Chapter 79: The Indifferent Son-in-Law
"Fire snake?"
Baohan's words surprised everyone present.
Bao Han sighed, "I've been practicing medicine on the Grand Canal for many years, and I've used many snake and insect venoms as adjuvants, so I'm sure I'll recognize it right. The fire snake originates from the southern plateaus or rainforests, and was brought north by the Grand Canal. Its venom is of the fire element and extremely toxic, so it must be used with extreme caution. It can treat rheumatism, cold poisons, hemiplegia, stroke, and other symptoms. If a person is accidentally poisoned, they will initially feel as if their entire body is burning in flames, and the pain is unbearable."
"I see. Old Bao, you continue to check. We still need to ask people from the Lu family team about the fire snake." Yin Chuan said.
Soon Yin Chuan found an apprentice of the Lu family troupe, and after asking, he found out that the person who managed the living props in the Lu family troupe was the eldest son-in-law Hai Yifan.
"Are you looking for me again?" When Hai Yifan was called over, he looked unhappy.
"There's no way, Mr. Hai. I know you must be unhappy about your wife's murder, but the case still needs to be investigated, right? I hope you will cooperate with me." Yin Chuan said with a smile.
"Okay, I'll cooperate. What do you want to ask me?"
Yin Chuan cleared his throat and asked solemnly, "When did you marry into the Lu family?"
"About three years ago."
"Three years ago... that's the year Lu Jiye was murdered, right?"
"Yes, I married Shuixian two months before Lu Jiye's accident."
"You married into the Lu family because the head of the family, Lu Changhua, was attracted by your unique skills in Western magic tricks and promised his eldest daughter to you, right?"
Hai Yifan snorted coldly, "You're wrong. On the contrary, my father-in-law simply scoffs at my identity as a Western magician. You could even say he's disgusted with me."
"Ah? Why is that?" Linlang was very confused.
"I can only vent a little behind the Lu family's backs. My father-in-law is a complete and utterly old-fashioned stubborn idiot. He believes that magic tricks are a livelihood passed down from the older generation, and how can we allow foreign tricks to tarnish our ancestral treasures? He's particularly averse to performances where magicians interact with the audience, believing it's completely against the rules of the stage. But whether it's Chinese or Western magic, this is the trend of the future. If he's so stuck in the past, who will want to watch these worn-out old tricks over and over again?"
"So, the eldest daughter of the Lu family is determined to marry you?"
"Narcissus doesn't have such deep feelings for me. My marriage into the Lu family was mainly due to the matchmaking of Lu's uncle. But... is my own family affairs related to Narcissus's murder?"
"Don't mind me. We just want to learn more about your wife's connections and see if there are any people who might have a grudge against her or you. Perhaps that's why the murderer committed the crime."
"I think you should focus on investigating Feng Shijiu's whereabouts. Isn't he the most suspicious now?"
"You have a point, but there are still some doubts that make it difficult to say for sure that Feng Shijiu is the murderer. Therefore, it is difficult for us to only investigate Feng Shijiu. Since you don't want to talk too much about family matters, I won't ask you any more. I just need you to check the living creatures raised by the Lu family to see if there is anything missing or missing."
"That's fine, but...are you suspecting some kind of poisonous snake or insect has sneaked in? Isn't that a bit alarmist? Why would the murderer put poison into the living creatures raised by the Lu family?"
"It's better to be safe than sorry. Please check to make sure everything is safe. If nothing goes wrong, that's great. But if there is, we can prevent the murderer from committing crimes again. There's only good for you, right?"
"Okay then, I'll go take inventory."
"I suggest you search the entire Lu family compound thoroughly to prevent any poisonous substances from being hidden somewhere and potentially entering the animals' cages and causing chaos."
Hai Yifan was somewhat disapproving, but since his father-in-law had ordered the two detectives to cooperate with the Cao Gang in investigating the case, he had no choice but to follow their arrangements and instructions.
In this way, Hai Yifan called several servants of the Lu family, and they searched every room, yard, roof and ground floor of the house, including the front and back of the performance stage, like a revolving lantern. They were busy until the moon was above the treetops, but they found nothing.
"Thank you, Mr. Hai." After hearing that nothing was found, Yin Chuan smiled at Hai Yifan and said, "But you can't be careless. Who knows where the poison is hiding and it might suddenly come out to hurt someone."
"I'm asking you guys, are you trustworthy? Where is the poison? You've caused unrest to the entire Lu family, and I was even scolded by my uncle. It's really bad luck." Hai Yifan complained unhappily.
"Please be patient. After all, your wife died of poisoning, so we have to be vigilant."
"Since there's nothing left, let's call it a day. I'm sure it's time for you all to go home, so I won't see you off any further."
This is to drive people away.
"Very well, then. We'll be leaving now. But I'll have to trouble you again tomorrow morning."
Hai Yifan was extremely unwilling to do so, and sent the Cao Gang members out of Lu's house with a bad face.
"Why do you think the Linqing officials don't want to intervene in the Lu family's murder case? Isn't this just a sham?" Du Yunzhang said indignantly on the way back to the Cao Gang branch.
"I guess, nine out of ten times, they also think this was done by the Flying Thief Feng Shijiu," Linlang said. "Just think about it, Feng Shijiu has been causing trouble in Linqing for so many years, whether it's the Qing Dynasty's constables or the Republic of China's patrolmen, they can't do anything about him. The last time the Lu family's youngest son, Lu Jiye, died, it was related to him. This time Lu Shuixian was murdered again. Naturally, the Linqing officials are afraid to avoid it. Otherwise, if they intervene, they will appear even more incompetent. But then again, Brother Yin, why do I feel that Hai Yifan doesn't look like he just lost his wife. It seems that he doesn't care about his wife's death at all."
"Hmph, it's obvious that the eldest son-in-law doesn't approve of his marriage into the Lu family at all. And I dare to assert that among the three sons-in-law, he is definitely not the only one with this attitude. Do you believe it?" It is unknown why Yin Chuan made such a judgment, but his tone sounded as if he had already seen through the intricate interpersonal relationships hidden beneath the glamorous surface of the Lu family.
Du Yunzhang also asked, "Old Yin, you said that Hai Yifan called six or seven people to search the Lu family's house from beginning to end, but found nothing. Does this mean that the poisonous fire snake is not in the Lu house at all, and that the flying thief Feng Shijiu brought it to commit the crime and then took it away?"
"No. If this snake really exists, it must still be in Lu's house."
"How do you know?"
"I don't have any solid evidence, but the nine-finger handprint that suddenly appeared in the water tank at the crime scene proves that Feng Shijiu didn't commit the murder at all. It was a trace left by the real murderer to frame Feng Shijiu. But his move was really stupid. Anyone with a little bit of common sense would guess that it was a deception to divert attention. And the flaming snake that was the murder weapon must still be in the murderer's possession."
"Couldn't he just kill the snake or throw it away after committing the crime?" Du Yunzhang asked.
"No. Whoever was able to poison Lü Shuixian must have had free access backstage. Linlang and I were there at the time, and we didn't notice any strangers entering or leaving. The murderer wanted to dispose of the snake after poisoning it, so he could only do it in a space isolated from the outside world like the backstage. But as you just saw, Hai Yifan led several disciples to search Lü's residence, including the front and backstage areas of the performance, and they found nothing, not even a trace of the snake. This only means that the murderer must still be carrying the snake."
"You mean, the murderer is from the Lu family?"
"Nine times out of ten, that's the case."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
