Chapter 18 Taihe Academy
In the dusk, candlelight flickered, and the long street that was lonely during the day was finally filled with noise.
Big red lanterns were lit in front of Fuxiang Tower, and the candlelight swept away the gloom in the daytime.
It was already late when Su Yan left Fuxiang Tower, so he sent Qin Wanyue back home first before heading towards the academy.
The moonlight was still bright, clearly illuminating the bluestone road in front of us. The closer we got to the academy, the fewer people there were.
The former glory of Anping Town has now become a forbidden place.
It was not until he reached the main entrance of the academy and climbed the stairs that Su Yan sorted out all his thoughts.
Captain Zhao's men have already rushed back to the academy and are now gathered in the school.
Su Yan followed the voice and walked over. When Captain Zhao saw Su Yan, his brows that had just relaxed furrowed again. "Su girl, you are finally back. I heard that you took Miss Qin to the government office. Did you get anything?"
After hearing this, Su Yan knew that Captain Zhao had gained nothing today.
Su Yan told everything he had learned in Fuxiang Tower.
Captain Zhao frowned and said, "You are a little girl, and you actually went to a place like Fuxianglou? If this gets out, how can you get married in the future... Forget it, I won't listen to you. You mean, Master Cheng likes young girls? That's unlikely. Master Cheng is not that kind of person."
The constable on the side also said: "Xiao Su, if other people in Taihe Academy heard this, they would definitely not let you go."
“But these are things that happened when Master Cheng was young. After so many years, it’s hard to say.” Captain Zhao rubbed his face, feeling a headache. “I’ve seen a lot of hypocritical people. You mean Master Cheng? He still manages Ciyu Manor… Wait, Ciyu Manor?!”
Over the years, Cheng Wenshan has taken in many people in Ciyu Village, including girls.
"Isn't this the whole story?!" Captain Zhao slapped his thigh and said angrily, "The one who went to the academy to look for him a few days ago was not the child he left behind when he was young, but the woman he had bullied before. The woman was dissatisfied, so she killed people!"
Su Yan asked: "Why was Mr. Yin killed?"
"You don't know that the matter of Ciyou Village was also handled by Yin Yuan. Cheng Wenshan trusted him the most. How could he not know about these dirty things? I guess he was also an accomplice, so the murderer wanted to kill him as well."
Seeing that Captain Zhao seemed to have strung together the entire thread, Su Yan reminded: "But I asked Sister Yanzhi, and they also heard about this recently."
Captain Zhao didn't understand Su Yan's intention for a moment, "So what?"
"These things are all old news. If they could be spread to the present day, how could such news only be heard recently? Apart from other things, at least those old people should have heard about it. I asked several sisters in Fuxianglou, and they all heard about it recently, and the source is unknown."
Captain Zhao pondered Su Yan's words carefully. "You mean, someone deliberately released the fog to lure us into the trap? Is he trying to frame Cheng Wenshan?"
"I still don't understand," Su Yan said truthfully, "I really can't figure it out. Since the murderer has decided to kill Master Cheng, why would he want to throw dirty water on a dead person, and why did he choose to cut off his head? Why did Master Cheng insist on being alone?"
What Su Yan said made sense, but in this way, the case seemed to have lost its direction again.
Captain Zhao slumped down on the rose chair in frustration, muttering sadly, "My noodles with soybean paste... I bought two more pounds of pork noodles with soybean paste."
The constable had already subconsciously sought advice from Su Yan, "Xiao Su, what should we investigate next? The two people who attempted the assassination last night have not been found yet, and we have no way to explain to the county magistrate. What should we do now?"
"I think... we should investigate Ciyu Village," Su Yan said, "Don't forget the fire in the temple and the children who were burned to death in Ciyu Village. There is one more thing, Brother Zhao, do you know the official who presided over the construction of the temple? It seems to be called Chen Ri."
Captain Zhao shook his head. "I hadn't come to the government office at that time, so I didn't recognize him."
Su Yan asked: "If I want to investigate this official, what are the ways?"
"We can only ask County Magistrate Qin, but I think he has already gone to bed at this time."
County Magistrate Qin knows the most about health preservation.
"Although I don't know his origins, I have heard others mention him a few times," Captain Zhao said solemnly as he thought of the past. "The officials who built the temple seem to be related to the eunuchs. The officials who came here should be the eunuchs' men."
Since he was a eunuch, he must have come from the capital. Su Yan suddenly thought of Yin Yuan’s worries before his death.
Could it be that Yin Yuan and Cheng Wenshan are connected with the eunuchs in the capital?
This case may not be as simple as Su Yan imagined.
The task of catching the assassin and investigating Ciyu Village naturally had to be handed over to Captain Zhao. Captain Zhao sent people to Ciyu Village and asked Su Yan to go and see Cheng Wenshan's head first.
Cheng Wenshan's body has not been found yet, and his head has not been sent to the morgue. It has been left in Cheng Wenshan's room, guarded by constables.
It just so happened that Su Yan wanted to investigate Cheng Wenshan again. She wanted to know whether Cheng Wenshan was a good man who was framed, or was it really as the rumors said?
She carried the wooden box on her back and went to Cheng Wenshan's residence. The constable recognized Su Yan and let her in.
In the main hall, Cheng Wenshan's head was placed alone on the square table.
Although there were constables around, no one dared to look at the head for long, and everyone stayed outside.
The constable stuck his head out and watched Su Yan walk in calmly and light the candles one by one.
This coroner has extraordinary courage!
Su Yan had done a rough check earlier and had a rough idea of Cheng Wenshan's condition.
There was no one around, so she placed the candle on the square table and checked again.
Although there was candlelight, the night was getting darker and darker, and it was no match for the day.
Su Yan did not perform a skull opening, but instead checked the appearance first. When County Magistrate Qin was around, she had been more restrained, so she had to take a closer look.
There were obvious marks of being hit on the back of Cheng Wenshan's head. When Su Yan shaved off Cheng Wenshan's hair, the scars on the back of his head became clearer.
"The wound is... a triangle? The middle point is quite deep. The corner of a square table can cause similar scars. There are many broken bones on the edge of the wound, which is caused by multiple impacts. It is consistent with the speculated cause of Mr. Yin's death." Su Yan looked around. "Cheng Wenshan has not left. The crime scene should be here, but the murder weapon... was taken away by the murderer?"
After the examination, Su Yan put a wig on Cheng Wenshan's head to allow him to maintain his last bit of dignity.
Then she picked up the oil lamp and looked around.
Cheng Wenshan had no chance to leave that night, so the murderer must have committed the crime here, but when he came earlier, nothing was wrong.
Did the murderer clean up the scene after the crime?
Even if we leave aside the issue of cleaning up the scene, the question is how the murderer took the body away.
Although there were no constables guarding the academy, it was not an uninhabited place. How could the murderer carry Cheng Wenshan's body without being discovered?
Su Yan felt that the more he investigated the case, the more mysteries it revealed.
Her eyes fell on the antique shelf behind the desk.
She wanted to go for a checkup earlier, but was called away before she could...
Su Yan put the oil lamp on the shelf and checked the bottles and jars one by one.
She wanted to know if there were any secret letters, accounts or other hidden things inside. If Cheng Wenshan really did a lot of evil, he must need to hide something.
But there is almost nothing inside these porcelain and pottery except thick dust.
dust……
Su Yan looked away from the room.
Except for the antique display cabinet, every other place is very clean and seems to be wiped frequently. Only this place is neat on the surface.
Su Yan turned around and continued to fiddle with the porcelain.
She tried almost every porcelain ornament, and just when she tried the last row, she finally encountered a porcelain that could not be moved. She calmed herself down and tried to rotate it according to what she saw in the book, and she actually heard a "creaking" sound.
In the ancient secret room, gears are rotating.
The antique shelf moved to the right, and a wooden door appeared in front of Su Yan.
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