Chapter 8 Taihe Academy
After the autopsy, Su Yan could have gone straight back to Taowu Village, but just a few steps away from the wonton stall, she was stopped by two constables, who invited her back to Taihe Academy.
The night is dark, and Taihe Academy stands alone in front of the green mountain. The top of the mountain seems to be shrouded in a layer of mist, which contrasts brilliantly with the clear moonlight.
Taihe Academy was brightly lit, but it lacked the liveliness of the past.
In order to facilitate the investigation, Captain Zhao borrowed two rooms from the academy and stayed there temporarily at night.
Su Yan thought they had found the head of the deceased, so they wanted to call her over. But as soon as Captain Zhao saw Su Yan, he grabbed her sleeve and refused to let go. "Do you want to eat noodles with soybean paste? I'll ask your sister-in-law to make it for you. Make a big pot with a pound of pork!"
"Thank you, Brother Zhao," Su Yan said with a smile, "Sister-in-law's cooking skills are the best."
Seeing Su Yan agreed, Captain Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to take the opportunity to say something, he heard Su Yan thinking in his heart - "Brother Zhao wants to ask me for something. I guess the case has not made any progress."
Captain Zhao: “…”
Sometimes people really shouldn't be that smart.
Captain Zhao coughed lightly, pretending that he had heard nothing, "Girl, actually this case..."
"Now that the time of death has been determined, the suspect should have been found." Su Yan was afraid that Captain Zhao would be embarrassed, so he took the initiative to say, "I'm free anyway, so why don't you tell me what's going on now?"
Captain Zhao had a complicated expression.
Su girl was indeed considerate, but he knew that she knew everything but pretended not to know.
Thinking about how a little girl was taking care of his emotions, Captain Zhao didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
But he couldn't be awkward anymore.
Captain Zhao invited Su Yan into the room and poured her a cup of tea. "Based on the time of death you provided, we did an investigation, and the situation is not good."
"What do you mean, everyone has an alibi?"
"That's not the case. We investigated where everyone went yesterday afternoon. Yesterday afternoon, all the students were in the lecture hall, and they were taught by Mr. Lu. These people can prove each other."
Su Yan listened patiently.
Captain Zhao said in distress, "The ones without alibis are Hall Master Cheng, Dean Yu, Mr. Chu, and three students who asked for leave, namely Di Jun, who was the first to discover the body, and Xu Yang and Wen Xufeng. Although these people have all said where they went yesterday, there is no witness. I really don't know what to do."
Su Yan asked: "Do you have any confessions from them?"
"It's all ready," Captain Zhao took out the confession, "take a look."
The handwriting on the confession was not very elegant. Not many people could study with peace of mind these days, especially ordinary people like them, who had no spare money. Being able to read and write was already very good.
"Temple Master Cheng was studying in the academy's study all day until the evening when Abbot Yu asked him to go to the dining room. Abbot Yu claimed that he was out to meet a friend, but when we asked him about his friend's situation, he was hesitant in his answer. We asked him to find the friend, but he made excuses saying that he was delayed on the way and couldn't see him. It was really strange."
"Mr. Chu seemed to want to take another exam and has been studying in his room. As for the three students, they all said they had left the academy, but they couldn't explain where they went."
Su Yan read the confessions and just as Captain Zhao said, none of the confessions could provide accurate alibis for them.
When talking about Yin Yuan himself, the statements made by several people were somewhat subtle.
Several students who were studying there did not have a particularly good impression of him. They said that Yin Yuan had a strange temper, often gave them the cold shoulder, and was arrogant. They did not like to have any contact with him.
Cheng Wenshan said that Yin Yuan had outstanding abilities and had dedicated most of his life to the academy, and was his most capable assistant.
As for Chu Feng and Yu Tiancai, their evaluations of Yin Yuan were both vague. Regarding their seemingly neutral attitudes, Su Yan believed that this meant that they both had an average impression of Yin Yuan.
Yin Yuan didn't have many friends in the academy. The only one he could be considered "close" to was Cheng Wenshan, who would hand over all the big and small matters of the academy to Yin Yuan for handling.
In recent years, Cheng Wenshan has been getting older and older, and is unable to handle many things. It seems that even the Ciyu Village has been handed over to Yin Yuan.
Yu Tiancai is the dean of the academy and should be respected, but Cheng Wenshan seems to rely more on Yin Yuan. Privately, Yu Tiancai has a lot of opinions about Yin Yuan, and many people have heard him complain about this.
Chu Feng and Yin Yuan do not have any direct conflict of interest. Yin Yuan is conceited and arrogant. He cannot get along with anyone else in the academy, but he can talk to Chu Feng.
"Yu Tiancai refused to admit that he had a bad relationship with Yin Yuan. He was probably afraid that we would suspect him," Captain Zhao said. "In my opinion, his words are full of loopholes. He is the most suspicious one."
Su Yan quickly read the confession twice before putting it down. She said, "It is still impossible to determine who is more suspicious. Brother Zhao, have you asked them about the female ghost?"
Captain Zhao was surprised and asked, "Didn't Master Cheng say that there was no fire in the academy and the rumors were completely false?"
Su Yan pondered for a moment and said, "I'll go ask again tomorrow when I have time. Have you found any clues on the mountain?"
"There are some." When Captain Zhao mentioned the back mountain, his expression finally improved a little. He smiled and said, "Fortunately, your autopsy report mentioned that the crime scene might be in the back mountain. We searched carefully and found some bloodstains and dragging marks near the pavilion on the top of the mountain. That should be the crime scene. But I really can't figure out why the murderer hid the body. Did he want to buy time to escape?"
"The back mountain is a place that students of the academy often go to. In addition to the students of Taihe Academy, in a sense, in the perception of the people of Anping Town, the back mountain of the academy is actually a part of the academy. The people inside the academy are the most suspicious in this case. Has anyone from the academy escaped?"
Captain Zhao shook his head, "That's not the case."
"I can't figure out the murderer's purpose for now. If I can figure it out, I'm afraid I can find the murderer." Su Yan asked, "Apart from the blood, are there any other traces at the scene?"
Captain Zhao touched his head in shame and said, "Girl Su, you should go and have a look yourself. Your perspective is always different from mine, and I dare not say anything final."
Su Yan nodded, "I'll go to the back mountain tomorrow to check. Are there any other clues?"
"One thing," Captain Zhao said with a serious expression, "I heard that someone was trying to assassinate Yin Yuan."
"Assassination?"
"Yu Tiancai said it, I don't know whether I should believe it or not," Captain Zhao said, "Yu Tiancai said that Yin Yuan was always suspicious a few days before he was killed, thinking that someone was trying to kill him. Yu Tiancai asked him who was trying to kill him, but he refused to say. But Yu Tiancai overheard him mumbling that someone from the capital was coming. Yin Yuan was from Anping Town, how could he recognize someone from the capital?"
Su Yan didn't expect that Yin Yuan's case could be related to the capital. "Has he ever been to the capital?"
"It is well known that he is not very well educated and has never been to the capital."
Su Yan asked again: "Does anyone else know about this?"
"Di Jun and the others didn't have much contact with Yin Yuan, so they hadn't heard of him. Chu Feng admitted that Yin Yuan had been in a bad state these days. As for Master Cheng, he hadn't heard Yin Yuan say that anyone wanted to harm him. Only Yu Tiancai said this, and I don't think it can be believed."
Su Yan seemed to be thinking about something. "Even if someone from the capital really wanted to harm him, why? No matter how powerful Taihe Academy is, it is just an academy in a small town. How could someone from the capital target him? Brother Zhao, is there something about Mr. Yin's past that we don't know?"
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