Chapter 11: The Choice of Life 3
At dawn the next day, a group of people from the Dali Temple set out for Muer Tower.
The only people on the street were breakfast vendors carrying their loads on their shoulders. Zhou Zhenzhen bought some buns and shared them with everyone to help fill their stomachs.
Finally, she walked over to Cheng Jue and whispered, "That shop also sells sugar cakes, but they're not delicious. Master Cheng, just eat the buns first, and I'll go back to Man Yue Tea House to get a few on the way back."
Cheng Jue nodded with a straight face: "You must not forget it."
"Of course not." Zhou Zhenzhen took a bite of the bun, which was still warm. A blurry sun rose slowly from the east in the distant sky. She was warm and full, and her master Cheng was by her side. This was probably the best day she had ever imagined.
Cheng Jue saw the satisfied smile on her face and relaxed.
Meng Fan drove the yamen runners behind him and muttered, "Whoever comes forward at this time will have to give double the gift money when the time comes."
"Oh... Thank you for your reminder, Lord Meng. Otherwise, I wouldn't have noticed it..."
"We only have one girl, Lord Zhou, in the Dali Temple. What a pity."
"What a pity! If he doesn't like Master Cheng, who would like you? Don't flatter yourself."
…
The corner of Huo Chi's mouth twitched violently, and he took a few steps back, further away from them.
In the daytime, the Muer Building stood upright in Chang'an City like any other building. Because of what happened last night, the wind blowing down from the roof smelled of blood.
Huo Chi held Meng Fan, glanced around, and pointed to the bushes in the northwest: "Take a few people there to find something. Look at the bell as big as a bowl. There is a thin but tough string at the end."
Meng Fan nodded and pointed to a few yamen runners: "You guys, follow me over there."
On the rooftop of the Murr Building, except for the blowing dust, everything remained the same as it was when the crime happened last night.
Zhou Zhenzhen stood at the fence and felt dizzy when she looked down. She had no idea how frightened Liu Fang must have been when she was hung upside down last night before she died. There was a mark of strangulation on the wooden fence, and there were also traces of friction that slightly moved left and right, which was caused by the thick rope that hung Liu Fang. The rope was tied into a very complicated knot in the middle of the fence. One end went to the right and then hung down to tie up Liu Fang, while the other end was tied to the high eaves. It should be the mechanism that the murderer mentioned when threatening Liu Yan.
"very strange……"
Cheng Jue straightened up and asked, "What's strange?"
Zhou Zhenzhen pursed her lips and said, "Although not many people come and go in this Muer Building on weekdays, people from the Ministry of Rites will go there to light lamps after dark. This place is in full view and there is no place for people to hide. Therefore, Liu Fang must not have been here before. But after the lamps were lit, the candlelight here is so bright that it is impossible for such a big person to be brought up without being noticed... So how did the murderer bring Liu Fang up here without anyone noticing?"
Cheng Jue walked to her side, scratched the marks on the wood with his long fingers, frowned, and the scenes he saw last night flashed through his mind.
Liu Fang suddenly dropped down, and the thick rope swayed left and right, left and right...
There was also the sad and terrified female voice, calling for her elder brother.
Cheng Jue's hands tapped gently on the fence again and again. Zhou Zhenzhen knew that he was thinking about the case so she didn't disturb him. She moved to the side to look at the thick rope that was supposedly connected to the mechanism, but after looking at it for a long time, he still couldn't figure out anything.
"Sir." Huo Chi came down the ladder from the high-eaved roof, holding in his hand a bell that he had taken down. The string at the back had broken.
Cheng Jue came back to his senses and responded. Huo Chi said, "This is the mechanism that can transmit sound. A special line connects two bells, one for sound and one for transmission. This is the one that transmits sound. The one that makes sound should be nearby. I have asked Lord Meng to look for it."
The murderer was busy leaving the scene after killing someone. Even if he was careful, this thing would have left a sound. It must have been abandoned aside.
As soon as he finished speaking, Meng Fan and his men climbed up panting, his official robes covered with leaves and dust. He put the bell on the ground, pointed down casually, and said, "It's in that forest. I'm so tired."
Cheng Jue said with satisfaction: "Now our Lord Meng is very good at finding things, even better than a hunting dog."
Meng Fan: …
Zhou Zhenzhen quietly defended Cheng Jue, "Master Cheng is praising you!"
Meng Fan: ...Why didn’t he feel it?
Cheng Jue had no idea that he had bullied someone, so he turned around and asked Huo Chi, "Did you find anything else?"
Huo Chi was born in Jianghu, so he always carried a dagger for self-defense, which he hid in his high boots. He took out the dagger and chopped the thick rope that Zhou Zhenzhen had just studied for a long time. Zhou Zhenzhen was so shocked that she didn't even have time to scream before the rope was cut.
But the high eaves did not move at all.
Zhou Zhenzhen realized: "The murderer lied to Liu Yan. There is no trick on the eaves. He was just testing Liu Yan to see if he would give up his sister's life for his own."
Huo Chi nodded, thinking of something, and continued, "I found some tiny scratches on the rockery in Kuailv Villa before, so small that they looked like the original lines of the stone. I didn't think too much about it at the time, but today I know that the murderer is a master of mechanical manipulation. The body of Du Ruyue should have been controlled by the murderer not far away, and was dragged up with a thin transparent silk thread and dragged straight down from the rockery."
"So that day, the murderer was staring at us not far away." Zhou Zhenzhen thought of the tragic scene she had witnessed at Kuailv Villa, and a chill ran up her spine.
Cheng Jue remained silent until the others stopped discussing for a while before he spoke: "It's almost time for the morning court session. I will go to the palace first. You guys go eat something and rest for a while. We will meet at the Detective Department in the afternoon."
Du Ruyue and Liu Fang are not from ordinary backgrounds, so he needs to report this case to His Majesty first to avoid trouble in the future.
Zhou Zhenzhen took Meng Fan and Huo Chi back to the Manyue Teahouse to eat. Originally, she wanted to get some cakes for Cheng Jue and then go back to the Dali Temple. As soon as Meng Fan saw the direction she was going, he knew where she was going. He felt embarrassed to go alone, so he dragged Huo Chi and the others to eat.
Mrs. Wang had seen Meng Fan before, but this was the first time she met Huo Chi. She quickly opened a separate table for him and asked General Wang to serve all the signature dishes of his restaurant.
Although the food at the Manyue Teahouse is not expensive, it is exquisite and delicious. While pouring wine for the two, Mrs. Wang said, "Our family is really busy on weekdays, and it must have caused a lot of trouble for the two adults."
Meng Fan waved his hands and said, "Sister-in-law, you are too polite. Lord Zhou is very popular in our Dali Temple. The two major cases that were solved in succession were inseparable from Lord Zhou's efforts. Especially our Lord Cheng, he loves Lord Zhou very much and wants to...ah, why are you stepping on me? What did I say wrong?"
Zhou Zhenzhen's face was hot, and she slammed her foot hard on Meng Fan's instep again.
Wang Da, who came to serve the dishes, tapped Zhou Zhenzhen on the head and said, "You are not honest at all." He then put the food on the table and said, "Here, my lords, these are the crabs that just arrived today. They are all the freshest."
The drunken crabs in that pot were each as big as a child's palm. They were steamed in a pot and marinated with Shaoxing rice wine and peach blossom wine. The crab shells were pried open, the crab roe and crab meat were picked out, and eaten with a mouthful of rice cake. The fresh aroma of the wine was perfectly integrated into the crabs, making one's appetite whet.
Meng Fan took one without hesitation and started to eat it. Huo Chi shook his head and thanked him before picking up his chopsticks.
Zhou Zhenzhen was thinking that she couldn't enjoy the feast alone, so she should bring a few back for Mr. Cheng to taste.
Just as she was thinking about it, a few people came to the door. She recognized two of them, who often came to the teahouse to have breakfast and drink tea. One of them was unfamiliar to her. He walked with a limp and had bruises on his face.
"Hey, what would you like to eat, gentlemen?"
Mr. Li said, "I can smell the aroma of drunken crabs from so far away. Bring me two plates, and a few of our specialties. Don't forget the drunken duck."
Mrs. Wang agreed with a smile and went back to work.
Young Master Li glanced at the gloomy face of the man next to him and raised his hand to pour him a cup of tea: "Brother Chen looks so gloomy, but you haven't received the compensation silver from before? And... your face, why hasn't it improved in these days?"
The warm water couldn't suppress Master Chen's anger. He gritted his teeth and said, "It was obviously the fault of those playboys. They beat people up and didn't even admit their mistakes, but they wanted to settle the matter with money. Even if I sued them, the Ministry of Justice would have ordered them to pay silver to apologize because of the bad influence. They did give the silver...but how did they give it? They let their servants throw it in my face. They said, 'I know your family is small and you always need money to make a living. Next time you need money, just come to my house and ask for it. Why bother going to the Ministry of Justice!' My face is blue because of their silver."
Mr. Chen was a failed candidate last year. As his family was far away, he stayed in Chang'an and worked as a copyist in a theatre troupe to prepare for the next imperial examination. This job often took until midnight. One night at the beginning of the month, Mr. Chen was rushing from the theatre troupe to his temporary home. On the way, he ran into a few drunken young men who were arm in arm with each other. They were singing loudly and unscrupulously in the middle of the night.
Young Master Chen knew that he couldn't afford to offend these people, so he stood by the wall, wanting to wait for them to pass before leaving. But some things can't be avoided. One of the young masters saw him somehow, staggered over, and hooked his shoulder. A strong smell of alcohol hit him in the face, and he coughed uncomfortably twice. The man immediately frowned and patted his face lightly: "What's the matter, you still dare to despise me? I need to go to the bathroom, and I need someone to serve me. Serve me once, and this silver will be rewarded to you."
A silver ingot was stuffed into his hand. The man held him with one hand and pulled him down with the other hand. Mr. Chen was also well-read in the books of sages. He could not stand such an insult. He immediately shook off the man's hand and took a few steps back: "How can you be so disgraceful under the feet of the emperor?"
As soon as he finished speaking, someone kicked him hard on the shoulder and knocked him down against the wall.
"In this Chang'an city, men can do whatever they want, and even the king of heaven can't control it." When people drink too much, they tend to lose their minds, let alone these dandies who usually walk sideways in Chang'an City. A punch and a kick landed on Master Chen, and his head was buzzing and his shin bone was broken. If a passerby hadn't found him the next day and sent him to the hospital immediately, he probably wouldn't have survived.
Young Master Chen was a scholar, and he was so angry that he decided to go to the Ministry of Justice to report the case after he could get out of the ground in a few days. This case, which involved the powerful people of the time, was not a major case. If he didn't have connections, he couldn't even get into the Ministry of Justice. But Young Master Chen was used to writing storybooks, and he compiled his experiences into a storybook the night before and performed it in front of the opera troupe, which caused a small stir.
The dandies were shameless, but their fathers still had some shame. Finally, the Minister of Justice, Zheng, personally came forward and asked the drunken and troublesome dandies to apologize to Master Chen, but Master Chen could not make the matter public, and the troupe had to stop the show and settle the case privately.
Mr. Chen was not stupid and he knew that it would be of no benefit for him to continue to argue, so he agreed. But who would have thought that in the end, he, as a victim, would be filled with anger.
His experience really touched the pain of too many ordinary people, and his classmates at the same table were all indignant.
The second son of the Li family sighed and said, "Brother Chen, don't worry . You have survived a great disaster, so you will have good fortune in the future. Use this money to buy a house, stop writing storybooks, and have more time to study. One day, you will pass the imperial examinations, become a pillar of the court, and then we will see who dares to look down on you!"
These words made their blood boil. Several people raised their glasses and drank, as heroic as mountain knights. There were many people in Chang'an City who were struggling to hold on with hope.
Another person started the conversation again, "Speaking of which, the Ministry of Justice is getting worse year by year, otherwise His Majesty would not have handed over all the major cases in the city to the Dali Temple, and only these trivial civil cases were reported to the Ministry of Justice. If the person handling Brother Chen's case was the Dali Temple Minister Cheng, he would definitely enforce the law impartially and would not show favoritism. What a pity."
The three Dali Temple-related personnel straightened their backs almost at the same time, with a hint of pride on their faces.
"But I heard that Master Cheng has been indulging in beauty and neglecting his work recently. I'm afraid the Dali Temple will follow the same path as the Ministry of Justice."
The three Dali Temple personnel were stunned for a moment, and then slammed the table three times, making a loud noise that shook the sky.
“Nonsense!”
“Bold!”
"Shut up!"
To insult Mr. Cheng is to insult the entire Dali Temple. It is everyone's responsibility to protect Mr. Cheng's reputation.
Only then did Mr. Chen and his table notice that there was another table of people in the corner of the inner room. Everyone was wearing official uniforms, and they were uniforms of the Dali Temple. He was so scared that he slammed the silver on the table, bowed from a distance, and ran away in shame.
Zhou Zhenzhen was so angry that her face turned red. She couldn't stand it anymore as someone actually made up stories about adults.
Her clenched teeth loosened, and she reacted when she saw the half-smiles on Meng Fan and Huo Chi's faces. She seemed to be the "beauty" that the man had just mentioned that made Lord Cheng "indulge".
Zhou Zhenzhen's face turned even redder.
