Huangzhe put on the table, as well as the book that Mr. Cheng personally recorded, "You said, should we start with the relationship between these two people? As far as I know, these two people had a relationship a few years ago. Just keep in close contact.”
"Tomorrow let's see what Wu Zuo says. The first thing now is to determine the cause of death." Su Huangzhe had a headache and thought to himself: "Old Dai, Old Dai, you really gave me a big trouble."
