Chapter 4: Old People
On that day, the Changhua Palace was heavily guarded. The palace guards and the East Palace guards were on martial law. No one in the palace went out, and no one from outside could enter.
When the prince left, it was already curfew and the palace gates were closed and locked, making it impossible for anyone to enter or leave.
According to this conclusion, firstly, the Phoenix Lucky Sticks of everyone in the backyard were all there, so the one on the deceased definitely didn't belong to them. Secondly, the poison of Aconitum carmichaelii took effect quickly and was difficult to conceal, so the deceased must have been poisoned that day. However, all the young men were in the palace that day and did not leave, so no one had the opportunity to kill.
"It seems that the Phoenix Lottery Scraps carried by the murderer still need to fall on the other six people who were selected at that time."
Cui Fufeng was thoughtful and had already sent people to the Ministry of Rites' warehouse to transfer the stored items.
The Phoenix Sign was made by the Internal Affairs Bureau and awarded by the imperial court. When the county lord's candidate for husband encountered trouble, it would naturally be collected into the treasury of the Ministry of Rites according to the law.
Not long after, a small box was delivered from the warehouse, and inside it were four Phoenix-attracting sticks.
The last one put in, still stained with blood, belonged to Yan Penglai.
When he jumped down from the Sitian Tower, his blood soaked the silver sachet of Yanyunyinhe that Didi Daishang Qiandeng gave him, and also soaked the Phoenix-attracting stick tied to the sachet.
The one that still has traces of fire is the one that belongs to Shi Jingning.
When he was disfigured and escaping death, he gave the Phoenix-Attracting Stick and his clothes to Yang Huaijiang. A big fire burned the body and also blackened the gold and silver sticks.
The engraved pattern with faint traces of mud is the Phoenix-attracting Sign from Yu Guangling.
The cesspool in the library alley took him away and left an indelible stain on the Phoenix Sign.
Only the one that was recovered first was the cleanest, and that was from Nanyu.
He was stripped of his candidacy and exiled three thousand miles, so the token for choosing a son-in-law was taken over by the Ministry of Rites.
Of the ten Phoenix-Attracting Lots, nine have already been assigned to certain owners. Therefore, the one found on that corpse could only belong to that person...
Qian Deng slowly uttered three words: "Su Yunzhong."
When his crime was exposed, the army was raging in chaos. In the chaos, he neglected this matter and did not take back the Phoenix-Attracting Sign from his body.
On the way back to the city, he fell off a steep cliff, perhaps intending to escape or seeking relief from the condemnation of his conscience, and his body has never been found.
"Ling Sijie, you said that the corpse's left leg showed signs of a fracture from around August or September last year?"
Ling Tianshui confirmed, "Judging from the old fracture line of the leg bone and the callus at the broken end, although the exact time cannot be determined, the fracture should have occurred seven or eight months ago—roughly coinciding with the time Su Yunzhong disappeared."
Cui Fufeng turned his gaze thoughtfully towards Qian Deng. "Does the County Master believe that the unrecognizable body is Su Yunzhong, who escaped after falling off the cliff, and that the leg injury was sustained during his escape?"
"It's possible. What do you think?"
Ling Tianshui didn't know much about the matter, so he asked, "Who escorted Su Yunzhong back to Chang'an, and what happened on the way?"
Cui Fufeng said, "At that time, the war broke out suddenly, and His Majesty fled to Fengtian to avoid the chaos. The court was leaderless, so where could the judicial officials be? I was seriously injured and couldn't take on this task. In the end, we temporarily borrowed a few guards from the Crown Prince and asked them to scout the way back to the city and escort Su Yunzhong there. I remember that the leader was Wei Fengyang."
Wei Fengyang was the prince's personal guard at that time. He made great contributions in protecting the prince during the rebellion. After the rebellion, there were drastic personnel changes. He was promoted to the commander of the Left Guard of the Eastern Palace. Now he has become one of the important figures around the prince.
"Firstly, Su Yunzhong was temporarily assigned to him, and secondly, his mission was to explore the route, not to escort him. Therefore, Su Yunzhong committed suicide out of fear of punishment, so he naturally could not be held accountable. Moreover, the situation was chaotic at the time, so who would have the time to expend manpower to search for the fugitive's body? Later, when I arrived at the Dali Temple, I also sent people to investigate the place where Su Yunzhong had the accident, but that place is known as the Eighteen Bends and the Ghostly Heartbreak. It is the most treacherous part of the mountain. Falling off the cliff would surely lead to death, and there are many tigers and wolves below, so it is really impossible to find him."
Ling Tianshui pondered, "So, it's possible that Su Yunzhong, who disappeared under the cliff, didn't die, but instead broke his leg and escaped with his life."
But if that was the case, since he had managed to escape, he should have hidden his identity and fled far away. Why did he choose to leave a blood letter on the hull when the prince was inspecting?
Qian Deng said, "The most important thing now is to determine the identity of the unidentified corpse so that we can begin further investigations. It's probably difficult for us to come to a conclusion just by speculating here."
"Although the suburbs of Chang'an are mostly desolate, if someone had been hiding for eight months, there's no way they wouldn't have left no trace." Ling Tianshui, a man of action, immediately stood up and said, "I'll check the surrounding map and create a detailed search area to see if I can find any traces."
Cui Fufeng also said: "Then I will go find Wei Fengyang and ask him in detail about the process of escorting Su Yunzhong and sort out the clues."
Qian Deng nodded and continued, "I feel there's something deeper going on here. Su Yunzhong is my mother's murderer, but strictly speaking, that's not entirely true. I suspect he discovered something we haven't noticed, so he returned to the capital, intending to expose the true culprit and clear his name, but someone else acted first and pinned the blame on me."
"The county lady's speculation is not without reason. He didn't kill Bo Ren, and Bo Ren died because of him. He was the primary culprit in the death of Lady Qi, and he confessed his crime at the time. It's completely unreasonable for him to come back and frame the county lady now."
Ling Tianshui said, "This might not be a bad thing. Now that Su Yunzhong has been implicated, the real culprit behind Madam's murder is clearly no longer hiding. If we continue to investigate this clue, we will surely uncover the truth as soon as possible to comfort Madam's spirit."
Qiandeng nodded, but eight months had passed and the pain of her mother's departure once again enveloped her. The feeling of suffocation made her open her mouth and breathe hard. She used all her strength to force herself to calm down.
"This matter is of great importance. I will go with you after I have sorted out my thoughts."
With trembling hands, Qiandeng opened the drawer of the secret cabinet in the study, took out the case files inside, and re-read and sorted out everything he had found along the way.
The arrow that was deeply embedded in the chest; the flesh and blood that had decayed after the coffin was opened; the sharp scratches on the bones...
Uncle Fu's inexplicable death, the scorched and shredded paper he left behind; the two characters "井滿" (well fence) spurted out in blood as Shi Jingning passed away; Yan Penglai said, "Don't forget Madam Qi's last words: You must choose the person she designated for you..."
Hidden behind all this is the truth that seems to be roaring and pouring down. Can she really face the real culprit this time, fight hard against all the unsolvable nightmares that haunt her like a water ghost, and finally find the answer that is more important than her life?
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