Chapter 70: Taking Advantage of the Situation
The rain was heavy at night, and it gradually subsided after the sky began to brighten. At the hour of Mao, the city of Bianjing was still fast asleep. After the night watchman struck the gong, lights began to light up in the shops on the street.
Today is the seventh day after the death of Madam Xue from the Duke of England's Mansion. Two days ago, the Duke of England's Mansion arranged for people from the paper horse shop to deliver funeral items to the mansion on the seventh day.
The people in the paper horse shop are averse to letting people see funeral items in broad daylight. People believe that those are things of the dead, and it would be unlucky for the living to see them.
Therefore, people from the paper horse shop usually deliver the items to the funeral residence when there are fewer people around.
After midnight, everyone is in deep sleep, so the beginning of the morning hour is the best time. There are few people on the streets, and the servants in the mansion handling the funeral have also gotten up.
The people who delivered the funeral items today were Old Zheng from the paper horse shop and his apprentice A Yu.
The carriage stopped at the east gate of the Duke of England's mansion.
Ah Yu jumped off the carriage and looked at the closed side door. He said, "Didn't they say it would be delivered by this hour? How come there's no one here?" He turned back to look at the master who was already unloading the goods and said, "Master, are we here too early? The people at the Duke's Mansion haven't even gotten up yet?"
While unloading his things, Lao Zheng said impatiently: "Knock on the door, stop talking nonsense."
A Yu knew that his master hated delivering funeral items to those who died in an unnatural way. Although he made money from it, his master always said that those who died in an unnatural way had a lot of resentment, and he would be unlucky for several months after each business trip.
Usually the master will not deliver the goods to your door personally, others will come to pick them up.
But this time it's the Duke of England's Mansion, and they can't afford to offend.
Ah Yu listened to his master's words and walked forward to knock on the wooden door. Just as he knocked, the wooden door creaked slightly and a crack appeared. He said, "Master, the people from the Duke of Ying's Mansion left the door open for us."
As he spoke, Ah Yu turned around and looked at his master with a hint of joy in his tone.
Old Zheng frowned and looked at A Yu, saying, "Then come and move the things in. Remember to talk less and do more."
"I understand, Master." Ah Yu walked briskly towards the carriage, carrying the things and going to the side door.
When he pushed the side door with his elbow, he found that it seemed to be blocked by something inside. He exerted force and pushed the door open. He heard something falling from inside the door. Because he was moving something, he didn't worry about anything and stepped over the threshold.
He had just stepped over the threshold and taken a few steps when he stepped on something. Just when Ah Yu was about to say something was soft or hard, he lowered his head and saw a corpse lying in a pool of blood.
He stumbled, and the thing in his hand fell instantly. He then stepped back repeatedly and almost fell when he reached the threshold. He was so scared that the words he uttered were trembling.
"Dead...dead people...dead...people"
Old Zheng heard the sound of something in A Yu's hand falling and was about to curse, but as A Yu walked out of the side door, the corpse lying under the light inside the side door made his pupils tremble.
*
On the seventh day after Madam Xue's death, the Duke of Ying's mansion was wiped out.
There was not a single living creature left in the mansion. The chickens and ducks raised in the kitchen were not spared, and even the fish in the water tank were cut in half. It seemed as if the murderer had a blood feud with the Duke of England. There was no method in the killing, as if he just hacked and killed anyone he saw. If anyone struggled, there would be no intact body.
Qi Zhan looked at the corpses of a pair of beautifully colored parrots in the birdcages hanging under the veranda and frowned, "Such cruelty and viciousness, how great is the hatred they have for the Duke of Yingguo's mansion?"
At this time, a constable came forward and said, "Master Qi, the prince is here!"
Qi Zhan's heart tightened, and he immediately turned around to see the prince and his entourage walking into the yard with cold faces. The yard was now full of corpses, and the constables from Kaifeng Prefecture were still moving the corpses.
As Zhao Heng walked along, his expression became increasingly grim.
"Your humble servant greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Qi Zhan always felt that this year was his down year. He encountered many things that he could not control. How should he investigate the massacre of the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion?
There was no one alive in the entire mansion, and I had no idea where to start the investigation.
"Where are the Duke and Lord Zhang?" Zhao Heng asked coldly.
Qi Zhan looked towards the flower hall on the right and said, "I have ordered the bodies of the Duke, Mr. Zhang, and his wife to be placed in the flower hall."
Zhao Heng found it difficult to describe his feelings. He tried his best to control the balance of the situation, but this incident happened when the Queen Mother and the King of Wei were having an affair. The influence of the Duke of Yingguo in the court was enough to intimidate many people. The group of old foxes who had followed the late emperor for many years did not cause any major trouble because of the Duke of Yingguo's lobbying.
It was at this time that the entire Duke of Ying's Mansion was massacred. When Zhao Heng learned the news that the Duke of Ying's Mansion had been wiped out, the first person that came to his mind was King Wei.
He knew very well that the King of Wei was not as gentle and humble as he appeared, and he also knew that the King of Wei had been in close contact with the group of old foxes who followed the late emperor over the years.
After Zhao Heng gained a lot of real power, he also suggested to his father that those court officials who had followed the previous emperor should be demoted or sent away from Bianliang, and that the power of King Wei and the Queen Mother should not be allowed to grow.
But his father, who was in a high position, had to win people over with virtue, govern Dayin with benevolence, righteousness and morality, make the officials who had followed the previous emperor submit to him wholeheartedly, and prove that Dayin would be more prosperous in his hands than in the hands of the previous emperor.
Although the court officials who followed the late emperor have been silenced over the years, as long as the Empress Dowager and the King of Wei are still around, no one will forget how unjustified the emperor's arrival was.
When Zhao Heng came to the flower hall, he saw three corpses placed in the middle, and his face darkened.
"I don't know who he offended. The Duke must have suffered immense pain before his death. Lord Zhang was killed by a single blow from a weapon, and Madam Zhang's throat was slit." Qi Zhan was shocked with every word he spoke. "The perpetrators were ruthless. Not a single living being in the entire mansion was left alive."
"Investigate!" Zhao Heng said coldly, "Keep investigating!"
Qi Zhan cupped his hands and said, "This humble official will definitely conduct a thorough investigation!"
"His methods are so vicious, unlike ordinary killers. Many maids and servants in the mansion were killed without a complete body." Qi Zhan said again.
Zhao Heng clenched his fists behind his back and said coldly, "Since he's not just an ordinary killer, then let's start by investigating those killers in the martial arts world who only care about money and not their lives. Those who can hire these people must have paid enough money. Qi Zhan, I don't need this prince to teach you anything else, right?!"
There was a threat in his tone, and Qi Zhan was frightened. He said respectfully, "I know how to start!"
Zhao Heng's gaze fell on the Duke of England's corpse, and his eyes became fierce. If you dare to break his arm, don't blame him for taking advantage of your trick!
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