Volume 1 Zhangqiao Iron Coffin Chapter 58: Scalp Numbness (Part 2)
Cai Kun and Chen Taiji looked at each other. Cai Kun showed a heavy smile, while Chen Taiji shrugged his shoulders and said to Xu Zun:
"The two iron coffins are obviously different."
"Oh?" Xu Zun opened his eyes wide, "Have you seen it?"
Chen Taiji did not comment, but continued:
"The iron coffin that was made two years ago was formed in one go, with very few joints, and it looked more like a coffin. If you didn't knock on it with your hands, you wouldn't know it was an iron coffin.
"But this iron coffin is completely spliced together, and only the joints are painted. The two iron coffins are very different in appearance, size and even color!"
"Oh?" Xu Zun frowned. "So, the fake Qiu Yongnian and his gang may not have seen the iron coffin from two years ago? Then... did the iron coffin from two years ago have partitions?"
"Yes!" Chen Taiji replied, "In addition to the partitions, there are several rows of holes at the front of the bottom floor."
"What? Holes?"
"Yes," Chen Taiji said, "It's probably used for ventilation!"
"Ventilation?" Xu Zun was surprised. " What ?"
"Nothing!" Chen Taiji answered truthfully.
"That means they were taken away by someone," Xu Zun asked hurriedly, "What about the 37 bodies? Who were they?"
"Well... um..." Chen Taiji looked at Cai Kun unnaturally , looking embarrassed.
"Haha," Cai Kun laughed, and took over the conversation and said to Xu Zun, "Jiying, this is all we can say about the iron coffin case two years ago!
"As I said before, I look forward to working together in the future. By then, you will know more about the situation!"
oh?
Xu Zun was even more surprised. They didn't even allow him to speak. It seemed that the last iron coffin case was quite complicated.
"Yes, yes," Chen Taiji hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "We can basically conclude that the fake Qiu Yongnian and his gang are just inferior imitators. The two iron coffin cases are actually unrelated in nature."
Xu Zun wanted to ask again where the iron coffin from two years ago was now, but after hearing what Chen Taiji said, he had to give up.
"In that case, we'll take our leave first!" Cai Kun said, "Lieutenant Xu is very talented and has great potential. We'll see you someday!"
"Wait a minute," Xu Zun said hurriedly, remembering something, "Master Cai, I need your help with one more thing."
"Oh? What's that?"
"On the night that You Dalang was murdered, I found someone following me." Xu Zun said, "Can you help me ask those criminals in the Iron Coffin Case, who was following me that night?"
"Oh?" Cai Kun was puzzled. "Is this matter... important? Isn't it that fake Qiu Yongnian?"
"Probably not," Xu Zun judged, "They were all busy transporting the iron coffin that night, so they probably had no time to pay attention to me."
"Oh, okay!" Cai Kun agreed, "I'll go ask later, and when I find out the result, I'll send someone to report to you."
"Thank you very much!"
Xu Zun bowed and escorted the two adults out of the Shen Mansion.
To show respect, the two gentlemen did not ride horses or sedan chairs, but walked for a distance first.
While walking, Chen Taiji said to Cai Kun:
"Master Cai , thank you for your generosity this time and for allowing the Ministry of Justice to participate in the interrogation. This way, I can report to the Ministry of Justice when I return!"
"Oh, Lord Chen, please don't say that," Cai Kun said as he walked, "You are a smart man. Since I have asked the Ministry of Justice to get involved, it means that this matter is out in the open.
"The Queen Mother hopes that we will cooperate with the three judicial officials to handle this case impartially. It is our common goal to uncover the conspiracy of this gang of thieves."
"I understand, I understand," Chen Taiji nodded, "This group of people has an unknown origin and their methods are sinister. There seems to be a force behind them that may endanger our Great Xuan State. We must investigate thoroughly!
"But... there is one thing, I wonder if you have noticed it?"
"What's the matter?" Cai Kun asked.
"Shen Tiande is just a retired vice minister of the Ministry of Justice," Chen Taiji said, "but this group of thieves went to the trouble of replacing the county magistrate, planting spies everywhere, and building an iron coffin. They went to such great lengths just to frame a retired old official. Isn't it... a bit unreasonable?"
“Haha…haha…” Cai Kun laughed, but his smile was sinister and creepy. “Master Chen, how about I give you a few idioms? One is ‘know when to stop’, one is ‘it’s hard to be confused’, and the other is ‘people who are curious don’t live long’!”
"ah!?"
Chen Taiji's body trembled, his scalp felt numb, and his face turned pale instantly...
…
At lunch, Captain Zhao Yu brought the beef stew prepared by the Shen family for the guests. While eating the meat, he said to Xu Zun:
"It's all my fault. I didn't bring a knife that day. I went back to the house to get one! If I had brought a knife, I'm afraid it wouldn't have happened like this!
"Let alone chopping off his hands, even if I cut that villain into pieces, I still wouldn't be satisfied, hum!" He had a good appetite and a great capacity for food. After swallowing a large mouthful of meat, he said, "But even Huo Wangwang is no match for him. If I really rushed forward with a knife, I might have been dead long ago, right?"
"Let's talk business!" Xu Zun said to him expressionlessly .
"Yes," Zhao Yu reported hurriedly, "Lord Cai asked me to tell you that he has questioned all the suspects, and they all claimed that on the night of the Iron Coffin case, the fake Qiu Yongnian was in charge of the Iron Coffin, and no one followed you at all."
"Oh..." Xu Zun fell into thought.
"Eighty percent," Zhao Yu guessed, "It's that Wang Shuncai, right? He noticed that you were abnormal, so he followed you?"
"Really?" Xu Zun suddenly smiled at Zhao Yu, "That person, isn't it you?"
Click!
Zhao Yu's chopsticks fell to the ground. He quickly bent over to pick them up, smiling: "You are kidding me again, Lord Xu. You know exactly where I was that night! I was exhausted that night, hehe..."
As he spoke, he rubbed the chopsticks against his thighs a few times and then continued to pick up the meat and stuff it into the food, eating it with such relish.
"That's right!" Xu Zun nodded and asked, "What's the situation in the government office now?"
"Oh, the governor and the county magistrate were injured, but it's not a big deal," Zhao Yu replied, "They let Luo the county magistrate temporarily, you are still the county lieutenant, and I am still the head of the police. As for the others, we have to reorganize and purge them.
"The county governor said that he would arrange for people from Shangyuan City to come here to serve, and the governor's office would also send people to supervise and prevent similar incidents from happening again... Tulu Tulu..."
Seeing Zhao Yu eating so happily, Xu Zun wanted to ask a few more questions, but in the end he held back and didn't ask, but his eyes became a little deeper...
…
That afternoon, Xu Zun made an excuse to go home and change his clothes.
However, after returning home, he did not go to the main house. Instead, he carefully observed for a long time, and after making sure that there was no one there, he ran straight to the backyard.
There were many small huts in the backyard where miscellaneous items were stored, including a kitchen for cooking. Xu Zun sneaked into the kitchen and began to search inside.
After searching for about five or six minutes, he finally found the problem under the stove.
I knocked on the stove with my hand, but the space under it was empty and there was an echo.
So he took a shovel and dug hard, and sure enough, there was a gap under the stove, and there was a hole faintly visible under the gap!
Seeing the cave entrance, Xu Zun felt his blood boiling and his heart beating wildly, and his thoughts returned to the county court that day:
The fake Qiu Yongnian has been subdued by the guards.
Shen Tiande, who felt that his time was up, pulled Xu Zun's arm, buried his face in Xu Zun's ear, and whispered to Xu Zun with his last bit of strength:
"…the things in the iron coffin…are…in…the kitchen…you…put…put…there…oh…"
Before he could finish his words, Shen Tiande could no longer continue, his pupils froze, and he died.
It was just a few short words, not even forming a sentence, but to Xu Zun it sounded like a thunderclap that stunned him completely.
In an instant, he seemed to understand one thing. It turned out that the fake Qiu Yongnian and his gang went to such great lengths to commit the iron coffin case not to frame Mr. Shen, but to target the iron coffin from two years ago...
