Chapter 34: Unraveling the Mystery
After everything was checked, Qiandeng walked out of the charity cemetery, took off his mask, and washed his hands in the mountain stream at the door.
Listening to the birdsong in the stream beside me, smelling the green grass and wild flowers in front of me, and looking at the blue sky and flowing clouds in the distance, I felt like I had just escaped from a nightmare, as if I were in another world.
Qiandeng climbed onto the carriage with trembling legs, and they started their return journey.
Ling Tianshui and Cui Fufeng were in the car looking over the autopsy report she had just recorded to check if there were any omissions.
At first, her handwriting seemed messy and weak, but gradually, it became more and more clear and crisp as time went on. One could imagine her gradually calming mood.
Cui Fufeng looked at Qian Deng with satisfaction and said, "This dossier from the County Master is well-written with all the details and points of doubt clearly listed."
Qiandeng pursed her lips silently and nodded at him.
Ling Tianshui held the file and said affirmatively, "Based on this, the possibility that Meng Lanxi murdered Yu Guangling is extremely small."
Cui Fufeng nodded. "Meng Lanxi has practiced tea ceremony since childhood and has a thin build. It's obviously impossible for him to deliver such a devastating blow with such a short, blunt dagger."
"Although people may unleash extraordinary strength in certain desperate moments," Ling Tianshui said, gesturing with his fingers to the depth and angle of the wound, shaking his head. "But even if Meng Lanxi unleashed incredible strength, she couldn't do that. Anyone who could raise the dagger this high and thrust it straight into the wound must be at least a head taller than Yu Guangling."
Meng Lanxi was only slightly taller than Yu Guangling. Raising the dagger to chest height and stabbing it at this angle would not only be awkward, but would also make it impossible to exert any strength.
Cui Fufeng thought thoughtfully: "This can be regarded as decisive evidence, enough to clear Meng Lanxi of suspicion."
"But, we still haven't been able to identify the murderer and find someone who meets the description." Qian Deng reminded, "Among all my candidates for husband, and among the suspects in the Imperial College that day, no one meets the above conditions."
Cui Fufeng agreed: "Most of the students in the Imperial Academy are weak scholars, and there are probably no people with such strength. And there are no candidates for the county lady's husband who are of such height. For those with great strength, Ji Linyou may be one, as he has learned martial arts since childhood, but..."
He recalled the situation in the county lord's backyard just now, when Ling Tianshui subdued Ji Linyou as soon as the two met.
"His strength and size are far inferior to yours. Moreover, on the day of the incident, he was in the Imperial Guard and had never been near the Imperial College." Cui Fufeng sized him up and said, "In that case, you are more suspicious than he is."
Ling Tianshui sneered: "It's a pity that I have no motivation and no time."
Cui Fufeng pondered, "Those with motives lack the ability, and those with the ability lack the opportunity. This case of Yu Guangling... seems a bit tricky."
"Since it's difficult to identify the murderer based on the method of murder, what about interpersonal relationships?"
Yu Guangling was a gentle, modest, and quiet person, and he never made enemies with anyone in the Imperial College. The cause of his death could only be attributed to one thing:
He was the first to surface and became the most likely candidate to be the husband-in-law.
"Come, let's sort out the suspects."
The carriage headed all the way to Chang'an. On the bumpy mountain road, Cui Fufeng spread out the files in his hand, re-sorted the seven candidates in the backyard, and inferred the possibility of each person's crime.
"Jintang."
There was a murder weapon and an opportunity to attack Guangling, but Zheng Junshan's death cleared his name and made him the most unlikely person.
"Meng Lanxi."
With his strength, he was not capable of killing Yu Guangling in this way, but he was almost certainly the murderer of Zheng Junshan.
"Xue Xiyang."
He had the opportunity to take action in the death of Yu Guangling, but firstly, he was as incapable as Meng Lanxi, and secondly, he was in the Taiyue Office when Zheng Junshan got into trouble, so it was impossible for him to commit the crime.
"Ji Linyou."
He was a man with both ability and motive, but he was not in the Imperial College when Yu Guangling died, and he was always with Qiandeng when Zheng Junshan died, so it was impossible for him to have had time to commit the crime.
"Shangluo."
He was in the Imperial College when both cases occurred, making him a rare opportunity to take action. However, he was not big enough, and when the former case occurred, he was with Qian Deng, and in the latter case, he was sent by Zheng Junshan to tip off the police, making it impossible for him to take action.
As for Yan Penglai and Shi Jingning, they really have nothing to do with the Imperial College, so there is no need to investigate.
After studying the county lord's backyard, their attention turned to the Imperial College.
There were only a handful of people in the Imperial College who could be studied, and some of them overlapped with the candidates.
Qian Deng recalled the events of that day and said, "Before Yu Guangling's accident, Shangluo and I were together. We watched Yu Guangling approach from the podium. Xue Xiyang was changing his robes, so he was about a quarter of an hour late. Everyone in the Imperial College had already gathered at the podium. The only ones who were late or absent were Jin Tang, Meng Lanxi, and Xue Xiyang. In addition, there was Jian Anting, who was accompanying Yu Guangling."
Cui Fufeng, having studied the case in detail and having an impression of Jian Anting, said, "His possibility is also very small. First, his stature is similar to Yu Guangling's, and he is also a frail scholar. Second, they separated before Yu Guangling entered the alley."
"Yes, Shangluo and I personally witnessed him and Yu Guangling separate from each other on the podium. Later, when we came from the library, we definitely did not go near the alley where the accident happened."
After searching for a while without any results and clues, they decided to investigate the traces of Zheng Junshan's death first.
Qiandeng opened the front window and said to the driver, "Change the route and go to the Imperial College."
The carriage had just arrived at the gate of the Imperial College and had not yet stopped when Qiandeng heard the bustling sounds coming from inside. The ordinary school was now as noisy as a vegetable market.
The three of them looked at each other and got off the car one after another.
Qiandeng put on his veil and looked down. He saw a large group of students gathered at the entrance of the Imperial College, shouting one after another: "I, I, I, I have a clue!"
Ling Tianshui, taller than everyone else, effortlessly passed over the crowd. He spotted a middle-aged man in the middle of the crowd, who looked like a housekeeper. He was leading two accountants in setting up tables. He shouted, "Don't rush! Don't push! The Jin family will reward you handsomely for any clues you can provide! Any clue related to the Yu Guangling case, no matter how big or small, will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver. If you can provide important evidence that clears our young master of his innocence, the Jin family will reward you with a thousand taels of silver. We won't break our promise!"
When they heard the word "a thousand gold coins", everyone's eyes turned green and they rushed to get the reward, fearing that the person in front of them would have told all the clues and they would not be able to get the reward.
"Don't push! Line up and come one by one!"
The housekeeper of the Jin Mansion was very imposing, and the guards who maintained order immediately stretched out their hands to signal the students to line up.
Qiandeng and the other two looked at each other, knowing that the Jin family had learned that there was room for maneuver in the Jintang matter, and considering whether someone else might have the same evidence as Zheng Junshan, they simply took the initiative to come to the Imperial College to look for clues.
Anyway, the Jin family is the richest family in Chang'an, so spending money like water is not a problem at all. The three of them just watched the excitement from the side for a while to see if they could get any useful evidence.
"Butler Jin, I found a handkerchief half-buried in the mud near the library. Do you think someone dipped a handkerchief in aphrodisiac on the day of the murder, knocked Yu Guangling unconscious, and then dragged him into the alley and murdered him?"
"Oh, really?" Butler Jin was twirling his beard in thought when someone behind him sneered and asked, "The handkerchief you're talking about, isn't it the light gray one with a cyan-blue border?"
"Ah, this..." The student who provided the evidence was obviously hit on the head and was stunned.
"That was blown away by the wind when I passed by last month. I was too lazy to pick it up from the trash because it was too old!"
Amid the laughter of the crowd, the student covered his face and ran away quickly.
"Butler Jin, I heard Zheng Junshan was an expert in studying the I Ching and was skilled in divination. He must have figured out who killed Yu Guangling and was murdered by the murderer. Let's search his house and see what he predicted. We're sure to find something!"
Before Butler Jin could reply, someone behind him retorted, "Ridiculous! If Zheng Junshan was truly that powerful, why didn't he foresee that Guangling would die and he would lose everything?"
"Butler Jin, I saw a circus at the West Market the other day. That young lady blindfolded herself and flew her sword, hitting the target with every strike. Do you think there was someone with great martial arts skills hiding in the shadows who sent a flying knife through Yu Guangling?"
"Get lost! Young lady, you're sending flying knives in the West Market. Are you going to give the Imperial College a blow?"
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