Volume 2: The Capital, I’m Back Chapter 66: Listening to Music in a Brothel
There were two Jinyiwei standing outside Yunlai Cloth Shop. When they saw Yuan Bin, they hurried forward to salute.
"I greet the Master Qian Hu!"
Yuan Bin nodded slightly, then ordered: "No one is allowed to enter without my order!"
"yes!"
Zhu Qizhen followed Yuan Bin into the crime scene. Looking around, the room was very empty. All the cotton cloth on the containers had been moved away, and the cash register was also empty.
There were three people lying on the ground, probably the shopkeeper and his two assistants.
"What did you find out?"
Yuan Bin stepped forward and said, "According to our investigation, this store has not closed at night, as if it was waiting for someone. From the scene, there is no sign of the store door being pried open, and all the goods have been emptied, which shows that the murderer was well prepared. I think it must be an acquaintance who committed the crime, and this person is in the capital."
Zhu Qizhen looked around and asked again, "Fan Zhong, what do you think?"
Fan Zhongzheng squatted on the ground and examined the body. He said, "The cervical vertebra was broken. There were no signs of fighting. He was killed in one move. He must have been a master!"
Zhu Qizhen squatted down and looked at the bruises on the three people's necks. Suddenly, a faint fragrance wafted into his nostrils.
"Fan Zhong, do you smell anything?"
Fan Zhong sniffed hard and said blankly: "No!"
Zhu Qizhen smelled it carefully. The fragrance was vague and would have been difficult to detect if he had not frequently visited various high-end clubs.
At this moment, he suddenly realized something and asked, "Can you tell whether the murderer is a man or a woman?"
Fan Zhong and Yuan Bin looked at each other, then lowered their heads to check again.
Yuan Bin was very puzzled and asked: "How did the emperor know that the murderer was a woman?"
Zhu Qizhen frowned and asked, "Is it really a woman?"
Yuan Bin replied: "Judging from the blue spots on the victim's neck, the murderer's fingers are relatively short and thin. If it's not a girl, it must be a half-grown child!"
Fan Zhong then asked, "Your Majesty, how did you find out?"
Zhu Qizhen did not answer, but said: "Let's go to that warehouse and have a look!"
The three of them came to Fan's Warehouse again. The situation here was similar to that of Yunlai Cloth Shop. People were dead, goods were lost, and money was gone. The modus operandi was almost exactly the same.
Zhu Qizhen squatted in front of the dead body, closed his eyes and smelled it carefully. Sure enough, among the messy smells of various goods, there was a faint fragrance. Based on his years of experience in going in and out of clubs, he judged that it should come from the same person.
Yuan Bin stepped forward and asked, "Your Majesty, have you discovered anything?"
"Remember yesterday ..." Zhu Qizhen thought for a moment and said, "There was a singing girl in the private room next to where we were having dinner. Did you check?"
Yuan Bin nodded and said, "Your Majesty, the singing girl's name is Song Guxi, and she is the top performer at Tingyu Pavilion in Yanzhi Hutong. I have already sent someone to ask her, and this Miss Guxi has not left the house since she returned to Dingxiang Tower."
Zhu Qizhen thought about it for a while and still felt that there was something wrong.
"Come on, accompany me to Tingyu Pavilion to listen to music!"
"Your Majesty!" Fan Zhong hurriedly stopped him and said nervously, "That kind of place... is not safe!"
Zhu Qizhen asked back: "Aren't there two of you here? What's unsafe about that?"
"It's not that unsafe, it's that...that..."
Seeing that Fan Zhong was hesitant to speak, Zhu Qizhen asked impatiently, "Which one?"
"That's it... Alas!" Fan Zhong had no choice but to tell the truth, "It's easy to get syphilis if you go to that kind of place. You are worth a lot of money, you must not go there!"
Zhu Qizhen laughed in anger and shook his head, saying, "I'm going to listen to some music, I'm not staying overnight!"
"Really... just listening to the music?"
"Yes, just listen to the music!"
Fan Zhong was relieved and nodded, "That's fine, but you need to change clothes."
Half an hour later, Zhu Qizhen and his three companions arrived at the entrance of Tingyu Pavilion.
At this time, he had changed into a long blue brocade gown, a silk scarf on his head, and was waving a folding fan in his hand, looking like a real nobleman.
Fan Zhong and Yuan Bin dressed up as servants and followed behind him, always paying attention to the movements around them.
There were also a dozen Jinyiwei secret agents scattered among the crowd around, waiting for orders at any time.
There were two gorgeously dressed girls standing at the entrance of Tingyu Pavilion, probably similar to the receptionists in the club.
It was only noon and there were not many customers. When the two girls saw someone coming, they hurriedly greeted them with smiles.
"Sir, come in and sit down!"
Zhu Qizhen didn't hesitate and walked in. It was quite quiet inside, with only a waiter dozing off on the counter.
At this moment, the door curtain of the inner room was lifted, and it turned out that the old brothel owner heard the noise and came over with a happy smile.
"Master, you haven't been here for some time!"
Zhu Qizhen was stunned. Have I been here before?
The madam continued, "Sir, do you have any girls you like? We have Miss Ruhua and Miss Lianxiang here..."
Zhu Qizhen got straight to the point and said, "I'm looking for Song Guxi!"
When the madam heard this, she smiled and said, "Miss Gu Xi is our top star here. Many customers come here every day for unknown reasons. They have to make an appointment in advance..."
Having said this, Zhu Qizhen naturally understood what she meant and waved behind him.
Yuan Bin took out a silver ingot from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "Do you still need to make an appointment now?"
"No, no thanks!"
Seeing the silver, the madam smiled brightly and said, "Sir, please come upstairs!"
Zhu Qizhen nodded and walked up the stairs. Yuan Bin and Fan Zhong followed closely behind him and went to the second floor together.
The layout here was obviously much more elegant than the first floor. The madam led the three people to the door of a room and knocked.
Then, a voice came from inside.
"Who is it?"
"Gu Xi, a young master has come to see you, come out and greet him!"
After a while, the door opened with a creak.
The woman inside was wearing an emerald green jacket and skirt. She lowered her head and said, "Please come in, sir!"
Fan Zhong was worried that there was an ambush inside, so he went in first. Unexpectedly, he was stopped by the brothel owner.
"Excuse me, this is the girl's boudoir, and only honored guests are received."
Fan Zhong said angrily: "What do you mean, are you afraid that we won't pay?"
"Oh, that's not what I meant!"
The madam had sharp eyes and had long seen that these two were just followers.
"The young master and the young lady are drinking and singing, chatting about poetry and romance. If you two go in, wouldn't it ruin the young master's mood? Why don't you go to the next room and take a rest? If you two are interested, we have other girls here..."
Zhu Qizhen was impatient, so he walked in directly and turned around and said, "Wait for me next door."
Fan Zhong was worried and was about to speak when he felt Yuan Bin pulling his sleeve.
Just as he was stunned, he heard Yuan Bin say, "Sir, we are waiting next door. If you have any instructions, just shout at the door."
After saying that, Yuan Bin pulled Fan Zhong to the next room.
Fan Zhong asked: "Why don't you let me speak?"
Yuan Bin stood at the door and listened carefully, then said, "Since the emperor said so, he must have made up his mind. We are here to gather intelligence. If all three of us go there, the other party will definitely notice it."
"But..." Fan Zhong said anxiously, "There's no one around the emperor. If something happens, even if I chop your head off a hundred times, it won't be enough!"
"We will stay here. There are also secret agents of the Royal Guards downstairs. Don't worry, nothing will happen!"
Fan Zhong sighed and said, "In my opinion, why not just arrest the person and put him in prison for trial? There is nothing that cannot be revealed. Why must the emperor take this risk himself?"
"You can think of it, do you think the emperor can't think of it?" Yuan Bin criticized him, and then said, "This matter may involve Earl Qingyun, so it's better to be cautious!"
