Chapter 12 Chapter 12 “Your clothes are stained with blood, change them.
After leaving the prison, Zhu Song stood at the door and looked up at the sky. It was already bright, with blue sky and white clouds, and the sun was as bright yellow as a freshly peeled salted duck egg yolk.
The faint sound of crying still lingered in his ears, making Zhu Song's face look a little ugly. After waiting for a long time, Gu Huaiyu finally came out. Seeing Zhu Song, he was still a little stunned, "I thought you left."
Zhu Song turned his head to look at him, and saw that his eyes were slightly red. He was very puzzled, "You..."
Gu Huaiyu quickly turned his face away and changed the subject, "Is the painter here?"
Seeing that he didn't want to talk anymore, Zhu Song stopped talking and followed his lead, saying, "I've already gone and invited them."
Gu Huaiyu said: "There is something very wrong with the man behind Zhuqingyuan."
"Yeah." Zhu Song knew he had a serious problem. Intentional homicide was a capital offense. "Keep an eye on Lin Feng. Make sure you draw the portrait as soon as possible."
"Um."
Zhu Song finished his words and left. After taking two steps, he turned and looked at Gu Huaiyu, with some worry between his brows. "How about you go and investigate those who cooperated with Lin Feng, and I'll keep an eye on them?"
Gu Huaiyu's skills are not as good as Zhu Song's, and the division of labor between the two has always been clear. However, Zhu Song has never encountered a case that can cause Gu Huaiyu to be emotionally shaken, so he is very worried.
Gu Huaiyu refused him, "No need, go ahead. I just feel sorry for him."
Zhu Song couldn't tell whether he felt pity or not. He took two steps forward, came to Gu Huaiyu, and patted his shoulder. "Once the case is clear, we will go to the emperor and plead for him. We will definitely be able to save him."
Gu Huaiyu met his eyes, pursed her lips and smiled, then lightly punched him in the chest and replied, "Yeah."
The atmosphere suddenly became relaxed, and Zhu Song left with peace of mind.
Zhu Song first came to Xuanyin Pavilion and found Lichun, but what Lichun said was completely different from what Lin Feng said.
Lichun was still terrified when he thought about what happened that night. He clutched his chest, shocked and aggrieved. "Sir, I'm innocent. I never knew any Lin Feng. How could he so easily accuse me? I'm absolutely a simple victim. I didn't collude with anyone to put on this show."
Zhu Song didn't say much and directly asked the yamen runner to take the man away. "If you have anything to say, we can talk about it back at the Dali Temple."
"Sir, we at Xuanyin Pavilion are innocent and will never collude with anyone. Please be careful."
Zhu Song looked at the beauty in front of him and asked, "Are you the boss?"
"My slave Xia Zhi is only a few years older than me, but I am not the boss."
Zhu Song asked, "Where is your boss?"
Xia Zhi replied, "The boss is out and hasn't returned yet, so I'm here to take over the store's responsibilities."
Zhu Song frowned, "Where is your boss?"
"He went to Yangzhou for a trip," Xia Zhi said, adding, "He goes there every year at this time."
Zhu Song didn't ask any more questions, "Since the boss is not here, then you can come with us."
Compared to Lichun who was crying, Xiazhi was much more steady. He responded and then took Lichun's arm and followed Zhusong out the door. He didn't look like a suspect but someone who was going to collect a debt.
Zhu Song summoned a yamen runner and whispered, "Go to Jingzhao Prefecture to find Lao Qu and find out who is the boss behind this Xuanyin Pavilion."
The bailiff nodded and ran away quickly.
Zhu Song had just returned to the Dali Temple when he heard a cry of alarm from the direction of the prison. Zhu Song hurried over. The prison was in chaos. The most eye-catching thing was Lin Feng, who was bleeding from all seven orifices. Gu Huaiyu held him in his arms and patted his face repeatedly, "Lin Feng, Lin Feng."
But Lin Feng didn't react at all. Zhu Song could tell at a glance that he was dead.
At this time, Xu Lizhu and the others also rushed over after receiving the news. Seeing this situation, they panicked and hurried over to shout, "Lin Feng, Lin Feng!"
Zhu Song walked over and held Gu Huaiyu's shoulders, stretched out his hand to Gu Huaiyu, and whispered, "Huaiyu."
Gu Huaiyu was stunned. When he heard the voice, he looked up at him. Then, as if he realized something, he handed Lin Feng in his arms to Xu Lizhu, and then held Zhu Song's hand.
Zhu Song pulled Gu Huaiyu up and saw that he was covered in blood. He asked anxiously, "Are you okay?"
Gu Huaiyu shook his head, "It's okay."
Zhu Song helped Gu Huaiyu sit down on a chair, and then asked the people present, "What on earth is going on?"
The jailer replied, "Painter Zhang was painting according to Lin Feng's description. It was breakfast time, and the kitchen staff came to ask if he wanted his meal. When they brought it over, Lin Feng took a sip of water and collapsed, convulsing. Then, blood began to flow from all seven orifices...that's it."
Zhu Song frowned. He had killed people in the Dali Temple time and time again, and he really thought that there was no one left in the Dali Temple.
"Call the coroner to perform an autopsy."
The jailer hurried over. Zhu Song glanced coldly at everyone present and said, "Take the person who delivered the meal to the front hall."
"yes."
After Zhu Song gave the order, he looked at the painter. The painting on the easel was almost finished. It showed a man wearing a black mask with an apricot blossom pattern, dressed in black, with long flowing hair. However, he had a fierce aura, not like the weak doctors, but more like a warrior.
Zhu Song asked, "What else?"
Painter Zhang replied honestly, "I haven't started the draft of the other one yet."
At this time, Gu Huaiyu took over the conversation, "When Painter Zhang was revising the manuscript, Lin Feng told me the characteristics of the other person. I repeated it to Painter Zhang, but the details may be a little off."
Zhu Song nodded and said, "Let's go to the front hall and paint."
The reason why we chose to paint the portrait in the prison was to prevent accidents, but we didn't expect that despite all the precautions, it still couldn't be prevented.
Painter Zhang responded, stood up and packed his things.
The coroner arrived soon. Zhu Song didn't need to stay here anymore, but he was worried about Gu Huaiyu, so he asked him softly, "How is it? Can you walk?"
Gu Huaiyu looked up at him without saying a word. Seeing this, Zhu Song directly took his hand and said, "Let's go out and get some fresh air."
The two of them left the prison one after the other. The bright sunlight was so dazzling that Gu Huaiyu stopped in his tracks. Zhu Song also stopped as he was led by him. He looked back and saw two lines of tears on Gu Huaiyu's face. He was already extremely handsome, and the sight of him crying was so touching. Zhu Song sighed, not knowing how to comfort him. In the end, he just called out, "Huaiyu."
Gu Huaiyu narrowed his eyes and said with a nasal tone, "It's okay."
Painter Zhang followed behind the two of them and saw them holding hands and blinking their eyes. He felt he was in a dilemma.
Zhu Song saw him and said to him, "Go to the front hall and wait."
Painter Zhang responded and hurried away, turning back to look at them even after he had walked quite a distance. Gu Huaiyu noticed that his gaze was a little hot, but Zhu Song seemed oblivious.
Zhu Song took Gu Huaiyu to his own room and said, "Your clothes are stained with blood. Change them."
Hearing him say that, Gu Huaiyu subconsciously untied his belt. Zhu Song sat in the room, looking out the window and thinking about what happened today.
"Blessings."
Hearing Gu Huaiyu calling him, Zhu Song turned around to look at him and found that he had not changed his clothes. "What's wrong?"
Gu Huaiyu asked, "Aren't you going out?"
Zhu Song frowned at this. When did they become so estranged from each other? Although Zhu Song was puzzled, his heart was not on it at the moment. He just walked out as he was told.
Zhu Song stood at the door and waited for a while before Gu Huaiyu came out. Zhu Song looked at his normal expression and felt relieved. "Are you okay now?"
Gu Huaiyu said calmly: "It's okay."
Zhu Song said, "Then you go to the front hall, and I will go to interrogate Lichun."
"Um"
Gu Huaiyu responded and the two of them went their separate ways.
Zhu Song had just arrived at the front hall, and before the trial had even begun, a yamen runner hurried in and said, "Sir, Li Mingsi has come to surrender."
Zhu Song frowned, "That old man?"
The yamen runner replied, "No, not that old, it's another one."
"Bring it in."
Soon a middle-aged man was brought in by the yamen runners, "Sir, this is him who has come to surrender."
Li Mingsi knelt down and said, "Sir, I am here to turn myself in. I was the one who did what happened to the Lin family."
Zhu Song felt something was wrong, but that didn't stop him from interrogating. "Tell the truth."
Li Mingsi started talking.
He and Lin Sicheng were business buddies, but his jade business was going from bad to worse, while Lin Sicheng's business was not only doing better but also had a beautiful wife. After learning that Lin Sicheng had won a priceless red coral, he became even more jealous. He went to Lin Sicheng to borrow money, but Lin Sicheng refused to lend him the money and even mocked him.
After being rejected, he became angrier and angrier. After drinking two liang of wine, he came up with a bold idea: to steal Lin Sicheng's red coral. That way, he could not only pay off his debt, but also live a worry-free life.
He did what he said. That night, he took advantage of the cover of darkness and sneaked into Shuyun Villa. What he didn't expect was that Lin Sicheng was actually sleeping with Hong Shanhu. But since he was there, there was no reason for him to return empty-handed. Besides, he knew that Lin Sicheng was a deep sleeper and would not wake up easily.
So he tiptoed towards the red coral and successfully touched it. But to his surprise, the red coral was particularly heavy. He had drunk some wine and his mind was groggy. When he passed by Lin Sicheng's bed, he happened to see Lin Sicheng open his eyes.
He was so frightened that his hand shook and the red coral fell on Lin Sicheng's head, killing him instantly.
He was stimulated by the bright red blood and sobered up instantly. He quickly wrapped Lin Sicheng in a quilt, stuffed him under the bed, and quickly wiped the blood off the scene.
It was almost dawn when he came out of Shuyun Villa holding Hong Shanhu, but he knew that the matter could not be kept secret for long. Instead of waiting for the truth to be exposed and killing someone to pay with his life, it would be better to do it completely.
He sold the red coral as quickly as possible and then spent half of the money to hire a killer on the black market.
He was lucky. The Lin family incident came to an end and no one doubted the authenticity of the fire. He was able to live a carefree life with the remaining money.
Until three years later, he drank late and met a beggar on his way home. He saw at first sight that the beggar was extremely beautiful. He immediately fell in love with the beggar and took him to his small courtyard in the suburbs. Since he already had a wife at home, he was afraid that the matter would be exposed, so he kept wearing a mask.
Years ago, he suddenly told me that he was the only one who survived the Lin family fire and that his family was killed. I was so scared that the stable life I had worked so hard to build for so many years would be gone from me, so I killed him.
However, a few months later, I found out that he was not dead after all, and he even reported all these things to the Dali Temple. I was so scared that I went to the black market to find someone and spent 100,000 taels of silver to buy his life.
But my house has been haunted since last night, and my son has been having nightmares. We asked a high monk to take a look, and he said that his sins were too heavy, and that he could only be cured by eliminating his sins, otherwise he would have to pay with his life.
I am fifty-three years old, but my son is only eleven.
My Lord, I am the one who deserves death. I plead guilty and I know I was wrong."
Li Mingsi burst into tears at the end and fell to the ground.
Xia Zhi, who was standing next to him, heard what he said and said, "Master Zhu, since the criminal has been caught and has nothing to do with us, we can go back now."
Zhu Song looked at Li Mingsi in silence for a moment, then turned to Xia Zhi and said, "Since there is nothing for you to do now, go back."
Xia Zhi and Li Chun bowed and turned to leave the Dali Temple.
Zhu Song looked at their backs with a deep gaze. Before he could say anything, Li Mingsi suddenly stood up, raised his hands and shouted to the sky, "It's all my fault. If you want to find someone, find me. Let my child go." After that, he gathered all his strength and crashed into the pillar in the hall and died on the spot.
Zhu Song suddenly stood up, staring at Li Mingsi's corpse with a frown on his face. The yamen runners were also shocked by his gesture, "Sir, this..."
Zhu Song clenched his fists slightly and said, "Take him to the morgue and have the coroner perform an autopsy."
"yes."
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