Chapter 101: Reasoning about the First Poisoning Case
It's raining.
The atmosphere at the Lu residence that afternoon was completely different from usual. Aside from the patter of rain outside, there was no other sound. Gone were the usual scenes of apprentices practicing their skills, laughing and noisily playing magic. All members of the Lu family had gathered in the training room at the back of the courtyard. This was an order from the head of the family, issued by Lu Changhua at Yin Chuan's request. It was clear that Yin Chuan was about to reveal the full truth about the series of murders at the Lu family before everyone.
"I say, why haven't I seen Linlang?" Du Yunzhang, who had just returned from Xingquan Temple at noon, asked Yin Chuan secretly. "And I heard from the Cao Gang that Baohan also came to Lu's house this morning to look for you, but he wasn't there either?"
"They have their own business, and it's of great importance. The two of us are enough here." After Yin Chuan finished speaking to him, he cleared his throat and said to everyone in the training room, "Master Lu, everyone, you have witnessed the tragic murders of three young ladies in recent days, and I believe you are still in shock. You must also want to know who is the culprit behind this series of murders. Finding him out will put everyone at ease. You should all know that the three young ladies were killed by the venom of the fire snake, but the method of poisoning was different in each case. So, now let me explain everything to you in detail!"
Yin Chuan raised his index finger. "The first case involved the murder of Miss Lü Shuixian in a water tank on the day of the performance. Since that crime occurred on the stage, in full view of the public, it must have been incredibly shocking. Especially when the scene was inspected, handprints resembling those left by the Flying Thief Feng Shijiu were discovered on the upper wall of the water tank, leading everyone present to conclude that Feng Shijiu was responsible. Putting aside the illogicality of why a nighttime Feng Shijiu could commit a crime in broad daylight, the resulting publicity was enough to focus everyone's attention on the Flying Thief Feng Shijiu, foreshadowing the second crime that occurred the following night.
"Speaking of which, let's continue reasoning about the first case. First, why did Miss Lü Shuixian die in the water tank without any warning? Furthermore, the Cao Gang doctor examined the body and concluded that while the young lady's death was indeed caused by the snake venom she ingested, why was the venom also present in other parts of her body?
"This question may seem difficult to answer, but if you know the technique behind the first of the Lu family's 'Three Dragons', 'Dragon Palace Water Playing,' you'll understand why the corpse is in such a state." Yin Chuan turned to look at Lu Changhua. However, Lu Changhua remained silent. His expression was gloomy, but it seemed as if he was holding something back.
"Since Master Lu won't talk, I'll be frank. In 'Dragon Palace Water Play,' the actors use a transparent partition to separate the water area from the dry area. Through their superb acting skills, they mimic the appearance of diving underwater, performing many things that are normally impossible in water, such as lighting a fire underwater and playing drums underwater. The ingenious part of this is that the water tank is separated from the dry area by two diagonal ice plates, which deceives the audience and prevents them from detecting the secret inside the tank.
"However, in this stunt, only one move requires the performer to be performed underwater, and it must be choreographed before any other non-aquatic performances—to attract the audience's attention before the ice plate is inserted, otherwise the audience will undoubtedly notice its presence—and that is the underwater drinking. This requires the performer to precisely control the opening and closing of their esophagus and airway. This is the essence of what makes 'Dragon Palace Water Play' a stunt; it's simply impossible for the average person without years of practice."
"If we assume that Lü Shuixian entered the water tank as an actor, the first thing she would do would be to perform the underwater drinking act, which would give the murderer the opportunity to poison her."
"That's not right!" Hai Yifan interrupted Yin Chuan, "Your reasoning doesn't make sense at all! If Shuixian entered the tank as an actor, why would she start performing before going on stage? The tank is covered with a lid, so who is she performing for?"
"Brother-in-law, who says you can't perform without an audience?" Yin Chuan asked, "Didn't you two perform without an audience after lunch that day? Of course, Linlang and I only served as the audience because we wanted to see your magic skills, but you would still perform without us, right?"
"That's called a rehearsal! It's not the same as performing on stage!" Hai Yifan retorted harshly.
"Well, Lü Shuixian performed in the water tank before going on stage, which could certainly be considered a rehearsal. Why not? So I'll start from the very beginning of this case..." Yin Chuan said slowly. "I learned from the head of the Lu family that he had decided months ago to teach his three daughters the 'Three Dragons Controlling' technique. The eldest, Shuixian, learned the 'Dragon Palace Water Playing' technique, and she was the first to learn it. Shuixian was gifted and intelligent, and she grasped all the essentials quickly, but the essence of the technique, drinking water, was the only thing she struggled to master. However, with her strong personality, she couldn't bear to practice for years before going on stage, and she was even more unwilling to be the assistant of her eldest brother-in-law and appear in public. So the murderer took advantage of this and set a trap for her, leading her step by step to her death."
"But the program says that the head of the family, Lü Changhua, will perform. If the murderer lets Lü Shuixian perform, isn't he afraid that Lü Shuixian will ask her father for his opinion?" Du Yunzhang asked. However, as soon as he asked this question, he immediately thought of the answer and looked at Lü Changhua in disbelief. "Could it be...could it be..."
Yin Chuan interrupted him at the right time, "No, it's not what you think. Of course, the murderer has a way to make Lu Shuixian think that it was the master's intention to replace her in the performance. As long as she is listed at the beginning of the program, wouldn't it be enough?"
"But Lv Changhua's name is clearly written on the program?" Du Yunzhang was still puzzled. "I guess everyone backstage should have seen the program, and her name is not on it."
"You probably didn't notice at the time. The program we all saw was at the front desk, but it was basically impossible to find it backstage. The program was already determined long ago, so there was no need to put it backstage before the show started. As a supporting actor, Lu Shuiqing had no idea of the order of the other programs except for the program she performed with her brother-in-law Hai Yifan. The murderer took advantage of this and showed Lu Shuixian a modified program, falsely claiming that the master of the family had asked her to perform 'Dragon Palace Water Play'. When she entered the water tank for a secret rehearsal, he poisoned her and killed her."
"How do you know for sure the murderer altered the program?"
"There are two suspicious points. First, there's something wrong with the program list posted at the front desk. Do you remember which performance 'Dragon Palace Water Play' was scheduled for?"
"Well... I remember it was the third from the last." Du Yunzhang said after recalling.
"Right. Think about it, 'Dragon Palace Water Play' is a highlight of the Lu family's three unique skills. How could it be scheduled third to last? According to the rules of the quyi special performance, the highlight of the dajiao performance is either the finale—the second to last—or the closing act. It is impossible to place it third to last. This is a deliberate arrangement by the murderer, to catch the Lu family head off guard, who originally thought he would not appear at this time. He had no time to check the water tank props, so the body was exposed in full view after the water tank baffle was opened.
"Secondly, there's another suspicious point. The program only listed the name of the head of the family, Lü Changhua, as the performer for 'Dragon Palace Water Play'; it didn't mention who the assistant was. But just as the show was about to begin, Master Jin Guijin realized he was a supporting actor, which surprised him greatly. You have to remember, Master Jin was the lead actor in the previous show, 'Magic Blanket.' How could someone who had just finished a show end up supporting the next one? That's completely against the rules of the stage. That's why I suspect the murderer must have tampered with the program."
"So, whoever has control over the program arrangement of this performance is the most suspicious?"
"I think so." Yin Chuan said affirmatively, then glanced at the head of the family, Lu Changhua.
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