Chapter 657: Gap and Night
It was a dark and windy night.
The dim lights slowly moved in the corridor. Under the glow of the dim lights, the red beams and pillars on both sides could not help but restrain their joy and were shrouded in a layer of slight sadness.
At the same time, whispers like whispers were heard intermittently in the swaying wind.
"Death...unjust...corpse...death...before death...right!"
The light suddenly stopped and was slightly raised, revealing a strong and majestic man. But who else could it be but Master Sun who had just returned home from the crime scene?
He turned and left the corridor, heading for the lower courtyard nearby. When he got close, he didn't even bother to knock on the door, but just shouted inside: "Zhao Nan! Zhao Nan!"
It turned out that he was deducing the case while walking, and suddenly remembered what he had promised Liu Xianglian, so he came here first to explain it to avoid further delay.
After shouting two or three times, Zhao Nan responded in a panic, and his feet hit the bluestone slabs with a crackling sound. He didn't even bother to put on his shoes and hurried out to meet the man.
Seeing Zhao Nan rushing out in dishevel, Sun Shaozong's face darkened and he scolded, "Why are you so impatient? What if there are women here?"
"The villain deserves death!"
Zhao Nan knelt down in front of the door with a thud, crawled a few steps on his knees to the front, and said with his head on the ground, "Please punish me, Master."
"Stop pretending to be pitiful."
Sun Shaozong raised his foot and hooked his shoulder, helping him to straighten his back, and said straight to the point: "Tomorrow you go directly to the Dali Temple to find Mr. Liu, and he will have a job to assign to you then."
Zhao Nan had not done any serious work these days except helping to roast venison. He was already feeling uneasy because of the idleness. When he heard these words, he was overjoyed and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Thank you very much, sir, for your kindness! Thank you very much, sir, for your kindness!"
"Go back to bed."
Sun Shaozong just flicked his sleeves and left without saying a word.
Zhao Nan continued to kowtow until the light disappeared around the corner. Then he stood up from the ground and returned to the house shivering.
I groped my way to the north end of the big kang, holding onto the wall. Just as I was about to rub off the dirt on my feet and get into the warm bed, someone next to me suddenly asked, "Manzi, why did the Second Master call you just now?"
Zhao Nan was very unhappy when he heard the word "barbarian", but he pretended to smile and said, "It's nothing. The master saw that I could recognize a few words, so he ordered me to work as Mr. Liu's assistant in the government office."
The person who asked the question immediately fell silent.
But when Zhao Nan rustled into bed, someone on the big bunk bed started cursing: "Damn it, even a barbarian dared to get on our heads..."
Soon, the cursing stopped abruptly.
In the shadows, someone shouted, "Second Master's order... don't get involved if you don't want to live..."
Zhao Nan buried his head in the quilt, sneered a few times with disdain, turned his head and muttered something silently: "Those who are barbarians and Chinese are Chinese", and carefully adjusted the collar of his clothes to make it right-side-open.
…
However, after Sun Shaozong left the servants' residence, he did not return to his own courtyard, but went to the study to rest alone.
Not to mention that it is unlucky after all as he has just touched a dead person. From a hygiene perspective alone, he should wash up first before touching his wife, concubines, and children.
I fetched some water from the well and scrubbed my hands and face repeatedly with soap, which lifted my spirits.
Since he couldn't sleep alone and the night was still some time away, Sun Shaozong simply lit two tallow candles as thick as his arms, spread out the four treasures of the study, and continued to ponder the two poisoning cases that had happened today.
These two cases have many similarities, but also many differences.
The same thing was that Captain Wang, like Wei Bantou, died in a remote house that was rented out by someone else. The way he died was almost identical to Wei Bantou's, both of them were bitten to death by poisonous insects that were placed in a box in advance.
The difference is that the poison that Wang Baochang was poisoned with was very different from that of Wei Bantou, and it is almost impossible that they came from the same kind of poisonous insect.
In addition, there were no signs of burns on Wang Baochang's body from the ceremony.
And then there is…
After writing down the similarities and differences between the two parties on paper, the next step is to confirm the doubts and clues in the known information.
First of all, both courtyards were rented a few months ago, but according to the testimonies of the neighbors, they had always been vacant and no one had ever been seen entering or leaving.
He rented two courtyards at the same time, and both were vacant for several months. Could it be that he was preparing to use them to kill people and silence them?
Sun Shaozong had already pointed out this strange point.
Therefore, Zhao Wuwei, Governor Qi and others are now working overtime to search the two houses to see if there are any other clues.
Another suspicious point is the way the two people died.
It is now the third day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar, and there are still three days until the official beginning of winter. However, because of the heavy snow a few days ago, the temperature in the capital has actually entered winter early.
In this kind of weather, even if the insects didn't hibernate, they would be completely frozen and wilted - it would be extremely difficult to make a temporary killing trap with them.
Besides, there are many ways to kill people, why do you have to use poisonous insects?
The only reasonable explanation is probably that the murderer has been keeping this thing all along, even using geothermal energy to keep the poisonous insects active in the winter.
As for the purpose of doing this...
Perhaps it is similar to the work of a certain master named Wang in later generations.
However, Master Wang was only after money, but this master who raised poisonous insects was trying to make money and kill people at the same time.
And then there is…
Knock knock knock~
Sun Shaozong was pondering over it again when he suddenly heard a knock on the door and he couldn't help but frown.
When I was about to launch the six rebellions in southern Xinjiang, I had informed the servants in the mansion that the study was the place for handling important official business, and except for my eldest brother, no one else was allowed to approach it without permission.
Who is the blind person who broke the rules?
Sun Shaozong got up unhappily and went to the outer room. He asked through the door, but heard Zhao Zhongji apologize carefully: "I didn't dare to disturb you, but suddenly a letter came from the north, and I was afraid of delaying my work, so..."
Crunch~
Before he could finish, Sun Shaozong opened the courtyard door and said with his hands spread out, "Where's the letter? Show it to me!"
According to the original plan, in a few days, the Shenjiying troops led by Sun Shaozu would complete their exercise mission and return to the capital.
Suddenly a letter came from home at this time. Could there be something wrong?
Thinking of this, Sun Shaozong did not even bother to open the seal. He directly tore off the cover, shook out the letter paper, and told Zhao Zhongji to pick up a lantern. He first quickly scanned the ten lines and only then did he feel relieved.
It turned out that Sun Shaozu stated in the letter that because of a heavy snowfall a few days ago, the Heishui Mohe suffered a disaster and sent people to plunder in the territory of Da Zhou.
Because those Mohe people were very brave in field battles, most of the garrison commanders of the Great Zhou Dynasty guarded the gates tightly.
Only Sun Shaozu was excited to see the prey. He led hundreds of his men to set up an ambush in a narrow and long area, severely damaging a group of barbarians and capturing alive the grandson of a tribal chieftain.
After that, Sun Shaozu led his troops to retreat into Shanhaiguan while sending people to the capital to report the victory - to be precise, he requested the dispatch of several more teams of Shenjiying troops so that they could continue the anti-mopping-up campaign.
It seems that my cheap brother won’t return to Beijing before the beginning of next spring.
Of course, these were mainly for the court to see, and were just mentioned in passing in the letters home.
The real focus of the family letter was actually to hint to Sun Shaozong to take it easy, at least until he came back, and then continue to work hard with Jia Yingchun for reproduction, so as to avoid being discovered by others.
After reading the letter from home, Sun Shaozong was quite speechless. He put the letter in his sleeves and asked Zhao Zhongji to prepare some food and send it to the study. He and Liu Xianglian and Wang Zhen had a simple meal, but because they were discussing the case all the time, they only ate half full.
I didn't feel anything when I first got home, but now I'm really hungry.
After returning to the inner room, Sun Shaozong took out the book, scanned it twice under the lamp, and made sure that no useful information was missed. Then he lit a fire and burned it into a pile of ashes.
Just as I dealt with the pile of ashes, I heard another knock on the door.
"Come in, the door is not locked!"
Sun Shaozong stuck his head out and responded, then saw the courtyard gate split to the left and right. Two little maids were walking in front carrying lanterns, and behind them was a tall and plump beauty holding a food box. It was You Erjie, who had just recovered from a leg injury.
She hurried over, bowed to Sun Shaozong, then turned back and told the two maids to wait outside before carrying the food box in.
Seeing You Erjie put the food box on the round table and began to serve the dishes with ease, Sun Shaozong couldn't help but wonder, "I asked Zhao Zhongji to serve the food, but how did it get to you?"
"Sister Rong had the kitchen prepare it for me a long time ago. I am just using it to show my appreciation and take the opportunity to ask you for some housework."
As You Erjie spoke, she first presented a pair of ivory chopsticks with both hands, then poured a glass of thirty-year-old aged liquor and placed it in front of Sun Shaozong.
Sun Shaozong first picked up the sour and spicy bamboo shoots and took a sip of the liquor. Then he asked with a smile, "Is there any household chores that your sister Rong can't handle? Why do you have to come to me in the middle of the night to discuss it?"
“This…”
You Erjie pretended to hesitate and pulled her handkerchief, saying awkwardly, "Sister Xiangling pleaded for Caixia, and Sister Rong agreed. They discussed arranging her to stay in my room."
At this point, she waved her hands and said hurriedly: "It's not that I don't want to. My master is so energetic, and I'm worried that I don't have sisters to share some of the burden! It's just..."
She shyly leaned close to Sun Shaozong's ear and whispered a few words.
Sun Shaozong burst out laughing when he heard this, and he took her in his arms, jokingly saying, "You are such a greedy person! Forget it, I will just spend more time and effort to water it for you in the future!"
You Erjie was so delighted when she heard this that she pursed her red lips, scooped some liquor into a leather cup, and passed it to Sun Shaozong to drink.
She couldn't help swallowing some of it. This thirty-year-old wine was quite strong, and she was a light drinker, so before she knew it, she was three parts drunk and seven parts seductive. She took the opportunity to peel off her collar and open her skirt, teasing her like a white jade worm.
Soon Sun Shaozong couldn't hold back any longer, and he didn't care about the two maids waiting outside. He immediately put aside the wine and food and went in...
There is a half poem:
The flowers and trees are moistened, their roots are strong and their branches are proud.
——Yu Liangneng, Song Dynasty
