Chapter 78: Snakes Appear
"Tsk tsk tsk, in front of everyone, the eldest sister died like that... Could it be that Feng Shijiu was targeting our Lu Clan?"
"However, it can't be compared to the miserable plight of Lu Jiye three years ago!"
"Have you forgotten? Feng Shijiu came here in the middle of the night yesterday. Maybe after killing the eldest lady, he is still hiding in some corner of our Lu Mansion!"
"Hey! Don't talk nonsense! Scaring someone to death is not a crime!"
"These two Cao Gang members don't look like they can investigate cases. How can they compare to the police?"
"Who knows? Anyway, the master of the family likes them."
…
The chatter of the people backstage reached Yin Chuan's ears clearly. Helplessly, Yin Chuan asked Lu Changhua to disperse the Lu family members and to call them back for questioning when necessary. At the same time, he ordered Lu Shuixian's body to be placed in a side room, waiting for the Cao Gang to arrive to assist with the autopsy.
"I'm sorry to bother you two. Please sit down." Lu Changhua forced a smile and asked Yin Chuan and Linlang to sit in the seats next to him, with Mrs. Gao accompanying them.
Yin Chuan bowed, "Master Lu, we originally planned to focus our investigation on the case of your son three years ago, but today's events have forced us to change our strategy. If you don't mind, could you answer a few questions for me before the brothers from the Cao Gang arrive to assist with the autopsy?"
"Of course, please go ahead."
The Lu couple initially thought Yin Chuan wanted to ask about the relationship between their eldest daughter, Shui Xian, and Feng Shijiu. But when Yin Chuan looked at the glass water tank, he asked, "Tell me, what exactly is this so-called 'Dragon Palace Water Playing' trick? What's the secret behind it?"
This question surprised the Lu couple, and even Linlang. Lu Changhua hesitated for a moment, "Is this... is this related to today's case?"
"That's what you asked. Since you trust us to investigate this case, any question I ask is absolutely not unnecessary." Yin Chuan answered seriously.
"But……"
Mrs. Gao understood what Lu Changhua was worried about and advised, "Master, Mr. Liu and Miss Lin are not from our magic business, so it's okay to talk to them."
"Well then... well, I'll tell you what one of the Lu family's unique skills, 'Dragon Palace Water Playing', is all about."
The so-called "Dragon Palace Water Play" features magicians performing incredible feats in a water-filled tank, decorated with a variety of settings reminiscent of a dragon palace, hence the name. These performances include transforming a fire basin into an underwater fire bowl, underwater magic battles, and a Dragon Palace banquet. Many of these are separated by glass partitions, allowing for counterintuitive effects like the presence of fire in water to be achieved without the audience's knowledge. However, one element of the performance is achieved without these partitions: the underwater drinking act at the Dragon Palace Banquet. This requires the performers to precisely manipulate their airways and esophagus. Therefore, this is the only segment where the audience is allowed to observe the performance on stage, thus dispelling any suspicions of tactical manipulation within the tank.
The entire performance requires a primary actor (the family's owner, Lü Changhua) and two assistants, one inside the tank and one outside, requiring exceptional coordination. For today's performance, the original plan was for Lü Changhua to perform inside the tank, with Jin Gui assisting inside and Zhang Dafang interacting with the audience outside. Due to numerous rehearsals, there was no risk of mishaps or inconsistencies.
Finally, Lv Changhua added: "Actually, my description of this program doesn't give you a sense of its shocking effect. You have to see it with your own eyes to appreciate its power."
"I see. It's a shame we don't have that kind of luck." Yin Chuan nodded and said, "How long before the performance do we usually need to fill the water tank?"
"Well... to be honest, it's been ages since we've performed our three unique skills in front of an audience. I'm going to be a monk soon, right? So, while I still have the chance, I plan to perform them in three separate performances. 'Dragon Palace Water Play' originally required that the water tank be filled an hour before the show starts, and all the scenery in the water tank must be ready ten minutes before the show begins. But today, to avoid being rushed, I had them set up backstage after lunch. I estimate everything should be ready an hour before showtime. I'm not sure exactly when the setup was completed after the boards were hidden outside."
"Speaking of becoming a monk, Master Lu, can you..." Linlang was about to ask.
"I'm sorry, I don't want to talk about becoming a monk any further," Lu Changhua immediately interrupted Linlang's question. "Please change the question."
Linlang was embarrassed for a moment by being choked, but Yin Chuan reacted quickly, "Don't worry, I understand this is your personal matter, we won't ask. Let's get back to the present. As far as you know, has your daughter had any disputes with anyone else? Whether they are from the Lu family or outsiders?"
Before Lu Changhua could say anything, Madam Gao, who was standing next to him, spoke first. "Mr. Liu, although our Lu family makes a living by performing arts, which is a business that faces the outside world, as far as family education is concerned, we are still relatively disciplined and traditional. Our three daughters, Shuixian, Shuiqing, and Shuiling, are all very dutiful. They are good wives and mothers, and abide by the rules of wifehood. These are the principles they have been taught since childhood. Even if the master taught them some of the Lu family's magic tricks, he would not let them become big stars on stage. At most, they would serve as assistants and provide support. So how could they have any disputes with others?"
After hearing what his wife said, Lu Changhua did not deny it, but his expression was a little uncertain, and it seemed that he did not quite agree with what his wife said.
"Don't you think it was done by the Flying Thief Feng Shijiu?" Gao asked immediately.
"It's hard to say..." Yin Chuan frowned and said, "Although there seem to be traces of Feng Shijiu at the crime scene, Feng Shijiu usually hides during the day and comes out at night. Maybe someone deliberately left clues pointing to Feng Shijiu in order to mislead our investigation."
"Well, that makes sense!" Linlang nodded repeatedly.
"But we can't say for sure. There's no guarantee Feng Shijiu will make an exception. After all, his previous rule of never killing anyone might have started with the Lu family."
Lu Changhua slammed the table in anger. "Alas! How on earth did the Lu family offend this Feng Shijiu? Why is he so determined to pick a fight with us? If he has a deep hatred for our Lu family, why not just come straight at me? Why would he be so cruel to my children?"
"I have another question," Yin Chuan continued, "I saw some animal-related performances in the magic show just now. I want to ask what kind of animals are in your magic troupe? Are there any poisonous ones among them?"
"Animals... they're just very docile creatures. You should know that magic troupes are different from circuses. Circus troupes often have ferocious and venomous animals like bears, elephants, lions, and snakes. But magic isn't about taming animals; it's more about using animals as props. That's why we only keep small, docile animals in our troupe, like pigeons, rabbits, and goldfish. Of course, none of these animals are poisonous."
"Is that so..." Yin Chuan nodded after careful consideration.
As he was speaking, a servant came to announce that Mr. Du and Mr. Bao from the Cao Gang had arrived. Lu Changhua ordered them to be escorted backstage. Not long after, Du Yunzhang and Bao Han walked in one after the other.
"Master Lu, I have invited Mr. Bao, a famous doctor from our Cao Gang. Do you think he can perform a thorough autopsy on your daughter's body?" Du Yunzhang asked.
"Of course. However, please allow my wife and I to leave first. After all, she is my daughter, and I really can't bear it."
"Please do as you please."
Lu Changhua and Mrs. Gao bowed to Yin Chuan and others and left the backstage.
"Old Bao, are you sure about the autopsy?" Yin Chuan was still a little worried.
Baohan took off the medical case from his back and replied, "I know you've been relying on Coroner Xie from Wuhe County to perform autopsies. He's a specialist in this field, so I naturally can't compare to him in terms of experience and qualifications. But if we're just talking about autopsies, I should at least have more say than anyone here."
As he spoke, he approached the corpse covered with a white sheet, put on leather gloves, lifted the sheet on the head and carefully looked at the face.
"It's definitely poisoning." He murmured.
"Nonsense, do you even need to tell me that? We saw it from the beginning." Du Yunzhang said dissatisfiedly.
Baohan said calmly, "You all figured it out? Then do you know what the poison is?"
"It's a poison from an animal, right?" Linlang took over.
"It's the venom of the fire snake." Baohan directly said the name of the poison.
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