Chapter 359: Family Massacre
After explaining Chu Xiuning's affairs, Zhu Lan suddenly thought of something.
"By the way, what about the family annihilation case you just handled?"
Seeing that Chang Yunxiao didn't say anything, Zhu Lan thought that the matter involved legal secrets, so he waved his hand, "If it's inconvenient..."
"It's not finished yet." Chang Yunxiao said.
Zhu Lan was slightly stunned, somewhat puzzled.
It's not like Lao Chang to go home before finishing the case.
Chang Yunxiao's eyebrows furrowed again, and his tone became more serious, "I encountered some resistance."
Zhu Lan was a little curious, "What kind of resistance is that? Can you tell me about it?"
Chang Yunxiao thought for a moment before he said slowly:
"That case involves the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion, which is beyond my authority, so I have to go back to the capital to apply for a transfer order."
"Ning'an Marquis' Mansion?" Zhu Lan was surprised.
She was calm and composed, and rarely showed such a surprised expression. Chang Yunxiao looked at her with a bit of surprise, but didn't ask anything.
Zhu Lan calmed down. He didn't expect such a coincidence to happen.
He came here for the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion, and the case that Chang Yunxiao was investigating was actually related to the Marquis' Mansion.
Zhu Lan's expression became more serious, and she asked Chang Yunxiao if he could tell her about the case in detail, which might be helpful for what she was going to do next.
Chang Yunxiao considered for a moment and said in a steady voice:
“The family that was exterminated was named Gong, and the head of the family was named Gong Yuanliang. He was originally a tea merchant in Yunzhou City and had a very large business.
Just a few days ago, someone reported to the authorities that Gong's tea was mixed with harmful drugs, and requested that the government seal up Gong's tea house and arrest Gong Yuanliang.
After hearing the news, Gong Yuanliang fled Yunzhou City with his family overnight. They encountered wind and rain on the way, and the family stayed in an abandoned temple.
As a result, they were discovered by a passing hunter the next day. Almost all of the 17 members of the Gong family died in that dilapidated temple overnight. "
"Almost?" Zhu Lan keenly caught the details in Chang Yunxiao's words.
"Yeah." Chang Yunxiao nodded slightly.
As soon as he talked about the case, his whole body seemed to be infused with a soul, and he even talked more.
"There were a total of 17 people in the Gong family. The whole family fled the city at that time, but there were only 16 bodies found in the ruined temple."
"One person is missing?"
"No, there are two missing."
"Two?" Zhu Lan was even more confused.
Chang Yunxiao explained: "Gong Yuanliang's eldest son was named Gong Shao. His body did not appear in the ruined temple and his whereabouts are still unknown."
"Then there's one person missing, who is it?"
Zhu Lan couldn't understand. There were seventeen people in the family, and Gong Shao was missing. Wouldn't there be exactly sixteen bodies left?
How come there are two people missing?
"Among the sixteen bodies, one had its head chopped off."
Chang Yunxiao's voice was very calm.
This kind of calmness is not indifference, but the calmness that comes from being accustomed to life and death.
Only absolute calmness can enable him to make the most accurate judgment.
"At first, the government asked the neighbors of the Gong family to come and identify the body. Because the headless body was wearing the clothes that Gong Yuanliang wore when he left the city and his body shape was very similar to his, they concluded that he was Gong Yuanliang."
Zhu Lan shook his head when he heard this. "In the detective novels I've read, this kind of headless corpse is definitely not the real person."
"But life is not a novel." Zhu Lan thought for a moment and added, "Maybe it could be revenge? Cutting off the head could also be a way to vent anger."
Chang Yunxiao nodded in approval.
"You're right. I've thought of this possibility. But I've seen the body. The wound is smooth and the head was chopped off by a knife.
The wounds of the other members of the Gong family were also fatal, and the knife technique was extremely professional.
No matter how big the Gong family's business is, they are just ordinary people. If they want to seek revenge, they can't possibly provoke such a powerful killer."
Zhu Lan said: "If we rule out the possibility of seeking revenge, then it can only be done deliberately."
"Yes. I checked the coroner's autopsy records at the scene and found something strange -
The time of death of the headless corpse was about half a day earlier than the time of death of other members of the Gong family in the ruined temple.
At that time, Gong Yuanliang had just left the city with his family, so it was impossible for him to die at that time. "
Zhu Lan thought for a moment and asked again: "Since the body is not Gong Yuanliang, where did he go? And his son Gong Shao is also missing. Could they have escaped?"
Chang Yunxiao shook his head slowly.
"I don't know. We never found Gong Yuanliang and his son."
The two were silent for a moment.
"Then...you said earlier that this matter involved the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion. What's going on? Was it them who did it?" Zhu Lan asked.
After a while, Chang Yunxiao said slowly:
“Although Gong Yuanliang and his son were not found, I still found some clues from the bodies of other members of the Gong family.
Those killers must have come from the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion.
And I also found out something... Gong Yuanliang got into trouble because he had some evidence of Ning Anbo's crimes and used it to threaten Ning Anbo, which led to his entire family's death."
"Evidence?"
"I gather that this is related to the tea trade."
Zhu Lan's pupils shrank when he heard this, and he immediately thought of the discussion about the tea-horse trade at the border at the court meeting that day.
Ning Anbo is also related to this matter. What kind of interest relationship does he have with King Zhenbei?
Zhu Lan's eyes darkened a little as he silently memorized the important information in his heart.
The purpose of her trip was to dig out the truth about the prince's life experience from the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion.
Therefore, the more information she knows about the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion, the more comfortable she will be in doing things in the future - no matter in which aspect.
Finally, Zhu Lan brought up the dispute between the Crown Prince and Prince Qi in the court, as well as the purpose of his visit to Yunzhou.
Although Chang Yunxiao was listening attentively, he seemed a little uninterested.
"Well, well, anyway... I'm afraid we have to help the prince now."
Zhu Lan looked at Chang Yunxiao and said.
As she expected, Chang Yunxiao didn't have much reaction when talking about things other than the case.
The current Dali Temple Minister Zhong Maoqing was promoted by Emperor Liang. He does not belong to either the Crown Prince or Prince Qi and always maintains a neutral attitude.
Chang Yunxiao was obsessed with investigating cases every day, and he never cared much about the open and secret struggles in the court.
Just when Zhu Lan thought Chang Yunxiao was not going to speak, he suddenly spoke in a light voice:
“I’m not interested in how those living people fight.
But if you want to ask the dead anything, just come to me."
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