Chapter 28: The murderer reveals his true identity
The river was calm, nothing happened for two days, and the corpse demon was still nowhere to be found.
Since Qi County is the only route in and out of the capital, if it remains blocked, it will likely cause significant delays. Furthermore, the capital is currently hosting the Zhonghe Festival, and the emperor will soon host a banquet for his ministers in the palace. Many officials have already traveled thousands of miles from prefectures and counties, and it's impossible to hold them all in Qi County.
So Qin Yanheng gave the order to let them pass last night, but the pass inspection was stricter than usual - surely the soldiers guarding the gate couldn't fail to recognize a corpse with obvious signs of death?
The next day, the sky was turning pale.
Just after curfew, before the city gates opened, several men carried a bed board toward the soldiers guarding the gate. A woman lay in bed, eyes closed, a golden hairpin dangling from her hair. The leading man, a worried look on his face, pulled a certificate from his sleeve. It bore the seal of Qi County and confirmed the identities of the men.
"Qi County has been under lockdown these days, and my wife is seriously ill in bed. I really can't hold on any longer, so I need to go to Beijing to seek medical treatment. I hope you will let me go." The man frowned, with dark circles under his eyes. He must have stayed up for several nights for his seriously ill wife.
The soldiers were still sleepy, and after hurriedly checking the identities of several people, they let them out of the city. Just as they lifted the bed board and prepared to enter the city with the woman with the golden hairpin, an officer of slightly higher rank came down from the city gate and called out to them.
"Wait a minute," the soldier approached, long sword in hand. He squinted at the men carrying the bed at the city gate. They looked familiar, so he raised his voice, "You guys again! Didn't you go to the capital to see a doctor a few days ago? Why are you sick again?"
"Yes, sir," the leading man raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead, somewhat helplessly, "My wife has been suffering from a serious illness every now and then. A few days ago, before the city was closed, we did go into the city to see a doctor, but the doctor just prescribed a few prescriptions and sent us home to recuperate. But my wife had vomiting and diarrhea again last night, so we rushed back into the city early this morning to see a doctor again."
Hearing this, the officer went forward to check. The woman lying in the quilt had a pale face, and it was obvious that she must have been ill for a long time. The woman opened her eyes, glanced at the officer, and forced herself to raise her upper body and nodded at him.
There was nothing unusual about the woman. She was neither dead nor a corpse, but just a seriously ill person.
"Hurry up and go." The officers and soldiers waved their hands, signaling several people to enter the city.
Qi County Post Station.
Although it is the beginning of spring, it is still cold in the morning and evening. Luo Qingling dressed neatly early in the morning and was wearing a white crane cloak.
Fortunately, Aye was far away in the frontier, and only Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao lived in the Luo Mansion in the capital. They usually did not ask too much about the host family's affairs, otherwise Luo Qingling would not know how to explain where she had been these days.
I thought I was up early, but when I went downstairs, I saw Qin Yanheng sitting in the hall, flipping through an ancient book bored. When he heard her footsteps coming down the stairs, he stared straight at the book, his eyes motionless, as if he was not interested in her presence.
Luo Qingling curled his lips. They had ridden the same horse two nights ago, but today they became strangers again.
Come to think of it, the noble young prince would disdain even the noble ladies from the capital, let alone a person like her from the frontier? Well, after catching the real culprit and returning to the capital, and untying the golden dragon sword that bound them, she and Qin Yanheng would probably never meet again.
Luo Qingling really regretted that she had so easily sent her portrait to Qin Yanheng in order to get her father transferred back to the capital for treatment as soon as possible, and was despised for nothing - there had even been rumors about this in the capital for a long time. Now she couldn't explain or not explain, it was all Qin Yanheng's fault!
"What's going on in the Sun Mansion these past two days?"
Qin Yanheng asked without even raising his head, not knowing who he was asking. Luo Qingling walked to the table and was about to speak when he saw a man in night clothes walk in from the door of the inn. It seemed that he should be Qin Yanheng's secret guard - Xuanying.
"Not really." Xuanying replied with a fist salute.
Hearing this, Qin Yanheng finally raised his head. He stared at Xuanying for a long moment before returning his gaze to the ancient book. How could this be? Could he have guessed wrong? Could it be that the real murderer of Susu wasn't in the Sun Mansion? Otherwise, why hadn't there been a single movement in the Sun Mansion for two days after the withdrawal? Could the real murderer be so patient?
"It's just..." Xuanying paused, as if observing Qin Yanheng's expression, "I heard that the wet nurse in the Sun Mansion was worried that there would be no one to warm Sun Zhenbao's bed, so she... called another dancer..."
Asking a dancer to warm the bed? This Sun Zhenbao is living such a comfortable life. She can't afford to miss a night. What a waste. Qin Yanheng nodded and was about to signal the people to leave, but then he remembered something and suddenly asked, "Where did that dancer come from?"
"From Hua Man Lou."
"Capture Sun Zhenbao's wet nurse and the dancer who warms his bed for me!" Qin Yanheng suddenly closed the ancient book, stood up and gave the order.
Luo Qingling looked up at Qin Yanheng, her eyes full of surprise. After a moment, she realized why Qin Yanheng could conclude that there was something wrong with the wet nurse and the dancer based on this single point.
On the way back to the inn two nights ago, Qin Yanheng mentioned that when he was interrogating everyone in the Sun Mansion, a slave wet nurse was able to order the good servants around. That would have been fine, but Sun Zhenbao, a son of an official, actually believed the wet nurse's words so much.
A servant exceeding their authority would never happen in any official household in Beijing, yet the Sun family was accustomed to it, which immediately struck the two as suspicious. The wet nurse was a strong suspect, and Qin Yanheng's withdrawal of troops was actually intended to lower the wet nurse's vigilance and expose her true intentions, which had indeed been revealed.
No wonder Qin Yanheng immediately ordered the arrest when he heard the news.
"Your Highness, I'll go with you too." Luo Qingling hurried after Qin Yanheng, not giving him a chance to refuse. She was also anxious to find Su Su's real culprit, otherwise she might come to her dreams one night to cry out for justice.
The two of them left the inn one after the other.
It was still early, and the four Taoists hadn't gotten up yet. Abbot Dewang, who had just come downstairs, looked around. Qin Yanheng hadn't spoken, so he didn't dare follow. After all, he was just a small-time abbot of Xiangshan Temple, and there wasn't much he could do. It would be better for him to stay and watch over the four Taoists for the young prince. Abbot Dewang was always worried that the four Taoists would get into trouble again if they left the young prince.
"Abbot of virtue and prestige."
Just as Abbot Dewang was struggling with how to start, Qin Yanheng said, "After the four Taoists wake up, you will guard the formation we set up. If the corpse demon appears, tell me immediately."
After one stick of incense.
The two men and two horses rushed to Sun's residence, followed by many officers and soldiers. The crowd was a sea of people, galloping on the mountain road.
"Sun Zhenbao, why don't you come and meet this king?"
Qin Yanheng dismounted and strode into the Sun Mansion through the main gate. Luo Qingling trotted beside him. The two of them came with such a fierce momentum that the gatekeeper was so frightened that he pressed his back against the red wall and dared not say a word.
After crossing the archway, Sun Zhenbao hurriedly put on his clothes and stepped on his shoes, and came towards them in a scattered manner.
Qin Yanheng ignored this person and took Luo Qingling to sit in the main hall of the Sun Mansion. The tea on the table was cold, and there were only a few snacks left on the jade plate. They were the leftovers of the meal he and Luo Qingling had eaten that night, and no one had cleaned them up for two days.
This was not a good omen. Sun Zhenbao was frightened by Qin Yanheng and knelt down as soon as he stepped through the door, before anyone could say anything. Although he didn't know what crime he had committed, the young prince was soft-hearted and would not tolerate hardship, so kneeling was better than not kneeling.
"Sun Zhenbao."
It was Luo Qingling who spoke, her voice was soft, which made Sun Zhenbao's heart, which had sunk to the bottom of the valley, rise a little. He just felt that this beautiful lady who followed the young prince should be easier to talk to than the young prince.
"Where did your wet nurse go?" Luo Qingling asked.
"Wet nurse? She should be busy in the house. Someone has already gone to call her." Sun Zhenbao looked puzzled. He didn't understand why the two of them asked about his wet nurse right away.
Unexpectedly, the young prince, who had been staring at him with raised eyebrows since he entered the hall but remained silent, scoffed at his words. He lowered his head slightly, his hair falling to his temples, obscuring his handsome features. His eyes were gloomy, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
Just now, Xuanying came to report again, saying that the wet nurse and the dancer Hua Manlou who was temporarily called in to warm the bed last night disappeared in the Sun Mansion early in the morning. This time, no one in the Sun Mansion knew about it.
If Su Su had vanished inexplicably from the mansion, Qin Yanheng would have thought it was just an accident. But if two people disappeared together... he simply didn't believe there was no ghost in the Sun Mansion! Regardless of whether the troublemaker was a human or a ghost, Qin Yanheng would definitely find out who was causing the trouble.
"Don't you know that your wet nurse and dancer disappeared last night?" Qin Yanheng asked suddenly.
"The wet nurse is missing?" Sun Zhenbao's surprise was not fake at all. He was stunned for a moment before continuing, "The wet nurse even found a dancer to sleep with me last night. How could she be missing? Is your Highness trying to scare me?"
Qin Yanheng was too lazy to explain to this idiot. He sighed and asked, "What's the dancer's name?"
"...Your Highness, I don't know the woman's name. The wet nurse only asked her to warm the bed. I fell asleep quickly after we finished last night and didn't ask her name. When I woke up today, the dancer was nowhere to be seen. I guess the wet nurse took her away after we fell asleep."
"waste."
Qin Yanheng snorted coldly. Sun Zhenbao's words were truly unbearable to listen to. He hated people who were philandering the most. This Sun Zhenbao had no respect for his future wife. It wasn't just Sun Zhenbao; many officials in the capital were philandering like this. They were simply inhuman. Qin Yanheng didn't want to associate with such people.
Sun Zhenbao still didn't know the answer to any of the questions. Li Qingqing appeared at the door without knowing when, still maintaining a cold and arrogant attitude. It seemed that Li Qingqing disliked neither Sun Zhenbao nor Qin Luo, and just stood there with a cold face.
Luo Qingling saw that Li Qingqing was unwilling, and took the initiative to ask her a few questions. Although the latter cooperated in answering, one could hear a hint of impatience in her tone.
"I have never bullied Susu, whether in Hua Manlou or in Sun Mansion, I, Li Qingqing, have always been upright. If the young prince and my wife suspect that I have killed Susu, you can just arrest me." Li Qingqing's face was calm.
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