Zibo prefect dies suddenly, Pei and Gu pursue the murderer
Time flies, and it is already mid-April. The two of them sleep together day and night, like a perfect couple. How happy they are!
"Yan'er, how about hanging a love knot here?" Pei Linyan asked
"Of course it's great. We will be together forever. I will join hands with you and share this lifelong love." Gu Yanzhou said
"May the two of us be like this mandarin duck jade pendant. When we are together, we will be friends and will never abandon each other in this life; when we are apart, both of us will be successful and live in good health in this life." After saying that, he handed half of the jade pendant to Gu Yanzhou.
The two were still immersed in this, when suddenly Ban Jin Ba Liang came to the front of the hall and said, "Sir, there has been a sudden murder in Huaichun Tower. I hope you can go and check it out." Ban Jin said
"This matter is under the jurisdiction of the Chang'an County Court Officials. How did you find me?" Pei Linyan said
"Master Weiwei, although the new Chang'an County Court Official has taken office, this matter was personally ordered by the Prime Minister to be investigated by the Court Official, and I am also following his orders to pass it on." Banjin said
"Then did the Prime Minister tell me why he insisted I conduct a thorough investigation?" Gu Yanzhou asked.
"Because... because the deceased was the governor of Zibo."
"It's almost the middle of the year, and it's the time when some officials sent from abroad come to Beijing to report on their work. Even if they bring tax silver with them, it's still inappropriate." Pei Linyan said
"That's right. After the Zibo governor died suddenly, the tax money also disappeared. I hope you will go with me to Huaichun Tower to find out what happened."
"Yanzhou, I will go with you. This matter involves taxes and silver, which is not trivial. We must pay attention to it." Pei Linyan said
"Okay, you and I will go together." Gu Yanzhou said
The group arrived at Huaichun Tower, and the gate was surrounded by the Praefectural Guards. When the newcomers saw that they were Pei Linyan and Gu Yanzhou, they said, "Gu Tingwei, Pei Weiwei, you are finally here. The deceased was the prefect of Zibo. This is a serious matter involving taxes and silver. Moreover, Prime Minister Shen has ordered you to investigate the case thoroughly. We have no idea where to start, so we can only cordon this place off and wait for your orders." Lan Ci said
"No problem, what clues are there in this case?" Gu Yanzhou said
"I only know that at 11:00 yesterday, the governor of Zibo came to a banquet and invited Chunhua to accompany him. After getting drunk, he rested alone in his room. Today, at 11:00, the maid came to serve him. After knocking on the door several times without receiving an answer, she called the madam. When she opened the door, she found that the governor had been dead for a long time. The coroner examined him and it turned out that he died at 12:00 yesterday." Lan Ci said
When they entered the room, they saw that the deceased was neatly dressed and the room was clean without a trace of anything. The madam and Chunhua were both there.
"Who was present at the banquet?" Gu Yanzhou asked
"My Lord, besides the Governor of Zibo, the Governors of Langya, Jiaodong, and the Minister of the Imperial Household have also come to the appointment, including me, making a total of five people." Chunhua replied
"Did anyone behave in any unusual or unusual way during this period?" Pei Linyan asked.
"The adults are all drinking and having fun, there's nothing unusual." Chunhua said
"Then do you know when they left?" Gu Yanzhou asked
"I remember that Young Master Jiang left first at 1:15 PM, unable to hold his liquor. Then there was the Langya Prefect, who had an appointment the next day and left at 2:15 PM. The Jiaodong Prefect stayed until 3:15 PM, when he was sent back by his servants. Finally, I saw that the Zibo Prefect was already unconscious and no one came to look for him, so I placed him in his room, cleaned up the house, and then I went back to rest." Chunhua said
"In other words, you were the last person to leave the room?" Gu Yanzhou asked
"It's true that I did it, but I couldn't have deliberately murdered him. After all, it's too conspicuous." Chunhua said
"You don't need to explain. There is no concrete evidence that this is not your fault." Pei Linyan said
"Why did the Zibo prefect die suddenly?" Gu Yanzhou asked
"The coroner has checked repeatedly and found nothing unusual. The deceased looks just like an ordinary person." Lan Ci said.
"That means there are no clues about the deceased or the house. So we can only ask the people who were at the party yesterday." Gu Yanzhou said
"Banjin, you go find Doctor Liu and ask her to come here and examine the body again. Baliang, you go to Prime Minister Shen's residence to find Master Shen and invite him to meet at the post station. I hope Lieutenant Lan will protect the scene well and don't let others do anything. Weiwei Pei and I will go find Master Jiang. Let's act separately." After Gu Yanzhou finished speaking, everyone started to act.
Gu Yanzhou and Pei Linyan came to Jiang's house and knocked on the door for a long time, but no one answered. The two had no choice but to climb over the wall and enter. Seeing that the scene was no different from last month, they groped their way into the house and saw Jiang Huai lying straight on the bed. Gu Yanzhou's eyes flashed with surprise, and he was about to raise his finger to check his breath. Pei Linyan blocked Gu Yanzhou behind him with his right hand, stretched out his left hand and said, "It's okay, he just fell asleep and wakes up from time to time." Gu Yanzhou took out a small bottle from his sleeve, opened it and put it under Jiang Huai's nose. An unpleasant smell spread straight to his forehead, and Jiang Huai opened his eyes and retched.
"You're finally awake." Gu Yanzhou said
"Brother Gu, Brother Pei, why are you two here?" Jiang Huai asked. After carefully observing the environment, he said, "Hey, why am I at home? I was clearly at the Huaichun Tower for a banquet yesterday, but how come I can't remember anything about yesterday?"
"Brother Jiang, you mean you were drinking with someone in Huaichun Tower yesterday, but somehow you went home, and you don't remember anything about yesterday." Gu Yanzhou said
"That's true." Jiang Huai said
"Brother Jiang, do you still remember who you were with in Huaichun Tower yesterday, and why you drank and talked together?" Pei Linyan asked.
"Yesterday, I had a great chat with the governors of Zibo, Langya, and Jiaodong. Since we were all from the same hometown, we drank and chatted happily. I had a great time. After a few drinks, I lost my memory and woke up to see you two." Jiang Huai said
"What kind of strange things might have happened during that period?" Gu Yanzhou said
"Yesterday, I only remember that the four of us sat down and started drinking. Then a girl called... Chunhua, started playing the piano. When the song ended, I have no memory of it." Jiang Huai said
"But what other details are there? Even the most insignificant ones, such as what you ate, what music you listened to, what you smelled?" Pei Linyan asked
"This... I suddenly remembered that the incense last night was very unique. It was not like the Yuchun Xinke we used to use before. It was a strange fragrance. I asked what kind of fragrance it was, but no one answered me, so we didn't pay much attention to it." Jiang Huai said
"Could the problem be the fragrance? Then why is there no smell in the room?" Gu Yanzhou asked
"By the way, why did Brother Gu come here? What happened?" Jiang Huai said
"The governor of Zibo was found dead in Huaichun Tower today." Pei Linyan said
"How could this be? Who is responsible for this murder? Brother Gu, Brother Pei, you two must thoroughly investigate this matter and bring the murderer to justice." Jiang Huai said
"We will investigate this matter thoroughly and will not let the deceased be wronged or the murderer go unpunished. Don't worry, Brother Jiang, you should take good care of yourself and don't be sad. If you think of any clues, you can come to Qingju to find us." Gu Yanzhou said
"Of course." Jiang Huai said
The two walked out of Jiang's house and headed towards the post station. "Yan'er, do you think Jiang Huai is hiding something?" Pei Linyan asked.
"I also feel that Jiang Huai is hiding something. First, it's strange that these three prefects came all the way to the capital and didn't go to the palace to see the emperor. What's more, he didn't even visit the Prime Minister or the Imperial Censor, but instead went to the Junior Householder. This is puzzling to me. Second, even if the four of them were from the same hometown, they would have met at the Jiang Mansion or the post station. Why did they choose Huaichun Tower, a place full of bad people? Third, when the prefect of Zibo died suddenly, Jiang Huai had no alibi, so he is also a suspect. What was his motive?" Gu Yanzhou said
"That's why I find it strange. The four of them must have something to hide, so they have to hide it from others and secretly gather in Huaichun Tower." Pei Linyan said
"At this point, the only option is to go to the post station and find the other two to find out what's going on." Gu Yanzhou said
The two quickened their pace.
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