Chapter 64 The Third Death
The murderer who killed people calmly and ruthlessly was standing quietly in front of them.
Even though the crime had been exposed, Meng Lanxi just pursed her lips silently, looking deeply at Qiandeng, with a pair of deep dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth.
But against the backdrop of the two coffins, the dimples no longer had the sweetness and intoxication of the past, but only felt eerie.
Everyone in the room stared at him in surprise and astonishment, not knowing how to react.
But in the end, Ling Tianshui silently tightened his jaw and stood in front of Meng Lanxi.
"I know he's guilty of countless crimes, punishable by death. But, please forgive me, Lady Meng. I... can't let Madam Meng rest in peace in her grave." He said hoarsely, "I promise you and everyone present here that there will be no more Meng Lanxi in this world. He will never do anything to harm others again, and he will disappear from this world forever."
Qian Deng stared at him intently, not knowing whether it was out of regret or disappointment. There was no longer any emotion from the past in her eyes, only a cold edge.
Ling Tianshui felt as if his heart had been hit hard, and his breathing stagnated slightly.
He heard her voice, which was as cold as her gaze: "Even if Meng Lanxi, out of selfish selfishness, interfered and completely cut off Madam Meng's hopes for half her life?"
She...finally found out.
Even though she had already exposed the two murders, Meng Lanxi, who was hiding behind Ling Tianshui, finally felt despair and fear in her heart.
He saw the determined light in Ling Tianshui's eyes that had originally been dedicated to protecting him begin to flicker. Although he didn't believe it, he still asked, "What?"
"Otherwise, why do you think Meng Lanxi wanted to kill Jin Tang? Although they had always been at odds, it had never reached the point where they had to kill each other. However, when I think carefully about it, I remember that night at the manor, when Jin Tang told me something—it was that thing that forced Meng Lanxi to act immediately, even at the cost of killing, to cover up his crimes from that year..."
Before she finished speaking, she raised her hand and pointed at Jin Jingting's rotten coffin.
"That night, Jin Tang said that his seventh uncle's grave had been washed away, and he planned to move it when he returned."
When he was speaking, the other gentlemen were also present, and they all suddenly remembered it.
"Because of Jin Tang's death, the relocation of the grave has naturally been delayed. However, the matter that made Meng Lanxi risk sneaking in here, even at the cost of killing people, to cover it up, I believe must be in this coffin, and it will never be erased!"
Everyone's eyes were focused on the two coffins, with expressions of surprise on their faces.
"In fact, Madam Meng's coffin remains untouched in the tomb. The so-called joint burial was merely a pretense to lure Mr. Meng out of his lair. As expected, after you learned the news, you immediately sneaked in and attempted to burn the coffin and destroy the body. Clearly, you're trying to conceal the most crucial evidence!"
As soon as Qiandeng finished speaking, Mingjiu immediately jumped up, took the tools from the corner, and tried to pry open the coffin lid with force.
The rotten coffin lid could not withstand gravity and a big hole was immediately opened.
Ling Tianshui's gaze slowly moved from Meng Lanxi's dead-looking gray-green face, and he strode towards the coffin and looked inside.
The flesh and blood of the corpse in the coffin had long since decayed, revealing the bones underneath, which were dark blue and black, a shocking sight.
Qian Deng didn't look, but she already knew what had happened. She asked, "Ling Tianshui, you're the best at examining corpses. Tell me, what was the cause of death for Jin Jingting, the deceased in the coffin?"
Ling Tianshui didn't answer. He grabbed the broken coffin lid and lifted it up with force, completely revealing the corpse underneath.
He came in a hurry and naturally did not bring any tools for autopsy, so he just pulled out the dagger he carried with him, and picked apart the rotten clothes along the throat to the chest and abdomen, carefully examining the bones.
After a long while, he finally straightened up, wiped the dagger clean, and spoke in a cold voice, "The deceased was poisoned. There are impact marks on the back of the skull. It is believed that the body was numb and stiff after the poisoning, so he fell from a height and hit his head and died."
"The body becomes numb and unconscious after being poisoned... It sounds like this poison is exactly the same as the one Jin Tang and Meng Yongshun were poisoned with." Qian Deng said, looking at Cui Fufeng, "Shaoqing Cui, do you remember the official cause of Jin Jingting's death?"
Cui Fufeng was well-informed and had a strong memory. He had already consulted the files from that year, so he immediately replied, "I remember. It happened nine years ago, on the morning of the fourth day of the eighth month. Women who were washing clothes near Huaizhenfang heard the hurried sound of horse hooves on the bridge. Looking up, they happened to see a man on horseback fall off. The bridge was quite high, and the man on horseback was immediately hit, bleeding profusely. He died. People in the neighborhood screamed and gathered around. They smelled alcohol on him and knew he must have fallen off his horse while drunk. They rushed him to the infirmary, but he was already dead and was refused entry before they even entered. A bystander recognized him as Jin Baojing, the seventh son of the Jin family, and quickly returned his body to the Jin family."
"Because multiple witnesses reported he fell off a bridge while riding a horse while drunk, and the clinic refused to admit him due to death, and August was scorching hot, the Jin family hastily buried him. Naturally, they didn't conduct a thorough examination, allowing the accident to be hastily closed." Qian Deng spoke slowly, but without question. "Everyone believed he had an accident after drinking, but I remember Jin Tang and his son both mentioned to me that Jin Jingting finally received the clan's permission to leave and find the woman of his choice at night. However, his accident happened in the early morning. And now his remains show that he died from paralysis after being poisoned and falling off his horse—the aconite poison needs to be injected into food. He knelt in the ancestral hall for two days without eating or drinking, and Jin Tang was caught secretly bringing him cakes. So, where did he get the poison? In other words, who was he drinking with that night?"
In the silence, Cui Fufeng said, "The accident didn't happen when he was going to meet her, but after he came back from the meeting."
"So, could it be the woman he's interested in? Let me be frank. Did Madam Meng drug him? I don't think so. After meeting Jin Jingting, she resolutely moved out of the house they were staying in with her children, proving that Madam Meng had made up her mind. And Jin Jingting evaded the curfew patrols and went to Madam Meng's place. A late-night meeting between a man and a woman shouldn't have been accompanied by anyone else, but I do remember one thing: Mr. Meng, you once hid a jade pendant."
At this point, her gaze passed from Meng Lanxi's gloomy face and turned to Cui Fufeng: "Shaoqing Cui, do you have the jade pendant from Jintang?"
Cui Fufeng was a man who did things meticulously, so he had already prepared it and immediately took it out and handed it to her.
Qiandeng held up the jade pendant and showed it to everyone. "This jade pendant has caused Jin Tang a lot of trouble. First, the soldiers and bandits said the jade belonged to a Uighur leader named Wen who died in the desert eighteen years ago. Then, Prince Mingjiu recognized the jade as his cousin's. Then, Uncle Wei and the others recognized it as belonging to the leader of the caravan that brought delayed supplies during the battle in Huangsha Valley. So, that night, Jin Tang made enemies on all sides because of the jade pendant, and until he was killed, he still didn't know the pendant's origins."
Mingjiu scratched his head and said, "My aunt said it clearly, it's this piece of jade!"
Ji Linyou also said firmly: "Although Jin Tang died unjustly, there must be something wrong with the Jin family in the battle of Huangsha Valley!"
"No, the Jin family performed no wrongdoing in the battle of Yellow Sand Valley." Ling Tianshui, who had been quietly listening to Qian Deng's story, finally spoke up. "The county lord has obtained permission from the Ministry of War. I've been at the Ministry for the past few days, thoroughly investigating the events of Yellow Sand Valley eighteen years ago. Analyzing various clues, it seems the Tibetan bandits who robbed the military supplies were ultimately defeated before they could become a threat. It's unlikely they were colluding with Princess Gao or other factions at court. The Jin family caravan's route clearly avoided the Yellow Sand Valley, proving they hadn't planned this beforehand. The encounter with the bandits was simply a coincidence... The Jin family caravan truly served the country and performed no wrongdoing."
Ji Linyou refused to believe it and blurted out, "I don't believe it! Merchants are driven by profit. If his family had truly made contributions to the court, why would they have kept it secret until now without mentioning a single word?"
"Because the man who helped the Jin family transport the grain was none other than Jin Jingting. He was only fifteen or sixteen at the time, using the excuse of being away from home to study, but in reality, he was secretly learning the art of a knight-errant, traveling with his family's caravan under the alias 'Quan Qi.' Due to the tragic victory at the Battle of Huangsha Valley, the court offered no significant reward. However, if the clan learned of this, they would undoubtedly reprimand him, so he simply chose to remain silent. Unexpectedly, this led to misunderstandings. Now that the events of that year have been clarified, I hope you can explain to the veterans on his behalf."
"Okay, if this is true, I will definitely inform my uncles and aunts, and I will also apologize to the Jin family. We shouldn't have wrongly accused such a loyal and righteous man." Ji Linyou was a straightforward person. After listening to Qian Deng's explanation, he agreed immediately and gave a proper military salute to Jin Jingting's remains. He then said, "Uncle Wei and his men have been brooding over this for eighteen years. Seeing that Jin Tang looks so much like the suspect who missed the opportunity to fight, and that he has the same beautiful jade, they were too extreme and wrongly accused him. I hope the county lady will not blame you."
Everyone witnessed the dispute between Ji Linyou and Jintang that night. Mingjiu, recalling the situation, anxiously asked, "Then how did my cousin die, and how did the jade get to Jintang?"
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