Chapter 6 I'm Not Cruel to You 1
When Zhou Zhenzhen arrived at the Dali Temple, most of the people in the yamen had gone there, and the only one she was familiar with was Huo Chi who was waiting in the Detective Department.
"Master Cheng asked me to wait for you here."
"But what happened?"
Huo Chi nodded, and the two of them walked out of the yamen side by side.
"Just last night, all 31 members of the Ruan family in the east of the city were killed. Not a single one was left alive."
"The Ruan family?" Zhou Zhenzhen's heart was choked, and everything that happened in Liuye Residence yesterday quickly passed before her eyes. "But the Ruan Wenqing family?"
"That's right. Ruan Wenqing was poisoned by Zhao Ji during the day, and his family was killed at night. It's really a tragedy."
At this time, in addition to the people from the Dali Temple, the Ruan family also had people from the patrol camp. The patrol camp was responsible for the security of Chang'an City. This time, such a major case happened quietly within their jurisdiction, and they really couldn't escape the blame.
Liao Xing, the commander of the patrol battalion, smiled sadly, holding the sword at his waist with his hand: "I have been in the patrol battalion for thirteen years, and I have never seen such a big case in Chang'an City. I have only been the commander for three months, and I have encountered it. Sigh..."
"General Liao also held an important position in the patrol camp before he became the commander. If you are implicated in this case, you will not be able to escape." Cheng Jue said lightly as he looked at the evidence of the crime scene presented by his men.
Liao Xing's sad expression suddenly froze on his face.
Due to the large number of deaths, the coroner spent a lot of time on the autopsy, so he decided to find a doctor in the city who had performed autopsies to help. When Zhou Zhenzhen and Huo Chi arrived at Ruan's house, the autopsy was almost finished.
The time of death of these 31 people was initially determined to be within an hour after Haishi and before Zishi, and the cause of death was a sword in the neck, killing them instantly. Except for a woman at the corner gate, the rest were killed on the couch.
"There are no signs of rummaging in the house. The murderer's purpose is very clear, which is to wipe out the Ruan family. His method is sophisticated, so he must be a master." Meng Fan led his men to search all the rooms, but did not find any clues.
Cheng Jue's eyebrows were always furrowed. Meng Fan knew his master's temper and didn't dare to say much. Seeing a familiar figure walking in the door, Meng Fan suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and winked at Zhou Zhenzhen.
"Are you having an eye cramp?" Cheng Jue glanced at Meng Fan indifferently, and Meng Fan quickly shook his head.
"A wild goose leaves its shadows behind when it passes by. As long as a person has been here, no matter how precise their actions are, there will definitely be clues left behind. Why are you still shaking your head here? Why don't you go and look for it?"
Meng Fan's head stopped, he shuddered with fear, bowed, and led his men away.
"I will go to help Lord Meng." Huo Chi is proficient in the art of mechanical secrets. If the murderer enters the Ruan family by unconventional means, he will definitely not escape Huo Chi's eyes.
Cheng Jue kept Huo Chi in the Dali Temple for this reason.
Cheng Jue nodded, and after Huo Chi left, Zhou Zhenzhen, who was standing alone by the door, stood out. Although Cheng Jue's tone was flat and his face was unrecognizable, Zhou Zhenzhen sensed that Cheng Jue was on the verge of a rage, and she still wanted to avoid him. But now there was no way to avoid him, and when she was thinking about how to speak safely, Cheng Jue actually walked straight towards her.
"Cheng... Master Cheng..."
"Yeah." Cheng Jue stood in front of her, but didn't look at her. He just squinted his eyes and looked around the three-story courtyard. After looking for a while, he said, "Come with me to a place."
"Where is Lord Cheng going?" Liao Xing practiced martial arts and had excellent hearing.
"I have thought of someone who can help solve this case as soon as possible. I will leave this place to Commander Liao. No one is allowed to come in before I come back. Commander Liao may not be able to patrol, but guarding the door should be no problem!"
Cheng Jue's tone was indifferent, and a few words from him made Liao Xing's head almost explode. Unfortunately, he was the one who was at fault first, so Commander Liao could only respond with an awkward smile.
Cheng Jue didn't look at Commander Liao again and led Zhou Zhenzhen out of the Ruan family.
"Ruan Wenqing was poisoned to death by Zhao Ji yesterday, and his entire family was killed. I always feel that there is a connection between them. Has your Excellency sent someone to Zhao Ji's house?"
"Zhao Ji is not from Chang'an. He came to Beijing to take the imperial examination seven years ago but failed. He has been staying in Chang'an ever since. He makes a living by painting in Liuyeju and is addicted to gambling. He has sold everything that can be sold at home, leaving only a few paintings."
The carriage sped along, and Cheng Jue's words trembled slightly in the bumps.
Under the feet of this emperor, there are too many scholars like Zhao Ji who have studied hard for decades but are still frustrated. There are also too many people like him who lose themselves once they become successful and eventually lose their minds.
"Even so, I still feel that Zhao Ji has something to do with this matter. He is still in prison. I will interrogate him when I return to the Dali Temple to see if I can find out something useful...something...Sir..."
Suddenly, Cheng Jue was already close to her side. Her clear thoughts were instantly disrupted. Zhou Zhenzhen's face turned slightly red, and her back straightened involuntarily.
Cheng Jue lowered his eyes to look at her and asked softly, "You were at Ruan's house just now, why did you hide when you saw me?"
Did she hide? She obviously didn't.
"You didn't, but your eyes were avoiding me."
Zhou Zhenzhen was speechless: "My Lord, have you become so powerful that you can hear what I am thinking?"
Cheng Jue smiled faintly and said, "You are usually good at hiding your emotions, but you are still a little immature." As soon as she looked at him, her mental activities were almost engraved on her forehead.
Zhou Zhenzhen looked at his eyes that were slightly smiling, and unconsciously told the truth: "I didn't hide from you, sir, it's just that you were angry just now, and you looked a little fierce."
She murmured softly, her eyes as lively as a little deer, and Cheng Jue's hard heart softened at the sight. He lowered his voice and rubbed her head with his hand: "Then I will try not to be mean to you in the future, and don't hide from me."
Although this sentence was proven to be a lie countless times afterwards, at this moment, Zhou Zhenzhen still fell and believed it.
She nodded obediently. This narrow carriage separated a world of its own. The so-called right time, right place, and right people... Cheng Jue's heart was in a thousand twists and turns. His suppressed emotions twisted together and randomly bumped around in the world. Now it seemed as if he had finally found a gap and wanted to surge out through it...
Zhou Zhenzhen seemed to be frozen in place, unable to move at all. His hand was holding a strand of her hair, and his eyes dimmed.
"Sir, we're here."
The driver's words shattered the undercurrent in the carriage. Zhou Zhenzhen covered her burning face and shrank into a corner. Her silky hair passed through Cheng Jue's fingertips, and her emotions also shrank back into the surrounding world, becoming silent.
Cheng Jue: “…that’s all.”
He took a deep breath and got out of the car. He waited for a while, and when he saw that Zhou Zhenzhen still hadn't gotten out, he reached back and lifted the car curtain. Zhou Zhenzhen, who had just bent over and half stood up, immediately whimpered and stumbled back.
He was suddenly in a good mood.
"If you don't come down, you'll miss out on important matters."
He said seriously that within three weeks it really came down immediately.
"Hanlin Academy?" With the case ahead of her, Zhou Zhenzhen quickly suppressed her irrelevant fantasies and her eyes changed from confusion to sudden enlightenment.
Cheng Jue raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said, "Come in!"
Although Cheng Jue had a golden token on him, if he had to go to another government office for emergency, he would still ask someone to inform first. This time, he walked in with the token without notifying, in order to catch the man off guard.
The Hanlin Academy had not started work at this hour, and only the officials who were on duty last night were there.
Lin Yuxiao yawned lazily and came out to go home. He saw Cheng Jue and Zhou Zhenzhen walking in as if they were alone. He didn't get much rest the night before. His usually rosy lips were a little pale. He pursed his lips and asked, "I thought I was sleepwalking. Master Cheng is not handling a case in the Dali Temple. What are you doing here so early in the morning? Do you want to treat me to breakfast?"
Cheng Jue brushed his sleeves and said, "I would like to ask Lord Lin to do me a favor. I will treat you to a meal later. Lord Lin can choose the place."
"help?"
"The family of Ruan Wenqing who was poisoned to death in Liuye Residence yesterday was wiped out overnight. The case is a bit strange. I would like to ask Lord Lin to come over."
Lin Yuxiao's sleepy eyes fixed and he twisted his neck: "Although my official position is lower than that of Master Cheng, the things I do every day are all instructed by His Majesty himself, and these days, all the imperial edicts of His Majesty are drafted by me. The Hanlin Academy cannot do without me for a moment... Even if it is my turn today, I will go home to take a nap and come back. Master Cheng should find someone else."
Lord Lin lied without hesitation, yawned, bowed, and left.
Cheng Jue let Lin Yuxiao go without any hindrance, which made Zhou Zhenzhen unbelievable. Didn't he always never give up until he achieved his goal?
"Master Cheng..." As she opened her mouth hesitantly, Cheng Jue slightly raised the corner of his mouth.
Half an hour later, at the Ruan family.
Lord Lin Yuxiao, who was so sleepy that he yawned one after another, was temporarily kicked out of the Hanlin Academy and transferred to Chengjueshi by an imperial decree of Emperor Xuanhe. While cursing, he wandered into the Nantong Room where the servants of the Ruan family lived.
Zhou Zhenzhen couldn't help but sigh that this person was so stunningly beautiful that even swearing at others wasn't offensive.
Cheng Jue saw Zhou Zhenzhen staring at Lin Yuxiao's back for a little too long, and after thinking about it, he asked her to help Meng Fan, and he followed Lin Yuxiao calmly.
"Sir, why did you ask me to come to this crime scene? I don't know how to investigate a case."
"You are good at poisons. This room should have been filled with drugs or something like that, but we can't find any traces yet."
Except for the maid at the corner door of the backyard, all the other people in the Ruan family died in their dreams. Even if it was the top master in the world, it would be impossible to kill so many people quietly without being discovered and leaving no evidence.
Cheng Jue concluded that the people of the Ruan family were unconscious because they had been drugged by some kind of drug.
However, neither the coroner of the Dali Temple nor the famous doctors in Chang'an City found anything wrong. Cheng Jue thought of Lin Yuxiao, who had shown off his skills in Liuyeju. The case came first, so he didn't care about the other party's ethics.
Anyway, no matter how untamed the fox is, it can't defeat this cold-faced wolf.
After hearing what Cheng Jue said, Lin Yuxiao shook his head and came to his senses a little. He said with a smile, "I always heard people say that the Dali Temple is full of talented people. I didn't expect that they would force me, a reader of the Hanlin Academy, to investigate. Alas... this once glorious Dali Temple has really declined."
"You have been kicked out of the Hanlin Academy and are now a non-staff member of the Dali Temple. You can't even become a formal official of the Decline Yamen. I don't know where Lord Lin's confidence comes from."
Lin Yuxiao: …
Next to the Nantong House was the Ruan family's small garden, but in early autumn, the flowers that bloomed in the garden were not chrysanthemums, but rather a kind of pink and white flowers the size of a copper coin that bloomed in clusters. Lin Yuxiao walked around the flowerbed, broke off a flower, and crushed it. The juice inside the petals was actually red, and it looked like blood on his fingertips.
"Zero paint flowers."
"What does this flower mean?"
Lin Yuxiao did not answer, but walked from the Nantong room to the most remote room on the north side where the servants lived. He roughly calculated the distance, relaxed his brows, took out a handkerchief and wiped his fingertips: "Master Cheng, are you asking me for advice?"
He deliberately stabbed Cheng Jue, wanting to make him unhappy, but Cheng Jue didn't show any reaction and simply nodded. This made him feel a little embarrassed.
"The lacquer flower only grows on the Red Leaf Mountain in Qingzhou. It is rarely seen by other people. Because of the color of the juice from its petals, poor women near the Red Leaf Mountain also use it to dye their nails, or make it into nail polish and sell it in the market. However, this flower is like the purple orchid grass. It is usually left alone. If you touch something, it will make you drowsy."
"What happened?"
Lin Yuxiao lowered his eyes, threw the handkerchief aside, and said, "Rest assured."
Cheng Jue’s eyes narrowed.
Chongxi has a long history. The previous dynasty was ruined because of the emperor's incompetence. The imperial guard He Wu and the empress had an affair. The two took control of the palace and forced the emperor to abdicate, causing chaos in the country. Dayu destroyed the Liu family and established the dynasty. In order not to repeat the same mistake, since Emperor Gaozu, all guards entering the palace must wear a waist badge with Chongxi incense beads embedded in it. The hunting dogs in the palace have been trained to learn to distinguish the smell of this incense. If a guard in the inner palace has an affair with someone, it can be quickly discovered.
In other words, the murderers who wiped out the Ruan family were some of the guards guarding the palace.
"I just roughly estimated that if someone came in wearing a heavy incense token and collided with the fragrance of the blooming lacquer flowers, the effect of the medicine might be enough to make everyone in the mansion faint."
Cheng Jue nodded slowly.
He concentrated his eyes without blinking, his right hand moving unconsciously, and walked step by step from the Nantong room to the backyard.
