Chapter 95: Trivial Questions Lead to a Case Within a Case
But when they pushed open the door of the main room, they saw a noose tied in the middle of the beam, with an upside-down stool underneath, but no trace of the body.
The thin clerk explained: "Because the windows were not closed overnight, a lot of rainwater came into the room, so everyone took the body off the rope and carried it directly to the inner room."
As he said this, he wanted to take Sun Shaozong inside to see the body.
"Don't worry yet."
Sun Shaozong waved his hand, walked slowly to the stool, squatted down, and examined it carefully, while asking: "Has this stool been moved?"
"No, that's not the case. When everyone untied the body, they stepped on the armchair."
As the thin clerk spoke, he pointed to a throne on the left that was covered with muddy footprints.
Sun Shaozong squatted on either side of the stool, groped carefully for a while , then lifted up the stool, compared its height with the armchair not far away, and then stood up and walked towards the inner room.
But when he was halfway there, he was attracted by a food box in front of the window. He walked forward to examine it and asked, "Where did this food box come from? Have you ever delivered food to Lord Xu?"
“No, no, no!”
The thin clerk hurriedly said, "This is what Lord Xu brought from home last night!"
"oh."
Sun Shaozong nodded without comment, and then finally went into the inner room.
Xu Mingtang's body was lying on a soft couch at the foot of the east wall. He was wearing a brand new official robe, his legs were tense, there were circular marks on his neck, his eyes were wide open, his tongue was stiff, the skin on his face was blue and purple, and there were obvious signs of subcutaneous bleeding.
After a simple inspection of the body, Sun Shaozong had already reached a conclusion in his mind, but he patiently asked the thin clerk: "I wonder if Lord Xu has ever repaired the river embankment on a large scale during his tenure?"
"Of course he did. Lord Xu has always been diligent. He did everything himself when repairing the river bank. He was even commended by the minister for this."
“I see.”
Sun Shaozong nodded without comment, then asked some details about Mingtang's household. The clerk reported everything truthfully, answering questions fluently without any of the stiffness that ordinary clerks have when facing their superiors.
After asking, Sun Shaozong could not help but praise him: "Sir, you must be a capable assistant to Lord Xu, but I don't know your name and what position you hold."
The clerk bowed and said, "I don't deserve your title of 'sir'. I am Ye Xingmao, and I am here to serve as a clerk in the accounting office."
"Mr. Ye is too modest."
Sun Shaozong said, pulling him aside and said, "I have already figured out some clues about this case, but it involves the family secrets of Lord Xu, so it is not easy to announce it in public. I can only trouble Mr. Ye to go again and invite Minister Wang and Lord Jia, the prefect of my mansion, to come here to talk."
Hearing that this case involved Xu Mingtang's family secrets, Ye Xingmao suddenly understood. No wonder he had asked so many trivial matters about the "Xu family" just now.
So he hurriedly said, "This is my job, how can I say 'thank you for your help'? I will go and invite the two gentlemen to come over right now!"
Ye Xingmao hurried back to the back hall and quietly reported Sun Shaozong's intention. Wang Yan and Jia Yucun naturally did not dare to neglect it and hurried to Xu Mingtang's courtyard.
When I entered the yard, I saw Sun Shaozong waiting at the door of the main room.
Wang Yan was so anxious that he asked before anyone even came close: "I heard that Sun Tongpan has already solved the case? Do you know who murdered Xu Mingtang?!"
Sun Shaozong waited until they arrived at the door before he bowed and said, "Your Excellency, according to my official investigation, there are no signs of external force on Lord Xu's body. He actually committed suicide."
"... committed suicide?"
Wang Yan was stunned, glanced at Ye Xingmao suspiciously, and frowned, "But didn't those clerks just say that the stool Xu Mingtang used to commit suicide was more than a foot high from his toes?"
"Well, please follow me, my lords."
Sun Shaozong pushed open the door of the main hall and pointed at the stool on the ground and said, "The first suspicious point in this case is this stool. Sir, please look, the armchairs on both sides are not far from where Lord Xu was hanged, but this stool was moved from far away. It is really unreasonable to go to a distant place instead of a nearby place."
As he spoke, he led the two men to the side of the stool and pointed to a wet brick next to it, saying, "Please look again, my lords. This brick clearly has traces of being hit by a heavy object - but the fallen stool is clearly still some distance away from here."
He pointed to the food box in front of the window and said, "In addition, Lord Xu brought a food box from home, but there is no tableware."
"Therefore, I infer that Lord Xu must have brought a foot-high block of ice from home in a food box, and then placed the ice on a square stool. After he committed suicide, the ice melted, creating the illusion that he was assassinated."
"And the reason why he didn't use the imperial chair was probably because he was worried that people would think he was stepping on the back of the chair to commit suicide."
"So..." Wang Yan frowned and said, "He really did commit suicide? But if he committed suicide, why did he go to so much trouble to pretend that he was murdered?"
"Well..."
Sun Shaozong suddenly raised his hand and pointed at Ye Xingmao, saying confidently: "I'm afraid we have to ask our Mr. Ye!"
Ye Xingmao was stunned, then hurriedly waved his hands and said, "Sir, please don't joke. How can I know why Sir Xu would do this?"
"you do not know?"
Sun Shaozong shook his head and laughed, "Just now I asked you about Lord Xu's family affairs, and you answered fluently. Why are you making excuses now?"
When Ye Xingmao heard this, he cried out in injustice: "Sir, I know a little about what happened in Lord Xu's family, but how can I know why he wanted to commit suicide and why he pretended to be killed by others?"
Then he knelt on the ground and begged Wang Yan, "Sir, I am really wronged. Please help me!"
Wang Yan and Jia Yucun were also confused when they heard this. They looked at each other, and Jia Yucun urged, "Brother, what does this clerk have to do with this case? Just tell me directly, don't beat around the bush!"
"I'm not beating around the bush."
Sun Shaozong spread his hands helplessly and said, "May I ask you two gentlemen, do you often invite the clerks who are in charge of the accounts in the government office to your home as guests? Even when you are not at home, do you let them come and visit frequently?"
"Of course not!"
Wang Yan and Jia Yucun answered in unison, and when they looked at Ye Xingmao again, they became more suspicious.
They didn't pay attention to it when Sun Shaozong didn't ask, but after he asked, the two of them suddenly remembered that having close private dealings with the clerk in charge of accounts was a big taboo in the officialdom!
Not to mention ordinary officials, even the most daring corrupt officials would never act like this!
Ye Xingmao saw that things were not going well, and hurriedly shouted again: "It's unfair, I rarely go to Lord Xu's house..."
Before he could finish, Sun Shaozong smiled and said, "Yes, you have not been to Lord Xu's house very often. I have just asked someone to confirm this. But that is why I am even more curious. How do you know so many trivial matters in Lord Xu's house?"
"Yes ...it's Master Xu and I..."
"You want to say that it was Lord Xu who told you, right?" Sun Shaozong said again: "But I have already asked, Lord Xu has only returned home once in the past five or six days, and he hurriedly closed the door and refused to see anyone after he came back."
"And you just mentioned that the doorman of the Xu Mansion caught a cold a few days ago and had been replaced by someone else ."
"Mr. Ye, you want to say that you are good at predicting things." At this point, Sun Shaozong 's eyes became sharp and he sneered, "Are you going to tell me the truth? Why did he place spies in Lord Xu's house? What was the reason that forced him to pretend to be killed to drag you into the water?!"
