Chapter 100 seems custom-made.
Pei Lin stroked the inkstone in his hand, then asked calmly, "What evidence are you talking about? Where is it now?"
Wang Fuxing explained, "It's...it's the handkerchief Xu Wangshi used to wipe the murder weapon!"
Last night, as Biying instructed, I piled up the blood-stained cloths and clothes in the mourning hall to burn. When I was halfway through burning them, I noticed the handkerchief.
The pattern of a dagger was clearly printed on it!
You said that Xu Wangshi wiped the dagger without knowing how. Logically speaking, if we wiped it, wouldn't the blood be all smeared together?
I didn't burn it; I secretly hid it.
Pei Lin raised an eyebrow and tapped the edge of the inkstone twice with his fingertips: "Even if there are patterns, it only proves that the handkerchief was touched by the murder weapon, and it may not directly identify Xu Wangshi as the murderer."
Wang Fuxing: "Sir, you are unaware of the truth!"
That dagger was a personal item of Madam Xu, and it was extremely precious!
During the day, she always carried the dagger close to her body, never letting it out of her sight, and even at night she kept it under her pillow. No one but her was allowed to touch it!
A few years ago, she was going to a banquet at a nobleman's estate in the suburbs. She got up early and left in a hurry, leaving her dagger in the house.
The maid in charge of making the bed was unaware of the situation. Seeing the dagger under the pillow, she casually placed it on the dressing table.
As a result, she had only been out of the mansion for less than half an incense stick's time when she rode back on horseback. As soon as she entered the door, she searched through the pillows but couldn't find the dagger. She went mad on the spot!
She pointed at the maids in the room and shouted, "You must have stolen my things!" She even ordered her men to drag all the maids out and beat them to death!
The maid was terrified and quickly took the dagger from the dressing table and gave it to her.
She slapped him hard across the face and yelled, "Your filthy hands are not worthy to touch this thing!"
In the end, Wang Heng sold the little maid directly.
I heard she was sold to one of those brothels in the south of the city that cater to that kind of people. These days, she'd probably have a hard time surviving.
Pei Lin asked in a deep voice, "Where do you keep this handkerchief now?"
“It’s right on me,” Wang Fuxing said, and began to tear at his clothes.
Xiao Yunzhan sat next to her, his eyes unconsciously glancing towards Pei Zhiwei out of the corner of his eye.
Normally, an unmarried young woman would avoid looking at a man who is tearing at her clothes in public.
Pei Zhiwei, however, showed no sign of anything amiss. Her gaze remained fixed on Wang Fuxing, as if he were not a man with his clothes half-open, but rather a piece of evidence awaiting examination.
He glanced at Pei Lin again, but the father remained calm, staring intently at Wang Fuxing, as if he didn't see anything wrong with his daughter looking at a man and pulling at his clothes.
At this moment, Wang Fuxing took out an object wrapped in oil paper from the inner pocket of his inner garment, unwrapped it layer by layer, revealing a plain handkerchief.
The handkerchief looked new, but there was a dark bloodstain in the middle, and the pattern outlined by the bloodstain was indeed quite clear.
The curvature of the blade and the patterns and shape of the blade are clearly visible.
"At first, I really intended to burn everything that was stained with blood." Wang Fuxing handed the handkerchief to the approaching yamen runner, his voice tinged with relief.
"But when I turned over this handkerchief, I suddenly realized that if Xu Wangshi could even harm her own brother, would she still be able to forgive me if she remembered that I had been involved in these things?"
I just wanted to be on the safe side, so that if something happened in the future, I'd have something to protect myself.
The bailiff presented the handkerchief to Pei Lin, and Pei Zhiwei also moved closer.
She didn't touch the handkerchief directly, but carefully examined the patterns left by the bloodstains.
Judging from the bloodstains, this dagger is indeed unusual. There is a groove in the middle of the blade for bleeding, and the sides are engraved with patterns that are hard to identify, making it look like a custom-made design by a blacksmith.
Then I remembered what the coroner Han had said before, "the blade is nine-tenths of an inch wide," which matched the size printed on the handkerchief perfectly.
Pei Lin gently pinched the two corners of the handkerchief with his fingertips, carefully examining it from both sides to make sure nothing was missing. Then he asked, "Think carefully again, are there any details you missed last night?"
Anything is fine.
Wang Fuxing frowned, unconsciously rubbing his thighs with both hands. After a long while, he hesitated before speaking: "I...I just remembered something strange, but it wasn't last night."
I don't know if it's related to the case.
"Whether it's useful or not, I will decide for myself. Just tell me," Pei Lin said calmly.
"Logically speaking, Wang Jingzong is Xu Wangshi's own brother. Coming to Yangdu for the funeral and helping her take charge of the overall situation is a way of supporting her, right?"
Logically speaking, this should be in her best interest. "Wang Fuxing said doubtfully.
"But ever since Wang Jingzong entered the Xu residence, Madam Xu has had Biying and me keep an eye on him."
Biying would even pick up the scraps of paper he had used and examine them carefully.
Wang Jingzong was also strange in his interactions with people; he mostly spoke to people alone, and his voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
Bi Ying sent someone to eavesdrop, but even that was impossible to hear a single word.
He paused, his face full of confusion: "The strangest thing is that when the brother and sister meet, they seem very polite to each other, but there always seems to be something between them."
Once, I passed by the main hall and saw Wang Jingzong hand a letter to Xu Wangshi. When Xu Wangshi received the letter, she deliberately avoided touching the places where Wang Jingzong had touched, as if she did not want to touch anything dirty.
The way Wang Jingzong looked at her wasn't like he was looking at a younger sister; it was more like he was looking at an object.
"Is there anything else?" Pei Lin pressed.
Wang Fuxing shook his head. "That's all. It just feels like these two are wary of each other, not like a family."
Pei Lin was silent for a moment, then changed the subject: "You've been in the Xu residence for so long, what do you think of the relationship between Madam Xu and Xu Fengyan, Xu Li, and Xu Ren, the father and sons?"
“Everything is fine!” Wang Fuxing replied without hesitation.
"Xu Wangshi comes from a large family, has a broad perspective, and is tolerant of others."
She treated Xu Fengyan's concubines, as well as the two young masters, Xu Li and Xu Ren, fairly.
Xu Li was the legitimate son, so there was no need to say anything about him. Even Xu Ren, the illegitimate son, was not mistreated. She prepared just as many gifts for him as for Xu Li during festivals.
The servants in the manor all said that the Xu family was very fortunate to have such a mistress.
Pei Lin: "Then do you know that Wang Heng has been stirring up trouble between Xu Ren, Xu Li, and Xu Fengyan?"
At this point, Wang Fuxing's eyes lit up immediately, "You even found out about this?!"
I know! I knew about this from the very beginning!
"You told Biying about this?" Pei Lin pressed.
“I did!” Wang Fuxing nodded.
"At the time, I thought it was Xu Wangshi's idea. After all, everyone knows that Wang Heng is Xu Wangshi's confidant, and everything he does must be at Xu Wangshi's behest."
I was thinking that if I helped to instigate things, I might win her favor and get some benefits in the future.
But as soon as I mentioned it to Biying, she got anxious and said, "This is not what Madam wants. You must not get involved, or you will suffer the consequences!"
I was secretly relieved that I hadn't acted on my own.
I thought that after Biying said that, Wang Heng would be disliked by his wife in a few days, and I would be able to take his place.
But after waiting for a long time, Wang Heng was still perfectly fine, continuing to do what he was doing as usual.
Pei Lin: "Don't you find it strange?"
"Why don't you think so?" Wang Fuxing raised his voice slightly.
“I asked Biying, and Biying said that the lady is sentimental and soft-hearted, and has warned Wang Heng many times in private.”
But Wang Heng always tried to please his wife, and she couldn't do anything about it, so she could only sulk.
At that moment, I was thinking about whether I should give my wife a push and help her harden her heart.
But Biying added that Wang Heng could only be dealt with by the Madam herself. If anyone else dared to cause trouble behind the scenes, the Madam would definitely not forgive them.
So I gave up on that idea.
Pei Lin: "Do you know if there is anything more between Madam Xu and Wang Heng than the relationship between master and servant?"
Wang Fuxing paused, but immediately replied, "Actually, everyone in the mansion knows that Wang Heng has feelings for Xu Wangshi."
The way he looked at Xu Wangshi was different!
But when Xu Wangshi looked at him, it was no different from how she looked at me or any other servant.
We servants all know that Wang Heng has had a crush on Xu Wangshi since childhood, but given Xu Wangshi's social status, how could she possibly be interested in him?
They just treated him as a trusted confidant.
"Does Xu Fengyan know about this?" Pei Lin asked, somewhat puzzled. According to Wang Fuxing, Wang Heng's thoughts were not to be hidden at all.
"He just watched as someone who was eyeing his wife loitered around in front of him, and he didn't say anything?"
Wang Fuxing: "You know what, I actually asked Biying about this."
Biying said that the master had once subtly suggested to the madam that Wang Heng should become the manager of a shop outside the city instead of being the steward in the mansion.
But Madam said that Wang Heng had been with her since he was a child, and she would not be used to losing either Biying or Wang Heng.
The master already felt it was his good fortune to marry his wife, and he couldn't find any fault with her. Afraid of upsetting her, he didn't bring it up again.
Pei Lin was silent for a moment, then asked, "Do you think it's possible that Madam Xu plotted to murder Xu Fengyan, Xu Li, and Xu Ren in order to seize the Xu family's assets?"
Wang Fuxing opened his mouth, and after a long while, he sighed and said, "If I hadn't seen Xu Wangshi kill Wang Jingzong with my own eyes last night, I would definitely say it's impossible if you asked me this."
Xu Wangshi treated the Xu family father and son so well, how could she do such a thing?
But now... now I'm really not sure."
Pei Lin nodded and didn't ask any further questions. He said to the constable, "Take him away first, find him a clean room to stay in, and give him some paper and pen."
Tell him to write down everything he has seen and found strange at the Xu residence over the years.
Whether it's related to the case or not, if he feels something is amiss, he must write it down and submit it to the official.
The constable responded and helped Wang Fuxing out.
Only after Wang Fuxing's figure had completely disappeared outside the door did Pei Lin stand up and straighten his official robes.
When he looked at Liu Jingchang, his eyes were full of determination.
"Let's go and search the Xu residence."
The search should focus on Wang's residence and places Biying frequents.
Tell them to be thorough, then inform the yamen runners who questioned them earlier, and to focus their questioning on Xu Wangshi's personal servants and those who are on good terms with Biying.
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