Volume 2: Female Corpse in Monk's Clothes Chapter 59: Contents of the Coffin
When Shen Tiande said those shocking last words in Xu Zun's ear, Xu Zun was completely stunned.
Before, he had indeed wondered whether Mr. Shen was related to the first iron coffin case?
But after talking with Mr. Shen, he had already put this idea behind him and no longer thought that Mr. Shen was hiding anything.
But unexpectedly, Mr. Shen still did not tell the truth.
Before he died, he finally told himself this shocking secret!
Mr. Shen was actually related to the first iron coffin case. Perhaps it was because of this that he attracted the fake Qiu Yongnian and his gang, right?
It’s too complicated!
Xu Zun was almost going crazy. Cases came one after another. He thought he could extricate himself from the second iron coffin case, but unexpectedly, he fell into the quagmire of the first iron coffin case again.
Why did Mr. Shen get involved in the iron coffin case?
Who were those 37 people who were killed?
What is in the iron coffin?
"…the things in the iron coffin…are…in…the kitchen…your…places…"
By repeatedly pondering Mr. Shen's last words, Xu Zun has determined that this kitchen should refer to his own home, not the Shen Mansion.
Because, after being framed, Cai Kun had sent people to search the Shen Mansion several times. If the things were hidden in the kitchen of the Shen Mansion, they would have been discovered long ago.
It is really unexpected that Mr. Shen would hide such an important secret in his own home!
After confirming this clue, Xu Zun did not act rashly.
He suppressed his curiosity and obediently took care of the funeral affairs at the Shen Mansion.
Because at that time Cai Kun and Chen Taiji had not left yet, people from the Internal Guard and the Ministry of Justice were in Xinye County. If he acted rashly, it would be bad if he was discovered by them!
Cai Kun and others are no ordinary people. They must have already considered that with Shen Tiande's level, he would not be framed by such a great deal of effort.
If he really has a grudge against Lord Shen, wouldn't it be more satisfying to send an assassin to kill him?
Therefore, the fake Qiu Yongnian and others went to such great lengths, most likely wanting to use the opportunity to frame Shen Tiande and guide Cai Kun and others to search the Shen Mansion, so as to achieve the purpose of exploring the iron coffin.
In other words, the fake Qiu Yongnian and others had already suspected that Shen Tiande was a participant in the first Iron Coffin Case, but because they could not be sure, they committed the second Iron Coffin Case.
No wonder they would go to such great lengths to make a replica of an iron coffin and place it in Zhangqiao!
Xu Zun thought that with Cai Kun's experience and abilities, they should have thought of this as well.
So when they searched the Shen Mansion, they searched very carefully, as if they really wanted to find something, right?
Now it seems that since they did not find what they wanted in the Shen Mansion, and Shen Tiande died unexpectedly, it will not arouse their suspicion for the time being, right?
So, after Cai Kun and Chen Taiji left Xinye County, Xu Zun returned to his home to verify whether the mystery was really in his kitchen?
Before, when Xu Zun was reported by the letter of accusation, Cai Kun was going to conduct a thorough search of Xu Zun's house.
But with the discovery of the underground secret room, Cai Kun had already shifted his attention to solving the case, and naturally thought that there would be no more gains in Xu Zun's house.
Now that I think about it, if they had continued searching, it would probably have been difficult to escape from this hole hidden under the kitchen stove, right?
Mr. Shen, ah, Mr. Shen!
Your last words actually left me with a big secret!
Looking at the hole that was about to burst open, Xu Zun's heart was beating fast. He wondered if he could eat the melon or not.
well!
Never mind!
Xu Zun pondered for a long time by the stove, and finally realized that it was impossible for him to overcome his curiosity.
No matter what is down there, even if he knows it is Pandora's box, he has to go down!
So Xu Zun picked up the shovel and smashed it hard under the stove...
Why?
When there was a crisp sound from the hole, he realized that there was a wooden board underneath.
After leaning most of his body down, he actually saw the latch!
After opening the latch and lifting the wooden board, Xu Zun realized that this was a hole that could be opened at any time!
oh……
Suddenly, some related memories emerged in Xu Zun's mind.
Butler Xiaoqi!
Xu Zun remembered that he had seen the housekeeper Xiaoqi going in and out of the kitchen late at night several times.
I used to think he was busy cooking in the kitchen, but I didn't expect...
I click!
If I guessed correctly, could it be that the housekeeper Xiao Qi was Mr. Shen's man? Was he helping Mr. Shen look after the things down there?
No way?
At first, when Xu Zun saw Xiao Qi dead in the iron coffin in the secret room, he thought that Xiao Qi was also the fake Qiu Yongnian's man.
Since the secret room was built in the basement of their house, Xiao Qi was most likely their accomplice.
However, it was later confirmed by the criminals in the Iron Coffin Case that Xiao Qi was indeed not their man. They only killed Xiao Qi because they happened to meet him when they were placing You Dalang's belongings.
For this reason, Xu Zun felt sad for Xiao Qi for a while, but he didn't expect that this Xiao Qi actually belonged to a third party and was not one of their own!
At this moment, it was completely dark outside, and it was pitch dark in the secret passage.
Xu Zun had no choice but to light a fire and then carefully enter the secret passage.
Below the secret passage is a vertical staircase that goes straight up and down. Although I can't see it clearly, I feel that the space below should not be very large.
After just a few steps along the vertical ladder, he entered a secret room that looked like a cellar.
The secret room is oval in shape, with brick walls in some places and mud in others, as if it was dug as a cellar when it .
Dong...Dong...Dong...
The air was heavy and unusually quiet; Xu Zun could even hear his own heartbeat.
There was a strange stench in the secret room, a bit like the fishy smell of some leftovers. There were some daily necessities scattered all over the floor, such as bowls, spoons, washbasins, and linen.
This place...
Xu Zun frowned, and his curiosity suddenly diminished a little, because he felt that this kind of place did not seem to have any treasures or rare things hidden.
The secret room was not very big, and he quickly found an oil lamp and lit it.
As the oil lamp was lit, the secret room gradually became brighter, but Xu Zun discovered a small stove next to the oil lamp.
There are burnt coals in the stove, which seemed to have been used for heating before... Oh ... It seems... something is not right?
Xu Zun saw that there were triangular soldering irons, iron hooks, caltrops and other items placed on the stove ...
Looking along the shelf on one side of the stove, I saw a lot of whips, pliers, files, saw blades, steel needles...
ah!!?
Xu Zun realized that something was wrong and quickly turned around to look deep into the secret room. When he saw it, he was immediately shocked!
Because he saw a picture that he could never guess even if he guessed it a thousand times.
But deep in the secret room stood a set of iron frames, in the middle of which was a person tied with four heavy chains, and it was a woman!!!
ah!!?
Xu Zun was horrified, and suddenly remembered what County Magistrate Luo Baiwan once said:
[The iron coffin from two years ago was not empty, but was filled with urine and feces...]
