How to work

Gao Cheng died on the street two days ago.

If the murderer is an outsider, he will definitely not be able to enter the Hou's Mansion; if the murderer is in the Hou's Mansion, he will probably subconsciously deal with the traces of his existence after killing the person, so Lu Li feels that the possibility of clues in Gao Cheng's room is relatively small.

But no matter how small the possibility is, the investigators need to take a look.Even if you can't find any clues related to the murder, it is helpful to know more about the deceased's personality, habits, and hobbies.

So Lu Li asked to check Gaocheng's room.

Mrs. Zhang agreed with a solemn expression: "Of course." But she didn't accompany her in person, and told Cui Zhi to treat the guests well, and asked the chief manager of the outer court to help him, so he must not be neglected.

Lu Li and the others expressed their understanding, and Zhao Zhu, who had the highest status, did not have any dissatisfaction.

First, although it is a human life, it is just a servant, and the master's family pays too much attention to it, but it seems to be inferior; second, Mrs. Zhang is a woman, or a widow, so it is normal for her to be suddenly disturbed; At the beginning, there were big emotional ups and downs, and there were some bad manners. You have to let others tidy up, wash your face and change clothes to smooth your mood...

The Hou's mansion is big, not short of money, and not harsh on servants. For example, Zhang Cheng and other servants who have reached the management level can have the most spacious and best-located wing room in the inverted seat, or the house is remote. A small yard in the corner, choose one of the two.

Gao Cheng chose the small courtyard.

Even if I live with my servants, the environment is much worse. It is said to be a small courtyard, but in fact the place is very small, just a single wing room. Too crowded.

And the place is also very remote, almost all leaning against the wall of the Hou Mansion.

Shen Wansha and Lu Li bit their ears and explained that in a big family like the Hou Mansion, the guards in the mansion patrol in different shifts, and they can't stop twelve hours a day.That’s all for a rich family with background, Cui Luo, who is lucky enough to be a marquis, does not serve as an official, is not good at martial arts, has no power, no soldiers, and no servants. Most of the guards are bought, maybe hired with a lot of money, naturally Not as conscientious and careful as the servants trained since childhood, the owner needs to think of other ways to strengthen safety precautions.

One of the methods is to allocate the small courtyard next to the wall to the dignified servants.

Those who can manage things, not to mention their ears and eyesight, must have a chance to change things.If they hear something bad at night, whether they want to get promoted or are afraid of losing their current position, these people will stand up and find a way to deal with it properly.

The small courtyard is built in a hidden place, all leaning against the walls of the Hou's mansion, not only does not affect the landscape of the mansion, but also provides an extra layer of protection, why not do it?

Lu Li was a little surprised, it can still be like this...

Shen Wansha waved his fan and blinked triumphantly, "Is the master always smarter than the servants?" The capable ones work harder, one person can do two jobs or even more, the master is willing to use them and give them better treatment.

But doing so is not without its drawbacks.

Lu Li pointed out clearly: "If the servant colludes with outsiders—" the danger is even greater.

Shen Wansha also admitted, but there was no other way to do this. If the guards were strong enough, the main family would not be like this.Moreover, the punishment for a servant harming the master is very heavy, and generally a servant would not dare to do such a thing.

The two talked all the way to the gate of Gao Cheng's courtyard.The butler bowed his head and opened the door, Cui Zhi asked Zhao Zhu and others to go first.

The yard... nothing special, just small.

"Eh? The door is locked." Shen Wansha pointed at the big lock on the door of the wing with his fan, and asked the housekeeper, "Do you have the key?"

The housekeeper shook his head, "The housekeeper's room is equipped with a lock, and the key is not handed over to the mansion."

"Then only Gao Cheng has it?" Shen Wansha tilted his head, "What if Gao Cheng lost the key? Or what if he committed a crime and the house needs to search his room?"

The housekeeper replied respectfully, "If there is a time, find a powerful locksmith to pick it apart. If it doesn't work, just cut it off."

Shen Wansha thought about it too, how much is a lock?He walked to He Lian Yu's side, and touched his waist knife.

"What are you doing?" He Lianyu was afraid that the young master would be injured, and he didn't want him to touch the sharp blade, so he held down his hand.

Shen Wansha pointed at the lock, "Chop off this lock!" I still don't understand, how obvious!The young master couldn't resist He Lianyu's strength, so he simply withdrew his hand and blinked, "Why don't you come?"

He Lianyu has no objection to this...

Unexpectedly, when the two of them were talking, Lu Li and Zhao Shu had already approached the door to check the lock... "It really is."

"What's the matter?" Shen Wansha shook off He Lianyu and jumped forward.

Lu Li pointed to the door lock, "Look, the lock is not locked, it's just hanging."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhao Zhu with a smile in his clear eyes.Zhao Zhu's eyes were too sharp, and he could tell right away whether the lock was locked or not. He still didn't believe it, but when he came over to see, it was indeed true!

"Oh, it's true!" Shen Wansha pointed to the part of the brass lock on the tiger's head, "The seam is too thin, if you don't look carefully, you might think it's locked!"

But it wasn't locked properly, was Gao Cheng careless before leaving, or... was there another reason?

In short, don't smash it.

Zhao Zhu took the lock up and handed it to Cui Zhi, asking him to put it away, and several other people pushed open the room and went in.

As soon as they entered, everyone was stunned, and no one dared to move.

Because the scene is really shocking!

Tables and chairs were overturned, cups and pots were broken, everything was scattered all over the floor, even the bed curtain was torn off!This room is not small, and there are a lot of furniture and things, but everything is not in its original position. The whole room seems to be in a storm, messy!

"This is..." Shen Wansha's eyes widened, "Have you been patronized by a thief?"

He Lianyu rubbed his head, "It might be the murderer." He came looking for something with an unspeakable purpose...

"It's the murderer, why didn't you clean up the scene after finding it?" Shen Wansha refused to accept this conjecture, "I'm afraid others won't know that he killed someone?"

There are too many traces left, too easy to get caught, okay?

Helian Yu's peachy eyes were full of smiles, "Yes, the young master is right." He just said it casually.

Lu Li had already started to avoid the things on the ground, walked carefully, and observed the environment in the room.

Zhao Zhu followed behind him with a serious expression on his face.

Cui Zhi... Cui Zhi is a young man who has never experienced this kind of thing. He has no experience. He just tries to keep his face as serious as possible. He always pays attention to the actions of several people and their requests.

Lu Li walked around the room, feeling a little weird.The things in this room are too full, but if all the small things are down, even if someone else is looking for something, there is no need to destroy it like this, right?He has seen burglary scenes, such as tables and chairs, thin wood without drawers and hidden compartments, it is obviously impossible to hide important items, unless people argue and bump into them, they will generally not fall down.

Even the bed curtains have been ripped off here, and there is only a row of cabinets standing in the corner. Is it too big and heavy, so it is inconvenient to do it?

……

Zhao Zhu looked around, walked to Lu Li, and faced the only standing cabinet in the room.

This cabinet is very big, tall and long. The bottom is for storage, and the top is for ornamental things. Most of them are made of porcelain and wood. Now all the porcelain is smashed to the ground, and the wooden ones can still be seen intact.

He reached out to touch the surface of the cabinet, and there was a light layer of dust on his fingertips.He took a look for himself first, and then showed the dust print to Lu Li, "The last time the room was cleaned was within five days."

Lu Li gave Zhao Zhu a 'very good' look, and asked the butler, "Is Gao Cheng a diligent man?"

Obedient and defensive, the butler has been in the room all the time, so of course he understands Lu Li's meaning, "As long as he is not drunk, Gao Cheng is diligent and clean. He even cleaned the room before going out. Many people saw him carrying water."

Since it is a big cleaning, it is impossible to only clean the cabinets elsewhere.The cabinet is used to store ornamental items, and now everything has been swept to the ground. Looking closely at the light, there are even traces of dust on the cabinet, as if nothing was left on it.

The room is so messy, it must not be Gao Cheng's deliberate action, otherwise there is no need to clean it up, and just do it, the condition of this room must be caused by others.

The traces of dust on the cabinet are too uniform, and there is no difference in depth, so the time to sweep the things on the cabinet should be shortly after cleaning... That is to say, Gao Cheng has just finished cleaning, before the dust has come to lightly spread When it was on the first floor, the things on the cabinet were pulled down, and it has been kept until now.

And Gao Cheng went out to run errands after finishing the cleaning, did not return home, and died at the entrance of Chaoyang Street...

This timing is rather delicate. If it is a bit far-fetched to say that the petty theft is really related to Gao Cheng's death.

In this way, the murderer may be a member of the Hou family.

……

Everyone mobilized their brains to observe, and suddenly the housekeeper let out a 'huh'.

Cui Zhi was puzzled, "What's wrong?"

The butler pointed to the surviving lotus-shaped lamp on the window sill, "This lamp oil... seems to have been used."

"Isn't it normal to use it?" Cui Zhi was even more confused.

The housekeeper shook his head, "Because Gao Cheng has to go out to collect the bills, in order to earn more monthly money, he has added an evening shift for the past half a month. He wakes up every evening and works extra night. He will rest, so the kerosene is not needed. He himself said that anyway, when he goes out and takes a car, there is plenty of time in the car to catch up on sleep, so he can get more monthly money and save kerosene, which is very cost-effective."

Shen Wansha became curious, "So he hasn't lit the lamp recently? This lamp has been lit...it must be the murderer!"

Could it be that the murderer came at night?

The young master solemnly reminded Lu Li: "It is necessary to ask the servants of the Hou's mansion for their confession at night."

Lu Li nodded, expressing his agreement.

Cui Zhi looked at the messy room, and his mood was also in a mess, "The room is so messy, has anyone had a dispute with Gao Cheng?"

Shen Wansha's eyes widened, "That's right! If someone argues and fights, the room will be messed up. It doesn't have to be a thief!"

"It's not very likely." Lu Li shook his head and said no, "If the quarrel and shoving can become like this, the fight must be very fierce, and the fight is so fierce that it is impossible for both sides to not suffer any injuries, even if they are scratched. If you touch the skin, it will leave marks, but there are no traces in the room."

Zhao Zhu echoed: "Walls, tables and chairs, and the ground, there are no traces of human beings tearing, dragging, or colliding... It looks more like looking for something, and deliberately destroying it."

"That's why the thing you're looking for is very important... I'm not happy if I can't find it, so I made such a mess?" Shen Wansha rubbed his chin, "What is so powerful?"

"Naturally it's a good thing." At this moment, He Lianyu had already walked to the cabinet, staring at the corner and laughing out loud.

Shen Wansha leaned over, "What did you find?"

He Lianyu pointed to a little red in the back of the cabinet, "Did you see it?"

Shen Wansha saw it, but... "I don't understand."

He Lianyu pointed to the pile of broken things on the ground, "Is there any red ones?"

"No." Shen Wansha shook his head, and he understood after shaking his head, his clear and big eyes stared round, "There was originally a red thing here, but it was taken away!"

He hurriedly greeted Lu Li, "Little Lizi, come and see!"

Lu Li and Zhao Zhu were at the other side of the cabinet, now they came over and saw that they both had a look of understanding.

There was a smear of red in the depths of the cabinet, and when you touched it with your fingers, you could still get a trace of it. The trace was very new, and it was obviously caused recently.

After Zhao Zhu touched it, he rubbed it and smelled it, "It looks like red lacquerware."

It's a pity that there are too few traces to tell what it is.

……

Lu Li originally thought that he would not gain much from visiting the dead man's room this time, but he gained a lot in the end.

For example, Gao Cheng's death was likely caused by someone in the Hou's mansion. Someone went to this room at night and took away a piece of red lacquerware. Although I don't know what this lacquerware is and what it is for, it must be very important. It is so important to this person. It took too much effort to search, and in anger, he destroyed everything in the room...

In addition, He Lianyu studied the lock hanging on the door. It was an exquisite tiger-head lock, and it was difficult for ordinary craftsmen to open it without a key. If this person could enter the room, he probably had the key of the deceased.

Therefore, as long as you look back, if there is no lock key on the deceased, the possibility of the murderer and the person who caused the chaos in the room is even greater.

……

As soon as they finished looking at the room, Mrs. Zhang sent someone to invite them. The servant who went to the government office to identify the corpse came back and said that the deceased was indeed Gao Cheng.

Lu Li and the others looked at each other, and followed the messenger back to the main hall.Mrs. Zhang had already changed into a suit of clothes, and was sitting in the main seat. While waving to Lu Li, she pointed to the young man standing in front of the hall, "If you have any questions, you can ask him."

Lu Li was also polite, "Are you sure that the deceased is indeed Gao Cheng?"

"I'm sure," the boy's brow was covered with sweat, "the officials have found clues and are about to go to the Marquis Mansion for questioning. As soon as the little one passed by, he immediately recognized that the deceased was Gao Cheng!"

Shen Wansha waved his fan, "The government also found out the identity of the deceased?" It's not too late.

The little servant bowed his hands, "Yes."

"What about them?"

The young servant looked at Mrs. Zhang who was sitting first, but did not speak.

Lu Li then understood that the Hou's Mansion had a class status, and even though there was a homicide case, his status was only a servant, it was not considered a serious case, and he had to act in accordance with the wishes of the head of the family.

Zhang's eyes narrowed slightly, "The mansion is in a mess, and it's almost time for dinner, so I'll ask the officials to have a meal first, and then come to the mansion to ask for a confession in the afternoon."

Lu Li nodded, such an attitude is already very good, it would be good if he didn't push people out to prevent the government from controlling him, Mrs. Zhang is determined to solve the case.

He then asked the boy, "Is there anything on Gao Cheng..."

"Let me in! I know who the murderer is!" Suddenly, there was a noise outside the hall, which stopped Lu Li from speaking.

The voice was thin and clear, it was a woman.

Because the official master of the mansion is Mrs. Hou, everyone looked at Mrs. Zhang, the chief seat, for an instant.

The corners of Zhang's lips were deeply pursed, and displeasure flashed in her eyes, but it was only for a moment, and she returned to her gentle and noble appearance, "Let her in."

As soon as she gave the order, the people outside the hall let go, and a lake-green figure rushed in immediately, scanned the hall for a week, did not salute to Mrs. Zhang, and directly knelt down towards Zhao Zhu, who seemed to be the most senior, and shouted loudly, " I know who the murderer is!"

While talking, she was lying forward, looking like she wanted to hug Zhao Zhu's leg, but Zhao Zhu's martial arts skills are high, if he doesn't want to, others will not be able to hug him...

This woman has a slender figure, with slender shoulders and a willow waist, smoky eyebrows, watery eyes and peach cheeks, and she is full of tenderness.There are some wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, she doesn't look young anymore, but this temperament is still obvious, one can imagine what kind of stunner she would be when she was young.

But she moved quickly, was rude to Mrs. Zhang, spoke quickly and loudly, and there was a bit of ruthlessness in her brows, which didn't match her temperament. This incongruity made people feel a little uncomfortable .

Seeing that Lu Li was slightly startled, Shen Wansha thought he was bothered by something, and came over to explain, "Prince Ping is wearing the royal uniform, and the four-clawed golden dragon on his chest is so dazzling that anyone can tell his identity at a glance, not because he has any past with this woman. .”

Lu Li was even more stunned, did Shen Wansha misunderstand that he was jealous?

Seeing him in a daze, Shen Wansha patted him on the back lightly, "If you're not happy, I'll beat King Ping for you after the business is over, huh?"

She even coaxed him to come!

Seeing that the young master was worried, half distressed and half hesitant to persuade softly, Lu Li stroked his forehead, "I didn't..."

Shen Wansha patted Lu Li on the back again with an expression of "I understand, everyone is duplicity when encountering this kind of thing".

Lu Li: ...

"Mother Du," Zhang frowned slightly, "Pull her away!"

Madam Du immediately led the maids over, and the woman broke away from their hands, "Get lost! I'll get up myself!"

Then, the woman stood up and glared at Mrs. Zhang angrily.

Mrs. Zhang sighed a little, stood up and apologized to Zhao Zhu and the others, "This is my husband's concubine, surnamed Pang, who has always been unruly, please forgive me."

Seeing her like this, Pang snorted, "Pretend!"

Madam Du looked at Pang, her voice was cold, "Auntie, please calm down, there are guests in the house today, Madam is not good to argue with you, if you go too far, you will lose the face of the Hou family—"

Pang gave a 'bah', and turned to Zhao Zhu again, "I know who killed Gao Cheng, it's our elegant and calm Mrs. Hou who sits in a high position!"

These words silenced the hall.

Madam Du's eyes were as sharp as a knife, "Auntie said it carefully, Gao Cheng is just a servant, if Madam is not happy, she only needs to say a word to kill him, and he can be thrown into a mass burial with eighty boards in the outer courtyard." Gang, no one else knows about it, is it worth such a big fight to go to the government?"

Pang sneered, and his voice became sharper, "Because Gao Cheng is a servant, but he is different from ordinary servants. He knew the secret of Madam's killing of her husband, and Madam was angry, that's why he died so heroically!"

These words surprised everyone even more, especially the word 'killing husband', did it mean that Mrs. Zhang killed Cui Luo!

Pang didn't give others time to react. He raised the corner of his skirt and knelt heavily in front of Zhao Zhu, "Everything I said is true! Mrs. Zhang was cruel and vicious. She murdered my husband Cui Luo, Marquis of Wu'an. The servant is the most loyal, he must be the one who learned about this matter, the Zhang family killed people to silence them, please ask the prince to be the master for them!"

"Your husband?" Mama Du's voice became colder, "A concubine like you deserves to call Lord Hou your husband? In the whole summer, the only person who can call Lord Hou as a husband is Madam!"

"But although my status is low, I serve Lord Hou wholeheartedly, so that I can be favored by Lord Hou during his lifetime. Mrs. Zhang is just a woman who has polluted her body and ruined her reputation and is not worthy of living!" As if afraid of being covered up, Pang She spoke very quickly, "Why does Mrs. Zhang have only one child under her knees? Isn't it because after the incident 14 years ago, the prince refused to touch her again! Why didn't the prince touch her? Isn't it because she was used as a bait to lure the bandits away in Tang Nanzhuang, Defiled by bandits!"

"If it wasn't for her meritorious service, Master Hou would have divorced her a long time ago. It would be magnanimous to treat her with respect, but she was dissatisfied and filled with resentment, so she killed Master Hou!"

What she said was too serious and shocking, and everyone in the hall didn't know how to react for a while.

"I thought you really knew how Gao Cheng died, and that's why you were allowed to come in. I didn't expect you to talk about it just to bring up the old story."

Zhang's expression was calm, and he explained to Lu Li and others: "When my husband passed away, Pang made a fuss about it. He insisted that I was greedy and killed my husband. At that time, there were members of the Cui family and the government's investigation as evidence , I didn’t do such a thing. I thought about Pang’s meritorious service and gave birth to a child for Lord Hou, so I didn’t care about it just now. I didn’t expect that she would still be obsessed with this matter to this day, which surprised a few of you.”

This kind of thing is a private house secret, it won't be spread to the outside world, Shen Wansha has never heard of it, his eyes are wide open, such a thing happened in the Marquis of Wu'an!

Lu Li felt that the concubine was suspicious, so he asked Pang directly, "You said that Gao Cheng knew what happened back then, so he was silenced by his wife?"

Pang's expression was firm, his brows and eyes were sharp, "Yes!"

"How can you be sure that Gao Cheng was silenced because of this matter? What is your relationship with him?"

Ponzi's expression changed immediately.

This question was so clever that Shen Wansha couldn't help but close his fan, "Yeah, what is your relationship with him, and why does he know all the secrets and tell you?"