Chapter 54: The Consequences of Evil “A father sees himself…

"When a father sees his son being murdered with no hope of justice, what does he want to do most at this moment?" Luo Qingling analyzed, pinching his chin with two fingers.

"Avenge my son!" Song Yutai raised his hand.

Luo Qingling glanced at Song Yutai with admiration. The latter was also excited. The two of them seemed to have met a close friend. If Luo Qingling had not been afraid of the relationship between men and women, he would have slapped Song Yutai hard.

Why did she think Song Yutai was not suitable for solving cases before? Now it seems that he is as smart as her!

Seeing the two people in front of him singing the same tune, Qin Yanheng felt a pang of indifference. He silently stood in front of Luo Qingling, blocking Song Yutai's view. Qin Yanheng crossed his arms and glanced at Song Yutai. He opened his thin lips and was about to say something when Luo Qingling slowly poked her head out from behind him. He looked at her with confusion.

"If the murderer is really Cao's father, then why did Cao's father sneak into Liu's mansion late at night to avenge his son Cao He and kill the innocent Liu Zhang as well?" Luo Qingling asked.

"Maybe Liu Zhang just saw something and was silenced by the murderer." Qin Yanheng said calmly.

Thinking about it this way, Liu Chang is most likely dead.

Qin Yanheng walked along the red wall into the room. There was no bloodstain in any suspicious place. Considering the way Liu and Zhang died, it was likely that both of them died from internal injuries, so there was no bloodstain, and no one noticed it for so many days.

How, then, had Cao's father managed to remove the two bodies from the Liu residence without anyone noticing? Qin Yanheng was completely baffled. He wanted to continue his investigation, but it was getting late, and he couldn't keep Luo Qingling "overnight." So, Qin Yanheng ordered them to return home and resume the search the next morning.

When everyone left Liu's house, Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao were already waiting for Luo Qingling in the carriage. She turned around and glanced at Qin Yanheng, who stood in front of the tall horse and nodded slightly at her. Luo Qingling smiled back and then turned around and got on the carriage.

After a while, perhaps due to an obstruction on the road, the carriage suddenly shook and tilted to one side, causing Luo Qingling to be pulled headfirst to the side.

"Madam, the carriage broke down!" Uncle Zhao hurriedly called a halt, jumped off the carriage, walked around, and then spoke loudly.

"How could the carriage break down out of nowhere?" Luo Qingling was puzzled. Everything was fine when they came here, and they were only delayed at Liu's house for an hour. How could the carriage suddenly break down?

"Strange," Aunt Zhao's voice came from outside, and she suddenly raised her voice, "Madam! It turns out that a piece of wood supporting the carriage broke."

The wood broke?

Luo Qingling jumped off the carriage in confusion, and bent down to look behind Aunt Zhao. She saw that a long wooden strip under the carriage had broken in the middle for some reason. Now half of the wooden strip, which was neither thick nor thin, was broken on the ground, shaped like a shoulder pole - she suddenly trembled all over.

The wooden stick reminded her of the old man carrying a shoulder pole by the river tonight. The end of the pole had stabbed her shoulder blade, causing her to choke out and feel as if she were about to faint. But Luo Qingling wasn't trying to prove how much pain she'd felt from being hit by the pole. She couldn't help but recall the cause of Liu Zhang's death.

There were bruises on his shoulders and back, but no external injuries. He must have died of blunt force trauma.

The murderer removed the wooden planks that supported the carriage, then sneaked into Liu's house at night and used the planks to forcefully hit Liu Chang's back, breaking his spine and causing cardiac arrest. Later, because Liu Zhang witnessed the murder, she had to be silenced.

As for how to move the bodies out of the city, it was naturally because the murderer himself came in a horse-drawn carriage, so it was easy to transport the two bodies and dump them in two places.

Now everything makes sense!

Luo Qingling lifted her skirt and caught up with Qin Yanheng. Fortunately, the latter did not go far. She stood in front of the tall horse and looked up to tell Qin Yanheng her reasoning. The two hit it off and came up with new ideas.

Chou hour, Dali Temple.

It was now the fourth watch of the night. The chickens raised by Song Yutai in the temple were crowing with their necks raised high, making so much noise that the night watchman covered his ears with an impatient look on his face. He nodded his head up and down, feeling drowsy.

A pair of black and gold boots appeared before the attendant's eyes. He was stunned for a moment before suddenly looking up to see Prince Rong An staring at him with a half-smile, his eyes darker than the sky. Behind him, a seemingly angelic young woman poked her head out and smiled at him. Their faces, one dark and the other pale, were even more puzzling.

"Your Highness... Your Highness?"

The attendant stepped aside to welcome the person into the temple. They didn't understand why this gentleman came here in the middle of the night, and he brought a young lady with him. It seemed that she must be the young lady of the Luo family who had been making a lot of noise in recent days. Apart from her, no one in the capital could always stay with the young prince, and the latter would not be angry.

Qin Yanheng nodded, handed the wooden stick to his attendant, and whispered, "Go and compare Liu Zhang's wound."

The attendant took the stick, feeling somewhat bewildered after a sleepless night. It was just a stick, how could it be connected to the deceased?

However, Qin Yanheng was a prince, and facing such a noble family, his followers dared not ask questions. He responded and quickly walked towards the wing where the body was placed, carrying the wooden stick.

The night was dark, with gusts of cool wind, and the body lay quietly on the ground.

The attendant was so frightened that he didn't dare to enter. He looked back at Prince Rong An, who was standing not far away with his arms folded, looking at him with an impatient expression, as if he was about to say something the next moment.

In front of him is a dead man who won't jump up, and behind him is Prince Rong An who controls life and death... He might as well choose to be obedient.

The attendant patted his chest and walked into the room bravely. He closed his eyes, made up his mind, and turned the corpse over, revealing the bruised back. Then, according to Prince Rong'an's instructions, he placed the end of the wooden stick against Liu Zhang's wound.

"Your Highness, look!" Luo Qingling suddenly said, pointing at the corpse. "The wood matches the wound perfectly! My guess must be correct."

Qin Yanheng narrowed his eyes, staring at Liu Zhang's wound, wondering what he was thinking. Suddenly, someone gently tugged at his sleeve. Qin Yanheng lowered his eyes and saw Luo Qingling looking up at him with a smile. When she saw him lower his head, she gently waved her hand, signaling him to bend down.

What does she want to do?

Qin Yanheng was puzzled, but he still bent down slightly as Luo Qingling meant and put his ear close to her mouth.

"Your Highness, I have a plan."

Luo Qingling's voice rang in his ears, and the breath he exhaled was a little warm, spraying all over his ears, making Qin Yanheng unable to hide his wildly beating heart.

He didn't know why he had been having palpitations from time to time recently. He thought it must be because he was too tired. Maybe... maybe he didn't fall in love with Luo Qingling. Could she really be the piece of jade that could conquer him?

Qin Yanheng thought about it, but there was no solution.

He straightened up and coughed lightly, pretending to hide his awkwardness. He said in a gentle voice, "Do everything according to what Madam Luo says."

*

Two days later.

Inside a riverside restaurant, a man in brocade clothes strolled leisurely, fanning himself. After a moment, he suddenly stopped in front of a table, abruptly folded his fan, and then tapped one of the men with the handle, his face full of gossip.

"Brothers, the news is delayed." The man pulled out a chair and sat down, resting his elbows on the table. After pointing at everyone one by one with his fan, he continued, "The murderer who killed Madam Liu was captured by Prince Rong An yesterday. He will be paraded through the streets today!"

"When did this happen?" asked the man who had just been hit by the fan handle.

Upon hearing this, the man groaned, leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and fanned himself. "My friend who works at the Dali Temple told me this himself, which is why I said you were ill-informed. Hmm...it's almost time now. The murderer should be parading through the streets. Don't you brothers want to go and see it?"

After he finished speaking, the men at the same table looked around and at each other. One of them couldn't help but say, "My dear, we are just gossiping and have no interest in the murderer. Why did you ask us to go and see..."

"Has the murderer really been caught?" Another male voice sounded from behind, interrupting everyone.

The fanning man looked back and saw a bearded chin. He jumped in surprise. The man in front of him was about forty or fifty years old, with a dark complexion. He must have been a laborer.

"This gentleman is..."

The man looked away and replied quietly, "I was just passing by. I heard you say that the murderer of Madam Liu has been found, so I couldn't help but feel curious and came over to ask."

"That's fine. If you want to see the murderer paraded through the streets, just go to the official road in the east of the city and wait."

Before he could finish his words, the man shook his head, turned and left, and soon blended into the crowd.

Today was a spring outing day, and even though there was no parade, the streets were still crowded with people. After all, according to Japanese custom, spring outings were also a day for worshipping, and every household would go to the hilltops to pay homage to their deceased relatives on this day.

At the foot of the mountain, an inconspicuous carriage was parked under a tree.

Luo Qingling was sitting in the car and was about to raise her hand to lift the curtain and look outside, but Qin Yanheng grabbed her wrist halfway. Both of them were stunned for a moment.

"Young Prince?" Luo Qingling glanced sideways, not knowing why Qin Yanheng suddenly grabbed him.

"Don't look at it, it might arouse suspicion." Qin Yanheng put down his hand silently and explained in a gentle voice.

Looking at Qin Yanheng, who had changed into a cloth suit, the jade crown that he used to tie his hair had become a wooden hairpin, which added a bit of scholarly air to him and made him feel less distant than before.

Luo Qingling immediately became interested. After putting the curtains away, she patted the hem of her dress, propped her chin with one hand, and looked at him with interest, saying with a smile, "This is the first time I've seen the young prince dressed so modestly. Did you borrow this dress from Xuanying?"

I thought Qin Yanheng would avoid talking about it, but he shamelessly imitated her, propping up his chin and looking back at her, saying without blinking: "This is my clothes. Why, do you think I am so otherworldly?"

Not really.

Seeing him dressed up in fancy clothes every day, I never thought Qin Yanheng would even have clothes made of cloth. Could he have bought them especially for today? Luo Qingling was suspicious, but shook his head to indicate that he didn't think so.

"Back when the Crown Prince was still alive, this prince often went out of the palace with him, disguised as a young man from an ordinary family. As time went by, there were many more common people in the mansion. Now..." Qin Yanheng leaned against the car window with his eyes lowered, and his speech slowed down, as if he was recalling something. In the middle of his speech, he suddenly looked up at Luo Qingling, his eyes unclear. "Now it has been three years since the Crown Prince passed away. Now only Madam Luo has seen this prince in common people's clothes."

Why did he suddenly mention the late prince... Luo Qingling didn't know how to start, so he could only blink and remain silent.

Everyone in the capital knew that Qin Yanheng had a close relationship with the late Crown Prince Qin Moshu. The Crown Prince was the only person in the world Qin Yanheng could listen to. But the Crown Prince suddenly died of illness, leaving Qin Yanheng dejected for three years. Fortunately, the Crown Prince left behind a posthumous child, a true heir to the throne. It's said that Qin Yanheng personally chose the name of the Crown Prince's son, Qin Jici.

But why was it named "Ji Ci"? Luo Qingling was as puzzled as everyone else in the capital.

Just as the two of them were silent in the carriage, footsteps suddenly sounded outside, with a hint of tears in their voices. They must be people coming to offer sacrifices on the Spring Festival Outing. Luo Qingling raised his eyes and met Qin Yanheng's gaze for a moment, each of them seeing a hint of understanding in the other's eyes.

"He's here," Qin Yanheng raised his chin, then glanced at her and said with a smile, "Let's go, my 'sister' who is going back to her hometown to visit relatives with me."