Volume 1 Zhangqiao Iron Coffin Chapter 19: The Mystery of the Double Corpse Case
The inner hall of the county government.
County magistrate Qiu Yongnian paced back and forth, feeling extremely anxious.
Xu Zun, however, sat on the armchair at the back, thinking about this sudden, strange and bizarre case.
"Your Excellency," Captain Zhao Yu reported, "The detectives searched the area within a radius of ten miles and found nothing unusual! Now, we only have one team left to search along the river."
"Okay, got it!" Qiu Yongnian rubbed his hands and said to a middle-aged man with a goatee beside him, "Master Yao, go write down the situation we encountered in a letter and send someone to deliver it to the county governor's office. This is such a big case, we can't not report it!"
"Yes!" Master Yao agreed and turned to leave the inner hall.
This man's name was Yao Jin. He was previously just Qiu Yongnian's steward, but because he knew some writing skills, he was promoted to legal advisor.
"Sir," Zhao Yu asked, "Should we notify Liu Zhubu's family now?"
"Is there anyone else in Liu Zhubu's family?" Qiu Yongnian asked.
"We have only one daughter, who married into the Zhang family, which runs a coffin shop! " Zhao Yu replied.
"Coffin shop?" Qiu Yongnian's eyes widened. "What a coincidence?"
"Sir," Zhao Yu understood what Qiu Yongnian meant and said immediately, "We know the Zhang family quite well. They couldn't possibly make such an iron coffin, could they?"
"That's right," Qiu Yongnian said, "Let alone him, I'm afraid that the entire Xinye County can't make such an iron coffin, right? But why did Liu Zhubu...how could he...ah...I think, let's not notify him yet, let's talk about it later!"
"Oh." Zhao Yu promised.
At this time, Qiu Yongnian turned around and looked at Xu Zun, with helplessness in his eyes.
As the county lieutenant, Xu Zun is responsible for handling all criminal cases in the county, and he should be the primary person responsible for this case.
However, Qiu Yongnian knew Xu Zun and knew that he was just a foolish county lieutenant who relied on connections to get to the top, so he did not have much hope for him.
At this moment, Xu Zun's brows were furrowed, and he was concentrating on thinking, as if he was pondering something.
So, Qiu Yongnian still asked him a classic question out of curiosity: "Jiying, what do you think about this matter?"
Unexpectedly, Xu Zun was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't hear anything.
"Jiying! " Qiu Yongnian raised his voice, "What are you thinking about?"
"Oh," Xu Zun raised his head and replied, "Sir, this case is very strange. I wonder what the murderer's purpose is?"
"Purpose?"
"Yes," Xu Zunyan said, "If the purpose is just to kill people, then just kill them, why do you need such a coffin?
"It's fine to have a coffin, but it's an iron coffin. Is it a trick, or is it trying to give us some hint?"
this……
Xu Zun's words were thought-provoking and immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the room.
"Hint?" Qiu Yongnian also fell into thought.
"Also, why are there two bodies in one coffin?" Xu Zun asked again, "The one on top is a Taoist priest of unknown origin, and the one below is our chief clerk Liu Zhang!
"What's the relationship between these two people?"
"Liu Zhubu..." Qiu Yongnian said, "He is a loyal and honest person, and works diligently. Although he is not particularly popular, it seems that he has never offended anyone, right?"
"Yes, in all these years," Zhao Yu recalled, hugging his shoulders, "I've never heard of Liu Zhubu having a conflict with anyone."
"So, we have a lot of things to do now!" Xu Zun said, "First, we need to check the origins of that Taoist priest!
"I feel that the murderer must have some purpose in placing the iron coffin and the body in Zhangqiao. This Taoist priest may be related to our Xinye County!"
"That makes sense ! This person's identity is very important," Qiu Yongnian nodded and instructed Zhao Yu, "Draw a picture of this Taoist priest and go door to door to ask!"
"Yes!" Zhao Yu agreed.
"Secondly," Xu Zun said, "we need to re-investigate Liu Zhubu's situation to see if he has any unknown secrets."
"Yes," Qiu Yongnian agreed again, "Yesterday I saw him looking flustered and absent-minded. We really need to investigate!"
"Third," Xu Zun said directly to Zhao Yu, "We'd better send a few people to protect the county magistrate!"
"Ah!?" Hearing this, Qiu Yongnian's face suddenly changed, "Jiying, don't you think that Luo County Magistrate is also in danger?"
"Just in case," Xu Zun said, "We've said before that there are only two people in Xinye County who know the most about the Iron Coffin Case. One is Liu Zhubu and the other is Luo Xiancheng, so..."
"I understand," Zhao Yu realized. "Since Liu Zhubu is in trouble, then only Luo Xiancheng is left. We can't let him get into trouble. Otherwise, we won't know what happened back then! Okay, I'll send someone to Luo Xiancheng's hometown right now!"
"Yes, this is also the fourth thing we need to do," Xu Zun continued, "We should find out the situation of the iron coffin case as soon as possible. Only by understanding the situation can we understand what the murderer wants to do!
"So, we can't just wait for County Magistrate Luo to come back. We have to think of other ways!"
"Okay, let's do it without delay!" said Magistrate Qiu. "Let's do as Jiying said. We will immediately summon all the officials and servants in the county government and do our best to handle these matters. We will try to find out some clues before the county governor arrives!"
"Yes!" Zhao Yu agreed and prepared to gather people.
"There is one last thing," Xu Zun stopped him and said, "Call the coroner, we have to examine the two bodies!"
"Oh, the body has been transported to the charity cemetery," Zhao Yu reported. "Old Wang lives there. I think he's probably doing an autopsy now!"
When the coroner was mentioned, Xu Zun immediately remembered what happened last night.
He already felt that there was definitely something wrong with the coroner's examination of You Dalang's body.
That’s great. I’ll go meet this guy later and see what he really means.
"Report," Xu Zun had just thought of this when a constable came running in and reported, "My Lords, Captain Zhao, we searched the entire charity cemetery but couldn't find Wang Shuncai!"
"What?" Xu Zun was stunned.
"Where has this baldy gone?" Zhao Yu asked angrily , and then ordered, "Send someone to look for him quickly, the body is already stinking!"
"Yes!" the constable obeyed the order.
Depend on!
Xu Zun cursed in his heart, feeling that there was a thick fog in front of him and he was sinking deeper and deeper.
"That's enough!" he said to the detective, "Don't bother looking for it. I'll check it myself!"
After saying that, Xu Zun walked out quickly and disappeared from everyone's sight.
"This..." Magistrate Qiu looked at Xu Zun's receding back and muttered, "Why does this Jiying seem different from before?"
"Yeah," Zhao Yu also murmured in agreement, "Could it be that You Dalang's blow with the stick opened his mind?"
