[Zhongying] Rebirth meets a wizard

At the dinner table, Mary did not fail to notice Lydia's peeking at her, but she did not react.

In fact, Mary has not changed these days, but she has never talked much, and now she is more silent, but she is not conspicuous.

After dinner, everyone went back to the room to rest one after another. When Lydia finally finished eating because of her carelessness, Mary had already left.

Lydia also returned to her room, and immediately continued to read John's letter, which she had already read half of.

..............................

After Sherlock circled the name, he started to go out frequently. I guess he was looking for evidence. Obviously, he had found the biggest suspect by then.

I would also chat with Mrs. Hudson about Sherlock's case when I was free.

With the case being jointly suppressed by the Duke and Baron, there was no news in the newspapers, but Mrs. Hudson knew about it.

I was having lunch alone, and Sherlock had gone out early in the morning and hadn't returned.

Mrs. Hudson was sitting across from me chatting, or trying to get information from me.

"The ladies who had afternoon tea with me are all asking how the beautiful baroness died. Everyone has their own guesses. John, do you know how Sherlock is doing?"

While speaking, Mrs. Hudson tacitly handed over the black pepper I asked for.

"This case has not been investigated yet. You know, Sherlock always keeps it very secret until the final result."

After finishing speaking, I sprinkled some black pepper on the lamb chops and continued with my lunch.

"Is it difficult? I thought it was either the gentleman who was rejected by the baroness, or the lady who went crazy because she was jealous of the baroness."

It has to be said that gossip ladies have their own ideas, and they are not without reason.

"Actually, all I know is that Sherlock thinks the murderer is a woman."

Since Mrs. Hudson really wants to know something, and I understand her feelings, I have revealed some information.

"So it was done by the lady in London who hates the baroness? Wow! When did the charming ladies in London have such courage?"

Mrs. Hudson seemed to have stayed with Sherlock for a long time, and she spoke very... straightforwardly.

"Mrs. Hudson, the results haven't come out yet..."

I had to remind Mrs. Hudson, who was a little excited.

"Are you still afraid that I won't be able to talk too much? Am I such an imprudent person?"

Mrs. Hudson glared at me, then resumed her reasoning game.

"I'll just talk to you, do you know who is the lady who hates the baroness the most in London?"

"I do not know."

At that time, I really didn't know, but I also put down the knife and fork with some interest, and participated in this reasoning game. You must know that when I was with Sherlock, I was always told by him with a painful face.

"Is it the lady who was robbed of her fiancé by the baroness? Or the lady who was thrown into the arms of the baroness by the gentleman she admired?"

"Look at what you said, it's a mouthful. Those love affairs are annoying, but if you ask me, the person who hates the Baroness the most must be Miss Hardy."

This is Mrs. Hudson uttering a guess very flatly, and she seems to be saying it casually.

But Lydia, I think you can understand my surprise at that time.

Hardy, this is not a very common surname, and the lady circled by Sherlock is probably the lady.

I didn't show my surprise, but I couldn't wait to ask Mrs. Hudson why she said that.

"Who is Miss Hardy? What enmity does she have with the Baroness?"

"Miss Hardy, you don't know, but you must know about Mr. Hardy's case last year, right?"

To be honest, I feel a little frustrated that Mrs. Hudson seems to know more than I, who is watching Sherlock's case.

I recalled it at the time, and I still remembered this case.

"You're talking about the Mr. Hardy who died at the Viscount's ball? It's been a year, and if you want to hate him, you've almost worn it out."

"If it were me, this year would only make me hate the Baroness even more. John, you have always disliked hearing me say that gossip in London is very disadvantageous. Now, you don't know anything."

Mrs. Hudson smiled smugly when she noticed the shallowness of my gossip.

"Then the wonderful Mrs. Hudson will explain it to me."

In order to understand the situation earlier than Sherlock, I simply asked Mrs. Hudson for help.

And Mrs. Hudson was indeed very happy, and said the matter without any secrecy.

"Miss Hardy's elder brother, Mr. Hardy's only son, after his death, Mrs. Hardy fell ill..."

..............................

Lydia had already heard about this part of Hardy's annual drama from Mrs. Jones, so she quickly scanned it, and at the same time secretly thought that Miss Hardy was indeed the most suspect.

After all, Miss Hardy lost her brother and sick mother because of the baroness, and now that her illegitimate son came in, her and her mother's status was in jeopardy.

But it doesn't make sense, Lydia thinks that although the baroness is not smart, she is definitely not a stupid person, otherwise she wouldn't be fooling the gentlemen in London.

It is impossible for the baroness not to know about Miss Hardy's hatred for her, so it is impossible to get close to her and listen to her instigation to pour her red wine.

..............................

I was excited by the gossip I got from Mrs. Hudson and decided to share my findings with Sherlock when he returned.

It seemed to me that the murderer was almost certainly Miss Hardy.

It was dinner time, and Sherlock finally came back. He should be in a good mood, and the case has been rewarded, because he ate dinner.

After dinner, I excitedly told Sherlock about my harvest today.

"So it was Miss Hardy who killed the Baroness in the garden to avenge her brother."

I summed it up.

After my babble, Sherlock just raised an eyebrow at me.

"John, sometimes your intense curiosity really surprises me, and the synchronization of your imagination with Mrs. Hudson also makes me wonder what to say."

"Miss Hardy's name was circled by you, and she is indeed the most motivated. And she still can't prove her whereabouts at that time, and you didn't even cross her out."

I was a little unconvinced and argued with Sherlock.

However, he didn't pay attention to me any more, and propped his hands into a tower shape, immersed in his thoughts.

Sherlock left the house early the next day, and he was gone before I got up.

He didn't come back until I fell asleep that night.

It wasn't until the fifth morning after the ball that I read the report of the case in the newspaper and asked Sherlock who was having breakfast that I knew part of the truth about the case.

"John, officially, the murderer who was arrested was a homeless man who got into a dance. Of course, it wasn't even mentioned in the newspaper."

Sherlock, who was spreading orange sauce on toast, seemed to be in a good mood, so he answered me bluntly.

"Nothing to do with Miss Hardy?"

I had already decided that she was the murderer, and Sherlock's answer surprised me so much that I couldn't believe it.

"It seems to me that the case has something to do with her in terms of motive."

Sherlock is still very calm, it seems that as long as he knows the truth is enough, he has no emotions about the official statement.

"Don't be unclear about who killed the baroness."

I was impatient and anxious to know the truth.

"It was the tramp who put the knife into the baroness's chest with his own hands."

Sherlock took a bite of his toast and gave me a look.

"Miss Hardy ordered it?"

According to Sherlock, I can only think of this possibility.

"We can't prove this, but Miss Hardy has an alibi. It is said that when the incident happened, Miss Hardy accepted the Duke's second son's marriage proposal."

Sherlock is still like this, but when I was anxious, I felt that Sherlock was really as annoying as Inspector Lestrade said.

"Sherlock, all I want is the truth, evidence is not what I need, and I'm not a judge."

I had to stress with Sherlock.

Watching Sherlock finished his breakfast, he finally opened his mouth again.

"John, even the dead may not know the truth, why do you think I know?"

"Then tell what you know, from the point of view of Sherlock Holmes, the only consulting detective. What is the case?"

I have to perfect my statement, or I believe Sherlock will really keep his mouth shut.

"From the motive point of view, the most suitable is of course Miss Hardy. Her hatred for the Baroness is inexplicable. Ever since I linked her to the Prom Garden murder last year, I have never doubted that she really wanted to put an end to it. It will be someone else who kills the Baroness."

Sherlock saw my puzzled expression at that time.

"Listen to me, John, and don't rush to reason for yourself. Regarding last year's case, the cause was that the baroness had moved on, and the old lover killed the new lover, Mr. Hardy. Judging from the details of the case, the deceased died in the Garden, the fatal wound on the chest, fatal with a knife. Does it sound familiar?"

With that said, Sherlock asked me to refill his coffee, but for the sake of the case, I gave in.

"But she is very smart. The smart thing is that the helpers she chooses and the actual killer are very determined people. And she is very patient. She can endure for a year. She chooses to be at the ball where the Duke's second son will propose to her First, let her assistant instigate the baroness who has recently made friends to make things difficult for others, so as to achieve the effect of framing and confusing the public. The next plan is to have the assistant trick the baroness into the garden, and then the assistant can leave. There are tramps who sneak in waiting, so that the alibi of the assistant can also be obtained. The only real hands-on is a tramp who is dying."

Sherlock took a sip of his coffee and continued his reasoning.

"This should be the original plan. It's a pity that the plan couldn't keep up with the changes. First, Lydia was thrown back immediately after being splashed with red wine. This made the baroness very emotional. Fortunately, the assistant still arranged the clothes. The plan went smoothly by deceiving the garden under the pretext. But Lydia had already left when the incident happened, which was also unplanned."

I am impatient with Sherlock's procrastination, and I believe you feel the same way, Lydia, so I just sum it up myself.

"So there were three people involved in this case, and Lydia was the scapegoat they planned?"

"You could say the same."

Sherlock nodded.

"But only the tramp will be tried, the other two will get away with it, and you, Sherlock, didn't take action? They are the ones who tried to frame Lydia."

I asked Sherlock then.

"Both the duke and the baron have asked not to be pursued, so the matter is over, isn't it?"

Sherlock remained relaxed.

Lydia, believe me, I was really angry at the time, don't know if you feel the same way, but at the same time, I don't think Sherlock is like that.

You know, although he is often cold, he also cares about his friends.

It's a pity that Sherlock has always been a person who doesn't like to talk too much. When I wanted to ask more questions, he had already put down his coffee cup and left without giving me a chance to ask questions.

In the next few days, I saw all kinds of troubles of the people in London. People came to ask for help one after another. Sherlock took over the ones he was interested in, which also means that we are busy.

I hope my letter has given you a little insight into this case.

But Lydia, I'm more curious about Sherlock's recent strange behavior.

Just a few days before I wrote the letter, did he visit you? I remember he went out excitedly, and finally returned home depressed.

Then he played the violin all night, playing the same sometimes passionate and sometimes sad piece repeatedly.

So I want to ask, is it because you broke his heart?

I hope you don't blame me for asking, but Sherlock's low mood has continued to this day.

If you can enlighten me, then I will be very grateful, if it is inconvenient, just pretend I didn't say it.

Looking forward to our next meeting.

your sincere friend

jdw

3/9/1860

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After reading John's letter, Lydia hesitated whether to tell Mary that John was coming.

In addition, it is inevitable to think of Sherlock mentioned in the letter.

Thinking of Sherlock who suddenly appeared that afternoon, and his inexplicable marriage proposal.