The first work of the imperial prison

Shen Jiang followed the young master, looking at the corpse in front of him.

Not to mention the resistance reaction, there were no scars or bruises on the arms and hands of the deceased. Even the clothes and shoes of the deceased were neat and clean, and there was no mess at all. It seemed that he had not undergone any violent movements such as running or scuffling, as if he was standing still in place. Stand and wait for someone to hit you and then fall down.

"How is that possible?" Shen Jiang frowned, "Could it be that he didn't see the murderer coming?"

Ye Baiting carefully looked at the wound, and understood why Shen Jiang thought so, because the deceased was wounded on the side of the forehead, not directly in front, nor directly behind. It is possible that the dead will not be aware of it and be attacked without any reaction. It is impossible in the front, and it is impossible for the dead to not see it. It is not necessarily on the side... there are many possibilities for fault tolerance.

While Shen Jiang was talking, he started acting: "Look, if the surrounding area is relatively quiet and no one sees the other party approaching, wouldn't it be very convenient for the assailant to walk like this and come here all at once?"

"Well, it's not impossible."

"But?" Shen Jiang looked at the young master's expression and felt more than that.

Ye Baiting said: "It is also possible that the deceased knew someone very familiar with them. The two sides talked close to each other, and they were not defensive. If the other party hid their hands behind their backs and suddenly attacked like this, the deceased would have no time to react."

"Yes, it's more likely that an acquaintance committed the crime!" Shen Jiang diverged his thoughts, "Is it possible that the deceased was poisoned and fainted on the ground, and the assailant was afraid that he would not die, so he made up for it again?"

"impossible."

Ye Baiting pointed to the wound: "Look at the scar, the upper and right edges are clear, and there are a little scratches from the left to the bottom. This wound must be caused by the assailant's right hand and force from the left to the bottom. Superficial dragging scratches, if people have already fainted to the ground, let alone whether it is necessary to add it, just judging from the traces, it will not be so manifested."

"That's right, I'm drifting again, I can't think about it, I can't think about it!"

Ye Baiting inspected the wound and quickly came to a conclusion: "This is not a fatal wound."

Shen Jiang: "Why?"

"The blood flow from the wound looks scary, almost covering the whole face, but the blood volume is not much, the wound is not deep, only the skin and flesh are damaged, there is no problem with the bone, no depression, no rupture, this level is the most lethal Brief fainting..."

There may be a concussion, a short-term discomfort and want to vomit, but it is unlikely to be fatal instantly.

"It must be poison?" Shen Jiang pondered, "How did it fall on the dead man, from the mouth? To eat?"

It's the palace over there, poisoning the food?Don't be too courageous!

Ye Baiting was very calm: "You can tell by autopsy."

When the deceased died, he hadn't even finished a meal, and the food in his stomach was too late to digest, so he would definitely be able to give them an answer.

The room was completely quiet. At this moment, even the wind outside was silent. The loudest thing heard was the knife and scissors in the young master's hand, and the most obvious thing in front of his eyes was the young master's dazzled movements.

The young master seems to be faster!Not to mention the flipping of hands, he can be regarded as smooth and smooth. He is still very steady, not a single step is wrong and stagnant, and no movement is too deep or too shallow. It is just right.

Shen Jiang is now a mature adult of a thousand households. He is completely calm about these "small scenes" in front of him. He doesn't even dislike the smell so much. He can still watch the young master's movements and help pass a knife and scissors... …

Ask who in the world is fighting for the front, Jin Yiwei is the only one who is the best!

However, when the deceased's stomach was removed and cut open, he still pinched his nose for a moment. The smell...was really strong.

Ye Baiting cut open the stomach, and the food inside was clearly visible. What the deceased ate, all of them are here, and the shape is basically intact, and the color has not worn away too much. It can be seen that the dishes are very rich.

Shen Jiang followed the young master's tweezers to pick up the contents of his stomach, feeling like he could name the dishes!

"These...why do they seem to be okay?"

Ye Baiting didn't see the problem for the time being, the ingredients he could identify were all safe ingredients, without toxins, and they didn't harm each other, but...

"The deceased drank wine, you may smell it, what kind of wine is it?"

Shen Jiang somewhat refused: "The wine in the stomach of a dead person has long gone stale. Who would like to smell it? Besides, I am not that Su Jiujiu. I am so familiar with wine and so good at it..."

Ye Baiting looked at him with a smile: "Do you smell it?"

Shen Jiang: ...

"smell!"

He pinched his nose, quickly let go of his fingers, and quickly pinched it back... It didn't feel like it was a bit smelly.

Turning around and seeing the young master's smiling face, he closed his eyes, forget it, let go of his fingers, and took a deep breath...

"vomit--"

In addition to the smell and nausea, I did smell an unusual smell of wine: "Osmanthus wine?"

It's a little fragrant.

Ye Baiting nodded: "Just now, the commander sent the news along with the letter. Can we say that we all drank wine during the banquet? Or, how many kinds of wine were there?"

"No." Shen Jiang's memory is not bad, "I guess I haven't had time to sort it out, but it's not difficult, and I can find it."

Ye Baiting lowered his eyebrows: "Yes."

Shen Jiang asked again: "Then this poison, young master, do you have a direction now?"

"Not yet, but there is still something special about the performance of the corpse, which needs our attention."

Ye Baiting said: "The deceased's pupils are dilated, there are fine white foams at the corners of his mouth, and you can see his posture, although he is lying on his side, but he is slightly leaning back, obviously he has not appeared rigor, but his hands and feet are obviously stiff - this is not rigor. , it's a spasm."

"The poison we are looking for must include the above-mentioned types of poisoning reactions."

At present, there is no trace of poison in the stomach contents, and the body and clothes of the deceased are also very clean. Otherwise, so many people from the palace to Beizhen Fusi have been exposed to it, and it is impossible not to be infected.

Is this poison really imported from the mouth?If so, why did other people have nothing to do during the dinner, but he ate something different?If it wasn't from the mouth, how did it get poisoned?powder?odor?But if you do something, there should be traces.

It is still necessary to compare the clues collected on the spot, so there is no rush to draw a conclusion...

Sure enough, not long after, someone from Beizhen Fusi came again to spread the word that the palace card had been prepared, and the commander ordered Shen Qianhu to enter the palace on business. Before the case was solved, as long as he had the palace card, he could enter the palace for investigation at any time. visit.

Ye Baiting stayed alone in Fusi, Beizhen, for an autopsy, extracting clues from the limited information in the files, to see if there were any details that were overlooked or undiscovered... It's just that there are too many things to know, and the key points are not clear, as if everything should be covered. Understand, everything should be clear, not to mention great progress.

Qiu Yiqing didn't come back until it was dark.

"Where's Shen Jiang?" Ye Baiting didn't see anyone, "Sent out by you?"

Qiu Xunqing: "There are many rules in the palace, and the progress is slow. Some relationships between characters need to be investigated outside to confirm, and he has to run errands."

"What about you?" Ye Baiting was suspicious, this man is a workaholic, "You haven't finished your work, you will come back to rest?"

Qiu Yiqing embraced him: "Honey, I just don't want to rest, the palace key has been released, so I won't be allowed to stay longer."

Ye Baiting put his hand against his chest, very vigilant: "Talk about the case."

Qiu Yi raised his eyebrows, let go of his hand, and at the moment when Ye Baiting was relaxed and relieved, he suddenly leaned closer, moved to another direction, and kissed his ear.

Ye Baiting covered his ears: "You—"

However, Qiu Yiqing has become serious, with solemn eyebrows and eyes, like a commander in front of ordinary people: "Where is our Mr. Wu Zuo, can you gain anything?"

Ye Baiting: ...

Forget it, don't care about this dog man.

He talked about today's autopsy process, the clear part, the questionable part... Due to the hatred and suspicion in the palace, it is inconvenient for the two sides to communicate with each other, and the other party does not know some details at the moment.

After hearing this, Qiu Xunqing gave an answer about the wine: "There are two kinds of wine at the banquet, one is the fruit wine on the table of the female relatives, seasoned with cherries, lightly sweet and slightly sour, and the other is the wine made by the emperor and Xing Mingda. On the table, the Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner, and the sweet-scented osmanthus wine is used, which is not easy to get drunk. The emperor only took a sip because he was busy later. Xing Mingda is a courtier, and he must express his gratitude for the banquet given by the emperor. He drank three cups... everything on the scene It has been sealed, and today is too late, and a drug test will be conducted later."

Ye Baiting was thoughtful: "Well. Then we should..."

"It's time to sleep."

"Don't... don't hug me to bed! Qiu Xunqing! Don't you usually investigate the case overnight, the case is the most important thing!"

"If you don't sleep well and recharge your energy, how can you enter the palace for interrogation tomorrow?"

"Enter... the palace?" Ye Baiting blinked, "Can I go to the palace too?"

Qiu Yiqing kissed his lips, and said in a low voice, "I should have brought you to meet the emperor long ago. If you have time in this case, come and have a meal with him, okay?"

"Also...not impossible."

Ye Baiting thought for a while, if he could participate in the questioning like this, of course it would be the most convenient, but before he realized that Qiu Yiqing liked him, he foolishly asked these questions, asking if Qiu Yiqing had a sweetheart, who was the sweetheart, Have you brought your sweetheart to meet relatives and friends... It's time to meet formally and have a meal.

The man in front of him with sword eyebrows and star eyes, majestic and dignified, no matter where he is placed, he is an excellent person. His heart moved, and he asked Qiu Xingqing: "When did you like me? Why do you like me?"

The thick-skinned man suddenly became less thick-skinned, and coughed with his fist on his lips: "The deceased was injured by a blow to the side of the forehead, what do you think?"

Ye Baiting knew that Qiu Yiqing did it on purpose, but there was nothing he could do. When it came to the murder case, he talked too much: "Non-fatal injuries, but the weapons used are very special. Walking in the palace, and in front of the imperial court, it is very difficult to carry weapons. I guess it may have been at that time. Things that are easy to get in the environment? But if you ask me like that...you can't find it?"

Qiu Yiqing: "This thing is suspicious, and there is nothing at the scene."

Ye Baiting: "I was thinking, the person who poisoned and the person who hit the forehead of the deceased is the same? If there is one person, since he poisoned him, there is no need to do more. If there are two, the person who hit him is really unwise. No matter what kind of enmity there is, this is in the palace, at the royal banquet, you suddenly hit someone, but you can't kill him, isn't it obvious that you want the other party to go to the emperor to complain, and this matter can't be uncovered? There is no need to make trouble for yourself , Could it be an accident that the killer was doing something secret and was seen by the dead? Well...don't bite..."

"There is plenty of time to talk about the case tomorrow," Qiu Xunqing breathed lightly, "Go to sleep first."

"You have changed, you were not like this before!"

"Maybe Ah Ting didn't see clearly before? Do you want to get closer and have a thorough look?"

……

The next morning.

Shen Jiang sent a letter back, saying that he was investigating the relationship between the deceased and the circle of the deceased... Relatively speaking, it was a bit complicated. He cooperated very well, but he felt that something was wrong. In order to distinguish the authenticity, he needed to find more evidence to support it... The workload was not small, and he said that he would send back the latest file in time and communicate with him as before.

Ye Baiting asked someone to bring him a message, saying that he was going to enter the palace today, maybe the feedback was late, so he went to the imperial city with Qiu Yiqing.

The rules of the palace are different from those of the outside, one checkpoint after another, one level after another, even though Qiu Xunqing is the commander, the links have been simplified a lot, and there is still a long wait in between.

"It's more convenient if you want to face the saint, but today you go to the harem, the rules cannot be avoided," Qiu Yiqing looked at Ye Baiting, his voice was low, "The empress will see you later, and now she is going to deal with palace affairs in the morning routine. It's not very convenient, let's meet the Empress Dowager and Concubine You first, and the time will be just right after we finish."

Queen?Sister Yue?

Ye Baiting instantly understood: "Okay."

However, there was someone to accompany him on this journey. It was the female officer of the Shang Palace Bureau that the Queen had mentioned to Qiu Yiqing yesterday.

"Servant Yin Mengqiu, I have seen the Commander."

Waking up this morning, while Qiu Xunqing was handling the business affairs of Beizhen Fusi, Ye Baiting also took the time to read the latest file information of the case, and when he heard the name of this person, he knew who it was. At the banquet, she is neither the host nor the guest, but she is the person who manages the entire banquet. All the drinks and dishes have to go through her hands. Some things are most convenient for her to do.

"Commander—the subordinate has something to report."

At this moment, someone from the imperial guards came to report to Qiu Xunqing, so he confessed to Ye Baiting: "You stand here for a while, I'll go and see what's going on, and I'll be back in a moment."

Because the distance was not too far and they were all within the field of vision, Qiu Xunqing was not worried, and Ye Baiting was not afraid either, but at the scene... only him and Yin Mengqiu were left.

There are rules in the selection of palace ladies, especially when the late emperor was here, her appearance could not be bad. This female official seems to have passed her forties, and there are fine lines at the corners of her eyes, but she can still see her youthful demeanor. The arc of the tail is slightly upturned, and the figure has been maintained so far. The shoulders are thin and the waist is thin. Because she is slightly taller than ordinary women, the waist is even more slender... In her unique youth, she must be a beauty with memories .

Ye Baiting smiled: "Does Lady Yin know the deceased?"

As expected of a person who has been in the palace for a long time, was promoted to a female official, and has seen big scenes, Yin Mengqiu's expression is extremely calm: "Mr. The talent is not at the peak, only this face is also remembered by everyone, the slaves were lucky to see it, and they were deeply impressed, but Mr. Xing's official position was low at that time, and he didn't often enter the palace. Secretary, often need to submit memorials to the imperial court, only to meet a few more times."

"Have you ever spoken to him? Have you ever known him?"

Yin Mengqiu: "The emperor is busy with government affairs, and he does many things by himself. There are more or less memorials... The servants are just maids of honor. They don't understand, but they must represent different meanings. The emperor often asks the officials of the General Administration Department. If you stay late, They will also give food and vegetables, some things are the responsibility of slaves, and after giving them a few times, Lord Xing is the person in charge of the administration, and slaves have spoken to each other, but they are not familiar with each other."

Ye Baiting looked at her: "During the dinner yesterday, you were very busy."

"Yes," Yin Mengqiu said, "For the emperor to give a banquet, it is no small matter for the palace people. There must be no omissions during the period. Are there few people who died in these details in previous years? You must never make mistakes in order to be safe all the time. , has always been useful, so the servants have been busy, coming in and out during the banquet... If the young master has doubts, the servants will not be able to prove themselves, but if they are so busy, it should not be easy to commit murder?"

It seemed that the female officer was very transparent and knew exactly what she was asking.

Ye Baiting then said: "You must have great ability to get to where you are today, and you can read people's hearts. Maybe my question is not so suitable, but I still want to ask you. The time between the banquet is not short. Can you see, Xing Mingda and his wife, Tong Shi, are they on good terms?"

"This……"

Yin Mengqiu lowered his eyes: "It's hard to say."

"Why is it hard to say?"

"That's right, there's nothing bad to say," Yin Mengqiu smiled lightly, "Young master solves cases like a god, and he must be used to the world. When you are middle-aged, you are used to many things. If you are not emotional, middle-aged couples are mostly strangers. It's just for the sake of the family, for the sake of the children, how can there be so much affection?"

"Oh, they have a bad relationship."

"It's not easy for slaves to make judgments about other people's affairs, but based on their performance during the banquet yesterday," Yin Mengqiu said, "sitting in the same pavilion, without any eye contact with each other, being joked, ridiculed, and encountering funny or embarrassing things, It was not each other who looked at each other at the first glance. This kind of behavior of completely ignoring each other is either due to getting along with each other for a long time, knowing the temper ability of the person next to the pillow, and trusting the other party to handle it well, or not caring at all. Anyway, we are husband and wife. The interests are bound, and you will never do anything to harm yourself."

Ye Baiting: "You are very transparent."

"Thank you, young master, for your praise, it's not worth mentioning." Yin Mengqiu looked at the other party's smiling and harmless face, "I just don't know, how did this Xing lord die?"

Ye Baiting's heart changed, he understood, this is deceiving him.

There are disciplines for the details of the murder case, how can the investigators disclose it casually?This female officer is a smart person, if the commander is here, she must not dare to say such 'presumptuous' words.

Ye Baiting laughed again: "Since you are not familiar with him, why are you so curious?"

Yin Mengqiu knew right away that he had been spotted, and saluted generously: "Young master, you are laughing at me. People in this world are always curious about unknown things, and so are the people in the palace. The more you see, the more I can't help it, reminding myself to be wise and protect myself, the more I know, the faster I die, but I can't help it, I always want to find out what happened, and be the smartest one among the many foolish people..."

"What are you talking about?" While speaking, Qiu Yiqing came back.

Yin Mengqiu was more polite, with his hands folded in front of his lower abdomen, his smile was suppressed, and he saluted decently without speaking.Because she knows that when others say this, they don't ask her.

"The case, you came back before the timeline was mentioned," Ye Baiting looked behind him, "Is the matter over?"

With hatred and suspicion, his eyes slid to Yin Mengqiu: "You can continue."

Yin Mengqiu saw that his toes were moving forward, and he realized: "If the commander doesn't mind the rudeness of the servants, he can talk while walking."

Qiu Yiqing led Ye Baiting forward: "Very good."

While leading the way, Yin Mengqiu articulated the whole process of giving the banquet, who and when came, what they said and did, who left the banquet, who came first and who came later, about to leave. How long has it been...

Except for the part she was not sure about, everything else was no different from what Queen Yue said.

Ye Baiting: "Because you have to pay attention to the dishes and drinks, you often go in and out, and have the widest field of vision. Have you ever seen someone look at Mr. Xing with wrong eyes, or have any inappropriate behavior?"

After a moment of silence, Yin Mengqiu shook his head: "Although the servant girl often enters and exits frequently, with wide eyesight, she has no time to look at other things... The servant girl said to the young master how important the royal banquet is, and no mistakes can be tolerated. The servant girl only focuses on the eyes, It just exhausted my mind and really didn't care about other things."

"Really not?"

"Young master, you are suspicious of your servant," Yin Mengqiu smiled. "Your servant has no grievances with Mr. Xing, why is this so? It will also ruin your own future. It is not easy for a servant to do so today, and I don't know how many years are left in the future. What I want in my heart , but it’s just a peaceful life—little son, pay attention to your steps and walk this way.”

Ye Baiting, together with Qiu Yiqing, followed her to turn around and walked into a slightly narrow palace wall: "This...doesn't seem to be the main road?"

Yin Mengqiu said concisely: "This road is closer to Ningshou Palace."

"Ms. Yin is very familiar with the roads in the palace?"

"I have been walking in the palace for many years, and I don't even know about this, how can I do it?" Yin Mengqiu smiled, "Not only this road, but also the road to Changle Palace, Kunning Palace, and even the emperor's Taiji Hall. I'm very familiar with it, but it's only a matter of the past few months to have a master in the middle palace. There may be others who are more familiar with the road to Kunning Palace than the slaves..."

While speaking, Ningshou Palace arrived.

Ban Hean guarded the palace gate, and greeted people when they saw them. Yin Mengqiu was very sensible, gave a blessing, quietly retreated to the edge, and stopped talking.

"But when the young master and the commander are here, will the road go smoothly? Are you tired? Do you want to take a rest first?" Mr. Banchang was very enthusiastic.

Ye Baiting smiled: "No need, the business is important, and the road is not too long."

Qiu Yiqing followed and said, "Send the message, please see the Empress Dowager."

"It has already been passed on, and the Empress Dowager is waiting," Ban Changgong said with gray temples and kind eyes, "Master looks good today, so I can say a few more words, but if you are tired and mentally weak, I'm afraid the two of you will Too much to worry about..."

Ye Baiting: "Thank you for reminding me, father-in-law."

According to the rules, I went in to meet, saluted, and shouted, and heard a slightly old voice: "Well, yes, he is a good boy, born fair and happy."

Ye Baiting was called to look up, only to see the Empress Dowager seated on the seat, the old man was dressed in palace attire, with a graceful temperament, her hair was all white and combed meticulously, her face could not hide the traces of time, and there were many wrinkles, probably because she had been in the deep palace all year round. I like gold very much. The clothes are embroidered with gold threads, the tea cups are printed with gold patterns, and the pillows are also beautifully embroidered with flowers. The whole palace looks resplendent and bright.

The Empress Dowager: "Look, such a good-looking young man, why is he hiding outside? He should go to the palace more often to accompany Ai's family."

These words... Ye Baiting didn't know how to reply, he had nothing to do with the palace, he was not of the clan, he was not considered a serious junior, and he had no official status, no matter how he reasoned, he shouldn't come to accompany him to fulfill his filial piety?

"You just love the younger generation, so don't scare the younger generation." Ban and An are used to it, and they can still interrupt for fun, looking at Ye Baiting, "Don't be afraid, little son, if the empress dowager likes it again, she won't snatch it." Human."

Ye Baiting: ...

"You are here today, but you want to ask about the case?"

The Empress Dowager would ask this question, thinking it was very clear in her heart.

Qiu Yiqing cupped his hands: "If you can get the advice of the Empress Dowager, it will be my honor."

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes slightly: "The Ai family doesn't know this Xing Mingda, he is old, and he doesn't like to see this matter of life and death, not to mention yesterday, every day, the Ai family is with Eunuch Ban, If you have any questions, you can ask him later, he knows about Aijia, but at this moment, Aijia would like to ask the commander a question—"

"Before yesterday's incident, Mrs. Shan of Han Ninghou's Mansion left the banquet. Until the murder was discovered, she hadn't seen anyone. Can you find her now?"