Chapter 10: Heartfelt and Willing 2
After pushing the time of death of the deceased forward, the people who came to Kuailvzhuang had the best evidence of his alibi.
Cheng Jue looked at the brightly lit flower hall in front of him. He was afraid that this incident might be related to one of those people.
Late at night, a group of people from the Dali Temple arrived at Kuailvzhuang, along with the patrol battalion commander Liao Zheng and a team of men.
Although Kuailvzhuang is not in the city, it is also under the jurisdiction of Chang'an City, and guarding and patrolling are naturally the responsibility of the patrol camp. However, on weekdays, there are not many people in Cuiwei Mountain except those who go to the temple to burn incense. Prince Min wants to live in peace and quiet in Kuailvzhuang, so for so many years, the patrol camp only comes here three or four times a year. Who would have thought that such a thing would happen here.
Liao Zheng felt a little desperate along the way. Others were overjoyed after getting a promotion and a pay raise, but he, the commander, was trembling with fear. He had to be responsible for all the big and small matters in the city. In just a few months, he was so worried that his hair turned white.
Cheng Jue had already returned to the side hall from the backyard. Liao Zheng saw him as soon as he stepped into the door and greeted him with gritted teeth.
"Commander Liao is very fast. I really admire him for coming here before midnight."
The veins on Liao Zheng's forehead were throbbing wildly, and he laughed, "Master Cheng also knows that the patrol battalion needs to be temporarily deployed and arranged, so it has been delayed for a while. By the way, where is the crime scene? I'll go over and take a look."
Cheng Jue said calmly: "I forgot that Lord Liao is good at guarding the gate, but he is not good at traveling."
Liao Zheng: …
Zhou Zhenzhen couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so she gently tugged at Cheng Jue's sleeve. Cheng Jue kindly shut up, and Liao Zhengyi wiped the sweat off his forehead as he walked out the door, shaking his head again and again.
Yan An had already experienced the body's condition, so Cheng Jue asked the coroner who came with him to do another examination, but the result was not as accurate and detailed as Yan An's. Looking out from the carved window of sunken wood, the light of the full moon was also filtered and reflected in the shape of flowers.
The decision was made for a long time, and Huo Chi brought his men back from the rockery, followed by Meng Fan, who had lost a lot of weight in the past few days.
Zhou Zhenzhen was pleasantly surprised to see Meng Fan regain his spirits. Meng Fan pursed his lips, nodded at her, waved his hand, and said, "I have collected the relevant evidence from the crime scene. Please review it, Master Cheng."
The thin minister behind him presented what he had found one by one. Several young masters from noble families took out handkerchiefs to cover their mouths and noses, looking as if they were trying to avoid the attack as much as possible.
Song Huaishi frowned and his voice became a little colder: "The incident happened in my Kuailv Manor, so I am naturally to blame. I will assist Master Cheng in investigating this case to the end, and I will obey Master Cheng's arrangements on all matters until the truth is revealed. You are all my best friends in Chang'an, and you were in Kuailv Manor when the incident happened, so I hope that you can cooperate with Master Cheng and investigate the case as soon as possible so that you can feel at ease sooner."
Everyone looked at each other and echoed: "This is natural, natural..."
The evidence was moved around the huge side hall, and Cheng Jue's eyes followed it, carefully observing everyone's reactions.
Du Rufeng dodged the evidence in front of him with disgust, sniffing the fragrance on the handkerchief deeply. When his eyes accidentally fell on something in Bo Xiang's hand, he was startled and stood up suddenly: "Wait a moment!"
All eyes in the side hall gathered around him. Du Rufeng looked at the broken jade pendant and opened his mouth in astonishment: "Ru... Ruyue... It's Ruyue, how could it be, how could it be her? Isn't she... isn't she gone?"
Each generation of the Du family has their own jade pendant, engraved with their name and date of birth. Du Rufeng and his sister Du Ruyue have only one. Although the word "moon" on this jade pendant is gone, the material and appearance are clearly Du family jade pendants. He came to play polo, but he was afraid that the jade pendant might be lost, so the jade pendant in front of him must be Ruyue's.
In other words, the person who died tragically on the rockery in Kuailvzhuang was his sister, Du Ruyue.
Du Rufeng was already dumbfounded. Cheng Jue glanced at Zhou Zhenzhen, who understood. She patted Meng Fan, and the two of them walked out the door to a secluded place.
Meng Fan had been scolded by Cheng Jue before, so he worked harder than before, so Cheng Jue asked him to be responsible for the file. The Du family was also a famous family, and no one here knew more about the Du family than Meng Fan.
Du Rufeng's reaction was not right. He was shocked, but he did not feel the sadness he felt when his own sister died.
Meng Fan thought for a moment and said, "The Du family was originally a noble family. Three generations have served in the imperial court. Du Zhimo is now the Minister of Rites and the Left Censor-in-Chief. Princess Qingyang married Du Zhimo and gave birth to a son, Du Rufeng. Three years later, the concubine in Du Zhimo's room gave birth to a daughter, Du Ruyue. Du Zhimo only has this son and daughter. Du Zhimo is a good man, and Princess Qingyang only has Du Rufeng as her child, so she dotes on him. Over the years, Du Rufeng has done a lot of things that are not worthy of being mentioned, but most of them were suppressed by the princess."
"What is the relationship between Du Rufeng and this sister?"
Meng Fan shook his head, "It shouldn't be that good. Du Rufeng is arrogant and looks down on people with bad backgrounds. He doesn't even take Prince Xin seriously. He and Wei Wuji are very close and used to get together to bully Prince Xin. Princess Qingyang is also a very difficult person to mess with. Du Ruyue's mother died a few years after giving birth to her. The Du family said that she died of illness. Du Rufeng naturally wouldn't care about such a sister who was born to a concubine and had no one to rely on without her mother. In addition to being arrogant, Du Rufeng is also famous for being lustful. There are stories about him spending a lot of money to win the smiles of beautiful women in all the major archways in Chang'an City. Yuechu from Yanliufang also accompanied him before, and recently Du Rufeng often goes to Baihuafang."
Zhou Zhenzhen touched her cold nose and looked at him for a while. Meng Fan grinned: "Why, are you shocked that I recovered so quickly?"
Zhou Zhenzhen didn't say anything, so he sighed deeply and said, "Huo Chi originally wanted to take me out to Liuyeju for a drink, but as soon as we got to a quiet alley, he started scolding me. He threw the letter that person had written for him in my face and scolded me... Huo Chi is really not good at scolding people. He kept repeating the same few words over and over again, but he scolded me soberly."
Lin Yuxiao gave Meng Fan the wood sculpture to keep the best version of himself in this world. He was not as carefree as he appeared to be, and he had no attachment to the Dali Temple. In other words, he loved it too much and was too attached to it, so he did not allow himself, with blood on his hands, to stay here any longer.
He is open and honest, and does not let others hide things for him, nor does he deceive himself.
He just couldn't stay, so he left in the end.
"Since that bastard left the wood carving behind, he's probably asking me to take him to the yamen with me every day, to solve cases together, and to guard the Dali Temple together. I'm the most kind person in our yamen, and I can't target a dead man." Meng Fan smiled more and more brightly, but there was a light in his eyes.
Zhou Zhenzhen tried hard to hide her tears and pretended to be relaxed, "I will bring some cakes from the teahouse when I come to the yamen tomorrow. I will bring one more for Lord Lin."
"Okay, that's enough. Go back quickly. Master Cheng is still waiting for you!"
Zhou Zhenzhen nodded, walked a few steps and looked back. Meng Fan was standing under the tree, and the first yellow leaf of autumn was falling.
Some people go very far, and never look back. But some people will remember them for a long time and firmly, and will never forget them for the rest of their lives.
Cheng Jue asked Du Rufeng to identify the body of the deceased. Although Du Ruyue's face was blurred, her size could still be seen. Du Rufeng began to feel nauseous on the spot, holding onto the rockery wall and retching, but he was so shocked that he didn't care.
Afterwards, Song Huaishi sent someone to vacate a side room, and Cheng Jue interrogated Du Rufeng alone there, while Huo Chi and Meng Fan recorded the alibis for the rest of the people during the time of the crime. When asked about Du Ruyue at first, Du Rufeng was still impatient, but when Cheng Jue mentioned Prince Min, Du Rufeng became cautious and began to cooperate in answering.
"Why were you so shocked when you found out that Du Ruyue was dead?"
Du Rufeng said, "Ruyue is not at home at this time every year. When her mother died, she was just a concubine with no status or position. Her body could not be buried in the Du family's cemetery, so my father sent someone to transport the woman's body back to her hometown in Suizhou. Ruyue would return to Suizhou every year to pay homage. Her mother's death anniversary seems to be on these days. I am not interested in remembering it. I only know that she returns to the mansion after the Mid-Autumn Festival every year."
The person who shouldn't have appeared in Chang'an City not only showed up, but also died. No wonder Du Rufeng was so shocked.
Cheng Jue asked again: "Did Du Ruyue have any unusual behavior before leaving the Du Mansion?"
Du Rufeng replied: "Even when I am at home, I rarely see her. I cannot answer this question, Your Excellency."
"After she left, did anything unusual happen in the Du Mansion?"
Du Rufeng tightened his jaw, clenched his teeth, and still shook his head: "No."
Zhou Zhenzhen was a little anxious, and her voice was raised: "You obviously..."
"Zhou Zhenzhen!" Cheng Jue shouted harshly. She bit her lip and swallowed the rest of her words, while her hand clenched tightly around the pen.
It was already the middle of the night, and everyone was exhausted. Cheng Jue took over Du Rufeng's confession recorded by Zhou Zhenzhen, glanced at it quickly, and said, "You can leave now, but your sister's body must be taken back to the Dali Temple for further investigation."
Du Rufeng yawned, stood up and walked out. With a creak, the door closed again, leaving only Cheng Jue and Zhou Zhenzhen, and the world was separated into a peaceful state.
"Master Cheng, why didn't you let me ask him through hypnosis? Du Rufeng obviously didn't tell the truth." Her lips were bitten to leave white crescent-shaped marks, and she spoke stubbornly.
Cheng Jue said: "Du Rufeng is arrogant. In his eyes, he probably doesn't take Du Ruyue seriously. He acted too shocked, and then he recovered too calmly. With such a fluctuating and irritable personality, he will naturally reveal his true colors without you having to hypnotize him."
At this point, Cheng Jue tapped the dimples on her cheeks that were formed due to anger. "From now on, you don't need to be hypnotized unless it's absolutely necessary. Every time you put yourself in someone else's shoes, you cry a lot. In the past, when I wasn't around, you cried all you wanted. Now that I'm here, I won't let you cry any more."
Zhou Zhenzhen blushed deeply, and twisted her fingers together. She didn't know that Cheng Jue was not only good at cursing, but also had no rivals in the Dali Temple when it came to sweet talk. She hesitantly said, "Handling cases for the Dali Temple is also investigating cases for Lord Cheng. Lord Cheng is so kind, and I am willing to shed some tears for him."
Cheng Jue suddenly laughed out loud. When will this girl change her bad habit of praising him all the time?
Zhou Zhenzhen felt even more embarrassed when she heard his laughter, and suddenly remembered something important. Although the time had passed and the occasion was not right, fortunately the person was the right one, and that could make up for everything.
She raised her face, her watery eyes filled with admiration and attachment, and called him in a tender voice: "Mr. Cheng, happy Mid-Autumn Festival."
Cheng Jue's heart was immersed in a cloud of tenderness at this sound.
The night of August 15th has passed, and the moon of August 16th is high in the sky.
