Zhang Xiwan accepted the bed and couldn't sleep peacefully. It wasn't until Gu Zhengchen came back that the two of them talked for a long time before falling asleep.
The sky was slightly bright and Gu Zhengchen had already gotten up for morning exercises.
Zhang Xiwan was sitting by the window dressing up, looking at Gu Zhengchen dancing with a sword outside with a smile on his face. She didn't expect that her husband was still a swordsman, but he only did the same dozen of moves over and over again, and it seemed that he had never changed...
Xiao He yawned profusely and began to prepare breakfast for the young lady and uncle.
Gu Zhengchen quite recognized Xiao He's cooking skills, which were much more exquisite and delicious than those made by Gu Cheng.
Seeing Gu Zhengchen's appetite, Zhang Xiwan praised Xiao He and said to Gu Zhengchen, "My husband is going to be busy today, and I, as for you, can't stay bored here in the magistrate's house, right?"
Gu Zhengchen looked at the delicate Zhang Xiwan and said with a smile: "The Jurong Weaving Courtyard and the Tailoring Courtyard always lack a coordinator. After all, Sun Niang and Mrs. Wu are from peasant families, and many accounts are not straightened out. Even the distribution of money requires the county. If you feel bored, you may wish to take care of these two courtyards."
Zhang Xiwan had this intention: "After meeting the county magistrate, chief registrar, dianshi and other family members, I will go to these two courtyards to have a look."
Gu Zhengchen finished his porridge and said, "Let Zhang Pei follow you."
"Husband, that's not necessary, is it?"
Zhang Xiwan frowned.
Gu Zhengchen sighed, stood up and said, "You can rest assured if you have a husband by your side. It's time to click on your fingers. I'll leave first. Xiaohe, take care of my wife."
Point Mao, process documents, and review money and food accounts.
These things have been accumulated for more than a month and cannot be completed in a short time. After Gu Zhengchen dealt with it for an hour, he looked through the file of the Ge family's daughter who fell into the well, and then took Yang Liang and Han Qiang to the morgue.
Wu Zuo pulled back the shroud, revealing a delicate face, like a sleeping beauty. His face was just pale and lifeless.
"No other scars?"
Gu Zhengchen asked Wu to write the second song of Song Dynasty.
Song Er bowed and said, "Your Majesty, he fell into the well and drowned. He only had some scratches on his left arm. He may have hit the wall of the well."
Gu Zhengchen checked and found that it was indeed a scratch.
"Let's go to Ge Huan's house."
Gu Zhengchen walked out of the morgue and went straight to Ge Huan's house.
Although the Ge Huan family is not considered a wealthy family, it is indeed a large family. The head of the family, Ge Huan, has two sons and three daughters. However, the second son has already married and established a family, and the eldest daughter and the second daughter have also married. The deceased is his youngest daughter Xiu Niang. .
When he knocked on the door and entered Ge's house, a wealthy man in his late fifties walked over. He was not wearing a square scarf on his head, showing his gray bun. There were a few scratches on his round face, and there were two A mole.
Before Gu Zhengchen could ask questions, Ge Huan complained to Yang Liang: "I'm talking to Yang Dianshi, my daughter is always at home, except for female celebrities. The family rules are strict, and there will never be anything to corrupt the family tradition. The county government is talking nonsense like this. , but it brings shame to my Ge family. Now that Zhuojing is causing trouble and blaming me for handing over the matter to the county government, why not let the matter end here."
Yang Liang looked at Gu Zhengchen and said to Ge Huan, "This is the magistrate of Jurong County."
"ah?"
Ge Huan looked at Gu Zhengchen and was overjoyed. He quickly saluted: "The common people have seen the county magistrate. The county magistrate must give his daughter justice."
Gu Zhengchen helped Ge Huan: "My daughter is also a thorn in my side, and I know your pain. I just want to give your daughter justice, and I still need to ask some questions clearly."
Ge Huan had long heard that Gu Zhixian was like a god in solving cases. Once the Guo family was destroyed and many people were killed, it was Gu Zhixian who made the decision. Seeing that Gu Zhengchen was serious, he quickly said: "When the county magistrate asks you, I will tell you everything."
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly: "You told the official that someone murdered Xiu Niang, why do you say it was murder and not suicide?"
Ge Huan's face was full of sadness: "The embroiderer has an engagement with the young master of the Zhang family in Jurong. They were originally scheduled to get married in February this year when the flowers were blooming. Last year during the Laba Festival, the two met once while attending the temple fair. The embroiderer said she would weave a picture of hundreds of flowers. When the Hundred Flowers Picture was finished, she got married. She stayed in the boudoir these days and did not go out. The county magistrate, just imagine, how could a person who was looking forward to getting married and had someone to belong to suddenly fall into a well and commit suicide? "
Gu Zhengchen agreed with Ge Huan's analysis.
A woman who is looking forward to getting married and has a husband she likes will not commit suicide by jumping into a well.
"Can you take me to the well to have a look?"
"County Master, please come with me."
Ge Huan led the way.
Gu Zhengchen followed and walked through the corridor to a well in the backyard.
The water puller had been dismantled, and the buckets and ropes were lying in a mess.
Seeing that there was water in the well, Gu Zhengchen stood up and looked around. He saw a wing not far away and asked, "Didn't anyone hear Xiu Niang's call?"
Ge Huan nodded painfully: "The servants on night duty didn't hear anything, and neither did we."
Gu Zhengchen was silent.
Wu Zuo said she died of drowning, but there was no cry and no traces of binding on her body, which proved that Xiu Niang committed suicide.
"Can I go to the embroiderer's boudoir?"
Gu Zhengchen asked.
"This is acceptable."
Ge Huan hesitated, but finally agreed.
The well is more than fifty steps away from the boudoir where Xiu Niang lives. The boudoir is a two-story attic, and Xiu Niang lives on the second floor.
The door opened, and a light fragrance came.
"You stay outside."
Gu Zhengchen ordered Yang Liang and Han Qiang and walked into the room.
The room is very elegantly decorated. The hollow screen in front of you is a scene of boating on the river. Turning around the screen, you can see exquisite ceramics, heavy bookshelves, ancient piano cases, and various colorful thread balls.
In the center of the room, there is an embroidery frame. Spring flowers are blooming on the nearly completed embroidery, which is colorful and beautiful.
There is a futon in front of the embroidery stand and two futons behind the embroidery stand.
The needle and thread were still inserted into the embroidery and had not been pulled out. It seemed that the embroiderer had been disheartened when she went out and no longer had any attachment to her.
The bed is very neat and the furnishings are neatly arranged.
Ge Huan was even more sad when he saw this scene: "My daughter is only sixteen years old, and she is about to get married. It's unthinkable..."
Gu Zhengchen surveyed the room, walked to the west window, opened the window and looked over the wall, and fell into the window of the house next door. A gorgeously dressed woman was embroidering a brocade handkerchief. She seemed to sense Gu Zhengchen's gaze and raised her head. He looked over and saw that it was a man peeping, so he closed the window.
"Whose family is that?"
Gu Zhengchen looked at Ge Huan.
Ge Huan looked at it and said: "This is Tailor Zhou's family. It should be the female worker Chun Niang they hired just now. The embroider girl is very close to her and has been with her these past few days. On the day of the incident, Chun Niang was also came."
"Have they ever had an argument?"
Gu Zhengchen asked.
Ge Huan shook his head: "Probably not. When Chun Niang left, she specifically asked Zhuo Jing and said that Xiu Niang was having her menstrual period and needed to rest first. Later, Zhuo Jing went to ask outside the door, and her daughter answered. I guess there was no chance of the two of them coming. Over the dispute.”
Gu Zhengchen closed the window, walked to the embroidery stand, sat down in front of it, stared at the Hundred Flowers Picture, squinted and asked, "Is this a peach blossom?"
"should be."
Ge Huan looked at it and nodded.
Gu Zhengchen stretched out his hand and touched it, then stood up and touched the embroidery frame. He frowned and said, "Why is there a trace of black spots in the peach blossom?"
Ge Huan was full of doubts.
Gu Zhengchen took off the needle and stared at the red thread carefully. Only at the end did he see a little black. He stared and said, "The thread here is not red, but black."
Ge Huan frowned and asked: "The red wire is not connected to the black wire, how can it be black?"
Gu Zhengchen looked at Ge Huan and said slowly: "It's blood."
Ge Huan's expression changed and he took two steps back in surprise.
Gu Zhengchen walked to the thread basket nearby, rummaged through it, and finally found a red thread ball. He turned the thread ball over and saw that the bottom was slightly dark.
"Obviously someone in this room was injured."
Gu Zhengchen's face was gloomy.
Ge Huan gritted his teeth: "Which murderer broke into my daughter's boudoir, county magistrate, you must arrest her and punish her!"
Gu Zhengchen summoned the Ge family servants for questioning, and they all said they heard no strange movement.
Qiuyue, the maid who usually serves Xiu Niang, said to Gu Zhengchen: "Miss has been with Chun Niang these days and does not need my service. The night before the incident, I heard some movement upstairs, and the movement was very fast. It disappeared and I didn’t ask.”
"Why not ask?"
Ge Huan was furious. Maybe a bad guy broke into his daughter's room at that time!
Qiuyue said with tears: "Master, Miss and Chun Niang also fight on weekdays, and there will be some noise from time to time. If Yue'er asks too many questions, Miss will scold her. So..."
Gu Zhengchen looked at Qiuyue and asked, "The Chun Niang you are talking about is the female worker hired by the tailors of the Zhou family, right?"
"yes."
Qiuyue lowered her head.
Gu Zhengchen thought for a moment and asked, "What's your impression of Chun Niang?"
Qiuyue thought for a while and said: "My lord, Chun Niang is very good at embroidering flowers and birds. She has taught the young lady a lot. She speaks very well and knows a lot of things. She can pick up things from all over the world at her fingertips, which often makes the young lady amused. She laughs repeatedly, the lady is very close to her and treats her like a sister.”
Gu Zhengchen thought for a moment and said to Qiuyue, "Go and invite this Chun Niang."
Seeing Ge Huan nod, Qiuyue turned and left.
Seeing that Gu Zhengchen was thoughtful, Yang Liang approached and asked in a low voice, "Does the county magistrate have any clues?"
Gu Zhengchen looked at Ge Huan with squinted eyes and shook his head: "It's hard to say at the moment. It seems that something has been overlooked."
Yang Liang and Han Qiang are even more clueless.
Not long after, Chun Niang arrived with Qiu Yue.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the pretty Chun Niang and asked in a deep voice: "Something happened to Xiu Niang, you should know it."
"I heard about it yesterday."
Chun Niang's eyes turned red and she sobbed while holding her handkerchief.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Chun Niang and asked, "The night before yesterday, you stayed in Xiu Niang's room until Xu and then left. Did you have any disputes before leaving?"
Chun Niang shook her head: "There was no dispute. When the slave family left, Xiu Niang was feeling unwell. I also specifically informed the Ge family's mistress about this."
Gu Zhengchen looked at Chun Niang and nodded: "You can go back."
Chun Niang was a little surprised, but she bowed and left.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Chun Niang's back and suddenly shouted: "Are you injured? It seems that you don't dare to use your left foot when walking."
Chun Niang's face changed slightly and she turned around: "It's just that I've walked too much and there's a blister on my foot."
Gu Zhengchen said softly: "Oh, is this really true?"
