Chapter 78
Jiang Lingyao's face changed, she suddenly stood up and looked out the window.
There were many servants in the garden, and when they heard the scream, their faces turned pale immediately. They were all hesitant, as if they didn't know what to do.
Jiang Lingyao glanced at Duan Nanzhui across the garden, then turned around to look at Su Shuxian, the wife of the Earl of Zhengyang.
Su Shuxian and Meng Xinyue were also obviously shocked. They sat there at a loss as to what to do.
The wife of the Duke of Fuguo remained calm and composed. She stepped forward and said a few words to Su Shuxian. Su Shuxian then came to her senses and stood up and said, "Something may have happened at home. I'll go check it out first. Xinyue, let the kitchen set the table. Let's eat first."
Jiang Lingyao's eyes darkened slightly and she stood up as well. Miss Zheng Wu looked at her curiously, and Jiang Lingyao took out a badge from her sleeve.
When she handed the rosewood waist badge to Miss Zheng Wu, Miss Zheng Wu was surprised: "Oh Yaoyao, how did you do that?"
Jiang Lingyao said, "The situation is urgent. I can't stay any longer. I'll tell you in detail later."
After she finished speaking, she followed Su Shuxian downstairs.
When she came downstairs, she saw Su Shuxian standing with the housekeeper Wen Li, while Duan Nanqi was talking in a low voice with Xue Yaozu.
As if he heard her footsteps, Duan Nanqi looked up and waved at her.
Under everyone's suspicious gaze, Jiang Lingyao held up her badge of the sixth-rank Shuntian Prefecture Magistrate and said openly, "I got this job because I solved a big case with Lord Duan in Wanping before. Today, such a big thing happened in the mansion, and I must work with Lord Duan to restore peace to the mansion."
Unexpectedly, both the husband and wife had been assigned to investigate criminal cases, and they happened to be at the Marquis of Zhengyang's residence today. Upon hearing this, Su Shuxian and Xue Yaozu's faces turned grim.
The family's shame cannot be made public, and with so many guests today, it won't take half a day for the whole of Yanjing to know what happened in the Marquis of Zhengyang's mansion.
Duan Nanqi saw Xue Yaozu was about to speak, so he immediately said, "I just heard from the servant that there is a murder case in the Taoist Master's study. Lord Jiang and I happened to encounter this case, so we must work together to solve it."
"Madam Bo, Brother Xue, please rest assured that with the help of Jinyiwei East Office and Shuntian Mansion, this case will be solved smoothly."
Hearing the three words "Jinyiwei", their faces became even uglier.
Duan Nanqi didn't care what the two thought. He said sternly, "I have sent someone to report to the Jinyiwei Beizhenfusi and Shuntianfu. According to the distance between the two yamen, they will arrive in about two quarters of an hour. Before the Jinyiwei and Shuntianfu arrive, no one, including the two of you, is allowed to enter or leave the main courtyard study."
Duan Nanqi was very reserved. After saying this, he looked at Jiang Lingyao and said, "Master Jiang, thank you for your help."
Jiang Lingyao said politely: "Master Duan, you are too polite."
After Duan Nanqi finished making the arrangements, he immediately led Jiang Lingyao to the main courtyard. The remaining people in the Zhengyang Marquis's mansion did not dare to stop them and could only stare blankly.
The old housekeeper, however, was calm and said, "Master, Madam, you two should keep the guest in the garden. Just say that a servant in the house has hysteria. It's not a serious problem. That's all."
"I will follow and serve you two masters."
This arrangement appeased the two masters.
On the other side, Jiang Lingyao and Duan Nanzhu walked very quickly. Following the servant who led the way, they arrived at the gate of the main courtyard in the blink of an eye.
Coincidentally, the servant who had just gone to invite someone was still shivering at the door, and another middle-aged man in his thirties had just arrived, panting, and was not in the main courtyard.
Duan Nanzhu paused slightly, and seeing the middle-aged man lowering his head and about to enter the main courtyard, he immediately shouted, "Who are you? You are not allowed to enter."
The middle-aged man's face changed, as if he had just seen Jiang Lingyao and the others. He said solemnly, "I am your personal steward. I heard that you had something to do, so I came to serve you."
That is to say, he was not in the main courtyard just now.
Duan Nanqi glanced at him and said, "There's a murder in the main courtyard. No one is allowed to enter. Please wait outside the courtyard."
The manager's expression became more and more unsightly. He seemed to want to make a few more excuses, but when he looked down and saw the Dragon-Tiger card that Duan Nanqiao was about to play, he shut up completely.
Duan Nanjue ordered him and other servants to guard the main gate and not allow anyone to enter or leave. Then he and Jiang Lingyao quickly entered the main courtyard.
The main courtyard of the Marquis of Zhengyang is roughly the same as that of the Marquis of Anding, but the furnishings appear somewhat old, and the house is rather empty, with little else except furniture.
Not to mention the vases and ornaments, there isn't even any calligraphy or painting, and you can tell the end of it at a glance.
The main courtyard is also divided into two floors. The first floor is the elegant room, tea room and study, and the second floor is the bedroom, which is exactly the same as the Anding Marquis's Mansion.
But as soon as Jiang Lingyao came in, she frowned and said, "No."
Duan Nanqi turned around and looked at her: "What's wrong?"
Jiang Lingyao walked with him to the study, saying as she walked: "This is clearly the residence of the Duke of Zhengyang and his wife, but there is no trace of women's life on the entire first floor. It can even be called deserted. I think the main room and the elegant room in the back are rarely used."
That is to say, the couple of Zhengyang Earl did not use the main reception room and elegant rooms on the first floor.
Duan Nanqi nodded, and the two of them went straight to the study.
When he arrived at the door of the study, Duan Nanzhu found a bolt and lock on the outside of the study.
The study door is made of jujube wood, which is wide and solid. There are no carvings on it, and it is very plain and simple.
It is just this door, but it completely blocks the study room, making it impossible for people to see anything.
Jiang Lingyao lowered her eyes to the brass door bolt and said, "This shows signs of long-term use."
There were traces of repeated friction on the latch outside the study, which showed that it had been used for a long time. Duan Nanqi said, "That is to say, whenever Lord Zhengyang left home, he would lock the door of the study."
So for Earl Zhengyang, the most important room in the entire mansion is this study.
The two looked at each other, and Jiang Lingyao took out a handkerchief and pushed the door through it.
The door was not opened.
Jiang Lingyao pushed it again, but it still didn't open, which meant that the door was locked from the inside.
Jiang Lingyao frowned slightly and whispered, "The servant who just passed the message said that he saw the deceased from the window of the study?"
Duan Nanqi responded, and the two of them carefully checked in front of the study door, but did not find any more clues, so they left the main building together and went around the back along the garden.
Behind the main courtyard is a rockery and bamboo forest. Strangely, the rockery is very high, almost as tall as the entire main building, and is covered with rugged rocks, like a huge mountain wall blocking the main building.
The rockery is surrounded by a dense bamboo forest, blocking all sunlight and fresh air from entering the main courtyard.
Regarding this design, if someone says that there is no secret in the mansion of Marquis Zhengyang, no one would believe it.
The bamboo forest was so dense that it was almost impossible to walk. The two of them could only move forward with difficulty by sticking to the gaps in the wall.
However, after walking about ten feet, a square partition window appeared in front of the two people.
The partition window was covered with a newly replaced thin curtain, which was very clear. Looking through the window, I saw a man in a white robe and linen clothes, sitting behind a pear wood table with his eyes closed.
The wooden table was facing the window, so the two of them could only see the side silhouettes of the people in the room.
There was a dagger stuck straight in his chest.
The gushing blood had dried up, and it was now flowing into flowers, spreading across his clean white clothes.
In addition, the entire study was in a mess. Except for the desk where the deceased was sitting, the tables and chairs around it were all overturned and tilted, and it was extremely messy.
Even though they were standing outside the study, the two could see the mess inside. They could tell at a glance that someone had been rummaging through the study, and all the drawers and cabinet doors were open, but they didn't know what was missing from the study.
I don’t know... whether the death of the deceased is related to the mess in the study.
Jiang Lingyao and Duan Nanqi looked at each other, then they retracted their gaze and began to look at the window in front of them.
This partition window opens up and down, half above and half below, and has a regular shape.
Generally speaking, there will be window latches inside the house to lock the window sashes and prevent them from shaking in the wind.
But the latch of the study's only window was broken.
Even if the two people stood outside the wall, they could see that the window latch inside was broken into two pieces, one half was still on the window frame, and the other half was nowhere to be found.
Jiang Lingyao said, "See if we can open the window."
Duan Nanqi held the window frame through the handkerchief and exerted a little force, then opened the window frame from the outside.
As the window opened, a foul smell wafted out.
The smell of burning oil mixed with the smell of blood penetrated my nose, and the damp steam hit my face, making me want to sneeze.
Jiang Lingyao frowned and asked Duan Nanqi to close the window first, and the two of them walked back along the way they came.
The weather in Yanjing has been fine recently without any rain. The green bamboo in the backyard of the main building is growing very well and has not been damaged. There are no more footprints or leaves on the ground.
That is to say, even if someone escaped through the window, there would be no clues left outside the house.
Duan Nanqi searched for a while and said, "I'll go in and open the door. You come in through the main entrance."
So Duan Nanqi struggled to get in from the outside through the gap in the window.
He was tall and it was very difficult for him to get in. Thanks to his agility, he managed to get in despite the difficulty.
Jiang Lingyao went to the front door only after he entered the study.
With a creaking sound, the door was opened and the unpleasant smell hit me again. The study was damp and cold, making me feel very uncomfortable.
Jiang Lingyao frowned, but did not cover her mouth and nose with the handkerchief.
The smell of the crime scene is also a clue.
Jiang Lingyao entered the study and closed the door. The two stood in front of the door and looked at the bolt carefully.
The door latch inside the house had been used many times and had some signs of wear and tear, but there were no signs of breakage, so it was obvious that it had not been violently damaged.
Jiang Lingyao looked at Duan Nanqi, and Duan Nanqi also looked at him: "Does the murderer know the deceased? Or is he very familiar with the Zhengyang Marquis's Mansion?"
Duan Nanqi had seen Xue Dingshan before, and after entering, he was certain that he was the deceased. However, based on the traces at the scene, if the window was damaged from the outside, there would be no traces of damage on the window edge, and the window screen would not be intact, and the front door was tightly closed, with no signs of damage.
It can be roughly inferred that either the murderer entered through the front door, closed the door after entering, and then left through the rear window, or he used other methods to pry open the latch of the rear window.
The former is more likely.
If it is the former, then the case will be easy to investigate. First, find out the approximate time of death of the deceased, and then interrogate everyone in the Zhengyang Marquis's Mansion one by one, and probably the suspect can be identified.
At this time, there was no one else in the main courtyard except the two of them. Jiang Lingyao and Duan Nanqi looked at each other, and both saw surprise in each other's eyes.
Just when they wanted to investigate Uncle Zhengyang, Uncle Zhengyang died the next moment. Was it because someone gave him a pillow when he was sleepy, or was it because the clues were leaked and Uncle Zhengyang was killed to silence him?
Looking at the mess in the study, everything is still unknown.
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