As for the identity of the second deceased person that year, Tongzhou was unable to find out for two whole months. How come a former coroner who had already been fired was able to find clues?
This time, Jiang Lingyao didn't need to teach him. Zheng Sanji asked naturally, "We asked all the brothels in Tongzhou at that time, but no one knew her. How did you know her identity?"
Chen Zhen just remembered these details, so he didn't recall them this time. He stuttered and said, "I was sick for a long time after I was released."
Chen Zhen looked very dull when he said this, and it seemed that he had no resentment towards what he had gone through.
He said, "I was tortured, and I was already suffering from rheumatism, so I took several months to recover before I was finally able to go out."
"After I left home, I didn't think about finding a job to support myself. I just wanted to solve the case. I wanted to know who killed them, so I went to Fireworks Alley to find a job as a ragpicker. I took the second victim's facial features and asked every passing prostitute about them."
Jiang Lingyao's eyes lit up. It turned out that the way that this coroner Chen handled the case back then was a lucky coincidence.
The second victim was a prostitute, but the local brothel did not know her. So if one wants to find the identity of a prostitute, asking the clients who frequent the brothel is a clear way.
Chen Zhen was lost in memories. His dull eyes began to light up. He spoke more and more fluently: "I have been investigating in Fireworks Alley for half a year. One day, I asked a tourist from another place and learned about the second death."
"The tourist came from Yanjing. He said that two or three years ago, there was indeed a very beautiful courtesan in Hongzhaolou in Yanjing. He couldn't remember her name, but he only remembered that she had a bright red mole at the corner of her lip. However, at that time, the courtesan of Hongzhaolou was famous in Yanjing, so this woman seemed a little dull and not a well-known prostitute."
Although Jiang Lingyao was very lively and dared to change her name and surname to become a magistrate, she had no idea how many brothels there were in Yanjing, nor did she know which one was the more famous. So she could only listen to him carefully.
Chen Zhen ignored the three people sitting in front of him. He just talked about his own things. When he talked about Hongzhaolou, he said: "I have seen the second deceased. Later, I drew a portrait of the deceased myself. But because the portrait was very different from the real person, it took me half a year to find this clue. At that time, the client said that he felt that the portrait was not very similar. He also didn't remember the woman's appearance, but remembered that the mole was very beautiful."
"So I went to Hongzhaolou. I had no official position and no money, so I was not allowed to enter Hongzhaolou after several attempts. Finally, I had no choice but to say that I was a traveling doctor and could treat prostitutes for free. Only then was the brothel owner willing to talk to me."
"I showed the portrait to the brothel owner, and she said she didn't look familiar. Then I described her face in detail, and she said she knew who it was."
"The prostitute the madam was talking about was named Xiuying. She was transferred from another brothel. She only worked at Hongzhaolou for a year before she was redeemed. As for where she went, no one knew."
Chen Zhen's voice was low and hoarse with depression: "I used to be a coroner, and I have seen many brothel madams like this, so I threatened him that Xiuying was murdered. If she doesn't cooperate, I will report it to the government and let them investigate Hongzhaolou."
"The brothel owner then told me that Xiuying had been abducted by someone else, but she also said that she wanted to go to Wanping to change her name and become a decent woman."
Chen Zhen said: "So, I came to Wanping twelve years ago."
He came to Wanping twelve years ago. Over the years, there has been no news about the case, not even any new clues. In other words, he did not find any clues in Wanping.
That's why he is so crazy and extraordinary.
Jiang Lingyao sighed in her heart. If Chen Zhen was really not the murderer, then this case almost ruined his life.
The look in Zheng Sanji's eyes when he looked at Chen Zhen changed a little bit. After the initial regret and annoyance, he had now calmed down to some extent. After hearing that Chen Zhen had been working hard to catch the murderer, he became even more upset and tears welled up in his eyes.
Zheng Sanji took a deep breath and tried to suppress the sob in his throat. He asked, "What clues did you find in Wanping? And why did you go to Jingye Garden?"
Chen Zhen remained silent.
The light in his eyes gradually died out, leaving only a pool of stagnant water, lifeless.
He didn't speak for a long time.
When Zheng Sanji was about to ask again, he slowly said, "No... I didn't find anything, nothing."
"I... later on, I don't quite remember why I went to the flower garden. Yes, why did I go to the flower garden?"
Chen Zhen was a little crazy at this moment. He asked this question incoherently and seemed to have no idea what his answer was.
Or perhaps he had already gone mad, and the moment of clarity just now was just a flash of light that would never be seen again.
Zheng Sanji sighed, turned his head to look at Duan Nanqi and Jiang Lingyao, and asked: "Master Duan, Master Qiao, this... what should we do?"
Duan Nanqi looked at Chen Zhen with empty eyes. After looking at him for a long time, Duan Nanqi stood up decisively and said, "Go out first."
Jiang Lingyao realized that they could not get any more clues from Chen Zhen.
After he was released from prison, Duan Nanqi ordered Tiqi: "Take him down from the rack, put him in a cell alone, and assign someone to watch him all the time to prevent him from going crazy and committing suicide."
Ti Qi took the order and left. Duan Nanqi then looked at Jiang Lingyao and asked, "What does Lord Qiao think of him?"
Jiang Lingyao said without thinking, "I don't think he's pretending to be crazy. He must have really gone crazy after years of wandering. If it weren't for the familiar face of Brother Zheng and the obsession in his heart, he probably wouldn't even remember what happened back then."
Duan Nanqi nodded and said calmly, "He didn't answer why he went to Huayuan. Whether it was a coincidence or intentional, he is the biggest suspect and can only be detained in prison for the time being."
He said this to Zheng Sanji, who also expressed his understanding. He sighed and said, "I don't know whether it is him or not. I can't tell it anymore."
As the saying goes, those who care are confused. At that time, they were convinced that he was not the murderer because of insufficient evidence and because he had no motive or ability to kill. However, many years later, they still met Chen Zhen at the crime scene. How could Zheng Sanji not waver in his belief?
Once is a coincidence, twice or three times is definitely not a coincidence.
No one said much for a while. Jiang Lingyao pondered for a moment and said, "Whether it's true or not, we still have to investigate this prostitute named Xiuying. Even if she only looks similar, she is a new clue because she is also related to Wanping."
Duan Nanqi looked at him approvingly, then called Pei Yu and asked him to send someone to Yanjing to investigate Hongzhaolou and Xiuying.
Thus, there are two clear new clues in this case.
One is Mian Yi and Rong Niang, and the other is Xiu Ying. These two clues require a lot of time to investigate. It seems that all people can do now is to check the files and wait for the results of the Jinyiwei investigation.
Zheng Sanji was probably in a very low mood after seeing Chen Zhen. He said he would go to re-examine the body of the deceased, then he staggered away, leaving only Jiang Lingyao and Duan Nanqi there.
Jiang Lingyao stood outside the county prison, with the dark and gloomy prison behind her and the bright sun above her head. At this moment, she only felt half cold and half warm. She seemed to be unable to see any light at all in this confusing serial murder case.
Duan Nanqi saw that she looked a little dazed, frowned slightly, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Jiang Lingyao looked up at the sky, and through the sparse gaps between the locust leaves, she saw a moment of light.
There was an indescribable coldness in Jiang Lingyao's voice.
"If Chen Zhen is not the murderer, then how can we redeem everything he has gone through and the ten years of his life he has lived?"
A murderer who completely disregards human life not only leaves the dead with no hope for life, but also makes the living live a life worse than death. How terrible it is.
Jiang Lingyao asked this because she was 50% sure that Chen Zhen was not the murderer.
Duan Nanqi did not say what he was thinking. He just moved his eyes away from her face and looked back at the darkness behind him.
His voice was low, but it seemed to contain boundless warmth.
"We are now wearing badges and being ordered to investigate cases. Isn't it for the purpose of reducing the injustice in this world?"
Duan Nanqi seemed to have seen enough of the darkness. He slowly withdrew his gaze and then looked at Jiang Lingyao's face again.
Jiang Lingyao didn't look at him, she continued to look at the sky.
Duan Nanqi's eyes were filled with tears. He said, "That's why I joined the Imperial Guard. So what about Master Qiao?"
He asked meaningfully, "Why did Lord Qiao want to be a judge?"
Duan Nanqi had never asked Jiang Lingyao this question since they met, but he asked it to her now.
Jiang Lingyao's eyelashes trembled slightly, like a butterfly resting on a blooming flower, fluttering its wings and dancing in the spring breeze.
She also gradually withdrew her gaze from the sky, turned her head, and looked back at Duan Nanzhu with her bright red phoenix eyes.
Her eyes are beautiful and bright, with a soothing warmth at the corners of her eyes and a firmness that never wavers in her eyes.
She paused for a moment before saying, "Of course, I am just like Lord Duan, I am just asking for the people's help."
Duan Nanqi's eyes did not turn away. He looked deeply at Jiang Lingyao, but the corners of his lips curled up: "Really?"
Jiang Lingyao only raised her eyebrows, and a smile appeared on her face. She also asked back: "Why does Lord Duan have such doubts? Do you not trust me, or do you not trust... yourself?"
"How could I not believe Lord Qiao?" Duan Nanqi laughed out loud.
He said, "Master Qiao looks very similar to my wife. My wife is a wonderful woman in the world, and everyone praises her. I thought Master Qiao was the same."
He kept smiling and said, "Master Qiao is just as I expected. He has a broad mind."
Jiang Lingyao said with a double meaning: "Master Duan, you are too flattering."
Duan Nanqi waved his hand, and at this moment he seemed very frivolous: "Come on, come on, we have been busy all morning, are you hungry, Master Qiao? Shall I treat Master Qiao to lunch?"
Jiang Lingyao suppressed the bright smile on her face. When she frowned and lowered her eyes, she was once again the cold and intelligent Judge Qiao.
"Okay, thank you very much, Master Duan."
The two of them arrived at the county government gate. Qian Zhixian, who had been very enthusiastic when they arrived, did not come out to see them off. However, they were greeted by a group of people at the county government gate.
That was Chu Xiu Nian who was ordered to transfer files and hire people.
He rode in front, and behind him was a team of Guardsmen and a carriage.
As soon as the carriage stopped, Chu Xiunian immediately jumped off the horse and walked quickly to Duan Nanqi with a look of joy on his face.
"Sir," he said, bowing, "Who do you think I have invited?"
The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and an old man with white hair got out tremblingly.
As soon as he stood still, he introduced himself: "I was originally the magistrate of Shuntian Prefecture. Now I have retired and am at home. I was ordered to come here to help with the case."
Duan Nanqi had never thought that the old time would be so smooth, and he asked, "Old Master Zhao?"
The old man sighed and said, "It's me."
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