The first work of the imperial prison

It's almost a conditioned reflex to investigate cases frequently - whenever there is a secret channel, there must be a secret!

Looking at the hole extending downward, Ye Baiting and Qiu Yiqing looked at each other, but they didn't go down to have a look, what are they waiting for?

Without thinking about it at all, the two turned into the entrance of the cave and walked down.

When I walked down, I found that the bottom was not so dark. The entrance was dark and holey only when the sun was shining outside. In fact, the bottom was very spacious and transparent.

Ye Baiting felt that this place didn't look like a secret room, but if I had to describe it...it was a bit like a tunnel?There are entrances and exits at the front and back, with light, very spacious and transparent.

Both of them are very cautious, Qiu Yiqing walks in front, stepping on the ground first, observing the surroundings, making sure that there is no source of danger, then slowly go to a higher and farther direction to test, and if he sees anything suspicious, he will jump up , jump up to check.

Ye Baiting was also observing carefully, there was hatred in the high place and dark place, so he walked on the side of the cave wall, groping forward, occasionally knocking and listening, backing away or approaching, focusing on observing the size of the space, is there any For the sense of partition, roughly calculate the area in your mind to see if there is a secret room or the like.

But nothing was gained.

It looks like a passage here, without any hidden secrets, the whole road is wide and flat, straight and generous, as if it is not afraid of being seen by others.

Compared to the calmness of the housekeeper Xu Kai, with his hands tied in his sleeves, watching his nose, nose, nose and heart without saying a word, they jumped up and down, all kinds of busy appearances, seemed a bit too serious?

Ye Baiting pressed his fist to his lips, and coughed: "I've always been curious about this kind of place, please don't take offense to the housekeeper."

Xu Kai has slender eyebrows and long eyes, probably because he doesn't like to smile very much. He is about 40 years old, his face is not old-looking at all, the corners of his eyes are flat, and there are no wrinkles. With such a major event happening in the mansion, no matter how carefully Jin Yiwei investigates it, it cannot be overstated."

Chou Yiqing is much more comfortable, there is no embarrassment at all, he seems to do everything calmly, every action has a valid reason, if others feel embarrassed, it must be the fault of others, who did not understand the deep meaning of this.

At this moment, the road has already passed a small half, and Qiu Yiqing spun down from a height and asked the housekeeper: "This is the only passage here? What is it for?"

It seemed that this was a bit difficult to say, Xu Kai was silent, and then he said: "To the commander, there is indeed only this passage here. It is extremely cold in winter, the snow falls and the wind is hard, and there is thin ice on the ground. It is always difficult to walk, so ..."

Ye Baiting was also silent: "...So this passage exists only for this family to take a shortcut? To avoid the wind and snow?"

Xu Kai didn't look up: "I often walk in the hot summer."

Ye Baiting: ...

He and Qiu Yiqing quickly exchanged glances, and at the same time, the topographical map and the location of each courtyard quickly appeared in his mind. After a rough calculation, it really happened to be the distance from the outer courtyard to the inner courtyard—a straight-line distance.

So just because of this, the housekeeper stopped them, trying to lure them away from the rockery, so as not to find this road?Because I feel a little embarrassed, sorry for the owner of the house?

But as long as there is a road and a straight-line distance, there will be a certain time difference. If the murderer borrows it when he strikes, the time will be very generous and calm, and there is no need to worry about being discovered. After returning, he will pretend to be asleep and be with everyone Wouldn't it be logical to be "woke up" by servants due to accidents?

Qiu Yiqing asked Xu Kai: "How many forks are there in this passage, and where are the entrances and exits?"

Xu Kai didn't think about it for too long, because the commander himself was in the secret passage, so it was very easy to find out: "In addition, where there are rockeries in the courtyard, they are all entrances and exits."

Ye Baiting remembered clearly: "There is a rockery outside the deceased's study."

The area is not big, but there is. He remembered that when he walked in, he paused for a while, feeling that the rockery was a bit abrupt, and it didn't match the architectural style and the scattered scenery. He didn't know why it was put there. Now he understands, This is not a rockery, this is a door.

Qiu Xunqing turned to the roof of the study to look at it when he was surveying the site, and he could see it more clearly: "Every yard has it, and everyone leaves?"

Xu Kai: "Of course not everyone can leave. The eldest lady and the second wife are widowed at home. They usually don't go out, and they are basically useless. The eldest lady is a showman and follows the rules everywhere. The third lady is strong and likes to show off, even if she goes out occasionally. As guests, they all call a carriage to enter the second gate, and go out directly by carriage, only the old Hou Ye, the son, and the third master really use this passage."

"In order to prevent accidents, the servants will be lazy and disturb the female relatives. Only those who are promoted to the position of management will know the existence of the passage, and the master has clearly ordered that no servants are allowed to enter or leave the passage without clear instructions. All entrances and exits inside the agency , have added a door lock, the key is kept by the prince himself, there is only one set, and there is only one door that can be opened with a mechanism, which is the rockery that the commander discovered just now."

In other words, there is only one door that can truly enter and exit freely, and that is the rockery just now.

According to this statement, isn't Shizi himself the most suspicious person?Only he has the keys to all the door locks, and only he can go in any direction unimpeded.

Ye Baiting: "How old is the old Hou Ye of your mansion?"

Xu Kai: "I know the destiny this year, it's not yet my birthday, and I haven't held a birthday banquet yet."

That is to say, he will be 50 years old soon. Although he is not young, he is not too old. He should be quite energetic. Ye Baiting asked: "The old Hou doesn't like to travel on weekdays? What if you want to take a 'shortcut'? Busy, but not always at home."

Xu Kai: "Old Lord Hou suffered a serious illness a few years ago, so he doesn't like to go out very much. If necessary, he will tell the prince in advance, and the prince will hand over the key temporarily."

"So they will communicate about the schedule..." Ye Baiting asked again, "What about today, does Old Hou have any travel plans?"

Xu Kai shook his head: "Not really."

So the key is still in Shizi's hands.

Ye Baiting was a little obsessed with his thoughts, but he didn't pay attention when he walked forward, and stepped on the ground for a while.

"Be careful."

Qiu Yiqing was by his side, so of course he wouldn't be hurt, so he immediately supported him firmly.

"Master, be careful, there is a small hole in front..." Xu Kai's reminder came too late.

Ye Baiting stood still and looked at Xu Kai: "It seems that Steward Xu has walked this road many times, so he is very familiar with it."

"This..." Xu Kai paused, and said, "Actually, this secret passage was dug by the villain himself, and he is indeed familiar with it everywhere."

"Did you stare at the digging?"

"The Hou's family has a big business, and they have been worried about by thieves outside. The family has suffered crimes, and there has been a lot of commotion. At that time, the courtyards were too large, and the servants who reported the letter had no time to run. The inside and outside were blocked, and many things were lost. In order to prevent similar incidents from happening again, the old Hou Ye ordered to dig this passage for the convenience of walking around, and when there is an accident, he can be notified in place and stopped in time..."

The secret passage was not particularly long. The three of them walked all the way, and soon came to one of the exits, which was the courtyard of the third room. White was hung on the door, and the maids who came out of the room were all holding white The filial piety skirt, it seems that it is to serve the third lady to change clothes, and she is not satisfied with these brought out.

Qiu Yiqing: "There is a secret here, Jin Yiwei still needs to investigate."

Xu Kai: "Commander, don't worry, the prince has already ordered, and the whole family will cooperate."

While talking, someone trotted over from the side, and stood on the side restrainedly, it was obvious that he didn't want to disturb, but he really wanted to ask the housekeeper for some things, Xu Kai was also very embarrassed, just as he was about to wave his hand to tell people to go down, Qiu Yiqing spoke He said: "If you have something to do, you can take care of yourself. If there is a need, I will call you again."

Xu Kai: "Thank you Commander for your compassion, the villain will leave first."

Ye Baiting and Qiu Yiqing turned around and went back to the scene of the crime.

"This secret passage does not seem to lead to the streets outside, it is really convenient for my family to move around." Ye Baiting has seen many secret passages, this is the first time.

Qiu Yiqing nodded: "What did you think of?"

Ye Baiting really thought of something, he remembered the deserted courtyard where Liuli Sui was traded in the last case.According to Sun Zhixing, originally there was a secret passage in the yard when it was bought, and the family didn't take it seriously, but later on, people in the inner house used it as a raft every now and then, and it was a private meeting and adultery, which made the inner house smoky, and the man in charge really suffered. No, I rebuilt the house and moved to another place to stop such incidents from happening.

Although the location is different and the purpose is different, because the time of knowing it is close, it is inevitable to have some associations-could it also be related to cheating?

Qiu Yiqing saw through his thoughts at a glance, and raised his eyebrows: "Except for this?"

Ye Baiting: "Of course it can be used to kill someone."

Just the short distance and the time saved are enough to arrange a lot of things: "But we still have to look at the evidence and investigation."

The investigation of the crime scene is still in progress, but the records related to the corpse have been completed. The corpse of the deceased has been arranged to be sent back to Beizhen Fusi. The corpses have all gone back, and Wu Zuo will of course also go back.

Ye Baiting was also concerned about another point: "Is it possible to conduct an autopsy on the corpse?"

You don’t need to ask Qiu Xingqing about this question, there is already a young eunuch waiting next to him, when he heard the young master’s question, he immediately trotted over, and quickly saluted the two of them: “Young master, yes! By the way, I asked about this matter, and the prince agreed, saying that since it is necessary to solve the case, Jin Yiwei can do it cheaply, and I only hope that the facts can be found out as soon as possible, so that the deceased can be buried in peace."

"Really?"

Ye Baiting was very surprised. He didn't believe that if he just asked a question about this kind of thing, the other party could agree. Here, the word "autopsy" is almost taboo. Saying it is almost scaring people to death. If he can make the prince agree, Ban and An will definitely agree. Do something else.

"Of course it's true!" The little eunuch had a smile on his face, and didn't say too much, "How dare a villain make up such a thing to lie to the young master. Ban Changgong won't take a slice of someone to drink with!"

"Then I really should thank Mr. Banchang."

"The villain must pass on the young master's words to Ban Changgong! The villain does not dare to bother about Beizhen Fushi's business. The command makes the adults forgive me, so the villain will leave first."

The little eunuch left after taking the words, his steps were slippery like a fish.

Ye Baiting was really happy, while he was happy, he accidentally noticed Qiu Yiqing's expression——

"What's the matter with you?" Why does it look a little unhappy?

"It's nothing." Qiu Yiqing glanced over the direction where the little eunuch left. Some people really know how to borrow flowers to offer Buddhas and strive for merit. There is nothing he is not good at.

……

Suddenly a case was solved here, and the work was in full swing. The news seemed to have grown feet, and soon flew to other places. Of course, the palace also heard the news.

Dongchang Changgong Fu Lixing leaned against the colonnade and sighed for the eighth time since today.

Without it, he just came out of the Changle Palace, and was scolded by the empress dowager, and also got angry by smashing a bunch of things such as tea cups, bracelets and jade buttons. , Where did the scheming go, she said so many things with so much earnestness earlier, and analyzed so many situations, did he ignore them all?Don't tell me you haven't made any progress, and let the old woman in the west take the lead!

If R&F hadn't had a thick skin and a good body, he might have been injured this time.

But he doesn't want to either!In the case of the broken glazed ball last time, he was obviously lucky. He met the young master first, and helped him on the street. It changed his image in the young master's heart. He even left a hook waiting for others to come. Looking for him, it turned out that there was no need at all, the young master figured it out by himself, he could solve the case, and he missed it again!

The surname Ban is so ruthless, this time he seized the opportunity and caused him to be beaten and scolded!

No, he has to work hard, he can't go on like this, the imperial concubine is so high-minded, she knows how to bend and stretch, why is he putting on airs?It's okay to show off with others, is the young master someone else?That is the commander's apex and lifeblood, the person he is trying to get close to, how can he expect others to move forward?He had to send the steps over by himself, and he had to make the young master think that the steps were good, flat, smooth, wide and beautiful, easier to walk than others, and he couldn't do without him!

Where to start?

Fu Lixing squinted his eyes and folded his sleeves to think, isn't it the matter of Ying Gonghou's mansion?His surname is Ban, but our family doesn't know?

He stood still, and casually called his confidants over: "Tell me about Ying Gonghou's residence."

The young eunuch was stunned, and knelt down: "Godfather, this is a matter of Ying Gonghou's residence... My son doesn't know, and I haven't checked it before."

Fulihang: ...

The feeling of being slapped in the face on the spot, he snorted coldly, and the corners of his eyes hung up: "If you don't know, just check! How to do it, who will do it, can we teach you?"

The young eunuch broke out in a cold sweat: "Yes! My son knows!"

"Don't hurry up!"

Fu Lixing kicked the young eunuch, and the young eunuch really rolled on the spot and crawled out.

"Humph."

Fulixing is not worried about the efficiency of the people below. There is nothing that Dongchang wants to dig up. As long as he finds something useful, he will go to the young master... to go in person!

……

Jin Yiwei was busy at the scene. Shen Jiang took people to the inner house for questioning, but he had not yet returned. Since the corpse was sent back to Beizhen Fusi, it could also be dissected. .

Qiu Yiqing: "Wait for a stick of incense, and I will take you back."

Ye Baiting: "No, I can do it myself."

"I send you."

"It's really unnecessary." Ye Baiting looked at the scene and thought to himself that you are still busy, why bother to make this extra trip?

Qiu Yiqing raised her eyebrows: "Have you forgotten your identity?"

Ye Baiting: ...

He looked at the little gold bracelet on his wrist. The little bell didn't look old at all after wearing it for several months. It was the same as when it was new. When it moved, it made a crisp sound, and when he took a step, it echoed. He was so used to it. Kind of forgot.

That's right, although he has a Jinyiwei card, he is not a serious Jinyiwei. His current status is still a prisoner who "deserves crime and makes meritorious service".

"This is not what I want you to see." There was a little helplessness in Qiu Yiqing's voice.

Ye Baiting: "That's it?"

Qiu Yiqing looked down and landed on the jade sachet on his waist.

Ye Baiting's ears turned red.

He really likes this little thing, Qiu Xunqing gave it to him, and he is going to wear it every day, but think about the other party's expression when he gave this thing, what happened before and after, this little thing is basically a token of love, If there is a special meaning, he will not think about it from time to time unless others say it. Qiu Yiqing deliberately reminded him at this time, as if to remind him of one thing——

I am chasing you.

Ye Baiting coughed: "The case is important."

Qiu Yiqing: "You are also very important."

Ye Baiting: ...

It's a foul for you to speak like that!

"What you have to do now is to work hard on the case?" Qiu Yiqing looked solemn and upright, "I will never treat people who are serious about things badly."

Anyway, it's just out of emotion and reason, so I have to give it away.

Ye Baiting could only nod: "Then let's hurry up on the way, don't waste too much time."

"it is good."

When I came here, I didn't pay much attention to it. I thought it was just a door-to-door visit to ask a question. I just had time and the distance was not far away. The two of them walked all the way and came here slowly. They didn't ride a horse. Now it's time to hurry up. Enmity Qing quickly called a horse over.

Ye Baiting: "Only one?"

Qiu Xunqing: "Xuan Guang is not here, the new horses in the department are all wild, I am worried about your riding skills."

Between comfort and discomfort, Ye Baiting would of course choose the former. If he really wanted to argue, he would go back in a bad state, how would he work, and how would he perform an autopsy?And once died, he regretted his life.

only……

"Didn't you say that you should keep your distance outside?"

The wind whistled past the ears, the trees and houses retreated row by row, Ye Baiting leaned his back against the commander's chest, his voice blended with the wind, somewhat real.

"In non-emergency situations." Qiu Xingqing's voice fell in his ears, and it was much more solid. "In case of emergency, everyone will understand, everyone is the same."

Ye Baiting thought about it, but it was true. When solving a case, when there was a crisis before, and when there was a need to rush for time, how could he think so much, not to mention sharing a ride, and there were also times when the Jin Yiwei and the lower guards shared the same bed. It's really impossible to be true to everything and be demanding on everything.

But... this man is quite willing to find benefits for himself.

Seeing the little girl in front of him move, Qiu Xingqing said again: "It will be a little bumpy, bear with it." After a pause, he said again, "If you can't do it, hug my arm and sit higher."

The corpse of the deceased went through the on-site procedures first, and was sent back to Beizhen Fusi, but it was pulled by a cart, and the horse ran very fast. When Ye Baiting arrived, the time difference was almost the same.

There was a murder case outside, and Jin Yiwei was transferred to be on duty. Of course, Fusi of Beizhen also started other corresponding preparations. For example, the morgue was prepared at the old Wuzuo Shanglu's place. All the tools were available and arranged neatly. See At the moment of Ye Baiting, the old lady's eyes lit up: "Master, we can start now!"

Ye Baiting was also a workaholic, so he nodded immediately, put on his smock, and was ready to start.

Qiu Yiqing: "You should be able to do it yourself? I can't accompany you for the time being."

"Go and do your work." Ye Baiting didn't turn his head back, "If the results come out, I'll have someone bring them to you right away."

The door of the morgue was closed, Ye Baiting got everything ready: "Let's get started."

"The deceased, Ying Yutong, was 24 years old. He was of medium height and thin. He was wearing a white undershirt and his hair was tied up...with the clothes removed, the spots on the body were darker than those at the scene of the crime, and his left arm..."

Ye Baiting paused, and came over to observe carefully: "There are half-moon marks on the inside, like fingernails?"

The marks were very shallow and couldn't be seen clearly, so he used scallion distiller's grains and other dross cakes, and applied it for a while, and sure enough, more bruises appeared.

In addition to the half-moon-shaped nail marks, there are also obvious bruises where the fingers have been pinched vigorously. There are four fingers on the inside of the arm and a thumb on the outside. It should be that someone pinched the left arm of the deceased with his left hand from behind. produce traces like this.

Ye Baiting turned around and looked at his right arm, there was nothing, so the deceased was only pinched by his left arm?

He and Qiu Yiqing have seen the scene and reconstructed the process of the murderer's crime. This trace... should be for immobilizing the body?The desk is very long, and the deceased can lie on it, but to get enough rope to hang himself, he needs to sit up thousands of miles and borrow some strength...

After recording all the corpse's performance and estimated direction in detail, Ye Baiting picked up the scalpel and said, "Start the dissection now."

The first organ to focus on is still the stomach.

Ye Baiting's anatomical movements were the same as before, the movement of cutting the skin of the deceased was neat and clean, the angle of separating and cutting the muscle tissue was skillful and ingenious, the stomach was taken out swiftly and quickly, and even the knife for cutting the stomach was performed accurately, leaving no time for thinking.

If Shen Jiang was here, he would have covered his mouth and spit out immediately.

nothing else, this smell...

Shanglu is used to seeing corpses like this, and he couldn't help frowning at people who didn't change his face when he saw the smell: "How much did this person have to eat before he died? Is lunch so intemperate!"

For Ye Baiting, how much food he ate is not important, what is important is the time of death and the information carried by the food.

"The deceased's stomach was full, the food became soft, and his appearance was relatively complete. His death time was about half an hour after this meal."

Shang Lu looked at these things, and then at the body of the deceased: "Fried meat, fried meat, grilled meat? This third master loves meat so much? He doesn't want any vegetarian... He didn't grow fat?"

"There are always all kinds of differences between individuals."

Ye Baiting didn't find it particularly novel, the human body is infinitely mysterious, he has seen even more special cases than this, it is not important, what is important is the discovery in front of him.

He took tweezers and pulled something out of the dead man's stomach.

Irregular long strips, corroded by gastric juice, the color is whitish, only a faint pink remains in the center...

Shanglu looked at the shape and hesitated: "Petals?"

Ye Baiting narrowed his eyes slightly: "This is a petal of a wood chrysanthemum."

"Chrysanthemum?" Phytophthora recognized it, but it looked a bit like a chrysanthemum, but this color... most common chrysanthemums are yellow, what kind of pink is this?

"This wood chrysanthemum is completely different from the usual chrysanthemums, except that around the pistil, the middle part of the petals is in this long strip shape, and the outside is like an irregular heart shape, with jagged edges. Compared with chrysanthemums, it is more like hibiscus or Camellia, but it also has a name called drunken flower."

"Drunk flower?"

Ye Baiting said: "It tastes sweet. If you can't resist the temptation, pick a piece and eat it, and you will fall into a coma soon. This thing is often born in the far south, and some people describe it as - a beautiful woman spits out a fragrance, and this flower begins to bloom ( Note)."

The author has something to say: (Note) When the beautiful woman spits out the perfume, the flower begins to bloom. ——From Du Niang, an Indian legend.