Chapter 30 Father and Son
Thousands of threads and clues, as if pulled by an invisible hand, all converged on Ji Linyou.
He was at the farm when Lady Qi died; he was in Jianfu Temple when Shi Jingning died tragically; before her death, Princess Changyi shouted out the connection between the two murders; finally, now, the identity of the soldiers and bandits' "benefactor" is about to be revealed and can no longer be concealed.
None of the three spoke, and the room fell into dead silence for a moment.
"Even so, he's a suspect, but there's no definitive evidence." Qian Deng pondered and shook his head. "After all, Jin Tang died in a secret room, poisoned in his tea. Ji Linyou had no chance of sneaking into Jin Tang's room after he closed the door and poisoning the teapot to kill him."
If we cannot determine how Jintang was poisoned and when the poison was put into the tea, the truth of this case will definitely not be verified.
"Let's go, let's go to the house where Jin Tang was murdered and search it in detail."
The poison of Aconitum can cause people to lose consciousness and fall into paralysis. Therefore, although there will be convulsions and coma during the attack, the deceased will not roll around violently or scream, but will only gradually lose consciousness.
Therefore, even though Ling Tianshui was right next door, he was unable to notice that Jin Tang, who was just across the wall, had been killed by the poison.
Because his reaction before death was not intense, there weren't many traces left in the house. Aside from the messy marks on the bed from Jintang's unconscious convulsions, there were a few traces of vomited blood at the headboard, but not much either.
Everything in the house could even be considered perfectly organized. After Meng Lanxi had argued with him last night, Aunt Xuanji personally led the staff to tidy up the Jintang, clearing away the tables, chairs, and utensils. The house appeared even tidier than other rooms.
In this well-organized room, one could immediately see Jin Tang's body lying on the bed covered with a white sheet. Qian Deng looked at the bulge under the white sheet and suddenly felt dazed for a moment, thinking that he was just asleep.
Perhaps the next moment, he would still be holding his parrot Jin Tuantuan, with a bright but somewhat silly smile on his face, happily letting her listen to the new poems and songs that Jin Tuantuan had learned.
She took a deep breath and turned her gaze to look at the situation inside the house.
The traces of last night's footsteps were still vivid and had not been destroyed.
First, there were the black leather boots placed in front of the bed. One boot was leaning crookedly on the small table beside the bed, and the other boot was lying on the ground with the toe facing inward, as if it had been kicked.
Qiandeng's eyes fell on his boots, and he thought, it is said that people will be particularly thirsty after being injured and bleeding. Jintang lost a lot of blood from his leg injury yesterday, so he would naturally feel thirsty and drink water in the middle of the night, which is why he kicked his shoes like this.
He was the son of the richest man in Chang'an, and he had people serving him at all times. But in order to be closer to her, he moved alone into the Jinfeng Pavilion in the backyard of the palace and began to get used to living alone.
Yesterday, we heard that she had an accident outside the city, so several young men and Aunt Xuanji came here temporarily. Naturally, they didn't bring anything with them in such a hurry, and they only wore a pair of black leather boots on their feet.
These boots are waterproof and lightweight, making them quick and easy to walk on mountain roads. However, the boot shaft is high and narrow, so you have to grab the upper edge of the boot and carefully put it on when wearing it.
What's more, Lan Xiurong stabbed him in the thigh, making it difficult for him to move.
So when he got up in the middle of the night, he put them on a few times in a daze, and when he found that they were not short-shoes that he could wear at night, he kicked them off casually. Anyway, the weather was not cold, so he got out of bed barefoot, poured water from the cup and pot on the table, sat back on the bed while drinking, and put the cup on the small table beside the bed.
He then died of the poison, and before dying, he clutched the cup on the bedside table so tightly that when they found his body, his finger bones were still in the clenched position.
Ling Tianshui looked at the shoes and confirmed Qian Deng's thoughts, "During the autopsy, I found traces of dust on his socks. He must have gotten them dirty when he got out of bed at night."
As he spoke, he lifted a corner of the white cloth, revealing the socks on Jintang's feet.
Sure enough, there was a light layer of gray on it.
Qian Deng nodded. "So, the teapot was delivered right under our noses. The only chance to tamper with it was after it was delivered to the house. And Jin Tang was alone in the house, locking the doors and windows. There was no sign of anyone sneaking in. The only possibility is that he took the initiative to open the door and let someone in. But, someone getting up to drink water might be too lazy to put on shoes, but if they open the door to invite guests in, they are unlikely to meet them barefoot."
Cui Fufeng asked, "Is it possible that Jintang got up twice. Once, he put on his shoes and opened the door, allowing the murderer to enter and poison him. After the murderer left, Jintang went to bed and got up again, but he was too lazy to put on his shoes the second time?"
Ling Tianshui rejected his speculation: "It's unlikely. If Jin Tang was too sleepy to put on his shoes when he got up for the second time to drink water, then that proves the murderer poisoned and left before three o'clock in the morning. And I was still asleep before three o'clock in the morning, so I wouldn't have missed someone coming in and out even though we were separated by a wall."
At this moment, a sudden commotion erupted from the neighboring courtyard. This time, it was Ji Linyou's voice that came from across the wall.
The three of them looked at each other, stood up together, and looked towards the gate.
Before anyone arrived, Ji Linyou's furious voice could be heard from afar: "Jin Baoyi, your family has done such a good thing!"
Across from him, the plump, white man Jin Baoyi was flustered. He bowed and smiled apologetically at him, peering into the courtyard. "Recorder, my Sanlang is still young. If he has offended you in any way, you, as the Recorder of the Imperial Guards, are broad-minded and will certainly not take it to heart. Now that the County Master has said that he has something to worry about, I will go and give him a good lecture. I will make sure he knows how powerful I am. From now on, he will behave himself in the palace and will never provoke the Recorder again."
After hearing what he said and looking at the apologetic smile on his face, Ji Linyou, who was about to call for punishment for the Battle of Huangsha Valley, opened his mouth, but when he thought about his son's death, he didn't know how to continue asking questions.
Qian Deng tried his best to calm his breath, walked out of the door and said to Jin Baoyi: "Uncle Jin, your son... your son..."
Even though she tried hard to adjust herself, her trembling voice still couldn't suppress the sadness. Finally, she shook her head and motioned him to come over.
Jin Baoyi had been doing business for many years and was a shrewd man. But when he saw Qian Deng's appearance, he felt as if cold water was poured over his head, knowing that his son must have been ruined like the others.
He opened his mouth, but only a few gurgling sounds came out from his thick lips. No more words could come out. He just turned around and staggered towards the room she pointed to.
It was bright outside, but when he looked inside, it was dark. He opened his eyes wide and the darkness in front of his eyes faded, and he saw the body covered with a white cloth on the bed in the inner room.
He understood in an instant, his foot tripped on the threshold, and his whole fat body fell down.
Cui Fufeng stepped forward quickly, wanting to help him up, but he saw that he had already crawled into the house and collapsed in front of the bed, his trembling hands pressing on the white cloth, but he still didn't dare to lift it.
Qiandeng and the others entered the house in silence, unable to find words for a moment.
After a long time, Ji Linyou strode forward and pulled back the white cloth, revealing Jin Tang's body completely.
Jin Baoyi stared blankly at his son's body. The fat on his face drooped on his cheeks, and the dark gray aura on his body looked very similar to Jin Tang's grayish complexion in the dim light.
Ji Linyou pointed at Jin Tang and asked, "Uncle Jin, was your Jin family involved in the battle at Huangsha Valley back then? I suspect Jin Tang was involved in the truth behind that incident and was murdered because of it. If you think about it carefully, you might be able to find clues to uncover the truth behind your son's murder!"
Jin Baoyi woke up as if from a dream. He raised his hand and stroked Jin Tang's dark purple face, crying bitterly: "Impossible! What Huangsha Valley... Not to mention that Sanlang has nothing to do with this matter, my Jin family doesn't know either!"
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