Chapter 35 Questioning
Like other people's rooms, Ji Linyou's room was also hastily decorated. There were not many things in it, and the layout was the same as other rooms, so it was clear at a glance.
As expected, there was no trace of the Kirin Cup in the room.
Seeing the county lady's solemn expression, Ji Linyou also felt a little uneasy. He quietly approached Ling Tianshui and asked in a low voice, "Cousin, what's going on?"
"It's nothing serious." Ling Tianshui's eyes fell on the cups and pots in the room. Seeing that they were just two ordinary white porcelain cups, he held the cups and looked at them, then motioned him to sit down.
"Speaking of which, you were the first one to climb through the window to check on Jin Tang's body. Did you notice the teacup in his hand?"
"Ah? What cup?" Ji Linyou said, puzzled. "I climbed in and opened the door, then went to the bed and saw that Jin Tang had died of vomiting blood. His face looked a bit scary..."
"Cousin, you're actually scared by corpses?" Ling Tianshui said, hinting, "You've been to the battlefield and seen a lot of dead bodies."
Ji Linyou scratched his head awkwardly. "That's different. After all, Jin Tang and I have been together in the palace's backyard for so long. We see each other every day. Besides, this isn't a battlefield..."
Before he finished speaking, Cui Fufeng's voice came from the window: "Record, please come over."
Ji Linyou stood up and walked to his side. He saw him looking out the window at the ground below with a serious expression.
He followed Cui Fufeng and looked down. His expression changed involuntarily. He opened his mouth and asked, "What is that?"
Cui Fufeng did not answer.
Qiandeng walked up to them and looked down.
Beneath the window lay a few scattered rocks, surrounded by tangled weeds. On the tips of the rocks, faint traces of porcelain powder could be seen, and a few fragments of porcelain could be vaguely seen among the nearby grass.
Apparently, someone had dropped some porcelain out of the window, sending fragments flying everywhere.
Ling Tianshui took a glance, then climbed out of the window, pushed aside the rocks, took out the broken porcelain pieces underneath, and placed them one by one on the bluestone.
It was a celadon cup with fairly good workmanship, with a pattern of Qilin lightly engraved on the back.
Ji Linyou opened his eyes wide, his expression bewildered: "Who's throwing cups here? What's going on?"
"Then I can only ask you," Cui Fufeng said. "There is only one pair of Qilin cups on the farm. They were originally placed in Jintang's room and were held tightly in his hands after his death. However, the cups disappeared after his accident. We searched everywhere but couldn't find them. It turns out they were smashed outside your window."
"Someone must have framed me!" Ji Linyou angrily slammed the windowsill, finally understanding, "Cousin, when you asked me about the cup, did you mean that I was the first one to approach Jin Tang, so I might have stolen the cup from his hand and then left it here?"
Ling Tianshui raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at him without saying a word.
Ji Linyou was getting anxious. He turned around and asked Qian Deng, "County Lady, you, my cousin, and Cui Shaoqing all know me well! Why would I need to poison Jin Tang? I have a standard sword in the camp, and the guards have short sabers. Wouldn't it be easier to just stab him? Besides, Jin Tang is definitely involved in what happened back then. I've listened to the County Lady's advice and am determined to thoroughly investigate the truth. If I kill him, wouldn't the battle in Huangsha Valley be even harder to uncover?"
Seeing that his expression did not seem fake, the three of them were silent for a while, unable to make a judgment.
After a long moment, Qian Deng looked at Ling Tianshui. When their eyes met, she saw him nod slightly. She made up her mind and turned around to signal him to follow her out: "Record the matter, please follow me."
It was almost dusk, and the setting sun was shining on the pillars of the corridor of the water pavilion, making the carved symbols that had been wiped off the dust even clearer and more prominent.
When Ji Linyou saw the carvings, his face suddenly changed color: "How...how did this come from? When did it appear?"
Ling Tianshui calmly observed his expression and said, "We just discovered this. This mark must have appeared when Madam Qi died."
"It seems that this mark is the same as what you always do, Captain Ji." Cui Fufeng was merciless and went straight to the point.
Ji Linyou was a young man with a lot of energy and passion, so he couldn't contain his temper. He immediately exploded, "Sure enough, someone is setting me up to be wronged! What does this mean? At that time, my wife was dying, and the county lady went to ask for Aunt Liao, the doctor. We all came here to visit her, but she was already dying, so why would we do anything? Besides, the county lady has already investigated my wife's death. It was that bastard Su Yunzhong who killed her. Now the murderer has confessed and committed suicide out of fear of punishment. His entire family has been exiled to Bohai. Why would I secretly mark this place?"
He was furious and seemed completely unaware of the hidden circumstances behind Lady Qi's death.
"But now, all the clues coincide with you. How do you plan to explain it?" Cui Fufeng pointed at the file in his hand. "Your dispute with Jintang, your movements last night, the teacup you hid and destroyed, the traces on the manor that only you could have left..."
"Someone must have framed me!" Ji Linyou was anxious and angry. He looked at the mark on the pillar and became even more furious. "I've never seen any cups, let alone marks here! The last time I came to the manor, I lived with that loudmouth Xue Xiyang! If I had sneaked near here, he would have come to the county lady and said bad things about me!"
Qiandeng remained silent, but knew in his heart that what he said made sense.
The markings were either left for accomplices or used to analyze and identify complex terrain. But the pavilion on the veranda was so simple, and the manor was heavily guarded at the time. Who was Ji Linyou leaving a message for?
Ling Tianshui suddenly spoke, his tone particularly cold and stern: "Those soldiers and bandits in the ruined temple were near the manor that night. I heard that the madam's accident was because a thief opened the door to the thieves, and the guards were lured to the front yard by the rioters, leaving the back yard empty, which gave them an opportunity to take advantage of."
Ji Linyou stared at him in disbelief. "Cousin, even you suspect me? As a recorder of the Imperial Guards, how could I be colluding with the rebels? How dare I bring Uncle Wei in after they got into trouble?"
Ling Tianshui frowned in thought, while Cui Fufeng said calmly, "But once the temple caught fire, the recorder arrived quickly, so you were nearby at the time. Judging from the angle and ability, there shouldn't be many people who could kill someone outside the window and set fire to lure Ling Sijie away."
Seeing both of them have such an attitude, Ji Linyou clenched his fists and suddenly turned back to look at Qian Deng and asked, "County Lady, do you think so too?"
Qian Deng sighed and faced the rage in his eyes without dodging or lying. "For the record, your family is from my father's family, and we've been together for nearly a year. Given your character, I really don't believe you're the scheming culprit behind this. But now that we've investigated the case, all the key clues point to you. Given that's the case, we can only follow the current suspicions and investigate further. We're not targeting you, but the real culprit. As long as Captain Ji has a clear conscience, we will definitely clear your name as soon as possible."
Hearing her say this, Ji Linyou barely suppressed his anger, but his tone remained agitated. "If that's the case, County Master, please think carefully. Jin Tang was murdered when I was about to investigate the incident in Huangsha Valley. Furthermore, they set up all sorts of schemes to frame me. The real culprit must be hiding himself and the unspeakable secrets behind it! For example, the people who orchestrated the battle in Huangsha Valley and those who profited from it... Because they didn't want me to follow Jin Tang's lead and uncover the details, they killed Jin Tang and pushed the crime onto me, who was investigating this matter!"
This is not without reason, but he seems not to understand that there are more things involved behind this.
Qian Deng looked at his innocent yet anxious expression and nodded, saying, "I'm sorry to have wronged you for now. But please rest assured, every wrong has its perpetrator, and Jin Tang must not die in vain. I will never tolerate any conspiracy against my Changhua Palace. As soon as I find evidence in your favor, I will clear your name as soon as possible."
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