Chapter 10: Heartfelt and Willing 1
Cheng Jue has always been calm and composed, a character who remains calm even when faced with a catastrophe. He rarely has such anxious moments in his life. Ma Xing rushed out of the horse farm and into the backyard, which was full of flowers, plants and trees. It was difficult for the horse to move, so he jumped off the horse in a hurry, pushed aside the branches and bushes, and shouted loudly: "Zhenzhen! Zhou Zhenzhen!"
The little girl was usually not afraid of anything, but this time she screamed in fear. I wonder what happened. Cheng was definitely not a pessimistic person, but at this moment he couldn't help but think of the worst possible outcome... What if...
Cheng Jue stopped, his eyes blurred. The people behind him had caught up with him. Song Huaishi frowned and asked people to look around.
"Don't worry, Weiqing. This villa is so small. Nothing will happen."
Cheng Jue exhaled and continued to search. Suddenly, a subtle sound came from the rockery. His eyes suddenly lit up and he walked over quickly: "Zhenzhen! Zhenzhen!"
The rockery was winding and there were many forked roads. The red light of the setting sun flickered through it. After a while of darkness, Cheng Jue suddenly saw the light, and his footsteps suddenly stopped. The little girl squatting on the ground in front of him tilted her head and looked at him with surprise in her eyes: "Master Cheng, how did you get here?"
Cheng Jue had a blank expression on his face. Zhou Zhenzhen stood up and it looked like she had suffered any injuries. He felt relieved at last, but the shock he felt after realizing it late still made him unable to recover.
Zhou Zhenzhen then realized that it was her scream that had attracted Cheng Jue. She pursed her lips, walked over, and held his hand. The big hand that was usually warm was now covered in cold sweat, which moistened her heart.
"Nothing happened to me. I'm sorry to have made Master Cheng worried. But Master Zheng..."
Zhou Zhenzhen helped Zheng Xiangrui lean against the rockery wall; the latter seemed to have fainted from fright.
Cheng Jue held Zhou Zhenzhen's hand, his soul returned to its place, and his eyes returned to their usual coldness: "What happened?"
Zhou Zhenzhen dragged his hand out of the cave in the rockery. Next to it was a small open space with a stone table and stone chairs. But now, what was placed on the stone table was not a fruit plate or teacups, but a corpse, or to be more precise, a body part.
The bright red blood flowed down the gray stone table, and the scene made people's scalps tingle and their backs feel cold.
Just now Zhou Zhenzhen and Zheng Xiangrui left the horse farm and wandered around Kuailv Manor. Although Prince Min was known for his bravery and skill in fighting, he was very elegant and graceful after taking off his armor. The scenery of Kuailv Manor was undecorated, and it was the original appearance of Cuiwei Mountain. Walking in it was like being in a paradise, which was pleasing to the eyes.
The rockery in the backyard is particularly interesting, with many caves at various angles, and each cave offers a different view. Zhou Zhenzhen enthusiastically pulled Zheng Xiangrui back and forth through the cave, but after walking once, she still felt unsatisfied, so she walked back again in the opposite direction.
When Zheng Xiangrui was halfway through the first walk, her face began to turn pale. Zhou Zhenzhen pressed her down on a stone bench outside the cave and said, "Sit here and rest for a while. I'll come back to find you when I get out."
Zheng Xiangrui nodded.
The scenery seen when going against the flow was completely different from that when going forward. When Zhou Zhen was truly impressed by the kind of person who built the villa, a cave appeared under his feet. The entrance of this cave happened to be opposite to where Zheng Xiangrui was.
"Master Zheng!" Zhou Zhenzhen suddenly called out playfully, and Zheng Xiangrui's shoulders trembled, and he looked over in the direction of the voice. Zhou Zhenzhen smiled mischievously, but the next moment his eyes suddenly widened.
A man suddenly stood up above the cave opposite, with his hair disheveled and his face unclear. He fell straight down and hit the stone table next to Zheng Xiangru. His limbs and head were all scattered, and blood plasma gushed out from the cracks.
"ah--"
…
Zhou Zhenzhen touched her face and whispered, "Master Zheng fainted. I was really scared at first."
"I was scared too." Cheng Jue said calmly. Zhou Zhenzhen understood why he was scared, and her soft hands clenched his thumb even tighter.
With such a big incident happening in Kuailvzhuang, no one wanted to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Song Huaishi ordered people to guard the surroundings of the rockery, and sent another person to the Dali Temple to pass on the password of Chengjue, waiting for further autopsy and search.
It would take at least two hours to go back and forth. Cheng Jue and Zhou Zhenzhen stayed at the rockery, and the rest of the people waited in the side hall.
This kind of thing was very unlucky, and some people wanted to go back home directly, but because Prince Min had already detained everyone, they dared not mention it again.
"If you want to die, go somewhere else. Why come here and dirty His Royal Highness Prince Min's place?" The speaker was Du Rufeng, the son of the Princess of Qingyang, with impatience written all over his face. Liu Qing beside him pulled him and said, "Say less. The beloved sister of Prince Zheng'an is unconscious now. If he hears what you said, he will definitely turn against you."
"If he turns hostile, then he will turn hostile. I am not afraid of him."
Song Huaishi sat aside, the water in the teacup in his hand went cold twice. There was a sudden movement outside the door, but it was not someone who went to the Dali Temple to report the news.
"Your Majesty, I just saw this man acting suspiciously outside the manor, and I'm afraid he has some bad intentions."
The guard who spoke waved his hand, and the men behind him pushed the tied man forward. The man staggered to his knees on the ground. He was extremely thin, as if only a skeleton was left, but his face looked energetic and he did not look like a sick person.
Song Huaishi asked, "Who are you and why did you come to Kuailvzhuang?"
The man straightened his back, smiled, and said, "I am the doctor from Luoxia Town, and I came to Cuiwei Mountain to collect herbs. Just now I saw someone from Kuailv Manor rushing to Chang'an City, and an official vaguely mentioned the word 'Dali Temple'. I guess something might have happened in the manor. I am a doctor, so maybe I can be of use to you, right?"
Song Ji looked at the man and asked, "Are you a doctor?"
"That's right. If you don't believe me, you can ask someone in Luoxia Town. Everyone knows the name of Yan An, the doctor of Qianque Hall." Yan An said, shrugged his nose habitually, and took a quick look at Du Rufeng. "This gentleman has dark spots under his eyes, and there is a faint scent of powder on his body. It can be seen that it is caused by his excessive love and romance. He has a faint kidney deficiency."
"It seems this doctor is quite capable. After all, the courtesan of Baihuafang only recognizes our Master Du!"
Everyone in the room couldn't help laughing. Du Rufeng looked uncomfortable and glared at him, "What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Song Ji thought for a moment, and said to Song Huaishi, "Brother Emperor, the people sent back to Chang'an will take a while to come back. I'm afraid something has happened to Miss Zheng, so let this doctor take a look first."
Song Huaishi groaned and told his men to release Yan An, then walked down the hall: "There is a young lady in the back who is unconscious. Doctor Yan, please take a look at her first."
Yan An moved his wrists, which were tied so tightly that they could not bleed, and said with a chuckle, "Your Majesty, my consultation fee is not cheap."
"How many?"
Yan An opened his five fingers: "Hardware."
Song Huaishi frowned. He was not short of money, but this kind of taking advantage of others' misfortune was really unpleasant.
"Don't even mention five gold coins. If you can cure my sister, I'll give you fifty gold coins." Zheng Yan walked through the hall, grabbed Yan An's collar and dragged him out. "Let me be frank. If you can't cure her, not only you will be in trouble, but your whole family will be in trouble!"
"Brother Emperor, will Brother Zheng get into trouble if he does this?"
Song Huaishi shook his head: "Zheng Yan is not a really crazy person, he is just angry, and he really dotes on his sister."
As it got darker, the guards surrounding the rockery held torches in their hands, lighting up the area.
Zhou Zhenzhen was holding a lamp in her hand. She was far less skilled in finding clues, but she was willing to guide and light the way for him.
The dead body fell from the top of the cave, and a few drops of blood dripped onto the ground along the cracks in the rocks. There were traces of scratching on the edge of the stone, and finally the body fell on the stone table.
Stones were stuffed into the chest, abdomen, and knees of the corpse, and they fell heavily on the stone table, leaving many cracks and marks on the table. The face of the deceased was completely disfigured, bloody and bloody, and it was impossible to tell what he looked like. What was even more terrifying was that the limbs and head of the deceased were cut off, leaving only a little skin and flesh. The cuts were neat, showing that the murderer was so calm that it was chilling. The corpse fell from such a high place, and the limbs were broken immediately. The impact was more terrifying than directly dismembering the body.
Cheng Jue stood quietly beside the table, closed his eyes, and his right hand moved unconsciously.
The dark night faded back into the sunset. Zheng Xiangru sat on a stone bench. Zhou Zhenzhen stood at the entrance of the cave behind him, smiling like a delicate flower and calling Zheng Xiangru.
Zheng Xiangrui turned around and saw someone standing up in the cave not far behind her and falling straight down -
His fingertips paused in the air and Cheng Jue suddenly opened his eyes.
Zhou Zhenzhen waited until he had finished his thoughts before going over. The candlelight flickered with his movements, casting the shadows of the two of them on the cliff, blending into one vaguely.
"Did your Excellency find anything?"
"There's something wrong with this corpse." Cheng Jue narrowed his eyes. "No matter the shape or the point where it landed, it's not right. Now we need to see the exact time of death of the deceased. Let's wait for Huo Chi and the others to come!"
He took the lantern from Zhou Zhenzhen's hand, held her hand, rubbed it in his palm until it was warm, and then took her out: "When I came here just now, I saw you squatting on the ground. What are you looking for?"
"Look for broken jade. The jade on the deceased's body is missing a corner." The jade pendant is the thing that best reflects one's identity. The jade pendant on the deceased's body was missing the part with words on it. If it was not an accident, then the murderer wanted to hide his identity.
Cheng Jue smiled: "You have improved again. My teaching you was not in vain."
The two walked to the moon gate, and the door to the backyard opened. Zheng Yan saw the thin man out with a grateful smile on his face: "Thank you, Doctor Yan. I'll ask someone to send the medical fee over later."
The man named Doctor Yan's eyes lit up when he heard the money. "Your sister just had a blood rush due to fear, and her spleen and lungs were blocked, causing her to hold her breath and fall into a coma. It's just a matter of acupuncture at a few acupoints. It's nothing."
The two men were still being polite, so Cheng Jue let go of their hands and walked over quickly.
"Are you a doctor?"
Yan An nodded: "That's right. If you don't believe me, you can ask someone in Luoxia Town. Everyone knows that I am Qianque..."
"Come with me."
Cheng Jue spoke briefly and turned around to walk back. Since Meng Fan was not there, the task of entertaining others naturally fell on Zhou Zhenzhen.
"This doctor is very skilled. My master has something he wants to ask for help."
"Oh oh..." Yan An breathed a sigh of relief. The man's sudden cold eyes made him feel a little scared. He might have thought that he was here to cause trouble.
"My medical fee..."
"No matter how much, we will double it."
Yan An rubbed his hands and said, "Okay, okay, please go first, young lady!"
When Cheng Jue investigates a case, he will roughly estimate the time of death of the deceased. This time, he has not come to a conclusion, so Zhou Zhenzhen knows that this body is not simple. Last time, the body of Princess Song Yiyue of Jintai was soaked in rain and the time of death became unclear, which led to the investigation going astray. This time, Cheng Jue does not want to set obstacles for himself again.
"Oh my god, my dad was scared to death." Yan An was also shocked when he saw the corpse. Fortunately, he had a solid foundation and quickly pretended to be calm. He said in embarrassment, "I usually only treat living people. This is about performing an autopsy on a dead person..."
Cheng Jue raised his eyelids and asked, "Are you Yan An?"
"How does your Excellency know?"
"Dr. Yan An of Yanxia Town is known as the 'medical hero'. He never charges for medical treatment for the poor local people and regards money as dirt. He is a noble man. If they knew that Dr. Yan is a vulgar man who is greedy for money and will extort money whenever he gets the chance, what do you think they would think?"
Yan An coughed heavily a few times and waved his hands: "Forget it, forget it. I'll test it. Is it okay for me to test it?"
He went over to take a closer look, and Zhou Zhenzhen looked at Cheng Jue with admiration.
"The deceased is a young woman, about sixteen years old, with smooth, delicate and elastic skin ..."
Zhou Zhenzhen choked on her own saliva. Cheng Jue raised his hand and patted her on the back. Yan An continued, "So, she should be a lady from a noble family who has never been involved in any sexual activity. The incisions on her limbs are smooth and the cuts were made quickly. The blood is thin. The body has just begun to recover from rigor mortis. The time of death is about three hours, that is, from noon to afternoon."
Zhou Zhenzhen pondered and said, "From the hour of Wei to the hour of Shen, everyone is on their way from Chang'an to Kuailvzhuang..."
Cheng Jue frowned and said nothing. Yan An paused for a moment and shook his head, "No, we have to push it back two hours or more, that is, between Si and Wu. The body must have been frozen before it was cut up and placed in the sun. There are a lot of water droplets mixed in it, so the blood is flowing so violently."
Cheng Jue's eyebrows relaxed. The dead woman's clothes had wrinkles on them, which didn't look like something a young lady from an aristocratic family would wear. It should be caused by being frozen, weathered, and then blown dry. Yan An's words confirmed his guess.
