There are hundreds of large and small boats on the Jinshui River and thousands of people enjoying themselves. It can be said that the Jinshui River after nightfall is one of the scenic spots in the capital.
This brings great convenience to Jiang Si.
Although Zhen Shicheng is very observant, he is not a god after all. It is extremely difficult for him to find clues about the fire-setting eunuch among so many people and boats. Even if he can find clues, it will not be done in a day.
Jiang Si did not let her guard down because of this. After dealing with Zhen Shicheng several times, she deeply understood that no details should be ignored.
The boat that Lao Qin rented must be properly disposed of.
She still remembered the scene of Yang Shengcai clinging to the side of the boat to climb up, and when Yang Shengcai fell back into the water, he eventually died silently at the bottom of the river, and there was a high probability that his traces would be left on the side of the boat.
Zhen Shicheng is a very intelligent person. If she starts from the person who rented the boat last night and then inspects the hull, once she finds those traces, she may be able to guess that there is something wrong with the person who rented the boat. In this way, even if she has told Lao Qin to conceal his appearance when renting the boat, the situation may be out of control.
Jiang Si certainly didn't want to get into trouble because of his carelessness.
"Old Qin told the girl not to worry, he has taken care of it."
"That's good." Jiang Si smiled.
She still trusted Lao Qin's ability, otherwise she wouldn't have been so relieved when she watched her second brother fall into the water last night.
The Jinshui River is not turbulent, but a very gentle long river, which is why it is so suitable for pleasure boats to wander here and for people to enjoy themselves.
It was precisely because of this that Lao Qin’s skills and ability to swim helped him rescue his second brother in a timely manner, which was a sure thing.
Ah Man has not yet recovered from the "heroic appearance" of his master killing people. He said with admiration: "Miss, how did you know to deal with that ship? I told Lao Qin that you are so amazing, you can predict the future like a god."
Jiang Si laughed at himself and said, "I'm not that amazing. It's just that I think about it more because I take it very seriously."
She was reborn, and of course there was more to life than just revenge, but protecting her loved ones was one of the most important things. Otherwise, would she just let the misfortune of her previous life come upon her and live freely and at ease?
She absolutely couldn't do this, so she didn't mind even if it meant getting her hands stained with blood.
In Shuntian Mansion, Zhen Shicheng walked slowly with his hands behind his back.
Not long ago, the coroner reported something to him.
The coroner found sawdust between the dead man's fingernails!
What does this show?
According to Cui Yi and others, they all jumped into the river from the window when the pleasure boat caught fire last night, which means that the wood chips in the deceased's hand had nothing to do with the pleasure boat.
So what is the most likely scenario for the presence of sawdust in the nail crevices of the deceased?
Zhen Shicheng was a very imaginative person, and soon a bold guess emerged in his mind: the deceased jumped into the river, swam to the nearest boat in panic, and then grabbed the side of the boat or the oar tightly.
But he was not saved, and sawdust was left in the cracks between his nails.
In fact, the fact that Yang Shengcai was not saved was something that Zhen Shicheng found very puzzling.
He personally went to the Jinshui River to observe that the water flow was very calm. Moreover, it was brightly lit at night and there were countless boats nearby. How could no one be rescued? You should know that everyone on the pleasure boat except Yang Shengcai, even the second son of the Dongping Marquis's mansion who fell into the water after drinking too much, was rescued.
As Zhen Shicheng considered all this, his guess became clearer: the person to whom the deceased asked for help was most likely the murderer!
That is to say, the waiter had accomplices, and they at least had a boat. If they were lucky, they might be able to find traces of the deceased's fingernails on the side of the boat or somewhere else.
Zhen Shicheng was not in a good mood thinking about these things.
Although he would be fair in handling cases and find out the truth regardless of the identity of the deceased, Yang Shengcai's death did make him feel very happy.
Such a scumbag has caused many deaths when he was only in his teens. It is unknown how many more people he has harmed by the time he grows old.
Regardless of what he thought, Zhen Shicheng decisively gave the order: "First ask the owners of those cruise ships if anyone rented a boat yesterday. If so, have they returned the boat?"
The subordinate took the order and left. Not long after, another subordinate came to report: "Sir, someone has come from the Minister of Rites' residence."
Zhen Shicheng nodded and walked towards the hall.
The person who came to the Minister of Rites's residence was Yang Shengcai's father. At this time, Yang's father had red eyes, a slightly swollen face, and looked very haggard.
It is an unbearable pain for anyone to see their loved ones die.
Although Zhen Shicheng had no good feelings towards Yang Shengcai, he felt sympathy for Yang's father and greeted him in a gentle tone: "Brother Yang, please take care of your health."
Father Yang sneered, "Master Zhen, please stop talking about this. I wonder if the young man who set the fire has been found?"
Although he had two young illegitimate sons, Yang Sheng was his only precious legitimate son. Even though Yang Sheng often got into trouble and was inevitably beaten and scolded, he loved him deeply.
Now that his son is gone, he would like to burn down Shuntian Mansion if he can't find the murderer.
"Not found yet." Seeing the other party's bad attitude, Zhen Shicheng's tone also became cold.
What about the Ministry of Rites?
Was it because he was frightened that he was able to secure the position of prefect of Shuntian Prefecture?
Zhen Shicheng climbed up step by step from a humble background. Such a person might have no foundation when he was young, but to have his current status is by no means as simple as officials with only family background think.
"It's been a whole night, why haven't you found it yet?" Yang's father asked aggressively.
Zhen Shicheng stroked his beard slowly and said, "There were at least thousands of people on the Jinshui River last night. Brother Yang, do you think I am a god with three heads and six arms and can tell where people are just by counting with my fingers? Besides, the young man also jumped into the water. He might have drowned as people speculated."
Humph, like son, like father. If you keep talking nonsense, he won't care. Let the three judicial officials investigate. If they find out who the murderer is, he will give him a banner!
Zhen Shicheng has never been a conservative person. As the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, he is not only responsible for solving cases. He invests the most in this area because he is most interested in it. In fact, sometimes he just sits back and does nothing, and no one can do anything to him.
"Then tell me when we can find the person?"
"It's hard to say. Brother Yang, you are embarrassing me by asking this question."
"You!" Father Yang wanted to vent his anger very much, but facing Zhen Shicheng's calm and indifferent face, he couldn't do it.
"I heard that the person who rescued the second son of the Duke of Dongping was a subordinate of Lord Zhen. Now I suspect that person is related to my son's death. Lord Zhen, please call that person out so that I can see him."
We cannot quarrel with Zhen Shicheng, but at least we cannot be lenient with the yamen runner who saved the boy from the Dongping Marquis's mansion but failed to save his son!
Zhen Shicheng said in a strange tone: "Brother Yang wants to see my men?"